Huayu Tianxian: This director is such a hypocrite!

"Oh no, I'm going to die!"

"I'm so sleepy, Mom!"

"Please, Mom, just let me have a taste!"

In the Ye family's small villa, Zhou Tang was watching TV with a frown on her face when she heard this. She glared at her son in annoyance and said, "Quitting smoking is like you're quitting drugs! Look at your pathetic self."

Ye Chong craned his neck and rolled around on the sofa. Seeing that his mother was unmoved, he sat up in one swift motion.

"Hey, nobody told me quitting smoking would be this painful? My head is spinning, I can't sleep, and my mouth is dry."

"Who cares if you live or die? Get out of my way and stop blocking my TV!"

Ye Chong got up and went outside in a huff.

He didn't necessarily ask his mom for a cigarette just now. Since he promised to quit smoking, he will naturally keep his word, no matter where he is.

He was a little bored.

There were no messages on his phone; Mom had her own things to do, and even Dad wouldn't let him go fishing with her.

His life seemed to have lost its color, and for a time he couldn't find anything to do.

He and Yifei are still in a cold war.

Neither of them made a phone call, and neither of them bowed their heads.

This is a process of adjustment and negotiation between two stubborn individuals. If they adjust well, it will lead to a deep love; if they don't, then...

"Let's go find Li Erwa to fry fish."

He got up and walked towards the village entrance.

This is his hometown, a village located on the outskirts of the main city. His family also has a house in the main city, but they don't stay there often.

Villages in the south are not like those in the north. Here, you can walk to the village entrance in just a few steps. In some villages in the north, you can enter in the morning and still not be able to walk out even after an afternoon.

"Hello~ Motorcycle."

I had just said I was fine when the phone rang.

"Hey, Sister hope."

"Chongdi, Happy New Year!"

Ye Chong's lips curled into a smile as he stopped in front of a small ditch at the village entrance.

"Happy New Year! What's up?"

"No, it's just a New Year's greeting."

"Um."

On the other end of the phone, Chen Zhixi's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and a flicker of struggle crossed his eyes: "Chongdi, you have to pull yourself together."

"Yes, I know."

Chen Zhixi sighed softly.

It seems that Sisi and he had a falling out. This girl, wasn't she so nice on the phone before?

"The revenue from the ringback tones is back, plus the copyright share from the songs you wrote, totaling 8.2 million."

"Have you paid the taxes?"

"After paying the taxes."

"It's too low."

Chen Zhixi rolled her eyes.

The copyrights for those songs don't make much money to begin with; the singers and production companies take the lion's share, and they take a small share.

It cost a mere million, not even as much as the tiny bit of ringtones that peeked out from between the teeth.

"The songs 'Hu Guangsheng' and 'The Name Engraved in My Heart' became hits, and the latter can be sold as ringtones."

"It's up to you."

After saying these words, Ye Chong fell silent again on his phone.

"That's all, thank you for your concern, Sister hope."

"Um……"

After hanging up the phone, Ye Chong squatted by the ditch and thought for a long time.

He is very aware of his current state, or as the future would say, he is emo.

However, there is currently no good solution.

We can only wait for time to heal it, or get it back into production as soon as possible.

On the other side, in a courtyard house in Kyoto.

Zhang Hongsen leaned back in his rattan chair, leisurely sipping his tea while reading a paper document in his hand.

"Total box office of 15 billion yuan, that's a significant increase from the year before last!"

He was looking at the 04 financial report.

The total box office in 03 was only 10 billion, and this increase is half of that. No matter how you look at it, it seems like... wait!

The financial report is different from the past. In the past, it was either Zhang Yimou or Feng Xiaogang, or at the very least, Chen Shiren. Why is Ye Chong added last year?

The highest-grossing film: "House of Flying Daggers" starring Zhang Yimou, with a box office of 1.5 million yuan.

Second place: Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle" with 1.25 million yuan.

Third place: Feng Xiaopao from "A World Without Thieves" (1.1 million RMB) & Ye Chong from "The Nameless" (1.1 million RMB).

If Zhang Hongsen had asked his subordinates for details, they would have discovered that "The Nameless" actually grossed over 100,000 yuan more than "A World Without Thieves".

"This Ye Chong..."

He remembered that not long ago, Director Tong had talked to him about how Ye Chong had caused quite a stir in the industry last year.

He still remembers Director Tong's assessment: "He's someone who can cause trouble!"

"Um……"

He shook his head and continued flipping through the documents.

Although China is currently lacking in commercial directors, an occasional breakout doesn't necessarily mean anything.

"what?"

He frowned as he looked at the words "Ye Chong" and "Fei Ye" in front of him.

"That Ye Chong!"

On the A4 paper was the film that had been roughly cut and was ready to be submitted for review, and "The Legend of the Stone" was prominently featured among them, but that was not the key point.

The crucial point is that on the next A4 sheet of paper, there are also Fei Ye's newly approved film and television projects: "The Little Fairy from Heaven" and "Frozen." The former is decent, while the latter...

"An animated feature film!"

This is truly rare!

After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand to look at his watch, took out his phone and found a number.

"Beep...beep..."

The phone rang a few times before being answered, and an old voice came through.

"Director Zhang, hahaha, what made you think of calling the old man? Happy New Year!"

Zhang Hongsen smiled and said, "Hehe, Happy New Year, Teacher Xie! How have you been lately?"

"Not bad, haha, it's rare that Director Zhang still remembers an old man like me."

Zhang Hongsen exchanged a few pleasantries with him before getting down to business: "Ye Chong, do you know him? He's a director at the Beijing Film Academy."

"Ye Chong?"

Xie Fei's voice sounded somewhat puzzled.

That's my son.

"what?"

