Chapter 240: The Review Barrier

“The Ministry of Culture rejected our conditions, claiming it’s impossible to make the review system any more open!”
Rejected! It was truly rejected! Xiao Ran felt the world spinning around him; his expression had already changed several times. If not for his excellent composure, he would have shown his emotions immediately. His heart sank—after all, their request had been denied, and they still refused to open up those most crucial aspects!
Xiao Ran had anticipated this outcome, but he still held onto a glimmer of hope. Yet now, it was rejected. With a bitter smile, he realized that all his efforts over the past eight years had been in vain.
He gave a brief nod to the others, then picked up the phone and walked away along the beach, kicking at the sand. The others didn’t notice Xiao Ran’s expression, but Lin Qingxia saw it clearly. She also nodded and followed him.
After walking a few steps, Xiao Ran’s chaotic emotions gradually calmed down. If this matter hadn’t been so critical, he wouldn’t have been so panicked. Fortunately, his well-trained composure helped him calm down quickly. Wei Dongling on the other end understood Xiao Ran’s feelings perfectly. He didn’t say anything further but waited quietly for Xiao Ran to speak.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ran slowly steadied himself and quickly realized there might still be a way out. He asked in a low voice, “What’s their reason for rejection? This is very important!”
“They think the grading system isn’t suitable to implement at the moment, and they believe our demands don’t fit the mainland’s national conditions, so they rejected us!” Wei Dongling smiled bitterly. Having worked with Xiao Ran for so long, he was the person who understood Xiao Ran’s ideals best, second only to Lin Qingxia. Yet now, just one sentence had sealed their dreams.
Xiao Ran’s heart sank again. These reasons didn’t completely block the way for Hong Kong films to expand, but at least no progress could be made in the short term. With the mention of national conditions, Xiao Ran understood the situation.
Next, Wei Dongling explained the situation in detail. It was a formal call from Huang Qun, who told him that there had been many debates within the government, and the leaders hadn’t expressed any clear stance. Eventually, this measure was taken to temporarily shut things down.
“And Huang Qun, as the vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, told me!” Wei Dongling’s tone grew even more bitter. “The mainland will send a recall order to all filmmakers who came from the mainland through exchange programs. We need to get ready for everything!”
Xiao Ran trembled slightly, his eyes filled with disbelief. Currently, filmmakers from the mainland made up at least 30% of Hong Kong’s creative workforce. If they were recalled, the consequences were obvious!
But why do this? Countless thoughts flashed through Xiao Ran’s mind. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically, and he spoke slowly, word by word: “They plan to abandon us and make movies on their own, make Mandarin-language movies on their own!”

Wei Dongling had already felt despondent on the other end of the phone. As soon as he heard about this, he quickly realized the severity of the situation. What he didn’t understand was how those in power couldn’t see the tremendous harm this would cause to Hong Kong films. In terms of talent, Shadow even allowed key companies like Infinite Special Effects to be used for exchange students’ training. To suddenly take such a drastic measure was truly disheartening.

Xiao Ran no longer had the energy to force a smile; he could only laugh bitterly. “They want to make movies? With what? Money? Equipment? Or enough resources? Without us, how can they do it! I don’t believe mainland film studios can produce anything decent.”

“Fortunately, it’s not a mandatory recall. Only those exchange students still on salary from the film studios are being called back. As for those who have settled locally, they can go back if they want. That’s what Huang Qun told me!” It was because of this statement that Wei Dongling kept talking to Xiao Ran; otherwise, his first words would have made Xiao Ran give up on filmmaking altogether.

If even the state stopped supporting them, continuing would only lead to disaster. Xiao Ran’s heart quickened. If there was still such a possibility, it meant the government hadn’t given up on Hong Kong films, and there would surely be opportunities in the future.

Lin Qingxia rushed over and stood quietly behind Xiao Ran, then gently asked, “What happened? Tell me—don’t bear it all by yourself!”

