Chapter 101
The next day, Lin Ting still went to Haishi with Han Ming. When she returned, she was not as upset as she had imagined. Instead, she was amazed by how much time had passed. Her meeting with the director and producer went smoothly, and they initially agreed to cooperate.
When Lin heard this, she was worried that the other person would find her face familiar. She recalled the sensational news from three years ago, but no one recognized her.
The online world is constantly changing. Some people and some things have long been forgotten with the passage of time, only those who experienced them are still getting soaked in that storm.
It was already evening when the meeting ended, and it wasn't safe to drive back to the county town at night, so Han Ming took Lin Ting back the next day. Lin Ting didn't stay at Han Ming's home in Haishi, but stayed at a hotel.
Night, like a profound scroll, slowly unfolded over the city. Lin Ting stood by the hotel room window, her gaze piercing through the transparent glass, fixed on the glittering world outside. The city's nights remained unchanged; no matter how deep or dark the night, it was always bustling and vibrant, its lights dazzling.
Since Lin Qin left, Lin Ting's spiritual world has collapsed. She is busy at the store during the day, making work fill all her time, but when the night is quiet and she is all alone, an indescribable loneliness and solitude will overwhelm her, reminding her that the people she loves and who love her are no longer here.
In this vast world, I am all alone. No one cares if I am alive, and no one remembers if I die.
With this in mind, no amount of indulgence or debauchery would be too much.
Lin Ting turned around, changed her clothes, put on bright red lipstick, and walked out of the hotel.
There was a pub on the next street, and there happened to be a band playing tonight, so Lin Ting went in without hesitation.
In recent years, she has preferred to numb herself with alcohol. When she drinks too much, she can't remember anything and therefore doesn't feel pain.
After listening to Lin, he first ordered a drink at the bar. After a while, the lights on the stage shone down on the audience, smoke billowed up, and the band rose up from the center of the stage, playing electric guitar and drums. The atmosphere instantly became lively.
The audience members went to the dance floor and started dancing to the music, and Lin Ting joined in.
In the dance floor, people were arm in arm, clothes rubbing against each other. As the percussion got faster and faster, the atmosphere became hotter and hotter. Some people even jumped onto the stage shirtless to dance.
At first, Lin Ting only moved slightly with the crowd, but gradually she broke into a sweat, untied the scarf around her neck, waved it, and completely let loose.
Today, she wore a tight-fitting off-the-shoulder knit top and high-waisted black jeans. Normally, her slender, white waist would be eye-catching enough when she danced, but now that her scarf was untied, her shoulders and chest were exposed. Her fair skin shone like pearls under the lights. She had a small face, bright eyes, and rose-red lips. She was both innocent and alluring, and many men had their eyes wandering over her with lustful gazes.
But she didn't care or feel afraid. It wasn't her first time entering such a place of pleasure. She was used to these gazes. Wasn't it proof of her charm?
I used to live a very repressed life, but now I enjoy the pleasure of indulgence.
In the VIP room on the second floor of the bar, a group of men and women were discussing business over drinks. The man sitting in the middle was the one that everyone was vying for, but unlike the men around him who were all surrounded by beautiful women, he exuded an aura of asceticism. He wore a white shirt and black suit pants, and his eyes, framed by gold trim, were as dark as ink. He always had a distant and self-restrained smile on his lips.
Even though the room was filled with beautiful women, none of them could get close to him.
A middle-aged, greasy man picked up his glass and said, "President Chen, no, I should call you Director Chen now. Leave the publicity and distribution of your new movie to us. With your appeal and our company's top-notch publicity and distribution capabilities, your movie is sure to be a box office hit."
Another man chimed in, “Yes, this is your first theatrical film as a director, so you must find a reliable distribution company that can generate buzz and has a lot of connections. Our company meets all these criteria perfectly.”
Chen Zhiyi remained silent, gently stroking the wine glass in his hand. His fingers were clean and beautiful, with distinct knuckles. He had no intention of attending this impromptu party. If it weren't for Du Yuan's persistent persuasion, using his position as the company's executive general manager to pressure him and urging him, as president, to consider the company's sustainable and high-quality development, to meet the right people and make an appearance, and to be willing to sacrifice resources and interests for the sake of the market, he would have remained steadfast.
These people might come in handy in the future. I used to hate it when people talked about resources and connections all the time, but I've become one of them.
The event planning executive sitting across from Chen Zhiyi first refilled his glass, then spoke in a humble manner, "Mr. Chen, have you read the movie press conference plan we sent you? It's quite a coincidence, but our company handled the press conference for your breakout film, 'Secretly in Love with You.' This time, your directorial work is also a youth-themed film, and we've done many press conferences for this type of movie. We have plenty of experience, and it's sure to generate a lot of buzz online, giving your film a good start to its release."
