Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

Actually, Jiang Lai didn't have any particularly good solutions.

He could only send someone to Hong Kong to get the hotel's room booking records for that night to prove that he and Maggie Cheung slept separately.

The best evidence would be surveillance footage, but unfortunately most hotels didn't have it at that time.

After seeing the report, friends called to express their concern, but Zhang Ziyi stayed at home and did not answer the phone at all. Only Jiang Lai would answer and say that everything was fine.

Zhou Xun also called Jiang Lai, but didn't ask anything, just said two words.

"Serves you right!"

She genuinely believed that Jiang Lai hadn't been messing around.

Maggie Cheung held a press conference in France immediately afterward to deny having an affair with Jiang Lai. She said that it was just a small gathering of friends that night, and they stayed at a nearby hotel because of the heavy rain. They slept in separate rooms, and the ambiguous photos were just a matter of angle.

Her husband also stood up to support her, saying that the couple had a very good relationship and that he believed in Maggie Cheung's character.

But how much she actually believed him, only her husband probably knows.

After obtaining the hotel's check-in records, Sister Ying also released them to the public, but the public opinion did not subside as a result. Instead, it intensified, and the intensity of the public opinion was quite abnormal.

Editor-in-Chief Mai was very happy with his masterpiece, feeling a great sense of accomplishment from personally lifting someone up high and then slamming them down.

But what happened next made him panic.

At first, people were only discussing the emotional and moral issues surrounding the incident, but Next Magazine suddenly published a report that used this as a pretext to point the finger at "Devils on the Doorstep".

This lengthy report, spanning several thousand words, first described Jiang Lai as having poor character, then stated that although his film "Devils on the Doorstep" won the Cannes Film Festival award, it sparked international conflict, leading to a strong boycott by Japan. Finally, it directly labeled Jiang Lai as a traitor to the country.

What alarmed Editor-in-Chief Mai was that the report was not written by any editor he knew; it seemed to have appeared out of thin air, yet it was indeed published by Next Magazine.

He knew that some things were fine as long as they remained entertainment news, but once they escalated to a certain level, the situation would become uncontrollable.

As he had predicted, the report seemed to send a signal, and multiple media outlets collectively launched a verbal attack on Jiang Lai. No one mentioned any gossip anymore; instead, they criticized Jiang Lai from every angle, leaving him utterly devastated and dragging many others down with him.

Some say that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," in which Jiang Lai participated, is a film that is completely biased towards the West and should be boycotted by the public.

Some say Jiang invested in many of the Sixth Generation's banned films, which suggests that his stance is problematic.

There are also rumors that Jiang Lai invested in Teamwork Motion Pictures to help Stephen Chow, but actually wanted to ruin the Hong Kong film industry.

Similar reports emerged one after another, and soon spread to the mainland. Many self-proclaimed public intellectuals and experts jumped out to fuel the flames, and even some local small official media outlets spoke out publicly.

The most serious accusation is that Jiang Lai and his family transferred assets overseas.

These news stories unexpectedly boosted the development of online media, with portals such as Sina and NetEase constantly updating their reports, and the popularity on Tianya Forum reaching explosive levels.

The first generation of netizens enjoyed watching the drama unfold. Newspapers cost money, but online they didn't. People exchanged information they'd seen from who-knows-where.

"Jiang Lai is actually just a spoiled brat. You can see that from the movie 'The Dream Factory.' He's just playing himself."

"This guy is very domineering in the film industry because he is a second-generation rich kid. He insists on starring in the movies he invests in, or he has to put his own people in the movies, otherwise he won't pay."

"He's definitely corrupt; I suggest a thorough investigation!"

It seemed that overnight, Jiang Lai had become some kind of unforgivable sinner, and public opinion was in an uproar.

The government doesn't really regulate entertainment news, but if public opinion gets out of control to a certain extent, it will definitely investigate.

Anyone with eyes can see there's something wrong here, but what can we do?

Many people who had interacted with Jiang Lai have distanced themselves from him, saying in media interviews that they were not on the same side as Jiang Lai or that they did not know him, thus clearing themselves of any responsibility.

Huayi Yibao Agency had only been established for a short time, and Wang Jinghua, fearing being implicated, privately instructed her artists not to say anything carelessly when interviewed.

Li Bingbing was cornered backstage at an event.

In April, she won the Best Actress award at the Singapore International Film Festival for her role in Zhang Yuan's "Going Home for the New Year." Although it wasn't a huge award, it was still an international title, and her career was starting to take off.

