This actor has something

Chapter 334 The First Strike
The background color of the poster is sky blue.

He Daqi and Sun Yi stared at each other in silence, their eyes filled with unspoken thoughts, a thousand words unspoken.

Snow in April

The four faint white characters beneath the portraits of the two people have a unique artistic conception, as if they carry a hint of melancholy.

Tear!

Two girls with pink hair and wearing sailor skirts nimbly tore down the poster and then tried to flee the scene of the crime.

"Ah! Catch them!"

The group of girls who had been gathered around admiring the posters immediately broke down, letting out shrill screams that sounded inhuman, making the already chaotic movie theater entrance even noisier.

One of the two pink-haired girls escaped, but the other was unlucky and had her clothes grabbed. The poster in her arms was immediately pulled by seven or eight hands at the same time, and before anyone could react, the poster was torn to pieces.

The pink-haired girl stared blankly at the scattered debris, her expression gradually turning ferocious.

"Ki-kun! My Ki-kun! You've torn my Ki-kun to shreds! You bastards! I'll kill you all!"

At that moment, the pink-haired girl seemed to awaken a small universe within herself, suddenly possessing inexhaustible strength, and turned around to tear apart the group of girls who had just surrounded her.

Even the most divine intervention couldn't describe her madness. She had already torn the clothes off several girls when a sharp whistle rang out, and the Japanese police arrived, albeit late.

It's a pity, there's no show to watch now.

He Daqi stared intently behind his sunglasses at a white-collar woman in business attire. No, her business attire had been torn open, so she could only be described as a white-collar woman now, not as someone in business attire.

This girl clearly has good taste. Peel back the outer shell, and inside is a blue lining, bulging and full, definitely indicating great ambition.

What a pity, what a pity.

This was the second one to be peeled open by the pink-haired girl. Because she retreated quickly, she covered herself and ran to the side, preventing He Daqi from seeing her true appearance. He could only roughly estimate the size.

"Let's go, stop looking. I'm not younger than her, and I have my own business attire."

"Nonsense! It should be F!" He Daqi corrected Zhou Huimin's mistake with a serious expression, but he was wearing a mask and sunglasses, so Zhou Huimin could not see the expression on his face.

"Alright, alright, let's go. You can't just go over there, pull down your mask so that girl can recognize you, and then actually do something to her. At most, you can just get a glimpse of her. That's enough. Let's hurry up and go for a stroll ahead. I remember there's a clothing street up there."

Zhou Huimin pushed He Daqi forward with a smile. Like He Daqi, she was also covered up tightly. He Daqi could only tell from her tone that she was quite happy.

The two of them looked quite relaxed, which made them stand out from the people around them.

Everyone around seemed to be in a hurry. Whether they were well-dressed office workers or strangely dressed people, they were all absorbed in their own worlds and no one paid attention to what others looked like.

That's not bad; it creates boundaries between people, and people don't meddle in other people's business and only care about themselves.

At least Ho Tai-kai and Vivian Chow felt it was pretty good. The two of them were celebrities, so they were very comfortable shopping here. No one would be so bored as to come and investigate their identities. Even on a late October morning, when the two of them were wearing masks and sunglasses, no one would cast curious glances at them.

"That's strange. Wasn't the movie you made with Sun Yizhen called 'Going Out'? Why is it called 'Snow in April' here?" Zhou Huimin said casually as they walked, her arm around He Daqi's.

"I don't know, maybe that's how they name things here," He Daqi replied dismissively.

It was a bit hot, and he tried to pull his arm out of Zhou Huimin's arms. He shook it a few times, which made Zhou Huimin glare at him. He Daqi had no choice but to let her continue to hug him.

Today is the second day of the advance screenings. He Daqi and Zhou Huimin arrived last night and plan to make an appearance at the main cinema this evening as a kind of roadshow. Then, when the film is officially released tomorrow, they will start a roadshow with Sun Yizhen, wandering around everywhere.

The place here isn't big, and the itinerary is very leisurely. It's not as tiring as when I was doing roadshows in China, flying around everywhere with my eyes closed every day, running around to various big cities.

Actually, Ho Tai-kei didn't take this movie seriously at all; he only cared about the salary Ho Tai-kei wanted. At the time, he just treated it as a way to exchange for the rights to Infinite Challenge. The movie was filmed for less than two weeks and was very perfunctory.

Things took a turn for the worse after Zhang Weiping made his outrageous remarks. Zhou Huimin immediately prepared to block Xin Huamian, and He Daqi also began to slowly prepare to clash with the other side. The first one to clash with was Xin Huamian's solo journey.

