Chapter 878 Insults are also a form of linguistic art (7200 words updated!)
Having been with Mengli for so long, Wu Zhouyou has a good understanding of her personality. If he has any lessons learned, it is that you should never confront her when she is going crazy.
Wu Zhouyou silently got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom.
However, not hearing the answer she wanted, Mengli immediately caught up.
Wu Zhouyou simply said, "Going to the toilet," and closed the door.
Meng Li stood outside the door and said through the door, "Wu Zhouyou, did you hear what I said? Your girlfriend was severely humiliated, do you know that? Li Zhibai humiliated me!"
Wu Zhouyou sighed.
How did he humiliate you?
Meng Li said, "Look at your phone! He actually hired a bunch of media outlets and staged a whole drama just to humiliate me!"
Wu Zhouyou: "I just woke up, and I didn't bring my phone. How am I supposed to check?"
Suddenly there was no sound outside the door.
Wu Zhouyou did not feel relieved.
Instead, he sighed and covered his forehead.
Sure enough, soon after, Mengli's footsteps came again.
The door opened directly from the outside, startling Wu Zhouyou, who was sitting on the toilet.
Meng Li appeared in front of him from a high position, holding her phone up to his face.
"See for yourself!"
-
When Li Zhibai woke up, he saw a bunch of missed calls and unread messages on his phone. He immediately realized that something must have made it to the trending topics again.
Fortunately, the situation shouldn't be too serious.
Because neither anyone came to bang on the door, nor did Yan Liang come to wake him up.
Li Zhibai tossed his phone aside, yawned leisurely, and got up to wash up.
Yan Liang was in the living room, where he had laid out a yoga mat and was doing a plank on the floor.
"Oh, you're awake?" Yan Liang said without looking up, his face covered in sweat.
"You're awake." Li Zhibai yawned. "You haven't been exercising since you got up this morning, have you?"
Yan Liang said, "Yes."
Li Zhibai glanced at the time.
It was already 10:30 in the morning.
Li Zhibai asked in surprise, "What time did you get up?"
Nine o'clock.
Li Zhibai breathed a sigh of relief.
"I thought you got up at six o'clock."
Yan Liang: "Six o'clock? I didn't go to sleep until one o'clock yesterday. How could I possibly get up at six o'clock? Have you forgotten that you dragged me out for a midnight snack last night?"
Li Zhibai: "...Oh, I forgot."
Yan Liang: "Have you seen the news online?"
"No, since they didn't come to bang on the door, it means it's not a big deal," Li Zhibai said confidently. "You saw it?"
"Hmm." Yan Liang smiled. "Congratulations, you're trending on social media again with Meng Li."
Li Zhibai, who had initially paid no attention to Yan Liang, instantly flew into a rage upon hearing his words.
"What?! Mongoloid?!"
Yan Liang nodded and said, "Yes."
He knelt down.
Sweat poured down his face, and he turned red.
Li Zhibai rolled his eyes immediately. "What kind of trouble has she caused this time?"
"I don't know if it's her doing, but look at your phone. While you were sleeping, a major battle was already over," Yan Liang said.
Li Zhibai hesitated for a moment, then decided to check his phone first.
A little while later, Yan Liang heard Li Zhibai yelling from inside the room: "What the hell? Meng Li and I are actually secretly dating? We just found out there were paparazzi taking pictures, so we're deliberately avoiding each other?!"
Yan Liang was drinking water when he heard Li Zhibai's roar, and he almost spat it out, but he still choked.
He coughed violently.
What is that?
How did it turn into Li Zhibai and Meng Li dating again?!
Are you crazy?
Jiang Yuqian put down her phone.
He Heng was looking at him with a smile.
"Li Zhibai has been making a lot of news lately."
Jiang Yuqian: "Is he being targeted by someone? First Ji Miao, and now Meng Li?"