The marketing company boss seized the opportunity, saying, "With a good start, plus our effective marketing and good relationships with TV stations, we can get you on a few popular variety shows and even create a group variety show for the cast. We guarantee you'll be satisfied with the publicity. Besides, youth-themed movies always sell well during the summer season. Your first self-written and directed film is sure to be a success in both fame and fortune."
These two companies are working together to sell melons quite well.
Chen Zhiyi finally spoke up, "How did you know my movie was going to be released during the summer season? I don't think it has a release date yet."
The two bosses looked at each other. Although there was no release date yet, the target audience for youth-themed romance films is mainly students, and the summer vacation is the most suitable time. In the past, films of the same genre were also released during the summer vacation.
"Mr. Chen, when would you like to release the film?"
Chen Zhiyi smiled, not giving a direct answer, but instead throwing out a question, "When will Qin Fei's new film be released? Do you have any inside information?"
This question immediately calmed the atmosphere.
Not only did the others present not understand, but the entire entertainment industry couldn't comprehend it either. The two, who once worked side by side, are now almost irreconcilable, fighting over resources, artists, and box office revenue.
Three years ago, Chen Zhiyi inexplicably disappeared from the entertainment industry for a year. When he returned, he founded a film and television production company, engaged in artist management business, and also invested in film and television production.
With his keen eye, he discovered the business opportunity in short dramas. He bought many popular novels from various online literature websites, including those featuring domineering CEOs, rebirth, and cultivation, and adapted them into short dramas. Each episode was about fifteen minutes long, condensing the plot and creating exciting and thrilling moments that made viewers unable to stop watching and prompting them to pay to watch.
I still remember how their first short drama series garnered over a million views and tens of millions in membership fees within a week of its release, making them incredibly wealthy. It was truly a miracle in the entertainment industry.
In just one year, "Little Ears" Pictures successfully went public thanks to its revenue from short dramas. Chen Zhiyi also transformed into a successful businessman.
Of course, successful companies must be diversified. "Little Ears" also invests in the production of regular web dramas and movies, radio dramas, movies, and derivative IP games.
Because Chen Zhiyi was born an actor, he had a unique eye for choosing scripts when he was an actor, and every work he produced was popular. Now he has directly transferred this ability to investment projects, and the works he produces are also box office hits.
Moreover, he likes to use newcomers boldly, which keeps personnel costs low and allows him to invest all his funds in production. As a result, his works have exquisite visuals, moving plots, and are anything but ordinary.
Over the years, many of the new talents discovered by his company have risen to the top ranks of the entertainment industry.
Chen Zhiyi has also transformed into a successful businessman, and "Little Ears" is a top-notch film and television production company.
It's natural to be envied and ostracized by peers, but Chen Zhiyi doesn't care. If you have the ability, come up and share the pie; if you don't, shrink to the side and wait to be eliminated. The business world is a real battlefield, not a talk show with empty words.
It was during business negotiations that everyone witnessed Chen Zhiyi's previously unseen ruthlessness. He was quick, accurate, and decisive in his actions; once he set his sights on a project, he would go to great lengths, sparing no expense in terms of manpower and resources, to acquire it. Undoubtedly, he anticipated that this project would be a sure-fire way to make a profit.
This was especially evident when he met Qin Fei, his former agent and mentor.
Qin Fei is no longer an agent, but the vice president of Jiali Media, and her focus is now on project investment and film and television production.
Whenever Qin Fei shows any interest in a project, Chen Zhiyi will contact the project owner as quickly as possible and persuade them to switch sides. Or, if a movie or TV series produced by Qin Fei is about to be released, Chen Zhiyi will arrange for his own company's work to be released at the same time.
Qin Fei has a good eye for talent and could be an excellent agent, but as a producer, her judgment in choosing projects is poor. She always likes to invest in works with grand scenes and lots of special effects, which are often flashy but impractical, with thin plots and broken characters—in other words, bad movies in the eyes of the audience.
The most famous of these is "Sea Castle," touted as the first Chinese-language science fiction film, which cost hundreds of millions of yuan to produce. It even brought in a team of science fiction experts from Hollywood, and featured top-tier actors and directors. It also built multiple physical sets covering hundreds of acres.
The publicity campaign started from the very beginning of team building, and during the middle of filming, the film even opened up interview sessions for reporters multiple times. The press conferences were also very grand, whetting the audience's appetite. However, after only one day of release, the film was met with a barrage of criticism online, and its reputation plummeted, leading to a wave of refunds from moviegoers.
