This actor has something

Chapter 348 Each Finds Their Own Way
It's been three weeks since the movie was released, and Crazy Stone's box office performance is gradually stagnating. It has to be stagnant, because pirates don't hide from you anymore.

There are plenty of resources available online in high definition, and some video websites even turn a blind eye, knowing full well that people are posting movie resources on their sites but doing nothing, as long as they have user traffic.

The most ridiculous thing is that when you go out to a big market, the people selling CDs will brazenly shout to customers, calling out He Daqi's name, and specifically targeting the young girls who stop to look after hearing the name to introduce him in detail. Their enthusiasm is just like they are selling genuine CDs.

With piracy so rampant, it's quite remarkable that Crazy Stone managed to last three weeks. This is due to the support of He Daqi's fans, the positive word-of-mouth, and of course, the main reason being the collaboration activities.

Right now, perhaps only Ning Hao, who is currently preparing for his new film crew, is still preoccupied with asking about the box office figures every day, while the others are just waiting for the celebration banquet to make a big fuss, since the box office results are already beyond expectations.

However, we still have to wait another week. The movie hasn't finished its run yet, so we can wait a bit longer and add more numbers so it will be even more exciting when the ice-breaking scene comes out.

And so, starting from the day He Daqi returned to Beijing to call Ning Hao to prepare for the new film crew after the first week of the roadshow, he has been at home for two weeks now.

For the past two weeks, he has become a homebody. Apart from going out in the cold wind after dinner to digest his food, he has basically stayed in the villa and not gone anywhere. He does not answer any phone calls unless they are from family members. He tells Yan Jiu to give him a perfunctory answer, saying that he is traveling abroad.

It wasn't because he was lazy, but because the "After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Wither" project had already been exposed, and even the fact that Jackie Chan was involved had been revealed. Now, people eyeing the project lined up from Qianmen Street to Nanluoguxiang. Anyone in the industry could find a way to get He Daqi's work phone number and then try to build a relationship with him.

That's why the actresses are so ruthless. They couldn't get in touch with He Daqi through roundabout means, so they started pestering Ning Hao. In the end, Ning Hao had no choice but to do what He Daqi did and get a personal phone. He gave his original phone to his wife to help him ward off this wave of romantic troubles.

Actually, the actresses with all their skills have already figured out what roles are needed for the "After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Kill" project. The most important female role in this project is the Empress, and then there are three supporting actresses: Zhou Miaotong, Zhang Yan, and Wei Ting.

The three supporting actresses, Yonghui and Qiming, have already been taken by the girl group. Now, these actresses are vying for the role of the Empress, with four of them competing the most fiercely: Li Bingbing, Fan Bingbing, Zhou Xun, and Zhang Ziyi.

Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi were thrust into the spotlight because Zhang Weiping had previously criticized them at the "Curse of the Golden Flower" press conference, saying they were inferior to Gong Li. Therefore, they were more attentive than anyone else when casting for "After the Flowers Bloom" (a popular TV series). This was because Ning Hao and He Daqi had just caused trouble for Zhang Weiping and Zhang Yimou, and they wanted to use their influence to slap Zhang Weiping in the face.

Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing were able to get inside information because they belonged to Huayi. Huayi and Yayue are currently in a cooperative relationship, so Huayi is quite familiar with the progress of the "After the Flowers Bloom, the Hundred Flowers Kill" project, which gave Huayi's two Bingbings an opportunity to squeeze in.

He Daqi never expected that the project he originally came up with to frame Zhang Yimou would become so popular, leaving him stuck at home for two weeks to avoid going out and making empty promises to acquaintances.

Fortunately, thanks to He Daqi's constant subtle requests, Fengfeng Voice, a new game assistant software, was released by Fengfeng Tonglu. This allowed He Daqi to finally communicate with his teammates while playing games, so the past two weeks at home were not so boring.

Pampering the baby, teasing Vivian Chow, and venting about teammates in voice chat—life is pretty good.

For example, right now, He Daqi is sitting in front of his computer with headphones on, blaming each other through Fengfeng Voice. The team was wiped out in the game just now, and the two of them immediately started blaming each other. He said that I didn't deal enough damage, and he said that I didn't know how to heal and save people. They had only played the game for an hour, and they had spent about 45 minutes of that time arguing with each other.

"I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore. All I've got to do in this game is listen to you two nagging. I'm going to play a matching game instead." Cui Bo had been holding back for an hour, but finally couldn't take it anymore because of the team wipe. He said goodbye, turned off the voice chat, and logged off in the game.

