Chapter 974 Destroy It!
"Ma Zhiyuan was my captain when I was in MX."
"He's also the most popular player on the team, leading by a huge margin, which is probably why—"
“He’s a man of his word. No one in the team can disobey him, including our manager at the time, Lin Suyang, who was fired because of his dissatisfaction.”
“He verbally abused and bullied me for years until he left MX.”
“He, Wei Zhuoran, and Qu Yousong together beat me up several times.”
“Because I have been learning to dance since I was a child, and dance has always been my strong point, he would cut my dance parts in our stage performances, ask the choreographer not to give me the content he had choreographed, and even not allow me to use the rehearsal room. Back then, I needed the rehearsal room to practice dance many times, and it was Lu Yanhe who lent me the rehearsal room he had applied for.”
"So many years have passed since this happened, and he has never apologized. Only now, with a role he played in the movie 'Scumbag,' he has returned to the public eye and is showing signs of a comeback. Only now does he suddenly give a fake apology on live stream. Perhaps it is only in this way that he can erase the past from the media's criticism."
"But he spent so much time apologizing to so many people, and I'm curious to know, before he did this, did he ever offer any sincere apology to anyone privately? At least I didn't receive one."
"I cannot accept that someone like him can whitewash himself with the image of a prodigal son who has returned home."
"Making a mistake is not something that can be fixed by simply apologizing, let alone a hypocritical apology."
“I’ve essentially retired from the industry and I don’t sell products anymore. I’m saying all this not for any other reason than because of everything he did to me over the years, which made it impossible for me to return to the stage with my original intentions. I also don’t want him to gloss over what happened back then so easily.”
...
Chen Jing's live stream was truly mind-blowing.
Lu Yanhe stared at his live stream and remained silent for a long time.
In the live chat, many people were sending messages:
—What Chen Jing said is too exaggerated.
—Didn't you see that Lu Yanhe and Li Zhibai entered the live stream? Yan Liang also entered.
—Not only that, Jiang Bai from MX also entered the live stream.
—Are they all watching?
— Ma Zhiyuan's actions constitute workplace bullying; he's being so cruel to his own teammates.
—Lu Yanhe is such a nice guy, he even lent him his own rehearsal room.
—It pales in comparison.
—Chen Jing is absolutely right. Ma Zhiyuan apologized to so many people during the live broadcast, but did he apologize to any of them privately?
—Wow, Xu Qinyin is in the live stream too!
—Absolutely amazing.
—Aren't these big shots going to say anything?
Why do they need to say anything? Shouldn't it be Ma Zhiyuan who should say something?
—What could Ma Zhiyuan possibly say?
...
Just then, Xu Qinyin suddenly appeared in the live stream comments: "Well, he didn't contact me once before today's live stream, and he didn't express any apology to me. His apology was just a performance tool. No wonder he is the male lead who made 'Scumbag' a dark horse. His acting skills have improved."
The career of this female celebrity, who was deceived by Ma Zhiyuan, got pregnant, and refused to take responsibility, was also greatly affected by this incident.
The attacks on Ma Zhiyuan by his many die-hard fans during those two years were no less than the attacks on Ma Zhiyuan by the general public.
However, she survived those two darkest years by virtue of her good character and reputation.
Everyone understands that it's not easy for her to raise a child alone. Whenever her friends have a role in a drama, they will try to help her get a small part or recommend her to the director of a variety show.
Because she has a child, she is unable to participate in jobs that require a lot of time commitment.
This was a perfect match for the job I found.
Over the past few years, she has played many supporting roles and appeared on many variety shows.
Coupled with the buzz generated by her previous pregnancy, her popularity among the public actually increased.
Now that her child is older, her agency contract has been transferred to Shihuo.
Shi Huo would certainly not treat her unfairly.
They immediately cast her as the lead in a "jumping theater" drama.
The drama "Rebirth" tells the story of a young woman who is deceived in the workplace by her male boss and seeks revenge and a rebirth. It reflects many aspects of her life experience.
