Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 121 The Premiere of "Bad Genius" (Part 2)

The movie continues, and because she discovers that the math teacher has leaked the exam questions in advance, Lin Wei decides to help Su Na cheat in order to retaliate against this injustice and also to help her best friend.

Soon, the tense and exciting first scene arrived.

After several trailers, everyone knew that "Bad Genius" was about students cheating. Initially, the most common guess was that it involved passing notes, a scenario many people experienced in school.

But the first cheating scene showed everyone that they had oversimplified things.

Zhang Jun managed to film a small cheating scene with a tension comparable to a spy thriller, delivering an adrenaline rush that many blockbuster films can't match.

Liu Yifei watched as Yang Mi's character, Lin Wei, quickly answered the questions on the big screen, writing the answers on an eraser. She then cleverly slipped the eraser into her shoe and kicked it to Su Na (played by Jiang Yan), who was sitting in the back row.

She nervously clenched her hands into a fist, worried about the two main characters.

However, Liu Yifei quickly realized why she should worry about the cheaters. They were doing something wrong!

This demonstrates that Zhang Jun's control over the film's rhythm and emotions is unparalleled, allowing the audience to unconsciously experience emotional ups and downs along with the plot.

The most exciting and tense moments are yet to come.

When Su Na passed the shoe back, she used too much force, and the shoe slipped into the aisle of the examination room. Zhang Jun used a slow-motion shot here, accompanied by background music that sounded like a school bell, which immediately heightened the tension.

Even though she had filmed the scene herself, Yang Mi, who witnessed it firsthand, nervously clung to Zhang Jun's arm, afraid of being discovered by the proctor.

Everyone in the theater held their breath, afraid that they might make the slightest noise and cause the two people on the big screen to be discovered by the proctor.

Just as the proctor was about to turn around, Lin Wei raised her hand to hand in her paper, attracting the teacher's attention.

She got up and walked to the middle of the classroom, naturally put on her shoes, and at the same time used her body to block the teacher's view, covering for Su Na to pick up the eraser. The two of them completed the cheating without any major incident.

After the scene was over, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Reporters from Sohu News and Sina Entertainment exchanged hushed conversations.

"Director Zhang never disappoints; he can even come up with new tricks for cheating."

"Yes, I was so nervous watching that scene just now, it felt like watching a spy movie."

Gao Yuanyuan and Fan Bingbing were also exchanging ideas. Gao Yuanyuan said, "When I was reading the script before, I couldn't imagine how Zhang Jun would shoot this film."

But now I'm completely convinced; he's truly amazing.

Fan Bingbing looked at Gao Yuanyuan with a half-smile: "So you didn't think he was that good before! Then I'll tell him to go even harder next time."

Gao Yuanyuan sensed the hidden meaning in Fan Pangbing's words and blushed, a rare occurrence for her.

"You, I'm being serious with you."

"Am I not talking about serious matters?"

Jackie Chan watched the entire scene and remarked that there was a reason why Cheung Chun could achieve such rapid success at such a young age. His control over the film was something many established directors in Hong Kong couldn't achieve.

What's even more remarkable is that Zhang Jun has ingenious ideas and the ability to turn them into reality, which is truly impressive.

He suddenly remembered what Zhang Jun had said earlier. After this film, Jackie Chan felt that collaborating with Zhang Jun again wasn't impossible. Who knew how many surprises this young director had in store for him?

The film continues, and Li Jiaming, a rich second-generation heir played by Wang Kai, appears. He is Su Na's boyfriend.

It has to be said, Wang Kai has a square face, giving him a righteous look. But in the film, he plays a good-for-nothing rich kid.

The incongruity in appearance, temperament, and identity intensifies the dramatic conflict.

This contrast between image and role can be used well to increase dramatic conflict. But if used poorly, it can be a disaster.

Although Wang Kai seemed a bit green in the film, he performed quite well.

He learned that his girlfriend, Su Na, had passed her exams thanks to Lin Wei's help, and he saw a business opportunity in it. He teamed up with a group of good-for-nothing rich kids and paid Lin Wei to help him cheat on each exam, charging her 3,000 yuan per subject.

Lin Wei hesitated. On one hand, she knew her actions were wrong; on the other hand, her family's financial situation was indeed very difficult. Just supporting her studies at this school was already a struggle.

Seeing her father's hunched back from hard work, Lin Wei finally agreed to help Li Jiaming.

For this cheating scheme, Lin Wei invented a brilliant method: using piano fingering to transmit the answers.

On the big screen, Lin Wei sits in the examination room, her fingers lightly resting on the table.

The camera gave a close-up of her hand.

Li Jiaming and several paying clients sat in different parts of the examination room, seemingly answering the questions seriously, but actually keeping an eye on Lin Wei's hand out of the corner of their eyes.

Lin Wei's fingers began to move.

Press down with your thumb – A.

Press down with your index finger – B.

Press down with your middle finger – C.

Press D with your ring finger.

She passed on the answers to the multiple-choice questions one by one, like playing a silent piano piece.

Outside the examination hall, the sun was shining brightly.

Inside the examination hall, undercurrents were stirring.

Upon seeing this, Huang Xiaoming couldn't help but whisper to Chen Kun, "This idea is brilliant! Who would have thought of using piano playing to cheat?"

""

Chen Kun nodded: "And the filming is not low-quality at all; on the contrary, it has an artistic feel. Look at that close-up of the hand, with the background music, it really sounds like a performance."

Zhou Xun chimed in, "Director Zhang really knows how to make bad things exciting. Look at Lin Wei cheating; her expression—both nervous and excited—makes the audience's heart race."

This is true.

