Famous! Ch.175

Chapter 175: Suspicion

Shen Wenjie was the director of Uncertain Return. To be honest, the moment he saw Liu Rennong’s interview, his entire being—from his mind to his heart—was consumed by rage.

He couldn’t understand. This wasn’t his first time directing a film, nor was Uncertain Return the first movie Liu Rennong had given him advice on. So why had Uncertain Return been sabotaged so badly?

Shen Wenjie had completely forgotten that his previous films had never been released during the Spring Festival season. In terms of production costs and box office earnings, none of his other films could compare to Uncertain Return.

While his other films hadn’t made huge profits, Uncertain Return had suffered a truly devastating fate.

Shen Wenjie had started going through the contract early on. The truth was, just as Liu Rennong had said, there was indeed no explicit evidence showing that he had been involved in the project.

This contract wasn’t suitable for exposure either—if it were made public, it would confirm the shady dealings between Uncertain Return and the theater chains. Not only would the theaters face public condemnation, but the entire film industry could suffer a catastrophic blow. Shen Wenjie himself would likely become the target of retaliation from the theater chains.

And even if he exposed the contract in a desperate move, it still wouldn’t prove Liu Rennong’s involvement in the matter.

Shen Wenjie had no choice but to swallow his anger and accept the bitter reality.

But after all, he was human—he couldn’t remain indifferent to his own predicament.

Aside from the contract, Shen Wenjie had also started taking secret actions.

Lu Xu hadn’t known about this at first. It was Xu Wen who informed him.

The moment he heard the news, Lu Xu couldn’t help but look bewildered. “How do you know? Isn’t this supposed to be a very private matter?”

Xu Wen’s expression was enigmatic.

Actually, it all came down to the fact that Xu Wen had a wide network in the industry. If Shen Wenjie had started taking action, he would inevitably seek out directors or actors who had a good relationship with him and had also been burned by Liu Rennong.

These people weren’t necessarily Liu Rennong’s students. One only had to look at whom Liu Rennong had favored during certain periods and then suddenly cut ties with to figure it out.

That said, it wouldn’t be entirely fair to call it sabotage. The rise of a renowned director was bound to be filled with hardships, especially for someone like Liu Rennong, whose career relied equally on skill and connections.

Take Director Mu Lang, whom Lu Xu had worked with—his success was 80% due to talent and less than 20% due to networking.

Mu Lang was more well-received overseas, but not because he catered to foreign cinematic aesthetics or compromised to please them.

Liu Rennong, on the other hand… He wasn’t the only director that people in the industry had grievances against; Miao Zhi was just one example. But in terms of influence, Liu Rennong did seem to surpass many others.

For instance, Mu Lang wasn’t exactly easygoing, so he almost never attended industry events.

Liu Rennong, however, was different. His presence was essential at every major film event, and with How Much Do You Know grossing over 4 billion at the box office, his status as a famous director had been further solidified.

In short, even among renowned directors, there was a distinction between skill and fame. A more famous director wasn’t necessarily the most talented.

As it happened, someone in the industry who had once been highly valued by Liu Rennong but later discarded was on good terms with Xu Wen. Not long after Shen Wenjie approached this person, the information was passed on to Xu Wen.

And so… Xu Wen quietly added fuel to the fire.

Lu Xu nudged his manager with his elbow. “You’ve got dirt on him?”

His manager, with his thick brows and honest-looking face, hardly seemed like the type to be sitting on 108 pieces of evidence against Liu Rennong.

“It’s a mix of truth and falsehood,” the manager said calmly. “Who can prove that the information I put out is fake?”

Lu Xu silently gave his manager a thumbs-up.

Liu Rennong had spoken so righteously in the interview, but everyone in the industry knew the truth—given Shen Wenjie’s level of fame, how could he possibly have connections with the high and mighty theater chains?

The real question was, what had happened to make Liu Rennong resort to using even a ‘half-finished product’ like Shen Wenjie?

“How Much Do You Know? had a bit of the same situation,” Xu Wen remarked. “But Liu Rennong is better at marketing. The promotional campaign for How Much Do You Know was overwhelming. Plus, he’s a big-name director, and the film was decent. With high screening allocation and a reputable director behind it, the box office numbers weren’t questioned by most audiences.”

He then turned to Lu Xu. “Be honest—based on your judgment, do you think How Much Do You Know was worth 4 billion at the box office?”

Lu Xu shook his head without hesitation.

His manager chimed in, “I feel the same way.”

The quality of How Much Do You Know was indeed good, but not to the extent of reaching a 4-billion-yuan box office. In Xu Wen’s opinion, it should have landed around 2 billion. But 4 billion… No matter how much the production team tried to create the illusion of a natural box office curve, the cracks still showed.

After all, films that surpassed the 4-billion mark were rare. The production team of How Much Do You Know had only a handful of films to model their numbers after. They couldn’t mimic one too blatantly—one day copying the curve of one 4-billion film, the next day another—eventually turning their trajectory into an unconvincing mess.

The general audience might not notice, but industry insiders were well aware.

“That’s why,” Xu Wen’s expression turned serious, “there can only be one How Much Do You Know—no sequel, no second attempt. If they push it further, it will backfire.”

“He’s the kind of director who relentlessly chases wealth.”

Since the path of making money through filmmaking was now facing obstacles, Liu Rennong simply switched to another means of wealth accumulation. Whether it was promoting new talents or inserting himself into theater chain contracts, both were shortcuts to fortune.

