“So that is how they edited it.”
Yuan Fenghui was one-third surprised and seven-thirds relieved. “You two chatted about all this that day?”
Wen Ying nodded. “We did talk quite a bit.”
“Then there is nothing to worry about.”
A smile appeared on Yuan Fenghui’s face. “You answered perfectly. There could not be anything better!”
The host of the interview programme thought Wen Ying’s watertight responses were the result of Tianjiao’s training. Only Yuan Fenghui knew that Tianjiao had never given Wen Ying any such training!
Even before signing with Yuan Fenghui, Wen Ying was already like this. After signing, she had never needed Yuan Fenghui to worry about these aspects. This was Wen Ying’s innate talent, the kind that many dazzling world superstars possessed. It was the gap between geniuses and ordinary people!
Even someone as experienced as Yuan Fenghui could not help feeling stirred.
Li Mengjiao would achieve great things. Yuan Fenghui still firmly believed this, because Li Mengjiao was someone Yuan Fenghui had chosen herself. She had talent and was obedient enough.
On the day of recording the interview, Yuan Fenghui had still thought Wen Ying could stand shoulder to shoulder with Li Mengjiao and become a superstar together.
Now, for the first time, Yuan Fenghui had a very real premonition: perhaps Wen Ying would achieve even greater success than Li Mengjiao!
Wen Ying did not pretend to be modest.
She also felt she had done her best. She had not chatted casually just because it was a “pre-recording chat”. Opportunities were reserved for those who were prepared. Who could have predicted the programme team would secretly film and then edit the secret footage together with the formal recording?
Wen Ying could not have foreseen that, but she was glad she had treated it seriously.
First, she had taken this interview seriously and cautiously enough.
Second, whether in the “chat” or the formal interview, Wen Ying had not lied in a single word she said to the host!
Yes, Wen Ying had not told a single lie. She simply had her own way of speaking.
Yuan Fenghui saw it as talent. Wen Ying herself knew it was just the accumulation of two lifetimes. It was not talent at all, but experience built up over time.
But no matter how she had acquired this ability, Wen Ying truly controlled it!
While Yuan Fenghui was speaking with Wen Ying, those from the “anti-Wen faction” who were also watching the interview, such as Miss Ran who was already partying in celebration, had begun to sense something wrong.
This kind of re-editing did no harm to that fish! It did not look like it was meant to crush her. Instead, it seemed… to clear her name.
Had she been tricked by the producer?
Ran Keqing could hardly believe it.
Luo Hao dryly tried to comfort her. “Maybe it is raising expectations by first suppressing them?”
Ran Keqing held her wine glass without speaking.
In the apartment living room, Ran Keqing’s group of friends exchanged glances.
With this atmosphere, the party probably was not happening today?
H9 Hunan Province.
Manager Guan’s hands, which were massaging Liang Dan’s shoulders, paused. “This seems a bit off!”
Whether standard filming or non-standard, the form was secondary. The content was what mattered.
Even if Manager Guan was foolish, he had been in the industry for many years and had that much discernment.
But at this moment, his discernment greatly displeased Liang Dan. It would be better if he had none!
Liang Dan suddenly sat up from the sofa. “I am going out to make a call!”
Liang Dan wanted to question her old classmate, the producer.
The call connected.
Beep beep beep beep…
No one answered!
Manager Guan looked bewildered.
So what was going on now?
The person he disliked would not suffer misfortune after all. It turned out he had worn a green hat for nothing!
…
In Gan Tao’s reader QQ group, the discussion was not as lively as before. The readers, unlike the “anti-Wen faction” with their complicated thoughts, had been completely captivated by the “non-standard filming” part of the interview. They could not multitask, so even the frequency of chatting in the group had slowed!
The second part of the interview could not be entirely replaced by the “non-standard filming” section, so only a portion of it had been edited in to connect with the formal recording.
Soon, the “non-standard filming” content ended. After the host said, “Little Fish, I really like your personality. I hope you can always stay true to yourself and never change,” the camera cut.
The wide shot became a close-up.
The back view became a front view.
Finally, the second part was connecting to the first!
Most viewers did not say it aloud, but they felt a slight sense of loss.
