CHAPTER 125

Huo Bijun first rose to fame as an idol actor, starring in numerous romance films in his early years and becoming the dream lover of countless female fans. However, the characters he played were largely similar in personality, which prevented him from gaining recognition from mainstream industry awards.

He didn't seem to mind, once comparing himself to Hollywood's Leonardo DiCaprio, joking that good-looking people always face a tougher road to winning awards.

After falling in love with and marrying He Chenying, he finally won dual Best Actor awards at the Golden Phoenix and Huading Awards for a transformative role. Yet, many dismissed these wins as undeserved.

Following his amicable split with He Chenying, he transitioned into directing, where his talent was recognized much earlier than his acting had been.

With only two films under his belt—both of which he wrote, directed, and starred in—he had already established himself as a leading figure in commercial cinema, excelling in both critical acclaim and box office success.

That his third film, Huo 3 (later renamed The Long Night), would catch the attention of the Venice Film Festival was something Huo Bijun never expected. Looking back, his first film had been self-funded with a friend, while the second secured investment from Yaowei Media—both performing well commercially and critically. But when he completed the script for the third installment, several potential investors backed out.

Their reasoning? The film was too heavy, not lighthearted enough, and they doubted its market appeal.

Huo had initially sought funding from major studios, but producers demanded script changes he wasn't willing to make. Determined, he and his friends went all out to persuade Yaowei Media, the backers of his second film, to invest in the third.

During casting for the female lead, he deliberately made a spectacle of it, auditioning nearly every young actress under 28 in the industry. On one hand, this was to appease Yaowei's pushy producer, indulging their desire to "select" the actress. On the other, it helped generate early buzz for the film.

He was thoroughly satisfied with Xiang Xiaoyuan as the lead, and landing Zeng Li was an unexpected bonus.

Once filming wrapped, the budget had slightly overrun, but Huo had full confidence in the final product. As he began seeking distributors, luck struck—Tonghua took an interest in his film, offering to collaborate as the exclusive distributor. Partnering with Tonghua had long been a dream for Huo Bijun, and now it felt like hitting the jackpot.

Tonghua handled everything—promotion, scheduling, ad placements—even owning their own theater chain, providing end-to-end service.

They also joined forces with Yaowei as co-producers, with Tonghua submitting The Long Night to the Venice Film Festival. After evaluation by the festival's experts, it was selected for the non-competition section.

This wasn't just a stroke of luck—it was a golden opportunity, leaving Huo Bijun dizzy with excitement.

Once the film made it to Venice, Yaowei couldn't contain their glee. Even before its domestic release, they hastily teamed up with various marketing accounts to flood the media with exaggerated claims—predicting The Long Night would sweep all major awards, with Best Actor and Actress wins guaranteed, and Xiang Xiaoyuan outshining every other performer.

These promotional tactics clashed with Tonghua's carefully planned marketing strategy, sparking disputes between the two sides.

One party belonged to Yaowei, the production investor who had supported him from the beginning, while the other was the co-producer and distributor Tonghua—a financially powerful entity with its own dedicated marketing department. Huo Bijun couldn't afford to offend either side. He agreed with Tonghua's promotional strategy but also saw nothing wrong with Yaowei's "clickbait" marketing approach. All he could do was mediate between them. His biggest worry was that Tonghua might simply walk away.

To his surprise, despite their anger, the Tonghua team remained surprisingly cooperative.

During a private dinner with Tonghua's distribution and marketing directors, the two executives, after a few drinks, let slip some inside information—"Our boss places great importance on the 'The Long Night' project, so you can rest assured. Also, we will not hype any scandals involving the female lead. That's non-negotiable."

Huo Bijun felt this deal was almost too good to be true, yet he couldn't pinpoint anything wrong. Since it aligned perfectly with his interests, why not go along with it?