He Heng: "There's something strange about Meng Li's situation. It was clearly Lin Suyang's side that made the move. If Meng Li and Li Zhibai were really secretly dating, Lin Suyang's PR tactics wouldn't be like this, completely disregarding Meng Li's reputation and public image. But under these circumstances, news of Li Zhibai and Meng Li secretly dating immediately spread—"
Jiang Yuqian: "Is it still the same group that secretly filmed Li Zhibai before who did this?"
“Possibly.” He Heng nodded. “Lin Suyang sued several media outlets for the incident of Li Zhibai being secretly photographed, in order to find out who took the photos. I guess those people didn’t expect Li Zhibai to be serious about suing them, so they started causing trouble to warn Li Zhibai’s team to know when to stop and not pursue the matter further.”
Jiang Yuqian gave a cold laugh.
"They're dreaming."
“Their meaning is quite simple,” He Heng said. “If Li Zhibai doesn’t know when to stop, they will keep doing things like Meng Li. After all, the public figure is Li Zhibai, not them. Over time, all female artists will avoid Li Zhibai like the plague, and brands and partners will also worry about the public opinion surrounding Li Zhibai. An artist who is always in the news like this is never popular.”
Jiang Yuqian said, "That means Lin Suyang did a good job and dug in the right direction."
“Yes,” He Heng said, “It depends on whether Li Zhibai and the others want to continue digging.”
Jiang Yuqian: "With Li Zhibai's bad temper, if you don't tell him the truth, it's fine, but if you do tell him the truth, he will definitely stick to it and never let go."
He Heng: "These paparazzi, of all people to attack, they have to attack the one with the biggest temper."
"They probably think that the bigger their temper, the more loopholes there are, the more the matter will escalate, and the more they can profit from it," Jiang Yuqian said. "Just look at these things, do you think they profit little behind the scenes?"
He Heng nodded.
No less.
Just the sheer volume of traffic tells you that.
It certainly won't be less.
-
After Li Zhibai called Lin Suyang relentlessly, Lin Suyang answered the phone and, before Li Zhibai could say a word, immediately said, "We're already handling it, so don't yell."
Li Zhibai's roar was instantly choked back down.
Lin Suyang: "We will issue a statement to directly deny the rumors about you and Meng Li. In addition, regarding this matter, we have analyzed it and, based on the information we received from the media, we believe that this incident is likely the work of the paparazzi team that took the photos before."
Li Zhibai sneered, "Are they out of their minds?"
Lin Suyang: "One of the media outlets we sued contacted us and implied that if we did not drop the lawsuit, similar incidents like Mengli's would continue to occur."
Li Zhibai: "They're really something. Come on, who's afraid of who? I'll make them pay."
Lin Suyang said, "We can fight them to the end, but you may need to think carefully. This is indeed a trouble you can't get rid of. If there are constant rumors entangled with you, it will also affect your image."
"Does keeping quiet really not affect my image? If I don't teach these paparazzi a lesson, they'll only become more aggressive," Li Zhibai said. "It's one thing to follow them around normally, but to secretly photograph them in my hotel room, what if they actually capture something they shouldn't? Are they going to release some explicit photos?"
Lin Suyang: "This behavior is indeed excessive, which is why everyone is on your side. However, if this matter gets dragged on too long, others will inevitably start to have opinions about you."
Li Zhibai: "Are you suggesting I reconcile with them?"
"Of course we can't reconcile." Lin Suyang immediately added, "What I mean is, I want to make it clear to you about the potential impact. You were very nervous because your affair with Jiang Yuqian was almost exposed, which could have affected 'Love is Not Blind'. I want to remind you that if you fight this tough battle with them, many of your future projects will inevitably be affected."
Li Zhibai suddenly fell silent.
Lin Suyang: "However, if we don't fight this tough battle, just like you said, there will only be more and more paparazzi who become even more brazen."
Li Zhibai said, "Then let's fight."