On the contrary, Chen Zhiyi's low-budget suspense comedy "Famous Throughout the World," which was released at the same time, broke through the competition, received a lot of praise, and its screening rate increased day by day, with its box office soaring.
This directly caused Qin Fei to lose everything, and dealt another heavy blow to Jiali Media, whose profits were already declining.
Actually, Chen Zhiyi originally intended to release this low-budget comedy film as an online movie, but he received inside information that the film "Sea Castle" had received poor reviews from experts. So after "Sea Castle" was scheduled for release, he changed "Famous Throughout the World" to a theatrical film, immediately applied to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television for approval, and then the release date was suddenly announced.
Chen Zhiyi has read the original novel "Castle on the Sea". The future world it depicts, the grand universe and the struggle between various external forces cannot be explained in a short two-hour movie. Moreover, Chinese science fiction films started late, and the filming and special effects technology cannot yet reach the scenes described in the original work. If we insist on making it, we will only lose miserably.
Just as he predicted, he won big with a small investment and won this round again.
Later, when a reporter interviewed Chen Zhiyi, he asked if it was intentional for him to change "Fame" to a theatrical film and schedule it for the same day as "Sea Castle".
Chen Zhiyi smiled without saying a word, but his face showed the posture of a victor.
This also brought Qin Fei's confrontation directly to the forefront.
Everyone speculated about the reason why the two broke up, but no one could find any clues. Only Chen Zhiyi himself knew the reason, because Qin Fei had touched the thing he cared about most.
Although in everyone's eyes, Chen Zhiyi has achieved upward social mobility, transforming from a professional actor into a corporate president, he has not forgotten his original dream. The year he disappeared was spent studying directing at the Florence Film Academy. In the second year after "Little Ears" was established, he used the income he earned to direct his first web series, "Goodbye You." Although it was also a campus-themed series, it incorporated time travel elements, but not the common time travel format. Instead, it was a Möbius strip-like time travel, an infinite loop with no end. But no matter how many times it looped, how many identities he changed, how many things he experienced, or how many people he met, the one who loved the female lead from beginning to end was always the male lead.
Suspense, romance, time travel—every plot point resonates with the audience, resulting in a low initial viewership followed by a meteoric rise in popularity, with the number of online subscribers increasing daily. This drama is a revenue-sharing project between "Xiao Erduo" and Kuyou, with both parties profiting significantly.
Most importantly, it showcased Chen Zhiyi's potential as a new director. Many actors transition to directing, but few succeed, but Chen Zhiyi did. He received the Best New Director Award from the China Film Directors Association that year and became a member of the association, which is an immense honor.
Every director dreams of making movies, and Chen Zhiyi is no exception. So after finishing "Goodbye You", he directed a movie, which he wrote and directed himself. He wrote the script himself and kept it very secret from the start to the end of filming. All that people know from the synopsis is that it is a love story spanning ten years. Nothing else is known.
There's a little rumor circulating that Chen Zhiyi wrote his autobiography, a love story about his first love.
First love? Ten years? Chen Zhiyi has only been in the industry for seven or eight years. He was only nineteen years old ten years ago. That's too much affection.
This instantly raised audience expectations for the film, with over ten million people pre-ordering to watch it on Gouyan.com.
With the release date set soon, the accompanying publicity and promotion need to be in place. This is a huge, glittering money tree, and everyone wants to sit under its shade and pick some fruit.
That's why this drinking party was arranged on the spur of the moment.
When Chen Zhiyi asked about the release date of Qin Fei's new movie, the executives present exchanged glances, unsure how to answer. Even if they knew the release date, they couldn't say. Before the official announcement, all partners had to abide by confidentiality agreements. If they breached the agreement, what would become of their credibility? In this industry, it's too easy to be replaced by someone else.
Just when everyone was at a loss, a cocky rich kid slammed the door and walked in.
He was the son of the head of the publicity company. Chen Zhiyi had met him a few times. As soon as he came in, he sat down next to him, put his arm around his shoulder, and acted like a brother.
Chen Zhiyi disliked people who lacked boundaries, but out of politeness, he only made a slight dodge, but the spoiled brat seemed blind to it.
Not only are they blind, but they are also blind in their hearts.
He shamelessly declared, "Our CEO Chen is a true gentleman. Even with a beautiful woman beside him, he remains unmoved. Or perhaps the people sitting here aren't to your liking? Why don't we go downstairs and take a look? There's a band performing tonight, and quite a few girls are coming to watch. Many of them are young women from nearby universities, with pretty faces and great figures. They're really exciting to look at."
