Huayu: A master director who debuted as a singer

Chapter 115 The Pitiful Fan Binbin

Leslie Cheung carefully folded the order form with the lyrics to "I" written on it and put it into his suit pocket.

"Ah Hui, thank you so much for tonight. I'll finish this song as soon as possible, and you'll be the first one I play for you."

"I'll wait, brother." Zheng Hui nodded with a smile.

After exchanging contact information with everyone, Leslie Cheung said goodbye and got into the car his driver had come to pick him up. He wanted to go home and rest early so he could start working on the song the next day and make it perfect.

After Leslie Cheung left, only Zheng Hui, Richie Jen, and Cecilia Cheung remained in the private room.

Richie Jen added a few more slices of beef to the pot, still savoring the impact of the song he had just heard: "Ah Hui, what is your brain made of? Seriously, I'm getting more and more curious."

"My brother's melody was so ethereal, so personal, and you actually managed to write the lyrics in such a short time, and he was so satisfied with it. It's like it touched his heart. You're amazing."

Zheng Hui simply smiled and offered no explanation.

After eating for a while longer, Richie Jen finally filled his stomach, which had been neglected by the crew's boxed meals for so long. Zheng Hui waved to the boss to pay the bill.

Stepping out of the hot pot restaurant, the cool night breeze on my face dispelled the last vestiges of the alcohol.

Zheng Donghan's car was still waiting at the same spot.

Zheng Hui instructed the driver, "Sir, please take Miss Zhang home first."

"Alright, Mr. Zheng."

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Cecilia Cheung was about to open the car door next to Zheng Hui when she heard this and paused. She looked up at Zheng Hui, a flash of disappointment in her eyes.

But she concealed it well, simply nodding obediently and saying, "Well then, Brother Hui, Brother Xiao Qi, I'll be going now. Thank you for your hospitality today, I had a lot of fun."

"Take care on the road." Zheng Hui smiled and waved.

"Cecilia, you should go back and rest. You have to work tomorrow!" Richie Jen waved his hand.

Cecilia Cheung got into the car, rolled down the window, and said goodbye to the two men again.

The car was dimly lit, casting a shadow over her face. She stared silently at the street scene rushing past the window, lost in thought.

After seeing Cecilia Cheung off, only Zheng Hui and Richie Jen remained at the alley entrance.

"Ah Hui," Richie Jen nudged Zheng Hui with his elbow, winking and grinning, "You've got a lot of ladies' hands, haven't you!"

"What's going on?" Zheng Hui wasn't keen on getting into this topic.

"Still pretending? I won't even mention the girl who waited for you for so long outside CCTV in Beijing last time."

This one is even more impressive.

Tonight at the hot pot restaurant, she looked at me, the nominal male lead, like I was a telephone pole—not a shred of affection.

Richie Jen's tone became even more teasing: "But the way she looked at you, tsk tsk tsk, it was so watery, it was almost dripping with water."

"You let her go first just now, and the look on her face was like a little girl whose candy someone stole, so wronged. Tell me, what have you been doing behind my back?"

'

'

Zheng Hui sighed helplessly. What could he say?

"Brother Qi, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. This is the first time I've met her. At the celebration banquet, she came to me to ask for advice on singing techniques. I just gave her a few pointers, that's all."

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"Give me pointers?" Richie Jen chuckled.

Looking at Richie Jen's "I understand" expression, Zheng Hui felt completely overwhelmed.

He didn't want to, and couldn't be bothered to, explain. Getting involved with a woman like Cecilia Cheung was always a troublesome affair.

"Alright, stop teasing me."

"Let's go, I'll have the driver take you back to your hotel first. Don't you have concert rehearsals tomorrow? Get some rest."

Lin Dashan also arranged for the hotel to send a car to come and wait for them here.

"That's more like it." Richie Jen patted Zheng Hui on the shoulder with satisfaction.

The hotel driver first took Richie Jen back to his hotel. Before getting out of the car, Richie Jen and Zheng Hui made a promise that Richie Jen would definitely be his guest performer at the Hong Kong Coliseum in September.

After seeing Richie Jen off, Zheng Hui returned to the Peninsula Hotel.

After taking a shower, Zheng Hui started planning his next steps.

Things in Hong Kong are pretty much settled. The publicity and distribution for "Half a Lifetime" is on track, and the rest can be handled by Universal's marketing department. Next, it's time to head back to the mainland.

I'll visit Fan Binbin on set in Hengdian, meet up with Gao Yuanyuan in Beijing, and also take a look at some houses while I'm at it.

There's still a lot to do.

The first thing Zheng Hui did after waking up the next morning was to call Fan Binbin.