Lin Suyang: "In this industry, everyone is facing new problems as soon as they open their eyes. Your previous reaction was a bit excessive, but that's your personality, and I can't ask you to change it. However, although 'Love is Not Blind' is very important, it's still just a project. It's just a project for you, and it's just a project for Lu Yanhe. If a project fails, we can just try again next time."
"Did I do something that would destroy everything?" Li Zhibai asked rhetorically.
“You didn’t do it, but you acted like you were going to. It’s as if you’d do anything as long as it doesn’t affect ‘Love is Not Blind’.”
Li Zhibai hesitated for a moment.
He was actually feeling guilty; he knew Lin Suyang was right.
Lin Suyang: "So you need to think this through. Don't act impulsively now and then be afraid to act against your conscience later. It will be very difficult to handle then."
Li Zhibai shook his head.
“No, it’s different. Right is right, and wrong is wrong,” Li Zhibai said. “Love is not the same as ‘33 Days of Heartbreak’ because I didn’t expect that my relationship with Yuqian would affect the film. This situation was due to our own negligence. We shouldn’t have taken on this film at the same time, so we tried our best to eliminate the impact. But the problem lies with those paparazzi. Whether it’s Ji Miao or Meng Li, it’s all fake.”
Lin Suyang: "Fake things can be mistaken for real things by many people."
“I can only think things through for myself first,” Li Zhibai said. “In the future, even if such things affect Lu Yanhe’s projects, I can only say there’s nothing I can do. Anyway, such scandals and negative news are destined to continue for a while, aren’t they? People who want to cooperate with me again should also take these factors into account.”
Lin Suyang: "See, you're still trying to be reasonable."
Shouldn't we be reasonable?
"In many situations, reasoning is useless in the public sphere; solving problems is what matters."
Li Zhibai: "I'll reason with you, and you solve the problem."
Lin Suyang: "Screw you."
Li Zhibai: "I understand what you mean. Actually, you don't need to remind me so subtly. I rarely interfere with your actions."
Lin Suyang: "What if one day, my approach is to make you give up Lu Yanhe's project and protect yourself first?"
Li Zhibai: "Under normal circumstances, I don't think there's anything wrong with this."
"You make it sound so easy."
“I really think so,” Li Zhibai said. “Compared to the project, of course I am more important. I don’t even need to say it. Lu Yanhe must think so too. But, Su Yang, don’t always push things to the extreme. Assuming that reasoning can’t be true, a person who thinks he has no courage all his life might fight desperately when facing death. A person who thinks he is extremely noble might not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of others when faced with a crossroads.”
Lin Suyang always felt that Li Zhibai, who usually seemed to be a thoughtless and impulsive person, actually had many instincts that were almost innate.
Many of his "natural traits" are often the "optimal solution." He seems to have many weaknesses in his character that can be exploited, yet he often manages to turn danger into safety by sheer coincidence, making people afraid to oppose him.
Lin Suyang both hoped that Li Zhibai could "calm down" sometimes, but also contradictorily appreciated Li Zhibai's "restlessness".
Every conversation with Li Zhibai ended with Lin Suyang's helplessness.
This time it is the same.
However, there was no other way; Lin Suyang had to tell Li Zhibai some things upfront. He knew that for many geniuses and chosen ones, the advice of ordinary people was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—it was futile. But since he had chosen this path, it was his duty, and he had to fulfill it to the best of his ability. Sometimes, Lin Suyang belatedly realized that he hadn't been this dedicated when he was mentoring MX.
Is it because she has developed genuine feelings for Li Zhibai that she has become so fussy and concerned?
Lin Suyang sometimes thinks that he could be more peaceful and secure in life. He might be sorry to anyone, but no one could stop him from going higher and higher.
-
Lu Yanhe only saw this farce on the Chinese internet after he landed.
Mengli posted a Weibo post saying: Speechless.
This was followed by an eye-rolling emoji.
This eye-rolling emoji was posted separately.
