This director is vindictive.

In this world, the absence of a certain person may cause some fluctuations or changes in the short term, but in the end, the earth will continue to turn no matter who is gone!
Chen Mo has a very positive attitude, because he knows very well that even if he is not in the entertainment industry, it will not have a big impact.

His movie "Domestic Violence" is still showing in theaters, and the discussion about his retirement from the entertainment industry has not completely subsided, so the buzz remains.

But once the movie leaves theaters and the buzz cools down, people will quickly be drawn to new things and find new points of interest.

Although many people are now exaggerating and saying that "the entertainment industry is like a lost soul without Chen Mo," Chen Mo thinks this statement is simply absurd and laughable. In time, people will naturally forget about it and move on to the next hot topic.

He's just another Truman at best.

Of course, Chen Mo also knew that these people were probably really reluctant to part with him.

But not because of the movie, but because of the benefits!

After all, not everyone watches his movies, but almost everyone will be scrambling for his perks.

Of course, many netizens are quite adept at creating trouble when it comes to getting benefits.

So, a certain silly netizen, who claims to be a 20-year fan of Chen Mo, started a topic on Weibo.

#How can Chen Mo be brought back to the screen?#
Originally, this topic was just something she was having fun with. The main reason was that she had gotten used to taking advantage of Chen Mo for so many years, and now that Chen Mo had suddenly retired from the entertainment industry, what would she do if she couldn't take advantage of him anymore?
So, she started this topic.

But unexpectedly, by sheer luck, quite a few people shared his idea.

Initially, this netizen, who claimed to be a "20-year fan of Chen Mo," simply posted casually: "Sisters, please give me some advice! My source of joy has dried up since Chen Mo retired from the entertainment industry! I can't even find anyone willing to participate in giveaways anymore! #How can I make Chen Mo come back?#"

The accompanying image is a meme of Chen Mo's hair being blown into an afro by the wind during an early shampoo commercial shoot.

Yes, that makes sense. Although Chen Mo was a nobody back then, he was still a star, wasn't he?

Of course, this is definitely an archaeological-level photo.

To her utter surprise, the topic exploded in just two hours.

"No problem, but the industry Chen Mo left should be the film industry, right? Seeing this archaeological meme from the blogger, here's the question: Chen Mo left the film industry, but he can easily switch back to acting! Wouldn't that allow him to continue giving out perks?"

"The person upstairs is absolutely brilliant. @ChenMo, you switched from acting to directing back then because you 'cut yourself off from the entertainment industry,' because someone wouldn't let you be an actor. Now that you've stopped yourself from being a director, can't you switch back to acting?"
"Hmm, I might not be an actor anymore, but I can definitely keep giving out the perks!"

"Although, well, it's okay to leave the entertainment industry, it's fine not to be a director or an actor, but our live streaming industry doesn't belong to the entertainment industry, right? So, how about coming to the live streaming industry? You don't have to do anything else, you just need to go on a three-two-one-and-show-the-perks, and you're all set!"

Some netizens also posted photoshopped images of a "Chen Mo Lifetime Achievement Award" trophy: "We've already made the trophy. If no one comes to claim it, we'll donate it to the old man next door who walks his dog as a dog bowl."

The accompanying picture shows a gleaming gold trophy with the inscription "2026 Best Spending Spree Child" engraved on its base.

Soon, the topic #How can Chen Mo make a comeback# spread like wildfire online.

The number of participants in the discussion quickly surpassed one million, and the number of reposts and comments continued to rise rapidly, almost like a rocket.

Although everyone knows perfectly well that this is purely a joke to have some fun.

Chen Mo was so determined to leave the entertainment industry, how could he possibly change his mind just because netizens are making a fuss?

But everyone had a great time.

Someone turned screenshots from a shampoo commercial Chen Mo filmed in his early years into memes, and shared them everywhere with the caption "Director unemployed and forced to return to his old profession";

Some people seriously analyzed whether actor Chen Mo and director Chen Mo are the same person in terms of their professional roles;

Someone even photoshopped a certificate for "Best Money-Giving Child," saying they'd melt down the trophy to make a gold bracelet.
These imaginative actions have only fueled the growing popularity of the topic.

Okay, so do netizens really care whether Chen Mo will make a comeback? No, not at all!

They're just people having fun, like kids who've discovered a new toy, treating this topic like a huge online party—some are reminiscing about the good old days of getting freebies, some just want to join in the fun, and others are waiting to see what new jokes will come up.

After all, in this age of entertainment to the death, opportunities to have so much fun together are rare.

