Huayu: This director is pretty strong.

Chapter 22: A Hidden Arrow from Afar

The wind blowing in through the cracks in the windows of the long-distance bus bound for Tianjin made Chen Yan's temples ache.

He twirled a cold rubber roll between his fingers, the metal tapping rhythmically against his knuckles.

"Brother Yan, why do we have to go to Tianjin at this time?"

Zhang Yuan hunched his shoulders and hugged the Panasonic camera in his arms even tighter.

"That bastard Lu Haiming is keeping an eye on us in Beijing. If we leave, won't he stab us in the back?"

"Only after he stabbed me can I pass the knife back."

Chen Yan looked out the window at the rapidly receding wilderness, his voice carried on the wind.

Lu Haiming is used to crushing people with money and power; he only targets their weaknesses.

Lu Haiming's Achilles' heel lies in Tianjin.

"When you arrive, go to the Planning Bureau's residential compound."

Chen Yan turned his head away.

"Find a retired old man surnamed Shen who loves to drink."

"Don't ask about the land, just ask him if the file for the Haiming Garden plot is missing a few pages."

Zhang Yuan rubbed his hands together and grinned.

"Alright, I'm good at this."

The car bumped, and Chen Yan's head hit the hard seat back.

He didn't say anything, but simply increased the frequency of turning the film roll.

Meanwhile, in Yanjing, at the Marco Polo Club.

Lu Haiming swirled the red wine in his glass, the deep red liquid leaving tear-like streaks on the glass.

Across from him, a man with a slightly balding head and gold-rimmed glasses pushed a thick envelope towards him.

"Mr. Lu, here are your things."

The man pushed up his glasses.

"It has been confirmed in France that Cannes has established a new filming ethics review system this year."

"In Chen Yan's film, there was a rain scene where the actress was soaking in the mud for six hours."

"In the eyes of foreigners, this is abuse."

Lu Haiming pulled a photograph out of the envelope.

In the photo, Su Wan is lying on the muddy ground, soaking wet, with a bluish-purple face.

Not far away, Chen Yan held a walkie-talkie, his profile indifferent.

"Good angle."

Lu Haiming threw the photo on the table.

"more than."

The man lowered his voice.

"I've already sent people to collect the debts from that actress's family."

"If she were to stand up and say that she was forced by the director, Chen Yan wouldn't even be able to get her hands on a film license in China."

Lu Haiming loosened his tie.

He didn't care whether a student lived or died, but he loathed the kind of gaze that felt out of his control.

Chen Yan felt uncomfortable looking at him.

"Go and do it."

He waved.

"I want him to fall flat on his face at the gates of Cannes and never get up again."

In the drafty side room of Xinghuo Film and Television.

Su Wan took a rag and wiped the peeling paint off the writing table again and again.

The room was not heated enough, so she would stop from time to time to rub her hands to warm them.

Chen Yan has been gone for two days, and the house is eerily empty.

At the door, the postman tossed in a tan-colored envelope.

"Spark Film & Television, Chen Yan received."

Su Wan walked over and picked it up.

She opened the envelope, her fingers tightening, and the contents scattered all over the floor.

There was no letter paper.

One photo shows her trembling in a rain scene, with Chen Yan's cold profile in the background.

The second picture is her medical record from when she was receiving an IV drip at the hospital.

The third one was a copy of her father's IOU; the red handprint stung her eyes.

The wind inside the room picked up even more fiercely.

This is a silent threat, more suffocating than any words.

She crouched down, her fingers stiff as she picked up the photos one by one, her heart pounding.

She wanted to call Chen Yan, but when she touched the pager, she put it down.

He's in Tianjin; we can't let him get distracted.

"Don't panic, Su Wan."

She said to herself.

She recalled Chen Yan's words: "The other party is revealing their trump card to instill fear in you."

She put the photo back into the envelope and hid it behind her back.

The door creaked open, and Lin Shufen walked in, her expensive perfume dispelling the smell of coal smoke in the room.

