I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 389 The Last Flame!

"Everyone!"

"Dear friends, media colleagues, and all my viewers who have supported me."

Zhou Yang silently put down the microphone and bowed slightly to everyone in front of the stage.

this moment!
Sunlight streamed through the roof of Feihe Cinema, bathing him in its glow.

He remained seated for a long time, silently bowing towards the distance...

It was like a farewell before the curtain fell.

A few dozen seconds later, as he stood up, his eyes were slightly red, and he looked at everyone with a hint of emotion in his eyes.

At that moment, as if realizing something, a sudden commotion erupted from the audience, surging like a tide, only to subside the instant he raised his hand.

"This is the last time I will stand here as the chairman of [Xuan Shi Entertainment]." His voice was soft, but it made the reporters in the front row, who were holding recorders, lean forward in unison, frantically trying to record this historic moment: "Three years ago, on the night I jumped into the river, I swore to the neon lights of Yanjing that I would tear a ray of light through them, and now that light is so bright that I don't need to hold it up anymore."

Suddenly, the big screen played behind-the-scenes footage of the wrap party for "Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2". In the footage, Zhou Yang, who was in his early twenties, was squatting in a simple shed with the crew, sharing a bucket of instant noodles.

As the camera panned across the audience, Su Muqing suddenly covered her mouth and burst into tears. The "Zhou Yang, Fighting!" banner in her hand trembled slightly involuntarily.

"Everyone has already begun to grow up slowly..."

Under the lens.

The directors looked somewhat dazed, shocked, uneasy, and nervous. They seemed to have never expected that Mr. Zhou would suddenly say such a thing today!
"..."

"Effective immediately, I will resign from all management positions at [Xuan Shi Entertainment]..."

When he said, "I am resigning from all management positions effective immediately," the air in the entire mall atrium seemed to freeze.

The media personnel who were broadcasting live from the fire escape suddenly turned their cameras towards the audience!

In the audience, everyone was shocked!
Feeling lost...

In a daze...

Someone instinctively stood up.

Someone suddenly broke down in tears, desperately shouting, "No!"

Some people fell into a long silence...

"Don't make that face, comrades."

"I'm just resigning..."

"It's not like I'm retiring..."

"It's just a different way of continuing to live..."

"Some people say I pulled Chinese cinema out of the ICU." He suddenly laughed: "But what truly saved it was never the name Zhou Yang!"

"Instead, they are all figures striving..."

"Each one, a soul chasing its dreams, unwilling to give up, fighting desperately, and refusing to surrender..."

"Yes!"

"Now, you are all rays of light!"

"You illuminate yourselves and the world. May you, like the brilliance of [Xuan Shi Entertainment], illuminate every new, bewildered newcomer to the industry..."

"May the light of [Xuan Shi Entertainment] never be extinguished..."

"May 'Shaolin Soccer' be a hit!"

"May all of this be just the beginning of an era!"

"May more and more young people be able to pursue their dreams, find their own path, and climb higher and higher step by step, living up to their youth and their future..."

"May our Chinese films, and may our China, get better and better from this moment on!"

..............................

The sun shines brightly on the stage.

The noisy scene gradually quieted down, and under the spotlight, the not-so-tall figure was striking everyone's hearts with a clear and sincere voice, word by word.

His words were like sparks, igniting a flame in the hearts of countless people.

Liu Jiasheng stood in the crowd, his nose tingling and his eyes slightly red.

He stared intently at the stage, but his vision gradually blurred with tears.

Having been in this industry for many years, he never imagined that such words would strike him so deeply.

He saw Zhou Yang finish speaking, then turn away from everyone, step by step, and wave...

Then, silently walking slowly towards the direction where the sunlight was brightest, until her figure disappeared into the Feihe Cinema, a cinema chain that no one could see.

The moment Zhou Yang's figure disappeared at the entrance of the cinema, a deafening roar of cries erupted from the crowd.

Fans shoved and pushed against the security guards, some knelt down and cried, pounding their chests, while others held up signs that read "Zhou Yang, don't go!" and shouted themselves hoarse.

Media reporters chased after it, cameras in hand, their flashes turning the glass curtain wall a stark white.

Su Muqing slumped in the crowd, clutching a flag soaked with tears, while directors Shen Long and others, their eyes red, rushed toward the side entrance of the cinema, only to be stopped by staff.

The entire square echoed with shouts of "Come back!", "Zhou Yang, come back!", "Come back!", as if it were a grand farewell that caught everyone off guard.

……

"Come back!"

"No! Why did you leave? Why can't you come back..."

"I knew it...he was right!"

"I knew it, my idol was right, he deserves it..."

"He deserves my admiration for a lifetime..."

"When...when will he come back...?"

"Do you know?" "..."

Liu Jiasheng closed his eyes.

