Rumour. One of the biggest myths in the entertainment industry.
It was shocking to have Wen Ran win the best screenwriter award three years in a row, but Rumour was the undisputed king of the Chinese screenwriting circles.
Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, the Chinese Mainland and Asia, each had their own range of awards. It took just seven years for Rumour to win all of the most prestigious Best Screenwriter awards. He was also the only grand slam winner in screenwriting.
Some professional critics even pointed out that no other screenwriter would be able to reach the podium if Rumour entered in the competition.
Wen Ran had come out of nowhere three years ago and finally made the winner of the Ten Thousand Flowers Award change hands. But it was only because Rumour was going for the Asian Film Festival awards and missed out on the Ten Thousand Flowers Award. Interestingly enough, like Wen Ran, Rumors was also quite mysterious.
No one in the industry had ever met Rumour, and all of his awards were received by the crew on his behalf. However, Rumour was obviously more lively in character compared to how seldom Wen Ran spoke. He interacted often with fans on Weibo.
But Rumour was very cautious and never revealed any information about himself no matter how many paragraphs he wrote. Today, however, he revealed a small bit of personal information.
Rumour: @XieQianchen. A toast to our future collaboration. I will no longer fly solo from today on. I’ll write a story to commemorate this occasion.
What the hell? What’s going on? Rumour’s signing on with Xie Qianchen? Right when Xie Qianchen declared himself a free agent? What the hell was all this?
The fans on Weibo were confused, and then, they carefully read the Weibo site three times, but all the content remained unchanged. Dozens of minutes passed, and Rumour did not amend his post on Weibo. So… it’s not a mistake or a joke, but… true?
The chaotic Weibo scene became even more chaotic.
The popularity of an A-lister was no joke. Wen Ran was active on Weibo but Rumour had way more influence.
What Rumour wrote on his Weibo page was on the hot search terms list not half an hour after he posted it. All the paid commenters and ad-space buying could not compare to the explosive popularity of Rumour’s post.
“Hold on, can someone explain what the hell is going on?”
“This Xie Qianchen is a manager for artistes, right? He’s even managing screenwriters now?”
“No, no, no, that’s not the point! Listen, Xie Qianchen is close to being banned from the industry. Why is Rumour still writing about celebration a collaboration? It’s not the time to ce;ebrate, yo! [HeyHey.jpg]”
But many people were stunned when Rumour’s short story was published. Or rather, they didn’t know what words to use to describe their feelings.
Because that story was too real. Every detail in it, every psychological transformation, made the heart ache.
The protagonist of the story was a film school university student. He had a natural talent for the stage and dreamed about becoming an excellent actor.
Talented, and more diligent than most people, the first role the youth played was highly commended. Even though it was a supporting role, he was popular all over the country.
Everyone thought that the story ended here, at the beginning of the youth’s climb to the top of the entertainment industry.
But it was not.
The unspoken practices of the entertainment industry were so overwhelming that people couldn’t breathe. The so-called bigwigs’ also branded the youth with the inability to fight back.
The most despairing atrocities happen under such circumstances. The youth was unable to seek help, and there was no way to redress his grievances.
From the set to the small dark room that ruined his life… many people had heard his pleas, and seen his desperation. But because of fear, no one said a thing.
Each evasion of his eyes was like a sharp blade, every avoidance a stab. They went along with those sickening authorities of the unspoken practices, and, cut by cut, the youth’s dreams were slashed. His pride was twisted, and even his last bit of dignity was crushed to pieces.
When those in power finally licked their lips in satisfaction and left, the youth’s everything had been destroyed.
But the saddest thing was that though the youth gathered his courage to bring the truth to the public, this truth was turned into slander and gossip. He had been willing to carry the stain of shame for the truth, but the people in power had twisted it so that he was a liar.
They doctored videos and released them, as well as pornographic photos and all kinds of dirty evidence which hurt him permanently. By the end of the day, the youth had become the icon of debauchery in the industry.
“He behaves like this and dares to say that he was forced into it? He’s just begging people to f*ck him, right?”
“I want to puke. Don’t insult artistes! He should just go be a man for rent.”
