BXBX NOVEL Chapter 87 - Eighty-Seven: Rumors
Early in the morning, the Internet was aboil with countless news painting Yun
Nan and her studio in a negative light. Public media was flooded with posts and articles with headlines and comments such as:
‘Female lead quits the movie ‘4?.30 P.M.’ and left the set without a word. Emerging director—Yun Nan—possesses a temper and character so questionable that even an inexperienced D-list actress couldn’t stand her.’
‘ Numerous celebrities complained about Yun Nan’s temper and revealed that she mistreated the actors and staff. Yun Nan’s former colleagues in the Yun Corporation had also long suffered from Yun Nan’s tyranny.’
‘Minor but pompous young director Yun Nan doesn’t respect her seniors.’
‘ Yun Nan’s stubbornness dashed investors’ hopes; her movie ‘4-30 P.M.’ incurred losses just a week into filming. The Yun Corporation initiallyplanned to invest in and film said movie, but the heartless and ungrateful Yun Nan was obstinate and even left the Yun Corporation with the script.’
‘ The entertainment industry is going to the dogs! Up-and-coming director Yun Nan looks down on everyonejust because she’s had some small success. She left the Yun Corporation with their resources, resulting in her family’s heavy losses. Now, her deeds have caught up with her! Her new movie’s lead actress walked out on her, and ‘4:30 P.M.’ has fallen through.’
Yun Nan’s car was blocked at the entrance of the film set. Multiple cameras, recording pens, microphones, and mobile phones were jammed in her face, and Yun Nan’s ears were bombarded with noise as reporters fired off all sorts of questions. Yun Nan frowned and raised her hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. The crowd quietened, but some reporters took advantage of the others’ silence to shout pointed questions at Yun Nan.
“Director Yun, please tell us what you plan to do with ‘4:30 P.M.’ Are you going to return it to the Yun family?”
“Yeah, Director Yun! The book’s fans are all looking forward to the movie. You can’t go against the fans’ wishes and selfishly ruin the classic!”
Yun Nan raised her voice and stated, “You should be quiet and listen to me if you want me to provide answers for your press release.” At this, the rowdy bunch finally quieted down.
Pitching her voice louder, Yun Nan waved her phone at them and uttered, “I hope you won’t take what I’m about to say out of context because I’ve also started recording.” It was a word to the wise—she was no inexperienced newcomer, and they shouldn’t mess around with her!
“I’ve read some of the comments online, but not each and every one of them because there were too many. I’ll start with the question everyone is concerned about: the original lead actress of ‘4:30 P.M.’ has indeed gone missing. Her manager has already called the police, and we’ve immediately replaced her with a new lead actress. She is more suitable for the role than the previous actress, and we have already completed a portion of the reshoot work.
Everything is back on schedule, and the movie definitely won’t disappoint the book’s fans,” Yun Nan assured them.
She continued, “As for the personal attacks and slander on my character posted on the Internet, I’ve already handed them over to my lawyer as evidence.
Fabricators of these lies will receive letters from my lawyer. The Internet isn’t lawless, and I won’t show mercy to anyone spreading such rumors.” Yun Nan delivered her sharp words in a calm tone.
The crowd was silent, intimidated by her speech. They thought, ‘Isn’t this.. a little too ruthless? However, most people are all bark and no bite and generally didn’t do much in terms of retaliation. How else could anyone survive in this Internet age?
“Yun Nan had found a new lead actress so quickly—did she expect this to happen and made preparations beforehand? Shouldn’t they wait for news from Gao Bei? What if Gao Bei comes back tomorrow? Then what?” The crowd began to murmur.
“Yeah, aren’t you being a little too callous? You immediately replaced her with someone else. Could there be something more to this? You seemed to have been prepared for this all along.”
Yun Nan swept her gaze over the talkers and felt those media reporters with disdainful expressions were familiar—she had a rough idea of who sent them. Her gaze turned cold when she stared at them, but she still maintained a faint smile as she asked, “Then what do you expect me to do? Do you want me to cry before you? Or do you want me to scold Gao Bei right here in front of everyone? You all came here hoping to see me make a fool of myself when you heard my lead actress had run off, and when I told you I’ve found someone else to replace her, you guys claim I’d planned the whole thing. Guys, what do I have to do to satisfy your dark desires?”
This was the first time the reporters had met someone who’d so bluntly retorted them and their faces burned with embarrassment, feeling like they’d just been slapped.
Yun Nan smiled and remarked, “All of us here kind of share a similar line of work—we’re colleagues of a sort. We can work together happily if everyone aims for the same goals and helps each other out, but you’ll be disappointed if you’re here to see me cry.”
She went on to say, “Not many production teams have encountered a situation where they’ve lost contact with their lead actress. I’ve always been one to solve problems and minimize losses. Gao Bei is an adult; she can take responsibility for her own actions. She doesn’t need me to hold her hand or speak for her.. Do I have to make the entire production team stop to wait for her and then hug and cry together?”