Generation Z Artists

Chapter 232 Let's all go crazy!

This is the most intense and wildest large-scale attack in the history of Chinese culture and entertainment.

Instead of naming names precisely, they're indicting only a portion of the population—how outrageous!
but……

"Director? I really did restrain myself."

"Okay, okay, you did very well...right."

Director Xie of the Directing Department at Beijing Film Academy rubbed his temples hard, sighed deeply, and tears welled up in his eyes.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just that you’ve already returned to China, when are you going to register at school? So many media outlets are watching your studies, don’t you care at all…”

"Why don't you just fail me and make me repeat the year?"

Fang Xinghe uttered wild and insolent words, which terrified Lao Xie.

"No, no, no, it's not that serious. You just come and attend a few classes, and you'll take the exams as usual. How did it turn into repeating a year?"

Uncle Fang thought for a moment, and realized that nothing seemed to have happened recently.
Well, staying for two days is fine too.

"Alright, I'll go back to school to take my final exams. Don't bother with any of those fancy, superficial things."

Fang Xinghe had a short get-together with his friends, told them to do well on the college entrance exam, and then boarded the plane with his luggage.

In first class, the flight attendants went crazy.

One after another, people came up to him for autographs and photos. Fang Xinghe opened his interface and scanned the chat – wow, even the worst ones were blue, and some were glowing red! They were all die-hard fans!
In high spirits, Fang signed autographs for them one by one, and the group of older women jumped and danced as a heartwarming encouragement.

Go Fangfang!

"Ignore those who slander you; we will always support you!"

"I will always love you! This is how I contact you..."

Ignoring the spider demon who wanted to eat dog meat, Fang Xinghe chatted with the flight attendant for a while.

"Am I popular among your flight attendants?"

Yes, we all admire you.

"Thank you, but I'm a little confused. Aren't we actually quite compatible?"

"Why can't I reach it?"

The flight attendant squatted down at Fang Ge's feet and patiently explained, "For us flight attendants who fly international flights on a rotating basis, no matter where the route we are assigned is, we are likely to receive preferential treatment because of you."

"Oh?" Wang Charlie's interest was piqued. "For example?"

"For example, if we bring two copies of 'Born to be a Madman' on a flight to Hong Kong or Taiwan, we can easily resell them through the local bookstores. Even unsigned copies can fetch a premium, signed copies can double the price, and personally signed copies are even more outrageous... but personally signed copies are generally not sold."

The flight attendant counted on her fingers, explaining each point one by one.

"For example, if you fly to the United States, you can buy a pair of women's Nike Galaxy 1s from a seller there and bring them back to China. You can earn almost a month's salary from that."

"For example, if you take a flight to Japan or South Korea and go to the Starry Sky store to buy cosmetics, you will not only receive exceptionally warm hospitality, but you will also get a discount."

"In many situations, our official fan club level is like a pass, which often allows us to make friends with international fans and travel together."

"We flight attendants who have the opportunity to fly international flights feel this most clearly. Since Fang Fang became famous internationally, we have experienced far less harassment and discrimination. How could we not like her?"

"Or, to be less pragmatic, just seeing Fang Shen in person is already a great honor. Many of our sisters and relatives in real life would envy us!"

The flight attendant smiled sweetly at Wang Charlie, but looked at Fang Xinghe with adoration in her eyes, a gaze that was simply mesmerizing.

Wang Chali laughed heartily and patted Fang Xinghe on the shoulder, saying, "Junior brother, hurry up, sign two more!"

Fang Xinghe thought for a moment, then took out an English version of "My Youth" from his handbag, asked for his sister's name, and signed it.

He didn't know if the flight attendant was exaggerating, but if not, then it was clear that his international reputation did have a real impact on the entire nation.

This is also one of the reasons why he did not write the "Letter to Some Citizens" in a more scathing and sharp way.

When disembarking from the plane, we naturally used the VIP lane.

But it was no use; the reporters in the capital were incredibly resourceful and had already blocked his car.

"Fang Xinghe, I am..."

It was so noisy and chaotic that you couldn't hear a single question.

Fortunately, the security team was sufficient, with three groups of twelve people who protected him closely from all sides, and the convoy managed to drive out of the crowd with difficulty.

Upon arriving at school, Fang Xinghe finally saw the banner he so vehemently hated but couldn't avoid—

[Warmest congratulations to Fang Xinghe, a freshman from the Directing Department of our school, for leading his team to the NBA championship and winning two MVP awards!]

Fang couldn't hold back any longer and pointed at that thing, complaining to Director Xie.

"Our film academy doesn't even have a proper physical education class, so why are you joining in this fun?"

Director Xie shut him down with just one sentence.

"You're a student, so we'll cover for you when you get into trouble, but we can't take credit for your awards? That's not fair!"

It's true, Fang Xinghe rarely finds himself speechless like this.

As expected, old, dried ginger is the best...

"Fine, fine, hang it up for as long as you want."

Fang Xinghe waved his hand in defeat: "But one thing, don't expect me to attend any meetings with you. I've avoided all the provincial meetings."