At that moment, no one in the theater was thinking about how cheating was wrong. They were only concerned with: Would they get caught? Would they succeed?

That's the magic of movies.

The piano lesson plan was a huge success. Lin Wei made money and gained false friendships. The rich kids fawned over her, calling her a "genius" and taking her out to dinner and karaoke.

But the audience could see that those people only cared about using others, and had no genuine feelings for them.

Lu Chuan sat in the corner, staring blankly at the big screen. He had been dragged here by Han Sanping.

To be honest, he didn't want to come. The more successful Zhang Jun's movies were, the less he wanted to watch them.

But Han Sanping said, "Looking at other people's strengths will benefit you."

So he came, but didn't walk the red carpet; he just quietly entered the movie theater. Zhang Jun didn't even know he was there, and He Xuan didn't tell Zhang Jun either, afraid that the two of them would argue again.

Lu Chuan came with the intention of finding fault, but as he looked around, he found that he couldn't find any faults.

The piano cheating feature is cleverly designed.

The camerawork is steady.

The rhythm is well controlled.

A complex mix of emotions welled up in Lu Chuan's heart: jealousy, resentment, and a touch of undeniable admiration.

He thought of his own film, *Kekexili*, a work he was very proud of. But to be fair, the narrative pace of *Kekexili* was really not as good as that of *Bad Genius*.

"Oh shit."

He cursed inwardly, unsure whether he was cursing Zhang Jun or himself.

As the film progresses, the conflict quickly escalates.

Another academic genius from the school, Chen Qi, made his appearance.

Wen Zhang plays Chen Qi, a student from a poor family but upright and stubborn. He and his mother depend on each other for survival. His mother runs a small laundry shop and works from dawn till dusk every day.

Ma Yili patted Wen Zhang's arm excitedly. From the first few scenes of the movie, Ma Yili could tell that this movie would definitely do well.

The thought of her future husband becoming famous through this movie made Ma Yili genuinely happy for him.

Wen Zhang was also very excited. He never expected that his first film would be so wonderful. He seemed to see his future self, becoming one of the four most popular young actors in mainland China.

Box office hits, skyrocketing ratings, and countless GG endorsement earnings—this is the life of a dream!

Chen Qi's goal is to obtain a full scholarship in Singapore to change his family's circumstances.

Wen Zhang's first scene is simple: he's ironing clothes for his mother in a laundromat while memorizing vocabulary words.

In the footage, sweat drips from his forehead and falls onto the ironing board.

He didn't look up and continued memorizing vocabulary.

With just this one shot, the character of Chen Qi was brought to life.

Jiang Tao whispered to Zhang Jun, "The actor Wen Zhang is a good choice; he has a stubborn streak."

Zhang Jun nodded: "He has formal training and a solid foundation. He just lacked opportunities. This role gave him the chance, and he lived up to expectations."

""

On the big screen, Chen Qi discovers Lin Wei's cheating.

It was a major exam for the entire grade, and to prevent cheating, the school, for the first time ever, distributed two different sets of test papers, A and B.

Lin Wei, who received the A paper, needs to get the answers to the B paper to save the day.

She gestured for Li Jiaming, who had received the B-version paper, to "bump into" her in the restroom, and the two quickly exchanged papers.

After returning to her seat, Lin Wei needed to answer all the questions on Paper B in a very short time and then pass the answers out via a piano cipher.

This is the second major cheating scene in the entire film, and Zhang Jun's handling of it left everyone holding their breath.

The camera quickly switches between Lin Wei's hand, the proctor's eyes, and Chen Qi's puzzled expression.

The background music is a rapid piano melody, each note striking the audience's heart.

Lin Wei's fingers flew across the table, Li Jiaming nervously took notes, and other paying customers were also receiving signals.

Just then, Chen Qi noticed Lin Wei's unusual behavior.

He stared at Lin Wei's hand and frowned.

The atmosphere in the theater became tense again.

"Oh no, we've been found out," someone in the back row whispered.

Yang Mi hugged Zhang Jun's arm tightly again. Zhang Jun sensed her nervousness and gently patted the back of her hand.

On the big screen, Chen Qi raised his hand.

"Teacher, I suspect someone is cheating."

The proctor walked over, and all the paying customers froze instantly.

Lin Wei's fingers remained motionless on the table.

The air seemed to freeze.

The proctor walked around the exam room but found nothing.

"Focus on the exam and don't talk nonsense." The proctor glared at Chen Qi and walked away.

Chen Qi sat down reluctantly, but his eyes held a hint of doubt.

Lin Wei escaped unscathed, but Chen Qi had already remembered her name.

After the scene ended, a small commotion arose in the theater.

"This is so exciting, my palms are sweating."

"That Chen Qi is so annoying, always meddling in other people's business."

"They're just being honest, okay? Cheating is wrong in the first place."

"Bullshit! If teachers can sell exam questions, why can't students cheat?"

In the audience, some people had already started to argue quietly.

He Xuan's lips curled up slightly as she listened to the arguments.

If a film can spark debate among its audience, it means it's a success.

This time, Gao Yuanyuan didn't argue with Fan Bingbing. She watched the big screen intently, her eyes showing appreciation as well as contemplation.

She had acted in Zhang Jun's films before and knew what Zhang Jun was like on set. But it wasn't until she saw the finished product that she truly understood what the images in Zhang Jun's mind were like.

"He's really amazing," Gao Yuanyuan said softly.

This time, Fan Bingbing didn't joke around, but nodded: "Yes, that's why I—"

She didn't finish speaking, but Gao Yuanyuan understood.

That's why she was willing to accept those "three rules," and that's why she was willing to share this man with other women, even though it's a very normal thing in the industry.

But Zhang Jun deserves it.