He planned to ask her the specific address of the film crew and what would be the most convenient way to get to Hengdian, whether to fly to Hangzhou or Shanghai.

When the call connected, Fan Binbin's voice sounded surprised and excited.

"Zheng Hui? Are you done with your work?"

"Well, things are fine in Hong Kong for now. I'm planning to go back to the mainland in the next couple of days. Where in Hengdian are you filming right now?"

Give me the address, I'll come visit the set.

Which part of Hengdian is closest? Should I fly to Shanghai or Hangzhou?

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Fan Binbin's somewhat puzzled voice.

"Hengdian? I'm not in Hengdian."

Zheng Hui was taken aback: "You're not in Hengdian? Then where are you? Wasn't 'Little Li Flying Dagger' filmed in Hengdian?"

"It was indeed filmed in Hengdian," Fan Binbin explained, "but I finished filming my scenes a long time ago. In order to speed up the schedule, the crew filmed all my scenes together first, and I finished filming at the end of last month."

"Filming's wrapped?" Zheng Hui was utterly astonished. "Such a big thing, why didn't you tell me?"

"I--"

Fan Binbin sounded somewhat aggrieved: "Brother Zongming told me that you were in seclusion in Hong Kong at that time working on your new album, which was a very important period and you couldn't be disturbed by anyone, so I didn't dare to call you."

Upon hearing this reason, Zheng Hui was unsure whether to be angry or amused.

His voice on the phone was full of helplessness: "Zongming told you not to bother me, but he probably didn't tell you to cut off all contact with me. No matter how busy I am, don't I have time to even exchange a few words with you?"

He finally understood why Fan Binbin had barely contacted him during his month-long seclusion. He had assumed the young woman was too tired from filming on set or had something else on her mind, but it turned out it was all because of Li Zongming's military order.

"I—I was afraid of bothering you," Fan Binbin explained softly.

"Alright, alright, this isn't your fault." Zheng Hui sighed. "So, where are you now?"

"I'm in Guangzhou." Fan Binbin's tone became light again. "Brother Zongming arranged a few magazine interviews for me here, so I'll be staying here for the time being."

"Guangzhou?" Zheng Hui calculated the time: "Okay, I'll go to Guangzhou this afternoon and contact you then."

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Hui sat on the sofa, but the image of Li Zongming kept appearing in his mind.

This former agent is indeed capable, but sometimes, being too professional can be both laughable and frustrating.

At this time, Zheng Hui was unaware that his professional agent had already begun managing public opinion for Fan Binbin more than a month earlier.

Let's rewind to the end of March.

While Fan Binbin was still working hard on his scenes in the "Little Li Flying Dagger" crew, Li Zongming had already begun his first step.

Unlike typical public relations professionals who immediately resort to pleading and playing the victim in mainstream media, he knew that doing so would be too deliberate and too likely to provoke resentment.

He chose a more discreet approach, one that better aligns with the natural progression of news.

He used his old connections in the southern media circle to find several small entertainment tabloids that made a living by digging up juicy gossip and sensational stories.

Instead of providing a press release directly, he subtly revealed a clue to the reporters of these tabloids through an intermediary—it seemed that the maid named Jin Suo from "Princess Pearl" had been sued by her employer, Qiong Yao's company.

"I heard the claim amount is quite high, over a million!"

This news was like a windfall for the tabloids that were struggling to find something to write about.

Qiong Yao dramas were all the rage, and "Princess Pearl" was a nationwide sensation; any little thing that happened during that time became news.

Moreover, this is a highly controversial and attention-grabbing incident involving a large company suing one of its minor actors for an exorbitant sum.

Within a few days, several inconspicuous entertainment tabloids in Guangzhou published this news in the most inconspicuous corner of their pages.

The headlines are sensational: "Jin Suo is being pursued by her employer for millions of dollars" and "Qiong Yao's company fires Jin Suo, Fan Binbin's future is uncertain."

These tabloids had a limited readership, and the initial wave of public opinion did not generate much buzz.

But this is exactly what Li Zongming wants.

Only after these tabloids fired the first shot did Li Zongming launch his second step in the plan.

He invited several old friends who held mid-level leadership positions in major national newspapers such as Southern Weekly and Xinmin Evening News to dinner.

At the dinner table, he never mentioned his relationship with Fan Binbin, but instead, as a media professional, talked about an interesting anecdote he had recently seen in the south.

"—Sigh, it's really a sad story. A young girl, who had just gained some fame after playing a maid, was sued for over a million yuan by her company. These days, talent agencies are too ruthless towards newcomers."

He casually tossed out those tabloid reports as mere gossip.

Those present immediately sensed the potential value hidden behind this news.