Before filming began, He Daqi casually glanced at the box office data and suddenly discovered that the film was a box office hit in Japan. Coincidentally, "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" had chosen to release in Japan ahead of schedule, which gave He Daqi the opportunity to make the first move.

It's a case of cunning planning, but who knows how the other side would react if they knew that He Daqi's film "The Choice to Go Out" and their "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" were released on the same day as Japanese films.

It must be quite a surprise, right?

After all, the lead actor in "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" is Japanese, so there are high expectations for the box office performance of the new version.

……

……

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The ceramic water cup crashed against the wall with a bang, and what was once a large family fell apart. A small piece of porcelain, still wet with water, bounced back onto the table, where it was cushioned by a newspaper and came to rest in the center of the front-page picture.

In the newspaper, He Daqi was smiling broadly, holding a microphone and singing passionately when someone snapped a photo of him.

The box office comparison between "Going Out" and "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" in the title was particularly glaring, causing Zhang Weiping's heart to ache in waves. The veins on his face bulged with each heartbeat, becoming increasingly ferocious and terrifying. "It's intentional! They absolutely did it on purpose! Otherwise, why would they release their film on October 22nd, just like we did? It wouldn't be surprising if they crashed into our film in mainland China, but they had to crash into ours in Japan! What else could it be but intentional?!" After roaring, Zhang Weiping gasped for breath a few times, as if he couldn't catch his breath.

There were only two people in the office at this moment. Zhang Yimou sat silently on the sofa in the reception area, and the cigarette in his hand was slowly being burned out, much like his current mood.

After a long pause, Zhang Yimou sighed and advised, "It might just be a coincidence. After all, how could they be sure they could run into us in Japan, and even succeed? I'm telling you, you should watch your mouth in the future. Not everyone is willing to hype things up for you, especially someone like He Daqi. He doesn't even want to do commercials in China, and he's too lazy to go on variety shows. Think about what kind of behavior that is."

Zhang Weiping suddenly raised his head, his face grim as he looked at Zhang Yimou and asked, word by word, "Are you blaming me now?"

Seeing that Zhang Yimou was just smoking and not responding, Zhang Weiping could no longer contain his anger. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and glared at Zhang Yimou with both hands on the table. Even though his right palm was cut by the shards of the porcelain cup he had just smashed, and the blood stained the newspaper, he seemed completely oblivious.

"You! Now! Blame! Me?! Huh? What are you pretending to be a good guy for? When I was offending people to get attention, you didn't say a word. When I was helping you get investment, you didn't say a word. Now that the movie has failed in Japan, you're jumping out and asking me to give you my opinion. Let me tell you! If this movie loses money, neither of us will have an easy time! And you can forget about getting a single penny from this project!"

Silence. The only sound in the silence was the ticking of the wall clock in the office.

The cigarette butt in Zhang Yimou's hand had lost its elasticity from being squeezed so tightly; the originally fluffy sponge had been squeezed into a taut round lump.

It was so quiet that he could even hear his own suppressed breathing.

Looking up, Zhang Yimou met the furious Zhang Weiping's gaze. Despite repeatedly telling himself to control his anger, he simply couldn't suppress it.

"Losing money? Are you kidding me? A solo journey of a thousand miles will lose money? A drama/art film will lose money? A drama/art film with my name on it will lose money? Are you crazy? Have you started believing all the boasts you've been making outside, and now you're completely out of touch? Tell me, what was the cost of a solo journey of a thousand miles? Do I need to break down those two Japanese actors' salaries for you and bring you to your senses?"

Zhang Yimou relentlessly bombarded Zhang Weiping with questions, his anger barely contained. The more he questioned, the stiffer Zhang Weiping's face became. Eventually, although Zhang Weiping's eyes were still on Zhang Yimou, he no longer made eye contact with him.

Their conversation was like a waltz, with each person rising and falling, advancing and retreating, one turning around and the other turning around.

Perhaps out of resentment, or perhaps because he was blinded by something, Zhang Weiping took a deep breath and forcefully argued, "The specific cost is about the same as what I reported to the outside world, not by much. Okay, let's put aside the actors' salaries. Don't forget that publicity costs money, equipment costs money, and venues cost money. Tell me how many venues we visited when we went on 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles'. All of that costs money. Why do you think the cost is not high?"

