TPH Chapter 22.2

The Protagonist’s Halo [Arc 1] Chapter 22.2: Entertainment Circle Vase (30)

You have to know that “Empty Star”, which made Su Man famous, was released more than half a year ago. Now that she can still maintain such popularity, many media and investors in the circle feel that they need to re-evaluate Su Man’s potential and commercial value.

Just because of Su Man’s appearance, the movie quickly became a hot topic and became the biggest topic. Several other popular movies vying for the summer season were immediately suppressed. No one cared. At this moment, everyone was looking at the looks.

Ji Yanhuai, who had just finished an event and was in the lounge, also saw this trending search. Clicking on it took him to the live broadcast of today’s premiere of the movie “Ice”.

Zhou Zhuo, who was standing next to him, spoke sarcastically about the Youyi CEO’s “care and concern” for Su Man, even taking care of small things like dresses and jewelry. Who would believe him when he said it was no big deal?

Ji Yanhuai, however, couldn’t listen. He stared at the screen, watching Su Man holding Shen Duo’s arm, gently lifting her elaborate skirt as she ascended the stairs under the flowing blue starlight. He had never seen Su Man like this before. Her cold and carefree beauty seemed like the only protagonist, and the momentary joyful smile that flickered across her face was enough to brighten the entire room.

It seems like they are not from the same world.

If Ji Yanhuai was disappointed, then Pei Yiren was jealous to the point of madness. In her expectation, she should be the one who stole the show and became the center of attention. But now, Su Man had gotten there first, and her own glory was still a long way off.

Pei Yiren didn’t understand. Didn’t Su Man stupidly reject the role of the heroine in the movie invested by Luo Qiyi? Why were there so many people praising her? Not only did the company protect her, but there were also so many fans who were praising her like crazy.

For some reason, Pei Yiren’s intuition told her that Su Man was here to jinx her. If Su Man hadn’t suddenly exploded with acting prowess during the filming of “Empty Star,” the female lead would have been hers, and she wouldn’t have been blackened by the entire internet. She would definitely have had a better life.

She is obviously the darling of the world, why is Su Man more dazzling than her.

Pei Yiren bit her lip. Anger, resentment and helplessness intertwined together, making her stomach churn and making her feel really unhappy.

At this time, the assistant came over and said, “Sister Pei, the director mentioned your scene and asked you to come over.”

“I’m not feeling well today, so I’ll call it a day.” Pei Yiren didn’t look as gentle and amiable as usual.

After saying that, Pei Yiren stood up and walked towards the nanny car. The assistant was stunned. She was the assistant assigned to Pei Yiren after she signed with the new company. Because Pei Yiren was brought in by the investors, the director and crew treated her well. Her role was good, for example, today was Pei Yiren’s whole day.

But Pei Yiren was stimulated by Su Man’s glory and was in a bad mood. She quit the job in anger. The assistant had to rush to apologize to the director and made an excuse that Pei Yiren was not feeling well today and asked for a temporary leave to go back to the hotel to rest.

The director is also a veteran in the circle, and he knew whether Pei Yiren is really sick or faking it. There are also crew members in the hotel.

But thinking about Mr. Luo behind Pei Yiren, the director shook his head. Although he had a bad impression of Pei Yiren, he endured it and didn’t care. In the entertainment industry, except for a very few people, everyone has to endure it. The investor is the father.

…

If Su Man’s debut dominated the hot searches, then when the first day box office came out, it made many people drop their jaws.51.8 million, ranking third.

This is definitely not a bad result. The two films ahead of it are both blockbusters with top stars joining in and hundreds of millions of dollars invested, and they have even been released for some time.

The first day performance of the movie “Ice” was enough for the media to write several reports.

Will it open high and close low, or proceed steadily and cautiously?

Another hot search was that overnight, more than 10,000 messages were left on Youyi’s official Weibo and Su Man’s Weibo, all begging the company to allow Su Man to work more and give out some benefits. Think about it, after the end of “Empty Star”, except for a few occasional advertisements, Su Man rarely appeared in the public eye, but her fans still did not decrease, they were just miserable and kept repeating the same old things.

Su Man’s stunning appearance at the movie premiere yesterday sparked fans’ enthusiasm to watch the movie.

Another thing that attracted attention was that the famous director Qiao also watched the movie premiere.

Although it was a private passage and the location was relatively secret, it was still discovered by the sharp-eyed media. As a big figure at the level of a master of Chinese film, Director Qiao’s mere presence would cause quite a stir.

Immediately, there was a lot of discussion in the circle. Many people suspected that they had underestimated the background of the entertainment company. They knew that the entertainment company attached great importance to this movie and had spent a lot of money. Qingdao was even able to invite Director Qiao. Director Qiao rarely attended even her own disciples’ film awards.

A few days later, a top media outlet finally managed to contact Director Qiao and asked for an interview, which took place at Director Qiao’s home.

Facing Director Qiao, the reporter was very respectful and did not dare to say anything too sharp. He only meticulously answered the standard questions given by his superior.

“Excuse me, why did Director Qiao attend the premiere of the movie ‘Ice’? Was it You Yi’s invitation?”

“Going to the premiere has nothing to do with the company or the crew,” Director Qiao shook her head and smiled faintly, “I just accepted Su Man’s personal invitation. I really like the movie ‘Ice’, especially the role played by Su Man. A good actor should have such a breathtaking performance.”

