We asked you to make an anti-corruption film, but you made one in the name of the people!

Lin Mo was caught red-handed by Xiao Chen when he passed by the propaganda department's main office after leaving Lao Han's office.

"Director Lin! You're finally back!" Xiao Chen jumped up from his workstation, holding a stack of documents in his hand. "Director Han reviewed half of these briefings for you while you were away, and he said you can review the other half yourself when you come back."

Lin Mo took the documents and flipped through them; there were four or five, not many.

"And—" Xiao Chen lowered his voice and leaned closer, "Xiao Liu from the Cultural Affairs Department of the Procuratorate next door came to see you several times yesterday, saying that they filmed a short legal education drama and wanted you to take a look. I told him that you were still on set and that he would definitely have to come again today."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a head popped in through the doorway—it was Xiao Liu.

"Director Lin! You're finally back!" Xiao Liu held a laptop in his hands like it was a precious treasure. "Our department's short drama, three episodes, eight minutes each, just take a look at it for me, just one look!"

Lin Mo tucked the briefing under his arm: "After 3 p.m.

"Alright!" Little Liu walked away happily.

Old Li sat at his workstation and slowly took a sip of tea: "Director Lin, you're the most sought-after person in our institute now. Everyone who wants to make something comes to you. Those people from the Cultural Affairs Department of the Procuratorate next door never used to ask the Publicity Department to check their micro-videos, but now they come to us on their own initiative."

"That's great." Lin Mo found a seat and sat down.

"That's good," Old Li put down his teacup, "but you have way too much work. Deputy director, director, and now you're also the chief video consultant for the entire institute—shouldn't the institute give you an extra salary?"

Xiao Chen quickly interjected, "Brother Li, you're right! It's unreasonable for Director Lin to do the work of three people but only receive the salary of one!"

"Alright." Lin Mo spread out the briefing. "Get to work."

At 2 PM, Lin Mo went to the editing room.

The post-production team for "Article 20" was coordinated by China Film Group. The editor, surnamed Fang, was in his early forties and had been editing films for over a decade, working on several works by renowned directors.

Old Fang is thin, wears frameless glasses, and speaks slowly and deliberately, but his hands are incredibly fast—he uses keyboard shortcuts with lightning speed, organizing the densely packed materials on the timeline into an orderly fashion.

When Lin Mo pushed the door open, Lao Fang was looking at the footage on three screens at the same time.

On the left is the timeline, in the middle is the monitor screen, and on the right is the storyboard.

"Director Lin." Old Fang didn't even turn his head, his fingers still typing on the keyboard, "I finished the first rough cut last night, 138 minutes long, but it still needs to be compressed further."

"Keep it below 120." Lin Mo pulled up a chair and sat down. "The pace can't be slow, or the audience won't stay still."

"Understood." Lao Fang dragged a clip onto the monitor. "The scene from the hearing you mentioned earlier—Lei Jiayin's long monologue—I didn't cut it. I kept it exactly as it was, without making a single change."

Play it once.

Lao Fang clicked play.

On the monitor, Lei Jiayin stood in front of the podium, his hands resting on the edge of the table.

When he mentioned Han Ming's statement, "The law cannot yield to illegality," his voice was not loud, but the reactions of the real prosecutors from Yongcheng County Procuratorate in the meeting room—some sat up straight, some lowered their heads to take notes, and some took off their glasses to wipe them—were all captured by Lao Sun's side camera.

"Okay." Lin Mo nodded, "But let's shorten the conversation between Han Ming and Lü Lingling in the corridor before the hearing and speed up the pace."

Old Fang had already started working on it: "No problem."

"There's one more thing," Lin Mo leaned forward, "I need to adjust something in one place."

"Please speak."

"A drama about lawyers."

Old Fang stopped what he was doing and turned around.

"Wang Yongqiang's defense lawyer doesn't have many scenes in the script, but he has lines in a few courtroom scenes." Lin Mo pointed to a section on the timeline, "The editing angle of these scenes needs to be changed—don't film him as just going through the motions, give him a frontal shot, and retain his defense arguments in full, especially the part where he talks about the flaws in the chain of evidence, not a single word can be cut."

