This actor has something

Chapter 375 Highly anticipated
Smiles are contagious. The entire roadshow team is beaming with joy, chatting and laughing on the bus, creating a very lively atmosphere.

He Daqi was actually quite calm inside, but seeing how happy this group of people was, he didn't want to spoil the fun. No matter who spoke to him, he would smile and say "uh-huh" twice.

He sat in the last row of the bus to avoid being idle. That way, if others wanted to chat with him, they would have to keep turning around, and after a while, their necks would get sore and they wouldn't want to chat with him anymore. This way, he could also take a break and close his eyes for a while.

It's fine as it is now. A group of people in front of him are chatting enthusiastically, and He Daqi is listening with his eyes closed and a smile on his face, feeling like he's stealing a moment of leisure from his busy schedule.

Unfortunately, his carefree attitude soon vanished.

Wang Jinghua, who was sitting in front of He Daqi, answered a phone call and exclaimed in surprise after only a few words: "What?"

This made everyone on the bus shut up and look at her.

He Daqi also opened his eyes, raised his eyebrows in confusion. Wang Jinghua's expression didn't seem to indicate that anything bad had happened. What was the meaning of this sudden outburst?
Surely it couldn't be that yesterday, Tuesday, saw a reverse growth in box office revenue?
"Listen to me, everyone. We need to change our schedule. After the roadshow at noon, we'll cancel our rest time today and go straight to Hunan to record Happy Camp on Hunan TV. After that, we'll fly to Zhejiang Province to record 'Too Much Fun' on Zhejiang TV."

"what?!"

Now it was the others' turn to gasp in surprise.

Ignoring the reactions of others, Wang Jinghua turned to He Daqi and said, "Daqi, you're going to Happy Camp too."

"Don't go."

"This is a resource that China Film Group found for us. You only need to appear on Happy Camp. You don't need to go on the other shows. We're basically getting on the show right up the queue for Happy Camp. China Film Group got the resources for us. If you don't go, wouldn't it be a bit..."

Wang Jinghua didn't specify what exactly it was, but He Daqi wasn't naive and immediately understood her unspoken meaning.

He Daqi clicked his tongue and complained, "Why are you asking for resources when you have nothing better to do? You didn't even ask if we're willing."

"We are a prime example now. Monday's box office didn't drop much. China Film Group thinks we have a chance to break box office records, so they will support us during this period. In addition, they have already applied for an extension for us. The requirement is that we can do the roadshow for a longer period of time. Even Jackie Chan, who accompanied us for a day of roadshow and then left, was invited to Xiangnan. We will record Happy Camp together this evening."

The others were excited to hear the news, but He Daqi just clicked his tongue. Seeing that Wang Jinghua was still looking at him, he nodded and hummed in agreement.

……

……

"Qi-zai, my good brother, our movie has already grossed seventeen million at the Bald Eagle Awards!"

As soon as they met, Cheng Long came over and put his arm around He Daqi's shoulder, telling him some news.

"Huaxia currency?"

"Dollar!"

He Daqi understood why China Film Group had suddenly made such a big fuss. It was an expansion outside the company, and the film was invested in by China Film Group. When a large company like this encountered this situation, the nature of the situation was a bit different.

"...I reckon Chairman Han must be regretting it now," He Daqi muttered under his breath.

It has to be said that He Daqi's guess was quite accurate. Han Shanping is indeed regretting now, regretting that he did not support "After My Flowers Bloom, All Other Flowers Wither" earlier.

"Regret what?" Cheng Long asked, not having heard what He Daqi said clearly.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to say that I really troubled you, brother, by making you come all this way again."

"Of course! There's no need for such formalities."

Jackie Chan was all smiles, truly in a great mood. He felt that inviting Ho Tai-kai to film Rush Hour 3 was the right decision. Whatever he was giving now, Ho Tai-kai would have to pay back in the future. If it weren't for the fact that he was going to France to film in a couple of days, he would have loved to spend more time with the promotional team.

After everyone met at the hotel, they hurriedly put down their luggage and got into the car together.

After all, it's a show recording where they cut in line, so it's not good to keep others waiting.

When we arrived at Hunan TV, it was already 5:30 pm, a little earlier than expected, but not by much.

"Welcome! Welcome everyone!"

As soon as I got out of the car and entered the TV station, He Jiong, the top host of Hunan TV, led several other hosts to greet me.

He Jiong's smile naturally exudes a sense of friendliness, and coupled with his exceptional enthusiasm, he immediately embraced and shook hands with everyone, making it seem as if the distance between them had instantly been bridged despite it being their first meeting.

