Actor: Thank you.

"Master Liu, I'm innocent!"

"Your Honor, the Upright Official!!!"

"Don't shout."

Liu Lanfang got a headache when she heard Zhang Yuan crying.

I don't know you yet.

Most people will rush in if they can get a good deal, and complain when they suffer a loss.

You little brat, you got the better deal and you're still complaining!

"I'm old and have a weak heart. I don't want to be frightened," Liu Lanfang complained, though her tone wasn't particularly harsh.

Because Zhang Yuan called out "Master".

Liu Lanfang's ability to become the chairperson of the China Quyi Artists Association is not just a matter of artistic skill.

They also know how to get along with people.

In fact, according to the lineage of Fu Ping'an, the seventh-generation storyteller, both she and Mr. Yuan are ninth-generation storytellers.

However, the old lady lowered her generation and, together with the other three great storytellers, addressed Mr. Yuan as her senior uncle and considered herself his junior nephew.

In the world of traditional Chinese performing arts, you can be arrogant, have integrity, and disdain everyone. If your skill level is high enough, it will actually give you the air of an artist.

But if you want to be a leader, you have to learn to bow your head.

Every leader starts from the bottom; no one is born to be the chairman of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association.

Only by respecting superiors and inferiors will people respect you, and only then will your words carry weight.

So bowing your head occasionally is nothing to do when you're trying to climb the ladder.

But when she heard Zhang Yuan call her his advisor, the old lady was delighted.

It's one thing for me to acknowledge Mr. Yuan as my senior uncle, but it's also fine for you, my junior, to call me senior uncle. I don't mind.

But calling someone "Master" is a sign of respect.

Similarly, Zhang Yuan is theoretically Mr. Yuan's daughter's apprentice, but it is still the old man who teaches him.

In practical terms, he could be considered an apprentice.

He was a generation older than Liu Lanfang, and Liu Lanfang was a generation younger than him, so the two of them were shoulder to shoulder.

Can he call Liu Lanfang "senior sister"?

Even if the old lady doesn't scold you, her apprentice will beat you.

We've become their grandsons.

Chairman Liu thought that this young man was capable and had potential.

It's not that the old lady is greedy for seniority; it's that there are too many bad, shrewish, and strange people in the performing arts industry.

There are indeed people who take advantage of seniority as soon as they open their mouths, and there are more than one or two of them.

Many people spend tens of thousands of yuan to become apprentices to unscrupulous veteran artists, and then they act superior to everyone they meet.

That's why people in the performing arts and the world of martial arts always have to talk things out when they meet, and they absolutely must.

"Master, you must do me justice!"

“I don’t usually have much contact with the performing arts, and I don’t compete with them for their livelihood. They even harm me.” Zhang Yuan said while cleaning his ear and performing.

"It's said that writers despise each other and artists look down on each other, but these people are just too despicable."

"Don't talk nonsense," the old lady quickly stopped her.

Why did you also start swearing?

"Someone told me that you were mocking the Mei family." After the old lady addressed him as "Master Advisor," she finally told the truth.

"Do you think I have the guts?" Zhang Yuan retorted.

Liu Lanfang: It's hard to say.

Zhang Yuan: …

"Master Liu, I mentioned on the show that I received an offer to star in the movie 'Mei Lanfang,' but I ultimately didn't go."

"Is this considered a satire of the Mei family?"

"There must be some petty people who are envious, jealous, and hateful, and are deliberately trying to ruin me!"

"If they do that, we're all doomed."

"I'll go to the Chinese Music Association tomorrow. We'll have a meeting and vote to expel me."

"It will also save the Chinese Quyi Association trouble."

Liu Lanfang's headache worsened.

The old lady thought to herself, "Should I not have brought him into the Quyi Association?"

When this kid says he'll be expelled, is he really serious?
A picture suddenly popped into Chairman Liu's mind.

Zhang Yuan, holding Yuan Kuocheng's hand with his left hand and carrying Hou Yuewen's black-and-white photo in his right, went to the Quyi Association meeting...

It's hard to say about others, but this kid is really capable of doing something like this.

"Don't cause trouble, just stay put and don't get me into any more trouble." Liu Lanfang's call today was just to inquire and give me a warning.

She couldn't possibly be unaware of what kind of people worked in the performing arts.

Just like Chen Shiren's idea and approach, her method was to suppress the situation, let things calm down, and prevent them from escalating.

Because some people will take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble.

It's inevitable that some people might try to seize the opportunity to usurp the throne.

Because at this point, the affairs and personnel of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association were already very clear, and Jiang Kun was the vice chairman.

