Don't Be Humble in Front of Idiots

"Teacher Bai, go for it! We're expecting you to win a big award!"

Xiao Liu the host's energetic cheer seemed to be the only comfort for Bai Youlou and Old Zhou before they headed off to Cannes.

This girl was genuinely great, actually coming to the airport to see them off.

Originally, Old Zhou had been teasing Bai Youlou, saying, "She's so enthusiastic, and you're so calm and indifferent, what are you pretending for?"

Bai Youlou ignored him, smiling and waving to someone in the distance, as if saying goodbye.

Old Zhou was a bit puzzled. Hadn't the host Xiao Liu already left? Who was he waving goodbye to?

However, when he saw Zhang Xiaorong standing gracefully not far away, he finally understood what Bai Youlou had been pretending about.

Tsk!

What a player!

At the same time, he said with a hint of sourness, "You even specifically asked Teacher Zhang to see you off? Is that really necessary?"

Bai Youlou shrugged. "No, I just let her know to wish me luck in the competition. I didn't even tell her my flight number."

"Then when did she get here?"

"When we first arrived at the airport, I saw her. She must have been waiting for quite a while."

This time, Old Zhou was genuinely jealous!

After passing through security, he couldn't help but look back. He saw Zhang Xiaorong still standing there.

She had come all the way to the airport to see him off, but they couldn't even exchange a word.

He couldn't help but curse, "Brother Lou, you're a real scoundrel!"

Bai Youlou couldn't be bothered to reply, as his phone rang.

A message.

Since everyone was still pretending not to know each other, Zhang Xiaorong didn't approach to chat even though she came to see him off.

Now, she chose to send a message to offer her blessings.

"Have a safe trip."

Bai Youlou thought for a moment and replied, "Having a safe trip on a plane isn't a good thing."

He looked back and saw Zhang Xiaorong biting her finger in the distance, seemingly stumped by his reply.

After a few seconds, he saw her carefully typing again.

This way of communicating via text message, despite being not far apart, gave Bai Youlou a feeling of passing notes to girls back in school.

Zhang Xiaorong: "Ride the wind and waves!"

Whoosh~

The plane soared into the blue sky, a magnificent testament to humanity's conquest of the air.

Cannes is a city in the south of France, located in the French Riviera region of the Alpes-Maritimes department, near the Mediterranean Sea.

It is famous for its beautiful beaches and the film festival held there annually.

However, the bustling crowds of beautiful women on the beaches and the early arrival of various media outlets were irrelevant to Bai Youlou and his companion.

He and Old Zhou still had to painstakingly find a hotel first.

The place they stayed wasn't a particularly fancy hotel. Although they had fleeced two million from Zhen Dongjun, the money had to be spent wisely, and they weren't willing to waste too much at the moment.

This time, only the two of them came; they didn't even bring Long Ziqiang.

But not bringing him wasn't entirely about saving money. The host Xiao Liu's "lobbying" efforts had played a role.

Bai Youlou left Long Ziqiang with the program team.

In Old Zhou's words: This guy doesn't know any foreign languages. Coming along would be useless except for having an extra mouth to feed and needing accommodation.

Poor Long Ziqiang was thus abandoned at the "The Voice" program team, missing his chance to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival he had longed for.

For Long Ziqiang, this was being "abandoned," but for the other two contestants in Zhen Dongjun's group, this was a disaster.

Because once Bai Youlou left, Long Ziqiang's "seal" was lifted!

To compensate for the guy's resentment, Bai Youlou allowed him to unleash his full potential in the upcoming competition. No more cheesy pop! Show them everything you've got.

Before he left, he stuffed seven or eight USB drives to Long Ziqiang, instructing him: "If you encounter any difficulties, open a 'surprise package'."

Although he had left, Bai Youlou had made arrangements for subsequent matters before his departure.

Zhen Dongjun would hold onto that surveillance footage until the episode where Bai Youlou left.

He was quite skilled at teasing the audience and netizens.

However, it was a pity that compared to his commanding presence in the "The Voice" program team, Bai Youlou encountered a "Waterloo" upon arriving in Cannes.

The Cannes Film Festival is a magical place, and everyone has their own imagination of it. Film fans see it as a sacred temple of cinema, while tourists enjoy the sunny beach resort and the free access to celebrities they can see daily.

For film distributors, this is the most direct platform for monetization. Don't think Cannes is only about the red carpet; in fact, those dozens of meters of carpet are a venue for filmmakers to increase their value and fame.

The way to achieve this added value is through the "Film Market," which runs parallel to the main competition section.

According to statistics, last year's Cannes had 5,049 companies from 108 countries, with a total of 11,700 participants. There were 397 exhibitors, an exhibition area of 13,000 square meters, and 1,341 film screenings during the event.

The Palais des Festivals itself is quite interesting. Upstairs is where the art is, with film masters from all over sharing their cinematic philosophies with the world.

Downstairs, however, Bai Youlou felt it was much like a wet market.

He initially thought that even though he wasn't famous in the directing industry and couldn't rely on his looks to sell films, his movie Whiplash had at least been nominated for the main competition. It shouldn't be ignored.

But as it turned out, they had arrived a bit too early. At this time, there were more people selling films than buying them in the film market.

Scattered around the market, most of them were still tourists and reporters.

However, arriving early wasn't entirely a disadvantage. For instance, they managed to secure a good spot.

Fortunately, this was just the beginning.

Bai Youlou hadn't even spent the money he'd gotten from Zhen Dongjun yet, and the "main force" hadn't arrived either, so there was no rush.

On the third day of their setting up their booth, they encountered an "acquaintance."

To be precise, it should be a compatriot.

Right next to their "booth," the other party's setup was much grander. Even their "booth" area was significantly larger, with one being able to match three or four of Bai Youlou's.

Old Zhou immediately recognized the other party's background. "It's Section Chief Zheng. This year, you and he are the only two Chinese films in the main competition. But he's a regular at these festivals, and much more renowned. He's a leader of the sixth-generation directors and makes his living from art films."

"That's great. They're right next door, so we can piggyback on their buyers."

"Hey~ We really can!"

Before they could even piggyback on any buyers, Bai Youlou and his team were first "piggybacked" by a reporter.

A reporter with a smiling face, who seemed very friendly towards Bai Youlou.

"Hello Director Bai, my name is Wang Henshui, you can just call me Ah Shui. I'm a reporter from Movie Entertainment Weekly. Would you be available for a chat?"

Facing the reporter's enthusiasm, Bai Youlou narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't refuse.

Ah Shui, having received permission to interview him, beamed even wider. He took out a voice recorder and a notebook, looking quite professional.

As it turned out, the first question this guy asked was: "Director Bai, what do you think is the probability of your film winning an award?"

Bai Youlou: Brilliant!

No wonder they say you have to be wary of your own countrymen when you're abroad. This guy was smiling so brightly, but his first question was a trap.

However, he didn't show any displeasure. "Fifty percent."

"That's quite high!" Ah Shui exclaimed. "Why fifty percent?"

"Either it wins an award or it doesn't. There are only two possibilities, so it's naturally fifty percent."

Ah Shui: ...

Damn, something's not right!

He decided to try again!

"As far as I know, this is your first film. Your debut work has been nominated for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Do you think you're a genius in directing?"

"Of course," Bai Youlou replied without hesitation.

Ah Shui's eyes lit up. "I thought you might be a bit more humble..."

Bai Youlou gave him a deep look. "Don't be humble in front of fools, because they'll take it seriously."

Ah Shui was stunned. He suspected Bai Youlou was subtly insulting him, but it wasn't obvious enough.