Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 171 Joyful, but Xiaotian Unhappy
Afterwards, Gu Jingyi and Liu Haojian cuddled and cuddled in the car for a while, and Liu Haojian clearly liked the atmosphere.

Holding her beloved's waist, she felt incredibly relaxed. She chatted with Gu Jingyi about recent trivial matters in her life and interesting things that happened on set, as well as some gossip from the entertainment industry.

The atmosphere was wonderful, and their feelings for each other gradually warmed up in the enclosed space of the car.

After a while of tenderness, a voice suddenly rang out.

"By the way, Brother Jingyi, when does your movie finish its run? Should I rent out a whole theater to support you?"

Liu Haojian looked at Gu Jingyi with a smile, his face beaming.

"No need, why would a newcomer like you book the whole venue for me? Wait until you become a big star before you go and support me."

"I still have high aspirations. I won't let people around me book out entire theaters just to boost box office sales and disrupt the market. I'll rely on quality and word-of-mouth to slowly outrun everything."

Actually, booking out entire theaters to boost box office is considered relatively good; in the industry, the more common practice is "stealing box office revenue."

The audience clearly bought tickets for movie A, but when the tickets were issued, they were printed with the handwritten title of movie B.

Movie A is still being shown, but the box office revenue is credited to movie B. In this situation, the film distributor often reaches an agreement with the theater chain, relinquishing the 47% interest that they would have received.

Or perhaps the theaters are pocketing the box office revenue from blank, handwritten movie tickets in order to earn that portion of the profits.

After all, if the revenue is split normally, the film production company would take 43% of the income.

However, cinemas only receive 57% of the revenue, and money is a powerful motivator.

In order to increase profits, they directly resort to illegal operations.

Every blockbuster movie has encountered "box office fraud," a practice that Guo Jingming previously denounced on Weibo.

And of course, we also encountered this in "Take My Brother Away".

Zheng Fenfen is too shy to do anything that would make her back down or steal box office revenue from her competitors.

Even knowing that once "Li Cha's Aunt" is released on September 30th, many potential viewers of "Crazy Brother" will be diverted, they still didn't do such a shameless thing.

Correspondingly, Gu Jingyi, the most popular character among the main creators, bears an even heavier burden.

He not only has to do two roadshows a day, but he also has to interact with fans on his birthday before going to a performance.

A film's theatrical run typically lasts 20-35 days, with early box office performance setting the tone.

Generally speaking, the first week's box office accounts for about 70% of the total box office.

After its first week, audience interest in the film waned.

Just like the "seven-year itch" in marriage, the retention rate is very low.

Gu Jingyi estimates that once the movie finishes its first week...

Starting from the second week, under the siege of the National Day film season.

The screening rate will be reduced to about 10%, and if the daily box office can break 2000 million, it will be worth celebrating.

Despite his many concerns, Gu Jingyi spoke very casually.

He's a tough guy by nature and he'll never learn to be a kept man.

"Okay, I know. But your movie 'Kuai Ge' is really popular lately. The related topics on Weibo have garnered over 4.3 million views. It's even more popular on Douyin, since you're the spokesperson there. But... I don't really like watching this movie."

Liu Haojian's tone, which had been rising at first, suddenly dropped towards the end.

"Why? Is there something illogical about the plot? But this is a commercial film. Commercial films only need to conform to popular aesthetics. They don't need to aim for awards like art films."

Gu Jingyi thought she was dissatisfied with the bizarre plot of "sibling swapping" in the movie, but in fact, the final version that was released was much more reasonable because he had made improvements.

Every detail has been improved. When Shi Fen was playing around with Shi Miao, he jokingly said, "You hate me so much, don't wait until you lose me and then cry."

Upon closer examination, it can actually be seen as foreshadowing.

"That's not it, you're so stupid. You don't even know this..."

Liu Haojian shook his head, looking at him with some complaint.

"You forgot, the marketing for 'Brother Kuai' tied you and Zhang Zifeng together. Multiple press releases were issued, and the 'sibling' topic was constantly being brought up. What's most infuriating is that you and she are actually being secretly shipped as an incestuous couple by other people..."

In the movie "Take My Brother Away," Gu Jingyi and Zhang Zifeng do have many scenes together.

After the sisters were swapped, the way Shi Fen and Shi Miao interacted was indeed a bit strange.

In particular, Shi Miao kept trying to make her brother remember her, but no matter what she did, it was all in vain.

Looking back now, it does feel somewhat taboo.

However, it wouldn't be Gu Jingyi's style to actually apologize for this.

He didn't say anything to apologize or comfort him; he just reached out and pinched Liu Haojian's face.

