Chapter 414: The Flower Represents Infatuation and Love That Lasts Forever
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Fu Xiuyuan remembered that she had arranged to have a meal with Director Ji and she had even taken the flowers she had personally raised. However, that didn’t mean anything, it was just her normal social interaction and part of her job.
There was a smile in s.h.i.+ Jin’s eyes. “I can’t come and do a surprise check?”
“So, how are the results?” Fu Xiuyuan stood up cooperatively and spread out his hands.
“Acceptable.” s.h.i.+ Jin walked up to him.
She was tall enough, but standing in front of him, she still needed to raise her head to meet his eyes. She looked into his eyes. “Deserving of a reward.”
“Then… what will you reward me with?” Fu Xiuyuan placed his open hands on her waist. The feeling of holding her so tightly made his heart skip a beat, and then it started to beat faster.
No matter when, no matter how many times. As long as it was her, she could always evoke such a reaction from him.
s.h.i.+ Jin tiptoed and slowly approached him. Her breath fanned on his face, her eyes sparkling.
Fu Xiuyuan did not move. He looked at her expectantly, enjoying her taking the initiative.
As s.h.i.+ Jin’s red lips were closing in, his Adam’s apple moved slightly. In the next moment, she was about to touch him, but then he felt a cool sensation on his lips. s.h.i.+ Jin had placed a thumb-sized gla.s.s jar on his lips.
His thoughts instantly cleared. He reached out and grabbed the gla.s.s jar and her fingers, demanding a kiss to make up for his earlier dissatisfaction.
“What is this?”
After the kiss, he released her and looked at the gla.s.s jar.
“This plant is called echeveria sierra. I specially cultivated it and put it here. You can carry it with you. I’m giving it to you.”
All his subtle emotions were soothed by her. All of his thoughts were seen by her, comforted by her.
Fu Xiuyuan grabbed her head again and sealed her with a kiss.
***
s.h.i.+ Jin only left in the afternoon.
After she left, Fu Xiuyuan placed the gift on the table.
Just now, s.h.i.+ Jin had mentioned how to water the plant in the half-closed gla.s.s tube and how to raise it, but at that time, Fu Xiuyuan didn’t hear a single word.
He opened the search engine and entered the words “echeveria sierra” to find out how to raise it.
After clicking the confirmation b.u.t.ton, the first thing that came into view was not the planting method of echeveria sierra. Instead, there was a row of distinct and eye-catching words: “Echeveria sierra represents infatuation and love that lasts forever.”
It was the most suitable gift for one’s beloved.
Starlight flashed in Fu Xiuyuan’s eyes, and his lips curled up. He reached out and held the gla.s.s tube in his palm. He used a lot of strength, but he was careful.
***
With Chu Ling joining ‘Today’s Rescue,’ as well as contributing a theme song, his publicity efforts also started to show results.
The movie, which was already heavily invested in by the Wen Family, entered the market in all directions and entered everyone’s sight. All the publicity methods that could be used were used.
Chu Ling’s addition made his fans even more ecstatic, and they automatically joined.
Before the movie was officially released, the ratings had already gone straight to 9.
It had to be known that on the publicly acknowledged film review website, most movies that could get more than 9 points were highly acclaimed locally and abroad.
Previously, Li Juekai’s “Scorching Sun, Long Sky” was of a very high quality. At the beginning, it was only nine points. As more and more people watched it, there were more critics, and it gradually stabilized at 8.4 points.
The movie was about to start its pre-sales, and the Wen family was confident. Chu Ling was also very satisfied with this collaboration.
“Chu Ling, after this collaboration, your net worth will increase. After that, I will choose a suitable script for you to shoot a movie,” Hu Lai said with a smile.
This was the first time Chu Ling had smiled after being repeatedly attacked by s.h.i.+ Jin.
Chu Ling held his wine gla.s.s and swirled it gently. “Did the higher-ups ask?”
“They did, but they also know your transition is imminent. It’s a good thing you’re working with the Wen family.”