On the day of the premiere, dressed in a newly tailored suit, he stood before a room packed with media, fans, industry peers, and lucky audience members, speaking with infectious enthusiasm.

Duo Miaojiang, a prominent film blogger and Bilibili influencer, and Lao Zhang, a veteran film critic, had both been invited by the production team to the preview screening.

Duo Miaojiang whispered to Lao Zhang, "Thank goodness the host stopped our 'peacock' director in time, otherwise he might have kept talking forever."

Lao Zhang chuckled, "I doubt it. He knows the schedule—just a bit too pleased with himself."

"Way too pleased," Duo Miaojiang adjusted her glasses. "My expectations for this film are sky-high now. I'm almost worried I'll end up disappointed."

Before the screening, they already knew it was a suspenseful revenge story based on real-life cases.

The film immediately dived into the "Yang Yi case," where a teacher was accused of mol3sting and rap!ng multiple female students. The pace was very fast, and Duo Miaojiang, being a woman, and Lao Zhang, a father of two daughters, quickly felt uncomfortable, both frowning from the beginning.

Xiang Xiaoyuan's entrance stunned the audience, only to be followed by a pang of heartache.

Dressed in a pink knit sweater and white pants, her shoulder-length hair slightly disheveled, she sat frail and delicate in a wheelchair.

The next few minutes depicted her daily routine—waking up, having breakfast, packing a lunchbox, wheeling herself out, locking the door, then slowly making her way to the library in the next neighborhood where she worked. She offered faint smiles to acquaintances but mostly kept her eyes downcast, as if burdened by endless sorrow.

The case seemed simple, the suspect clear. It adopted a narrative approach with small cuts, leading the audience through the investigation, creating a highly immersive experience.

This installment strikes a different tone from the previous two. While earlier detective stories allowed viewers to solve cases with an omniscient perspective, this time the audience already holds preconceptions—they deeply sympathize with Meng Xiaozhou, played by Xiang Xiaoyuan.

What did the victims do wrong? The perpetrator destroyed multiple families yet only received five-year sentences, while the traumatized girls must endure lifelong scars, subjected to society's judgmental stares—especially Meng Xiaozhou. She was the first to expose Yang Yi, yet suffered the most. She was verbally abused and physically assaulted by parents of other victimized girls, her father left, she herself had a mental breakdown and an accidental car crash, and her mother d!ed from overwork while caring for her. Her family was ruined, and she was left disabled.

The audience had already sympathized with Meng Xiaozhou and identified her as a suspect. This contradictory feeling made the atmosphere in the entire hall exceptionally quiet.

But following the police's perspective, Meng Xiaozhou indeed couldn't walk, and didn't seem much like the suspect. The chain of evidence was insufficient, keeping everyone's attention tightly gripped, just waiting to see how she committed the murder.

Then came the "Xu Qiang case." When the case revealed that this security guard, Xu Qiang, had m0lested multiple young boys, Duo Miaojiang exhaled sharply, sensing Lao Zhang clenching his fists beside her. A man several rows back cursed under his breath.

When Huo Bijun, playing the police consultant, several times probed and interrogated Meng Xiaozhou, the two went back and forth. Detective Huo used trickery, inducement, and high-pressure psychological tactics to interrogate Meng Xiaozhou. Everyone in the audience was practically holding their breath, biting their teeth, and the hall was d3ad silent.

"Why would I report him for those parents?" 

"Why would I do such a thing?" 

"Why would I do such a thing?"

When she delivered these lines, her eyes held boundless sorrow, and her expression was eerily neurotic.

Duo Miaojiang steadied herself, a shiver running down her arm. For an acting enthusiast, her adrenaline was surging.

It wasn't until Zeng Li, playing the father, had acted for several minutes that gasps of surprise erupted from the audience. "That's Zeng Li? My god, I didn't recognize him!" 

"Exactly! I'd never have known without the cast list!"

......

