Chapter 132: A Massive Scandal Shakes the Industry
The waiter led Li Chen and Liu Yifei in.
Upon seeing Liu Yifei and Li Chen remove their masks, he recognized who they were.
The few people in the private room paid no attention to the waiter, who was trembling with excitement.
The waiter carefully closed the door, his mind preoccupied for the entire evening.
Li An's wife looked Liu Yifei up and down.
She nodded repeatedly and smiled, “This girl is even prettier in person than on TV.”
Liu Yifei smiled and thanked her, then glanced at Li Chen, deliberating on what to call Li An's wife.
In terms of age, Li An's wife was much older than her mother, Liu Xiaoli, so she should call her Auntie.
But given her relationship with Li Chen, if she called her Auntie, what would Li Chen call her?
Li Chen and the two prominent directors before them were on equal terms.
Liu Yifei frowned slightly, feeling quite awkward.
Li Chen, being telepathic with her, guessed the general situation just by her small, bitten-lip expression.
“Call her Dr. Lin,” Li Chen said with a smile.
Liu Yifei's eyes lit up, and she smiled, “Thank you, Dr. Lin.”
Li An's wife smiled amicably, “Any name is fine. Come on, us three women can go chat inside and not disturb them.”
Liu Yifei obediently glanced at Li Chen, who nodded, “Go ahead.”
Lin Zhiling stepped forward, intimately linking arms with Liu Yifei, and started a conversation as they walked towards the adjacent room.
“In ‘those years,’ your wedding photos were absolutely stunning. I was so envious.”
Li Chen listened to Sister Zhiling’s Taiwanese accent.
He cast a meaningful glance at the nearly 'bald' Wu Yusen.
Wu Yusen smiled as he observed The Golden Palm director, who was young and full of vigor.
The recent war of words with Zeng Zhiwei showed people this young man's personality.
He just couldn't understand why Li Chen would refuse to invest in his “red cliff”!
Han Sanping told him that Li Chen had politely declined to invest in red cliff, and he would bring in other funds.
Li Chen felt indifferent towards Wu Yusen, looked down on him in his heart, and didn't want to get too close to him.
Li Chen was arrogant, but not conceited.
Wu Yusen, on the other hand, was exactly the opposite.
Back then, Chen Jiasheng's “painted skin” had cut scenes of the lead actor, Donnie Yen.
Instead, mainland actors Zhou Xun and Chen Kun were cast as the leads.
Wu Yusen was furious when he found out, confronting Chen Jiasheng directly and telling him he had broken the rules.
Chen Jiasheng feigned ignorance, asking what rules.
Wu Yusen laughed in anger. What rules?
It was the unspoken rule at the time that mainland actors could not be absolute leads!
Later, he returned from Hollywood, courted Han Sanping, secured investment, and started “red cliff.”
From then on, things spiraled out of control.
Several films followed, one being “the crossing,” touted as the Oriental titanic.
It directly led to the bankruptcy of Xiaoma Benteng.
But what Li Chen found most despicable was this.
Almost every film was funded by mainland investment, yet mainland artists, even A-listers, were being used to elevate Hong Kong newcomers.
He conned Xiao Yanzi into being a supporting actress for Lin Zhiling.
He called Wang Xueqin, saying he had admired him for a long time, only for Wang Xueqin to play a minor role in “reign of assassins” as a supporting actor for Big S.
Such examples were countless; in short, he inherently looked down on mainland actors.
Yet, he coveted the mainland market and mainland investors.
He was a typical example of someone who ate from the mainland's plate but smashed the mainland's pot.
From the looks of it today, Lin Zhiling was already in his pocket.
Li Chen sighed inwardly, realizing he was just worrying for nothing.
In the entertainment industry, if he expected everyone to have integrity, wasn't that just being overly idealistic!
As soon as Li Chen sat down, he stated, “Director Li, Director Wu, let's agree now, today we won't discuss ‘lust, caution.’ We can talk about greed, anger, and ignorance however you like.”
Li An paused, seeing Li Chen smiling at him, his gaze gentle yet firm.
Li An gave a wry smile, “You, you've shut me up as soon as we met.”
Li Chen smiled and didn't respond. As long as they didn't mention “lust, caution” to him, he was just a cat.
If they insisted on mentioning “lust, caution,” then they shouldn't blame him for getting agitated.
After that day, Li An had sought out Liu Xiaoli twice more.
But even after meeting Liu Xiaoli, the outcome remained unchanged.
This made Li An somewhat anxious.
Wu Yusen chuckled, “It's been over a year since we last parted ways in Cannes, and you've made quite a few big moves this year.”
“I have high hopes for that film, ‘the thieves.’”
Do you need to have high hopes? His tone was as grand as if he were an uncrowned king.
