After hanging up the phone, Laila couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.
For all his reputation as a playboy, the second young master of the Yu family had handled things rather decently this time. If it had been someone more petty or vindictive, Han Mingjiang wouldn't just have been blacklisted—he might've ended up in jail by now.
He'd injured someone—twisted their back, no less. That counted as intentional harm. And when the other party had both wealth and power, getting someone thrown into prison was as easy as snapping a finger.
That Yu's second son hadn't gone that far. Whether it was because he felt too humiliated to pursue it, or for some other reason, at least he hadn't tried to destroy Han Mingjiang physically.
Thanks to Fu Chuan's "re-education," Han Mingjiang had finally understood what he'd done wrong.
And only then had he gone to apologize in person.
In any case, the matter was finally settled.
Laila was quite satisfied with the result. The fact that he was able to recognize his mistake and take steps to fix it showed that he wasn't a completely hopeless case. With the right guidance in the future, maybe he'd learn a bit more about how the world worked.
With that unexpected crisis resolved, Laila's side resumed full-throttle promotional work.
Riding on the massive momentum of Avengers breaking all-time box office records, and the growing popularity of Eastern actors in the West, the promo campaign for Silence was going even better than expected. Every day, her Facebook page is filled with messages from eager fans hoping to learn more about the film.
Interestingly, recently, a lot more Chinese characters have been popping up in the comment section.
Some people came just to cheer her on, others were there to educate foreign fans on just how popular Leslie Cheung was across Asia.
And he really was that popular. Super popular.
Popular enough that practically every young person in Asia had fallen under the spell of his tailored suits and refined charm.
Though he wasn't exactly young anymore, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the top idol in the hearts of young people.
His songs, his films and TV dramas, even the variety shows he appeared on—all received glowing praise.
What made his fans admire him the most was that even now, standing at the height of fame, he had never lost sight of who he was. Unlike the flood of new "traffic stars" who'd sell out for quick money and cared little about craft, he still treated every project with dedication.
To complement the American promotions, Chen Shufen arranged a series of interviews and talk shows for Leslie Cheung back in the East.
Variety shows, of course, were the quickest way to earn money thanks to their high viewership and general popularity. But Leslie wasn't the playful or outgoing type. It wasn't about preserving his idol image—his personality was simply more reserved.
So instead, most of his appearances were on interview-based programs and formal media outlets.
Even just the fact that he was starring in a Laila Moran film—as one of the dual male leads—was a huge talking point. With the film's buzz increasing by the day, more and more people wanted to know about him, about the film, and about his connection with Laila.
From Laila's perspective, talk shows and interviews were the cheapest and most effective form of promotion.
For those without resources, they'd pay money to get even a brief appearance. For those who had fame or buzz, the media would come knocking, offering money just for a few minutes of airtime.
You got paid and promoted your film—what's not to love?
The media had a few key questions they kept asking Leslie Cheung.
First and foremost:
Why does Laila Moran keep choosing to work with him?
And more than that, why give him such a rare leading role?
On a popular talk show, Leslie Cheung once again addressed this question.
"People always ask me why Director Moran chose me to work with her.
I've always answered honestly—we met a few years ago, and she helped me through a very difficult time.
Without her help, there wouldn't be the 'me' you see today."
Then, he smiled and added:
"But I think everyone's fallen into a bit of a trap.
Why is it that we even ask why Director Moran chose an Eastern actor like me?
Why is it still something people find so unusual?"
The host played along skillfully, putting on a curious expression.
"You're right—it is a trend. Whenever an Eastern actor appears in a Hollywood movie, people get very excited. Why do you think that happens?"
"I think there are many reasons," Leslie answered openly.
"Hollywood is the holy land of cinema. Not just for actors—for audiences too.
People see it as the ultimate stage. Some even believe that unless you've stood on the Oscar stage, you haven't truly 'made it' in the global film world."
"I wouldn't say that view is wrong, but I do want to say this:
Asia is home to the first and second most populous countries in the world.
The reason we're still left behind has a lot to do with history.
In recent years, many Eastern actors have made their way to Hollywood.
But clearly, not enough to meet people's expectations.
That's why, every time one of us appears in a Hollywood production, people celebrate—it feels like a win for all of us."
"What I want to say is:
The East is not a desert when it comes to filmmaking.
We just haven't had the time or resources to build our own stage yet."
"Director Moran chose me, I believe, because she thought my performance—or perhaps my image—fit the role.
Everyone knows how selective she is when casting.
Anyone she picks ends up giving a great performance in her films."
The host nodded in full agreement.
What the public didn't know, however, was that this wasn't the first time Laila had been praised for her casting choices—but every time she heard it, she had to laugh.
Because the truth was—she never spent that much energy choosing actors.
What she was good at was coaching them.
She knew exactly how to use a camera to capture an actor's best angles.
She knew how to elicit the most genuine, heartfelt emotions from a performer.
But if she told people that, few would believe her.
So instead, the idea that "Laila Moran is great at casting" became the go-to explanation.
It was easy to understand—and it made sense to the public.
That's why every character in her films came to life so vividly.
As for the coaching? Fans could brag about that online, but in the film industry?
No one would buy it.
After all, even the most experienced veteran directors never dared to claim they could mold top-tier actors out of raw talent in just a few months.
Let alone a woman.
Just look at the other famous directors—sure, many had worked with actors who later won awards.
But did anyone say they trained those actors? No—people said they simply cast the right person for the role.
So why was Laila the only one who got labeled a "coach"?
All you had to do was look at her surname to understand why.
And if those people had a major media conglomerate behind them…
Well, who knows what kind of narrative the world would believe then?