Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 759 A Couple with Absolutely No Understanding

Even after Liu Yifei returned from visiting relatives in Australia, the pre-sales of "The Wandering Earth" still did not surpass those of "Pegasus," and were even overtaken by "Crazy Alien."

When Liu Yifei met up with her husband, who had returned north, in Yanjing, and they did a re-release event for "In Time," the pre-sales of "The Wandering Earth" were even lower than those of "The New King of Comedy."

“That’s normal.” Li Qiutang wasn’t flustered at all. “The Spring Festival season is naturally suited for comedies, and our subject matter isn’t appealing.”

It's not that the subject matter determines everything, but science fiction is indeed too niche and not trusted in China. Otherwise, they wouldn't be re-releasing "In Time" today to promote "The Wandering Earth".

It must be admitted that very few people in the mainland film industry do this. Because re-releasing a film is a time-consuming, laborious, and unprofitable endeavor, no cinema is willing to schedule screenings for an old movie.

But today's re-screening of "In Time" still attracted a lot of media and audiences, filling the entire theater.

Today, Liu Yifei didn't even wear a formal dress; she came in casual clothes.

The re-release version is just a technical restoration of the original theatrical release, without adding any new footage. But don't forget, Li Qiutang personally edited a documentary version, which contains a lot of behind-the-scenes footage that was not released back then, and the original version was 2.5K high-definition and high-bitrate.

The two of them were both embarrassed and wanted to laugh.

"I was so young back then." Liu Yifei turned around and smiled after watching a clip.

That's right, it was filmed in 09, she was only 22 years old.

Recalling the process of filming this drama, Liu Yifei said it was a time of both pain and joy.

“Look at that cast. I was acting opposite either a Best Actor or a veteran artist. I was under a lot of pressure back then, afraid that I would embarrass myself and not perform well. The learning process was painful, but you have to face that kind of pain. I learned a lot from the movie In Time.”

Li Qiutang said that "In Time" was a product of impulse. "When I came up with the idea, I just started making it without thinking too much about it."

She also said that she paid a heavy price for her impulsiveness at the time. "Many people criticized me back then, overwhelmingly saying that my movie was made up." When this movie was released in 11, Li Qiutang was severely criticized by public intellectuals.

"But looking at it now, I still won this war of words."

However, at today's re-screening event, neither the film's producers nor Li Qiutang herself were willing to discuss ideological issues in depth.

In the middle of the game, the host organized a test of the couple's tacit understanding. The host asked questions, and the couple wrote their answers on a whiteboard to see how well they understood each other.

"Okay, first question. Where did you two first meet?"

This should be easy to answer.

"Please show your answer sheet."

Liu Yifei: School.

Li Qiutang: Airport.

They both saw a deep sense of confusion in each other's eyes.

Liu Yifei said, "Didn't we first meet at school?" Actually, Liu Yifei had forgotten when and where she and Li Qiutang first met, but she thought it must have been at school.

Li Qiutang said, "Wasn't it at the airport? Sometime in 03? I was traveling to another city for a film crew and I ran into you and your mother at the airport." Li Qiutang was certain that there was an airport encounter, but she couldn't be sure if it was the first time the two had met.

At that time, Liu Yifei was already famous, while he was still an unknown. They were only in the same grade but not in the same class, and they rarely saw each other. They weren't very close, so it's normal that he doesn't remember her now.

The first question backfired, which created a great effect on the show, and the audience was laughing.

"Okay, second question. What's the name of the movie you two watched together recently? You watched it together."

Both of them actually thought about it before putting pen to paper.

Liu Yifei: Rouge.

Li Qiutang: "Insignificant".

Once again, they saw confusion in each other's eyes.

The host started stirring things up: "It's understandable that you couldn't answer the question the first time you met, which was too long ago, but you got it wrong the last time you watched a movie together?"

Liu Yifei began to explain: "It's 'Rouge,' it's at home, on the 20th of last month, I even said that Fang Gu acted really well."

Only after Liu Yifei mentioned it did Li Qiutang remember that such a passage did indeed exist. "But we also watched 'Insignificant' together." "That was with the guests."

"That's us together too." You're not wrong, are you?

However, the host still announced that Liu Yifei should be considered correct for this question.

"Third question: Where would you most like to travel?"

This time, the two were smarter. Before writing down their answers, they looked at each other, trying to establish a tacit understanding, and succeeded once.

This eye contact made everyone laugh. These two are so funny, are they really that eager to win?
Liu Yifei: The Arctic.

Li Qiutang: Africa.

The couple got three questions wrong in a row, causing the audience to burst into laughter. Liu Yifei, looking at her husband's answer sheet, also sighed and rubbed her forehead. Why did they both write "Africa"? They had absolutely no chemistry!
The two offered their own excuses: Liu Yifei said she wanted to experience the polar scenery, while Li Qiutang said she wanted to witness the Great Migration of animals.

Li Qiutang finally added a sophistry: "Actually, we've discussed both the Arctic and Africa."

But the host still said that the two had no chemistry whatsoever.

"Okay, the fourth question. What's your favorite dish?"

This was very simple, and the two of them quickly wrote down the answer.

Li Qiutang: Chicken stew with mushrooms.

Authentic Northeastern Chinese cuisine, very reasonable.

Liu Yifei was clever this time; she only wrote one word on the whiteboard: meat!

She explained that she is not a picky eater, but her favorite food is meat.

Li Qiutang quickly added, "This counts as us getting it right, right? Chicken stew with mushrooms is a meat dish."

The host could only say, "I guess it's barely correct."

"Last question. What is the most romantic and touching moment you've shared together?"

The question elicited a chorus of cheers from the audience; they love seeing this kind of thing.

The two quickly wrote down their answers.

Li Qiutang: Proposing marriage.

Liu Yifei: Driving from Hengdian to Chongqing

???

As soon as Li Qiutang saw Liu Yifei's note, she knew what she was talking about and immediately said, "How can we get through this without any chemistry? Isn't this a romantic and touching proposal?"

Liu Yifei explained her answer: "It was during the filming of 'In Time' that we moved from Hengdian to Chongqing. We had only been together for a few months at that time."

"Oh—" came the cheers.

Liu Yifei smiled and continued, "We agreed not to go with the main crew, but to drive there ourselves. From Hengdian to Chongqing, it was a sweltering day, and he drove all by himself. At the time, we were together, and we didn't feel tired at all."

"It's quite tiring," Li Qiutang interjected.

"Hahahaha!" The audience burst into laughter.

Liu Yifei continued with a smile, "At the time, and even now when I think about it, I still feel a sense of warmth."

Liu Yifei's explanation was perfectly reasonable and convincing, but it couldn't hide the fact that the two of them lacked "chemistry".

"Five questions, and you only got half right." Even the host found it funny.

The two also laughed and said that they had no chemistry with each other at all and had "lived up to this point in a daze."

(End of this chapter)