Li Chen found it amusing, “Thank you, Director Wu. Is this supermodel related to your ‘red cliff’?”
Wu Yusen was startled, not expecting Li Chen to see through it at a glance, “That’s right, I intend for her to play Xiao Qiao.”
“What do you think?”
Li Chen smiled, “Aside from her height, everything else is fine.”
With Lin Zhiling's height, how could she be small? Her bust was also quite impressive!
Outside, the men had been talking for a long time without getting to the main topic, but inside, the women spoke with fewer reservations.
Dr. Lin was very supportive of her husband.
She spoke about everything from her husband's resume and abilities to his connections in Hollywood.
Both Liu Yifei and Sister Zhiling were dazed listening to her.
It felt as if “lust, caution” winning an Oscar was already a foregone conclusion.
If Li Chen hadn't given her a heads-up beforehand, Liu Yifei would have truly believed it.
Wu Yusen seemingly casually brought up Li Chen's non-investment in “red cliff,” wanting to see how Li Chen would explain himself.
However, Li Chen stuck to his old line: company investments had specific procedures, and it wasn't something he could just decide to invest in.
The implication was that he hadn't even seen the script or knew who the actors were.
Just based on Wu Yusen's name alone, you're not qualified enough for me to get involved.
Wu Yusen felt a bit displeased; it was clear the other party was placating him.
With his current status in the Chinese film industry, no one dared to disregard him.
“A Better Tomorrow” vindicated him, and “Mission: Impossible 2” crowned him.
For so many years, everything had gone smoothly. People scrambled to get a share of his films.
But with Li Chen, it was different; he wasn't interested!
Wu Yusen said no more. Li An saw that his wife hadn't come out of the adjacent room.
He knew that things were not going smoothly with Liu Yifei.
He had planned it well: let his wife handle Liu Yifei, and he would deal with Li Chen, tackling them one by one.
However, he didn't expect Li Chen to cut him off immediately, not giving him a chance to speak.
That role wasn't unwanted; Big S wanted to play it, but he wasn't interested.
He had considered Shu Qi, but Shu Qi was hesitant.
His most desired actress was still Liu Yifei.
Because the character of Wang Jiaqi required a stunning appearance.
Additionally, she needed to have the aura of a cultured young woman.
Looking at those who could meet both points, besides Liu Yifei, he couldn't think of a second person.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to seek her out repeatedly.
Li An still didn't want to give up.
He laughed awkwardly, “Li Chen, you and I are both filmmakers, and we both understand the secrets of filming intimate scenes.”
Before he could finish, Li Chen raised a hand to interrupt him and smiled, “Director Li, if you mention your ‘lust, caution’ again, I will get up and leave right now.”
“I never say the same thing twice; today is an exception.”
Li An was utterly embarrassed. Li Chen's face was smiling, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.
“Li Chen, you’re too impulsive!” Wu Yusen said, narrowing his eyes.
Both he and Li An were established veterans.
The last time in Cannes, when he jokingly said Li Chen could start his own school, it was actually a polite remark.
Deep down, he still regarded Li Chen as a junior.
Furthermore, since Li Chen was from the mainland, he naturally felt a sense of superiority.
Even Zhang Yimou's “Hero” and “house of flying daggers” had Hong Kong actors in absolute leading roles.
But your “painted skin,” Li Chen, broke the rules.
Li Chen looked up at Wu Yusen.
The two stared at each other for a moment, then Li Chen smiled lightly, “Director Wu, this is no longer your world. Why did you come back!”
Wu Yusen's anger surged. Why did that sound familiar?
Suddenly, he remembered—it was a line from his classic work “A Better Tomorrow,” spoken by Ti Lung to Chow Yun-fat!
What the three in the room didn't expect was that even these three big shots would have a moment of unexpected failure.
A portable recorder under the coffee table recorded their conversation word for word.
“Li Chen, I'll give you a piece of advice: too much rigidity breaks easily.”
Li An didn't know how the situation had become so tense.
“Old Wu, Li Chen, let's talk this out.”
Li Chen sneered, complete silence towards Wu Yusen was the greatest contempt.
“Director Li, when words don't click, even half a sentence is too much. Let's end it here today.”
Li An stammered a bit, and Wu Yusen's face darkened even more.
Li Chen stood up, walked to the adjacent door, knocked twice gently, then pushed the door open.
Li An's wife, Lin Zhiling, and Miss Liu all turned to look back.
“Dr. Lin, Miss Lin, it's getting late, we should go.”
Liu Yifei had wanted to leave for a while, so she stood up and said goodbye to the two of them.
The three women left the room and saw a scene where Li An stood up, looking flustered, his expression like someone with hemorrhoids.
Wu Yusen, whose face was as dark as Bao Gong's, sat there staring at Li Chen without a word.
