Chapter 90: Chapter 90: The Battle of Public Opinion
Translator: 549690339
Rejected?
Why was it rejected?
Chen Xiaoyi felt baffled and immediately dialed the editor-in-chief’s number.
The editor-in-chief spoke helplessly on the other end of the line, “Xiaoyi, it’s not that you didn’t write well, but we just received word that such an article can’t be published! ”
“Why not?” Chen Xiaoyi was somewhat unconvinced.
“Because… someone has spoken!”
The editor-in-chief hung up the phone.
Chen Xiaoyi sat in her seat, stunned for a long time.
There was no need to ask; this was surely the Xie Family’s doing.
Even an entertainment magazine like hers could be controlled, showing the extent of the Xie Family’s power.
She couldn’t help shivering, as the vision of the man on stage today with his commanding presence and astonishing aura appeared before her eyes.
Even though she had only seen him today, Xue An had left a deep impression on her.
She didn’t know… if he could win.
It was not long after the press conference had started.
Hua Ruyue got wind of the news.
She, who was shooting on set, immediately returned to her dressing room and started looking at her phone.
When she heard Xue An was prepared to invest a billion to help Fan Mengxue make a movie, she became so angry that she threw her phone.
Why!
Why was it always Fan Mengxue who stumbled upon such good fortune?
However, after she calmed down, she felt that things were not so simple.
This man was very unfamiliar, probably not from any prominent family in the province.
A billion was not a small sum.
Could it be just a bluff?
Maybe it was so!
And this is the provincial capital!
The turf of Young Master Xie.
Does he dare to show off like this?
Is he tired of living?
With these thoughts in mind, Hua Ruyue hurriedly made a call to Xie Tianci.
Xie Tianci actually knew even earlier.
But he didn’t care about these things at all.
He just looked at a photo with a slightly cold laugh.
The photo clearly showed the scene of Qin Yu arriving in the province.
Was the Qin Family also joining in the excitement?
Xie Tianci certainly knew about the Qin Family’s failed attempt to expand their business into the provincial capital over a decade ago, resulting in total defeat.
He didn’t expect they would dare to come again this time, and even sent their direct granddaughter.
Had Qin Yuan gone senile?
But when he received Hua Ruyue’s call,
Xie Tianci simply said, “No worries, do they want to play around? Then I will play along with them!”
After hanging up, he looked at the delicate profile of Qin Yu in the photo, his eyes gradually becoming greedy.
The Qin Family was also considered a prominent family.
He wondered what the taste of a young lady from such a family was like.
But since she had come to his door, he wouldn’t be polite.
As for Xue An’s statements and the press conference,
Xie Tianci didn’t take them seriously at all.
In his eyes, this man was just a fool who didn’t understand anything.
However, he noticed the way Fan Mengxue looked at Xue An in the video of the press conference.
Her eyes were filled with adoration and admiration.
This caused Xie Tianci’s expression to become increasingly sinister.
“Want to fight with me? Okay! Then I’ll show you what’s what!”
Xie Tianci made a call and said just one sentence.
“Control public opinion!”
Indeed.
By the next day, all media outlets had adopted a remarkably unified tone.
It was almost entirely made up of cold mockery and ridicule towards the “God Slayer” movie.
Many so-called experts spoke at length, but their comments amounted to nothing more than various taunts about the press conference.
Some even went so far as to directly call Xue An a fraud.
After all, that was a whole billion yuan!
The media presented an overwhelmingly one-sided perspective.
As for the internet, it was filled with fierce arguments everywhere.
Especially under Fan Mengxue’s Weibo post.
Trolls and fans were fighting vigorously.
That evening, after dinner, Wang Wenjian opened Weibo, and after a quick scan, he was furious.
Those trolls were simply masters of fabricating facts.
The defamation of Fan Mengxue made Wang Wenjian’s anger uncontrollable.
He had been present throughout the press conference, and when he heard Xue An announce an investment of a billion yuan in the movie, he and the other fans were ecstatic.
But to his astonishment, these trolls were labeling Xue An as a definite scammer.
Wang Wenjian took a deep breath, then began to furiously tap away at his keyboard.
The battle of public opinion had thus begun.
Initially, online sentiment towards Fan Mengxue and Xue An was extremely hostile, even overwhelmingly so.
But gradually, many fans began to organize spontaneously, resolutely repelling the trolls’ vilification and smear tactics.
Surprisingly, the situation began to balance out.
Meanwhile, numerous celebrities watched the whole thing with cold indifference, not a single one standing up to speak out.
Hua Ruyue was closely monitoring internet opinions every day, and as she saw everything within her control, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat smug.
Although Fan Mengxue had many fans, they couldn’t possibly turn the tide.
So, she posted a few photos from the set online in a boastful manner, accompanied by an expression of fatigue.
Not long after, various celebrities began to like and comment on her post.
“Wow! Ruyue looks so beautiful today!”
“You’ve worked hard!”
“Hard work!”
“Wishing ‘War of the Gods’ a blockbuster success!”
Nearly half of the entertainment industry’s stars had checked in.
This created a stark contrast with the silence under Fan Mengxue’s Weibo post.
This only made Hua Ruyue grow even more arrogant, becoming lost in the dream of being the top actress in the circle.
It also inflated her ego to the point where, in the crew, apart from Stephen, she either hit or scolded other crew members, leaving everyone too angry to speak
out.
At this time, Fan Mengxue’s film encountered another problem.
A major male role remained uncast.
Originally, Han Yao had said the role could be played by an up-and-coming star in the industry, which would also bring more exposure to the movie.
But unexpectedly, this male star suddenly reneged, demanding an exorbitant salary and conditions.
Han Yao hung up the phone, her expression extremely grim.
Cao Zheng asked, “How did it go?”
Han Yao shook her head, grinding her teeth as she said, “That bastard has gone back on his word, and now he’s using this to blackmail us!”
Cao Zheng sighed.
He knew it wouldn’t be that simple.
“So, what do we do now?” Cao Zheng asked.
“I’ve just negotiated with him, and we’ll follow his demands for now. After all, we can’t afford to delay the movie,” Han Yao said.
“War of the Gods” was already halfway through its shooting, and if they delayed any further, they’d be completely out of the running.
Cao Zheng nodded, “That seems to be the only option!”
The next day.
Bi Yuntao, wearing sunglasses and a mask, walked out of the airport. Han Yao herself had come to pick him up, and upon his arrival, she hurried to greet him.
Bi Yuntao’s assistant, a woman with a face full of horizontal scars, scoffed upon seeing only Han Yao, “Why is there only one person to pick up?”
Bi Yuntao himself was utterly indifferent, not even giving Han Yao a second glance.
Grinding her teeth, Han Yao forced a smile, “Teacher Bi, there’s just too much going on in the crew, so I came to pick you up myself.”
“Hmph! Just get in the car!” the burly assistant commanded coldly.
Han Yao drove the car and took Bi Yuntao back to the location of the crew.
This was the largest film studio in the provincial capital, which Qin Yu had extravagantly rented out entirely, just for this movie..