Become famous another day.

Lu Yanhe had a very profound feeling.

A person may become friends with many media outlets during the early stages of their fame.

However, once he passes this stage and becomes the protagonist of the news, where even taking out the trash can make headlines, he will absolutely not be friends with the media anymore.

At this point, the media are the wolves, and he is the meat.

Their relationship could only be one of predator and prey.

The only friends you made during that period might have some feelings for you because of the relationship back then, so they wouldn't treat you like a piece of fat meat and only think about how to get rid of you.

However, for any celebrity, the media is their livelihood.

You can be hostile to these media outlets, but you can't live without them. Without them, you wouldn't exist.

Finding the right balance requires a very delicate art.
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Lu Yanhe has a terrible flaw, which he is aware of, but it seems that it is not so easy to change it.

The drawback is that he believes he can handle his relationship with the media well.

He always felt that even in the eyes of the media, these wolves, he was meat, and they could form a mutually beneficial relationship.

Over the years, he has appeared on the front page of the media almost every few days. Various news stories have followed one after another, never stopping. But not all media outlets have reported on or evaluated him with a hostile, scrutinizing, or even exploitative attitude.

Especially since "Jump Up" is also a media outlet. Precisely because of the goodwill he received, he was always unable to think of the media in an extremely negative way.

However, there are always some media outlets that, like villains in movies and TV shows, inexplicably appear in front of him, adopting a villainous posture, as if their purpose is to provoke him.

This reached its peak in his relationship with Chen Pinhe.

When Lu Yanhe hesitated to give an interview or make any comments about Chen Pinhe, a domestic media outlet—yes, the first to report this, not even an overseas media outlet, but a domestic one.

They say: Lu Yanhe's silence is his weapon in his quest for the Oscar for Best Actor!
This article was initially met with fierce criticism from Lu Yanhe's fans, who reported it for defamation and wanted it retracted.

However, by the time the article was deleted by the platform, it had already been translated into other languages ​​and circulated in different places overseas.

At this point, the other contenders for Best Actor during the awards season finally found a way to bring Lu Yanhe down from his pedestal.

The PR teams used their various skills to continuously exaggerate Lu Yanhe's utilitarian mentality, thereby smearing him.

Lu Yanhe's public relations team worked hard to mitigate the impact, and Chen Ziyan immediately sued the media outlet that had defamed Lu Yanhe.

It's not sending a lawyer's letter, it's filing a lawsuit directly.

However, what the media wants to capture is the largest share of traffic.

In the field of communication, negative content and the darker side of human nature always generate the most traffic.

Rather than reporting the truth, the media tacitly agrees that they prefer to report the "truth" that everyone "likes" to see, and all of that has to be put in quotation marks.

That's how awards season is—things change in an instant.

Before this opening was opened, other competitors saw no hope and naturally chose to maintain a friendly stance, applauding Lu Yanhe and displaying the elegant demeanor of a competitor.

However, when the mountain that was pressing down on them suddenly showed signs of collapse, it's no wonder that those behind them didn't want to take its place.

No one can still be smiling and clapping at a time like this.

Unless you have already received it, you can certainly present a calm and generous demeanor.
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Lu Yanhe faced his darkest moment during the awards season.

Even though he continues to win various award-winning titles, many media outlets have already begun to predict Lu Yanhe's downfall.

Will he have the last laugh?

He used to be considered the top favorite, but that may not be the case now.

Lu Yanhe's public relations team certainly wouldn't give up.

This is just the beginning.

Chen Ziyan, however, was not in a good mood. She cursed loudly in her office for more than ten minutes. After tidying up her makeup, she straightened her posture and walked confidently to a cocktail party. When others inquired about her with concern, she waved them off nonchalantly.

"It's just some common tricks used by award season competitors; Yan He is too lazy to even come forward and respond to such accusations."

Lu Qingzhen and Lu Yanhe collaborated with numerous brands they endorsed, working with his public relations team to leverage the power of those brands and continue to generate buzz.

