Chapter 43

Chapter 43

One day later, at noon, the production crew of Daylight Entertainment set off for Guangdong Province to begin filming. Two days later, the character styling posters were designed and photographed!

That same evening at 8 PM, Daylight Entertainment officially announced.

A collaboration with Lu Chen had been finalized, and The Breaking Ice was officially in production! They even tagged the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, which promptly confirmed the co-production on their official social media.

As soon as the news broke, it instantly went viral. It quickly shot up to the top of trending topics, attracting millions of netizens’ attention!

Shortly after, Daylight Entertainment announced that they would release one actor’s character styling poster every 30 minutes!

Li Fei!

Li Weimin!

Zhao Jialiang!

Cai Yongqiang!

Ma Yunbo!

Lin Yaohua!

Lin Zonghui!

One by one, the posters were revealed!

When midnight struck, thousands of netizens glued to their phones in eager anticipation finally saw the Lin Yaodong character poster go live!

Upon seeing Wang Jinsong in the poster—dressed in a Zhongshan suit, wearing rimless glasses, exuding both kindness and a hint of sharpness—Weibo’s comment section exploded!

“Oh my god! Uncle Dong! This is exactly how I imagined him!”

“Amazing! It’s actually Wang Jinsong!”

“Perfect casting! This is going to be incredible!”

“Aside from the lead, the entire cast is made up of veteran actors! I can’t wait for this drama!”

Within half an hour, Weibo likes surpassed 3 million, comments exceeded 500,000, and shares surpassed 700,000!

Even before airing, The Breaking Ice had already taken the internet by storm, igniting a new wave of public discussion. At the same time, some mischievous netizens flocked to Chen Sicheng’s Weibo to leave sarcastic comments.

[Director Chen only makes commercial films. We, who don’t understand commerce, will just watch The Breaking Ice instead!]

[If The Breaking Ice isn’t popular, then breaking Weibo’s engagement records in half an hour must be normal!]

[Can’t wait to see The Breaking Ice flop. Director Chen, please stay tuned!]

These mocking remarks once again pushed Chen Sicheng into the spotlight of public opinion!

______

“Damn it!”

At a five-star hotel in Shanghai, Chen Sicheng slammed his fist onto the glass coffee table in front of him as he stared at his exploding private messages. The loud thud made his agent, Brother Wang, frown slightly.

“Forget it, Sicheng. Netizens leaving comments is a good thing. Looks like you’ll be trending again tomorrow.”

Chen Sicheng shot Brother Wang a glare.

“You think this kind of trending is a good thing?”

“Good or bad, as long as there’s hype, it doesn’t matter, does it?”

Brother Wang remained calm.

“Besides, you’re a director and screenwriter, not just an actor. Your real supporters will always back you. And those who dislike you—why bother with them? Negative publicity is still publicity. Having traffic is the unchanging rule in this industry.”

Chen Sicheng found his words somewhat reasonable, and his mood gradually settled. Brother Wang crossed his legs and casually tossed Chen Sicheng a cigarette.

“Just focus on being a good judge on the show. Say what you want—it’s your freedom and right. Don’t overthink it. In fact, the more the other three judges praise Lu Chen, the more you criticize him, the more distinct your presence becomes.

After all, some people just don’t like Lu Chen. Sure, you’ll lose some fans when you criticize him, but at the same time, you’ll gain another group of supporters. Why not take advantage of that?”

“Got it, Brother.”

Chen Sicheng nodded, lighting Brother Wang’s cigarette for him. Brother Wang took a deep drag, leaned lazily against the sofa, and suddenly dropped a bombshell.

“I just got word that Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei don’t seem to like Lu Chen either. They might pull some dirty tricks in the next round of the competition.”

“Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei? Why?”

“Failed negotiations. You know how ruthless those two brothers can be. They never let grudges slide. They’ll definitely teach Lu Chen a lesson—maybe a little warning, maybe something harsher.”

“What kind of warning?”

“Not sure yet, but it won’t be anything clean.”

Brother Wang smirked.

Chen Sicheng’s eyes lit up.

“Could they make sure Lu Chen doesn’t make it to the Top 16?”

“Maybe. Quite possibly.”

Chen Sicheng burst into laughter.

“I knew it! That kid got arrogant after writing some half-baked script. He must’ve demanded sky-high prices and pissed off the wrong people!”

“Exactly. No matter how fearless he is, the industry will teach him a lesson.”

“Haha, I won’t be mad anymore.”

Chen Sicheng leaned back on the sofa, completely relaxed. Brother Wang took a few more puffs and stubbed out his cigarette.

Then, as if offhandedly, he asked, “Sicheng, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing much, I’m just curious—why are you so against Lu Chen? I mean, some netizens say it’s because he’s too handsome, and you can’t stand it?”

Chen Sicheng snorted.

“Brother Wang, come on. Me? Jealous of his looks? Impossible!”

“Then why?”

“Brother Wang, some people just naturally rub you the wrong way. No reason needed.”

“Alright, I get it now. Anyway, it’s late. Get some rest. I’ll be heading out.”

“Take care, Brother Wang!”

After seeing his agent off, Chen Sicheng reclined on the sofa, eyes slightly narrowed.

“Jealous of Lu Chen’s looks? Which idiot came up with that?”

In reality, there was a reason why Chen Sicheng disliked Lu Chen.vBut it was a reason he refused to admit. Because no matter how much he tried to deny it, he couldn’t shake off the truth—Lu Chen’s creative talent was terrifyingly brilliant.

Ever since Detective Chinatown, Chen Sicheng had been regarded as the most talented young screenwriter in China. But with Lu Chen’s meteoric rise in the show, a sense of crisis crept into his heart. A very real, very scary crisis!

If Lu Chen continued to shine, his success would directly impact Chen Sicheng’s standing. That was why Chen Sicheng instinctively tried to suppress him—to stop him from stealing the spotlight!

But this selfish reason was something he would never admit. Not even to his own agent.

“Now things are getting interesting. If Huayi really takes action, I’ll just sit back and watch the show. If Lu Chen gets eliminated in the Top 16, I’ll have benefited without lifting a finger!”

A smirk crept onto Chen Sicheng’s face. He couldn’t wait for the Top 16 competition to begin!

Because once Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei set their sights on someone, that person never escaped unscathed. Lu Chen would be no exception.

______

That night, at the Pen to Paper headquarters, the chief director Hong Tao sat in a meeting room with two highly esteemed professors. Both were legends in their respective fields—one, a professor at Tsinghua-Beijing University’s Chinese Department.

The other, the Vice President of China’s Film Association and a professor of screenwriting at Shanghai Film Academy. They were the ultimate authority in screenwriting competitions.

“So, Professors Tian and Chen, is this our final topic?”

The two professors nodded.

“Yes. It’s simple yet thought-provoking.”

On the whiteboard, the topic was written in bold Chinese characters— ‘Fishmonger’.