mijobooks Chapter 98 Box Office Comeback
Chapter 98 Box Office Comeback
Chapter 98 Box Office Comeback (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The Sichuan restaurant on the street was still the same as before, with the owner squatting at the door. "Hey girl, long time no see!" the owner recognized Tian Xiwei.
"Boss, I went back to my hometown recently and only got back yesterday." Tian Xiwei walked in and found a seat by the window, familiar with the place. "The usual, three dishes."
"Sure!" The boss wiped his hands. "What would you like to eat today?"
"Give me the Chongqing version of Yu Xiang Rou Si (shredded pork with garlic sauce), with extra pickled peppers, and the twice-cooked pork stir-fried with garlic sprouts, plus some braised cabbage with fermented soybean paste." After listing the dishes, Xiao Tian added, "Please pack them to go."
"No problem! Guaranteed authentic!" The boss's voice was loud and clear. He turned around and went into the kitchen, and soon the crackling sound of stir-frying and a rich aroma filled the air.
Xiaotian sat under the air conditioner, looking at the street scene outside the window, feeling very happy. Feng Ge's movie was a huge success. Once the movie made a complete comeback, she would definitely ask Feng Ge to treat her to a big meal to make up for her "hard work" these past few days.
She then went to the milk tea shop next door and bought three cups of milk tea: a pearl milk tea with less sugar for Feng Ge, a strawberry milk green tea without ice for Hao Chun, and a mango pomelo sago dessert with ice for herself.
When I walked into the film set carrying heavy meals and milk tea, I happened to catch Raymond Lam and Liu Haochun finishing filming their favorite scene of the morning.
"Feng-ge! Hao-chun! Dinner's ready!" Tian Xi ran over with a smile and handed over the milk tea. "Hao-chun, it's still your favorite strawberry flavor."
"Thank you, Weiwei." Liu Haochun accepted the milk tea.
"Brother Feng, this is for you." Xiao Tian stuffed the bubble tea into Lin Feng's hand.
Lin Feng took a sip, the cool sweetness sliding down his throat, dispelling the heat of filming. "It's so nice to have Xiao Tian here, with food and drink to keep us company." He smiled and ruffled her hair.
"That's right!" Oda proudly raised his chin. "Let's eat."
The three of them found a shady corner and placed the food on a folding table.
"Wow, it smells so good." Liu Haochun picked up a piece of shredded pork with garlic sauce with his chopsticks. As soon as he put it in his mouth, the sour and spicy flavor exploded on his tongue, with a touch of sweetness. It was really delicious, and it was really spicy too.
"How is it? Authentic, right?" Xiaotian looked at her, a little smug.
"Mmm, delicious." Liu Haochun nodded and quickly took a sip of milk tea to cool down the spiciness. She couldn't handle spicy food very well, but this shredded pork with garlic sauce was so good with rice that she couldn't help but want to take another bite.
Lin Feng looked at the fine beads of sweat on her nose and smiled slightly: "These pickled peppers were made by the boss himself. If you can't handle spicy food, eat less."
"Yeah, Haochun," Xiaotian chimed in, picking up a piece of pickled cabbage with oil and putting it in her bowl. "This isn't spicy, and the twice-cooked pork is also good. Feng and I are used to spicy food, so this is just right for us."
Liu Haochun lowered his head, pretending to concentrate on his food, but he felt a little uneasy. Even though it was a meal for three, it sounded like the other two were in cahoots, and he felt like an outsider.
She picked up another piece of shredded pork with garlic sauce, this time deliberately avoiding the pickled peppers, but the spiciness still surged up her throat, making her lips a little numb. But she didn't say anything, just silently drank her milk tea and swallowed the spiciness.
"Is it really not spicy?" Lin Feng could tell she was putting on a brave face, so he picked up another piece of twice-cooked pork and put it in her bowl. "This isn't spicy, eat more."
"Okay, thank you, Brother Feng."
Tian Xiwei felt a little uncomfortable watching this scene. She picked up a large piece of twice-cooked pork and put it into Lin Feng's bowl. "Brother Feng, eat more. You still have to film this afternoon."
"Okay." Lin Feng smiled and ate the meat.
On the morning of August 21, under the sunshade on the set of "Hello, Old Times", Tian Xiwei held her phone, the screen showing the box office data of "Fame and Fortune".
8月18日5200万，19日6200万，20日直接突破5600万，三天狂揽1.7亿，累计票房稳稳站上5亿大关。
"Brother Feng! Look! It's gone up again!" She ran up to Raymond Lam, who was touching up his makeup, holding her phone so the screen was almost in his face. "It's 8.2 on Douban now! Lots of people are saying they want to watch it again!"
Lin Feng opened his eyes, glanced at the data, and said, "Got it, little megaphone."
