The only sun in Huayu

On the Gobi Desert.

The filming of "No Man's Land" proceeded smoothly.

Meanwhile, the public opinion field in the inland areas, thousands of miles away, instantly boiled over.

The powerful article "The Power of Rules is a Greater Good," which was commissioned by Ma Youde and exuded the rich fragrance of the "Yilin style," stirred up quite a ripple.

The article goes to great lengths to be "objective" and "rational," using a tone full of "respect" to depict how Japanese society "upheld the rules," how the expert committee "made independent judgments," and how companies "courageously took responsibility" after the Morinaga arsenic milk scandal.

The entire text is filled with praise for the book's "sense of rules" and "spirit of contract".

Finally, it doesn't forget to reiterate the main point, reflecting on our country and urging us to learn from this "advanced civilization" that transcends simple right and wrong and pursues a greater good based on rules.

Upon the publication of this article, many media outlets and public figures who were accustomed to the path of "Japanophile" reacted like cats smelling fish.

They subconsciously followed suit and forwarded the message, promoting this "sober" voice.

It's perfect timing to celebrate since something bad happened in your country.

This naturally excludes Song Ci and Zhang Mingyuan, who had just suffered a setback at Shen Shandeng's hands.

Song Ci held the notebook and read the article three times, her brows furrowing into a deep frown.

He actually agreed a little, thinking it was indeed a "high-level" way of thinking, but Shen Shandeng's article had really messed him up last time.

When I see articles that seem to praise something but actually follow a similar path, I get really suspicious.

After much hesitation, he finally sighed, put down the newspaper, and decided to refrain from commenting for the time being.

Zhang Mingyuan saw the repost on his computer and slammed his fist on the table in anger once again.

"Idiots! A bunch of idiots! This is a fucking smear! Can't you see that?"

He pointed at the article on the screen and roared at the editors in the office: "Morinaga is a poisonous milk! More than a hundred people died! They only paid a few hundred dollars in compensation! Is this what you call rules? This is cannibalism! If you just follow along, aren't you just offering your faces to be slapped?"

"This is a diversionary tactic! What does our business have to do with foreign countries?"

The people below looked at each other in bewilderment.

Someone muttered quietly, "Editor-in-chief, this article seems quite objective; it's just praising their handling mechanism."

"Objective my ass!" Zhang Mingyuan almost fainted.

He was frantic, but unfortunately, there were always a few in his industry who couldn't change their ways and still had a taste for it.

Feeling they had found kindred spirits, they wrote articles in response, discussing the merits of the rules.

The public opinion field split slightly; those who understood the situation found it amusing, while those who were confused echoed it.

This completely shattered the melamine controversy that was being directed at Shen Shandeng.

Public opinion calmed down somewhat.

Meanwhile, Lu Chuan's long and arduous film, "Nanjing! Nanjing!", was finally completed.

It has entered a more difficult review stage.

Tan Hong, the CEO of Star Media, personally watched the movie in the dimly lit screening room.

For more than two hours, Tan Hong didn't say a word, but silently lit another cigarette.

His face was obscured by the swirling smoke.

"What does Mr. Tan think?" Lu Chuan asked, feeling uncertain and a mix of anticipation and unease.

He was extremely proud of his masterpiece, but he was also well aware of the sensitive nature of the subject matter.

Tan Hong exhaled a smoke ring and said slowly, "The film has power."

"Exactly, aren't there a lot of scenes featuring Japanese soldiers? And isn't the camera angle a bit off?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan's artistic temperament flared up, and she retorted, "This is all for artistic purposes! It's to showcase the complexity of war and the distortion of human nature! The growth arc of the character Kadokawa is the soul of the film!"

Tan Hong waved his hand, not wanting to argue about art with him, and changed the subject: "Did Director Shen give the final approval? Did he have any objections?"

Lu Chuan's tone was somewhat complicated, but she still said, "Director Shen is very supportive of me. He also gave some suggestions in the later stages, mainly on the technical aspects, but the core creative aspects were not changed."

Tan Hong was very surprised.

He originally thought that given Shen Shandeng's domineering and controlling nature, coupled with the previous rumors of disagreements between the two on set, their relationship might be as tense as that of Lu Chuan and Jiang Wen during "Looking for a Gun." However, he did not expect that Lu Chuan would keep such a tight-lipped statement.

He truly lives up to his reputation as a living Song Jiang in the industry. He revitalized the Third Master's blockbuster strategy, helped Yu Dong, who had suffered huge losses after "The Sun Also Rises," and recently even reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Huayi, whose IPO was stalled.
In truth, Lu Chuan wasn't entirely willing; her words were only half true.