Look at that little face, which turned bright red quickly because of this one action.

"What are you doing?"

Liu Haojian said reproachfully, but his sister completely resisted.

She then snuggled even closer into Gu Jingyi's arms, gently nuzzling her head against him.

Liu Haojian's hair brushed against Gu Jingyi's chin, and he could smell the faint scent of shampoo on Liu Haojian's hair if he lowered his head slightly.

She was 1.65 meters tall and curled up in her arms like a cat.

It really makes one's heart itch; if it weren't for strong self-control, one would have already started eating.

"By the way, even though it's a day early, I still want to wish you a happy birthday, Gu Jingyi."

"Mm," Gu Jingyi nodded.

To be honest, celebrities can only celebrate their lunar birthday with their families; their solar birthday has long been commercialized.

Fan meet-and-greets and live streams are all ways to build connections with fans.

The most interesting thing is that Chris did a live stream for his birthday. Watching the live stream was possible, but it required payment.

Although the term "boarding ticket" is slightly more poetic.

In reality, it's all about making money off fans.

Chris made a fortune from the live stream.

Gu Jingyi could certainly do it, but he has a lot to lose face.

This birthday fan meeting was selected by drawing active fans from the super topic.

Being a fan is a very tiring thing. His fans have to fight against negative publicity, generate data, control comments, and support his commercial projects and works.

Gu Jingyi sometimes even felt that he couldn't do that.

Therefore, he did not treat his fans with the same aloofness as other celebrities.

Simply maintaining respect has made "Jingfei" the object of envy, jealousy, and hatred from fans of other groups.

Do you want a present?

Liu Haojian rummaged through his crossbody bag, seemingly looking for something.

The car interior was dimly lit, and Gu Jingyi couldn't see her movements clearly.

But I guessed it; she had prepared a surprise for me.

"Gu Jingyi, close your eyes first!"

Liu Haojian mysteriously took something out of his bag and then seriously told Gu Jingyi to close his eyes.

It was very ceremonial and quite elaborate.

Gu Jingyi looked at her with a half-smile, as if she were a child.

"Ta-da! The presents are here!"

Liu Haojian remained steadfast in his convictions and unaffected in the slightest.

She took out a box and opened it in front of Gu Jingyi.

"See, do you like it?"

Although the car headlights were somewhat dim, they were enough for Gu Jingyi to see clearly what the gift was.

Two Chrome Hearts rings lay quietly in the box, their design the most classic cross shape.

One is large, and the other is small.

It seems that this is a couple's set specially prepared by Jianzi, as if she had been secretly preparing it for a long time.

They were just waiting for the right opportunity to deliver it to Gu Jingyi.

Young girls in love often love matching couple items. But... Gu Jingyi hates these flashy and ostentatious things the most.

Let alone Chrome Hearts, Gu Jingyi had no interest in even trendy brands like Fortune God or Boy London, which had exaggerated patterns and colors.

After their debut on "Idol Producer," both of these trendy brands approached Huace, wanting Gu Jingyi to be their spokesperson.

The cost was also quite considerable, slightly higher than Gu Jingyi's market price at the time.

The fee of 2600 million over two years does sound quite generous.

However, Gu Jingyi refused. What a joke! His journey with Dior was just beginning at that time, and with the release of "Clay Idol," countless eyes were watching him from the shadows.

If Gu Jingyi wore these flamboyant and daring trendy brands at this time, with Boy's signature eagle and Fushen's signature seagull.

These items are not easy to match with pants. You can often see customers on various social media platforms saying that they bought them but couldn't put them together and ended up looking like "young punks".

Gu Jingyi would certainly not accept, as high-end and top-tier luxury brands value that sense of prestige the most.

However, both Neck and Fuxixi are licking the cheeks of the two trendy brands...

It's hard to judge; I wish them success.

However, looking at these two Chrome Hearts, Gu Jingyi really had a headache.

It looks nice, but it's hard to match with other items.

Upon seeing this, he was reminded of those young men online with tattoos on their fingers and Chrome Hearts logos on their hands, posting them on various social media platforms.

He thinks he knows a lot and is very fashionable.

It was this stereotype that made Gu Jingyi, the "spokesperson for the five luxury brands," somewhat apprehensive.

I feel like it doesn't suit my personality and isn't appropriate for what I'm wearing to my birthday fan meeting tomorrow.

"I saw it online before and thought it was pretty cool. I thought it would look great on you. So I bought it, hehe."

These two Chrome Hearts are exactly the same except for their size.

If you wear them, it's obvious they're couple rings.