“He’s also very vain,” Lu Xu added.

Liu Rennong wanted money, but he disdained low-tier methods of making it. He sought a good reputation, striving to maintain the dignity of a renowned director while raking in profits.

In that sense, he was smarter than Zhang Zhizhen.

If possible, Liu Rennong preferred to handle things himself. How Much Do You Know was a perfect collaboration between him and the theater chains. But since its success couldn’t be easily replicated, he had no choice but to pick directors he deemed suitable.

Shen Wenjie was one of them.

…

After waiting a few days, Lu Xu finally saw Shen Wenjie post on Weibo, publicly expressing gratitude to Liu Rennong:

[I wouldn’t be where I am today without my teacher. Every step of my growth has been guided by him.]

[Today is my teacher’s birthday. I wish him a happy birthday, may this day come every year and may every year be like today.]

Shen Wenjie shared a series of photos with Liu Rennong, including moments at the film academy where Liu Rennong patiently mentored him, his first movie set where Liu Rennong personally came to guide him, and—most notably—recent photos of Liu Rennong introducing him to key figures in the theater chain.

In the comments, Shen Wenjie even mentioned how surprised he was that Liu Rennong had distanced himself from him. If not for him, he never would have secured such high screening allocation for Uncertain Return.

[My teacher opened the doors to a whole new world for me, allowing me to understand the reasons behind the success of How Much Do You Know, Silent K*lling, and The Lofty Sunset.]

Netizens: “…”

The film crews who were suddenly dragged into this: “…”

In short, Shen Wenjie’s statement made netizens realize that How Much Do You Know, Silent K*lling, and The Lofty Sunset all had one thing in common—while their screening allocations were high, the sheer dominance of their showtimes during their theatrical runs was downright alarming, to the point that competing film crews couldn’t help but lash out.

Typically, unless a film completely flopped in a spectacular fashion, most productions managed to maintain their composure. After all, throwing a tantrum would only tarnish the audience’s perception of the movie.

But these three films… their similarities were a little too obvious.

Back then, when rival productions spoke out, supporters of the three films brushed it off as jealousy and negativity. Now, with Shen Wenjie naming names one by one, netizens who remembered the situation started to reconsider—was there really something shady going on?

[Am I the only one who thinks Shen Wenjie’s way of speaking is very ‘V-school’?]

[Lu Xu: ? Why am I involved again?]

[Lu Xu: Why am I everywhere?]

“V-school,” as a wildly successful field of study, had flourished in the realm of entertainment industry feuds. Though its founder, Lu Xu, was rarely mentioned by name, every time a “V-school-style” takedown unfolded, gossip-loving netizens would sincerely thank him.

After all, without Lu Xu, where would all the entertainment come from?

Shen Wenjie’s post prompted marketing accounts and gossip-loving netizens to dig into the past, and sure enough, they uncovered undeniable evidence of How Much Do You Know, Silent K*lling, and The Lofty Sunset maintaining disproportionately high screening allocations for extended periods.

[Just realized… How Much Do You Know wasn’t without doubters—it’s just that there wasn’t a film like Fearless Life released at the same time.]

[Lu Xu: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s me again.]

But netizens found the argument quite reasonable.

It was precisely because of Fearless Life that Uncertain Return couldn’t fabricate its box office numbers.

Unless, of course, it decided to claim a 1-billion-yuan opening day.

But back then, who could have predicted that Fearless Life would generate nearly 300 million in box office revenue with just 14.7% of the screening slots?

Uncertain Return’s first-day earnings of 469 million weren’t low. If the screening ratio held steady, a few adjusted figures here and there—some discreetly manipulated ticket sales—could have easily created the illusion of a 3-billion-yuan box office haul, and no one would have questioned it.

But Uncertain Return had abysmal attendance!

Meanwhile, Fearless Life’s screening slots could only go up.

With Fearless Life outperforming Uncertain Return in word-of-mouth, discussion volume, ratings, and attendance, just how thick-skinned would the Uncertain Return team have to be to fake a box office total surpassing Fearless Life?

Audiences might not be the smartest, but they shouldn’t be treated like fools.

And of course, it was all Lu Xu’s fault.

Lu Xu: “…”

…Alright.

While Uncertain Return had the misfortune of going up against Fearless Life, the other three films had faced no such competition, allowing them to create the myth of “high screenings, high box office.” Though, when it came to reputation and public discussion, they were noticeably weaker than other films in the same box office tier.

The How Much Do You Know production team was the first to issue a statement, calling these speculations baseless.

But Liu Rennong’s close ties with the theater chains were common knowledge.

The other two productions also denied the online rumors, insisting that their high box office earnings were purely a result of their exceptional quality—”Our numbers are clean, earned through audience recognition.”

Mere moments after their statements were released, photos surfaced of Liu Rennong dining with the directors of these productions and high-ranking executives from the theater chains.

Whether it was Liu Rennong being lazy or the theater chains only having these same two executives, the lineup in the photos—aside from the directors being swapped out—was identical to the ones Shen Wenjie had exposed earlier.

[How… why is he everywhere?]

[I seriously suspect there are many such movies. If it succeeded, it would become How Much Do You Know or Silent K*lling; if it failed, it would be Uncertain Return.]

[…Terrifying.]

[All three How Much Do You Know films are works from before Lu Xu entered the film industry. I have a good reason to suspect that Lu Xu really is a curse to Liu Rennong.]

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