Chapter 179: Twilight Schemes in Yan City

Evening – the sun dips low in the sky.

Though the New Year hasn’t arrived, it’s already the second day of the ‘Five-Nine’ period, and in just one week, spring will be here. In the North, it’s still cold, though not as biting as during the harsh ‘Twenty-Nine to Thirty-Nine’ days.

Yan City – Director Association Office.

Sitting in his office chair, Ran Xiangfei glanced at the electronic calendar on the wall and ran a hand through his hair.

According to the new calendar it’s January 29th, leaving only two days before the submission deadline for the film festival application. Yet, the staff still hasn’t received any application from Mingsha Tourism.

“Keep pretending! How long do you think you can keep this up?”

Muttering to himself, Ran Xiangfei rose and headed to the tea station to brew a cup of green tea.

Though he maintained a calm exterior, a flicker of anxiety betrayed him.

Over the past two days, both the Actors Association and the Television Association had called, subtly pushing for the Director Association to apologize to Mingsha Tourism. In each instance, Ran Xiangfei brushed off the requests by citing Cai An’s objections.

Even if a concession were made to Yan City TV and Haofang Culture at the end, it should be President Ding Xiaoping doing the talking, not him.

“Two days—two days should be enough!”

Returning to his seat with his tea, Ran Xiangfei murmured to himself once more.

Knock, knock, knock! At that moment, knock sounds echoed outside the office, accompanied by a staff member’s voice.

“Leader, Haofang Culture.”

“What about Haofang Culture? Did they finally submit their film festival application?”

The moment he heard that, Ran Xiangfei perked up. Before the staff member could enter, he blurted out his question.

“Leader, no.”

Once inside, the staff member spoke quietly.

He had other tasks, but recently Ran Xiangfei had assigned him a new duty: to keep a constant eye on the moves of Haofang Culture and Mingsha Tourism.

“So what’s the matter?”

Hearing that no application had been submitted, a wave of inexplicable disappointment washed over Ran Xiangfei as he slowly leaned back in his chair.

“Leader, just a moment ago, Haofang Culture posted news on their official website about a new drama. They even mentioned aiming to meet the viewers around May.”

The staff member quickly added.

“News of a new drama? What drama exactly?”

Ran Xiangfei was taken aback.

This didn’t feel like Haofang Culture’s style at all. Previously, their projects would either launch quietly without any publicity or hit with a sudden media blitz.

Announcing something so boldly was a first.

“Haofang Culture’s official statement described it as a new xianxia drama, though they didn’t reveal the title. I checked and found that aside from one registered film, there’s no record with relevant authorities.”

“Huh? They registered a film? When did they pull that off in stealth?”

Ran Xiangfei sat up straighter. What on earth was going on?

“The film is called ‘Longmen Inn’—a martial arts action movie, and it was registered not too long ago! It’s clear that what Haofang Culture announced as a xianxia drama on Weibo isn’t this film.”

“They’ve registered a film under the radar, yet in the TV world they’re hyping up a drama… a film, a drama.”

After a moment of contemplation,

Ran Xiangfei’s frown slowly eased, and his mood noticeably improved.

“Got it. You can get back to your work.”

“Yes, Leader!”

Bang! As the office door closed, Ran Xiangfei subconsciously exhaled in relief. “Hmph, so they sneakily registered a film and now they’re loudly announcing a non-existent xianxia drama. If you ask me, it’s not even about the film festival—nobody’s buying it!”

After muttering to himself,

Ran Xiangfei picked up his tea cup and sipped it slowly.

Thanks to the success of Legend of Langya and the ‘Ace Mediation’ show, Haofang Culture already had considerable buzz. Now that this news broke, online forums were abuzz with discussions among viewers and netizens.

Soon,

the covert registration of ‘Longmen Inn’ by Haofang Culture was unearthed by inquisitive netizens.

In an instant,

forums were filled with a myriad of voices.

Some were excited, others puzzled, and many planned to leave inquiries on Haofang Culture’s official site about ‘Longmen Inn.’ In short, it felt like everyone was talking about Haofang Culture.

To many netizens, Haofang Culture had come to symbolize high-quality dramas.

Since their TV dramas were breaking records one after another, it was assumed their films wouldn’t be any worse.

More importantly, the netizens hadn’t read too much into it. They didn’t link the sudden revelation of a fourth project to Yun Province TV’s ‘Ace Mediation.’ Like Ran Xiangfei, they believed Haofang Culture’s official announcement of the fourth drama was always part of the plan.

However, this didn’t dampen the audience’s anticipation for the xianxia drama—a project with undecided directors and actors, unspecified shooting schedule and location, and even its title up in the air.

While viewers excitedly looked forward to it, someone began to worry over the sudden news.

Ning’an County – In the office of the Ning’an Cultural Tourism Chairman, Qi Haoyong hadn’t parted with a cigarette butt; his ashtray was stuffed to the brim with them.

“Do they have to go all out? It’s just a film festival. Your place isn’t short on tourists to warrant this—another period drama and now a xianxia fantasy!”

After a long while,

Qi Haoyong angrily stuffed another cigarette butt into the ashtray.