"Hello, Brother Jackie Chan. I've been watching your movies since I was a child. I never imagined that I would be recording a program with you one day."

"Great! We've invited you so many times, and we thought we had no hope in this lifetime. We could only exchange a few words with you over the phone when other guests came. We never thought our dream would come true today."

"Brother Honglei, we meet again."

"Liangliang, you're getting more and more handsome."

"Ouch! Director Ning..."

He Jiong greeted everyone in front, while the other hosts followed behind him, seemingly acting as his straight men, nodding and greeting them with amusement.

During the promotional tour for Crazy Stone, Ning Hao led the group onto Happy Camp. They were able to chat and laugh for a while, and after a few jokes and banter, they became familiar with each other.

"Teacher Daqi, could you sign an autograph? I'm a fan of yours." A chubby guy approached He Daqi with a sheepish grin. They had already introduced themselves, and He Daqi knew his name was Du Haitao.

"No, I can't be called a teacher."

He Daqi took the postcard, signed it in a flamboyant manner, and just as he handed it back, a staff member came over and quietly invited everyone to the dressing room.

He Jiong followed him into the dressing room, and while He Daqi was getting his makeup done, he came over with a smile and said, "Daqi, you haven't recorded a variety show before, have you? It's okay, let's discuss the process later."

Before He Daqi could respond, Du Haitao spoke up first, saying, "Teacher Daqi participated in a variety show in South Korea. He had a lot of fun on it and even danced."

Upon hearing this, He Daqi couldn't help but twitch his lips. He had selectively forgotten about this embarrassing history since others didn't mention it. He started to complain in his heart, "Why are you watching Korean programs when you have nothing better to do?"

……

They're all veteran actors, so recording a variety show is a piece of cake for them. It's not like they didn't have a script. Besides, variety shows in China these days aren't that open-minded, so the recording went much more smoothly than expected.

However, the recording took quite a long time. It started at 6 o'clock and continued until the early hours of the morning. Judging from He Jiong's words, they planned to make it into three episodes, which would be broadcast over three weekends.

If this is really done, pirated versions will probably be everywhere online by the time the third episode airs. This is clearly taking advantage of He Daqi and Cheng Long. I wonder if their participation in the show is actually for the sake of ratings or the movie's box office.

He Daqi was so tired that he was listless even when he parted ways with Cheng Long.

Jackie Chan seemed quite energetic and even wanted to take He Daqi out for barbecue. Upon hearing this suggestion, the Happy Family members all agreed, but unfortunately, the roadshow team had to catch a flight to the next stop and politely declined.

Once on the plane, He Daqi began to worry: if this continued, when would this roadshow ever end?
……

……

When a wave rises, most ordinary people will go with the flow.

The box office of "When My Flowers Bloom, All Others Wither" is shocking, reaching nearly 200 million yuan in just ten days.

Newspapers, television, and the internet are all filled with box office figures for "When My Flowers Bloom, All Others Wither." Now even those who don't watch movies know that one film might break box office records. What? This record was originally held by a foreign film? Shouldn't we help it out?!

The box office of "When My Flowers Bloom, All Others Wither" has slowed down in a strange way. Despite the fact that pirated copies have already appeared, it saw a surge in sales on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

When a blockbuster like this attracts a huge audience, other films are in for a tough time.

"Curse of the Golden Flower" hasn't even reached 80 million at the box office yet, it's a complete flop. With this kind of performance, it's not even enough to cover the actors' salaries, let alone the production costs of the crew.

Nobody cares about "Curse of the Golden Flower" anymore. Even though Zhang Weiping bought a lot of advertorials and press releases, it didn't even cause a ripple.

It's as if this movie has been given a slow death sentence; all we can do is watch it slowly sink into oblivion in despair.

He Daqi was actually quite disappointed; he never expected that the Golden Armor would be so vulnerable.

The box office data for "Curse of the Golden Flower" that he saw in the film library was 2.9 million. In order to sink it, He Daqi owed a lot of favors and worked hard on post-production and promotional tours. Given He Daqi's lazy nature, it is really hard to imagine that he would be so diligent.

What's that saying again? When people are doing bad things, they are least afraid of hardship or fatigue.

As He Daqi sat on the plane, gazing at the white clouds outside the window and sighing, he was unaware that Zhang Yimou had already begun to give up.

Once a person starts to give up, they really become open-minded and can think things through.

So what if the box office wasn't great? We'll just keep trying for the next one.

So what if I lose money? I didn't invest any money myself, so let me lose as much as I want.