Liu Yifei also felt the chilly atmosphere in the room.
She secretly guessed that her boyfriend and these two gentlemen probably hadn't exchanged pleasantries again.
Li Chen took Liu Yifei’s hand and smiled, “Say goodbye to Director Li.”
At this point, even if Lin Zhiling had big breasts and no brains, she could tell what was going on.
Liu Yifei waved to Li An, who forced a smile.
Li Chen said no more, and the two turned to leave, completely ignoring Wu Yusen.
Wu Yusen was so angry he felt like he was about to have a brain hemorrhage.
"Unappreciative!" Wu Yusen squeezed out four words through gritted teeth.
Li An frowned: "Old Wu!"
Lin Zhiling stood rooted to the spot, her heart pounding, and unconsciously linked arms with Dr. Lin, Li An's wife, who was beside her.
Li Chen stopped, and Liu Yifei squeezed her boyfriend's hand, shaking her head slightly, signaling him to let it go.
Li Chen smiled at her and whispered, "It's nothing."
With that, without turning around, he tilted his head and said, "I'd also like to give you a piece of advice."
"By now, the mainland doesn't lack good actors and directors, nor does it lack funding, and even less so, a market!"
"Still wanting to play your old game of Hong Kong and Taiwan supremacy, taking money from mainland investors while looking down on mainland actors!"
"Wipe your old eyes clean, you can't even tell what's important, yet you still think you're so extraordinary!"
"Oh, and you wanted to know why I didn't invest in your 'red cliff'? No harm in telling you."
"From the very beginning, I never believed someone who never attended a single history class could make a historical epic."
"red cliff? Xiao Qiao? What a joke!"
"Good luck to you!"
Lin Zhiling's face was as pale as paper.
Liu Yifei's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would leap out of her chest.
She gripped Li Chen's hand tightly, her palm drenched in sweat.
She cursed her boyfriend inwardly, knowing that whenever he opened his mouth, someone was bound to be unlucky.
He got his satisfaction, but he was completely fine.
It was she who was nervous.
She was afraid her boyfriend would say something even more shocking.
Miss Liu quickly pulled her boyfriend away.
In the private room, only the agitated Wu Yusen and the helpless Li An remained.
Lin Zhiling felt the room was unbearably oppressive and, using the excuse of going to the restroom, made her escape.
"When people get too arrogant, heaven will collect them. Let's see how long he can stay arrogant!"
Wu Yusen said a platitude, bid farewell to Li An, and left first.
Li An and his wife were left to sigh, then paid the bill and also left.
The waiter immediately entered the private room and retrieved the portable recorder stuck under the coffee table.
He prayed to all gods and Buddhas for some explosive material, so he could pay off his debts.
In the restroom, he put on his headphones and listened to the conversation, his eyes wide as saucers.
This, this, this was too explosive!
He was rich this time! He was rich this time!
Leaving aside the waiter, who was ecstatic about his big catch.
Li Chen and Liu Yifei left the club.
Miss Liu then shook her boyfriend's arm and chided, "Anyone with slightly weaker psychological resilience couldn't be your girlfriend!"
Li Chen laughed heartily, stroking Miss Liu's smooth cheek: "That's why I chose you to be my girlfriend."
"Being slandered for years, yet remaining unaffected and unheard for years, your psychological resilience is more than just good."
Miss Liu felt proud and chuckled, "You spoke about people like that, won't there be trouble?"
"What trouble could there be? Besides your matters, nothing else is a matter."
Miss Liu affectionately linked arms with Li Chen, skipping and jumping, all the joy in her heart evident in her demeanor.
She no longer thought about the events of the evening.
After all, the cause of tonight's gathering was herself.
Her boyfriend had lost his temper because of her.
If she couldn't tell right from wrong, she wondered what her boyfriend would think of her.
Wu Yusen was furious, Li An was greatly disappointed, and Li Chen didn't take it seriously at all.
Back at the hotel, he enthusiastically spent a long time in bed with Miss Liu.
It wasn't until both were exhausted that they embraced and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, after finishing their roadshow promotion, the 'those years' crew left Taiwan early in the morning.
At the same time, a shocking piece of news broke out from a media outlet in Taiwan.
The entertainment circles of the Two Shores and Three Regions all took notice.
"Mainland's Renowned Director Li Chen, Rages for His Beloved!"
"Hong Kong's Wu Yusen Loses Face, Taiwan's Li An Helpless!"
"Real-Life Three Kingdoms War Breaks Out, Li Chen Unstoppable."
"The Story of Li Chen Not Investing in 'red cliff', Xiao Qiao Casts Supermodel Lin Zhiling."
The content under each headline was eye-popping.
The entertainment industry across the Two Shores and Three Regions seemed to have experienced an earthquake of magnitude 8 or higher.