"No, no, it's my graduate student."

Zhang Hongsen's eyelids twitched.

No wonder! I was wondering where this amazing kid came from; it turns out he's a student of a great teacher.

Seemingly knowing what he was thinking, Xie Fei added on the phone, "This kid got accepted into graduate school. I haven't even had a chance to teach him yet, and he's already made his own 'The Unknown' series, which has already been made into two films."

"Oh?" Zhang Hongsen's eyes lit up, and he picked up a pen from the side and circled Ye Chong's name. "Could you tell me more about it? You know, I'm quite busy, and I just..."

Xie Fei, sitting opposite him, was secretly delighted.

Is there really such a good thing?

Zhang Hongsen had been promoted to deputy director of GD for less than two years, and there was another deputy director like him.

You say he's busy with work, Xie Feixin believes, but he's more convinced that this is about cultivating trusted confidants.

Being a director doesn't directly affect GD's career advancement, but once a director reaches a certain position, who they get close to and who they don't get along with can often indirectly influence some of the leader's judgments.

Thinking of this, Xie Fei perked up: "Ye Chong, he's a mischievous boy."

"Huh? Hahaha..." Zhang Hongsen didn't expect Xie Fei's first words to be like this.

He thought of Director Tong's evaluation and suddenly felt an urge to meet the child.

"His first film was 'May Love'."

Hmm... this seems to be a mission-based movie?

"The second film was a commercial drama with a dark humor style, and it was well received, at least more so than 'A World Without Thieves'."

Zhang Hongsen remained noncommittal; this was Xie Fei's disciple, so he naturally chose to say the nice things.

"It's just arrogance, extreme arrogance."

Zhang Hongsen was speechless. He had just said that Zhang Hongsen was going to say something nice, and then he said this?

"How arrogant is he? He boasted that he would take down Yi Mou, Kai Ge, and a bunch of us old fogies."

"Huh? Hahaha!"

"Hahaha, this kid!" Xie Fei laughed too. After laughing, he got to his main point, which was also the key point he wanted to emphasize: "Look, he got a lecture online, and now he's happily made an award-contending film, ready to try his luck at Venice!"

An award-winning film!

Zhang Hongsen's interest was piqued, and he pulled out the files he had compiled: "The Strange Tales of Stone Seeking?"

"That's right."

"Um……"

Seeing that he had run out of things to say, Xie Fei continued to try to persuade his unofficial disciple: "He also has a play called 'Roots,' which has already been included in the Beijing Film Academy's drama library. You don't know, but another disciple of mine, Zhang Yang, has been bothering me these past few days! He said he couldn't get through to his junior brother on the phone, so he had to come to me to ask for the film adaptation rights to 'Roots.' How could I possibly make that decision!"

He sounded annoyed, but his words were full of smugness.

Xie Fei was quite satisfied with both Zhang Yang and Ye Chong!

"Hehehe, Teacher Xie truly has students all over the world!"

"Oh, I'm just a teacher, you flatter me."

The two chatted for a while longer before hanging up the phone.

"Knock—knock—"

In the living room, Zhang Hongsen's fingers tapped unconsciously on the armrest as he pondered.

Investing in Ye Chong is a small investment for him, but a small investment can yield big returns. The only downside is the cost of protecting him.

That reputation!

"Let me take another look, let me take another look."

……

"Don't bother looking, I can't give it to you even if you do."

In Xiangshan, inside a motorhome.

Yifei lay on the bed, her head turned to the side, glaring at her mother across from her.

She pouted, her face clearly showing her displeasure.

Liu's mother remained unmoved by her expression: "Staring at me won't do any good. Can't you just focus on finishing filming 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'?"

Yifei let out an "Ah!" and turned to lie on her back, pounding the bed with her little fists and kicking her feet repeatedly.

"Ugh! What kind of mother are you! I can't live without my phone!!"

"Are you trying to play on your phone? I don't have the heart to call you out on it."

Upon hearing this, Yifei stopped what she was doing, turned her body slightly to the side of the car window, and turned her back to Liu's mother.

"Why, Mom? Why are you getting involved between me and Ye Chong?"

Liu's mother's eyes flickered for a moment, and finally she sighed leisurely: "I've been through this before."

In short, her words were filled with bitterness and sorrow, and Yifei let out a long sigh.

Silence filled the RV for a long time.

Outside the car, Cindy, the assistant who had joined the company early, gazed longingly into the car.

It's so cold outside, Sister Sisi. When are you two going to finish chatting?

"Mom doesn't want you to follow in my footsteps. You two just don't get along now, and even if you did, would you be compatible?"

Yifei raised her hand to cover her head, as if trying to escape, or perhaps not wanting anyone to see the tears in her eyes.

"You're too harsh. This is clearly a matter between the two of us."

Seeing her daughter say this, Liu's mother wasn't angry. Instead, she hardened her heart and looked out of the car: "Have you forgotten our agreement? After you become an adult, Mom will no longer take care of you. Before you become an adult... I am your guardian, and I have to be responsible for you."

"So we're just going to stay like this? Is your responsibility to let us never contact each other again for the rest of our lives?"

"Can Ye Chong represent all men?!"

Liu's mother unconsciously raised her voice.

Liu's mother had witnessed their relationship: Ye Chong and Qianqian were just like the naughty boy and the naive girl in high school, always thinking that being naughty was cool, and that being cool was the only standard for choosing a partner.

"Anyway, you'll have to endure it, even if it's until August!"

Liu's mother glanced at her daughter, who was sobbing with her head down, and a hint of heartache flashed in her eyes: "Six months! After six months, it's up to you."

On the bed, a few strands of long hair clung to the corner of Yifei's eye. She sniffed, a lingering gloom in her eyes: "Half a year..."