Returning to the question left by the first part.
Wen Ying admitted she had been a shareholder in a medical aesthetics company!
“You said you ‘were’ at that time. What about now?”
“Now I am not.”
On screen, Wen Ying’s expression showed clear reluctance. “Right after the ‘Si Lan rights protection incident’, I withdrew my shares from the medical aesthetics company.”
The host first nodded, then asked bluntly, “You withdrew your shares because you were worried about getting involved in similar trouble, right? But from your tone, it seems you were very reluctant?”
Wen Ying did not answer immediately.
The camera zoomed in, and everyone could see her difficulty.
“In the medical aesthetics company, I only held a very small share. To be honest, relying on the dividends from that tiny share to make money would be less than publishing one more novel. I was reluctant to withdraw because the boss of the company is my friend. My friend was facing difficulties starting a business, and I happened to have some spare money, so I became a shareholder. I never expected my friend to be so capable. My investment had not been in for long before the business succeeded! Even more unexpectedly, my judgement was so poor. There were so many industries to invest in, yet I chose my friend’s medical aesthetics company…”
Without the preceding “non-standard filming” section, Wen Ying’s answer would have required careful thought to understand.
With the groundwork from the “non-standard filming”, viewers in front of their televisions understood immediately.
Investing was not for profit, but to support a friend’s startup.
Withdrawing was forced by circumstances. Originally, Wen Ying could have quietly remained a shareholder without anyone caring, but the “Si Lan rights protection incident” happened, and Wen Ying, the unlucky one, was targeted by the Si Lan boss’s siblings. The boss’s sister tried hard to blame the Si Lan crisis on Wen Ying. As a public figure, Wen Ying feared negative public opinion and could only proactively withdraw her shares.
Of course, Wen Ying saying the investment returns were less than publishing one more novel was a bit Versailles.
But Wen Ying had always been so straightforward. Viewers thought of how one of her novels could earn tens of millions in royalties, and a film script could fetch a 5 million offer, and they all smiled knowingly. That was the truth!
For others, being a boss could make money. For Little Fish, writing books properly earned more than being a stressful boss.
Through the “non-standard filming” content, viewers already knew Wen Ying had experience setting up stalls with friends after middle school exams to earn pocket money. They saw the two matters as the same nature.
The QQ group started flooding again.
“Hahaha, Little Fish sounds so aggrieved. She said her judgement was poor for investing in her friend’s medical aesthetics company!”
“I can hear Little Fish’s grievance. Clearly there were so many industries for startup, but her friend chose medical aesthetics.”
“The funniest part is that the friend was not incapable, but too capable, succeeding quickly.”
“That’s why Little Fish had to withdraw. Have you thought that maybe Little Fish’s initial investment was not to make money, but purely to help her friend? Now that the friend succeeded, Little Fish used the ‘Si Lan incident’ as an opportunity to withdraw. She helped her friend, then gracefully stepped back… Being Little Fish’s friend must be so happy!”
“I think you hit the nail on the head.”
“Truth +1”
The activity in the QQ group, of course, could not affect the pre-recorded interview programme.
On screen, the interview continued advancing according to the recording.
The host’s reaction was similar to the readers’, unable to hold back laughter at Wen Ying’s answer. “Little Fish, you sound very aggrieved!”
“It is not really grievance. This investment did make me money. I am just quite helpless.”
Helpless about what?
Wen Ying did not say.
But both the host and the viewers understood instantly.
In Wen Ying’s view, to nip potential doubts in the bud, she had already withdrawn from her friend’s company after the “Si Lan incident”. But as a public figure, her every word and action was scrutinised. The trouble she thought she had resolved was still dug up during her first CCTV interview!
The host laughed. “Made money and still helpless? If it were me, I would count the money behind closed doors and be very happy.”
Wen Ying nodded. “I did count the money behind closed doors. After counting, I donated it to the ‘Dream Building Fund’.”
The host was stunned. “Wasn’t it said that the 5 million for the ‘Dream Building Fund’ was your remuneration for writing the film script?”
