Huayu 2015, the Artist of Light and Shadow

……

At this moment, the private room was very quiet.

The teacup in Zhang's mother's hand barely touched the glass, yet the sound was so jarring that she immediately looked apologetic.

Zhang Ruonan's eyes widened, and her ears perked up, eager to hear more about Lu Yunzhou.

Lu's mother straightened her back completely, and the pride at the corners of her mouth could not be suppressed.

"Sister Tangtang, it's just a nomination, no need to make a fuss."

Whether they will ultimately win an award will have to wait until the Busan International Film Festival awards ceremony in October.

Opening champagne too early is not in Lu Yunzhou's habit.

Hearing this, Tang Yan secretly admired Lu Yunzhou's composure, but still couldn't help emphasizing, "Being shortlisted is already quite an achievement. Do you know how many entries there are in the short film category?"

"A full three thousand works!"

"And fewer than 30 works were shortlisted."

"This is truly one in a hundred!"

The Busan International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, and Tokyo International Film Festival are considered the three major film festivals in Asia, and are the highest-level competitions for discovering new directors in Asian cinema.

Ordinary netizens may not be aware of the competitive pressure involved.

Tang Yan, however, was very clear about it.

To put it more vividly... the Busan International Film Festival's short film track is like the most advanced sprint race in all of Asia.

Those who are able to participate in this competition are already professional players.

Lu Yunzhou, an amateur player, made it to the finals of a top Asian competition right from his debut. Wouldn't that be a huge surprise to industry insiders?

"Yunzhou, where are you right now?"

"In Hangzhou?"

"When are you going back to Shanghai? If you do, I'll have Sister Ji arrange a reporter interview for you. Make sure you prepare the interview transcript carefully."

"This is your first time officially facing the public, so we must tell a compelling story that will make you memorable."

"Tell me about why you switched to directing after graduating from the music academy, and what you told me before about the theories of Bach's fugues and film framing..."

"I think everyone will be amazed by you."

When Tang Yan first heard Lu Yunzhou talk to her about Bach's fugues, as well as the ABA melodic structure, counterpoint, and thematic sublimation, she was amazed.

Music and film/television dramas can be so similar?

Indeed, most art forms in the world are interconnected; it's just that ordinary people don't think of this level, and only true geniuses can draw inferences from one another.

At this moment, Tang Yan appeared even more excited than Lu Yunzhou himself.

Lu Yunzhou didn't find anything unusual.

Because Tang Yan is the female lead in this short film, once the film wins an award, Tang Yan can openly walk the red carpet at international film festivals.

This is an extremely positive exposure for a popular celebrity like Tang Yan.

In the future, when she has a falling out with Yang Mi, she can hold her head high.

Today is definitely the happiest day Tang Yan has had in all these years.

However, Lu Yunzhou's mother and Zhang Ruonan and her daughter had no idea what Tang Yan was thinking.

They instinctively sensed that Lu Yunzhou and Tang Yan's relationship was somewhat unusual; they were so close, it was like they were inseparable.

Why is Tang Yan so happy that Lu Yunzhou won the award?

"Yunzhou, your 'Roman Holiday' is over. Come back and be your prince! I look forward to the whole world seeing the best of you."

Tang Yan ended the call with an extremely exaggerated blessing.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yunzhou turned to look around.

His mother and Zhang Ruonan, along with her daughter, both looked at him with strange expressions.

He assumed they were surprised by Tang Yan's tone, so he shrugged and explained, "That's just how Tang Yan is in private. She doesn't act like a big star at all. She can be quite dramatic when she talks."

Lu Yunzhou's mother didn't speak, but her back straightened slightly as she looked around, her eyes filled with an indescribable pride.

Even the famous actress Tang Yan praised my son as being like a prince.

At this moment, Zhang Ruonan's mother was the first to react. She took Lu Yunzhou's hand and lowered her tone considerably: "Yunzhou, you are too modest. Our Ruonan is only a tenth as good as you."

As they spoke, the mother pulled the hesitant Zhang Ruonan into her arms and said earnestly, "Xiaonan, you must study hard with your brother Yunzhou from now on, okay?"

Lu Yunzhou didn't take such polite words to heart at all, and replied in kind, "Auntie, don't say that, Ruonan is also very outstanding."

Just then, Lu Yunzhou's phone rang again.