So, a comeback or anything like that is completely unimportant. What matters is that this sudden online frenzy has given everyone a new source of joy. It's like setting off firecrackers during the Lunar New Year—who cares what's left after the explosions? The crackling and noise for a while is enough; everyone's happy!

Sometimes, certain topics become popular for no apparent reason.

Of course, the reason why this topic has become so popular is not hard to explain.

As the hashtag #HowToMakeChenMoReturnToThePlate# went viral, major media outlets and marketing accounts jumped in, launching a nationwide debate about the "possibility of Chen Mo" from the perspectives of business logic, personal motivation, and industry needs.

A financial blogger analyzes this from a business perspective.

"Thank you for the invitation. Today, I will analyze from a business perspective how likely Chen Mo is to make a comeback."

Chen Mo's retirement from the entertainment industry is essentially the end of a phase in the development of "welfare economics".

Chen Mo's total spending on marketing and promotion over the years has exceeded 300 billion yuan, but through film box office revenue, merchandise sales, and brand value enhancement (such as the surge in traffic for merchants cooperating with the 814 Welfare Festival), the actual return on investment far exceeds that of traditional marketing and promotion models.

In particular, the 814 Welfare Festival can be considered the largest welfare economics project, and it has been successfully operating for many years.

If Chen Mo's future business investments (such as new energy vehicles or live streaming platforms) require similar "welfare marketing" to generate buzz, it cannot be ruled out that he may make a disguised comeback under the guise of a "cross-industry consultant".

The possibility of him becoming a director, or a director-turned-actor, making a comeback is almost zero. Chen Mo has already achieved financial freedom, and his achievements in film make him the number one figure in the Chinese film industry. It can be said that his only remaining pursuit is to surpass the box office of "Ne Zha 2," but that is obviously unlikely. What remains is the pursuit of awards, like Leonardo DiCaprio in Hollywood chasing the Oscars. However, given Chen Mo's past attitude towards awards, this is unlikely.

As for transitioning to acting, the possibility is even smaller. As we all know, usually, it is only those who excel in acting who become directors, and there has never been a case of someone who excels in directing becoming an actor.

Because directors naturally have a higher social status and identity than actors (of course, this refers to successful directors)!
In summary, Chen Mo's comeback is possible, but it will definitely not be in the entertainment industry.

Moreover, it's unrealistic to expect a comeback in the short term, because his retirement from the entertainment industry is public and well-known. Therefore, a quick return could easily lead to a collapse in his reputation and backlash.

Moreover, the free economics needs time to cool down before the industry and the public understand the scarcity of Chen Mo's free economics! The self-media account "Film Industry Observation" also joined the analysis.

The difference is that this self-media account analyzes "Industry vacuum: Who can fill the ecological niche of the 'spendthrift'?"

"After Chen Mo announced his retirement from the entertainment industry, what disappointed netizens and movie fans the most was not that they would never see his new works again, but that they could no longer get any money from Chen Mo."

It is evident that Chen Mo's "spendthrift" image in the Chinese entertainment industry has transcended his primary profession as a director.

Chen Mo has been dubbed a marketing master and a publicity genius, and the facts have proven that he truly deserves these titles.

He is also the best at playing the game of free economics and welfare economics in the entire Chinese entertainment industry, without exception.

Therefore, Chen Mo's retirement from the film industry is less about the loss of a great director in Chinese cinema, and more about exposing a "marketing gap" in the Chinese film industry.

Let's take a look at the directors in the Chinese entertainment industry, the fifth generation of directors, the representative figures, Chen Shiren, Zhang Yimou, Feng Dagang, etc. They are extremely good at, or even irreplaceable, color, camera work, macro scenes, and artistic expression.

However, looking at their works in recent years, it is difficult for them to reach the heights of the past, and they have even become somewhat outdated.

The sixth generation of directors are known as "banned film" directors.

They are regulars at the three major European film festivals, but that's about it.

Meanwhile, the new generation of directors has become obsessed with traffic data or is remotely controlled by capital, and no one can replicate Chen Mo's win-win model of "earning box office, reputation and public support".

In this way, he becomes even more irreplaceable.

His marketing skills are almost universally acknowledged, not only in his own films but also in all aspects.

Anything produced by Chen Mo is guaranteed to be of high quality, not only his film and television works, but also his marketing strategies.

Many film and television company bosses are practically ready to openly declare, "As long as Chen Mo is listed as the producer, he can spend whatever he wants on the publicity and distribution budget!"