Zeng Li's portrayal of Ji Hongfeng—the honest, simple-minded construction worker father—is so authentic he seems incapable of wrongdoing. His confession stunned the audience.

His scene with Huo Bijun was undoubtedly the climax of the film, a string of monologues filled with tears of bl0od that left Lao Zhang's eyes red. Duo Miaojiang, with tear-streaked eyes, took off her glasses and offered him a tissue.

This wasn't a particularly difficult case to solve.

By this point, the audience already knew that Xu Qiang was killed by Ji Hongfeng, but Meng Xiaozhou was probably involved too. The case was simple, but creating a good suspenseful atmosphere within a simple case, keeping the audience's attention throughout, was not easy, it relied on the actors' performances.

Detective Huo's staging of interrogation rooms facing each other forced a fateful encounter between Meng Xiaozhou and Ji Hongfeng. Their slow-motion passing held unspoken volumes, like the lingering shot of a cigarette pack during Ji's questioning. Earlier subtle clues—overlapping relationships, shared living traces—hinted at their hidden connection.

With Ji Hongfeng's confession and imprisonment, both cases close.

Yet Consultant Huo knew Meng Xiaozhou isn't innocent.

One day, he went to see Meng Xiaozhou again.

For the first hour or so of the film, the scenes were dark and heavy, either overcast or rainy. But on this day, the sun shone brightly, the sky was cloudless, the background music was lighthearted, elderly women laughed heartily chatting at the alley entrance after buying groceries, young mothers walked their babies, and real estate agents at the community gate chatted with clients...

The audience, following Detective Huo's perspective, saw all this. The first half of the film had a heavier tone, but now they felt a pleasant, tranquil atmosphere, and their mood, like the protagonist's, couldn't help but relax.

Then Detective Huo's faint smile froze. His pupils constricted as he gazed forward—

The camera panned over—

The audience's breathing was practically held.

Meng Xiaozhou stood at her doorstep, scissors in hand, trimming stray branches from a potted flower placed on a chair.

She snipped, looked, shifted her stance, tilted her head to appraise the plant from different angles—utterly at ease.

She—can—walk?

To be honest, by the end of the movie, many people guessed that Meng Xiaozhou could walk. The question was how the director would portray the plot point of her walking.

Earlier, when Meng Xiaozhou was suspected, the police had followed her for a long time but found no flaws. She even fell once and couldn't get up on her own, relying on a passerby to help her.

Audiences expected some elaborate reveal, only to be confronted with this blunt presentation. The abrupt contrast in editing sent genuine chills down spines.

Meng Xiaozhou showed no surprise at seeing Detective Huo. Dressed in a pristine white dress with light makeup, she bore no resemblance to her formerly introverted, melancholic self—now exuding a delicate, scholarly beauty.

She smiled faintly at him, inviting him inside.

Detective Huo entered, sat down, and took the glass of water Meng Xiaozhou handed him, his gaze slightly complex, looking at her legs several times.

Detective Huo took a sip of water, smiled, and shared his theory.

The evidence chain in Xu Qiang's case pointed to Ji Hongfeng—witnesses and physical proof intact. Yet Meng Xiaozhou had first invited Ji to dinner after prior conversations. One of Xu Qiang's m0lested boys, a frequent library visitor, had been close to her.

Ji Hongfeng, however, had no such connections to Xu Qiang.

As for Yang Yi's case—though Ji Hongfeng confessed—the victim's daughter Wu Qianli had committed su!cide a week before Yang Yi's release. Ji Hongfeng was her biological father.

"That year you reported Yang Yi, and you were beaten by Wu Qianli's mother, Wu Huiyun. Distraught, you had the car accident. Ji Hongfeng had always felt very guilty towards Wu Qianli and her mother, so he felt a need to atone to you."

"In reality, you killed both Yang Yi and Xu Qiang, didn't you?" Detective Huo asked softly, a glimmer of light in his eyes. "You've always been able to walk, haven't you?"