“HAHA! He sold himself to get to the top, but he’s calling it rape now? Damn, boy. Show us the receipts for who bought ecstasy first!”
“I’m not… I didn’t…” Insults came, wave after wave, and even the smallest words said in defence of him were ripped apart by the merciless, brainwashed, mobs online. But even at this juncture, those who knew the truth still keep their mouths shut.
They just watched as the youth was driven to the brink, step by step. This was a way to make an example of these artistes, to warn them, so that they recognised who was the boss in the industry.
No matter how talented you are, how great your future achievements may be… as long as you go against them, you will be sacrificed!
The entertainment industry had no shortage of talented and beautiful children.
The Luoxi Building was where the Ten Thousand Flowers Award was held annually. It was said to be the highest peak to aim for in the film industry.
In an ordinary room on the topmost floor, the youth stood by the window looking at the traffic below. His eyes were dead.
“I know that no one wants to help me. They are afraid, so they’ve become blind and mute,” murmured the youth to himself. Each word was soaked in bone-deep despair.
But what could he do now?
His pleas for help had been ignored. He saw how cold the world could be now. He’d lost the wings to fly after his dreams, and, after the attacks by the public opinion, he had completely lost the courage to fight on.
Hell was empty because the Devil was on Earth.
The entertainment industry was corrupted through and through, so why should he force himself to stay?
Just let everything… be over.
The youth closed his eyes and leapt down from the twenty-ninth floor. His name was no more in the entertainment industry.
Rumour: This is how we struggle to survive in the entertainment industry. Everything is controlled by the powerful few in the industry, and artistes are just playthings for them to toy with. A simple banning can end a person.
There have been many who even died because of it. An example is Yang Qian. I just want to know… who will be next?
Everyone was frozen.
This novel by Rumour was far more crude than anything he had ever written before. But the feelings that flowed from it were more genuine and shocking than any of his past works.
When the youth jumped in the story, many people’s hearts dropped with him. The questions which followed were more thoughtful, and the deeper you thought about it, the more bone-chilling it was.
This was because Yang Qian’s suicide, and the story of the youth was almost the same. There was also simply no disguising the industry bigwigs used in the story for reference.
The flirtatious Cao Kun, dignified Xiao Lun, as the last one, adept at shifting things around so that white became black, was the current president of Great Swan Entertainment.
In just a few hours, Rumour’s story went viral.
The people in the industry who had tried to play deaf and dumb before were also shocked to the point of being speechless after reading it.
The story struck extremely close to the truth, from the youth’s anger to despair, from shouting to powerless to voice his grief… Every detail was expressed, even between the lines, and it seemed that every word was soaked in the blood of injustice!
The netizens, who had not been aware of such a thing, were shocked. The entertainment industry was also the same, sitting on the edge of their seats. The older folk in the entertainment industry had eyes reddening in sadness.
This was because they knew that every word written by Rumour was true. Every single detail had happened, other than the main character not jumping from that building. Everything else, every word he wrote, about giving up everything just to get justice, but losing in the end was true. It was Xie Qianchen’s story!
“I just want to know… who will be next?”
This question was like a sharp sword, stabbing into the chest of a person.
At Director Yang’s house, Director Yang smashed the phone to the floor after reading the story.
In Li Xuming’s studio, Li Xuming lit a cigarette in silence and took a hard drag.
Ning Lan was eating with her friends, was she was instantly teary-eyed when she read the story on Weibo.
The award-winning actress, who had been “stolen” and released by Xie Qianchen, closed her eyes and did not say anything for a long time.
The singer, who had been introduced to success by Xie Qianchen, had always had a steady hand, but his hands also involuntarily began to tremble.
And those who knew the truth behind Yang Qian’s unfortunate end but still remained silent, those artistes protecting themselves, felt shame. They were condemned souls.
As for those struggling at the bottom of the industry food chain, newcomers dreaming to become a superstar, they empathised too. There was great aggression and resentment.
They were accustomed to being patient, and used to the oppression of those in power. But they forgot that this industry, the entertainment industry, should rightly belong to the artistes!