The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 499 Do me a favor

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

In a specially decorated, dimly lit room, a group of people surrounded the birthday boy and sang "Happy Birthday" in unison.

Liu Qianqian clenched her fists under her chin, closed her eyes, smiled sweetly, and murmured along with everyone's singing. On her head was not a cardboard crown, but a custom-made crown studded with diamonds.

Soon, as she opened her eyes, everyone stopped singing and watched as she blew out all the candles from the cake in one breath.

Applause rang out again, and then the curtains were drawn back, letting in bright light that made the room bright and airy.

Although there were many people attending the birthday party, they were all people I knew very well. Apart from Liu Xiaoli, her assistant, and her goddaughters, the only other people present were Yang Mi, Tang Yan, Liu Shishi, and Xu Jiuyang. It was quite strange that there wasn't a single high school classmate among them.

"Oh my, I'm so envious, such a grand coming-of-age ceremony." Da Mimi cut a piece of cake and handed it to someone, then sat down next to him, saying in a wistful tone.

"Why do I feel like you're plotting against someone's family?" Xu Jiuyang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's going too far. I was clearly envious. Which eye of yours saw me being sarcastic?" Yang Mi seemed angry, but her eyes were darting around, and she couldn't hide her amusement.

"What, you also know that she was originally supposed to hold this at Diaoyutai?" Xu Jiuyang couldn't help but mutter to himself.

However, unless one relives their life, it's hard to resist the extravagance and vanity of holding a birthday party in the most upscale place.

"At least I think this is better." He muttered this as he watched Liu Qianqian "bullying" her younger sister, smearing cream on her little face with a grin.

"What are you saying?" Da Mimi suddenly leaned closer.

"It's nothing, it's just..." Xu Jiuyang took out a tissue and wiped the cream off her lips. "I just thought that if the sequel to 'Red Cliff' had been released at the end of the year, the box office would have been even better."

"Why?" Da Mimi immediately showed a curious look. "I saw that the box office is not very good. The media said that it is very likely to exceed 2 million."

“If it were to be released for a year, that would indeed be possible,” Xu Jiuyang shook his head, “but moving up the release date of Red Cliff (Part 2) is itself a protective measure, and at most it will only be shown until the end of the year.”

"Protective behavior?" Yang Mi was even more confused. "What protective behavior?"

“Protect the release of ‘The Promise’,” Xu Jiuyang shrugged. “This is part of the country’s blockbuster strategy. ‘Red Cliff Part I’ has already generated considerable buzz since its release at the end of last year, but that won’t bring more box office revenue to ‘Red Cliff Part II’. So it’s better to put the publicity resources into ‘The Promise’ and create another Chinese blockbuster.”

"Why can't it bring in more box office revenue?" Yang Mi asked curiously.

"Hmm... With your intelligence, it's hard for me to explain it clearly to you." Xu Jiuyang spread his hands.

"Pah!" Da Mimi immediately spat at him, "Isn't it just that the resources needed to go from 90% to 99% far exceed those needed to go from 1% to 90%? You're kidding me."

"You know that, yet you still ask. Do you want to see me make a fool of myself, or are you trying to play dumb to fool me?" Xu Jiuyang laughed.

“I have both.” Da Mimi said without any hesitation.

"You're so greedy. If there are any more movie resources like 'The Promise' in the future, I definitely won't give them to you," Xu Jiuyang said in a deliberately threatening tone.

“Who would want to act in a terrible movie like ‘The Promise’?” Yang Mi blurted out.

"Oh?" Xu Jiuyang raised an eyebrow. "How do you know it's bad? Have you read the script?"

"Through Xixi, I've learned a little bit. It's neither fantasy nor mythology. Director Chen Kaige wants to imitate 'The Lord of the Rings'? He doesn't have the ability!" Yang Mi complained.

Xu Jiuyang narrowed his eyes: "What, you don't like that Director Chen?"

"Why should I like him?" Yang Mi scoffed. "It's not like I haven't seen his movies. I don't understand them, they're awful, including the 'Farewell My Concubine' that's been hyped up to the heavens!" "Oh, impressive, impressive," Xu Jiuyang clapped his hands in a show of pretension and gave her a thumbs up. "The Emperor's New Clothes, indeed. Everyone else is afraid to say it, but you dare to say it."

"Of course..." Da Mimi wanted to imitate Bruce Lee's signature move, rubbing her nose with her thumb, but she realized halfway through: "You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"

“No, no,” Xu Jiuyang said with a smile, waving his hands repeatedly. “Since you’ve seen ‘Farewell My Concubine,’ you should know what kind of dross it contains. It was precisely because of these flaws that the French awarded him the Palme d’Or. Of course, in terms of aesthetics, Chen Kaige is still impeccable.”

“I know, as you always say, you have to pass the test before you can get into public relations,” Yang Mi shrugged.

"Good, keep it up." Xu Jiuyang gave her a thumbs up, then prepared to get up, but was stopped by her.

"There's something I'd like to ask you for a favor." Da Mimi put on a serious expression, as if it were something really important.

Seeing this, Xu Jiuyang sat down again and asked with the same seriousness, "What is it?"

Yang Mi looked around and saw that everyone was playing and no one was paying attention to them, so she leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.

Xu Jiuyang, who had been wearing a serious expression, almost lost his composure after hearing this, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What are you saying?!" he almost shouted, his face full of disbelief.

"Why are you making so much noise?" Yang Mi waved her hand dismissively. "It's not like it's a difficult thing for you."

"This...I..." Xu Jiuyang was speechless for a moment, not knowing whether to say how these could be compared or whether it was a question of difficulty.

After calming himself down, he decided to try a different approach: "Why...why do you have this thought?"

Da Mimi didn't answer directly, but pointed to Tang Yan, who was teasing Liu Yangyang with Liu Qianqian: "Look."

"I saw it, what's wrong with Tangtang?" Xu Jiuyang asked, puzzled.

“Just a week ago, she almost got scammed again,” Yang Mi sighed. “I’m like a mother hen now; if I don’t keep a close eye on Tangtang, she’ll be seduced by someone…”

“Wait a minute,” Xu Jiuyang interrupted, “what does this have to do with Tangtang?”

"Didn't I say that before?" Da Mimi was surprised at first, then realized, "Besides me, Tangtang and Shishi are also coming."

Xu Jiuyang said expressionlessly, "Have you forgotten someone?"

"If you don't mind, I can help persuade them," Da Mimi said without hesitation.

"Alright, alright, you're exaggerating." Xu Jiuyang waved his hands repeatedly. "Are you really that looking for me?"

“Your character is guaranteed,” Da Mimi said confidently. “Ever since The Legend of the Condor Heroes, which woman hasn’t praised you highly? Which woman has ever said a bad word about you?”

"Hmm..." Xu Jiuyang subconsciously felt a surge of smugness, then took a deep breath: "Even if you say that..."

“We all need to demystify men,” Yang Mi interrupted. “Tangtang needs it, Shishi needs it, and I need it too.”

"Can we stop for a moment..." Xu Jiuyang tried to take control of the situation.

However, Yang Mi didn't give him a chance: "Tangtang is an idiot, and Shishi is too well protected. Although I have a lot of theoretical knowledge, I have no practical experience at all. Without finding someone to practice with, I am still very likely to make mistakes after doing certain things."

She patted his shoulder hard: "Don't worry, I've made it clear to Tangtang and Shishi, and they don't mind—in fact, they still have some feelings for you, which is just right."

(End of this chapter)