Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 315 Earthquake and the Olympics

Upon learning of the major earthquake, Hu Xiaobei immediately halted filming for the third season of "The Way Home".

That very day, he rushed back to China with An Xiaoqian to join the disaster relief efforts and do his part for the people in the disaster area.
Therefore, Hu Xiaobei used the warning message on the Crystal Charity Foundation's official website as a pretext to vigorously promote the construction of the Hope Campus project.

After the disaster, Hu Xiaobei, in the name of the Crystal Charity Foundation and An Xiaoqian personally, donated urgently needed supplies to the disaster area with a total value of over 1.3 billion RMB.

Including the various Hope Campus projects previously donated and built, the total investment has exceeded 1.5 billion RMB.

Because of the large quantity of donated supplies, it involved coordinating the interests of multiple parties.

Hu Xiaobei decided to directly hand over all the supplies to the various military units responsible for disaster relief, so that the military could coordinate and distribute them.

In this disaster relief effort, Qianbeifeng Entertainment became the company with the largest cumulative donation, while An Xiaoqian became the individual with the largest cumulative donation.

In the original timeline, An Xiaoqian donated one million RMB, but offended many celebrities and entertainment companies as a result.

But now it's different; the difference in amount is too big, making it completely incomparable.

After all, the total donations from the entire entertainment industry combined are far less than what An Xiaoqian donated alone.

After this incident, the earlier buying and selling of Hudong Heavy Machinery shares is truly now safe and sound.

Hu Xiaobei and An Xiaoqian donated supplies, and they also specially formed a professional rescue team, bringing Laifu and Candy along to participate in the rescue work.

On the surface, they successfully rescued many disaster victims thanks to Laifu and Candy's keen sense of smell.

In reality, during the search and rescue operation, they secretly used their spiritual perception abilities to explore the surrounding environment, and then used two search and rescue dogs as cover to carry out targeted rescue operations.

The three returned to the United States after the disaster relief efforts were completed to continue filming the final season of "Homecoming".

Filming and some post-production of "The Way Home" were not completed until the end of June.

At this time, the second season of "The Way Home" premiered in early July, and An Xiaoqian stayed for two more days.

The three then set off back to China, beginning a month-long vacation.

During his vacation, Hu Xiaobei was not idle. Instead, he made some arrangements for the two domestic entertainment companies, and would wrap things up next year.

On August 8, 2008, the three were invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games at 8 p.m.

The two held hands openly in front of the camera for the first time, showing their relationship and confirming previous rumors of a romance.

Over the next two weeks, the two watched several sporting events together, cheering on the Olympic athletes.

The Chinese delegation won a total of 100 medals, including 48 gold medals, 22 silver medals and 28 bronze medals.

Afterwards, Qianbeifeng Entertainment specially presented the winning athletes with 100 pure gold medals.

As for the athletes who did not win awards, they were all given an encouragement bonus of 10,000 RMB.

..............................

On August 22, Hu Xiaobei and An Xiaoqian's second commercial blockbuster, "Super Evolution," was released globally.

Neon lights painted the city's night sky with vibrant colors, and long queues had already formed outside cinemas around the world.

Inside the IMAX theater, the seats glowed faintly in the darkness, and everyone's eyes were focused on the black screen.

As the dome lights dimmed, the surround sound system suddenly erupted with a deep rumble, like a warning from the depths of the universe.

As the dark red meteorite tore through the screen, trailing a fiery tail, the children in the front row instinctively gripped the handrails.

The burning trajectory of the meteorite, like a paintbrush wielded by the hand of fate, instantly pulls the audience into a perilous cinematic world. On the meteorite's shimmering blue surface, every crack resembles the gaping maw of a demon.

The subtitle appeared: "72 hours until impact with Earth."

(PS: The countdown and the percentage of An Xiaofeng's potential development will appear from time to time, so I won't describe them again.)
Just as the audience involuntarily held their breath for a brief moment, the heroine An Xiaofeng's panicked gaze suddenly pierced the darkness, and the gasps that rose and fell in the movie theater intertwined with her rapid breathing in the sound field.

In a room somewhere on Earth, the bedside alarm clock shows 3:17 a.m.

An Xiaofeng's bloodshot eyes snapped open, her breathing rapid, and cold sweat instantly soaked her back.

The ear-piercing gunshots during the kidnapping, the cold feel of the gun barrel against her neck—nightmare-like images kept flashing through her mind.

On a Qinling mountain road in torrential rain, the camera followed a speeding off-road vehicle closely with a shaky tracking shot.

The wheels rolled over the muddy mountain road, splashing up mud half a person's height, leaving messy tracks in the dim night.

An Xiaofeng was bound in an iron cage with rough hemp rope, and every jolt sent sharp pain through the wound on the back of her head from being struck by a blunt object.

Rain dripped from the gaps in the car roof onto her pale face, and a hoarse male voice came from the passenger seat: "We're almost at our destination."

Immediately afterwards, the gun barrel was pressed against her forehead.

"Little girl, behave yourself as a sacrifice later and don't cause us any trouble."

Fear made her nails dig deep into her palms, where scabs of blood from the previous night's resistance still lingered.

If it weren't for the need for a blood sacrifice using a pure virgin, she might have already been brutally violated.

The scene shifts to a wide-angle shot from below, showing the massive bronze tomb gate slowly rising. The pupils of the beast-headed door knocker suddenly contract, staring at An Xiaofeng as if they were alive.

The surrounding air seemed to freeze under this ancient and mysterious aura, and An Xiaofeng's heart pounded rapidly as an unprecedented fear surged into his heart.

"Go in!" A rough, powerful hand shoved her on the back, and An Xiaofeng stumbled and fell into the ancient tomb.

The damp, cold air instantly enveloped her, as if she were in a giant ice cellar.

The ever-burning lights on both sides of the passageway automatically turned on, their dim yellow light swaying in the wind.

The runes carved all over the bluestone slab seemed to come alive under the interplay of light and shadow, twisting and writhing.

Suddenly, the thug walking in front let out a shrill scream.

In the darkness, countless thick vines stretched out like ghosts, instantly wrapping around his ankles and quickly dragging him into the crack in the wall.

His hands waved futilely in the air, trying to grasp at a sliver of hope, but he could only let out a desperate cry before vanishing without a trace.

An Xiaofeng stared wide-eyed in horror, turned to run away, but bumped headfirst into a solid chest.

The scarred man at the head of the group stared at her coldly, his eyes filled with endless ferocity and malice. He raised his gun and pointed it at An Xiaofeng, threatening, "Why are you running? If you run again, I'll shoot you dead right now!"

They pushed An Xiaofeng into the main burial chamber. The stalactites hanging from the dome reflected a cold light under the lamplight, like sharp blades hanging overhead.

In the main burial chamber, a close-up shot focuses on the central altar.

A long, ancient jade slip engraved with strange runes and a crystal that emits a soft blue light are placed side by side at opposite ends.

A faint, mysterious aura permeated the area around the altar, serving as a barrier and subtly keeping them out.

(End of this chapter)