Once she comes down, it will definitely be the turn of Ma Ji's faction to go up.

No matter how well it's decided, there will always be people who disagree.

She also needs to maintain stability to prevent trouble.

Therefore, Zhang Yuan was not afraid at all and would cover for others.

As long as I don't directly stand up and point my finger at the Mei family to curse them, there's basically no problem.

“I will talk to other people too, but don’t mention the Mei family’s affairs recently, and not the movie either.”

"It's all up to you."

"That's fine then." The old lady was both troubled and pleased.

"By the way, where are you now?"

"The association will be visiting veteran artists and doing publicity during the upcoming holidays. You can make an appearance if you have time."

I also want that movie actor to be my publicity ambassador.

"I'm in Shanghai, I can't leave here."

"By the way, I should let you know in advance that Mr. Zhao Benshan is ill and needs to have surgery."

"what!"

For most people, Teacher Zhao's current situation must be kept secret, but it's different for Liu Lanfang.

Because Uncle Benshan is also a member of the Chinese Quyi Association, and the vice chairman of the Liaoning Quyi Association, he is a member of her subordinate unit.

At this point, the Chinese Quyi Artists Association had to speak out and offer condolences.

After hearing this, Chairman Liu realized that Teacher Zhao had suffered a stroke from drinking too much.

My hand holding the phone was shaking.

"it is good."

"Good boy!"

"I've offended the Mei family, and now someone's come looking for me."

"Zhao Benshan almost drank himself to death over there."

"Our Chinese folk art world will be ruined by you sooner or later."

Teacher Liu thanked him through gritted teeth and quickly notified the association to handle Zhao Benshan's matter.

He informed Zhang Yuan, and Zhang Yuan informed him in return; it was a case of tit for tat.

"Sure enough, they came to the Chinese Quyi Association to find me."

"But the Mei family isn't a member of the Chinese Quyi Association. It would be a miracle if they came to my territory to cause trouble."

Zhang Yuan pondered that his position as a council member of the Chinese Quyi Artists Association had shielded him from a lot of trouble.

If I were to acquire some membership in the China Television Artists Association or the China Film Association, wouldn't I be set for life? Once I become a "mainstream" artist, anyone who messes with me, I'll organize eight hundred film critics to smear them... and then I'll truly become a mainstream film artist.

After browsing through the news online, Zhang Yuan noticed that Poet Chen had handled the situation with unusual discretion, which he found regrettable.

"It seems that the other side also has a master to guide them."

"Never mind, I've already achieved my publicity goal anyway."

"The purpose of revenge... Bah, I'm not one to hold grudges, so why would I talk about revenge?"

He was overjoyed at the thought that Poet Chen must be sulking.

The online buzz surrounding "Ip Man" has now reached the expected level.

However, the negative news about Director Chen did not reach expectations due to his unusually low profile.

However, there are still many topics about the play "Mei Lanfang", especially the comparison with "Farewell My Concubine".

Someone even created a classic film and television overview on Baidu Tieba, a project that existed before the advent of the short video era.

In other words, it involves showing pictures with accompanying text analysis, creating a thread so that viewers can see the whole story.

These thread-building movie-watching posts often include the poster's personal analysis, with various comments such as "not as good as before" and "getting worse and worse."

Even the long-standing claim that "Farewell My Concubine was not filmed by Chen Kaige, but directed by Chen Huaikai, with his son credited" has resurfaced in the public eye.

Mr. Chen was already suffering from cancer at the time and his health was very poor, so it was impossible for him to direct the film.

Ordinary people love to believe in these conspiracy theories, and they describe them in great detail.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuan thought that if he made a sarcastic remark about "Mei Lanfang" to make the poet Chen feel resentful, then this topic would be repeatedly used against him, and he would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood.

He can't prove himself by cursing his father, can he?

I can only keep it to myself.

Because of Zhang Yuan's reputation for "not holding grudges" and Director Chen's status, most people in the entertainment industry pretended not to see the public opinion storm and basically no one got involved.

Well, basically...

Basically, it means that there are still people involved.

And the one who blindly interfered is none other than Zhang Ziyi!
It's obvious to everyone that "Mei Lanfang" was sidelined this time in order to promote the new film "Ip Man".

Other actors are fine; they might not even know it themselves, but it was the publicity team and investors who orchestrated it.

But Zhang Yuan is the investor in this area.

No one would believe him if he said he didn't do it.

There are many actors in the film "Mei Lanfang". Sun Honglei is on good terms with him, and with his high EQ, he would never offend potential investors.

Leon Lai never gets involved in such public opinion.

Yu Shaoqun, who played the young Mei Lanfang, has not given many interviews. When asked if he thought Zhang Yuan would have played the role better than him, he was asked.