The soaring ratings and acclaim for Legend of Langya were already a headache, and now, as soon as another xianxia drama was announced—with a film registered in secret on the side—it exacerbated things.

Worse still, the film being discovered at such a fortuitous moment meant its promotional impact far exceeded that of a deliberately hyped release.

“Mr. Qi, what do we do now? I have a bad feeling about this!”

Across the desk, the Deputy Director’s tongue twitched several times before he finally managed to whisper,

“What kind of feeling?”

“Mr. Qi, I sense that Mingsha Tourism is deliberately pressuring the Director Association to secure the film festival, and the timing of that film leak suggests it’s aiming for the Chinese New Year slot!”

The Deputy Director said quietly.

“Chinese New Year slot, I—”

At the mention of the phrase, Qi Haoyong almost let a nationalistic comment slip, but he caught himself.

Just a month ago, he had confidently assured Ran Xiangfei that Ning’an Cultural Tourism’s film was solid and wouldn’t compete with Haofang Culture’s project. And now? Out of nowhere, a film appears on the scene!

“Mr. Qi, may I be frank?”

After a brief pause, the Deputy Director continued in a hushed tone,

“I feel we need to make a choice. It seems we can only safely back one—either the film festival or the Chinese New Year film release!”

“Only one?”

Qi Haoyong raised an eyebrow.

“Mr. Qi, if we choose to safeguard the film festival, we must proceed with our film project as planned. That would inevitably pit us in another fierce battle with Haofang Culture!

But if we drop the film festival and focus on the movie, we can avoid clashing with Haofang Culture. After all, without the festival, we won’t be forced to rush a project before March 31st.”

The Deputy Director laid out his thoughts.

“Isn’t there any way to back both?”

Leaning back in his chair, Qi Haoyong fell into deep thought.

“Backing both would be too difficult. Mingsha Tourism has immense public support. Even if we secure the film festival, the public will inevitably compare us to them.

With the momentum Mingsha Tourism has, we might not end up with a positive reputation. I even heard they’re recruiting hundreds of extras—who knows what trouble that might bring!”

The Deputy Director added.

“But without the film festival, what about next year’s visitor numbers?”

After a long moment of contemplation, Qi Haoyong looked up at the Deputy Director.

In that moment, he felt the slightest hint of wavering. In just a short time, the combined onslaught from Mingsha Tourism was nearly overwhelming him.

“Mr. Qi, while the film festival does draw crowds, its effect is fleeting. I think Mingsha Tourism has actually given us a new idea. With a drama, they can create an IP landmark, naturally drawing in tourists! Instead, we should invest in our own project, ‘New Moon Legend’. If it earns a good reputation, it will continue to boost New Moon Tower and New Moon Palace.”

“That may be so, but… let me think!”

Qi Haoyong casually grabbed another cigarette from the pack.

After finishing one cigarette,

Qi Haoyong took a deep breath and then looked toward the Deputy Director. “Alright, check into the status of Haofang Culture’s martial arts film. If it’s really racing for the Chinese New Year slot, then let Mingsha Tourism fuss over it.”

“Understood, Mr. Qi!”

At 8 PM, neon lights flickered.

Yan City TV – Han Lijun was still at work, glued to his computer while monitoring forum discussions. His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed intermittently.

It was only after a long while that he slowly looked up and asked, “Leader, what should we do now? Should we renegotiate the contract for the new drama with Haofang Culture?”

Across from him, Ren Long interjected urgently.

After he and the editorial team had watched the preview of Legend of Langya, it was clear that the drama’s ratings and reputation were rock-solid. As a matter of fact,

Haofang Culture’s status at Yan City TV had reached new heights.

So when Ren Long saw the news posted on Haofang Culture’s official website, he immediately rushed to Han Lijun’s office.

“That ‘Ace Mediation’ show is outrageous. No wonder Haofang Culture would pull something like this!”

Han Lijun didn’t answer Ren Long directly. Instead, he muttered darkly to himself.

Even an outsider would find the ‘Ace Mediation’ show disgusting. It was full of self-pity and moral posturing, making everyone furious!

For ordinary people, it might just be a passing annoyance, but this person was the president of Haofang Agency. This was nothing short of a slap in the face to Haofang Culture.

“Yun Province TV? Are you suggesting…”

After a pause, Ren Long suddenly went silent. He couldn’t understand why his leader would bring up that provincial TV station, but after a moment he connected a few seemingly unrelated dots.

“Are you saying Haofang Culture’s new project is deliberately targeting Yun Province TV’s self-produced xianxia drama?”

“Didn’t you notice that Haofang Culture’s official announcement for this new project—the genre and release timing—remarkably mirrors that of Yun Province TV’s major production?”

Han Lijun looked at Ren Long and replied,

“Well, I initially thought Haofang Culture was simply launching a new drama.”

The more Ren Long pondered, the deeper his frown grew.

“So, since Haofang Culture has repeatedly helped us out in the past, now that they’re being targeted, we owe them a favor. Otherwise, how can we work with them in the future if they only take advantage without helping when needed?”

Han Lijun continuously drummed his fingers on the table.

“So what’s your suggestion?”

Ren Long asked in a hurry.