The only sun in Huayu

Chapter 134 Chai Jing's Frustration (14)

"Good morning, Sister Jing!"

A young director pushed open the door and walked in, his face beaming with excitement.

"My whole family watched the last episode of 'Face to Face,' and it was a huge success! Your conversation with Director Shen, the pacing, the topics—it was absolutely brilliant!"

"Especially that last line, 'Are Chinese audiences even human beings?' It moved my mom to tears. She said she would only watch Chinese movies from now on!"

Chai Jing: "."

If you weren't a local, I'd make sure you knew why the flowers were red.

It was a compliment, so Chai Jing forced a smile at herself in the mirror, though her lips looked a little stiff: "Oh, really? Thank you."

After seeing the other person off, Chai Jing sat in the dressing room and looked at her slightly tired reflection in the mirror.

From time to time, the office area outside could be heard with the lively discussions of colleagues, all of whom were talking about the recent box office success of "The Eunuch" which broke 400 million yuan, as well as the previous episode of "Face to Face".

She was just filling in for someone; I should have known better than to do it.

Chai Jing suddenly felt sorry for herself.

"Jing, ah, Jing."

Another colleague, who was organizing the manuscript, came over and said with a hint of envy, "The station leaders praised him by name at the morning meeting, saying that this episode's topic was well-directed and reflected cultural confidence and national pride."

"The show is incredibly popular, and the rerun ratings are shockingly high. There's been a lot of positive feedback, which has even washed away the negative impact of 'The Sin.' Sister Jing, you've really made us proud!"

"It's all thanks to the team's hard work, and the editor also deserves credit."

What could Chai Jing say?
I could only give a vague reply.

She picked up the refreshing eye drops on the table, put in two drops, and the icy liquid made her blink, trying to wash away the frustration along with it.

The more sincere the "congratulations" and "success" were, the more she felt they were mocking her.

And is it really sincere?
Chai Jing would rather hear something like, "Those questions you asked were really close" or "Shen Shandeng almost missed," than something like this.

She seems to have become the most effective disseminator of Shen Shandeng's ideas.

Back at my workstation.

My phone screen lit up; it was a text message from a media colleague I didn't get along with.

"Master Chai, you're quite something! Last time at dinner you were complaining about how difficult Shen Shandeng was, and now you've given him a free, massive ad campaign that's dominated the internet?"

"The 'Three Immortalities' is a brilliant compliment; we couldn't come up with such a catchy slogan even if we racked our brains. Next time there's a good job like this, take me along, brother!"

Chai Jing: "."

She fought this battle terribly.

To be precise, they were utterly routed.

Instead of revealing and reflecting, the criticisms became the perfect foil for Shen Shandeng's grand narrative, highlighting his vision and confidence step by step.

As a result, after the program aired, several media professionals who were already at odds with her started to make sarcastic remarks.

Chai Jing initially tried to explain that it was the effect of editing, and that the on-site confrontation was far more intense than the broadcast content.

The results were, of course, not very good.

These media people are all selfish bastards.

Chai Jing really wanted to retort directly, "You make it up. If you could make it up, you would have been the editor-in-chief long ago."

But staring at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, typing and deleting, deleting and typing again.

In the end, I only replied with one sentence: "It's for the sake of the program, just for the effect." Right after I replied, a private number called.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the caller ID.

It was that big shot who had previously hinted that she should "create some trouble" for Shen Shandeng.

Chai Jing took a deep breath, answered the phone, and tried to make her voice sound calm: "Hello, Teacher Wang."

The voice on the other end of the phone was unreadable, but spoke more slowly than usual, with a hint of assessment: "Xiao Chai, I watched the program."

Chai Jing felt a pang of guilt, and she hated Shen Shandeng, that bastard, to death.

The dog completely shut down all her questions, leading to polarized opinions on the program.

It's either extremely righteous or extremely evil.

All her questions related to "The Sin" and pointing towards art cannot be broadcast.

The argument that "Qing is not as good as Ming, and Qing is worse than beauty" is even more shocking and outrageous, and it cannot be broadcast due to the great controversy.

After deleting all of these, what's left?
Aside from the habitual criticism, overall, Chai Jing actually became Shen Shandeng's straight man.

As soon as the show finished recording, Chai Jing was worried and greeted the other party first.

In retrospect, the results haven't been very good.

The big boss has come to demand an explanation.

But what crime did she commit?

Chai Jing was about to explain the editing and the situation on set, but the other party didn't give her the chance.

"Tsk." The person on the other end clicked their tongue first, then said, "I really didn't see that coming. I thought you, Chai Jing, were one of the few people who could stay clear-headed and dare to ask some real questions."

"So, didn't you change your tune a little too quickly? One thing after another, you've been praising him so perfectly. Is this an instruction from the station, or did Shen Shandeng give you some conditions you couldn't refuse?"

Chai Jing felt a rush of blood to her face and her throat go dry.

What she fears most is this kind of misunderstanding—not ridicule for being less skilled, but questioning and betraying her stance.

She clearly didn't!
“Teacher Wang, you’ve misunderstood!” Chai Jing explained.

Her voice unconsciously rose a few decibels, drawing the attention of her colleagues at the next workstation. She lowered her voice and said, "I really tried my best!"

"The scene was nothing like what was broadcast! Many pointed topics were cut! I was hearing many of his views for the first time, and I was refuting them on set, but..."

Chai Jing felt choked up and wronged!
If she really gives in to Shen Shandeng, then she'll accept it!
But she didn't. She had a strategy in mind: first, to give them a hard time, and then to imply that her approach would be straightforward.

Only demonstrate the true technical skills when the real questions are asked.

She really prepared a lot, and it wasn't like Shen Shandeng hiding his true intentions.
But why is it that the one who does the work always gets the wronged?
The person on the other end chuckled: "I understand you, but what's broadcast is that you're listening to him lecture like a student, and in the end, you're left speechless by his counter-questions."

"Let me ask you this: when he mentions his views that have been validated by reality, can't you refute them? When he puts forward those grand narratives, can't you interrupt him?"

Chai Jing had no way to express her suffering!
She tried, but Shen Shandeng would always start by bringing up a topic she couldn't follow up on, leaving her stunned.

Take the choice between Hollywood and European film festivals, for example, how does she choose?
Shen Shandeng says her confidence comes from her five-year plan. How would she put it?
Rebuttal? Can you even refute it?
However, the other party didn't give her a chance, coldly saying, "Xiao Chai, we're all sensible people. The results speak for themselves. Do you think I should believe what you're saying to me now? Or do you think I'm too old to be fooled?"

“That’s not what I meant.” Chai Jing felt a wave of helplessness.

She clearly fought a tough battle.

That injustice and anger, so difficult to explain, was stuck in my throat, I couldn't spit it out or swallow it down.

(End of this chapter)