Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

The year-end holiday season has always been a battleground for big-name directors and blockbuster films.

Throughout the year, this is the time when ordinary people spend money without feeling the pinch. They buy movie tickets and popcorn without hesitation, and can even treat themselves to a nice meal after the movie.

When Su Yu was driving for Didi in his previous life, every December, the most common passengers he picked up were young couples returning home from watching movies. They would chatter away in the back seat, discussing the plot, and he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Han Sanping gave out three invitations to the premiere of "The Promise". When Su Yu received them, he flipped through them. They were made of hard cardboard with gold lettering and felt very high-quality to the touch.

Wang Boxue leaned over for a look, his eyes lighting up: "The Promise? Chen Kaige's movie?"

"Yes, it was given to me by President Han."

"Wow, these tickets are being resold for over a thousand yuan outside." Wang Boxue examined the invitation letter from all angles, as if verifying its authenticity. "What do you say, should we go or not?"

Su Yu snatched the invitation from his hand and tucked it into his book. "Go. Why not? It's a waste not to see it."

Lu Yang sat at the table, flipping through a film magazine, without even looking up: "Even if you go, you'll just sit in a corner. Who would even know who you are?"

Su Yu put on his cotton-padded coat, zipped it up to his chest, and patted the invitation in his pocket. "Whether I know them or not doesn't matter; the important thing is that I can see the beauties on the red carpet, so this ticket is worth it."

Wang Boxue glanced at him: "Didn't you say you weren't interested in celebrities?"

"I meant I'm not interested in male celebrities, female celebrities are a different story."

......

On December 12th, the wind blew in Beijing all day, but stopped in the afternoon.

As Su Yu stepped into the auditorium, a wave of warmth washed over him, and he unzipped his cotton-padded coat.

Quite a few people had already arrived in the hall, chatting in small groups.

Su Yu glanced over and saw Feng Xiaogang wearing a black jacket, with Jiang Wen beside him, gesturing wildly as they spoke. Chen Daoming stood on the other side, exuding a cold and aloof air.

Su Yu also saw Gu Changwei, and Gu Changwei saw him too, waving.

Su Yu walked over with a smile, bowed slightly, and said, "Teacher Gu."

Gu Changwei patted him on the shoulder and led him to Feng Xiaogang: "Xiaogang, this is Su Yu, a student at the Beijing Film Academy. He won the Golden Bear for Short Film at Berlin this year and just finished making a feature film."

Feng Xiaogang looked Su Yu up and down, grinned, and shook hands with him.

"Twenty years old?" Feng Xiaogang asked.

"Hello, Director Feng, yes."

"Making a feature film at twenty? I was still doing odd jobs when I was twenty." Feng Xiaogang's tone was nonchalant, a slight smile playing on his lips. "What kind of film was it?"

"A youth film," Su Yu said with a smile.

Feng Xiaogang nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Jiang Wen leaned over from the side, glanced at Su Yu, and said, "Youth films are easy to make, but making them well is difficult. Don't turn it into a music video."

Su Yu smiled and said, "Thank you, Teacher Jiang. I'll remember that."

Chen Daoming stood to the side, remaining silent throughout, only nodding slightly. Su Yu smiled and addressed him as "Teacher Chen," without saying anything more.

After exchanging pleasantries, Su Yu's back was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

It wasn't the heat, it was the tension. He had seen these people countless times on television in his past life, and now they were standing alive in front of him, shaking his hand and talking to him.

.....

Suddenly, a loud noise came from outside.

It wasn't just any ordinary sound; it was a scream that could lift the roof off. People in the auditorium began to leave, and Su Yu followed the crowd out the door, standing on the steps and looking down.

On one side of the square stands a huge gate, the "Gate of Infinity".

A host stood at the door, dressed in a suit and holding a microphone.

Nearly a hundred white-robed warriors, armed with spears and clad in silver helmets and armor, charged out from both sides, roaring as they rushed to the side of the "Gate of Limitless" and formed ranks.

The red-robed warriors rushed to the other side and formed ranks. The two groups of warriors stood facing each other, their swords and spears bristling, like two armies locked in battle.

"Holy crap." Wang Boxue, standing next to Su Yu, nearly dropped his jaw. "Is this a premiere or the opening ceremony of the Olympics?"

Su Yu didn't speak, his eyes fixed on the head of the red carpet.

A black sedan was parked there, and the door was open.

Chen Kaige came out first, wearing a black suit, a white shirt, and his hair was neatly combed.

He didn't leave immediately after coming out; instead, he turned around and extended his hand. Chen Hong got out of the car, wearing a long red dress, her hair up, and a sparkling necklace. She took Chen Kaige's arm, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

Chen Kaige made a "V" sign with both hands, like a child who had just won an award, and then took Chen Hong's hand and walked onto the red carpet.

The white-robed and red-robed warriors on either side simultaneously raised their weapons, crossing them above the red carpet to form an archway.

Chen Kaige and Chen Hong walked under the weapon archway as fireworks exploded overhead, illuminating half the sky with red, green, and purple hues.

"The Promise loves you all!" Chen Kaige waved to the crowd, his voice booming, "We love audiences all over the world! Support the development of our film industry!"