When asked by reporters what she thought of Jiang Lai's recent news, she responded...

Li Bingbing stood there, hesitating for a long time before finally speaking awkwardly.

"Jiang Lai is just the company's boss; I'm not familiar with him. Okay, next question."

She regretted it as soon as she said it. Wasn't this an opportunity to show her loyalty? But she was also afraid.

A reporter then followed up with, "Fan Bingbing has publicly expressed her support for Jiang Lai. What is your opinion on this?"

Li Bingbing was stunned for a moment.

Fan Bingbing? That girl...aren't you afraid? She felt a mix of emotions.

Li Bingbing is just a microcosm.

The Wang brothers, Wang Shuo, and others all had similar attitudes: they wouldn't kick you when you're down, but they would never speak up for you either.

Surprisingly, it was Feng Xiaogang.

When a reporter asked him a question, he frowned and retorted in his hoarse voice.

"The Xiao Jiang I know isn't that kind of person! I'm warning you guys, stop spreading these damn rumors!"

At this point, very few people dared to speak up.

Besides the two mentioned above, we also need to add Zhou Xun, Zhang Yimou, and those friends from Hong Kong Jianglai. Li An was in the United States, so no one was able to interview him.

Then there's Jiang Wen, who, when surrounded by reporters, shouted in a gruff voice, "You can say anything about my movies! You can say anything about me! But you can't say anything about Jiang Lai!"

After saying that, he pushed the reporter away and left.

He didn't say another word, but his attitude was impeccable.

Jiang Lai has been staying at home these past few days and hasn't gone to school. It's not because of public opinion, but because of Zhang Ziyi.

She stayed in the apartment at No. 6 Gongyuan and wouldn't open the door for anyone.

Jiang came twice, but was dismissed lightly both times. She wouldn't answer his calls or reply to his text messages.

He's sitting on the living room sofa now, lost in thought.

The sound of high heels clicking on the floor rang out, and Sister Ying walked in from outside, threw her bag on the sofa, and sat down next to Jiang Lai.

"What are your thoughts on recent events?"

Jiang Lai's tone was a little impatient, "Haven't we already clarified things? The hotel booking records have been released, and Maggie Cheung has held a press conference. Should I hold one myself?"

Yingjie pouted, "You still haven't grasped one thing."

"What?"

"Public opinion never needs the truth; what it needs is a target!"

Yingjie continued, "Do you think your little bit of gossip could have caused this mess? That everyone would be kicking you while you're down?"

Jiang Lai straightened up. "What do you mean? I haven't offended anyone."

Yingjie froze, then inexplicably wanted to laugh. "Are you serious?"

Jiang Lai frowned.

"Putting everything else aside, you haven't offended the Xiang family, have you? And sometimes it's not just about offending them outright that counts as offending them," Sister Ying said.

Jiang Lai looked puzzled. Sister Ying sighed and continued to explain, "We originally wanted to invest in Sky Films' Mai Shaotang, but we snatched Sony's 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' as well as many other capital firms that had already laid out their cinema chains in mainland China, and a whole bunch of other shady characters."

Sister Ying said seriously, "If you block someone's way, they will try to move you out of their way. And some people's target is not necessarily you."

Jiang Lai fell into thought. Seeing his expression, Sister Ying softened her tone.

"Now you know, right? As long as you're in the spotlight, no matter who you are, what your status is, or even if the truth of the matter is false, as long as someone catches even the slightest clue, they can ruin you to death."

"I don't know what you were thinking back then, insisting on showing your face in public."

Jiang Lai didn't respond to that question, but instead asked, "What do we do now?"

Yingjie glanced at her watch. "I've already told your dad, he should be back soon."

Not long after, Jiang's father returned home with the housekeeper, Old Li. Old Li took a document and went into the backyard, where Jiang's father sat down on the sofa.

He first looked at Sister Ying, "Xiao Ying, is everything going well in America?"

"Successfully." Sister Ying nodded.

"That's good." Jiang's father nodded and then looked at Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai called out "Dad," then lowered his head and didn't dare say anything more.

After a moment of silence, Jiang's father slowly spoke, "Son, let me teach you another lesson."

Jiang Lai raised his head.

"As long as what you do is on the side of national interests, the country will be your strongest backer."

Jiang's father narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming more serious.

"Do they really think we're easy to bully because we're low-key?"