As soon as she logged off, her two teammates followed suit, turning off voice chat and quitting the game.

Now, only He Daqi and Deng Chao are left in Fengfeng's voice channel.

"It's all your fault!"

"It's clearly your fault!"

"It's your fault! It's your fault!"

"I can't be bothered to argue with you!"

With their stubbornness, anyone who didn't know better would think two middle-aged women were performing an exorcism on each other.

He Daqi retorted to Deng Chao, then took off his headphones and turned off his computer.

"Oh my, this is incredible! Is our young master Daqi planning to rest early today?" Zhou Huimin was lying in bed playing on her phone when she saw He Daqi turn off his computer so early, and she exclaimed in surprise.

He Daqi glanced at her sideways and ignored her, but Zhou Huimin continued to tease her relentlessly: "It's really strange. You've been clamoring for Fengyu Tonglu to develop a voice communication software. Now that Fengyu Tonglu has developed it, you use it to curse at your teammates every day. Is this what you call happiness? You should have said so earlier. I would have taken you to a mental hospital to talk to the patients there. Maybe you could have developed a bond by cursing at each other."

"Haven't I spanked you for days? Are you itching for a beating again?"

"Come on!" Zhou Huimin lay on the bed with her legs crossed, her snow-white little feet swinging back and forth towards He Daqi.

He Daqi pretended to pounce, startling Zhou Huimin, who giggled and rolled over on the bed, laughing as she rolled to the other side.

Seeing that He Daqi was just bluffing, Zhou Huimin grinned and shook her head while hugging the blanket, saying smugly, "You can't catch me, hehe, you can't catch me!"

Originally, He Daqi didn't want to mess around with her, but he was amused. He kicked off his slippers and jumped onto the bed. Amid Zhou Huimin's surprised laughter, he pressed her down on the bed, then ignored her punches and kicks, turned her over, sat on her, and pried her arms off, asking, "You're naughty? Try being naughty again! You dare?"

After saying that, he slapped her on the butt.

"He Daqi, you wait until I get up." Zhou Huimin's mouth was as hard as alloy steel. Even though she had been punished by He Daqi, she did not admit defeat and continued to say harsh words with her head held high.

He Daqi was not going to stand up to such a threat. He immediately used his knee to press down on her hands and continued to ride on Zhou Huimin, then began to tickle her.

Well, Zhou Huimin surrendered after only a few blows, but He Daqi acted as if he didn't hear her, chuckling as he continued to torment her, making Zhou Huimin laugh until tears streamed down her face.

"Dad, what are you doing with Mom?"

The sudden appearance of a child's voice immediately silenced the couple.

The couple turned around and found their two children, each holding a large cartoon doll, standing at the door looking at them curiously.

This is awkward. The two little ones have learned to open the door by themselves, and the couple's antics have been caught red-handed.

Jingle Bell!
The perfectly timed ringtone saved He Daqi. He quickly got up from Zhou Huimin and pretended to reach for the phone on the bedside table.

Zhou Huimin was finally free. Her face flushed and she kicked He Daqi from behind. Then she smiled and explained to the two children, "Mom's back was uncomfortable. Dad was giving me a massage just now."

“Yes, that’s it.” He Daqi nodded with a confident expression, holding his phone.

"Daddy, answer the phone quickly, and then play hide-and-seek with us, okay?" The little girl asked expectantly, clutching her doll. "Okay," He Daqi replied, patting his daughter's head.

Then I glanced down at my phone screen to see who was calling.

Weird...

It was Han Shanping calling. If it was about the "After the Flowers Bloom, All Flowers Wither" project, he could have just contacted Ning Hao or Liu Ying directly. Why was he calling me?

"Hey, Mr. Han, good morning, have you eaten yet?"

"It's already past 9:30, do you think I've eaten or not?"

"Then I guess they must have eaten it."

"Alright, enough with the banter, let's get down to business."

Upon hearing this, He Daqi turned around and pointed to his phone at Zhou Huimin, indicating that he was going outside to make a call. After seeing Zhou Huimin nod, he got out of bed, put on his cotton slippers, smiled and patted the two children's heads, and walked out of the villa while making the call.

The wind in mid-January was invigorating. He Daqi, wearing pajamas, shivered as he went out and immediately returned to the villa.

"Chairman Han, please speak," He Daqi said, closing the villa door and standing at the entrance.

When are you planning to throw a celebration party for Crazy Stone?

"Um... next week, around the Lunar New Year."