Li Zhibai himself did not respond to anything, but his agent Lin Suyang spoke out: It's all fabricated, it's okay, this will only strengthen our original intention to defend our rights through the law!
Lu Yanhe didn't understand the situation, so he went to ask Chen Ziyan for advice.
Chen Ziyan has a wide network of information and is very clear about the ins and outs of the whole matter.
She briefly explained it to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe was astonished upon hearing this. What era is this? Paparazzi are still so rampant.
Chen Ziyan: Perhaps the paparazzi also have financial backing; otherwise, how could they afford to wage such a sustained media war?
Lu Yanhe: You mean, someone is targeting Li Zhibai from behind?
Chen Ziyan: Not necessarily. We still don't know what the situation is, but this is definitely not the kind of small-time paparazzi we usually see. Those paparazzi can't keep up this long. If they were that rich, why would they be paparazzi?
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.
Just as I was thinking about these things, Chen Ziyan suddenly sent me a link.
Lu Yanhe asked: What is this?
Chen Ziyan said: The latest episode of "A Table Under Heaven" has just been released.
Lu Yanhe had heard of this program before. It was similar to "Qiang Qiang San Ren Xing," where several people sat together and talked about everything under the sun.
Lu Yanhe asked: "What did you send me? Did you recommend this episode to me?"
Chen Ziyan: He Shize made veiled remarks in this episode, saying that my script must have been written by a team or someone else, otherwise I couldn't have written so much. The production team had already given me a heads-up before.
Lu Yanhe: ...Is He Shize out of his mind? I've done live-stream writing before, and it's not like no one has questioned this kind of thing.
Chen Ziyan said: Even so, the fact that such a big screenwriter like him publicly said this will still make some people believe it. You can't disprove it.
Lu Yanhe: What should we do then?
Chen Ziyan: No need to do anything. I've already prepared a public relations strategy. Once the public opinion starts to ferment, I will directly @ him and let him explain himself if he has the ability. However, since this matter is related to you, I estimate that not only domestic media but also overseas media may pay attention to it. You have several public public relations activities and media interviews coming up, and I'm worried that someone will ask about it, so I'm sending this to you so you can prepare in advance.
Lu Yanhe agreed.
Chen Ziyan added: "Also, didn't you ask Chen Yin to investigate a man named Liu Yuhuai before? He's the husband of Shi Hui, the screenwriter of 'Weather Forecast'."
Lu Yanhe: Yes, what's wrong?
Chen Ziyan: Chen Yinlai and I checked the information, and we can now confirm that Liu Yuhuai is in He Shizhe's team. He worked with He Shizhe to write scripts a few years ago. He was responsible for the main part of the script for "The Eagle on the Earth".
Lu Yanhe looked surprised.
There really is... such a connection?
Chen Ziyan: You are indeed perceptive. You were able to discover, after just one meeting with them, that the script might not have been written by his wife.
Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Then about this matter..."
Chen Ziyan: Chen Yin will conduct further investigations and then, depending on the situation, decide whether to confront Liu Yuhuai. If the situation remains unclear, we will shelve the project and stop its development.
Lu Yanhe: Hmm, I'm a little worried about copyright issues in the end.
Chen Ziyan said: "There is indeed this problem, but what I am more worried about is whether He Shize knows about their actions."
Lu Yanhe: Do you think the script for "Weather Forecast" might be a trap set by He Shize for me?
Chen Ziyan said: I have also considered this possibility, but I think that if it is a plot hole, the price to pay with a script of this quality is too high. This kind of script can be recognized as valuable by any film company. It is not the kind of strange script that takes an unconventional approach. Besides, what plot hole could it possibly have? Are you going to say that this script was written by He Shizhe and then come back to attack us on copyright and plagiarism issues?
Lu Yanhe: Is that possible?