Everyone was stunned because of the three individuals involved.
Each one was a prominent figure among Chinese directors.
Moreover, all three had Hollywood experience, and among them, the two Lis, Li Chen and Li An, were particularly well-known.
Currently, they were even more famous in Hollywood.
Although Li Chen had never been nominated for an Oscar, Chiyou Films was now known to everyone.
Besides, not being nominated was also because he didn't apply.
The most shocking part was the content about Wu Yusen losing face.
The dialogue within was explosive and classic.
It was reposted and commented on by countless netizens.
Even parody short videos started popping up.
In just one hour, it quickly topped the headlines of major portals and entertainment news websites.
Countless entertainment reporters were as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline.
They called the three parties involved, as well as Liu Yifei, the person who caused the incident.
However, none of them answered their phones.
Liu's Mother only responded that she had indeed rejected Li An's film offer for her daughter.
She said nothing more beyond that.
Then the entertainment reporters called Yang Siwei and Wu Bin.
The people at Rongchen Film and Television immediately reported the news of this big scoop to Yang Siwei.
Yang Siwei couldn't reach her boss, but she felt that these words sounded like something her boss would say.
Netizens were thrilled; if this big scoop was true.
Then what Li Chen said was truly inspiring!
Countless netizens flocked to Li Chen's blog to leave comments, and Li Chen's followers also grew rapidly.
Although the news had not yet been confirmed, the whistleblower claimed to have recordings of the conversation between the individuals.
Absolutely genuine, and now he was waiting for the highest bidder.
He would sell it to whichever media outlet offered the highest price.
The celebrities in the industry were all silent, afraid to offend any of the three.
In the Q group of Rongchen Film and Television artists.
Several people were also discussing animatedly.
"Senior is so fierce!"
"I'm not surprised that the boss said this."
"Just for Director Li's words, I don't regret joining the Rongchen Film and Television family!"
"Xiao Zhu, you should focus on your acting. Sister Xun now realizes how gentle Director Li was with Director Chen back then!"
"Sister Xun, it's Xiao Zhu, not Xiao Pig!"
"All of you, including Sister Xun, do not respond to reporters. I haven't reached the boss yet."
"The boss is too carefree; he's flying right now, and the industry is in chaos!"
Yang Mi was not afraid of trouble.
Li Chen was still in the air, and things hadn't been clarified yet.
Yang Mi first posted on her blog: From now on, my only idol is Senior!
Minutes after Yang Mi's blog post, replies started coming in.
"Not worshipping Nicholas Tse anymore?"
"Mi Mi, the boss has too many fans. You should compete with Siwei for the title of the number one die-hard fan first."
Although artists in the mainland circle highly approved of Li Chen's words, they dared not express their stance.
But the big directors and magnates dared.
Zhang Yimou, who was still filming 'curse of the golden flower', faced reporters with a chuckle: "What Li Chen said has some truth to it. Isn't he an outstanding representative of the mainland?"
Jiang Wen: "Hahaha, he's better than me. This calls for a big drink!"
Celebrities dared not speak out, but artists did.
"I strongly agree with one point Li Chen made, which is the market positioning of the mainland. This is an objective fact that does not change with human will."
Han Sanping kept calling Li Chen, but his phone was off.
He called Yang Siwei and learned that he was still on the plane.
Wu Yusen was also unreachable, but he had already believed the online rumors.
Because he was the one who told Wu Yusen that Li Chen wouldn't invest in 'red cliff'.
But he didn't give a reason, and now the reason was leaked online.
That clearly meant Li Chen himself had said it.
Han Sanping was extremely agitated.
"Dad, stop pacing back and forth, okay? You're making me dizzy!"
"Get lost, don't make me angry!"
Han Jianu giggled and went forward to link arms with her father, pulling him to the sofa and pressing him down to sit.
She also sat beside him and laughed, "Dad, why are you angry? I think what he said is right."
"I checked that Wu Yusen; he graduated from some Ricci College, which should be a church school, right?"
"Graduating from that kind of school and making a historical epic, isn't that a joke? Li Chen wasn't wrong."
"On the contrary, as the leader of mainland cinema, you should adopt a proper attitude. Even if you don't express your stance, you shouldn't go against the current and support someone like Wu Yusen!"
"Otherwise, we two, father and daughter, will truly be speechless."
Besides the people in the industry, there was one other person desperately trying to contact Li Chen.
That was Gu Yongkeng, because he saw the nationwide attention and click-through rate this news generated.
If he could get exclusive material, preferably an interview with Li Chen himself.
That would definitely bring immense popularity and attention to their Heyi.com.
Please give monthly and recommendation votes. This month, 218,000 words were updated. I hope to maintain this next month. I updated earlier today because I have something to do during the day.