IPCFS: Chapter 76 Part 2

At the moment, Ji Li didn’t know about the commotion in the lounge and he followed Qin Yue into the elevator.

The two of them headed straight to the banquet hall upstairs.

Qin Yue took two glasses of champagne and handed one to Ji Li. “Take it for show. There will be the red carpet and awards ceremony later, so don’t be greedy.”

The moment he finished speaking, Fang Zhixing walked over from a place in the banquet hall. “You came?”

Ji Li saw this familiar person and smiled. “Teacher Fang.”

“Let’s go. I will take this opportunity to introduce you to some of my screenwriter friends.” Fang Zhixing gestured and glanced at Qin Yue on the way.

Qin Yue raised his glass, and there was a strong confidence in his low voice. “Shen Yanda isn’t the only one with appeal in the screenwriter’s circle.”

Ji Li instantly understood that these two wanted to take this opportunity to help him get acquainted with screenwriters in the circle.

The people chatting leisurely in the banquet hall at this time were all screenwriters in the circle. Many of them had their scripts shortlisted for this year’s China Television Awards.

Fang Zhixing attracted two or three friends nearby and took the initiative to serve as a bridge of communication in the middle.

“Old Liang, let me introduce you. This is Ji Li. He has already starred in two of my works. This kid’s ability to understand the role is very good. If you have a good script in the future, then please give him a chance for my sake.”

Ji Li quickly adapted to the environment and greeted him politely, “Hello, screenwriting teacher.”

Old Liang shook his cup slightly and glanced at someone from the corner of his eyes. Then he pointed out, “Are you guys fighting against Teacher Shen?”

Ji Li and Qin Yue followed his gaze and found that Shen Yanda was actually at the scene.

Shen Yanda’s displeased eyes had been looking over in their direction as early as when they entered.

Ji Li retracted his gaze and heard Fang Zhixing say, “You guys are talking one-sidedly. I am sincerely recommending a good actor to you.”

He tactfully pushed the topic back. “What is the character of this child, Ji Li? You will understand it when you get in contact with him. Why listen to outsiders?”

They wrote stories with pens and were divided into grades. Could they follow one person’s instructions?

Qin Yue interjected at the right time, “If the teachers have a finished script, why don’t you give it to our Yuexing Project Investment Department? Our company is short of excellent screenwriters like you.”

Those who could mix in this circle were all human.

Old Liang saw that Fang Zhixing and Qin Yue were speaking for Ji Li and simply followed the trend. “Okay, I will definitely consider Ji Li if there is a suitable script in the future.”

None of them were stupid. They were simply pretending to be showing favor in front of Shen Yanda.

No matter how great Shen Yanda’s status and rights were, they could only be used for his own scripts. The value of the scripts written by these screenwriters had to be decided by investors like Yuexing.

After taking Ji Li to meet seven or eight screenwriting teachers, Fang Zhixing was pulled over by his friends to reminisce.

Ji Li took a sip of champagne and gave sincere thanks. “Brother Yue, thank you.”

In fact, Qin Yue didn’t need to enter this muddy water at all. Yet, on the first day of public opinion, he took the lead in standing up for Ji Li and the one-sided public opinion seemed to return to normal.

“You don’t need to thank me in the future. It is very insulting.” Qin Yue took the initiative to touch their wine glasses together.

Ji Li was stunned for a moment before smiling. “Okay.”

Suddenly, there was a question from behind that disturbed them.

“You had the confidence to reject my script after being in the industry for less than a year. It turns out that you have a backer like Mr. Qin?”

“You hugged this thigh. It seems that you have a great future.”

Ji Li turned around and met Shen Yanda’s contemptuous gaze.

He lost his former hypocritical smile and this just increased his blatant arrogance and sarcasm. Or rather, this was his true face all along.

Ji Li controlled his expression. “Teacher Shen, why are you changing the subject? You know the real reason why I rejected your script.”

