Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 185 Magic Confrontation
That afternoon.

Both sides first gathered at Guo Chuanlin's house. It had been almost two years since they last saw each other—not that the Black Panthers hadn't returned to Beijing, but mainly because Zhang Yan and Dou Wei were the closest, and after their falling out, they began to avoid each other.

Upon their reunion, they inevitably reminisced about the past and reminisced about the present. Zhang Yan, in his capacity as the producer of "Hair Messed Up," also invited Black Panther to attend the premiere on May 4th.

Despite all the effort, Guan Hu still couldn't release the film ahead of schedule.

Inviting Black Panther was also his idea; this guy was determined to turn the premiere into a rock 'n' roll extravaganza.

At 2 p.m., the six people arrived near the Beijing Evening News in four cars. In a private room on the second floor of a teahouse, they met Sun, the reporter in charge of the interview—a woman about the same age as Zhang Yan.

Upon meeting, Reporter Sun formally handed over a piece of paper and said dryly, "Mr. Zhang, and everyone from Black Panther, this is our interview outline. Please take a look and see if you have any objections. If you don't, we can begin the interview."

Judging from their businesslike attitude, Zhang Yan sensed that the visitor had ill intentions.

After reviewing the interview outline, it was clear that the interview was extremely aggressive and confrontational, almost to the point of questioning Zhang Yan about why he was unwilling to face the gap between China and other countries and insisted on clinging to outdated ideas and being petty.

Zhang Yan put down the outline and asked proactively, "Reporter Sun, are you usually an entertainment reporter or a political reporter?"

"I usually cover political news."

Reporter Sun didn't hide anything: "I volunteered for this interview. I was mainly curious about what you were thinking, Mr. Zhang. Haven't you always been a strong supporter of attracting investment and opening up to the outside world? You even made a documentary called 'Tianjin Wei'..."

This question was also in the outline, so it's clear the other party was getting straight to the point.

"and many more!"

Zhang Yan interrupted her and asked in return, "What does my criticism of some people who fabricate facts to praise foreigners have to do with our efforts to attract investment? Or do you think that foreigners are all vain and that if you flatter them, they will disregard the facts and invest money in us?"

Attracting investment requires vision, knowledge, and concrete policy services, not sycophancy and flattery!

Moreover, it is precisely because some people in our country blindly and without any bottom line cater to foreigners that various regions have paid a lot of tuition fees when attracting investment, and there have even been cases of collusion between insiders and outsiders to cheat and swindle, resulting in serious damage to state-owned enterprises.

That's why I hope some people can be pragmatic and realistic, instead of vying to become mouthpieces for foreigners—and the kind who practically throw themselves at it!

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, not only did the reporter Sun across from him frown, but the Black Panther members next to him also looked at each other in bewilderment—the former disagreed, while the latter felt it was pointless and unnecessary.

"cough~"

Guo Chuanlin coughed lightly, trying to ease the atmosphere, and said, "We're mainly talking about music today, Reporter Sun, do you think we should add some interviews on that topic?"

"Don't worry about that. We will write another article to publish the related reports you want."

As reporter Sun spoke, she looked at Zhang Yan and said, "Mr. Zhang, you just mentioned paying tuition. Now is the time for us to learn from developed countries. Shouldn't we show respect for teachers and elders? This is a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation..."

"Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, Teacher!"

Zhang Yan interrupted her again: "You can't use cursing the heavens and the earth and forgetting your roots to show your respect for your teachers. Besides, a proper teacher wouldn't like a student to do that, unless they don't want to take on disciples, but rather want to raise a few obedient dogs—the kind of dogs that bite anyone they see at the master's command and don't recognize their own family."

I am willing to learn skills as an apprentice, and I encourage everyone to learn from the barbarians to subdue them. However, I also hope that everyone can stand tall and be a decent human being, instead of stepping on their compatriots and forcing others to kneel down and act like dogs.

Hearing Zhang Yan call certain people dogs, the reporter Sun opposite him was visibly red-faced and said angrily, "Mr. Zhang, aren't you clearly using a fallacy of semantics? Take the article 'Summer Camp' as an example. Although some data is exaggerated, based on my understanding, the Japanese students did indeed perform better than the Chinese students in this summer camp..."

“Then just write it down honestly. We can clearly state our strengths and weaknesses. I’m not one to shy away from problems. Even if I’m not as good as others, it’s not a big deal. But making up such a ridiculous and laughable lie…”

"boss Zhang!"

