Chapter 45: Turn This World Upside Down

At Vance Pictures, Cheng Cheng and Beret appeared in the reception room.

Cheng Cheng’s expression flickered uncertainly, showing constant signs of about to snap.

A trace of suppressed anger hung on Beret’s face. Even when facing the board secretary, a questioning tone slipped into his voice:

"Secretary Ma, what is going on here? Why are we forced to release our movie during the National Day holiday? Wasn't it agreed upon for mid-October? Why suddenly bring it forward? We haven't prepared at all! If we had been told in advance it would be the National Day slot, even if we knew we couldn't compete with Lu Zhuofeng and the others, we would have accepted it without a single word of complaint. But now, with barely over ten days left before the National Day holiday, we haven't even started publicity yet! Throwing us into the fray like this, isn't that just sending us to our deaths?!"

The board secretary’s expression turned somewhat icy. "This wasn't my decision to make. At best, I'm just a secretary; losing your temper at me is useless."

Seeing that the secretary was displeased, Beret softened his tone slightly. "Still, you at least have to tell us why! *The Glorious Era* is directed by Lu Zhuofeng, one of the top three directors, and *Flames of War* and *Comedy Road* boast powerful cast lineups. What about us? We have nothing! We originally wanted to avoid their spotlight and release in mid-October, but now, all of a sudden, we have to face them head-on. We already stood no chance against them, and with this congenital disadvantage, we are even more doomed."

The board secretary sighed. "Precisely because this year's National Day lineup is so formidable, no other movies dared to release during this period. The ones originally scheduled for National Day have already pulled out. Now there is a severe shortage of films for the holiday, and we need movies to fill the void."

"So you decided to push our movie up just to be slaughtered?" Beret’s emotions flared, his voice involuntarily rising a few decibels.

The board secretary glanced at him, frowning slightly. "This isn't sending you to your death; it’s an opportunity. While the National Day slot is fiercely competitive, it also means a much larger audience."

Beret almost laughed. "Secretary Ma, do you actually believe that yourself? If this were such a good opportunity, why are all the other films withdrawing?"

Though unsaid aloud, Beret had already pinned all his hopes of rising to prominence on *No More Bets*.

After all, he was officially credited as the assistant director for this film!

Naturally, hearing this sudden news left him completely unable to accept it.

Growing impatient, the board secretary cut in, "The release date is set and cannot be changed. Use the remaining time to prepare your publicity campaign."

"Where is there any time left? They started their publicity half a month ago!" Beret retorted. "There are only a dozen days left until the National Day holiday, how are we supposed to run a promotional campaign now?"

At this moment, Cheng Cheng spoke up: "I'll go talk to Chairman Jiang."

The board secretary replied, "Going to Chairman Jiang won't do you any good."

***

At that moment, the door was pulled open from the outside, and Jiang望 walked in.

"There's no need to look for me; I'm already here."

The board secretary quickly bowed slightly to Jiangwang and said, "Chairman Jiang, you're here."

Beret also muttered a greeting to Chairman Jiang. Despite his profound dissatisfaction, he didn't dare show it in front of Jiangwang.

Jiangwang sat down, looked at Cheng Cheng, and asked, "You look very unhappy?"

Cheng Cheng was blunt. "Yes, extremely unhappy. This feeling of things spinning out of control is terrible, and it's quite obvious I've been played by you people."

"Don't put it that way." Jiangwang waved his hand, signaling the secretary not to treat this like a state emergency, and explained, "Secretary Ma probably only told you about the mass withdrawals during the National Day slot and why no one else dared to step up. Actually, there are two other reasons."

Cheng Cheng and Beret listened quietly.

Jiangwang held up two fingers.

"First, the movie *Classic Rekindled* was originally scheduled for a National Day release and had already started its promotional campaign. However, after careful consideration, they suddenly shifted their release to mid—right into your mid-October slot. But the mid-October slot was already fully booked, which meant someone had to vacate their slot."

Anxious, Beret chimed in, "So it just had to be us? We could have waited a few more months to release."

Jiangwang cast an annoyed glance at him, stopping whatever else he wanted to say with a sharp look.

"Let me finish. That's only the first reason. The second reason is that you've been targeted."

Cheng Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Targeted? By whom?"

Jiangwang spat out a single name: "Lu Zhuofeng."

"Him?" A flicker of doubt crossed Cheng Cheng's mind before he instantly grasped the crux of the matter. "Because of Wen Lian?"

Jiangwang nodded. "Exactly. Lu Zhuofeng has already declared within the industry that she is blacklisted. Yet you still dared to cast her as your female lead—isn't that a public challenge to his authority? So, he pulled strings to move your movie up from mid-October to the National Day holiday. It's a classic case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

Cheng Cheng frowned. "The old bastard must be pushing eighty, why is he still so petty?"

Jiangwang chuckled softly. "You can say that here with me, but if word gets out, you'll be cursed out again. Ordinarily, the industry runs on human connections and favors; which movie gets moved up is usually a matter of negotiation and trade-offs. But you have zero resources, and everyone in the industry dislikes you. Naturally, you became the convenient scapegoat."

***

Beret couldn't help interjecting, "Director Jiang, but our movie is registered under our company."

Jiangwang said coldly, "Oh? And so what? Vance is only the second-largest film company in the country! There is All-Continent above me! This wasn't my unilateral decision, nor does everyone have to give Vance Pictures face! Besides, is it worth offending Lu Zhuofeng over your little movie?"

As he spoke, Jiangwang's own irritation flared, his gaze turning fiercely sharp.

Vance Pictures had previously focused exclusively on cinema operations, only branching out into the upstream production sector of the film industry in recent years. However, the pilot projects they spearheaded had all ended in failure, resulting in a loss of face and resources while becoming the industry's laughingstock.

Clearly, he harbored his own frustrations regarding the entire *No More Bets* debacle.

He stood up, patted Cheng Cheng on the shoulder, and said:

"That's why the moment I walked in, I asked if you were unhappy. You're unhappy, and so am I. Nobody likes things slipping out of their control. But if you're weak, you have no say. People can manipulate you however they want! You and I are no different.

"Therefore, if you truly want to be strong, use your own two hands to take back everything you want! Slap them across the face!

"That 30% commission? I can waive it entirely and help you with free publicity!

"Consider it helping me vent some of my own anger as well. As for whether you can pull it off, that depends entirely on you."

With those words, Jiangwang left the office.

Cheng Cheng lowered his head and let out a light laugh:

Oh, so that's how you want to play, huh?

Barely half a year since arriving in this world, and he had already lost count of how many times he had been suppressed.

Fine then. I'll just turn this world upside down!