While their competitors only learned to spend money on advertising platforms, Chen Mo always went straight to the point and spent money on the general public!
Therefore, I agree with the financial blogger's analysis. Chen Mo is unlikely to make a comeback in the short term, but there is still a possibility of him returning to the entertainment industry in the long term, though not as a director or actor. Perhaps one day you'll find a movie with Chen Mo as the producer, and then the pervasive promotional marketing will reappear!

These people spoke with great conviction and conviction.

Soon, sharp-eyed people in the film industry noticed.

Wang, the founder of Enlight Media, took the lead, unusually using the official verified account to declare: "As long as @ChenMo is willing to be credited as producer, there is no upper limit to the publicity and distribution budget! Box office revenue sharing is negotiable!"

This Weibo post quickly became a trending topic, and the comment section became lively.

"Wake up, Lao Wang! The box office of Chen Mo's last movie before retiring from the industry is enough to feed your company for three years!"

"I suggest changing the company name directly to 'Guangxian·Chen Mo Branch,' it would seem more sincere (doge)."

Translation: What is the ATM restart password?

Seeing this, other film companies immediately started "traffic-grabbing" mode—the official Weibo account of a certain urban romance film that had just finished filming quickly photoshopped the poster, changing the producer's name to Chen Mo, with the caption: "The producer's chair has been wiped clean, @ChenMo, if you sit here, will the box office add another zero?"

The film's director also appeared and directly tagged Chen Mo: "Or can I be a bag carrier?"

A film that had been shelved for two years went even further, releasing unedited footage with the tagline: "Sincerely inviting Director Chen to provide remote guidance!"

Even a period drama currently in production is jumping on the bandwagon, with its producer posting a blank contract: "As long as Director Chen is willing to be the art director, we'll immediately reshoot the ending! You can even play the male lead (since we already have a script with seven wives)."

The most outrageous one was a variety show director who posted a blank checkbook: "Director Chen is coming as a guest star. You set the prize money for each episode's raffle. We just ask that you add a small line next to it: 'This segment is sponsored by the Chen Mo Money-Giving Foundation'!"

Just trying to gain attention, why bother with any shame?
For people like them, this really isn't a big deal.

See, even though we know Chen Mo is unlikely to respond, this thing is still incredibly popular!
Mentioning Chen Mo in a Weibo post can increase the number of followers by at least hundreds of thousands or even millions, and the key point is that it's all free.

As a result, the entire Chinese entertainment industry, and even various other sectors, went crazy and started tagging Chen Mo!

The name "Chen Mo" has become a label that automatically generates buzz.

According to incomplete statistics, "@陈默" was directly quoted more than 10,000 times in just a few days!
These 10,000 views were not created by netizens, but by companies or managers from various industries.

Anyway, @陈默 doesn't have to pay anything, so he's practically a freebie!

Soon, the hashtag #DidYou@ChenMoToday# trended on Weibo, and the comments section instantly turned into a joke-telling session:
"It is suggested that WeChat add a '@ChenMo' emoji pack, which can automatically increase followers when posted on Moments."

"Now, resumes for job applications have to include 'proficient in Chen Mo's traffic-grabbing techniques'."

"I just saw a banner hanging at the pancake stall downstairs: 'Chen Mo's retirement from the entertainment industry: Heartbreaking pancakes, free egg included.'"

Chen Mo was both amused and exasperated when he saw this; he could only say that these people were utterly shameless.

However, he really had no way to deal with it, including a certain brand that tagged Chen Mo, even though they had absolutely no connection.

But netizens just love to join in the fun!

Some silly netizens have even been keeping track of who has tagged Chen Mo these past few days, and then rushing to the comments section to watch the drama unfold!
Suddenly, a brand new term was born: "@ChenMoPropagandaStudy"

Even academia is getting involved, with a marketing professor even offering a course titled "@Chen Mo's Three Laws of Publicity":
If you're going to try and extort money from someone, do it quickly—before they delete their Weibo account!
Get creative—Photoshop Chen Mo and your own products to create an interstellar travel feel!

Be thick-skinned—if netizens accuse you of "riding the coattails" of something trending, just reply "Thank you for the compliment."

What could Chen Mo do? Even the legal department got involved. Ouyang Jing, suppressing a laugh, told Chen Mo, "Mr. Chen, regarding @ChenMo, legally speaking, there's currently no grounds for a lawsuit."

What can Chen Mo do?
He was helpless too, wasn't he?
Netizens summarized it as: "Before, it was 'retweet this lucky koi,' now it's '@this Chen Mo.' The difference is that the lucky koi doesn't curse, but Chen Mo probably wants to come down the internet and beat someone up now!" (End of Chapter)