Huayu Entertainment: Starting with Exorcising Evil from a Film Queen

Clicking on the post, one can tell the girl's excitement from the haphazard writing.

The text is disjointed and the punctuation is used arbitrarily, yet it allows the reader to clearly feel the irrepressible joy through the screen.

"Before the last monthly exam, I ran into Zhang Ze downstairs at the Broadcasting Building, and he gave me a talisman! It was a Wenchang talisman! I thought it was so precious, and I carried it with me every day, even sleeping with it under my pillow! This time, the monthly exam results came out, and I... I actually went from over 300th in the grade to the top 100! My homeroom teacher even talked to me, asking if I had hired some amazing tutor!"

Below the post was a photo of a report card with the image blurred out, the bright red changes in rankings were extremely eye-catching.

"I swear I didn't cheat! I just felt exceptionally clear-headed during this exam. Many previously vague knowledge points suddenly came to mind when I started writing! This must be thanks to the Wenchang talisman! Thank you, Master Zhang! I will definitely study hard in the future, get into a good university, and support you after I earn money!"

The number of posts piled up at an astonishing rate.

Initially, most of the replies were jokes and banter.

"Sister, calm down. Maybe it's the result of your own hard work."

"Metaphysics is something you either believe in or you don't. But you've made amazing progress, little sister, I'm so envious."

But as the post gained popularity and became prominently featured on the Tianya Forum homepage, the tide began to turn.

As more and more people flocked in, the discussion gradually shifted from a simple theory of coincidence to a more playful exploration.

"No, have you forgotten what Zhang Ze said on 'A Date with Luyu'? We must believe in science. What's going on now? Is the end of science metaphysics?"

"I understand now. A true master never claims to be a master. He makes us believe in science because he's afraid we'll become overly reliant on it and neglect our own efforts. That's a level of mastery!"

"The previous analysis makes sense. This is called the natural way. It gives you the opportunity, but you still have to walk the path yourself. That girl named Zhang Yuwei also worked hard for the talisman to work."

Zhang Ze stared at these earnest analyses, his fingers hovering over the touchpad for a long time.

He originally thought that his statement on the show would suppress the trend and turn it into a harmless joke.

Unexpectedly, this unintentionally given talisman became a new fuse, turning the meme into a wonderful carnival in which everyone participated.

……

Zhang Ze's online fame continues to grow, and his popularity remains high.

Surprisingly, this popularity did not have a negative impact on the "The Message" production team; instead, it became a form of indirect publicity.

Many young netizens who previously paid no attention to this movie started to follow the official updates of "The Message" because of the "Master Zhang" meme, and the number of people who want to see the movie is rising steadily on various platforms.

The atmosphere on set subtly changed as a result.

Although the staff members from Huayi Brothers no longer dared to openly trip up Zhang Ze under pressure from Zhou Xun, the subtle sense of exclusion and alienation still existed.

But now, the way those people look at Zhang Ze has changed.

There was curiosity, a desire to explore, and even a touch of awe.

During breaks on set, some daring stagehands or makeup assistants would approach Zhang Ze and ask him questions, half-jokingly.

"Brother Ze, do you still have any talismans? Can I have one? My kid has exams coming up soon."

"Teacher Zhang, can you tell me if I'm destined to be rich in this lifetime?"

Zhang Ze would always respond with a smile, using ambiguous statements like "if you believe it, it exists; if you don't believe it, it doesn't," never giving a direct answer.

The more he acted this way, the more suspicious those people became, and the more unfathomable he seemed.

Consequently, the tense and confrontational atmosphere from before was gradually dissipated through these everyday banter and jokes.

That afternoon, they were filming a scene where Li Ningyu and Gu Xiaomeng were testing each other in a room.

Since Zhang Ze had no scenes to film, he did what he always did: moved a chair and sat behind Chen Fuguo's monitor to observe and learn.

After a scene ended, Li Bingbing walked out of the filming area, and her assistant immediately handed her water and a blanket.

Instead of returning to her rest area, she walked straight towards Zhang Ze.

Many people in the crew noticed this scene and subconsciously softened their movements and pricked up their ears.

Since Zhang Ze overshadowed Li Bingbing in acting last time, although Li Bingbing no longer harbors hostility towards him, the two have only exchanged nods and have never had any private conversations.

"Can we talk?" Li Bingbing stood in front of Zhang Ze, still holding the glass of warm water that her assistant had handed her.

She adopted a very composed demeanor, lacking the arrogance she once displayed as a top-tier actress.

Zhang Ze stood up from his chair and gestured for him to proceed.

The two walked to a relatively quiet corner of the photography studio.

"Thank you for last time," Li Bingbing said first, breaking the silence.

"Thank me for what?" Zhang Ze asked back.

"Thank you for showing me what a real performance is."

Li Bingbing's gaze was very serious. "Your performance that day touched me deeply."

"I went back and thought about it for a long time, and I realized that all these years of acting, I've been relying on techniques and experience. I can portray a character's joys and sorrows, but I can't portray her soul."

She looked at Zhang Ze like a student eagerly seeking knowledge.

"How did you do that? It was that... instantaneous switching of states. It was as if you weren't acting as Bai Xiaonian; in that moment, you *was* him."

She had wanted to ask this question before, but her pride at the time wouldn't allow her to back down.

But after observing him for the past few days, especially seeing Zhang Ze still quietly studying and learning on set despite causing such a huge stir online, she completely let go of that ridiculous pride.

Faced with absolute talent, any seniority or pride is utterly insignificant.

Zhang Ze looked at her but did not answer directly.

He remembered his control panel.

[Acting Skills: Excellent (12/400)]

Over the past two weeks of filming and learning, his acting skills have been slowly but steadily improving.

"Have you ever tried to completely empty your mind?" Zhang Ze asked.

"Short-term trading?" Li Bingbing asked, puzzled.

"Forget you are Li Bingbing, forget all your acting skills, forget the camera angles and lighting, and forget who your co-star is."

Zhang Ze's voice was very soft.

"You can only truly immerse yourself in a character when your mind is completely blank. It's not about trying to understand her, but about letting her tell you who she is and what she'll do."

Li Bingbing stood there, repeatedly pondering the words "Let her tell you this," lost in deep thought.

In a corner not far away, Wang Zhiwen, who plays Wang Tianxiang, took in the whole scene.

He looked at the junior who had once been on his side and treated him with utmost respect, now acting like a primary school student, asking for advice from the young man he looked down upon the most.