Upon its premiere, the drama achieved an average episode rating of 1.13% on Yuehu TV, far surpassing the ratings of other local TV stations in the same time slot.
After its release on the video platform, it sparked a heated discussion that lasted for nearly a week.
It's very popular.
Everyone calls this drama Xu Qinyin's "comeback masterpiece".
Actually, she never left.
However, Shi Huo has always been very strong in publicity and public relations.
Playing supporting roles for several years is a huge blow to an actor, especially for an actress who has always played leading roles. It can create the illusion in the industry that "okay, her status has indeed fallen."
Shi Huo directly issued a press release, portraying Xu Qinyin's decisive acceptance of supporting roles as a way to earn money for her child's milk powder and to have time to properly raise her child—which was indeed the case.
It tells everyone that Xu Qinyin is playing a supporting role not because she can't play the leading role anymore.
That's not the case.
The success and popularity of "Rebirth" propelled Xu Qinyin back to the leading lady position.
For her second film role, Shi Huo got her a movie role.
The protagonist of "Summer Night Villa Horror 2".
This movie stars Wang Jing.
Xu Qinyin plays the "villa mistress" in the sequel. Simply put, Wang Jing is still the undisputed female lead and the main character, but Xu Qinyin becomes the protagonist of the second segment of this film series.
As soon as the news was announced, Xu Qinyin's rise to fame seemed imminent.
It's ready to go.
-
After seeing Xu Qinyin's statement, Lu Yanhe hesitated for a long time about whether he should show up.
To be honest, he really wanted to stand up and say something, but yes, he has never apologized to me.
However, saying this actually boosted Ma Zhiyuan's status.
It seemed as if he was still holding a grudge about this matter.
Lu Yanhe couldn't say he didn't care, but he was unwilling to show in public that he still cared.
These are two different things.
However, while he was still hesitating, Jiang Bai also spoke in Chen Jing's live stream:
Why give up what you love for a piece of trash? I have a concert at the end of this month, come be a guest.
The comments in the live chat were already surging like a flood, and this only made it more intense.
Seeing this, Lu Yanhe had a sudden inspiration.
-
"You want to invite Chen Jing to play a role in 'Summer Night Villa Horror 2'?"
“Yes, it’s more like a cameo, just one or two shots,” Lu Yanhe said. “Xu Qinyin plays the villa owner in season 2. The reason she gathered this group of people is because they hurt her lover back then, right? She wants revenge for her lover, so she designed this terrifying night to make them reveal the truth of what happened back then. At the end, could we add a scene where her lover appears in her memories, in warm and loving moments, creating a stark contrast and highlighting why she made these people pay such a price? And this lover, let Chen Jing play him.”
Chen Siqi was extremely surprised.
"When I first heard about this design, it seemed like a fantastic idea."
"Summer Nights in the Villa" is a commercial thriller, not an art film, so there's no need to worry about adding such an ending making it seem sentimental. Moreover, whether it's sentimental or not, and to what extent, doesn't depend on the plot itself, but rather on whether the film directly and forcefully stimulates the audience through its audiovisual effects.
Lu Yanhe's idea not only creates a topic for the film, but also complements the film's theme, making Xu Qinyin's motivations and psychological drive more complete.
The film itself manages to end with a touch of human tenderness amidst the suspense and horror, preventing Xu Qinyin from being portrayed merely as a pitiful and indignant character.
Chen Siqi was curious: "Would Chen Jing be willing to take the role?"
Lu Yanhe said, "Chen Jing's contract with Woodpecker has expired and has not been renewed. He is currently without a management company. I have already spoken to Sister Ziyan and asked Shihuo to contact him to see if he is willing to come back."
"If Xu Qinyin and Chen Jingzhen starred in a movie with such a theme and character relationship, then the movie could be renamed The Avengers."
Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
Chen Siqi, however, did not find anything amiss.
OK, it really is just the Avengers in the literal sense.
Lu Yanhe smiled.
There is no Avengers in this world.