Director Xie immediately became very curious: "What meeting in the province?"

"What kind of conference on building spiritual civilization is this? The province insists on making me the chief advisor on the committee and even asking me to give a speech on stage. My head is spinning."

"Hahahahaha!"

Director Xie laughed heartily: "Then you're finally back! The General Administration of Sport specifically requested your attendance at a meeting, it seems to be a very high-level symposium, and the official letter has already been sent to the school!"

"They're so happy!"

Brother Fang curled his lip in disdain.

"If I were willing to be manipulated by them, why would I bother writing this article?"

When Xie Xiaojing mentioned "A Letter to Some Citizens," his face immediately contorted into a bitter expression.

"I'm really unlucky to have you as my department head. Since yesterday, many departments have been sending inquiries to the school."

"Then I'll elbow you?"

Fang Xinghe glanced sideways, and Lao Xie immediately panicked.

"No way! I've been taking the blame for 20 years at the Beijing Film Academy, who have I ever been afraid of? Don't worry, I'll outlast them!"

That's where the boasting stopped, because we went into the office building.

Someone shouted, "Fang Xinghe is here!" and then, one after another, the doors to the offices were flung open, with people peeking in and others going straight up.

The crowd was incredibly enthusiastic.

Along the way, Director Xie introduced Fang Xinghe to the department's main lecturers.

They teach all sorts of things, but we'll leave that aside for now.

Wang Hongwei immediately came over and shamelessly asked him for a reward.

"Xiao Fang, if you give me an autographed basketball, the matter of skipping so many of my classes will be settled. I'll give you full marks for your participation!"

Xie Xiaojing glared at her immediately: "Who skipped class? I personally approved Xiao Fang's leave slip, what's it to you?"

He paused for a moment, then subconsciously turned his head to glance at Fang Xinghe's bag.

"You really brought the match ball? My surname is Xie, Xie as in 'thank you,' Xiao Jing as in 'small,' and Jing as in 'Beijing'..."

Cheerful laughter filled the office.

Fang Xinghe shook his head and took out a set of team uniforms from his backpack.

"It's really inconvenient to bring the match balls, and we don't have many, but we have plenty of team jerseys. What would you like to sign?"

Xie Xiaojing's back, which had been bent under the heavy burden, straightened up instantly.

"Just sign this statement: I'm not here for your benefit, my benefit, or anyone else's benefit; I've come to the NBA to conquer!"

Fang Xinghe's expression froze, and he almost lost his composure.

"Wow, you're pretty chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur)?"

"Chuunibyou" was a popular term coined by Fang Xinghe himself, and everyone present was naturally familiar with it, which elicited a burst of laughter.

Director Xie blushed and retorted, "What? I asked for it for my son. Why would I need your autograph? You can ask for my autograph again when you win one of the top three European awards."

In an instant, several teachers covered their mouths and quickly turned their heads away. Brother Fang immediately understood what was going on.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? If you had told me earlier, I could have saved a front-court ticket for my brother in the finals. It wouldn't have been so much trouble."

"That won't work."

Xie Xiaojing firmly waved her hand: "Even if you had officially enrolled, let alone before you officially enrolled, I still can't be this shameless!"

That's quite principled... Okay then, that's settled.

When Fang Xinghe signed off on more than twenty sets of team uniforms, the head of the acting department and the acting department teachers also arrived.

What followed was a lively scene, no different from a fan meeting.

Fang Xinghe did indeed criticize him harshly, but these teachers didn't take it personally and still idolized him as a basketball player.

If he were to win all three major awards, he wouldn't have this kind of prestige—does the film academy even care about a big-name director?
It's really students like Fang Xinghe who are fresh and exciting.

However, once the office door was closed, only Xie Xiaojing and the two head instructors, Wang Hongwei and Yang Lin, remained, and the atmosphere immediately became heavy.

"Xiao Fang..."

Yang Lin gently advised, "Just stay at school for the next few days, don't go out, and don't do any more interviews. I know you're scared, but there's no need to pay attention to them, right?"

"It's a good opportunity to catch up on some lessons," Wang Hongwei added. "The school can handle the reaction from the entertainment industry."

The implication is that the school can no longer handle the controversies outside the entertainment industry.

Fang Xinghe neither agreed nor disagreed, and sat down to flip through the newspaper.

"Let me see what's going on."

Nothing much, just an overwhelming stress response.

Xie Xiaojing informed him of some of the official's private attitude.

Part of the meaning is that it only involves those who can control the Nortel Networks.

"Private attitude" means that no action was taken openly, but concern was conveyed through various channels.

"Some leaders at the Guangdong General Chamber of Commerce have a lot of opinions about you..."

"Hey, what a coincidence."

Fang Xinghe chuckled, then raised his phone.

“Sister Yi called me before, and the gist of it was something like this—some leaders in the cultural sector have a lot of opinions about me.”

"How can you still laugh!"

Xie Xiaojing was at her wit's end.