Wen Ying looked very helpless. “The film script remuneration was indeed 5 million, but the film company spent 5 million to buy the script. What ended up in my hands was not 5 million. Every penny of my income has to be taxed!”
Wen Ying had never said the money for establishing the “Dream Building Fund” was script remuneration. That was all assumed by reporters.
Now that she said it, the host did not find it abrupt at all, and viewers felt the same.
Because in the “non-standard filming” chat, Wen Ying had mentioned donating a third of stall earnings. Now, withdrawing from the medical aesthetics company and donating part of the investment profits to the “Dream Building Fund” fit Wen Ying’s consistent style!
And taxes!
This answer was too real.
Celebrities rarely discussed income publicly. The host had met few interviewees as straightforward as Wen Ying. With such an opportunity, of course they had to talk about it properly.
Viewers were equally curious.
…
At the Gan home.
In front of the television, Gan Tao waved her arms. “Hmph, it must be those annoying haters who heard scraps of information from somewhere and tipped off the programme team, thinking they could use this to destroy Little Fish!”
Not just Gan Tao thought this. Almost all viewers did. Everyone felt Wen Ying had been targeted.
In fact, this information had been deliberately leaked to the programme team by Yuan Fenghui!
By now, both the producer and the host understood Yuan Fenghui’s intention was not to gain public attention for Wen Ying, but to let Wen Ying proactively confess this matter during the interview, preventing future attacks.
This was Yuan Fenghui’s style.
The producer and host did not resent it.
Wen Ying had preemptively resolved a potential crisis, and the interview programme had received great attention. It was a win-win for both the interviewee and the programme!
At CCTV.
The producer’s office was still brightly lit.
The producer and host sat facing each other. The producer clutched his insulated tea cup tightly, filled with the middle-aged man’s essential goji berry and chrysanthemum tea.
Clearly only in his thirties, he already had habits of someone in their fifties. One could see how stressful making programmes was.
The producer took a sip of hot tea, soothing his throat and heart. He did not know if he was speaking to his long-time collaborator the host or to himself. “Many people asked me to re-edit. Well, I satisfied their request. I hope they will be pleased with this re-edited version!”
The host smiled. “Come on, I know you were under a lot of pressure, but we got through it again, didn’t we?”
The two, who had collaborated for years, shared a smile.
Of course they could have stabbed Wen Ying in the back. No matter how capable Yuan Fenghui was, at worst they would just avoid dealing with her in the future.
But stabbing Wen Ying would bring the promised benefits, yet ruin the interview programme’s reputation completely. In the future, even heavyweight guests willing to appear would not speak truthfully.
The programme’s biggest selling point would be gone, and it might as well be declared “dead”!
This interview programme was the heart and soul they had built over years. Their bond and affection for it were too deep.
Those who casually called to demand re-editing could never understand such feelings!
Warm tea went down, and the producer let out a satisfied sigh. “But to be fair, Yuan Fenghui really is impressive. Choosing to cooperate with her meant we did not have to go against our conscience, and we also formed good karma. In the future, if we run into trouble, she might even lend a hand!”
The host nodded lightly. “I have seen many agents. There is only one like her so far.”
The host’s thoughts drifted back to the recording day.
After discussing the medical aesthetics investment, they talked about “taxes”. Extending from that topic, the host asked if Wen Ying would be once bitten twice shy, whether she would still support friends’ startups or become a boss herself in the future.
Wen Ying said she did not reject being a boss, but she preferred what she knew best. She was more interested in derivative industries related to creation and mentioned her desire to personally adapt her own works.
“Whether being a boss or something else, for me it is all life experience. These experiences enrich me as a person, so I am not afraid of one day running out of ideas and having nothing to write!”
At that time, the atmosphere in the studio was harmonious.
Yuan Fenghui suddenly took a phone call.
It was this call that pushed the interview to its climax.
Of course the host knew Yuan Fenghui had done it deliberately, but what did it matter?
It was a win-win!
On the television, the interview advanced slowly with the host’s recollections. The host had finished discussing life plans with Wen Ying. The producer called for a pause and handed the host a note.
“We just received some good news.”
The host looked surprised. “Little Fish, your works have sold over 1 million copies overseas!”
