The entertainment empire began with Liu Yifei's premarital pregnancy.

Half a month later, Lin Bufan finally returned to the "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" crew.

The next scene is the opening scene of the movie, where Wan Yulou, the head of the Eastern Depot, is killed.

The fight scenes in the original version may have been good, but the plot had serious flaws.

Zhao Huai'an was merely a martial arts practitioner, yet he dared to attack a place like the Eastern Depot with just a few men. Moreover, after killing people, he not only escaped unscathed but also rescued many officials.

Lin Bufan made significant revisions to this part of the plot after careful consideration.

First, regarding the Eastern Depot's indiscriminate killings in order to control the court, Lin Bufan made subtle modifications.

Under his revisions, what was originally a simple martial arts film was transformed into a subplot involving imperial power and court infighting. Of course, Lin Bufan subtly incorporated this element, so much so that it might not be noticeable without careful observation or even after only one viewing, and it did not affect the overall direction of the film.

Most importantly, from Lin Bufan's perspective, there are no absolute heroes or villains in his film "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate".

From Zhao Huai'an's perspective, he was a chivalrous knight-errant, filled with patriotism, but he was simply being manipulated by some civil officials.

Similarly, from the perspective of the Eastern Depot and the Western Depot, they were fighting against the officials in the court for the sake of the emperor's power, and they were not wrong.

The emperor wanted to consolidate power, so it wasn't wrong for him to tolerate the Eastern Depot and the Western Depot.

Among the civil officials, there are many good officials who are truly for the court and the country. They are not wrong. The ones who are wrong are the selfish and self-serving scoundrels who collude with foreign tribes for their own selfish interests.

To express so many core themes in a single film is a true test of Lin Bufan's directing skills.

If not handled carefully, it could become like Chen Kaige's "The Promise," a terrible film that tries to express everything but fails to express anything clearly.

Lin Bufan could have followed the original plot. Even without Jet Li's performance, and with the box office appeal not as strong as the original, given his current status and influence in the industry, breaking 3 million at the box office would have been no problem at all.

But if that's the case, how is he any different from a tool?

Lin Bufan didn't want things to turn out this way. Even if he failed this time, it wouldn't matter. He would have many more opportunities to try and fail. Besides, he might not even fail.

Lin Bufan was full of confidence in his revised script.

……

"Click!"

Lin Bufan, sitting behind the monitor, frowned slightly as he watched the screen.

This scene has been filmed at least ten times.

But each time, it didn't meet his expectations, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"director!"

Assistant director Shen Ao walked over.

"Let everyone take a break, we'll continue filming later."

"Yes, Director!"

Leaning back in his chair, Lin Bufan closed his eyes, the images he had just filmed flashing through his mind.

"What exactly is wrong...?"

In fact, the scene just now, in terms of both composition and martial arts moves, could absolutely be called perfect, at least that's what many people present thought.

But Lin Bufan was the only one who felt something was wrong.

Something is very wrong.

The scene gives off a very jarring feeling, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly why.

"What's wrong with the director?"

Du Yuming looked at Zhao Wenzhuo beside him with a puzzled expression.

The main focus of this scene is on how the two of them fight; the camera is almost entirely on them, while the other extras are only briefly shown on screen.

At first, the two of them thought that their fight wasn't exciting enough, or that their expressions were off.

However, after one take after another, Director Lin would just yell "cut" and never give them any instructions, which meant it wasn't their problem.

"Director, Ms. Fan Bingbing has come to visit the set!"

Just as Lin Bufan was pondering, Bai Bing quietly walked over.

"Why is she here?"

Lin Bufan opened his eyes, frowned slightly, shook his head, and looked at Bai Bing: "Go, invite them in!"

Fan Bingbing didn't even give him a heads-up before visiting the set. He could already tell that with Fan Bingbing's sudden visit, the media reporters would definitely spread rumors online.

It's unclear who took the photos of him and Cecilia Cheung at the Hong Kong banquet and posted them online.

What's most infuriating is that the photo was taken from a very tricky angle; from a distance, it looks like Cecilia Cheung kissed him and then withdrew her hand.

After the photos circulated online, many people online criticized him as a scumbag.

After getting together with the "Fairy Sister" Liu Yifei, he still went and flirted with other women.

This made Lin Bufan very angry. He was not angry because everyone called him a scumbag, nor was he afraid of his reputation collapsing, or rather, he never intended to create a sentimental persona for himself.

What angered him was that he had absolutely no relationship with Cecilia Cheung, yet he was unfairly blamed.

For a fleeting moment, he even thought that this news might have been leaked and hyped up by Cecilia Cheung herself.

Lin Bufan did not respond to this matter. There were countless reporters waiting outside the film crew, so it was easy to imagine that Fan Bingbing's sudden arrival would be reported online.

Lin Bufan was fortunate that he had managed to deal with several women; otherwise, his harem would have surely been in chaos.

"Director Lin!"

Just as Lin Bufan was lost in thought, Fan Bingbing walked over, wearing a white dress.

"Why are you here?"

Lin Bufan glanced at Fan Bingbing, his tone indifferent.

"I just missed you, so I came to see you..."

Fan Bingbing spoke in a sweet voice, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt, walking to the chair and slowly squatting down, placing one hand on Lin Bufan's chest.

She was a smart woman and knew that the man in front of her was expressing his dissatisfaction because she had come without prior notice.

"Yeah?"

Lin Bufan glanced at Fan Bingbing.

Lin Bufan immediately saw through Fan Bingbing's intentions. Her sudden appearance on set while he was embroiled in a scandal was simply an attempt to expose their "relationship" to the public.

At least in the public eye, Fan Bingbing is a woman whom Lin Bufan "publicly acknowledged".

"Of course..."

As Fan Bingbing spoke, she quietly leaned down and brushed her lips against Lin Bufan's, then whispered in his ear, "I've prepared quite a lot... for lunch..."

As expected of Fan Yaojing, her words instantly made Lin Bufan's blood boil.

Seeing Lin Bufan's demeanor, Fan Bingbing smiled confidently.

……

After lunch, in the hotel room, after a fierce battle, Fan Bingbing lay exhausted in Lin Bufan's arms, one hand gently resting on his chest.

"Are you feeling any better?"

Fan Bingbing smoothed her hair and looked up slightly at Lin Bufan.

"What?"

Lin Bufan was slightly taken aback and looked down at the other person.