“The problem with your script is harmless, but your real nature means that it is destined that you will find it harder to mix in the entertainment industry.” Shen Yanda wasn’t moved and instead criticized Ji Li loudly.

“Teacher Shen.”

Qin Yue suddenly spoke and an unfathomable vortex had already appeared in the depth of his eyes.

“Rather than criticizing a young actor here, why don’t you look at the quality of your own work? Is it worthy of the huge investment?”

“It is said that my vision when seeing television and movie works is very accurate, but I think your masterpiece will flop.”

These casual words directly stabbed the other person in the heart.

“…You!” Shen Yanda was speechless.

He obviously hadn’t expected Qin Yue to be so partial to Ji Li and not give him any face.

Qin Yue ignored his reaction and casually dropped another bombshell.

“I heard that two investors of ‘The Long Song of the Southern Dynasty’ have temporarily withdrawn their investment. The crew is about to start filming. Do you and the producer still have enough funds?”

Shen Yanda’s face froze. He obviously hadn’t expected Qin Yue to know about this.

He immediately understood something. “Qin Yue, the investors withdrawing was done by you?”

In the past few days, the reason why he and the producer stopped attacking Ji Li on the Internet was because they were struggling over the withdrawal of investors.

They were too busy attracting new investments and didn’t have time to think about anything else.

It had to be known that the preliminary preparations for the drama had already been perfected, and one-third of the sky-high salary for the female lead, Shi Meng, had already been given.

If they didn’t start filming on time, the entire process would be delayed, and this would cause them more losses.

Shen Yanda didn’t have any works that could be shortlisted for this year’s China Television Awards. Even so, he asked someone for the invitation letter and rushed over.

It was because in addition to the actors, directors, and screenwriters, there were many heads of movie and television companies in the industry who were invited to participate in the China Television Awards.

He saw this as an opportunity to attract investors.

Qin Yue saw his intentions for coming and said frankly, “I exchanged a few words with President Fang of Tianming Investment about your work.”

Shen Yanda’s face turned completely livid the moment these words came out.

It was no wonder why Tianming Investment withdrew their investment. It was instigated by Qin Yue behind the scenes.

Ji Li heard about this for the first time and slightly raised an eyebrow.

Shen Yanda was a powerful screenwriter, but could he beat an investor? If there was no money for filming, then it was a failure.

“Qin Yue, you are being too unkind!” Shen Yanda was angry, but he had to forcibly suppress his voice due to the surrounding guests.

“You and the producer villain acted first and poured dirty water on Ji Li on the Internet. Is this being very kind?” Qin Yue asked sharply.

Shen Yanda stopped questioning it.

Ji Li listened silently on the side. He felt Qin Yue’s protection of him and the warmth in his heart reached his lips. He was very happy.

“Teacher Shen, how about we talk about the script of ‘The Long Song of the Southern Dynasty’ while all the screenwriter teachers are here? We can let everyone decide who is right and who is wrong?”

Ji Li spoke bluntly and attracted the attention of those in the surroundings.

Shen Yanda understood the deep meaning in these words, and his face changed from red to blue to white. It was just like a palette.

He pretended to snort angrily. “You guys are unreasonable!”

Then he left in a hurry, but his back seemed to show the embarrassment of fleeing.

Qin Yue saw the smug look on Ji Li’s face and asked with a smile, “Are you happy now?”

Ji Li pushed up his glasses and whispered, “I am gloating a bit.”

He originally thought he would have to wait until the drama was aired before he could fight back and release his anger. Unexpectedly, he was able to see Shen Yanda’s deflated appearance in just a few days.

Of course, this level of counterattack was far from enough.

He would wait patiently for the opportunity to push garbage like Shen Yanda in front of the public’s eyes and let him suffer the real consequences!

***

The starting time of the red carpet was set at 5:#0. Since ‘Schemes of the Great Zong Dynasty Youth’ was so popular, the red carpet position of Ji Li and the others was arranged at an important position in the back.