"Okay, I'll definitely go then. It's a pity that Crazy Stone didn't reach 200 million this time. But this result is still quite unexpected. I didn't expect Ning Hao to be getting better and better at making movies. He's starting to develop his own style. The first movie was so successful. How long will it take to prepare for the second movie before it's officially launched? If you ask me, we should start preparing early and take advantage of the hype to start promoting the second movie. We can promote it while we're filming. Next year will be a good time for it to be released."

Part Two? He Daqi was slightly taken aback before realizing what Han Shan usually meant.

He didn't rush to respond to Han Shanping, but instead mentally went through the film library, searched frantically, and then quickly logged out.

"Chairman Han, we do have plans for a second part, but we're supposed to film 'My Flower Blooms After All Others Wither' first this year, so the second part isn't on the agenda yet."

Good grief! You guys actually made a sequel!
Han Shanping actually just wanted to disrupt He Daqi's train of thought before moving on to something else, but he didn't expect to hear such incredible news. Now, his own rhythm has been disrupted.

"Is Ning Hao still directing the second movie? Daqi, will you be in it?" Han Shanping asked, not giving He Daqi a chance to respond, and then continued, "Never mind, Daqi, do you remember what we agreed on at the premiere of The Promise? I happen to be free today. I heard you haven't been making many public appearances lately, so what a coincidence! We can go fishing together today."

Well, what was originally just a tentative phone call has now turned into a face-to-face discussion.

He Daqi was stunned by the swaying, glanced at the strong wind outside, and asked in surprise, "Chairman Han, are you going fishing in the middle of winter?"

"You don't understand, you only feel the joy of fishing in winter."

real or fake?

He Daqi was feeling a bit bored staying at home, and now that Han Shanping had struck up a conversation with him, he was starting to get restless.

"What kind of rod should I use for fishing in winter? Is the bait the same as usual? Tell me first, and I'll go and prepare it right away," He Daqi asked with great interest.

Han Shanping had no idea what rod or bait to use for winter fishing. He was just looking for an excuse to chat with He Daqi. Hearing this, he twitched his lips and said perfunctorily, "No need, just do it the same as usual. Let's go to Liangma River. There's an indoor fishing spot there. I'll send you the address via text message in a bit."

"Okay! I'll be there in less than twenty minutes."

After hanging up the phone, He Daqi rushed back to the bedroom. Under Zhou Huimin's bewildered gaze, he pulled out his beloved fishing tackle bag from the closet, opened it for a glance, and then began to change his clothes.

"He Daqi, please don't tell me you're planning to go fishing in the middle of winter."

"Hey! I'm here to discuss a project with Chairman Han from China Film Group. We agreed to meet at the fishing pond, so I had to bring all the necessary equipment. Don't worry, it's an indoor fishing pond, not cold at all."

It has to be said that He Daqi's excuse for dealing with Zhou Huimin actually depicted the truth quite well, but he himself didn't expect it. He hadn't been fishing for a long time, and his mind was full of fishing-related things. He didn't really think about how someone as busy as Han Shanping could be so bored as to drag him fishing.

He Daqi arrived early, even though it was supposed to be twenty minutes. However, Han Shanping arrived even earlier than him, as he had been nearby.

When Han Shanping looked at He Daqi, who was carrying a full set of equipment, he shook his head, feeling both amused and exasperated.

"Daqi, I didn't explain clearly on the phone earlier. There are fishing gears available at this fishing spot, so you don't need to bring your own equipment."

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm more comfortable using my own," He Daqi replied as he scooped fish into the pond.

Sure enough, there are many people who love fishing. Even though it's the busiest time before the New Year, the fishing spots are already 60-70% full.

"Daqi, let's go over there." Han Shanping pointed to a corner.

He Daqi looked around carefully and was a little reluctant to go. There were hardly any fish there, not as good as the other fishing spots. The only advantage was that there was no one around, making it convenient to chat.

However, he couldn't very well refuse Han Shanping, so he hesitantly replied, "...Okay."

Once they reached the corner, just as He Daqi was happily preparing fish food and bait, Han Shanping casually baited the hook and cast it into the water.

Seeing He Daqi so focused on his work, Han Shanping smiled and asked, "Daqi, do you know Xu Jinglei?"

He Daqi thought for a moment and shook his head: "That name sounds familiar, is he an actor?"

After he finished speaking, he came to his senses, looked up at Han Shanping who was smiling, and wondered if someone had asked Han Shanping for a favor.

(End of this chapter)