Old Fang thought for a moment and nodded: "I understand. In the previous rough cuts, the lawyer was indeed mostly shown from the side, so his presence wasn't very strong."

"It's a joint effort by three departments: the public security bureau, the procuratorate, and the court—but there's one more indispensable role in criminal cases." Lin Mo paused, "Defense lawyers. The determination of legitimate self-defense relies not only on the prosecutor's conscience but also on the lawyer's legal defense. Every link is essential; the law cannot yield to illegality—this isn't just a statement made by prosecutors, but also by lawyers."

Old Fang didn't say anything, but wrote down the points Lin Mo mentioned on a sticky note.

After speaking with Lao Fang, Lin Mo returned to his office.

Before he could even sit down properly, Xiao Chen arrived again, carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one to Lin Mo and kept the other for himself.

"Director Lin, when will your 'Article Twenty' be released?"

"The post-production work isn't finished yet."

Lin Mo leaned back in his chair, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Xiao Chen, did they reply to the official letter I asked you to send to Yongcheng?"

"They replied! They replied!" Xiao Chen pulled a folder from the table. "It's a letter from Chief Prosecutor Zhang himself. He thanked us for filming there and said that after the young prosecutors from their office participated in the extras, they went back and held a discussion meeting to specifically discuss the judicial practice of legitimate self-defense."

"A discussion?"

"Yes." Xiao Chen opened the folder and read a passage aloud, "It's Han Ming's speech at the hearing in that script—'The law cannot yield to illegality'—the young people in our institute now use this sentence as their mantra."

Old Li chimed in, "You know what, this phrase is more effective than those legal education brochures we distributed before: 'The law cannot yield to illegality.' People remember that. You can't make them memorize legal articles, but these eight words are unforgettable once they've heard them."

Xiao Chen nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, yes!"

......

After reviewing the briefing in the afternoon, Lin Mo leaned back in his chair and scrolled through his phone.

In the "All or Nothing" group chat, Jin Chen was spamming the chat.

"Breaking news! Big news! There's been a major scandal in the entertainment industry—that teacher C who's played so many positive roles for years has started a relationship with a female student from a dance academy. His wife came all the way from Beijing the day before yesterday and cornered him in the hotel lobby!"

Sun Yang replied instantly: "Holy crap? Really?"

"It's true! One of my friends saw it with her own eyes. His wife sat down in the lobby, neither crying nor making a fuss, and just asked two questions—'Do you know he has a wife?' and 'Do you know you have a wife, Teacher C?' Then she sat there for half an hour, stood up, said, 'Let's talk when we get home after filming this movie,' and left."

Zhang Yixing: "Why didn't I see it trending on Weibo?"

"It's under control; Teacher C's team spent a lot of money."

Wang Chuanjun chimed in with just three words: "It's normal; this kind of thing happens all the time in the industry."

Lin Mo happened to see it and casually typed three words: "Goodness."

Jin Chen replied instantly: "Director Lin! You're here too!"

Sun Yang: "Director Lin was also exposed, hahaha, Director Lin, don't you think this is outrageous?"

Lin Mo: "Whether it's outrageous or not, his wife is pretty fierce."

"That's right!" Jin Chen exclaimed enthusiastically. "He didn't throw anything or swear the whole time. Teacher C stood to the side and his face turned pale."

Zhang Yixing: "If this kind of gossip gets out, Teacher C's image will completely collapse."

Sun Yang: "It would be better if it collapsed. I hate these people who act like upright gentlemen on stage but are a mess off stage."

Wang Chuanjun chimed in again: "So in the entertainment industry, being a good person is more important than acting."

Jin Chen: "Brother Chuanjun is right—but then again, it would be so exciting if this were made into a movie."

Sun Yang: "Director Lin, do you dare to film this?"

Lin Mo: "Are you crazy to film me for everything?"

Jin Chen sent a string of laughing emojis.

After chatting for a while, Jin Chen said she was going to get her makeup done, and Sun Yang said it was time to go to the theater, and then the group chat gradually quieted down.