Chapter 00165: You’ll Be Punished When We Get Back
# You’ll Be Punished When We Get Back
Chapter 165
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 165: You’ll Be Punished When We Get Back
Another day passed.
Inside the hotel, Fang Yurong stomped her high heels irritably, pacing back and forth in the hallway.
She felt that things had spiraled out of her control, racing toward an unpredictable direction.
She still didn’t understand—or perhaps refused to believe—what Chen Qi was up to with his sneaky behavior.
Besides, she couldn’t even find him.
*Knock knock knock!*
“Come in!”
Fang Yurong knocked on Fu Jingong’s door and found him massaging his own lower back.
She couldn’t help but chuckle, “You must be exhausted these past few days, huh?”
“You’re telling me! Who would’ve thought attending a film festival would involve so many events? I can’t even understand what the foreigners are saying. I just sit there like a fool for hours on end.”
Fu Jingong straightened up and complained a little.
Fang Yurong suddenly felt envious of him.
This old director knew nothing about what was going on, yet he seemed perfectly content.
“Director Fu, I came to let you know that we’re heading back tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Aren’t we staying for the closing ceremony?”
“There’s an unwritten rule in European film festivals. If the participating team doesn’t receive an invitation to the closing ceremony, it means they didn’t win any awards, so they can prepare to leave… I’m sorry, but it seems *The Return of the Swallow* didn’t win anything.”
“Oh, I see…”
Fu Jingong looked a little disappointed and sighed, “I came here with the same mindset as Liu Changchun when he participated in the Olympics. Ah, well, at least we came and represented our country!”
“Yes, yes, just being here is a success in itself.”
As they were talking, Hadel arrived.
He shook hands with Fu Jingong and apologized, “I’m sorry you’re leaving empty-handed. Chinese cinema should be more open to the world. I sincerely hope you’ll win the Golden Bear in Berlin one day.”
Then, he hugged Fang Yurong and said, “I won’t be able to see you off tomorrow, but you’ve done an excellent job. Thank you for everything.”
“Mr. Chairman, the selection process was rushed this year. I’ll definitely bring better works next year.”
The two spoke in German, not worrying about hurting Fu Jingong’s feelings.
To their surprise, Hadel shook his head and smiled, “No, no, the films you selected were already very good. Although *The Return of the Swallow* was average, *Tai Chi* was the most popular film at the festival. I heard it’s also making waves in the market, with many contracts being signed.”
“Oh, that’s… what?”
Fang Yurong’s head snapped up, and she nearly screamed, “Mr. Chairman, what did you say? *Tai Chi* is signing contracts?”
“You didn’t know? Dozens of international distributors are fighting for its overseas rights.”
“I… I… excuse me for a moment!”
For the first time, Fang Yurong, who had always been graceful and seamlessly integrated with Western culture, lost her composure.
The heels of her shoes nearly cracked as she rushed out of the room and stormed straight to Li Wenhua’s room.
Li Wenhua and Li Lianjie were playing chess when a hysterical woman burst in.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?!”
“How dare you negotiate overseas rights privately? Do you even have the authority to do that? China Film Group is the only institution responsible for overseas distribution! The only one!!!”
Her pent-up emotions exploded, and she began rummaging through the room, pulling back curtains, opening closets, and shouting, “Where’s Chen Qi? Bring him out! I know this was his idea!”
“Xiao Fang…”
“Director Li, I don’t want to talk to you right now. Where’s Chen Qi? Chen Qi!”
Gong Xue heard the commotion and came out to see what was going on.
She tried to calm Fang Yurong down, “Sister Fang, you…”
But Fang Yurong turned her head and glared at her.
The words “shameless couple” almost slipped out of her mouth, but she held back and instead spat out, “You’re all in cahoots!”
She glared at Li Wenhua and Li Lianjie again and repeated, “You’re all in cahoots!!”
“Hey, who are you calling out?”
Li Lianjie glared back.
“You! You’re so young, yet you’re hanging out with people like that. Do you even deserve the training the country has given you?”
“What’s all the yelling about?”
At that moment, a voice interrupted.
Fang Yurong spun around as if she had seen her father’s murderer and charged forward.
Chen Qi quickly stepped back, muttering, “Sister Fang, did you eat too much German food? What’s going on?”
“You… you… you’re something else, aren’t you?”
Fang Yurong was so angry she could barely speak.
She shouted, “I knew you were up to something these past few days! What right do you have to negotiate contracts privately? Who do you represent? Are you from China Film Group? Are you even from Beijing Film Studio? You’re not even from Beijing Film Studio!”
“What are you even talking about? When did I negotiate any contracts?”
Chen Qi pushed her hand away and walked further into the room, saying, “I was with Uncle Fu, learning how to negotiate deals for *Deadly Turns*. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb with me!”
“Sister Fang, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You did it, but you won’t admit it. Show me the contracts!”
“I didn’t do anything. What’s there to admit?”
Of course, he wouldn’t admit it outright.
He had a thicker skin than the heel of his foot.
“…”
Fang Yurong vented her anger but suddenly realized it was useless.
She looked around and saw that everyone here was from Beijing Film Studio.
She took a deep breath and calmed down, saying, “Chen Qi, don’t think that just because you won’t admit it, nothing will happen. This is a serious matter! You’re acting without organization or discipline, ignoring foreign affairs regulations, ignoring film bureau regulations, and privately contacting overseas distributors… I’m not going to argue with you now. When we get back to the country, you’ll be punished!”
With that, Fang Yurong turned and left.
“…”
The entire hallway was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Li Wenhua sighed softly.
He had anticipated this outcome.
Li Lianjie was still confused, not understanding the severity of the situation.
Only Gong Xue approached Chen Qi, ignoring the gossip, and pulled him into the room. “Come with me!”
Once inside, she closed the door and asked anxiously, “Sister Fang is so furious. This isn’t going to end well. Do you have a plan?”
“Nope!”
“How can you joke at a time like this?”
“I’m serious. I broke the rules. If she reports me when we get back, there’s nothing I can do.”
“You!”
Gong Xue was both anxious and angry.
She stomped her foot and said, “You’re so reckless! If you get kicked out of Beijing Film Studio… Oh, wait, you’re not even part of Beijing Film Studio!”
“Exactly! I’m just a tea seller who happened to earn some foreign exchange for the country!” Chen Qi laughed.
“And you’re still laughing!”
Gong Xue was furious at his attitude but also frustrated at her own helplessness.
She stared at him for a while, then suddenly her eyes reddened. “I don’t understand any of this, but no matter what happens… I’ll stand by you.”
“Hey, hey, it’s not that serious!”
Seeing her like this, Chen Qi stopped joking.
He gently ruffled her hair and comforted her in a soft voice.
…………
The group left Berlin, and the festival’s newsletter even published a piece to see them off: “The debut of Chinese films is complex, perhaps reflecting the duality of what the country is experiencing—on one hand, conservative and serious, and on the other, yearning for openness. Regardless, we hope to see more Chinese films on the stage of Berlin, and even the world.”
Fang Yurong never spoke to Chen Qi again.
As usual, they stopped in Hong Kong first.
By late February, *Tai Chi* had finally pulled ahead of *Security Unlimited* at the box office, reaching 15 million! It surpassed last year’s champion, *The Young Master*, and set a new record for Hong Kong cinema since its inception.
The Hong Kong media was in an uproar.
Fu Qi stayed in Hong Kong to handle some matters and planned to head to the mainland in a few days.
Meanwhile, Chen Qi and the others flew back to Shanghai and then returned to Beijing.
Their journey had lasted a total of 22 days.
Not too long, but it was just the beginning.
(End of chapter.)