Weibo trending comments section:
"Who is this? So arrogant! Even if Teacher XXX's words and actions were a little bit excessive, it doesn't call for hitting someone!"
"He's just Su Yu, a director who makes trashy movies, hehe, just a well-known kept man in the industry. I have dirt on him, add my WeChat if you want to see it."
"What on earth is wrong with this industry now? Why can't people even learn the most basic respect for elders?"
"Everyone go look, Teacher XXX just responded!"
"I've seen it. My verdict is that this Su Yu is arrogant~~"
"I heard the movie he's making is called Goodbye Mr. Loser? Sounds like a total piece of trash, ugh~~~"
...
In stark contrast to the public attitude were the celebrities:
Chat group:
Chao Ge: "What does everyone think about this? Have any of you worked with XXX before?"
Chen Chichi: "I collaborated once or twice. Overall impression: mediocre!"
Xiaoming: "Who knows what actually happened? Let's wait and see."
Yifei: "I've worked with XXX. She loves putting on airs and always bullies newcomers. If you ask me, Su Yu did the right thing."
Shishi: "Let me tell you a funny story. I was once tormented by XXX. In the dead of winter, she deliberately made me stand in freezing water. Su Yu is a real man."
As soon as Shishi's message went through, everyone in the chat fell silent.
It wasn't until Chao Ge sent a surprised sticker that the atmosphere became lively again.
And as everyone knows,
gossip tabloids that feed exclusively on web traffic couldn't care less about the truth.
They live by only one rule: traffic is king.
Thus, all sorts of rumors and speculations flew everywhere, such as:
"The reason Su Yu hit someone is entirely because he's a tyrant on set."
"The truth is out: Su Yu hit someone for the sake of his little mistress."
"Just because Teacher XXX caught Su Yu on a date with his little mistress, Su Yu retaliated!"
"Su Yu is running a harem on set,"
...
Su Yu never expected to make the headlines again in this manner.
At the hotel,
Su Yu looked at the message Aiai had sent him, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Aiai: "Director Su, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be so misunderstood by everyone..."
Su Yu thought for a moment and replied: "It's fine, I'll handle it."
Just as he finished replying, Su Yu saw Yang Mi walk over, fresh out of the shower and wrapped in a bath towel.
A smile played on her face as her gaze swept nonchalantly over Su Yu's phone screen.
"What? Comforting your little Aiai?"
"The netizens aren't entirely wrong, you know. You really *did* do it to protect your little sweetheart~~~"
Yang Mi's gaze was somewhat provocative.
Su Yu took a deep breath, constantly telling himself to stay calm, to exercise self-control, and not to get drained~
"Mhm~~ Director Su, silence means consent?"
"Hmph hm~~~ You finish getting cozy with someone, and the first thing you do is rush to chat with your little sweetheart?"
"It seems Director Su still has plenty of energy!"
Yang Mi continued to provoke him.
Su Yu thought: *So what if I'm drained? Today, this stubborn little girl is going to learn that she cannot withstand Director Su's wrath.*
With that, Su Yu stood up and met Yang Mi's panicked gaze...
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah~~~~ What is Big Brother doing~~?"
"Stawp~~~~"
Su Yu thought: *Thank goodness I accumulated enough theoretical knowledge in my past life.*
Yang Mi thought: *This stinky big brother has so many tricks, how embarrassing~~~*
...
The external public opinion did not affect the shooting schedule of Goodbye Mr. Loser in the slightest. To Su Yu, these little storms were nothing more than a passing breeze.
That day, during a break in filming,
Su Yu called over Old Huang.
"Director Su, you mean... not only are we not going out to debunk the rumors, but you want me to spend some money, hire ghostwriters, and blow this rumor up even more?"
"Director Su, doing this might net us some traffic, but..."
"Alright, Director Su, I'll listen to you. I'll go arrange it."
Su Yu's idea was actually very simple.
Free traffic is there for the taking, and right now Goodbye Mr. Loser was lacking in exposure.
As for things getting out of hand?
That was impossible.
First, he had the original video of XXX bullying Zhang Tian'ai that very day.
Second, the sheer quality of Goodbye Mr. Loser spoke for itself.
Third, did he really expect anyone to believe XXX had never offended anyone in the past?
Fourth, netizens aren't fools; could they really be fooled by XXX?
When the time came, close to the movie's release and promotion, Su Yu would step forward and give the netizens a nice explanation, such as:
"I only pushed for such perfection in order to make a good movie."
"Originally, I thought I could just swallow my pride and let it go, but the education I received doesn't allow me to pretend I didn't see it."
"Just imagine, if you were subjected to workplace bullying, wouldn't you hope to have a leader stand up for you?"
And so on...
Su Yu had ninety-nine ways to make XXX beg for mercy on her knees.
Suffice to say, XXX had no brains.
Of course, if XXX started a livestream to sell products in the next few days, that would be a different story.
However,
from start to finish, the only victim in this entire incident was Zhang Tian'ai.
Su Yu thought: *No matter, I'll definitely make it up to Aiai properly later.*
On the set of Goodbye Mr. Loser,
Filming in progress:
"Hello, is Qiu Ya there? It's me, Yuanhua..."
"Don't call me anymore, I'm afraid Xiaoluo will misunderstand~~"
"Oh crap~~ Yuanhua~~~"
"How come your Uncle Yuan was doing just fine and ended up locked up!"
"Stop watching, she's the big boss's wife now."
"Mister, does Ma Dongmei live in apartment 322 upstairs?"
"Dong what?"
"Ma Dongmei~~~"
"Dongmei who?"
"Ma Dongmei~~~~"
"Ma what mei?"
"Fine! You go cool off for a bit, mister!"
"Alrighty~~~~"
...
After filming wrapped,
Su Yu returned to the hotel.
Yang Mi wasn't around today; she had gone out to take care of some promotional work.
Word had it that it was some outdoor variety show, which would take about two or three days.
By the way, Yang Mi's contract with her original agency was expiring in just a week.
She and Su Yu had already agreed that once it expired, she would sign with Jiaxing.
Strictly speaking, she'd be working for herself then.
This variety show appearance was also her last favor for her old agency.
Given Yang Mi's current status and personal traffic, she was roughly equivalent to an artist who had just grazed the third tier. Her former company hadn't deliberately tried to make things difficult for her.
They were parting on good terms.
Of course, Yang Mi's salary for filming Goodbye Mr. Loser was credited through her original agency.
After taxes, it came out to around 500,000.
As the artist, Yang Mi would take home roughly 200,000 or so.
As for the money Yang Mi had invested in Goodbye Mr. Loser,
that was purely a personal venture, completely unrelated to her former agency.
*Sigh~ Without a soft, fluffy body pillow, I can't seem to sleep!*
Just as this thought crossed Su Yu's mind, *ding-dong*, his phone rang.
Su Yu picked up his phone.
Tian'ai: "Director Su, if you're free, I'd like to treat you to dinner. Is that alright?"
Su Yu waited a moment before replying: "Just finished work. Send me the address."
After sending the message, Su Yu looked at the System's rating of Zhang Tian'ai's favorability toward him—a staggering 90%—and a curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
"The fruit is ripe and ready to be picked. I really wonder what trait will drop this time."
"Tonight's soft, fluffy body pillow... isn't it arriving right on cue?"