You want me to share the losses? Sorry, please stick to the contract. I haven't even been paid my director's fee yet. Go find whoever you want.

Being a salted fish (a metaphor for being lazy and unambitious) really opens up a whole new world for you!

At this moment, Zhang Yimou no longer looked worried and actually laughed.

This made the group of actors who were following him on the promotional tour a little uneasy. What's wrong with the director? Has he lost his mind because of losing money? Will something go wrong?

At this moment, the group of actors were all a little apprehensive, but Zhang Yimou was all smiles.

On the contrary, Zhang Weiping's face was ashen, as if someone owed him six cents.

In the hotel lobby, as the crew of "Curse of the Golden Flower" were about to go upstairs, Zhang Weiping coldly instructed them: "Get some rest when you get back. You need to get up early to catch your flight tomorrow."

"Let's end it. There's no hope in continuing. It's just a waste of time," Zhang Yimou advised.

"The team next door is still doing their roadshow, and you're giving up already? Do you even know..."

"Stop, stop, stop. I don't want to argue with you. If you want to keep spending money on roadshows, then let's go. I'm fine with it."

Zhang Yimou interrupted him directly, waved his hand dismissively, and then entered the elevator with his hands behind his back.

This really stumped Zhang Weiping. He wanted to say something but didn't know how to start. As Zhang Yimou's leisurely figure was slowly blocked by the elevator doors, Zhang Weiping clenched his fist tightly.

Something's wrong! Something is wrong!
He felt that Zhang Yimou was getting out of control, and that wouldn't do!
……

……

On the first day of 2007, He Daqi returned home just as New Year's Day was ending.

Originally, I planned to decide how many days to do the roadshow depending on the situation. If I could suppress the popularity of "Curse of the Golden Flower", I would finish it in ten days. If I couldn't suppress it, I would do it for fewer days to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as he expected. He initially outperformed "Curse of the Golden Flower," but the roadshow ended very late.

Including today, New Year's Day, he has been doing roadshows for a full nineteen days. If He Daqi hadn't kept nagging, these people probably would have wanted to keep dragging him along.

When the box office reached 300 million, it was no longer something that He Daqi could control.

The whole internet is going crazy right now, everyone is waiting for "When My Flower Blooms, All Other Flowers Wither" to break records. Everyone is excited, but He Daqi feels a sense of emptiness and loneliness.

Suddenly losing his target made him feel as if his energy had been drained, and he reverted to his old lazy demeanor.

He Daqi, looking exhausted, pushed open the villa door, and a chill followed him into the villa's hall.

"Close the door! It's cold!"

Zhou Huimin's sudden voice startled He Daqi, but then he felt the warmth of the villa and started to feel sleepy again.

He closed the door, turned on the light, yawned, changed his shoes, dragged his suitcase to the sofa, and looked at Zhou Huimin curled up on the sofa. He just showed a gentle smile and wanted to say: Why are you still up so late? Didn't we agree that she shouldn't wait for me?

Before she could finish speaking, Vivian Chow jumped up from the sofa and pounced on Ho Tai-kei barefoot.

"Daqi! You're amazing! You're about to break the box office record that has stood for so many years. CCTV even mentioned our film today."

He Daqi might not be moved by praise from others, but when Zhou Huimin said it, he felt as if he were soaking in honey.

He tossed his suitcase aside, then embraced the soft, fragrant Vivian Chow, pressing his face against hers, and gently said, sniffing her hair, "So nice."

"what?"

"I said, it's so good to have you."

For some reason, Zhou Huimin suddenly became a little shy. She let out a soft moan and buried her head in He Daqi's neck, rubbing against him like a spoiled little girl.

"Dakai~"

"Ok?"

“Our new house is completely renovated, and I even had a garden built.” Zhou Huimin whispered in He Daqi’s ear.

"Whatever you like, build whatever you want."

"Daqi, have you missed me during the many days you've been away? I mean, when we're not talking on the phone."

"I think about it every day. I wish I could just do a few days of roadshows and then stop, so I could hurry back to Beijing to be with you and take care of the kids."

These were He Daqi's true feelings. If he had a choice, and if he didn't have a group of people guarding him, he really would want to do it this way.

"I'll accompany you on your next roadshow."

"Haha, next time it's 'Painted Skin,' you can't refuse to come along even if you don't want to." He Daqi smiled and released his arm from Zhou Huimin, facing her face to face, and gently pinched her nose.

He forgot that the next movie isn't Painted Skin; there's Rush Hour 3 in between.

Fortunately, Zhou Huimin forgot about it. She held He Daqi's playful hand and looked at him tenderly.

(End of this chapter)