However, only Chu Ling knew that he chose to work with Wen Yongwei to provoke s.h.i.+ Jin.
After being rejected and treated coldly by s.h.i.+ Jin, he frantically tried to find a sense of existence in front of her, but there had never been a suitable opportunity. Until he thought of Wen Yongwei, the artiste who had been competing with s.h.i.+ Jin.
Although she could no longer be compared to s.h.i.+ Jin, he still chose her. It was just to attract s.h.i.+ Jin’s attention, even if it was to make her feel stifled.
1
He knew that even if s.h.i.+ Jin didn’t do anything, as long as he collaborated with Wen Yongwei, she would definitely know.
Little did he know that s.h.i.+ Jin did know about it, but she did not care at all and did not even ask.
The next day, “Emergency Rescue” and “Today’s Rescue” were pre sold together.
This was also the largest customer flow at the end of the year.
After the Wen family s.n.a.t.c.hed away ‘Today’s Rescue,’ Liu Ning didn’t show any mercy. He hurried to catch up with them, determined to compete with ‘Today’s Rescue’ in box office sales.
His secretary was very worried now. “Producer Liu, have we confirmed that we will be releasing the movie on the same day as them?”
Although they were confident in their own movie, the publicity this time was not as good as the other party’s. s.h.i.+ Jin did not appear at the agreed time.
The secretary’s worry was reasonable. Even the entire crew of “Emergency Rescue” hesitated. After all, the filming of “Emergency Rescue” was really too rushed. Was it really possible to fight it out?
Liu Ning said lightly, “They already hit us on the head. If we don’t hit them back, what are we waiting around for?”
Although the secretary agreed with him, they still had to be prepared before they could hit people back.
Brashly returning to fight, what else could it be other than sending themselves to their own deaths?
“In any case, you don’t have to worry,” Liu Ning said. Actually, he had some misgivings. s.h.i.+ Jin had told him previously that as long as he did what he wanted, he would definitely not lose this time.
Liu Ning believed s.h.i.+ Jin’s words without a doubt. He still remembered that s.h.i.+ Jin had said that the actor called Gao Bo could not be used. However, ‘Today’s Rescue’ had not only used him, they even cast him as the third male lead with quite a lot of scenes.
Where was the mystery?
The pre-sales system was open.
Liu Ning took out his phone and started refres.h.i.+ng the box office sales.
Thanks to the good reputation from before and the trust that the audience had acc.u.mulated through the movie “Scorching Sun, Long Sky,” the box office sales for “Emergency Rescue” were not low. It was about the same as “Today’s Rescue.” However, as Chu Ling and Wen Yongwei continued to promote together, the box office sales of “Today’s Rescue” gradually surpa.s.sed “Emergency Rescue,” steadily rising and surpa.s.sing more.
Although the pre-sale tickets did not fully represent the situation, the final box office earnings still depended on the specific feedback from the first batch of viewers. However, the current situation made Liu Ning and Crystal River Productions break out in cold sweat.
Liu Ning paced around the office anxiously.
The secretary could not help, but suggest in a low voice, “Producer Liu, please invite s.h.i.+ Jin over for publicity. With her joining, she will definitely…”
“No need.” Liu Ning immediately interrupted.
How could he not know how much s.h.i.+ Jin hated to be a.s.sociated with Chu Ling’s name? Brother Li’s daughter was his own daughter. Which heartless father would bear to scam his own daughter? He would rather lose money than do such a thing.
He reopened his phone and started refres.h.i.+ng the data.
After scrolling through it, he realized that the data of “Today’s Rescue” was frozen.
When he refreshed again, ‘Today’s Rescue’ was gone.
“What’s going on?” Liu Ning immediately asked.
The secretary was also confused. “I’m not sure. What’s going on?”
Because “Emergency Rescue” and “Today’s Rescue” were announced at the same time and pre-sold at the same time, it attracted a lot of attention in itself.
After Chu Ling joined “Today’s Rescue,” his fans responded to the call and helped him improve his performance. However, “Today’s Rescue” was gone.