So, a few days later, these rumors, which had previously only circulated in newsstands on the streets of Guangzhou, were reprinted by the entertainment section of Southern Weekly and the social observation section of Xinmin Evening News.

This is a repost, not the original work.

This detail is crucial. It means that the major newspapers are merely citing and focusing on a social phenomenon, maintaining an objective and neutral stance.

Once these major national newspapers reprint and endorse the story, the nature of the news changes completely.

It escalated from a street gossip into a social event.

The snowball of public opinion has been officially started.

Throughout the first ten days of April, news of Qiong Yao's company suing Fan Binbin spread rapidly and intensified across the country.

Just as the public outcry reached its peak, and countless readers and viewers were curious about how the person involved would respond, Li Zongming seized the opportunity and played his long-prepared third card.

In mid-April, he arranged an exclusive interview for Fan Binbin. The interviewer was a female journalist he knew well, a writer with a delicate and sentimental style.

Li Zongming's instructions to Fan Binbin were very clear: no attacks, no insults, no showing off his intelligence; just be an honest person who is aggrieved, patient, but grateful.

In front of the camera, Fan Binbin wore light makeup, her eyes showing fatigue and confusion.

When asked about her lawsuit with Qiong Yao's company, she said, "First of all, no matter what, I want to sincerely thank Aunt Qiong Yao here for giving me the opportunity to star in 'Princess Pearl'."

Without Huan Zhu Ge Ge, nobody would know me. I'd probably be working as an extra now, earning a few dozen yuan a day.

These words were delivered with extreme humility, placing the speaker first in the position of someone who was grateful.

Later, under the reporter's prompting, she reluctantly began to talk about the contract.

She didn't say the contract was destructive; she simply described it in a soft, factual tone.

"I signed an eight-year contract, and the company stipulated that I had to film one of their productions every year. But after 'My Fair Princess,' the company never arranged any work for me again."

"According to the contract, the company did not provide accommodation on days when I was not working, so I had to rent an apartment in Beijing myself. At that time, I had no income, and my parents sent me money back home every month to cover my rent and living expenses."

"The contract's commission is thirty percent, which isn't actually that high. It's just that I haven't been able to get any work that pays well—"

She recounted the unequal terms in a submissive tone. She didn't accuse or complain, as if it were all perfectly reasonable.

And this lack of complaining is precisely the most skillful form of complaining. It will make everyone who hears these words feel indignant and angry on her behalf.

When reporters asked about the million-yuan termination fee, Fan Binbin's eyes reddened.

She lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly.

"We didn't have that much money. Aunt Qiong Yao was understanding and only asked for 200,000—which has already been given to the company as compensation. Our family is just an ordinary family with no savings. My parents took out all the money they had saved for retirement and asked all their relatives and friends for help, and we barely managed to scrape together enough—"

She looked up and forced a smile.

"However, it's all in the past. Now that the contract has been terminated, let bygones be bygones."

Right now, all I want to do is focus on filming, take on more work, try my best to pay back the money I owe my relatives and friends, and earn back the retirement money for my parents.

Once this interview was published, it immediately ignited the entire public opinion field.

A Shandong girl struggling alone in Beijing, harboring dreams; a tragic character ruthlessly exploited by capital, ultimately forced to lose everything to gain her freedom; and a filial and sensible daughter who gives everything for her parents.

Li Zongming successfully portrayed Fan Binbin as a perfect victim who could evoke the widest possible public sympathy.

Qiong Yao and her company were completely pushed to the opposite side of public opinion, becoming synonymous with being rich but heartless and exploiting newcomers.

But it's not over yet.

Before the buzz surrounding this interview had died down, Li Zongming used his connections in Beijing to get several more influential state media outlets to reprint the report.

And this time, it's not just a simple repost.

One of the more influential newspapers reprinted the article along with an editorial.

The editorial's criticism is no longer limited to Qiong Yao's company, but is directed at the chaos in the entire industry.

—Behind the exorbitant contract termination fees lies systemic exploitation of vulnerable performers in the entertainment industry!

The article provides an in-depth analysis of the current irregularities in China's entertainment brokerage market, especially the various unfair terms and conditions imposed on underage artists and newcomers. It also strongly calls on relevant departments to introduce relevant laws and regulations as soon as possible to promote industry standardization and protect the legitimate rights and interests of young practitioners.

With this, Li Zongming's entire plan completed its final closed loop.

He successfully elevated a celebrity's personal contract termination dispute to the level of a social issue and industry regulations.

Fan Binbin, in this media war he orchestrated, transformed from a supporting maid into a controversial figure with a tragic past and high social attention and sympathy.

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