Lu Yanhe said, "I've heard that Chen Jing worked really hard back then, but both MX and the company suppressed him and didn't give him a chance."
Chen Siqi said, "I'm kind of thinking of asking Chen Jing to write an article about his MX years."
“Sure,” Lu Yanhe said. “Jump Up magazine has always had close ties with the entertainment industry and has a tradition of having artists write articles.”
Indeed, many celebrities have published articles in "Jump Up".
It's quite strange that a magazine rarely features celebrities on its cover but publishes a lot of articles about them.
"This has always been criticized, hasn't it?"
"Why do you care about their criticisms? Right now, the only print media that can profit from the commercial market is very few and far between, and the one that's far ahead is 'Jump Up'," Lu Yanhe said. "Rather than becoming a clean, unattainable utopia that everyone is pursuing but can't find, I think it's better to be a mercenary Hollywood. At least, Hollywood, full of the smell of money, has also produced the Oscars and many truly good movies."
Chen Siqi: "You're right."
-
In this world, it's actually quite rare to see a male lead who achieves outstanding box office success in a movie but is instead universally condemned.
This scene, however, happened to Ma Zhiyuan.
Ma Zhiyuan was so angry that he roared in Zhou Ping'an's office.
Zhou Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "He's still the same, without any change." He also thought that yesterday's cause leads to today's effect, and no one can escape this cycle.
Zhou Ping'an also clearly saw the situation.
With so many people joining forces to suppress and attack him, it is absolutely impossible for Ma Zhiyuan to return to the mainstream artist path.
For at least the next five to ten years, he will only be able to continue working on projects like "Scandal" and "Scumbag".
Of course, this is already very good.
Many people want to become famous but can't.
Ma Zhiyuan was born for this job.
Every move they make becomes news and generates traffic.
The internet has brought him too many benefits.
Zhou Pingan waited until Ma Zhiyuan calmed down a bit before speaking to him.
"Now you should understand very well why you absolutely have no chance of getting the spin-off project of 'The Seventeenth Floor,' right?"
Ma Zhiyuan looked at him with red eyes.
His face was full of anger, which he had not yet completely calmed down.
Zhou Ping'an: "You used to have such a bad temper and made enemies everywhere. Didn't I tell you to watch your temper? You thought you were a superstar, a top star, and that others had no choice but to obey you and fawn over you. Today, you finally have a chance to turn things around, but these people you used to look down on now have the power to make it impossible for you to turn things around."
Ma Zhiyuan remained silent.
Zhou Ping'an: "You have many extraordinary talents and abilities. Perhaps that's why you're so arrogant and always believe you can stand at the top. Even now, when you hear me say this, you're still unconvinced, right?"
Ma Zhiyuan remained silent.
Zhou Ping'an: "I'll say it again: as long as you don't realize your own problems, even if you work hard to make a comeback and return to your original peak, you will still fall down one day."
Ma Zhiyuan: "You have no intention of giving me a second chance."
Zhou Ping'an frowned.
"What?"
Ma Zhiyuan: "You never told me how I could make a comeback."
Zhou Ping'an: "I'm sorry, I'm powerless to help. I really have no way."
"You're just watching me make a mess of things." Ma Zhiyuan grinned menacingly.
Zhou Ping'an remained silent.
“Because I threatened you, right?” Ma Zhiyuan clenched his fist. “So, from the very beginning, you never hoped that I would really get better. You were also hesitant and didn’t dare to take action yourself. You just silently watched as I was attacked by others. You didn’t even arrange public relations or try to suppress these attacks on me.”
Zhou Pingan smiled.
"So you did know that the things you did made me unhappy?" Zhou Ping'an raised an eyebrow. "It was just a business relationship, but you're making it sound like I betrayed you. Do you think the whole world has wronged you? I'm sitting right here, not kicking you when you're down, and you should thank me for that."
Ma Zhiyuan nodded.
He stood up.
He pointed at Zhou Ping'an and gestured with his finger.
"Fine, you're ruthless."
(End of this chapter)
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