At this time, the brands that endorsed Lu Yanhe naturally regarded him as a top priority client.

Awards season exposure is a promotional period that no brand can afford to miss.

A single exposure could bring in millions of dollars in commercial value, not to mention this is a journey that will last three or four months.

If Lu Yanhe wins the award, it will be a huge reward for the brands he endorses.

Therefore, no brand will falter at this time.

Promotion on brand websites, purchase of magazine covers, sponsorship of commercial activities, and public relations efforts utilizing personal networks and social connections—

Even if Lu Yanhe is portrayed by the media as a very worldly, calculating person who would even exploit the Chen Pinhe incident to win the Oscar for Best Actor, it doesn't affect anything.
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Sometimes, celebrities underestimate the influence and power of the media, immersing themselves in the praise from their teams and fans, feeling that they are the only ones who matter and that no one can take away their fans' love for them.

Sometimes, the media overestimates its abilities, believing that as long as it stirs up a storm of public opinion, it can overwhelm a celebrity and force him to fall from grace.

Lu Yanhe drove himself to a coffee bookstore in Yuming. Many people don't know that Lu Yanhe is actually the owner behind this bookstore. Years ago, when the bookstore was about to close, Lu Yanhe bought it and has been keeping it running ever since.

Of course, since no one knew that the owner of this coffee bookstore was Lu Yanhe, and there were no fans to support it, the store had been operating at a loss. However, the employees soon realized that they didn't need to worry about losing their jobs, because the owner of the store clearly didn't care about revenue or whether the store was making money.

This bookstore has a secluded reading room.

Through the extended exterior wall design, the area outside the bookstore where people can move around cannot see into the reading room.

But inside this reading room, one can enjoy the warm sunshine in winter and a quiet courtyard view.

The hallway outside this reading room connects directly to the back door. Normally, regular employees aren't allowed into this reading room. Initially, the employees assumed it was the manager's private space. However, they soon realized that it wasn't actually the manager's private space either.

That day, the manager personally made a latte and brought it into the reading room.

The shop assistants huddled together, chattering excitedly about who had come to the reading room.

"It must be the real boss."

"I think it's very likely. Why don't you go and take a look?"

"I'm not going. If the manager finds out, I'll be fired. Why don't you guys go?"

……

After much back and forth, in the end, no one went.
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"Boss, what brings you here to read today?" The bookstore manager asked respectfully as he placed the coffee in front of Lu Yanhe, his tone relaxed and cheerful.

Lu Yanhe: "The outside world is so chaotic, I've come here to find some peace and quiet."

The manager smiled and said, "What kind of book does the boss want? I'll bring it over."

Lu Yanhe waved his hand, "I brought my own."

Upon hearing this, the manager said, "Then I won't disturb your reading any longer."

After the manager left, Lu Yanhe picked up his cup and took a sip of coffee.

He genuinely came to read. He sat in the reading room, opened a travelogue he had read about a third of the way through, and read until dusk fell, turning the last page of the book.

He raised his head and stretched.

My emotions have completely calmed down.

Only then did he turn on his phone.

Chen Siqi sent him a message ten minutes ago, asking what he was doing.

Lu Yanhe took a selfie in the reading room and sent it to Chen Siqi: Just finished reading a book.

Chen Siqi: Shall we have dinner together tonight? I'm planning to cook a hot pot and invite Linyu, Zijun, and the others to have some together. The weather is getting colder, it's hot pot season.

Lu Yanhe said: I want to stay by myself now, you guys eat.

Chen Siqi agreed.

She didn't ask why.

She doesn't need to ask.

Lu Yanhe didn't need to explain further; he knew Chen Siqi would understand.

The hardest thing for a person is to maintain inner peace and dignity.

Lu Yanhe cannot say that he has reached the stage of "a light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains"; he may not be able to reach such a state even when he is fifty or sixty years old.

Fortunately, he now knows how to deal with the disorder within himself.

Escaping is shameful, but it's useful. Lu Yanhe accepts this.
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As night fell, he drove alone to the riverbank.