"What 'little gossip'? This is good news!" Tian Xi pouted in dissatisfaction, her finger flying across the comments section. "Look at these haters, they don't dare to say a word now! A few days ago they were saying we rigged the box office, now the data has slapped them in the face!"
She switched to her alternate account, "Glimmer in the Forest," and watched as her comments from a few days ago, where she had argued with trolls, were flooded with likes. She couldn't be more smug. "Before, arguing with them required finding evidence; now I can just post a screenshot of box office figures—it's so satisfying!"
Lin Feng shook his head helplessly: "That's enough, stop arguing online."
"I'm doing this to clear your name!" Tian Xiwei said confidently, then suddenly lowered her voice, "Besides, watching them get slapped in the face is more satisfying than eating hotpot!"
In the crew's rest area, the staff's conversations inevitably revolved around "Making a Name for Oneself".
"Don't you guys think Director Lin is a bit of a genius? Last year's 'Take My Brother Away' was met with skepticism from everyone, but it still grossed 500 million. This one is even more amazing. It went head-to-head with a big IP and actually made a comeback!" Xiao Zhang, the production assistant, said with admiration as he munched on an apple.
The makeup artist chimed in, "My husband and his colleagues watched it for the second time yesterday. They said there were so many details that they didn't understand it at all the first time. Now my WeChat Moments are full of discussions about the plot. This level of popularity is unstoppable."
Zhou Ming walked over and overheard their conversation. He smiled and patted Lin Feng on the shoulder, "Great job, junior brother! Who in the industry doesn't give you a thumbs up these days?"
Lin Feng smiled and said, "Senior brother, don't make fun of me. It's all just luck."
"This isn't just luck," Zhou Ming said, his joking expression fading. "One success might be accidental, but two successes on different themes—that's real talent. People outside are saying you're the young director who knows how to capture the audience's heart the most."
In the past few days, Raymond Lam's phone has been ringing off the hook. From morning to night, he receives numerous calls every day from CEOs of major film and television companies, top-tier agents, and even a number of obscure female celebrities who call him directly.
"Brother Feng, Mr. Wang from Tencent wants to invite you to dinner. He says he has an S+ level script he'd like to discuss with you." Assistant Xiao Zhang came in with a memo, his tone excited. "And Mr. Yu from Bona Film Group says he wants to invest in your next film, with no budget limit!"
Raymond Lam rubbed his temples. "Tell them all that I'm filming and don't have time."
"Huh? They've all gone back?" Xiao Zhang was a little reluctant. "This is an opportunity that so many people would kill for."
"There will be other opportunities in the future." Raymond Lam opened the script. "Tell them to wait until I finish filming this movie."
Although Xiao Zhang felt it was a pity, he still obediently replied. Then Lao Yang from the company called again.
"Boss, people wanting to join the company are practically wearing down my doorstep!" Old Yang's voice was filled with excitement. "Quite a few people are thinking of switching jobs, saying they want to work for you!"
"Let's do a screening," Lin Feng said calmly. "Don't just look at resumes, we need to see if our values align. Our company doesn't lack people right now, what we lack are people who can settle down and get things done."
"Understood! Better to have none than something bad!" Old Yang quickly agreed. "By the way, there are a few other investors who want to invest, and their asking prices aren't low. What do you think—"
"Not for now," Lin Feng interrupted him. "We don't lack money right now; maintaining our independence is more important."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Feng leaned back in his chair and looked out the window at the sky.
"Brother Feng, are you under a lot of pressure?" Liu Haochun walked over at some point and handed him a bottle of ice water.
Lin Feng took the water and smiled, "It's alright, I'm used to it."
"I just heard from Xiao Zhang that many companies have contacted you?" Liu Haochun sat down next to him. "Actually, I think you should consider it."
Raymond Lam unscrewed the bottle cap, took a sip, and said, "Let's finish filming this drama first, and then we'll talk about it."
Liu Haochun looked at his serious profile.
"Brother Feng, what do you want to film next after you finish this movie?" she asked curiously.
"I haven't decided yet," Lin Feng shook his head, "I might take a break for a while."
When Tian Xiwei returned with the milk tea, she overheard them chatting. She handed the milk tea to Lin Feng.
"What are you talking about? You seem to be having a lot of fun." She sat down next to Lin Feng, deliberately squeezing closer to him.
"Let's talk about where to go after filming." Raymond Lam took the milk tea. "I'm planning to take you guys to the beach in Qingdao for a couple of days to relax."
"Really?" Tian Xi's eyes lit up. "Can we go see the sunrise?"
"sure."
During filming in the afternoon, Zhou Ming announced some good news: "I have great news to share, everyone! Our scenes are being filmed ahead of schedule! We'll wrap up in another week!"
A cheer erupted on set. Everyone had been working so hard and had been eagerly anticipating the wrap-up of filming.
"That's great!" Tian Xi excitedly grabbed Lin Feng's arm. "Then we can go to the beach next week?"