“Oh, when did you arrive?” Xiao Ran realized he must have been so preoccupied earlier that he didn’t even notice Lin Qingxia behind him. He sighed heavily and told her everything.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Qingxia’s expression changed drastically. “The censorship system is holding them back, and now they want to recall everyone. You might as well give up!”

“It’s no big deal. If I give up because of such a trivial issue, you probably wouldn’t marry me anyway!” Xiao Ran tried to stay calm, not wanting his wife to worry too much. With a cold smile, he said, “Mainland film studios have money, equipment, and talent, yet they can’t produce anything decent! We’ll see!”

Xiao Ran had always looked down on mainland films, just as he looked down on the national football team. Before the market became commercialized, the mainland simply couldn’t afford multi-million-dollar productions. It wasn’t a matter of lacking funds—it was certain they would lose money even if they invested.

That night, Wei Dongling went to Xiao Ran’s house. They stood by the swimming pool, feeling the cool air while sighing deeply. The current situation wasn’t favorable for them, which wasn’t surprising. If Wei Dongling hadn’t understood Xiao Ran’s ideals, he would have advised him to stop filmmaking.

Lin Qingxia brought Little Ling over and sat down next to Xiao Ran. The little one was fine at first, but as soon as she saw Xiao Ran, she reached out with her tiny hands, trying to grab him, only to fail and start crying. Frustrated, Lin Qingxia resentfully handed Little Ling to Xiao Ran to hold. “It’s better not to let her see you anymore. Otherwise, she’ll keep asking you to hold her!”

Xiao Ran gently stroked the little guy’s tiny nose, and the baby immediately stopped crying. Proudly, it glanced at his mother a few times before focusing its gaze on Xiao Ran’s face, as if there were some beautiful flowers on it. Holding Little Ling’er in his arms, Xiao Ran fell into deep thought—it was hard to describe the whole situation. Yet he still believed this wasn’t the worst outcome, and there might still be a chance to save things: “I think the government wants to develop its own film industry. It’s just that mainland films haven’t been performing well, so they’ve turned their attention to us!”
“After a few years, more and more exchange students have come, and we’ve trained more film professionals. At this point, proposing further opening up of the censorship system is probably unacceptable to them. So they think it’s necessary to keep control themselves. But they probably don’t have much confidence in this, after all, marketization can’t be achieved overnight! So, we’re not without a chance.”
Wei Dongling sighed deeply. He knew he couldn’t hide anything from Xiao Ran. However, with Shadow having grown so large, it wouldn’t be easy to make a sudden shift. If completely blocked by the mainland, the best way for Shadow to find the best development path would be to enter Hollywood. But that would mean shifting Shadow’s base to North America.
“The situation isn’t as bad as we thought…” Wei Dongling quickly sorted things out and mused, “Apart from these two points, everything else has been opened up. China Film Group no longer has a monopoly on distribution, and the maximum investment in cinemas can reach 51%. I think these are their conditions for exchanging with us.”
Xiao Ran shook his head. This situation wasn’t necessarily wonderful. Whether it was the return of talent or not, the key issue was the censorship system. As long as they could achieve some openness in this area, along with distribution and cinemas, Xiao Ran would have enough courage to enter the mainland market.
Interestingly, at least thirty to forty Hong Kong films can enter mainland cinemas each year. The criteria used by the Film Bureau for censorship are quite interesting—really interesting. First, they use Hong Kong’s rating system to exclude films—films rated Category 3 are definitely excluded, while those rated Category 1 can enter almost without censorship.
So, the Film Bureau usually focuses its review on Categories 2A and 2B. They are slightly more lenient with 2A, with most films passing, while only a few in 2B make it through. The people in charge of distribution for the four major companies in the mainland often complain that this is even less straightforward than having their own rating system.
“I’ve thought about it. Given the current situation, we can quickly reach an agreement to enter the mainland market,” Xiao Ran said after some thought. Investing in cinemas is part of the film business. In terms of distribution, the four giants have all set up branches in the mainland, so a distribution company can be established at any time.
“However, regarding the censorship system, we can’t deliberately change our creative approach to accommodate it. Simply put, nothing essential should be omitted—better not release the film in the mainland at all!” Xiao Ran said firmly, waving his hand emphatically.