The young man just smiled and said he didn't know him, didn't recognize him, and wouldn't comment.

However, when Zhang Ziyi was interviewed and asked if she felt it was a pity that Zhang Yuan didn't participate in the film, she gave a very serious answer.

"I think Director Chen Kaige is the best director."

"The actors he selected for the production must be the best and most suitable."

This is actually a disguised way of praising himself and also complimenting the poet Chen.

But the media, upon hearing this, exclaimed, "Great!"
"Zhang Ziyi said that Zhang Yuan was not suitable for the role of Mei Lanfang, so he was not selected."

The allure of journalism.

And because of her words, other topics arose.

Didn't you and Zhang Yuan work together on "The Banquet"?
How come you two were promoting the film together back then, and even acting all lovey-dovey in the movie, but now you're at odds?

The media flock to any opportunity to make a big news story.

A few days later, Zhang Yuan sat on a chair in his home practice room, wiping away sweat as he rested.

I saw a gossip magazine's front page headline: "Zhang Ziyi and Zhang Yuan's relationship has broken down."

They even provided a standard image of a photo of the two of them split in the middle.

The article provides a detailed analysis of why the two people didn't get along.

The final conclusion was that Zhang Yuan's pursuit of Zhang Ziyi was unsuccessful, and he had even tried to use Zhang Ziyi's connections in Hollywood to help him find a job.

Zhang Yuan: …

In these kinds of romantic scandals, the woman usually has the upper hand in public opinion.

Because most of the people who read gossip are women.

Just like why there's so much feminist content in stand-up comedy, it's because after several rounds of filtering, the audience is dominated by women.

"Damn it!" Zhang Yuan threw down the magazine. "They're making fun of me."

He thought to himself that Zhang Ziyi had gotten too big for her britches.

He's even more arrogant than Xiao Shenyang.

They've come after me.

Others may not know, but he knows perfectly well.

Zhang Ziyi is a shrewd person; how could she possibly say something that could easily cause misunderstandings unintentionally?

Did they mistake her for an innocent, pure woman?
She would say, "If you misunderstand, then that means it was intentional."

And if it wasn't intentional, she should have called me to say hello right now.

Her reason for doing it on purpose was quite simple.

Her film, in which she stars and also serves as a producer for the first time, is set to be released this summer!
Zhang Yuan is using Chen Shiren's name to promote himself.

She then rubbed against Zhang Yuan!
These are all promotional tactics used before a movie's release.

"With Wendi Deng backing me overseas and that Southern family and a wealthy man in Shanghai backing me domestically, I felt very important and awesome."

"They didn't even bother to tell me before using me as a target."

The movie is called "Sophie's Revenge".

Let's not even talk about the quality. It's an all-star female-oriented movie, and they even specially invited a Korean oppa to star in it. There's no quality to speak of in this kind of movie.

The biggest news before the show aired was the feud between Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing.

The plot is almost identical to the catfight between Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei in "Painted Skin 2".

The makeup artist revealed that the two did not get along on set.

They then insulted each other on the show.

The scandal involving the two leading actresses garnered a huge amount of attention for the film before its release.

Female viewers were all there for the "big actresses' feud".

The long-standing feud between Zhang Ziyi and Fan Bingbing actually began during the promotional period for this film.

There will definitely be conflicts, after all, there are only so many top-tier resources, so there will inevitably be competition.

However, neither of them are easy to deal with, and they maintain a certain dynamic balance with each other.

The fights between male and female actors over billing order in later TV dramas are all things these veteran actors have already done.

You two can fight it out, but why drag me into it?

In the parlance of crosstalk, this is called "making fun of me".

Do you think we've ever had that kind of relationship?

Zhang Yuan recalled asking the other party about Tang Wei.

He was sincere and spent a lot of money to set up a table, but the other party didn't give him any face at all.

They're still trying to take advantage of me, pushing me to new heights.

A war of words has broken out online between him and Zhang Ziyi's fans, with many people attacking each other.

This is detrimental to the public opinion direction he has recently cultivated.

Then create a character for me who's a scumbag who lives off female celebrities to climb the social ladder and then abandons them in the end.

She can say whatever she wants, and no one will believe me even if I try to explain.

He opened the "Don't Hold Grudges" notebook in his mind and added a name to it.

He felt he might need to get a bigger notebook, as he couldn't fit everything in it.

While names can be recorded, public opinion still needs to be addressed.

"Looks like there are still some fools who don't know their own mortality." Zhang Yuan racked his brains for a moment and came up with a way to counter their attack... (End of Chapter)