Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Chapter 272: Chapter 234: Rising Phase: 70

To be fair, even in ”Eighth Heartbeat”, Zhou Yun’s performance was remarkable, and there was no joke about a ”performance car crash” on her part.

However, this was of no use.

The dispute continued to escalate beyond control.

Zhou Lan watched helplessly as the controversy kept unfolding, unable to restrain it.

As a result, Zhou Yun was subjected to much ridicule.

The reason being, she acted in a terrible movie, and her fans still refused to admit it.

Wei Ru Xue earnestly advised her with good intentions, yet Zhou Yun’s fans accused Wei Ru Xue of having ulterior motives.

From the start, this controversy was destined to take a turn detrimental for Zhou Yun.

Wei Ru Xue was a senior, Zhou Yun was a newcomer, their fan bases were not on the same level.

Wei Ru Xue currently had a popular drama on air, while Zhou Yun only had broadcasted one poorly reviewed but famous drama, ”Eighth Heartbeat”.

Everything Wei Ru Xue said made sense logically, Zhou Yun’s fans indeed spoke without thinking.

Zhou Yun’s public image was about to be further tarnished by this round of attacks.

Zhou Lan seeing that the situation was beyond salvage, had no choice but to cut the Gordian knot.

She fabricated a insider within the company, who spoke on a popular entertainment gossip forum, vaguely revealing the situation Zhou Yun faced at Chengqian Entertainment Company.

”I am truly speechless, does a certain senior remember why Zhou Yun took on ’Eighth Heartbeat’? Initially, the company planned for Zhou Yun to have a role in ’Spring Cold’, but because a certain senior was unwilling, Zhou Yun was excluded and stuffed into ’Eighth Heartbeat’. Talking about ’cherishing one’s feathers’, nowadays what new actor can disobey company arrangements and choose whatever they want to film?”

In just a short paragraph, the amount of information conveyed was immense.

The most critical piece of information was that Zhou Yun once had the opportunity to act in ”Spring Cold”, but missed it due to Wei Ru Xue’s objections.

Soon after, Gu Huaichun, during an event, recalled shooting ”Eighth Heartbeat” in an interview, saying: ”Zhou Yun is very ambitious, during filming, she often pulled me aside to discuss the script with the director, discussing how to achieve the best performance. Those who have truly seen ’Eighth Heartbeat’ would not say she didn’t act well.”

This was Zhou Lan commissioning Gu Huaichun to speak favorably for Zhou Yun.

Following Gu Huaichun, Li Ci, instructed by He Yong, posted a photo taken on set with Zhou Yun, captioning it: ”Hardworking Xiao Yun, never late nor left early, always pulled me along to read the script together.”

Sometimes, public opinion is like the east wind overcoming the west wind or vice versa.

Regarding the allegations against Wei Ru Xue in the exposé, Zhou Lan’s side did not release any substantial information, and likewise, Wei Ru Xue did not make any response.

This was merely a warning to Wei Ru Xue from Zhou Yun’s side, reminding her not to make any more unfavorable remarks about Zhou Yun, or else, Chengqian Entertainment also had a lot of dirt that could be exposed on her.

What truly reversed Zhou Yun’s public image was news from overseas.

Zhou Yun, previously the lead in ”Life”, a film ridiculed for being completely amateur, was selected for the Horizons Unit of the Venice International Film Festival.

This news instantly propelled Zhou Yun to the top of the trending search.

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The Horizons Unit is not the same as the main competition section, but it is also one of the two official competition sections of the Venice International Film Festival.

This section is known for encouraging experimentation and innovation in filmmaking.

Many Chinese directors’ works have been selected for this section, for instance, Pema Tseden’s ”Killing a Sheep”, Guan Hu’s ”Bullfight”.

This year, no Chinese-language films made it to the Venice International Film Festival’s main competition unit, and yet, the Horizons Unit brought an unexpected delight, something no one anticipated.

Intent on taking the ”award-chasing” path, the production company New Shield, upon receiving this news, spared no effort in publicizing it, trying to forge their new image.

Being officially in one of the top three film festival’s competition sections, even if not the main one, was still the only Chinese-language film featured this year.

New Shield was overjoyed.

This was a surprise they had not anticipated.

They merely recommended the film to a prominent domestic director, asking him to watch it when he had time, and to recommend it to selectors from major film festivals.

Who could have thought?

New Shield immediately contacted Zhou Yun to discuss her availability in September.

They wanted the director and the leading actress to make a glamorous appearance on the red carpet in Venice.

A major film and television production company, they were knocking on the door to the room they wished to enter.

The industry too, was taken aback.

After all, a new director who had never directed films, only commercials before, and a leading actress who had only acted in a major flop and had never filmed before, such a team, a one-woman show, had stood out among so many films, becoming the only Chinese-language film this year.

It was indeed both surprising and unbelievable.

On everyone’s anticipated list of nominations, there were many works by prominent directors, yet none of their new works made an appearance.

This news was like a resounding response, solidly addressing the previous online skepticism towards Zhou Yun.

Bad at choosing scripts?

Downgraded resources?

Very low?

Not cherishing her own feathers?

Little did they know, including Wei Ru Xue and those popular young actresses, none had ever walked proudly with their own works on an international red carpet.

It is not to say that the international stage is superior to the domestic stage, but the former faces the world, and everyone wants to conquer the world.

What more is there to say? There is nothing more to say.

On the day the news broke, He Yong, very conspicuously, shared a photo of himself and Zhou Yun on social media, captioned: ”My incredible girl!”

Zhou Yun saw it and just wanted to roll her eyes, but she still liked his post online.

All cooperating brands happily sent congratulatory messages, then... be it cosmetics, jewelry, clothing, or high heels, all brands, those collaborating and those not, all appeared, reaching out to her side, indicating that if Zhou Yun needed any support while attending Venice’s red carpet, they were ready to provide sponsorship.

Especially concerning couture, this year’s Venice had only ”Life” as the sole Chinese-language film, and Zhou Yun was bound to receive much attention.

Major brands all contacted Zhou Lan, willing to send their clothes for Zhou Yun to pick.

Zhou Lan was extremely busy, stealing moments amidst the chaos to discuss red carpet looks with Zhou Yun.

”Wear VX, or choose another international brand?” Zhou Lan asked, ”Zheng Xiaowen called me three times yesterday, implying through and through that she was confirming this matter with us.”