Chapter 171

Originally, Chen Shu had planned to release the film during the New Year holiday season, but the competition this year was just too fierce. Their film didn’t have any particular advantage in terms of genre, and there were real concerns it would flop at the box office. In the end, the investors unanimously decided: forget the New Year slot, let’s release it on New Year’s Day!

And thank goodness they did. There weren’t many competitors during the New Year’s Day window, and more importantly, the film had already gained a lot of online attention due to rumors of discord between the male and female leads. On its opening day, the movie pulled in impressive numbers—its single-day box office was only about twenty million yuan less than a major Hollywood blockbuster currently in theaters.

Everyone in the production team breathed a sigh of relief.

If things continued at this pace, the film would definitely break even. With its main theme advantage, it could even snag a few awards. If that happened, New Song of Sending Off the Lover would be more than halfway to success.

In the crew’s group chat, everyone was clamoring for the director to hand out red envelopes and start planning the celebration party. Chen Shu, all smiles, sent out a red envelope. As for the party, they’d wait until the first week’s box office numbers came in. Only then would they know whether the film had truly turned a profit.

It was also thanks to the director’s composure that they didn’t end up utterly humiliated. Because the very next day, a film critic came out swinging.

A well-known independent critic named Fei Fan posted a scathing review after attending the premiere of New Song of Sending Off the Lover, expressing deep disappointment in the film.

“If this movie is meant to be a sequel to the original Song of Sending Off the Lover, then I can only describe it with four words: a dog’s tail attached to a sable coat¹.”

“The director has solid skills, the actors are dedicated, and even the screenwriter, Teacher Niu, is someone I personally admire. But after watching the entire film, I didn’t feel a single moment of passion or emotion. There was only formulaic glorification and a by-the-book plot.”

“It’s not that the film is bad. It’s just that, as a mainstream propaganda film, it’s passable. But only just.”

“As for the two leads, Wei Sheng’s role was relatively easy to play. He was essentially playing himself again, and while there’s no noticeable improvement in his acting, for a newcomer to the film industry, this performance deserves a score of 80 out of 100.”

“Chen Qingyao’s performance, frankly, was disappointing. It’s clear she was trying to break away from her usual acting style and push for a breakthrough in this film. Unfortunately, she overdid it. Or rather, after watching the film, I’m inclined to believe the rumors about discord between the leads are probably true. But it’s not that Wei Sheng stole the spotlight—it’s that Chen Qingyao was desperately trying to steal scenes from him.”

“I’ve said before that the success of a film isn’t just about how much screen time the leads get, but about the overall structure and flow. The screenwriter and director of New Song of Sending Off the Lover clearly tried to achieve that. Sadly, everything was ruined by the female lead’s overacting.”

“I haven’t read the script, but based on the character setup, the relationship between the male and female leads should have been one of guidance and inspiration. The male lead is a college-educated young man who’s entered the system, while the female lead, who only graduated from middle school and has been farming in her hometown, should see him as a beacon in her life—someone she looks up to, admires, and follows. Not someone she constantly tries to control, like Chen Qingyao portrayed in the film.”

“That’s what truly disappointed me. Chen Qingyao completely failed to embody the image of a naive, shy, yet hopeful rural girl yearning to change her fate.”

“As viewers, we’re not as hung up on an actress’s age as they think. There are plenty of actresses in their thirties in the domestic industry who can still convincingly play youthful roles. But what’s crucial is that an actor must deeply understand and internalize their character. They need to step into the role’s heart and soul, to feel a strong sense of immersion. If the actor can’t even relate to the character and instead focuses solely on showing off their acting skills—trying to reshape the character into something unrealistic—then I can only say, Chen Qingyao’s path as an actress will only get narrower from here.”

Fei Fan’s review was lengthy, offering unique insights on everything from the direction and script to the actors themselves. In just two days, the review had racked up over seven million views.

Many other critics referenced Fei Fan’s review, including video essayists and content creators. Suddenly, a wave of negative reviews flooded in, and New Song of Sending Off the Lover became the collective target of criticism.

At first, the fans of the two leads were still buying out theaters² to boost the box office. But as general audiences lost interest, the numbers began to plummet. From nearly 30 million yuan in daily revenue at the start, it dropped to less than 7 million within a week.

Had Wei Sheng’s infamous “lucky aura” really vanished?

Rival camps were overjoyed. They seized the opportunity to hire more paid commenters³, eager to trample Wei Sheng into the mud and make sure he never rose again.

Things weren’t going well for Chen Qingyao either. She had built a reputation in the film industry as a talented, drama-free actress with artistic integrity. Directors liked working with her. Pairing up with a rookie like Wei Sheng for this film had already been a major concession on her part. If not for the potential awards…

But now, not only had she failed to win any awards, she’d ended up in a mess.

Netizens and critics alike were mocking her. If they were only teasing her for playing a teenage girl at her age, it wouldn’t be so bad—women often sympathize with each other, and some female fans would likely defend her. But now, critics were accusing her of overacting?

For an actress who prided herself on her artistry, that was a serious insult.

“Could it be the production team leaking this stuff on purpose? Trying to pin the blame on you for the poor box office?” her agent, Liang Aiai, said with a dark expression.

Chen Qingyao was silent for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t think so. Director Chen isn’t that kind of person.”

“Then it must be that Wei Sheng! I never trusted that kid. Back on set, he kept pushing Chen Shu to change the script. Maybe when the changes didn’t go through, he paid for smear campaigns to drag you down!”