The reporter felt like he had grasped something. The standard questions his superiors gave him were safe, but the ability to adapt to changing circumstances was more important. He tentatively asked, “Does Director Qiao have high hopes for Su Man?”

“Yes, I’m very optimistic about her.” Director Qiao, whose hair had already turned gray, still had a wise and gentle light in her eyes. She smiled and said slowly, “Su Man and I worked together not long ago on a movie.”

The reporter who asked the question didn’t know whether he was shocked by the former’s new collaboration movie or by the praise of Su Man revealed in Director Qiao’s words.

Unfortunately, before he could ask more questions, Director Qiao’s personal assistant came out and said, “The interview ends here.”

When the company received the interview content brought back by the reporter, the first reaction was that it would definitely be the headline.

Director Qiao has actually come out to shoot a new movie, and she is collaborating with Su Man.

Director Qiao also praised Su Man’s strength as an actor. You should know that Director Qiao has been famous for being frugal with words for most of her life. There are only a few people who can really be praised by her, but all of them are superstars in the film industry. Their personal relationship is so good that they are willing to attend each other’s movies. Could Su Man be Director Qiao’s biological daughter? The editor-in-chief, who read the interview transcript, couldn’t help but doubt it.

…

What is even more unexpected is the box office of “Ice”, which has been 70 million and 90 million for three consecutive days, and has never fallen out of the top three, and is only more than 8 million away from the second one.

The corporate bosses who were originally competing for the title of summer blockbuster had to take this movie seriously.

No one would have thought that “Ice” would become a powerful dark horse in the summer box office competition, and it was on the verge of becoming the box office champion.

Director Qin’s previous films of the same genre were all critically acclaimed but not commercially successful. What was the reason that made the box office so crazy? Then the name Su Man came into his view.

In fact, since the first day of its premiere, many professional film critics have given it high praise, if for no other reason than for the character of Su Man.

“Su Man’s performance as the murderer was truly dazzling. Although Shen Duo had broken free from the clichés of popular acting, he was unfortunately reduced to a supporting role. It can only be said that her death was not unjust.”

In fact, anyone who has seen the movie will realize that Chu Xin, played by Su Man, is the real protagonist of the movie. Although the beginning is simple and ordinary, like a white moonlight, as the plot develops, her image becomes more three-dimensional. Her suicide at the end, a martyrdom for her ideals, also represents the true success of this character.

The entire film revolves around her pursuit, her depravity and despair, her murderous scheme, and ultimately her redemption (suicide). While the protagonist is nominally a detective seeking the truth and discovering the murderer, in the film he is merely a bystander, powerless to Chu Xin’s suffering and despair, unable to stop her darkening and murderous tendencies. He is silenced by her questions and accusations, and ultimately can only watch as she shoots herself in a fire.

Why does the truth have to be washed away by blood?

At the end, the protagonist Song Yao was unable to give an answer. The senior sister he admired taught him the most shocking lesson with her life.

The answer is left to the audience. The character of Su Man is too outstanding, enough to make the movie unbalanced, but it still does not affect its popularity with the audience, and even sparked heated discussions.

“I can only describe the character of Su Man in two words: ‘tragic.’ Not only the protagonist, but all the other actors, including the veteran actors, pale in comparison to her. It was hard for me to imagine that Su Man could possess such acting talent at such a young age. I watched it again and it’s true. It’s not wrong to describe her as a talented actor.”

“This is a classic role that even later remakes cannot surpass. How many actors and artists have been longing for it, but Su Man has achieved it so early.”

“Only after watching the ending did I realize that the one who truly stood up for justice and the law wasn’t the protagonist, but the murderer Chu Xin, played by Su Man. She used her life to protect justice and the law, which cannot be violated. It was like the music she played in the fire, as if she was atonement. The crime of murder is unforgivable, even if she resorted to lynching to seek revenge.”　Entertainment companies had seen this before, but because the hype was so outrageous and exaggerated, they thought it was just a publicity stunt hired by the production crew and the entertainment company. But the true results can no longer be concealed.

On the fifth day, it successfully reached the top of the box office, with a box office of over 400 million yuan. The movie “Ice” also completely ignited the trend on Weibo, and the topic search soared.

Fans who were first to the theater cried, “Why is it BE again?”

But it still does not prevent fans and more netizens from being deeply attracted by Su Man’s new character, and even watching the show three or four times.

“The third time I watched it, I saw the protagonist’s memories at the beginning. Back then, Chu Xin was the real Bai Yueguang. She saved so many people and fought for justice. Why did she have such an ending?”

“In my mind, even though Chu Xin’s hands are stained with blood, she still has the purest soul.”

“Song Yao, why didn’t you save her? She’s the senior you admire the most. How could you treat her as a murderer and even force her into a desperate situation?”

“From the moment she plotted revenge and murder, Chu Xin’s fate was sealed. She was so devoted to the law and justice she had studied, viewing them as her ideals. So when those ideals were shattered, one can imagine her despair and heartbroken pain. In the end, she chose suicide, as if using her life to patch up the shattered legal justice piece by piece.”

“She could not forgive the murderer who escaped justice, nor could she forgive herself for the murder she committed through vigilante justice.”

“Why does the truth have to be washed away by blood? This sentence made me burst into tears. How heartbroken she must have been when she said this.”