Chen Ziyan: The chances are slim. Scripts need to be registered for copyright. Even if he ultimately says that Shi Hui plagiarized He Shize's script, Shi Hui, as the credited screenwriter, bears the primary responsibility, right? Secondly, this plagiarism is at the script level, not at the film level. In this case, even if the facts are true, the compensation they can get will mainly be borne by Shi Hui. Of course, we will also have to pay some, but that's not enough to cause serious damage. On the contrary, once the facts are exposed, He Shize's reputation in the industry will be ruined. This is different from him hiring his students to write scripts; he is deliberately framing Liu Yuhuai, who is his student, and that is an unchangeable fact.
Lu Yanhe: But it could give Linghe a reputation for plagiarism.
Chen Ziyan: You're getting stuck on this. If this constitutes plagiarism of the Linghe script, then no film company should accept scripts anymore. Every script objectively has the possibility of the screenwriter plagiarizing others.
Lu Yanhe: Okay.
Chen Ziyan: What interests me more is, if the script for "Weather Forecast" was indeed written by Liu Yuhuai, why did he submit it under the name Shi Hui? Obviously, he also wanted to sever the connection between the script and himself. He is not a screenwriter with representative works or fame. Doing so was less about preventing us from knowing his relationship with He Shizhe, and more about preventing He Shizhe from knowing that his script was submitted to us. At that time, although he was responsible for the main content of the script for "Eagle on the Earth", he was not listed as a credit.
Lu Yanhe: You mean, you think there's a private conflict between Liu Yuhuai and He Shize?
Chen Ziyan: We don’t know for sure right now. From what we know so far, he and He Shize have no open conflict. In fact, several people say that Liu Yuhuai has always been He Shize’s most talented student and has been mainly responsible for writing two scripts.
Lu Yanhe: Even so, he wasn't given any credit?
Chen Ziyan: Yes, Liu Yuhuai is currently a new screenwriter with no works under his name.
Lu Yanhe was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.
Chen Ziyan: Considering the current situation, I personally tend to think that he couldn't see any hope with He Shizhe, so he started looking for opportunities outside, but he couldn't openly let He Shizhe know that he was already contacting outside film and television companies.
Lu Yanhe suddenly realized.
Indeed, based on Chen Ziyan's account, it is unlikely that Liu Yuhuai was sent by He Shize to set up the trap.
The key point is that he had no conflict with He Shize, so why would he do such a thing?
Chen Ziyan said: Anyway, I'm just giving you a heads-up, He Shize's show has already gone online, so be prepared to be asked questions by reporters.
Lu Yanhe: Okay, I will prepare.
-
He Shizhe's "accusations" on the show unsurprisingly sparked controversy and a huge uproar.
Marketing accounts rushed to flood the screen with posts: Famous screenwriter He Shi accused Lu Yanhe of being as prolific as a sow, implying that he must have a team writing for him.
Although this topic is very popular and has been discussed a lot, very few of them have actually turned into attacks against Lu Yanhe.
It's not for any other reason, but because questions about this have arisen several times before.
Lu Yanhe has written scripts several times during live streams.
Not to mention, everyone in the Friends crew knew about Lu Yanhe's extreme efforts to finish the pages.
These things are passed down by word of mouth within the industry.
Whether a screenwriter has real talent or not is something that people in the industry can tell.
Just like Lu Yanhe could tell at a glance that the script for "Eagle on the Earth" was not written by one person.
If a team is involved in ghostwriting, industry professionals can tell whether the characters, story, writing style, and logic are consistent. Of course, if the script is written entirely by another person from beginning to end, it can also be quite consistent and coherent.
However, to this day, no one has come forward to claim that they were Lu Yanhe's ghostwriter.
To be honest, anyone capable of writing such a script would not be willing to be someone else's ghostwriter.
After following He Shize for three years, Liu Yuhuai began to look for a way out, submitting scripts under his wife's name.
Anyone with talent who can sell their scripts on their own will not spend their time ghostwriting for others.
