Shang Yechu slept until dawn, but when she woke up, her back and neck ached. These were all the consequences of improper sleeping posture.

Shang Yechu stretched her limbs, took a bottle of mouthwash from Ji Juntao's drawer, and went to the bathroom to quickly wash up.

When I came back after washing up, I looked up and saw Gu Wenhua had changed his clothes and was walking over with two takeout boxes.

Shang Yechu greeted her, "Good morning. Where have you been?"

Gu Wenhua said, "I slept on the sofa in the downstairs meeting room for the night. I ordered two boxes of porridge. Are you allergic to seafood? We have seafood porridge and preserved egg and lean pork porridge."

"Anything is fine." Shang Yechu casually took a box. "Is the photo editing done?"

"Yes, the video is finished editing."

Shang Yechu eagerly moved closer to the computer, looking at Gu Wenhua's finished product with considerable satisfaction. Professional tasks should be left to professionals.

Shang Yechu opened her phone again, clicked on Weibo, and saw a new trending topic hanging high on the top of the trending list.

#The Mute Woman of Fierce Earth#

Ji Juntao really got a big windfall.

Clicking into the trending topics, I found that a prominent influencer had conducted a comprehensive comparison of the films *The Land of the Martyrs* and *The Mute Woman*. Both films are related to the land, but their styles are vastly different. This influencer, focusing on the land, criticized *The Mute Woman* for its refined egoism, melodramatic sentimentality, and overly bland style. The post received tens of thousands of reposts.

With "The Fierce Land" at its peak, everything associated with it naturally attracts attention. Other films wanting to ride its coattails can't, because such attempts are too obvious, leading to a drop in ratings and generating negative feelings among viewers.

Only "The Mute Woman" was spared this worry, because it was being criticized.

This might be the hottest day since "The Mute Woman" was released. Many people who had never even heard of the film saw its name for the first time. Fans of "The Fierce Land" flocked to the official Weibo account of "The Mute Woman" to hurl insults. Influential figures in the arts and culture scene were exchanging barbs, almost to the point of a bloody confrontation.

Writers, with their refined tastes, risk being accused of sycophancy if they were to praise big-budget productions with large teams. But when promoting a small-scale production like "The Mute Woman," they feel no such pressure. It even allows them to showcase their unique thinking and distinctive taste.

In this era, individuality equals popularity. For something everyone praises, someone will always have to say something negative to make it stand out; for something everyone criticizes, a group of loyal supporters will inevitably emerge, even if they are at odds with the world.

Of course, the film's strong momentum is also due to its genuinely high quality. It's a very standard art-house film in the public eye—that is, a commercial film within the art-house genre. Gu Wenhua's editing precisely hit the sweet spot for art-house enthusiasts, adding a touch of sophistication to this simple story. The acting of Qi Ming, Shang Yechu, and others is also truly excellent. Good actors enhance the script, creating a mutually beneficial relationship.

The battles were endless, and Shang Yechu lost interest after a couple of glances. She closed Weibo and opened the Mint Movies app instead.

Looking at the box office, wow, "The Hero" has already surpassed 200 million yesterday. Scrolling down further, scrolling and scrolling—my hands are sore from scrolling—yesterday's box office for "The Mute Woman" is also out. 1.78 million, it's actually seen a reverse trend!

Shang Yechu hissed. The screenings of "The Mute Woman" had dropped significantly yesterday, yet the box office had actually increased?

Gu Wenhua noticed Shang Yechu's expression and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's alright. Our movie might even break even."

Gu Wenhua took a sip of porridge and suddenly asked, "Have you finished writing the copy? When are we going to release it?"

Shang Yechu scooped up a spoonful of porridge and said calmly, "Tonight, five o'clock."

"Huh?" Gu Wenhua hesitated, "But didn't President Ji say it would be released at six o'clock tonight?"

"What's the difference between five and six o'clock?" Shang Yechu asked rhetorically.

“There’s no difference…” Gu Wenhua muttered. “I just think that once the writer that President Ji hired finishes publishing and paves the way for us, it won’t be too late for us to publish our own work.”

"You really trust that so-called writer so much?" Shang Yechu took a sip of porridge, her tone unreadable. "What if he makes things worse? Isn't it better to take the opportunity into your own hands?"

Gu Wenhua was stunned for a moment, then suddenly put down his spoon and asked seriously, "Teacher Ye Chu, did you have a fight with President Ji?"

"Hmm?" Shang Yechu looked up and smiled, "No. Why do you ask that?"

Gu Wenhua studied Shang Yechu's face for a while, frowned, and tentatively advised, "Teacher Yechu, actually, President Ji is a very easy person to talk to... If you have any conflicts, you can try to talk it out first."

Fearing Shang Yechu wouldn't listen, Gu Wenhua started using her own experiences as examples: "Our mentor talked about some cases in the entertainment industry during class. It's not easy for artists who fall out with their bosses. Terminating contracts and such are all troublesome matters."

Shang Yechu looked up at Gu Wenhua in surprise, "Who told you I wanted to terminate the contract?"

Gu Wenhua was a little embarrassed: "That's not what I meant. I was just giving an example. President Ji is very easy to talk to, he's a good person."

The fact that Ji Juntao could be described as a "good person" made Shang Yechu feel as if she were flying.

"You think President Ji is easy to talk to?" Shang Yechu poked the bottom of the bowl with her spoon. "Why?"

Gu Wenhua exclaimed "Ah!" and honestly replied, "Jian Xiaojun's script is actually very rudimentary; it's more like a rough outline. There's no set design whatsoever. The kang cloth, furniture, tricycles, and cars I used for setting up the scenes were all things outside the script. They're usually hard to get reimbursed. President Ji personally bought or rented them for me..."

Clang!

The iron spoon in Shang Yechu's hand fell to the ground—this spoon was specially bought by Gu Wenhua, as the plastic spoons given by the porridge shop were too soft and not very easy to use.

Gu Wenhua quickly said, "Teacher Ye Chu, I have an unused spoon here, you can have it." As he spoke, he took the spoon and walked towards Shang Ye Chu.

When Gu Wenhua got up to Shang Yechu, he realized that Shang Yechu was staring at him with a terrifying look in his eyes!

Gu Wenhua's heart skipped a beat: "Ye Chu, what's wrong?"