I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Suddenly, Shengli Film and Television Company's sales department was inundated with calls and received countless invitations from television stations, all vying for the exclusive broadcasting rights to these three dramas.

Faced with such a grand occasion, Xing Aina remained calm and did not immediately agree to any of the offers. Instead, she assigned a dedicated person to handle the negotiations.

She knew that the more sought-after a resource was, the more patient she had to be. The longer she waited, the more eager the other party would be to acquire it, and the higher the price they would naturally offer.

Time flies, and it's already the end of August.

Just as major television stations were fiercely vying for the exclusive broadcasting rights to three dramas, a news item about Chen Kaige suddenly appeared at the top of the trending searches, instantly igniting the entire internet: [Chen Kaige's new film "Blue Is the Warmest Color" has been nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival!]

The moment this news broke, the entire entertainment industry was in an uproar.

Insiders had already heard about this movie – it was a script personally tailored for Chen Kaige by Cheng Sheng, filmed on Hong Kong Island, and featured a very impressive cast including Chef Xie and the Twins duo.

It is reported that this movie is quite explicit, and it sparked strong protests from Twins fans even during filming.

Fans were unwilling to see their idols filming explicit scenes, so they not only criticized the production team but also collectively denounced Twins' management company, Emperor Entertainment, in an attempt to force Twins to abandon the filming of the movie.

Unfortunately, the fans' opposition ultimately failed to change the outcome; the film was successfully completed, and the fans' efforts were completely in vain.

But now, with the news that the film has been shortlisted for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival, the online sentiment has instantly reversed.

Those fans who had previously protested vehemently changed their tune, praising Twins for their foresight in decisively accepting such a profound film with the potential to win international awards.

Countless fans flooded Twins' Weibo comment section, leaving congratulatory messages filled with pride and anticipation.

Chen Kaige, on the other hand, has been riding high lately. No matter who he meets, he has an undisguised smile on his face and looks radiant.

He knew in his heart that he had been waiting for this day for far too long—for so many years, he finally had the opportunity to compete for international awards again and prove his strength once more.

Being nominated for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival is no small feat: it has been nominated for three major awards: Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Film.

Of these, apart from the Best Actress award which has no direct connection to Chen Kaige, the Best Director and Best Film awards are both closely related to him.

For him, winning just one of these two awards would be enough to make him happy for years and completely reverse his recent career slump.

While Chen Kai was riding high on his success, Feng Dapao on the other side was grieving as if he had lost a loved one, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

What he couldn't stand the most in his life was that Chen Kaige was better than him and more successful than him.

Previously, although a small number of people thought he was inferior to Chen Kaige, the two were generally considered to be evenly matched. But now, if Chen Kaige were to win the Venice Film Festival award, he would be completely overshadowed and become the bottom of the three major directors in China, which was something he absolutely could not accept. What angered him even more was that he had run into Chen Kaige at a party not long ago.

That guy was openly and secretly showing off that his film had been shortlisted for the Venice Film Festival, and he also made veiled jokes about him, saying that he "makes commercial films all year round and has no artistic pursuits." This made Feng Xiaogang so angry that he almost lost his temper on the spot, but he had to hold back his anger because of the occasion.

Fuming with anger, Feng Dapao returned home and saw Xu Fan dressed up beautifully, about to leave. His anger instantly found an outlet, and he said irritably, "You dressed like that, planning to go out to see your lover?"

Xu Fan, who was in a good mood, had his spirits dampened by those words. His face instantly darkened, and he retorted angrily, "Old Feng, have you eaten shit? Your mouth stinks so much, are you hoping I'll cheat on you?"

"What did you say?" Feng Dapao was enraged by her retort, and suddenly raised his voice, his eyes filled with hostility.

"Hmph!" Xu Fan snorted coldly, meeting his gaze without fear: "You got a piece of your mind outside, but you didn't dare to vent it on anyone else, so you came back to take it out on me. Do you really think I have no temper?"

Feng Dapao's expression was so dark it looked like it was about to rain. He roared at Xu Fan, "What? You dare to talk back? Are you trying to rebel?!"

"Come on, hit me if you dare!" Xu Fan puffed out his chest, showing no fear whatsoever: "I've seen through you now, you're just a useless piece of trash. When you're wronged outside, all you do is come back and bully your own people. If you're so capable, go and fight back against Chen Kai!"

Xu Fan knew Feng Dapao all too well—this bastard had a bad temper and was prone to tantrums, but deep down he was a coward and would never dare to lay a hand on her.

After being confronted by Xu Fan, Feng Dapao deflated like a punctured balloon, his previous arrogance vanishing without a trace.

He really didn't dare to lay a hand on Xu Fan. The anger he was holding in had nowhere to go, making his chest feel tight and almost giving him a heart attack.

He took a few quick breaths, suppressing his anger, and softened his tone, with a hint of ingratiation: "It was my fault, I was confused, I shouldn't have said those crazy things and doubted you. It's just that Chen Kaige is such an infuriating bastard. It's just a nomination for the Venice Film Festival, why did he have to openly mock and ridicule me? It's truly hateful!"

Feng Dapao rambled on and on, but seeing that Xu Fan's expression was still bad and he didn't say anything, he quickly changed the subject and asked anxiously, "Old Xu, how's Cheng Sheng doing? When will he finally finish the script he wrote for me?"

Xu Fan, who was still angry, softened considerably upon hearing Cheng Sheng's name. He rolled his eyes and said, "Do you think writing a script is like buying groceries? You think you can just write it and have it done in a minute? It's only been a few days, how could he possibly have finished it?"

"Did you ask Cheng Sheng when he'll be able to finish writing it?" Feng Dapao pressed, his tone full of urgency—he desperately needed a high-quality script to make a blockbuster movie so he could overshadow Chen Kaige.

"I've arranged to go shopping with Chen Hong today," Xu Fan said. "I'll have Chen Hong ask Cheng Sheng to see how things are going on his end."

"Okay, okay, then hurry up and go. Remember to ask Chen Hong to urge them on for me!" Feng Dapao said hurriedly, a hint of anticipation on his face.

Xu Fan rolled his eyes at him and said coldly, "I know, I'm leaving now. You stay home and wait for news. Don't throw any more tantrums."

After saying that, she picked up her bag and left without looking back. (End of Chapter)