"The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the State Administration of Culture, the State Administration of Publicity, the State Administration of Foreign Affairs, the Hong Kong and Taiwan Affairs Office... You do the math yourself, how many departments did one article offend?"

"It's not about the article."

Fang Xinghe shook his head, remaining as calm as ever.

"I shut the gate to the basketball management office, so the sports commission doesn't get any benefits. No wonder they hate me."

Not to mention the cultural front, they were made to look like a bunch of incompetent slackers by my comparison, so it's understandable that they were angry and embarrassed.

I understand that diplomatic work has become more difficult because of me.

Deep cooperation between Hong Kong and Taiwan has been hindered, putting officials' positions at risk and causing the most intense emotions.

Guang Zong, on the other hand, is fine. They'd love for me to stop playing basketball and go to Hollywood to make movies.

"Look, whether I write articles or not, things are already like this, aren't they?"

Xie Xiaojing was even angrier.

"Look at you! You know everything, so why are you so stubborn?"

"I can't be stubborn!"

Fang Xinghe spread his hands, instantly exuding that lazy and listless vibe.

"If I don't stick to my guns, who will wake up this bunch of brain-dead citizens?"

"..."

Xie Xiaojing remained silent for a long time, then laughed in exasperation.

"Alright, alright, I won't stop you. Starting tomorrow, go out and see what kind of reputation and treatment you have now!"

Fang Xinghe didn't even need to leave the campus; he felt it that very afternoon.

Logically speaking, given Fang Ge's status, he should be able to receive thousands of fans when he appears on campus, right?
In reality, a large majority of students majoring in behind-the-scenes fields such as directing, cinematography, literature, and voice acting show a respectful but distant attitude towards him.

The performing arts department is close, but not to everyone.

The girls basically didn't care about anything else; they would rush forward yelling as soon as they saw it. The boys' attitudes were more complicated—some were affectionate, some were afraid, some avoided it, and some were resentful.

One boy even yelled at him, "Fang Xinghe, you are selfish, irresponsible, and have no sense of honor. You are a pure cultural hooligan!"

Despite being the only one who acted impulsively and indignantly, he actually represents a certain trend.

Outside the campus, things were even more explosive.

Several state media outlets criticized him for "acting too aggressively," while People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency simply pretended that nothing had happened, neither praising nor criticizing him.

Almost all the major media outlets mobilized and launched a massive attack.

They were very confident this time, and the reason was simple—almost all the newspapers had received a large number of letters and phone calls from readers criticizing Fang Xinghe.

Now, criticizing you guys, Xiao Fang, is politically correct.

If we also include the Hong Kong and Taiwanese media that stir up trouble, then it's truly outrageous; everyone is jumping up and down in anger.

Fang Xinghe's friends in the media and cultural circles were all extremely anxious.

The main problem is that there are very few counter-offensive positions left.

Only four print media outlets remain willing and daring to voice their support for him: Jilin Daily, Beijing Youth Daily, Xinmin Evening News, and China Youth Daily.

There are only three television stations left – Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning.

Many friends want to speak out for him, but there is no channel for it.

It's not difficult for the media to stir up trouble with whomever they want.
You speak well of him, and he'll cut it all off.

If you insult him, you get a chicken leg.

That's really the situation now; everywhere is just pure emotional venting.

Ultimately, unlike 30 years from now, more than half of netizens today possess a considerable degree of independent thinking ability, and anyone trying to stir up trouble can only incite a small group of idiots.

The young and middle-aged people of today are very capable at work, but their pure-mindedness is not much better than that of the Ukrainians.

So, after being thoroughly enraged by Fang Xinghe, he didn't care about anything else and started cursing first.

Fang Xinghe had anticipated this.

How could you possibly expect them to suddenly realize their mistakes and change their long-standing stubbornness with just one article?

I wrote this just for the sheer pleasure of it, to have my thoughts flow freely and feel truly happy.

By the way... let's refine our fanbase.

Look at this, Baby's Breath is fighting with the haters online, almost to the point of madness. Isn't that a reward?
As for how to clean up the mess...

Brother Fang had already made his plan.

But no rush. Let them break down a little longer, and let the young master be happy for a few more days.

Fang Xinghe casually made a phone call to Jilin Daily, and the next day, Jilin Daily published Fang's latest response on a full page.

It's just a few words, thick, black, and a straight line...

"That's it?! Everyone's already broken down?! ⊙o⊙"

Yes, that's right. Brother Fang was in charge, Ji worked overtime, and even came up with an emoticon.

This marks the first time emoticons have appeared in the history of publishing worldwide.

Without any explanation, the moment readers saw that expression, they understood what it meant.

The destructive power of "that's it" was already formidable enough, proven over time, and then there's this emoticon that's destined to go down in history, surpassing the limits of current communication studies... tsk tsk!
The wounds of the masses were instantly torn apart. What was originally just a breach of defense has now turned into a complete nightmare.

What does it matter if someone is only 13 ugly?
The entire media industry, all public intellectuals and experts, and even the indignant haters... they're all going crazy!

(End of this chapter)