Chen Ming gave this explanation primarily for two reasons.
From his own perspective, Chen Ming knew that while this film would do very well at the box office, its word-of-mouth reception would be mediocre. Despite its polished production, winning awards with this level of commercial film was practically impossible. Conventionally, awards for such commercial movies were usually thrown to supporting actors just to save face.
As the male lead, the only thing Chen Ming could get out of it was career mileage. Regardless of the reviews, the box office numbers would be credited to him—and that was what many investors and directors cared about.
Chapter 89