She glanced at Su Wan's bloodless face and frowned.

Where is Chen Yan?

"He went to Tianjin, Sister Lin."

Su Wan straightened up.

Lin Shufen's gaze lingered for a second on Su Wan's hand hidden behind her back, but she didn't say anything and took out a fax paper from her handbag.

"Call him back."

Even if Tianjin had a mountain of gold, it would have to wait.

Su Wan took the fax. It was all in English, but she recognized the signature at the bottom: Pierre.

"Sister Lin, what does it say on this?"

Lin Shufen leaned against the door frame and lit a cigarette.

"Pierre will secretly come to Beijing before the list is announced."

"He received a complaint about the ethical issues surrounding the filming of 'The Night Watch' and wanted to see the original footage in person."

Su Wan's fingertips were icy cold as the fax paper fluttered to the ground.

"Scared?"

Lin Shufen exhaled a smoke ring.

Did Chen Yan really use excessive methods during filming?

Su Wan lowered her head, and the image of the cold rain and Chen Yan's unfathomable eyes resurfaced.

"He couldn't have made a film like that if he weren't crazy."

She said softly.

Lin Shufen scoffed.

"In this circle, there are two kinds of madmen."

"One dies halfway through, the other stands on the podium."

"If he can't get past Pierre, he'll fall into the first category."

The next day, at the old Tianjin Railway Station.

Chen Yan hung up Su Wan's call, squatted by the roadside, and watched the fried dough sticks expand in the boiling oil.

"Brother Yan, Pierre is coming! This is a big deal!"

Zhang Yuan scratched his head in frustration.

"It must be Lu Haimingqian's!"

"How about we process those original film reels?"

"They felt guilty after dealing with it."

Chen Yan stood up and brushed the dust off his trouser legs.

"Pierre is a filmmaker, not a politician."

"What he hates most is not hardship, but mediocrity."

"Lu Haiming thought he had caught me red-handed, but he forgot that what Pierre wanted to see most was a soul that had been worn down by suffering."

He tossed the plastic film to Zhang Yuan.

"Is the work in Tianjin finished?"

"nailed it!"

"Old Shen drank two bottles of Niulanshan liquor and then vomited them all up."

"The file is indeed missing two pages, the original records of the land compensation payment."

"Back then, Lu Haiming embezzled the forest land compensation from three villages, totaling seven or eight million yuan."

"If this gets out, he can forget about launching his Haiming Garden project!"

Chen Yan nodded.

"Let's go back to Beijing."

"Since Pierre wants to see the truth, I'll show him something even more shocking."

Upon returning to the capital, it was already dark, with dark clouds looming overhead.

Chen Yan went straight back to the small house.

Su Wan sat under the lamp, clutching the envelope in her hand, her gaze unfocused.

"You're back?"

She saw Chen Yan, her voice hoarse.

Chen Yan walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You mentioned the photos on the phone."

He spoke.

"Did Lu Haiming send this?"

"Um."

Su Wan looked up, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Chen Yan, have I been a burden to you?"

"They threatened me with my dad's IOU..."

Chen Yan squatted down to be at eye level with her.

"Su Wan, remember this."

He spoke at a very steady pace.

"In this industry, if someone criticizes you, it means you've become famous."

"If someone is threatening you, it means that what you have has frightened them."

He took the photos from Su Wan and casually tossed them into the stove.

The photograph touched the flames, curled up, turned black, and turned to ashes.

"I'll take care of the IOU."

"Pierre, I'll handle it."

Chen Yan reached out and touched her cheek.

"You only need to do one thing."

"What?"

"Maintain this sense of fragmentation."

"Pierre is coming to the studio tomorrow night. He doesn't want to see the footage; he wants to see you."

Chen Yan stood up and looked out the window.

He lit an unlit cigarette, picked up the pager on the table, and dialed Lin Shufen's number.

When the call connected, he only said one sentence.

"Sister Lin, tell Pierre that the things Lu Haiming sent were too boring."

"I invited him to see a real movie."