Chen Zhiyi's face darkened immediately. What he hated most was talking about men's lower body, as if sleeping with a few people sent to his side would make a deal happen, revealing the worst aspects of men's nature.
Seeing that Zhiyi didn't react, the young master shoved his shoulder again, speaking in a lewd tone, "Really, I just saw a girl on the dance floor who was both innocent and seductive. She had bright red lipstick and heavy eyeliner, but when she smiled, her eyes curved like a kitten, making my heart itch. Her waist was so thin, almost too small to hold, but her key parts were quite large. She must be amazing in bed." He even clenched his hands in the air as if to demonstrate.
Every word he said seemed to teeter on the edge of Chen Zhiyi's bottom line; it was utterly perverse and disgusting.
Chen Zhiyi no longer cared about saving face. He pushed away the young master's hand on his shoulder, adjusted his glasses, and got up to leave without saying a word.
Chen Zhiyi walked to the VIP-only restroom next door, took off his glasses, and shrugged. Now he had both fame and fortune, and could get whatever he wanted. He could make decisions about anything, but he had no joy at all, only endless exhaustion.
Without her by my side, I'm just living an empty shell.
The phone rang, and Chen Zhiyi glanced at the number before answering it immediately.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, we still don't have the information for the person you are looking for."
No, no, no again. Chen Zhiyi's patience was wearing thin.
"If there isn't one, why did you make this call? I want results, I want you to tell me clearly where she is! Don't you understand?" Chen Zhiyi almost shouted.
The other party immediately fell silent. "I understand. You also said that even if there are no results, we should report regularly. Today is the reporting day. If you feel that I've bothered you, I won't report next time. I'll report to you when there's news?"
Chen Zhiyi calmed down and said in a deep voice, "Let's continue."
Otherwise, I would lose all will to live.
The other person said, "Okay."
Without hanging up, Chen Zhiyi sensed that the other party seemed to have something to say.
What are you trying to say?
The other party stammered, "We've been investigating for so long and haven't heard anything. Could it be... could it be?" and didn't continue.
"Just say what you want to say."
"Could she have changed her name, or perhaps she's no longer here?" The voice trailed off at the end.
The other party did not know who Mr. Chen was. They always contacted him by phone. They only knew that he paid a lot of money, but he also had a bad temper. Every time they heard that there was still no news, he would roar like a lion that had suddenly gone mad, his voice full of cruelty and violence.
"Then find me the grave and bury me and her together."
After saying that, Chen Zhiyi hung up the phone. He didn't accept the result and didn't believe it.
He braced his hands on the edge of the pool, his head bowed, his once deep, dark eyes now bloodshot, revealing a numbness and despair.
"Where are you? Is it because you'll never forgive me and that's why you're preventing me from finding you?"
Lin Ting got tired of dancing, so she went back to the bar, drank her wine, and enjoyed the frenetic music.
Sitting at the bar, holding a wine glass, her usually clear eyes became hazy and dreamy, like a deep, unfathomable spring. Her fair cheeks were slightly flushed, and her long hair fell loosely, exuding a gentle charm with a touch of sadness.
There was always a guy at the next table whistling, raising his eyebrows, raising his glass to her, his lecherous eyes scanning her up and down, the flirtatious intent obvious.
But she didn't care, wasn't afraid, and completely ignored them.
Lin Ting knew that girls shouldn't come to this brightly lit place alone at night, and they especially shouldn't get drunk; they should stay sober.
But when medicine doesn't work, alcohol is much more effective than medicine.
Getting drunk will allow you to sleep soundly.
There is no one left in this world for him to care about or regret. Xiao Wei is now able to take care of himself and support himself. The bank card opened in his name contains the income from the shop, which is enough for him to live on until he is old. Moreover, the house is also in his name.
So there's nothing to be afraid of.
Then indulge yourself; it's not hard to find a little happiness.
I'd rather be in a daze than be awake, so I can forget all the pain.
Having drunk quite a bit and feeling a little better, Lin Ting maintained her last bit of sobriety, picked up her bag, and got up. Before leaving the bar, she wanted to go to the restroom.
Carrying a bag, she was still conscious, but her body swayed as she walked. Under the light, she exuded a graceful and charming aura.
Inevitably, one or two men tried to strike up a conversation with her under the guise of helping her, but Lin Ting pushed them away and refused.
As Lin Ting reached the bathroom door, her legs gave way and she fell into someone's arms.
She felt she must have been either dead drunk or insane to see a familiar figure, a figure she both loved and hated.
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