This time it was Ji Rujing who called.

The others looked over again with gossipy eyes, their ears perked up.

Surrounded by onlookers, Lu Yunzhou reluctantly answered the phone: "Sister Ji, what's wrong? If it's about the Busan International Film Festival nomination, I already know."

"It seems Tangtang already told you in advance."

Ji Rujing laughed and said, "Then let me tell you the second piece of good news."

"This afternoon, I went to the headquarters of Kiwi Fruit and talked to their content team for a long time, telling them how excellent our show is."

Unfortunately, the other party is completely unwilling to budge.

"However, when the news came that you were nominated for the Busan International Film Festival... I had already driven away from the kiwi company, and guess what happened?"

"They suddenly did a 180-degree turn, not only agreeing to invest in our show, but also elevating its internal rating to the highest S+ level!"

"They not only guaranteed the full 5000 million investment, but also promised homepage recommendations across all platforms, satellite TV channel integration, and a full marketing budget!"

Kiwi thinks Ji Rujing and Tang Yan are crazy for a new director to make a web series with a production cost of about 5000 million.

This does not include Tang Yan's own salary.

Tang Yan plans to use her salary as an investment to generate future revenue for the drama.

The kiwi fruit side felt that Tang Yan was being unrealistic and was unwilling to continue the discussion.

Ji Rujing kept assuring Tang Yan that she wouldn't joke about her career, but the other party didn't believe her at all, thinking it might be some new kind of scam.

Lu Yunzhou?

Who is this?

I've never even heard of it.

But just now, they found out who Lu Yunzhou was.

At just over 22 years old, she was shortlisted for the Best Short Film category at the Busan International Film Festival.

This is definitely a rising star.

The kiwifruit executives naturally had access to information, and they immediately followed this source to find out about Lu Yunzhou, quickly obtaining more information.

It turns out that Lu Yunzhou's short film was sent to the Busan International Film Festival through a special green channel opened by the Hangzhou G20 Organizing Committee.

This is an official endorsement from the national level!

Lu Yunzhou either has a powerful background or is exceptionally talented. Currently, it seems more likely he is exceptionally talented.

What else is there to say?

Kiwi has invested in this drama!

Otherwise, Youku Tudou and Tencent Video would definitely compete with them.

We are currently in the midst of a fierce battle for traffic among major video websites, and it is at the most intense moment of the war... Lu Yunzhou's sudden appearance on this battlefield has enormous value in winning him over.

"Sister Ji, everything else is negotiable, but you need to make one thing clear with the platform: the contract must explicitly state that I have 100% control over the script, casting, and final editing. The platform cannot interfere with any part of the creative process. If that's not possible, then there's no point in discussing the collaboration!"

During the creative process, Lu Yunzhou must maintain complete control.

Many bad movies are made because the director can't control the entire creative process, and the investors keep stuffing people in and changing the plot, leaving all the main creators exhausted.

"Don't worry about that. I will emphasize it."

Ji Ru nodded at the scenic spot.

After confirming, Ji Rujing smiled and started talking about some lighthearted topics.

"Yunzhou, the whole world is looking for you now. Everyone wants to know who this new director who managed to get into the Busan International Film Festival is."

"You'll have a lot of interviews coming up. Since you don't have a personal agent, I'll temporarily fill in."

"We'd better meet tonight to discuss our upcoming schedule and avoid making mistakes in the rush."

"In the next few days, at least 20 media outlets will be requesting exclusive interviews with you. You'll probably even find it a luxury to get some sleep."

"Get ready, stand under the starlight!"

The entertainment industry actually really likes fresh faces.

Fresh faces mean fresh stories, fresh capital, and new suckers.

But not everyone deserves our time and effort to follow up and report on.

Because some people just don't have that "star quality"!

Even if Lu Yunzhou were to become an idol, he would undoubtedly shine brightly, let alone debut as a director.

With talent, good looks, and a cool, aloof demeanor like Bach, no one can resist his charm.

"In that case, I'll buy a high-speed rail ticket for one hour later."

Since the high-speed rail opened, it has become very convenient to travel from Hangzhou to Shanghai. Lu Yunzhou simply bought a ticket on his mobile phone.

"Mom, Aunt Li, Ruonan, I have to go now. See you next time."