There was no way to buy tickets for the time being.
The website released a simple announcement. “Due to a delay in the release date, the pre-sales for ‘Today’s Rescue’ will be postponed for a few days. The exact time will be based on the follow-up notice of the website. Sorry for the inconvenience, but you are also welcome to choose to purchase movie tickets for other shows.”
The people who had already bought the pre-sales tickets only received a simple explanation from the cinemas. “Dear customer, h.e.l.lo. The pre-sales tickets for ‘Today’s Rescue’ that you bought will be postponed from the 1st to the 8th. We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. If you need to refund the tickets, please click on the link.”
In other words, the release date of ‘Today’s Rescue’ was suddenly delayed by seven days.
Normally, a delay would be nothing, but this time, with two movies of the same genre, under the situation where both parties were in full swing, the first to quit would definitely be greatly affected.
The netizens were about to explode.
After waiting for so long, this was the result?
Especially the audience who had bought the tickets. They were already prepared, but then were told that it would be delayed by a week. How could everyone have so much time on their hands?
Immediately, the fans started their conspiracy theories. “What does this mean? You can’t stand our Chu Ling being good, right? Some producers really think of themselves as some big shot who can do whatever he wants?”
“That’s right, we’re talking about Crystal River Productions! Li Juekai is also in that company, right? Why? Do you have to suppress our Chu Ling and Wen Yongwei to be happy?”
“What the h.e.l.l. It was supposed to be a fair compet.i.tion. Everyone competed on the same stage. Now that they see that the pre-selling results are not as good as the others, they started to play these cheap tricks.”
“So the capitalist’s time is time, and our time is not time?”
The official Weibo account of “Today’s Rescue” also released a statement: “Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to meet up with everyone at the agreed time. However, we have tried our best to fight for it. I hope that after seven days, our agreement will still be valid. I hope that happiness will come as promised.”
There was no explanation for the reason, but it was as if it was confirmed that Crystal River Productions had used other methods to destroy the fair compet.i.tion.
The audience had nowhere to vent their emotions. They would not let “Emergency Rescue” go. They kept trying to give it bad ratings. The matter had blown up.
“I suggest that everyone stop watching ‘Emergency Rescue.’ What is this? I used to think that Crystal River Productions had a conscience and wanted to support them wholeheartedly, but this is what they give us?”
“This method is really too low-cla.s.s. I wonder how evil their hearts are in private.”
“I’m not saying this, but this kind of compet.i.tion will only drag down the entire film market in Country S. It will destroy the entire film industry. Liu Ning is the sinner of history!”
“Let me be frank. Crystal River Productions spent a lot of money to bribe the higher-ups to postpone the release of ‘Today’s Rescue’ for a week. Is Crystal River Productions planning to earn all the money in the market?”
# How Evil Compet.i.tion Is #
# Refuse to watch “Emergency Rescue” #
# The sc.u.m of Country S #
The hot searches were quickly occupied by this matter.
Crystal River Productions was also in a terrible fix.
Liu Ning knew very well that the matter had nothing to do with him. He did not use any illegal means to engage in vicious compet.i.tion, nor did he have any connections. He was just going to fight them head-on!
The secretary came to ask for his opinion. “Producer Liu, many people have already given the movie low marks…”
“Take a look at the situation first before getting everyone to come back for a meeting.”
After Liu Ning finished making arrangements, Li Juekai called. He picked it up. “Brother Li.”
“What’s the situation now?”
“It’s completely the imagination of the netizens and audiences. The ones who can bring the most momentum are Chu Ling’s fans. Once his fans start this momentum, we won’t be able to suppress the rest.”
Li Juekai pondered for a while. “I’ll go and find out about the situation first. If I need help from other channels, I’ll make a move as soon as possible.”
Liu Ning knew very well what this young master was capable of. With him around, everything would be fine. He had just hung up when s.h.i.+ Jin called.
“Producer Liu, there’s a Weibo video that I think you might want to see,” s.h.i.+ Jin said concisely.