That's right, it's the place where he first came into this world.

Surveillance cameras have been installed here, so it's no longer a blind spot.

Lu Yanhe took the KFC paper bag, sat down by the river, took out a hamburger from the bag, and quietly began to eat it while looking at the dark, slightly shimmering river surface.

So many years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Are you ok?

Are you satisfied with everything I've done over the years?

Do you mind if I blatantly use what Chen Pinhe has done to boost the awards season?

Lu Yanhe silently gazed into the distance.

It's already December.

The wind was howling by the river; it was hardly the right time to sit there.

Of course, Lu Yanhe covered himself up very well.

He also wore a fluffy hat that covered his ears.

After finishing his hamburger, he opened his thermos and drank some chicken soup.

One bite and my whole body felt warm.

He asked softly, "How are you?"

He answered softly, "I'm fine."

Something gently landed on him.

For a moment, his body froze.

He dared not make any move.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew in.

His vision was blurry, and he couldn't open his eyes.

When the wind stopped, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Lu Yanhe opened his eyes again and looked up.

A soft rustling sound—it was snow.

He smiled suddenly.

What is he thinking?

But at that moment, my nose started to sting.
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"How's Yanhe doing lately?" Jiang Yuqian asked Li Zhibai.

Li Zhibai stretched out his legs, rolled over, propped his head up with one hand, and said, "He's been through countless battles, this little thing is nothing to him. Why aren't you worried about me? Those idiots are just hurling insults at me."

"You asked for it. We've been telling you to control your temper, but you just had to argue with them."

“They’re just asking for trouble,” Li Zhibai said. “They want traffic, right? I’ll give them a lot of traffic.”

"You know they just want traffic and are deliberately trying to provoke you, yet you still fall for their trap."

“Let them go ahead and give them this wave of traffic. I won’t hold back. If they die from holding it in, it’s my problem, not theirs,” Li Zhi said with absolute certainty.

Jiang Yuqian shook her head speechlessly.

"I hope Yan He can win the Oscar for Best Actor this time," she said. "No Asian actor has ever won the Oscar for Best Actor before."

Li Zhibai: "It's only a matter of time before he wins an Oscar for Best Actor. Given the number of projects he's managed in Hollywood and his status, he's already one of the few actors that the Academy is eager to send to him for an Oscar."

“That’s true,” Jiang Yuqian said. “Actually, I’m active in Hollywood, and the only criticism people have of Yan He’s work this time is about this film. They feel that it’s a Malaysian Chinese film, not an English film. The Oscars tend to overlook foreign language films.”

“They also have to maintain the status of American films.” Li Zhibai now understands these things quite well, after all, he has made several Hollywood films and has had a lot of exchanges with them. “The situation of the Oscars is different from that of the four major international film festivals. The reason why Yan He’s film is so popular is because the Oscars want to send Yan He to the Best Actor award. Otherwise, no matter how good the public relations are, it won’t be of any use.”

Have you thought about winning an award?

“I’m easygoing,” Li Zhibai said. “The films I make aren’t aimed at winning awards.”

"Do you want to make an award-winning movie?" Jiang Yuqian asked.

Li Zhibai: "If there's a good script, I'll make it. Besides, what kind of movie is guaranteed to win awards? Most of the time, you still have to work with a big director. But you know, I don't get along well with those big directors."

"Didn't you and Liu Bige work together quite well?" Jiang Yuqian asked.

“There’s only Liu Bige, but I think Yan He is more impressive. He doesn’t work with big directors; he discovers people who can become big directors himself.” Li Zhibai put his hands under his head. “I wish I could have his vision and courage someday.”

“You have a lot of guts. If it weren’t for your support, Liu Manbo wouldn’t have been able to make a comeback with ‘Grass on the Grass’.”

"That only applies to Liu Manbo."

Jiang Yuqian shook her head in disbelief.

"I never imagined I'd see such self-deprecation in you one day." (End of Chapter)