His pregnant wife, who was seated alone in a VIP seat due to his work, was now sobbing uncontrollably, speaking in broken, intermittent chokes.

He opened his eyes, patted his wife's shoulder, and silently looked ahead...

But I don't know how to answer...

Because this time it was very sudden, so sudden that no one could have imagined it!

..............................

"He was an extreme idealist..."

Inside the Tianyu Entertainment office, Deng Baichuan stared at the live broadcast on the television screen.

In the shot, Zhou Yang stands in the sunlight, his voice calm yet resounding. The sight of countless directors bowing and shedding tears in the audience makes his chest feel heavy.

"He..." Deng Baichuan wanted to say something, but his lips twitched twice, and he ultimately couldn't say anything.

As an opponent, he disliked Zhou Yang intensely, even loathed people like him, and wished he could kill him. But, as a filmmaker…

He genuinely admired the young man. He recalled the "blockbusters" that Tianyu Media had been producing over the years, spending huge sums of money on top stars, buying IPs, and installing special effects, but all the audience remembered were the exaggerated acting and the empty plots.

Meanwhile, the "bad movie directors" that Zhou Yang supported with 8-yuan ticket prices have all stood up.

"President Deng..." The secretary carefully handed over a report, the schedule for the wrap party of "The Great Wall".

Deng Baichuan nodded, but looked to the side.

Xu Haibo, who was standing next to him, had a very complicated look in his eyes. He was filled with regret as he recalled the events of the past few years.

If they weren't on different sides, with completely different philosophies and operational approaches, perhaps this young man would be a good friend.

but……

"But he left the industry..."

"Yes, I'm leaving [Xuan Shi Entertainment]..."

"This time, the popularity of 'Shaolin Soccer' will probably be extraordinary. Even if 'Shaolin Soccer' is made badly, the box office will still break 200 million... What should we do?"

Xu Haibo stared at the data panel of [Fengqi Live] on the computer screen, his pupils slightly contracted, and he muttered to himself.

At this very moment, according to the latest data report, the number of viewers on [Fengqi Live] has exceeded ten million!

The comments below are absolutely overwhelming!

Despite feeling uneasy, I had to admit that this platform, which had only been online for a little over a month, had created a miracle in the history of live streaming during Zhou Yang's farewell speech, even surpassing the combined viewership of all satellite TV channels during the same period.

Meanwhile, all the other platforms under Zhou Yang's control experienced a surge in data, almost to the point of frenzy...

Seeing this, he silently tapped the table!

this moment!
he realized.

Behind this "tragic exit" lies a far more terrifying scheme...

As millions of viewers shed tears for Zhou Yang, the [Xuan Shi Xi] traffic empire had quietly completed its final link, completely establishing its throne in this era...

This is a super ecosystem empire that controls traffic entry points, content production, cinema terminals, and public opinion battlegrounds!
At this moment, his "departure" may seem like a retirement, but in reality, it elevates his personal symbol to an industry belief, allowing the [Xuanshi Group] to move from the "Zhouyang era" to a monopolistic era of "de-Zhouyangization"...

But at least he's gone, isn't he?

Deng Baichuan stood by the window, watching Zhou Yang's departing figure on the live broadcast screen. Instead of feeling relieved, his chest felt like it was weighed down by a huge rock.

He sighed deeply, speechless at Xu Haibo's words; his mind was eerily blank.

This seemingly powerful rival has seemingly withdrawn, yet the entire [Xuan Shi series] has been crowned in a tragic way.

The comments section was filled with cries of "Waiting for you to come back," the number of viewers in the live stream surged, and the expressions on the directors' faces as they bowed in unison...

Every scene silently proclaims that Zhou Yang's "departure" this time is not a defeat, but a transformation of his personal symbol into an industry belief...

Maybe!

The real war may have only just begun!
Just at this time……

His phone rings.

He received a message.

The 07 Spring Festival film season...

[XuanShi Entertainment] has two movies that are about to be released.

One is Shen Long's "Black Robe Alliance 3", and the other is Che Xiao's "Martial Soul 4"...

Deng Baichuan took a deep breath, his eyes dark and resolute: "Let's give them face with these two months of movies, let them have their moment of glory... But during the Spring Festival season, Zhou Yang is gone, if our 'The Great Wall' loses again..."

He stared at Xu Haibo and said, word by word, "Mr. Xu, we absolutely cannot allow any more accidents to happen this time!"

“I understand!” Xu Haibo nodded, his expression very serious.

His gaze was fixed ahead.

Directed by Li Zhengtao, China's No. 1 director!

The top special effects teams from Hollywood and China...

A stunning collaboration!

Named after the Great Wall, a totem of Chinese civilization...

Without Zhou Yang, that troublemaker, getting involved...

Everything!
It's impossible!

Something went wrong, didn't it?

(End of this chapter)