“Look at that critic Fei Fan—he practically sang Wei Sheng’s praises! Gave him an 80? He doesn’t deserve it! It has to be him!” Liang Aiai was seething with rage.

Chen Qingyao was her most valuable asset. If she fell from grace, it would be nearly impossible to groom another actress with both talent and a good work ethic in the short term.

At the mention of Wei Sheng, Chen Qingyao fell silent.

She was starting to resent him too.

In this industry, many people were superstitious. Chen Qingyao had initially hoped to ride the wave of Wei Sheng’s rumored “lucky aura.” If they could make a film that was both a critical and commercial success, her career would soar. But now… maybe that so-called aura had just been a carefully crafted marketing gimmick by his team?

If that were true, then Wei Sheng was far more calculating than he let on.

“By the way, Qingyao, remember when we met with Director Chen to discuss the script? I told you to secretly record it. Do you still have that recording?” Liang Aiai’s eyes gleamed with a hint of scheming.

Chen Qingyao’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re thinking…?”

That night, a recording suddenly shot to the top of trending charts across major platforms. Already caught in the whirlwind of public opinion, the film version of New Song of Sending Off the Lover was once again thrust into the spotlight.

Liang Aiai had been in the industry for over a decade—she wasn’t someone to be trifled with. As soon as the recording was released, an army of paid commenters jumped in to stir the pot, claiming that the film’s disjointed tone and poor reception were all due to the male lead’s attempts to change the script.

Because of Chen Qingyao’s insistence, the script ultimately wasn’t changed. But something must have gone wrong in post-production, because the final cut ended up as the confused mess everyone had seen.

The recording featured a conversation between Director Chen Shu and Chen Qingyao, in which Chen Shu openly admitted he had wanted to revise the script—and even mentioned that the new concept had come from Wei Sheng.

And just like that, a single spark ignited a firestorm.

The ones who had been cursing out Chen Qingyao suddenly turned their aim elsewhere, directing all their fury at Director Chen Shu. Accusations flew—he’d been corrupted by capital, they said, and in his eagerness to promote a certain actor, he’d completely abandoned the integrity of the film.

Wei Sheng bore the brunt of the backlash. Naturally, his rivals and haters had been working overtime to stir the pot. Everyone was accusing him of being a diva, tampering with the script, and when that failed, bribing the post-production team to manipulate the edit—going so far as to trample over a respected senior like Chen Qingyao just to climb higher.

Wei Sheng couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

Since when did he have such godlike abilities? Bribing post-production? He didn’t even know who was in charge of editing this film!

But now, no one was willing to believe him.

Except his fans.

Wei Sheng’s fans were probably the most pitiful group in the entertainment industry these past two years. Their idol seemed to attract chaos like a magnet. Every time he trended online, it was either because he was being attacked or on the verge of it. What else could they do?

Of course, they had to speak up for him!

“You’re saying our Teacher Wei tried to change the script? Then show us the proof!”

“And who says changing the script automatically means it was changed for the worse?”

“Knowing Teacher Wei’s usual style, if he wanted to make changes, it was definitely to improve the script!”

“Besides, if the acting was bad, what does that have to do with post-production? Stop blaming everything on the editors, will you? This is a main-theme poverty alleviation film, not some fantasy animation where everything relies on CGI. If you botched your performance, don’t go blaming the post team. Why not blame the broadcasting authority while you’re at it?”

For a while, the internet was in absolute chaos.

Ironically, the film version of New Song of Sending Off the Lover had already flopped, but all this drama actually piqued the curiosity of some onlookers who hadn’t seen it yet. They went and bought tickets just to see what the fuss was about.

“Well, at least we’ve made back the production costs. Poor Wei Sheng, though—he’s going to have to take the heat with me for a few more days,” Chen Shu muttered, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he watched the box office numbers climb again.

He no longer had any hopes of winning awards with this film. If it could just recoup the investors’ money, that would already be a blessing.

The moment the audio recording was leaked, Chen Shu immediately understood—it had to be from Chen Qingyao’s side. That day, there were only three people present during the script discussion: himself, Chen Qingyao, and her agent. He certainly hadn’t recorded anything, which left only Chen Qingyao and her agent.

Chen Shu wasn’t stupid. It took just a moment of thought to figure out what they were trying to do. The movie had tanked, awards were out of reach, and rather than let her reputation collapse with it, Chen Qingyao wanted to shift the blame onto them.

It should’ve been easy to handle. He didn’t have the audio, but he had the raw footage. If he released the behind-the-scenes video from the set, netizens would immediately see whether it was post-production trickery or simply Chen Qingyao’s poor acting.

But then he hesitated—because the film hadn’t broken even yet.

Negative buzz was still buzz. Some production teams even leaked their own scandals just to stir up attention. This mess wasn’t something they’d orchestrated, but since Chen Qingyao had already paid to push defamatory trending topics against them, why not take advantage of the heat and squeeze a bit more out of the box office?

Chen Shu was confident he could convince Wei Sheng to weather the storm with him. There was another reason too: wasn’t Chen Qingyao claiming the film failed because Wei Sheng had tried to change the script?

She thought the new version couldn’t possibly be better than the original?

Well, wasn’t that convenient? Because they’d already shot the new version!

So why not let the audience have a sneak peek now?

(To be continued)

Translator’s Notes