Shen Shandeng's support came at a price; his omnipresent control and ultimate, implicit control over editing left Lu Chuan both dependent and resentful.

However, Shen Shandeng is now very powerful, so Lu Chuan will temporarily hold back before the release of "Nanjing".

A man can bend and stretch.

Tan Hong cautioned, "As we all know, 'Nanjing' is a 'key genre and key subject,' so it probably won't be easy for it to pass censorship."

The moment the topic of censorship came up, Lu Chuan's earlier bravado vanished by half.

The phrase "key types and key themes" felt like a mountain pressing down on us.

This means that his films are not like ordinary films that only need to pass one or two departments; they have to face the "review" of five or six departments in turn, and just thinking about that process makes one's scalp tingle.

Seeing his expression, Tan Hong tentatively suggested, "How about we put Shen Shandeng's name more prominently in the producer or art director positions? He's a box office gold standard now, having broken records twice, so the higher-ups have to give him some face. With him in charge, some standards might be loosened up a bit."

These words struck a nerve with Lu Chuan.

He immediately started hissing wildly, his fur standing on end, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"This is my movie! 'Nanjing! Nanjing!'! My movie, Lu Chuan's movie! What's the point of putting his name on it? Does he deserve all the credit?"

Tan Hong felt a bit helpless seeing his strong reaction; there were so many projects that wanted to be approved but couldn't.

"I was just saying, don't get agitated. Since you insist, let's submit it according to the procedure."

However, to the great surprise of Tan Hong and Lu Chuan, the approval process for "Nanjing! Nanjing!" went much more smoothly than they had imagined.

Perhaps because the project had already been going on for so long in the early stages, all the relevant departments were already very familiar with it and had a good grasp of its details.

The atmosphere at the review meeting was not as tense as expected.

Some leaders even sent text messages to Lu Chuan after watching the film, saying it was "unexpected" and "very profound".

One leader even specifically asked Lu Chuan about her considerations regarding the ending design where the protagonist Kadokawa's fate was changed from "suicide" to "picking up a camera and making a movie".

Seeing an opportunity to explain her artistic pursuits, Lu Chuan immediately perked up and spoke eloquently: "This is to enhance the film's artistic merit and universal value!"

"Kadokawa's awakening represents humanity's reflection on war. This concern that transcends national borders can further promote emotional exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese people, and has a positive significance for Sino-Japanese friendship!"

Lu Chuan also specifically mentioned that the Japanese staff during filming, including actor Nakaizumi Hideo, were "very grateful and cooperative" with this change, which proved his international perspective.

One leader immediately saw that this seemingly elevated change actually revealed the bestiality of the Japanese soldiers to the fullest extent—a pure, sophisticated form of satire.

But since no one explicitly pointed it out, he didn't say anything.

A few were genuinely moved by this rhetoric of "universal values," feeling that Lu Chuan was "advanced in thought" and "has a broad perspective," and that he had made a "cultural contribution" to Sino-Japanese friendship.

then.

Similar to the initial decision when "no one said it was okay, so it wasn't," this time it's "the project is already like this, and no one has explicitly said it's not okay, so it's okay."

Upon learning that the preliminary review had gone incredibly smoothly, Lu Chuan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling excited and confident that she had succeeded again.

"I really am a genius!"

"My art has conquered everyone!"

When Tan Hong heard the news, he was amazed and called Shen Shandeng.

Shen Shandeng, who had been filming for a month, looked travel-worn but was very happy to hear about the matter: "It's good that it went smoothly. If it didn't, Director Lu would probably blame me for the rest of his life."

"Thank you, brother." Tan Hong felt that there weren't many people in this circle as particular as Shen Shandeng.

Lu Chuan selectively forgot about Shen Shandeng's timely intervention during the filming process, and only felt that her persistence had paid off.

Tan Hong wasn't so heartless; he said gratefully, "Thank you, brother. I wanted to put your name on the list, but Chuan'er disagreed."

Shen Shandeng laughed heartily and said half-jokingly, "Never mind, it's all thanks to Director Lu's talent. It seems this film has really come at the right time."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Shandeng shook his head.

Things were going too smoothly, so after thinking about it, I sent Lu Chuan a congratulatory text message.

I wish him the best!

Lu Chuan, brimming with self-satisfaction, replied casually, "Gold will always shine!" (End of Chapter)