Shang Yechu sighed and reached under the table to twist the tassel hanging down: "Yes and no."
Gu Wenhua almost laughed out of anger: "What do you mean by 'yes and no'?"
Shang Yechu looked directly into Gu Wenhua's eyes and said frankly, "I'm sorry, I lied to you."
Gu Wenhua was stunned: "What?"
Shang Yechu said, enunciating each word clearly, "I lied to you. To be precise, both President Ji and I lied to you."
Gu Wenhua parted his lips, as if he wanted to say something. Shang Yechu immediately said, "Actually, from the very beginning, I knew this film couldn't make money."
Gu Wenhua's eyes widened: "You—"
Shang Yechu twirled the tassel around her fingertip and said slowly, "From the very beginning, I knew this film couldn't make money. In fact, I lied to President Ji, and I lied to you too."
Gu Wenhua seemed a little confused: "Ye Chu, you..."
Shang Yechu gave a bitter smile: "I lied to President Ji, telling her that the 'strange tales of rules' in this novel were groundbreaking and might become a milestone in domestic horror culture. President Ji believed me, so she agreed to invest in this movie and even brought in 25 million in investment."
“But,” Gu Wenhua opened his mouth, “you clearly said in the online meeting that President Ji did not agree to make this film.”
"That was to deceive you." Shang Yechu lowered her eyes. "President Ji has been kind to you. If she directly asked you to make a movie, you would definitely agree for her sake. You can't force a relationship. So President Ji suggested that she pretend to disagree and let you follow your heart to make a choice."
Gu Wenhua paused for a moment: "Follow your heart?"
“Yes,” Shang Yechu said. “President Ji has been kind to you, while my relationship with you is not deep. If you still choose to make this movie under these circumstances, it proves that it is a good script, that you have faith in it, and that you will take it seriously. The result will be better than agreeing out of gratitude and making a mediocre movie.”
Gu Wenhua's lips twitched, seemingly provoked by a few words in those words: "Not a deep relationship? Just making do?"
"I'm sorry," Shang Yechu apologized crisply. "I know these words hurt you. But from my perspective, you rarely talk to me, we haven't seen each other for months, and you haven't contacted me even once. I think those four words aren't too harsh when applied to us, are they?"
A hint of sadness flashed across Gu Wenhua's eyes: "Yes."
Shang Yechu sighed softly: "I didn't know you liked me back then. So I thought this method was very fair. If I had known this earlier, I would never have used this method. It would have been like taking advantage of your feelings for me to force you to do something."
Gu Wenhua paused for a moment, then raised his eyes: "But why do you insist on making a movie that you know will flop?"
Shang Yechu released his hand, and the blood-red tassels drooped down, quickly returning to their vertical position.
"Because of this."
Shang Yechu opened her phone, tapped a few times, and pushed it in front of Gu Wenhua.
The phone screen showed an old street with faded signs bearing the words "Happiness Commercial Street" in gold lettering. The calligraphy was elegant and had an antique feel to it.
Shang Yechu said in a low voice, "You know, I started out as an extra. Before I became famous, I lived on this old street."
Gu Wenhua's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but scroll through the screen. Shang Yechu's phone contained many photos of her on Xingfu Commercial Street. There were pictures of her squatting on the steps eating artificially colored ice cream, sitting in a shop eating roast duck, reading in a bookstore, and taking photos with elderly people...
This was a Shang Yechu that Gu Wenhua had never seen before. Unlike her glamorous self, the Shang Yechu in the photo looked somewhat disheveled, and her life seemed impoverished. But the smile on her face was one of genuine sincerity that Gu Wenhua had never seen before.
Gu Wenhua gradually became engrossed in reading, flipping through the pages a dozen times. Just as he was about to continue, Shang Yechu spoke up:
"This old street is going to be demolished."
Gu Wenhua paused, looked up at Shang Yechu in astonishment: "What?"
"This street is going to be demolished. Business is getting worse and worse," Shang Yechu said in a low voice. "And there will be no compensation for the demolition. The neighbors will soon have nowhere to live. It's happening at the end of this year."
Gu Wenhua was stunned. Then, as if he had suddenly realized something, he said, "So you—"
“That’s right, just like you think.” Shang Yechu gave a wry smile. “There’s a general store on this street, and the interior is exactly the same as the one in ‘The Rules General Store.’ When I first saw that novel, it was like seeing a savior.”
“I want to use this grocery store in Happiness Commercial Street as a filming location. After the movie is made, it will attract movie fans to visit and take photos, which will help Happiness Commercial Street attract some customers and business, and make the developer change his mind.”
Shang Yechu looked at Gu Wenhua, her eyes flashing with stubbornness and relief: "I'm stupid, aren't I? But this is the only way I can think of."
“It would be too difficult to create a script based on Happiness Commercial Street, and there is no time to spare. This script, ‘Rules Grocery Store,’ is the best option I could find.”
Gu Wenhua's lips trembled slightly, and he asked incredulously, "Then you asked me to take this because..."
“Because I believe in you,” Shang Yechu said calmly. “You were able to make a film with a subject like ‘The Mute Woman’ gross 100 million yuan. I think this film will be just as good. I want more people to see this film. Among the directors I know, only you have the ability to turn a niche subject into a dark horse.”
Gu Wenhua stood up almost instantly: "Ye Chu—"
“But I’ve changed my mind now.” Shang Yechu also stood up. “These ridiculous little schemes were what I planned before I knew you had feelings for me. But now that I know, I can’t do them anymore.”
Shang Yechu took a deep breath and extended her hand to Gu Wenhua: "I'm not that despicable as to use other people's feelings as leverage. Let's leave it at that. Thank you, Xiao Gu."
"Thank you for going to see Director Gao Sanfu for me, thank you for taking an overnight bus ride to come here. I can't reciprocate your feelings, I can only say thank you, there's nothing else I can say."
Gu Wenhua stared intently into Shang Yechu's eyes, completely unaware of Shang Yechu's outstretched hand.
Shang Yechu smiled and said, "I wish you happiness forever. I wish you success soon and that you make many great movies. Let's leave it at that. Goodbye, Xiao Gu."
As she spoke, Shang Yechu waved her hand again, gesturing for Gu Wenhua to shake her hand.
Gu Wenhua suddenly grabbed Shang Yechu's hand!
"Ye Chu." Gu Wenhua's breathing was rapid, and he was almost incoherent. "You—you wait. I'm sorry—you wait."
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