The entire audience held their breath.

"When you asked me before, I told you. After the car accident surgery, the doctors said I had recovered, but I couldn't walk. After my father left us, my mother didn't give up and insisted on taking me for rehabilitation. I also saw a psychiatrist... These are all recorded in the hospital," Meng Xiaozhou did not look at Detective Huo, but kept looking at the potted flower.

Indeed, the hospital records were there.

Records spanning over two years, back and forth.

No reason to fake it for so long.

Pretending for so many years, it really wasn't necessary.

It wasn't until her mother d!ed from overwork that she stopped rehabilitation.

Detective Huo's eyes fixed on the scissors on the table. His pupils constricted, and he asked again, "So you can walk now?"

Meng Xiaozhou met his eyes and smiled faintly. "The person who hurt me is finally d3ad. Now that I don't have to live in fear anymore, I can walk."

Their gazes locked in the air.

"That's... really wonderful." Detective Huo said with a smile.

The smile on Meng Xiaozhou's lips became a little subtle, her eyes drifting into empty space before settling on the floor.

At this moment, a few piano notes suddenly sounded from the background.

The scene shifted—Meng Xiaozhou, dressed in white mourning clothes, lay motionless on the floor, her gaze frozen. The camera captured her from the side, motionless.

The background music cut off abruptly, replaced by low, murmuring voices, buzzing like a swarm of flies.

"Her mother's d3ad, and she's crippled—what's she going to do now?"

"Her father left long ago and never sent money. He must've remarried."

"She's just a burden. Who'd take care of her?"

Day turned to night. Meng Xiaozhou remained on the floor, her eyes lifeless, as if she too had d!ed. Darkness enveloped everything, save for a faint glimmer of light on her cheek. The camera zoomed in so close that the fine hairs on her face and her unblinking lashes were visible—until even that sliver of light faded away.

Night shifted back to day. A ray of sunlight touched her eyelids, and finally, her lashes fluttered.

"Yeah, it's really wonderful." Meng Xiaozhou murmured, her smile like a sheet of paper crumpled on water—thin and fragile.

The scene cut back. The mourning-clad Meng Xiaozhou on the floor finally stirred. She began to inch forward, using her hands, her elbows, tears rolling down one by one, until she finally pushed herself up with her knees...

In the audience, Duo Miaojiang found herself weeping uncontrollably. Soft sobs could be heard from several rows around her.

Meng Xiaozhou's eyes focused. She moved to her small desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out a pack of cigarettes.

Detective Huo watched her with a complicated expression, his eyes widening in shock when they landed on the cigarette box.

Meng Xiaozhou perched on the edge of the desk, pulled out a cigarette, lit it with practiced ease, and brought it to her lips. Strands of hair fell over her forehead, just covering one eye. Her face, veiled in smoke, exuded an intoxicating allure.

Amid the swirling haze, the scene changed—

Yang Yi had been invited to a nightclub for drinks. At first, he looked surprised, then smirked at the woman sitting on the couch with her back to the camera. The audience couldn't see her face—only the smoke.

And in an abandoned construction site, beside a corpse on the ground, Ji Hongfeng took a cigarette from a slender hand nearby, inhaled, and exhaled a cloud that mingled with the smoke from the woman beside him.

The camera slowly panned, revealing Meng Xiaozhou's face as she smiled at the lens.

It was the exact same smile she now gave Detective Huo.

With five minutes left in the film, Meng Xiaozhou's image had completely transformed.

Gasps rippled through the audience.

Finally, Detective Huo walked out. Suddenly, he turned back—Meng Xiaozhou stood at the doorway, waving at him cheerfully before returning to trimming her flowers with the scissors.

The sunlight was just right.

The camera slowly dimmed.

Meng Xiaozhou's voice rang out, "Mr. Huo, I think the sky will always brighten eventually. Don't you agree?"