Lu Yanhe has been a screenwriter since his freshman year of college, when he wrote "Friends". He has created more than a dozen works over the past ten years.
Everyone's doubts about Lu Yanhe are purely based on his astonishing speed and quantity of creation; there are no other points of suspicion.
Before Chen Ziyan could even reappear as planned, waiting for the topic to gain traction, Li Zhibai had already appeared online with sarcastic remarks:
—You can't talk about ice with a summer insect; a frog at the bottom of a well can only see the sky from the bottom of the well; and arrogant humans can only put themselves in others' shoes.
Immediately afterward, Yan Liang reposted the message, jokingly saying: "You don't care about your own affairs at all, but you're the first to chime in about Lao Lu's affairs. Arrogant people only dare to make insinuations and not name names, but you're so blunt as to use 'extending one's own feelings to others' to describe someone who is arrogant? You're going to be laughed at again."
Li Zhibai: I may lack formal education, but I have morals.
The two of them, one singing and the other echoing, got involved.
Li Zhibai's fans excitedly reposted the message, tagging those who had previously criticized him for "passive-aggressive" behavior towards Meng Li, and arrogantly declared: "Look! Does he need to resort to 'passive-aggressive' behavior? He always plays his cards right!"
They are not the same thing at all.
Chen Ziyan suddenly realized that her prepared public relations plan seemed to be useless.
The combined attack of Li Zhibai and Yan Liang was even more devastating than her preparations.
Less than ten minutes later, Chen Siqi also chimed in, leaving a comment in the comment section:
—Are you guys really that free? Why do you have to argue about all sorts of random, baseless accusations? If you're so free, go help me and Yan He clean our house. Don't get dirty with all sorts of things. Please, at least get some clean dirt on it.
burst.
Weibo crashed.
Weibo hasn't crashed in a long time.
-
He Shize's phone was about to explode.
Friends and relatives from all walks of life expressed their concern and inquired about the situation, wanting to know more about it.
He Shizhe has not been contacted by so many people at the same time for many years.
He finally experienced firsthand what it's like to be bombarded with all sorts of criticisms, discussions, and doubts when a celebrity trends on social media.
He angrily called Director Guo.
One, no answer.
Two, I won't take them.
It wasn't until the third call that Director Guo answered, his tone still warm, saying, "Teacher He, I'm sorry, I was in a meeting just now. What can I do for you?"
He Shize said angrily, "Director Guo, didn't I already tell you before that I would delete Lu Yanhe's part? You promised so readily, so why is it still in the program?"
"Huh? You mean this part? I misunderstood, I'm so sorry, I misread it as the part where you said domestic screenwriters are generally bullied by platforms." Director Guo's tone was full of apology.
It was only then that He Shizhe began to recall what he had said to Director Guo.
Upon careful recollection, he realized that he hadn't directly told Director Guo which part he wanted to cut.
Director Guo: "Teacher He, it's really okay. It's normal for talk shows like this to have some controversy. These voices will subside after a while and won't last long. On the contrary, many netizens agree with what you said. You can see that if you look closely at the comments section."
He Shizhe: "Still acknowledging me? Forget it, I'm almost being cursed to death by Lu Yanhe's fans."
"That's just how celebrity fans are," Director Guo said. "Most of the guests on our show have experienced attacks from celebrity fans. It's inevitable that sometimes some celebrity fans will feel that what you say is directed at their idol. Actually, what you're describing is a phenomenon, not specifically targeting Lu Yanhe, right?"
He Shi's criticism is really... hard to say. Yes, he's targeting Lu Yanhe.
He made a furious phone call, demanding an explanation.
Feeling extremely guilty, he hung up the phone and suffered a crushing defeat.
He Shize felt a surge of anger inside him, which he couldn't vent.
He returned to his studio and saw his students working diligently, their fingers flying across the keyboard, looking as if they were afraid of incurring his wrath.
He was even more furious.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