Such a star-studded red carpet ceremony always attracted the highest attention.

At this moment, apart from the crowds of fans cheering, the number of viewers in the live broadcast room had already reached five million. The barrage of fans and netizens occupied almost the entire live broadcast screen.

-When will the crew of ‘Schemes of the Great Zong Dynasty Youth’ come out?

-I haven’t seen a fresh Ji Li in so long!

-I’m looking forward to Zhou Qingming!

-I just saw the styling photos from the studio. Sister Miao has taken her beauty to new heights today!

-How dare a third-rate star like Ji Li dare to come to this red carpet? Garbage, get out. Don’t insult the China Television Awards.

-Are the black fans still jumping? The organizing committee of the China Television Awards didn’t say anything. You are the only ones going crazy.

Fans of the drama had a strong Xie Yan filter over Ji Li. The remarks about Ji Li ‘acting arrogantly’ when there was no real evidence couldn’t stop their love for Ji Li at all.

The moment the remarks of these black fans came out, they complained in unison and covered it up with updated barrages.

Finally, the black luxury car drove to the red carpet, and the much anticipated crew of the ‘Schemes of the Great Zong Dynasty Youth’ finally came!

Zhou Qingming led Xu Miaomiao out of the car in a gentlemanly manner. There was a handsome man and beautiful woman with a bright appearance.

The sense of CP extended directly from inside the drama to outside the drama. The after-sales interaction of these partners obviously satisfied the hearts of many fans and quickly ignited the warm atmosphere of the scene.

Some fans shouted the CP name. “Ahhhhh! The Xuanxiao couple is the best!”

The moment they finished speaking, another figure emerged from the car. It was Ji Li.

In more than four months, Ji Li experienced filming the movie, a surge in popularity due to the drama, his perfume advertisements sweeping the country, and even the pressure of public opinion regarding ‘private life fans’ and ‘acting arrogantly.’

Under this level of exposure, today was the first time he participated in such a large-scale event, and he officially returned to the public’s attention as an actor.

The tuxedo outfit was retro and abstinent.

The silver-rimmed glasses looked educated yet evil.

It was obviously a completely different temperament, but there was no sense of violation from Ji Li’s body. The fusion was just right.

Could this be an ordinary star?

Even immortals couldn’t do it to this extent?

At this moment, the cameras shot wildly and the shutter was almost destroyed. The fans screamed madly and their voices were almost hoarse.

Xu Miaomiao and Zhou Qingming glanced at each other and were resigned to their fate.

The other person’s potential fans and passersby popularity were much higher than everyone imagined.

Ji Li faced the dazzling flashes calmly. He looked around without blinking or changing his expression.

In the end, he set his gaze on the live broadcast camera and showed a clean smile like the spring breeze to the camera.

–Hi everyone, I’m Ji Li.

He moved his mouth and silently greeted the online netizens.

At this moment, the barrage completely lost control, and all of them shifted into the direction of groundhogs.

-Ahhhhh! Baby! Mom really missed you!

-Help, I really can’t resist Ji Li’s looks! How can there be such a stunning man?

-A new style! A completely medieval noble young master! Wow! Give chicken legs to all the members of the styling team!

-Wu wu wu the beauty Ji Li is back!

-What black materials? Is it impressive? I am a face con who has been completely impressed by Ji Li!

Even the black fans in the barrage collectively fell into a strange silence. Some black fans even started to doubt themselves.

“Why am I fighting against mainstream aesthetics? Am I blind?”

“Isn’t it good to admire the beauty of a handsome guy with everyone? Why do I have to find anger for myself?”

“It is good to be a black fan, but who wants to be Ji Li’s black fan? I’m speechless at myself!”

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TL: Advance chapters are available over on my Patreon. You can go check out the details on my Patreon page.

Proofreader: Azure