When the credits rolled on the big screen, the audience snapped out of their daze like waking from a dream.

Even though everyone knew Xiang Xiaoyuan's character Meng Xiaozhou was one of the suspects and thought there wouldn't be any major plot twists left—just waiting to see how it would conclude—they still sympathized with her, wanting to protect and cherish her. Yet no one expected that final ten-minute montage where the actress completely revealed another side of the character, leaving them stunned and covered in goosebumps, erupting in thunderous applause.

Lao Zhang and Duo Miaojiang also clapped enthusiastically.

This wasn't an overly complicated mystery to solve. The first half felt too painfully realistic to process, the middle section had everyone in tears from the actors' brilliant performances, and then came that editing sequence revealing the shocking twist.

The ending seemed to explain nothing, yet explained everything.

Truly spectacular!

A great film doesn't truly end when the credits roll—it leaves endless room for discussion.

After this midnight premiere, many audience members continued debating the plot as they walked out.

"So Meng Xiaozhou was the k!ller in the end, right?"

"The director didn't explicitly say so, but it was all hinted at. Look at the cigarette she smoked, it's the same one that Zeng Li's character, the father, smoked! And at the construction site, they appeared together in the same frame!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Remember the autopsy report said the wounds on that teacher who r@ped the female student differed slightly from Xu Qiang's? I bet it was those flower scissors Meng Xiaozhou was holding!"

"Holy sh!t! Absolutely! Yang Yi was killed by Meng Xiaozhou, Xu Qiang by Zeng Li—or maybe they worked together. Otherwise why would the director focus on those scissors? And Huo Bijun's expression was clearly off—he'd figured it out!"

"If those were the murder weapons, forensic tests would show bl0od traces. And that cigarette pack—why didn't they arrest her in the end?"

"Open ending, I guess. Zeng Li willingly took the blame anyway. I think that's for the best—that Meng Xiaozhou was just too tragic!"

"Although there are still some loopholes in the case's deduction, the acting was amazing—those intense scenes were thrilling!"

"The methods were brutal though—I actually winced in pain."

"You men deserve it! Trash!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't make personal attacks! There are good men too!"

"Anyway, Xiang Xiaoyuan was stunning! That final smoking scene—her smile was terrifying yet mesmerizing. God, don't get jealous now!"

"Why would I? I thought she was gorgeous and alluring too!"

"She really knows how to act, she should win Best Actress, oh my god, she's amazing!"

......

The group of young people by the theater entrance were having a lively discussion while waiting for their ride. Their excited chatter felt authentic—so caught up that they occasionally mixed up character names with the actors who played them.

Duo Miaojiang and Lao Zhang glanced at them with smiles.

Typing in her fan group chat, Duo Miaojiang said, [Watched it—our Xiaoyuan k!lled it! Another proud moment for us Gardeners!]

"Truly outstanding performance!" Even the usually reserved Old Zhang praised, "But Zeng Li's acting shook me to the core."

"Yeah, that old man was unreal! He becomes every role!"

As they walked and talked, Duo Miaojiang sighed deeply. "But reality is far crueler than movies."

Lao Zhang pondered this and sighed too. "Zeng Li portrayed it too well. This film was too painful for fathers to watch."

Duo Miaojiang smiled at him. "That's because you're a good father, Lao Zhang. If it were other men, tsk tsk tsk..."

Lao Zhang smiled wryly, "Let's head back. I still have manuscripts to finish."

Duo Miaojiang responded, "Okay, I'll take the subway then."

Lao Zhang stopped her worriedly, "Wait, you should take a taxi instead. Send the license plate number to the group chat when you do."

Duo Miaojiang smiled warmly, "Okay, okay, okay!"

......

That night, audiences from the midnight premiere screening of "The Long Night" on the 7th enthusiastically praised the film across major social platforms. Twenty-four hours later, the real-time statistics were released—the first-day presale box office had surpassed thirty million yuan.

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