"I don't want to argue with you about this anymore. We know what's going on. If we can't work together, I can find someone else. Let me remind you, don't forget that 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles' is still going to be released in China. When reporters come to visit you again, you'd better know what to say. Heh, speaking of this, you're really bad at acting out reporters interviewing you about this kind of trivial matter!"

Zhang Yimou stood up with a livid face, and as he walked towards the door, he responded to Zhang Weiping with a cold laugh. Before opening the door, he didn't forget to make a sarcastic remark at the end.

"Damn it! Go to hell! Zhang Yimou! Tian Wenjing! You son of a bitch! Tian Wenjing!"

Once Zhang Weiping's guard was broken, his lips were sweetened with honey, and he spoke with the gentle grace of birdsong and fragrant flowers. He was also incredibly elegant in his hands, constantly rearranging various things. If the table weren't so heavy, he would have definitely turned it upside down to sunbathe.

As Zhang Yimou stepped out the door, he heard the warm greetings behind him and the clattering sound of things being packed. He couldn't help but sigh.

That's fucking enough!
Unlike Zhang Weiping, who was short-sighted and couldn't resist the lure of immediate gains, he considered things more deeply. His warning before leaving wasn't unfounded; he was genuinely worried that "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" would suffer a severe backlash when it was released in mainland China.

He Daqi has already proven with his performance that he can handle the box office. He's not backing down and isn't afraid to challenge you. Why was Zhang Weiping so arrogant in the past? It's because even though others kept challenging Zhang Yimou's position, Zhang Yimou still firmly held the number one spot in China.

Things are different now. Zhang Yimou can still hold his own as director, but this time it's an actor. These two people who are clearly not at the top of the food chain are about to test each other's strength because of Zhang Weiping's foul mouth. Isn't this ridiculous?
Thinking of this, Zhang Yimou clenched his fists.

Looking up, Zhang Yimou saw the employees at Xinhua acting suspiciously and observing them. He coughed and scolded them with a stern face, "What are you all staring at? Have you all finished your work?"

He was just shouting nonsense to cover up his emotions.

As Zhang Yimou walked to the stairwell, he could no longer contain himself. He glanced back at the closed office door and whispered with concern to Zhang Weiping's elder, "Zhang Weiping! Tian Wenjing!"

……

……

There are so many deer in Nara that it's hard to count them all.

Zhou Huimin had just praised the deer for being cute, smiled and fed it a few bites of deer crackers, and even patted its head. But the deer, just like the people from Japan, was mean-spirited and stupid, didn't remember the good thing, and took a few steps back before preparing to butt Zhou Huimin.

He Daqi kicked it aside, looked around, and saw a few people scattered around. He couldn't continue to argue with a deer, so he quietly kicked it again, and then led the pouting Zhou Huimin away from the park.

"I even fed it! It's so ungrateful!" Zhou Huimin's good mood vanished, and she angrily rubbed her face against He Daqi's arm.

"This isn't a dog. Dogs only remember good things and not bad things. If you feed it once, it will remember you for a lifetime. That's why it gradually becomes a family companion. Cats have limited attack power. Once you raise one, it can lie still all day and also be a family companion. As for other animals, forget about them. Their brains are not developed in a big way. Otherwise, our ancestors would have domesticated them long ago. It's impossible that only cats and dogs were passed down as pets."

He Daqi chuckled and patted Zhou Huimin's head, then hugged her and whispered words of comfort.

"Daqi, let's get another dog, I think..."

Before Zhou Huimin could finish speaking, He Daqi interrupted her with a wry smile: "Come on, if you want to keep a dog, you should at least wait until we move. There will be more floors then, and I won't care if you keep cats and dogs on the top floor. But if you bring a puppy home now, I bet your mother will tear you apart, not even my grandma."

"Okay... Hey, aren't you going to Nagoya for a promotional event the day after tomorrow? Let's go to Osu Shopping Street and check it out. I asked around when I came here, and there's a whole street there full of anime merchandise and cosplay. We can go see if we can find any good costumes."

"Hmm." He Daqi nodded in response, but his mind was elsewhere.

Thanks to the fact that He Daqi's "Hua Wuque" had just finished its rampage across Asia, the Japanese audience had a decent level of approval for him, and the box office for his overseas films was much higher than expected.

Most importantly, thanks to He Daqi's unethical and relentless promotion, "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" has barely made a splash these past few days, with its box office performance being abysmal. So this first blow has really hit the nail on the head.

We've already taken action; now it's up to the media to respond. Hopefully, Zhang Weiping will keep his head down.

(End of this chapter)