Chen Hong stood beside him, smiling elegantly, waving to the crowd.

Wang Boxue swallowed hard, his voice low: "Old Su, Director Chen's actions are a bit... something, aren't they?"

Su Yu's lips twitched, and he lowered his voice, saying, "We'll talk about it when we get back."

Cecilia Cheung was the third to walk the red carpet, wearing a black velvet low-cut evening gown, her hair loose over her shoulders, and her lips painted bright red.

She walked with a seductive gait, with Nicholas Tse following behind, dressed in a black suit and sunglasses, his face expressionless, like someone coming to collect a debt.

Liu Ye, Jang Dong-gun, and Hiroyuki Sanada walked the red carpet in turn, amidst screams from fans.

Su Yu stood on the steps, watching this scene, with only one thought in his mind: How much did this extravagance cost?

The seven main cast members took their seats, each with a sign behind them bearing a word. Chen Kaige's sign read "Infatuation," Chen Hong's read "Betrayal," Liu Ye and Cecilia Cheung's read "Freedom" and "Love," while Nicholas Tse, Jang Dong-gun, and Hiroyuki Sanada's signs read "Desire," "Promise," and "Fate," respectively.

The host, Wang Han, stood on the stage, holding a microphone, and asked the main creators to explain the meaning of these words.

.......

The movie officially started at 7:30.

The lights dimmed, and the screen lit up. The first line of dialogue floated out: "When we humans were young, we lived with the gods..."

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, staring at the screen.

Then comes Cecilia Cheung's line: "Does anyone want to see what I'm wearing under my cloak?"

On the screen, Cecilia Cheung stands on a city tower, her cloak billowing in the wind.

Wang Boxue whispered from the side, "It is very beautiful."

Su Yu didn't say anything.

Then came another question: "Does anyone else want to see what I'm wearing under that dress?"

Wang Boxue's breathing quickened for a beat, and Su Yu nudged him with his elbow, causing Wang Boxue to immediately sit up straight.

The movie lasted for more than an hour, and Su Yu got a general idea of ​​what it was like.

The visuals were beautiful, the colors vibrant, and the special effects dazzling. But the story... he tried to piece it together, but couldn't quite make sense of it.

Wang Boxue leaned closer, his voice extremely low: "Su Yu, did you understand?"

Su Yu stared at the screen, his lips twitching slightly: "You understood it?"

"I'm telling the truth, don't laugh at me."

"you say."

Wang Boxue hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice by half an octave: "I really didn't understand it. It used a lot of techniques, but I didn't get the story right. It inserted a lot of abstract elements, like fate and freedom, which just floated in mid-air and couldn't come down."

Su Yu didn't speak, but Lu Yang leaned over from the other side and whispered, "Shh... don't say anything, me too."

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, watching the figures flying around on the screen, and thought to himself: Let's wait ten years.

......

The grand premiere of "The Promise" dominated the front page of all newspapers the following day.

The sheer scale and grandeur of the cast and crew rivaled that of the classic film "Hero" from back in the day.

Su Yu was flipping through the newspaper in his dormitory when he saw the headline in the entertainment section: "The Promise premieres with a hundred warriors in formation and fireworks illuminating the capital."

A day later, the buzz surrounding "The Promise" grew even stronger, not because of domestic reports, but because news came from the United States that "The Promise" had been nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The moment this nomination was announced, the industry's confidence in "The Promise" was boosted dramatically.

Wang Boxue held the newspaper and read aloud: "The Promise is expected to compete for an Oscar, marking another glorious chapter for Chinese cinema..."

He put down the newspaper, glanced at Su Yu, and asked, "Do you think you can win an award?"

Su Yu was eating an apple. After chewing a couple of times, he mumbled, "A nomination is an affirmation; whether I win or not is another matter."

"What you said is as good as nothing at all."

"To be honest, I think it's unlikely."

A few days later, the wind direction changed.

That day, Su Yu was browsing the news in his dormitory when he saw a headline: "The Promise is criticized by viewers: It's incomprehensible and too unrealistic."

He clicked in to take a look, and the comments section had already exploded.

Some said, "The visuals are beautiful, but the story is terrible," others said, "Did Chen Kaige use up all his talent when making 'Farewell My Concubine'?", and still others directly cursed, "They spent 300 million yuan and this is what they made?"

Traditional print media have been relatively restrained, but things have spiraled out of control online. Online forums, blogs, and discussion boards are filled with posts criticizing "The Promise."

Some people said Cecilia Cheung's lines were too awkward, some said Nicholas Tse's look was like a peacock whose tail had been stepped on, and some even brought up Chen Kaige's line about being infatuated with Chen Hong to mock him, saying, "Being infatuated with Chen Hong is fine, but the movies you make can't just be about your own infatuation."

Deleting posts can't keep up with the speed of posting; you delete one post here, and three more pop up there.

As Su Yu scrolled through these posts, memories of his past life came flooding back.

He knew how badly "The Promise" would be criticized later. "A bloodbath caused by a steamed bun"—Hu Ge's parody video went viral online, and Chen Kaige was so angry that he wanted to sue him.

The video hasn't even been released yet, but the criticism has already started.

(Please vote for me, handsome guys and beautiful girls!)