Liu Haojian seemed to really like the rings, with a sweet smile on his face.

“Gu Jingyi, do you want to try it? Do you remember when you wore an embossed suit before? I thought back then that this accessory would go really well with it.”

"Besides, Chrome Hearts is a trendy brand that many celebrities wear. If you suddenly wear it, it won't make fans think you're in a relationship."

Liu Haojian spoke fluently, seemingly having done his homework thoroughly.

"So you see, wasn't I clever? A Chrome Hearts ring that can be worn by both men and women won't be seen by the general public..."

"Wait a moment"

Gu Jingyi interrupted her, waving his hands in front of Liu Haojian.

Its joints are clearly defined, but it has no accessories whatsoever.

One gesture instantly froze Liu Haojian's smile.

Although Gu Jingyi hadn't said anything yet, she had already guessed it.

Gu Jingyi said in a very calm tone, "You may not know this, but I'm not really interested in these accessories. Except for when the Cody has to wear them on stage, I don't wear any accessories at all."

“Like at the last roadshow, the stylist sister who has been working with me a lot advised me to wear a ring to add a little touch and make it more memorable.”

"However... I still refused."

Gu Jingyi's sudden serious attitude was like a bucket of cold water poured over Liu Haojian's head.

"...What you said...makes sense..."

The smile vanished from her face, and her hand, which had just been gesturing with the Chrome Hearts ring, fell limply to her side.

"It's my fault... for not considering things thoroughly enough..."

She bit her lip and stammered out a sentence for a long time.

I recalled the amazement I felt when I passed by and saw it, and how I had specially wrapped it in a gift box before transferring to West Coast City. Even while sitting in the car, I was imagining the anticipation of the two of us wearing it together.

The thought that everything had fallen through brought an overwhelming sense of grievance to my heart.

It was at this moment that Gu Jingyi made a new move.

He picked up the ring from the box and put it on his finger.

While wearing it, he kept marveling at it.

"what happened?"

Although Liu Haojian felt wronged, he was still somewhat surprised to see Gu Jingyi wearing it.

"Heh..." Gu Jingyi chuckled softly.

"I've noticed that you always lose your patience and start overthinking things before others have finished speaking."

Gu Jingyi gave her a disapproving look and said slowly, "It's true that I don't like wearing them."

Liu Haojian pursed his lips, about to retort.

Gu Jingyi then said playfully, tilting his head, "But we still have to see who sent it."

"Tch, glib."

Liu Haojian said this, but the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

.........

The roadshow that evening was held at the school.

The process was the same as before, and Gu Jingyi was already very familiar with it.

After the usual self-introduction, interview, and games, it was back to normal.

The lights suddenly went out.

Just as the audience was wondering what was going on, director Zheng Fenfen and Zhang Zifeng came out pushing a cake.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…

The classic Happy Birthday song started playing.

Gu Jingyi smiled and started cutting the cake.

Next came the photo-taking and distribution process, with everyone wearing happy smiles.

Aside from Zhang Zifeng, who suddenly got excited and rubbed cream on Gu Jingyi's face.

They're so naughty...

She was well aware that this was a roadshow where she could meet many fans.

Only those who have purchased tickets for the roadshow can sit here.

Aside from fans, no one else would be willing to pay a much higher price than usual to support a movie.

But Zhang Zifeng deliberately smeared cream on his face in front of so many people.

Gu Jingyi took the towel that Lin Ze handed to him from inside the nanny van.

I rubbed it back and forth on my face until my skin almost bled.

The cloying, creamy smell on my face hadn't completely disappeared.

"Alright, Jingyi. I've already wiped it off your face."

Lin Ze laughed, finding Gu Jingyi's awkward expression quite amusing.

"What's so funny? I'm just a little inconvenienced. She's going to get criticized; some fans will definitely post it online."

Gu Jingyi looked somewhat embarrassed and retorted.

"Of course, there were people promoting the 'Kuai Ge' (Fast Brother) project, which involved promoting your brother-sister CP with her."

Lin Ze said confidently, "If it weren't for the fear of affecting your movie's performance, your fans would have already started cursing. Today is a perfect opportunity to vent their anger. It's your 20th birthday, and she's being so inconsiderate."

Gu Jingyi glanced at his phone; it was a message from Tian Xiwei.

The messages were scrolling by at an extremely fast pace, and it was clear that they had already started cursing.

Gu Jingyi, who was just about to ask Lin Ze to contact the company to handle the public opinion, changed his mind.

Are you kidding me? Even his girlfriend is unhappy.

If he were to defend others at a time like this, wouldn't that be betraying Xiao Tian?
(End of this chapter)