This time, reporter Sun interrupted Zhang Yan instead: "I feel that you are quite disrespectful to me, interrupting me every time. If I take this as an excuse, I will conclude that you are arrogant, look down on women, and are full of male chauvinism. Are you willing to admit that?!"

Clearly, the opponent was no pushover either, seizing upon Zhang Yan's weakness to launch a counterattack, playing the gender opposition card.

If Zhang Yan admits it, then this serious accusation will be pinned on him.

If Zhang Yan denies it, then his attack on the exaggerated parts of the other party's statement would be seen as a manifestation of double standards.

"I'm sorry!" Zhang Yan stood up decisively and bowed. "I absolutely did not mean to disrespect women. I was just treating you as a competent reporter..."

He paused, then added, "Since last year, our Dream Fulfillment Project has donated 300,000 yuan to the Women's Federation. I believe this represents my attitude towards women more than any words."

Haha~
You want to play gender antagonism with your buddies? We're certified by the Women's Federation!

When Sun saw Zhang Yan bowing and apologizing to her, she thought she had won back the game. However, Zhang Yan first mocked her for not being professional enough, and then brought out the Women's Federation certification.

Considering the 'RU Fu' lawsuit last year, it's not surprising that the Dream Fulfillment Association donated money to the Women's Federation.

But this makes it much harder to play the gender antagonism card anymore.

The trump card he had unleashed failed to work and instead earned him a round of mockery. Reporter Sun's face turned as red as a pig's liver as he stared intently at Zhang Yan, gathering his strength, but he couldn't launch a new attack.

Zhang Yan, on the other hand, acted as if he were completely unfazed.

This reporter, Mr. Sun, is clearly biased. Even if he brings up the topic of patriotism, it will be in vain, so he simply doesn't bother to say anything more.

With things escalating to this point, Guo Chuanlin was at his wits' end. He had no choice but to stand up and say, "Reporter Sun, perhaps we didn't coordinate well beforehand. How about we schedule another time to talk again?"

Reporter Sun remained silent with a sullen face. She picked up her bag, snatched the outline back, and stomped downstairs.

"Hey~"

Guo Chuanlin said helplessly, "Zhang Yan, why are you getting angry with a woman? This interview with the Evening News is off. I'll find another one."

"I'm not arguing with a woman, I just can't let some people control me." Zhang Yan shrugged indifferently, "Anyway, I still need to make some preparations before going to the frontier, and there's still enough time."

At this moment, Li Tong of Black Panther couldn't help but advise, "Zhang Yan, look at which media outlets aren't praising foreign countries these days. If you do this, you'll offend a lot of people."

Luan Shu also chimed in, "Even in a developed place like Hong Kong, they still idolize foreigners, don't they? It's like this now, there's no need to go against them."

Zhang Yan shrugged and said, "Actually, I chose some idiotic articles, but who knew that even idiots would be eager to claim them."

Seeing his attitude, everyone shook their heads and gave up on the topic. They sat upstairs for a while, chatted about the preparations needed before going to the frontier, and then decided to go their separate ways.

Just then, Zhang Yan's mobile phone rang.

Zhang Yan answered the phone and heard a laugh on the other end: "Is this Mr. Zhang Yan? I'm Su Wenyang, deputy director of the commentary department of the Beijing Evening News. I heard you didn't have a very pleasant conversation with our young Mr. Sun?"

"Not really, it was just some normal debate."

Zhang Yan was puzzled. Why did the older one come after the younger one? Could the other party be Reporter Sun's lover?

"Haha, would you mind meeting me again to chat?"

"Is...is this really necessary?"

"Shall I introduce my resume first? I was assigned to the Evening News in 1982, and in 84 I organized a 'Love My China, Repair My Great Wall' campaign..."

After listening to the other person's rambling explanations about protecting cultural heritage, Zhang Yan began to waver. If they valued cultural preservation so much, they should…

"Also, I am from Zaoqiang County, Hengjiang."

"Hey, you should have said so earlier! Where should we meet?"

Although there's a saying that "fellow villagers meet and stab each other in the back," people who have made a name for themselves these days still value their hometown reputation.

Especially since Beijing is so close to Hebei.

So when Zhang Yan heard that the other party was from his hometown, he agreed to meet without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)