By now, he no longer cares about anything. Phantom can’t afford to sustain losses. If one loses its unique charm in order to please others, it won’t need to be challenged—its competitiveness will weaken on its own.
“Well…” Wei Dongling sometimes didn’t know whether to call Xiao Ran stupid or stubborn. Businesspeople pursue profits, and although Xiao Ran also pursued profits in other industries, it was for movies. “Fine, I guess I have no say in this area!”
“One more thing—announce an immediate 20% raise across the industry tomorrow!” Xiao Ran smiled coldly. “Working in Hong Kong’s film industry is already one of the best jobs out there. I’ll give them an extra push to see who can challenge Hong Kong cinema’s status. I’m curious to see if those exchange students want to go back…”
Thanks to Xiao Ran’s reminder, Wei Dongling remembered something. “The estimation report is ready. This time, those who leave are mostly those still paid by film studios. These numbers refer to two groups over the past year, accounting for about 35%. I believe others won’t choose to leave Hong Kong, so this return won’t cause us too much loss.”
Xiao Ran breathed a sigh of relief. Currently, there were already 30,000 people working in Hong Kong’s film industry, with creative staff making up about one-twentieth of that number. Without the mainland market and without more films being produced, it was already nearly saturated. With so few leaving, there was still some room for improvement.
Lin Qingxia listened to their discussion while staring at Xiao Ran’s baby, Xiaoling. The infant seemed comfortable in her father’s arms. After listening to them talk for a while, she stretched out her chubby little hands, closed her eyes, and slowly fell asleep.
Xiao Ran followed Lin Qingxia’s gaze and saw the baby asleep. He too showed a faint, relieved smile. A man with a child was truly different. Seeing the couple’s expressions, Wei Dongling clicked his tongue. “Stop teasing me, will you? I have no wife or kids. I’ll die from anger sooner or later!”
“Haven’t you proposed to Li Jiaxin yet? Or is she unwilling to marry you?” Lin Qingxia laughed. Even in stressful work, a little fun was needed. “President Wei is a billionaire with nearly 10 billion in assets!”
Mentioning this made Wei Dongling frustrated. He didn’t want a plain proposal. It would be great if it could be as romantic as Xiao Ran’s proposal to Lin Qingxia. But achieving that seemed difficult—after all, it was considered the most romantic proposal of the century. If he could only reach a quarter of that level, he’d have the courage to propose.
“Ah Ran, help me come up with a romantic proposal!” Frustrated, Wei Dongling immediately started demanding help to resolve his lifelong matter. “Otherwise, I’ll haunt you in my next life! Ge Wenqiu and An Yuxuan got married while separated. You figure it out!”
Lin Qingxia couldn’t stop laughing. Xiao Ran felt extremely annoyed. What did he have to do with Wei Dongling’s proposal? He was even asked to design it. “How about this—next year, when you win Best Film, you can propose to her.”

“Isn’t this trick too cliché? Everyone in the world is copying you; if I do it too, that would be excessive!” Wei Dongling certainly wouldn’t go along with it. Ever since Xiao Ran came up with this idea, many women asked their boyfriends to propose romantically, which made Xiao Ran hated by men all over the world.
“OK, I’m scared of you!” Xiao Ran looked up dejectedly, took a sip of water before saying, “You publish an ad in all the newspapers in Hong Kong tomorrow and propose to her using this method. That should be romantic enough!”
After thinking for a while, Wei Dongling glared at Xiao Ran and shook her head—this trick still wasn’t romantic enough. Xiao Ran thought for a moment. If Wei Dongling were an actress, it would be easy; he could propose during a filming scene, which would also work. After thinking further, he suddenly smiled eerily: “How about this? You pretend to be shot and propose to her before pretending to die!”
Wei Dongling really wanted to punch Xiao Ran at that moment. She gave him a fierce punch: “Are you helping me or ruining me? Never mind, I’ll handle it myself. Let’s talk about serious matters!”