“Send it to me.” Liu Ning was already mentally prepared. It must be some conspiracy theory.
Chu Ling’s fans were enough. He only sang the theme song and joined the publicity, but that group of people treated the entire movie as their Brother’s achievement and spared no effort to partic.i.p.ate in it, making the entire situation messy.
He wasn’t in the mood to make small talk with s.h.i.+ Jin. After hanging up the phone, he opened the Weibo message that s.h.i.+ Jin had sent to him.
He clicked on it, and after looking at it for about ten seconds, he suddenly came to a realization. He felt as if he could see the sun.
He didn’t forward this video himself, but directly forwarded it to the paparazzi.
The paparazzi would definitely be very interested in such news and wouldn’t even ask for the reason. Once they got hold of it, they would naturally forward it to others.
As Liu Ning expected, the video that s.h.i.+ Jin forwarded was soon shared by the paparazzi.
In the video, the actor Gao Bo had publicly expressed his hatred for the country in a semi-public setting. He was filled with righteous indignation and belittled his country.
The incident happened last night. The video had appeared several times on Weibo this morning. However, the Wen Family had been paying close attention to Weibo in order to promote their own movie. Once the matter was exposed, they immediately spent money to delete the video and sealed the mouths of a few accounts that posted the video. They quickly pressed the matter down.
Although they didn’t let the news spread, the higher-ups still noticed the situation and advised their film not to use such inferior artists.
“Today’s Rescue” had no choice, but to urgently adjust its release date. At the same time, it also used advanced AI technology to replace Gao Bo in the movie as soon as possible to avoid this risk.
Wen Jili had a headache.
“Tell them to hurry up! Change it immediately!” He was so angry that his heart ached. He sat in the office, his face a little ashen.
The secretary relayed his words.
Wen Jili had fought for an entire morning to save Gao Bo and his movie, but he did not succeed and had to replace him.
Seeing that everyone was on his side because of the delay of the release of ‘Today’s Rescue,’ he felt slightly better.
The secretary said softly, “It seems like Chu Ling’s fans are still the best. We only guided them a little, and they already imagined a big scene. They thought Liu Ning used illegal methods to delay our movie. They are really all screenwriters, all of them are talented.”
“It’s good that everyone thinks that’s what happened.”
“The department below just came up with an evaluation report. Liu Ning’s movie audience’s willingness to watch has decreased by more than 30 points, and our movie has increased by more than 30 points. It looks like it won’t affect our box office much.” The secretary pa.s.sed the evaluation report to Wen Jili.
As a typical musician, Wen Jili’s understanding of the entertainment industry was limited.
When he saw the report, he realized that the fans were the real guns, shooting wherever they pointed. On the other hand, public opinion was like a knife that could slash at the other party’s neck at any time. This sort of pleasure was truly incomparable.
“I really didn’t expect to benefit from a disaster. However, we must keep Gao Bo’s matter a secret. We can’t leak any information to the outside world. At least, we can’t reveal it within this month.”
A month later, Gao Bo’s life would have nothing to do with him.
The secretary immediately replied, “The video has been deleted. There’s no news at all. The outside world doesn’t know about this at all. Look, the search for the two words’ Gao Bo ‘has shown…”
The secretary searched for Wen Jili on the spot. As soon as he searched, his expression changed. He swallowed his last words.
“What kind of idiot is Gao Bo? If Country S is not good, get lost!”
“If he can scold his own country so badly, how good can his character be?”
“Boycott Gao Bo!”
“Gao Bo, get out of Country S!”
“Gao Bo doesn’t deserve to be a human!”
# Gao Bo Hating His Mother Country # had risen to the top of the trending search list.
The secretary’s phone clattered to the table.
Wen Jili picked it up to take a look. When he saw the contents, his breath stuck in his chest.
Indeed, they had done a very good job at the beginning of Gao Bo’s incident. They had left almost no traces behind, but how could they hide this from s.h.i.+ Jin?
In her previous life, she already knew that this would happen to Gao Bo at this time.