Lu Yunzhou actually knew that today was a blind date, because his mother had organized a second one since he left in such a hurry last time.

But he really had no interest in blind dates.

Because his career had just taken off, he had no time for romance.

What does personal affection matter when faced with an opportunity that will shake Asia?

Only the peony is truly a national beauty; when it blooms, it stirs the capital!

First of all, it has to be a peony of unparalleled beauty!

If he were a weed, even if he grew on the outskirts of the capital, who would give him a second glance?

……

"My son is so outstanding, he deserves an even better girl."

"Oh no, my golden bachelor is about to fly away."

"He said see you next time. When is next time? Or is he reminding me that I must ask him to audition for that role?"

Watching Lu Yunzhou leave, the three of them, each with their own thoughts, politely bid farewell and went home.

……

In the following days, the name Lu Yunzhou suddenly appeared out of nowhere and repeatedly topped the trending searches.

Along with Lu Yunzhou, the words "Tang Yan" and "Busan International Film Festival" also appeared.

The previous press releases mocking Tang Yan for winning a "watered-down" award were instantly buried.

Under this public opinion environment, Tang Yan's fans stood up again and frantically attacked her on various public platforms.

"Our Tangtang has been quietly accomplishing great things, making it to an international film festival!"

"Who's spreading rumors online that our Tangtang was having a late-night date with a mysterious man? Was that really a mysterious man? Let me reiterate, it's a talented director who was nominated for the Busan International Film Festival!"

When the photos of Tang Yan and Lu Yunzhou's rumored affair were released, the entire internet mocked them, saying that Tang Yan, at her advanced age, had finally given in to dating a much younger man.

As a result, the rumors were clarified at lightning speed within just a few hours.

All the online mockery turned into the biggest publicity for Lu Yunzhou.

Clearly, this was orchestrated by Tang Yan's PR team behind the scenes, converting all the gossip and online buzz into publicity for Lu Yunzhou.

……

Yanjing.

Yang Mi Studio.

To be precise, it should now be called Yang Mi Studio of Jaywalk Studio.

At this moment, the publicity team was almost in tears: "Sister Mi, we scheduled the press release at midnight and sent it out on all platforms at eight o'clock this morning. Now we can't delete it completely. Netizens have already spread the screenshots everywhere. They are all saying that we boasted about our vision one minute and were slapped in the face by the results of other international film festivals the next."

The PR team is completely baffled.

They had many press releases written, all with the theme "[Yang Mi disdains the Watery Awards and misses the Huading Awards, her vision far surpasses Tang Yan's]".

But now, these press releases have become a laughing stock ridiculed by the entire internet.

The comments section was full of similar remarks.

—【Tang Yan is taking her work to international film festivals, while yours doesn't even dare to come to the Huading Awards. Who really lacks vision?】

—[Previously, people were saying Dilraba's acting was far superior to Tang Yan's, but then Tang Yan became the lead actress at an international film festival, while Dilraba is still playing the second female lead in an idol drama. So, who really outshines whom?]

—【This is hilarious! Yang Mi's team was bragging this morning about "disdaining frivolous awards and having a grand vision," but this afternoon they were hammered down by the news of her nomination in Busan, and they don't even dare to show their faces!】

It can only be said that the harsher the previous press releases were, the more painful the boomerang-like attack will be now.

"Tangtang, you're lucky."

Yang Mi never fights when things are going against her. Judging from the current situation, continuing to criticize Tang Yan will only provoke resentment from the entire internet.

"If Tang Yan can get involved with this genius director, why can't we?"

Calming down, Yang Mi tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, a shrewd glint in her eyes: "Send Reba a message and tell her to go over and make amends."

……

Shanghai, high-speed rail station.

Lu Yunzhou had just come out of the high-speed rail station when Ji Rujing's car was already waiting outside.

She had her assistant hand her a stack of media interview invitations, and at the same time, she also handed over her phone, which contained a text message.

At this moment, Ji Rujing's face was full of amusement.

Lu Yunzhou was puzzled by the stares and glanced down at the text message on his phone.

"Director Lu Yunzhou, hello. I'm Dilraba. Would it be my honor to audition for the second female lead in your new project, 'The Day Is Coming'?"

???

Three question marks appeared above Lu Yunzhou's head.

Can you do this?

No wonder Tang Yan couldn't beat Yang Mi!