How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 43 Private Banquet
The essence of life, like its abbreviation, is SM.

Sadism and masochism.

This is the relationship between Ma Ruo's Weibo account and netizens.

From an initial, sporadic discussion, Ma Ruo updated her posts every afternoon, each piece of content generating considerable controversy and discussion. The interactive feedback from the group's social interaction triggered a dopamine effect among netizens.

Thus, anticipation of Ma Ruo's Weibo posts today has become a spice in netizens' daily mundane lives, a self-consistent supply and demand relationship.

When this supply and demand relationship becomes almost a conditioned reflex, netizens will subconsciously check Weibo whenever they are bored. In the process of waiting for Ma Ruo's Weibo updates, they will experience a certain degree of withdrawal.

This withdrawal reaction triggers a huge dopamine rush the moment Ma Ruo updates her Weibo, making netizens excited.

This is the main reason why Ma Ruo's Weibo posts receive a large number of comments as soon as they are published.

Many netizens immediately shared Ma Ruo's new Weibo post to their social media circles, then excitedly clicked in to find fault and start criticizing her.

Today's picture isn't a selfie or a display of wealth, but a movie ticket.

Ma Ruo V: Today's sharing: Because my ancestor was Ziqi, one of Confucius's seventy-two disciples, Wuma Shi has been paying attention to this movie. I watched it as soon as it was released and found it quite interesting.

In particular, Zhou Xun's portrayal of Nanzi was incredibly vivid, perfectly capturing the tragic fate of a woman who was married off to an old man through a political marriage. Not only did she have to live a life of widowhood, but she also had to help the old man manage the country, ultimately ending up with a tarnished reputation.

Chinese history is fascinating. Whenever a nation prospers, it's attributed to men; whenever a nation declines, it's blamed on women.
While devaluing the status and achievements of women, they also use women to marry into other families in exchange for temporary peace. How can this not be considered a case of eating from the bowl and then cursing the cook?
This film is a rare exception, portraying female characters within the framework of historical records rather than simply treating them as decorative figures. Historically, Nanzi was an outstanding politician, so powerful that even the crown prince dared to attempt to kill her, resorting only to intrigue and treachery, ultimately failing and fleeing in disgrace.
I think all girls should watch this movie. While learning about Confucianism and traditional culture, they should also learn that history isn't just made up of men.
Historically, the evaluation of women has been frighteningly one-dimensional, simply summed up by the phrase "femme fatale." Moreover, the life trajectories of most female historical figures seem remarkably similar, as if they followed the same template. Any woman with even a little achievement is inevitably described as having an indecent reputation, which is quite interesting.

Sisters in Shanghai, feel free to DM me. I can book the whole place and treat you. Likes, shares, and follows will be given priority.

Netizens who are still in the stage of being baptized by the culture of ugliness have never seen such an advanced version of gender antagonism.

Although I couldn't understand the underlying logic behind the Weibo post, I could still feel a strange and inexplicable anger between the lines.

As expected, after reading this Weibo post, many netizens found numerous flaws, especially those interested in history, who unleashed a powerful barrage of criticism.

'You gold-digging woman, trying to ride on Confucius's coattails? And your ancestor was Wuma Shi? That's ridiculous! Did Wuma Shi even have the surname Ma?!'

What do you mean by saying history isn't just made up of men? Look at history—when women were in power, didn't every regime collapse and crumble?

"The Xia dynasty had Meixi, the Shang dynasty had Daji, the Zhou dynasty had Baosi, and later there were figures like Empress Lü and Empress Dowager Cixi? Which one is wrong to say they brought disaster to the country and its people?"

"You've booked the whole place? You've got a bit of money to brag about."

The comment section was filled with insults, but strangely, the most vicious insults came not from male netizens, but from female netizens. However, the private messages in the background also became very active.

After all, it's quite novel for a public figure to treat someone to a free movie. Whether it's true or not, sending a private message is worthwhile.

In just one afternoon, the traffic that Ma Ruo's Weibo post brought to "Confucius" and Zhou Xun continued to climb on the Weibo platform. Coupled with the film's opening day promotion policy, it not only gained popularity online, but also significantly increased offline inquiries and ticket purchases at theaters.

The initial box office forecast was around 800 million, but it has now been raised to over 1000 million.

The buzz generated by the new media hype did indeed give the producers of "Confucius" a little shock.

As one of the key contributors, Wang Yao naturally became a topic of discussion among people in the industry.

Chi Xin was in charge of the party that night, and she was even a little overwhelmed by the attention. Almost everyone's first question to her was about Wang Yao.

After skillfully entertaining the main guests, Chi Xin finally managed to extricate herself and catch her breath before calling Wang Yao.

"Ah Yao, why haven't you arrived yet?"

"President Chi, I have to go to Director Hu's meeting later, so I probably won't be able to make it," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Oh, then you all go ahead with your business. But could you have Ma Ruo come over? I had someone contact her, but she said she'd have to follow your arrangements. There are a few big shots who are quite interested in her."

Chi Xin spoke, and her tone unconsciously became somewhat respectful.

“President Chi, it’s not appropriate for Ma Ruo to appear in this kind of setting right now. First, it would be easy to give herself away, and second, her value is not limited to this. Just say she’s abroad for an event and can’t make it back.” Wang Yao politely declined.

"That makes sense. I'll contact you later." Chi Xin hesitated before continuing.

In the past, she would have definitely demanded that people come.

But now, facing Wang Yao, she really didn't have much confidence.

In just one day, the relationship between the two underwent a subtle change.

On the other end of the phone, Wang Yao hung up and smiled at Ma Ruo in the room, "From now on, you don't need to pay attention to any requests from anyone in the company except for my arrangements."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Wang, I'll only listen to you." Ma Ruo nodded obediently.

In just one week, she went from being a gold digger universally condemned on the internet to a BMW-driving woman with nearly 500,000 followers who were universally hated.

In the past week, she did almost nothing but read, exercise, eat, and sleep, yet she became a household name and a hot topic of conversation.

Moreover, she could participate in the promotion and distribution of top domestic films, a transformation akin to instant success, all thanks to Wang Yao. That evening, Chi Xin called her, inviting her to a banquet. Being a veteran in the photography industry, she naturally understood the nature of such events.

A week ago, she would have been eager to pay her own way in to get to know all the different people there, but now she realizes that knowing Wang Yao is enough.

She may not be the smartest, but she's not stupid either; she knows who the real power players are.

"This is a movie theater that we'll be renting out later. It's full of people from the film's production company. You can act as a ticket collector and invite all the fans who like and follow you in to watch the movie."

Upon receiving her message, Wang Yao immediately picked her up to attend an offline event.

"What if there are male fans? Should we treat them too?" Ma Ruo asked doubtfully.

“Of course, if they were to fight in the movie theater, the buzz would be even greater.” Wang Yao pondered for a moment and decided to treat them all the same.

Renting out a movie theater is a great publicity opportunity. With the "Confucius" film crew offering to rent out the theater and cover the media, he naturally wouldn't let go of such a free opportunity.

People are often hesitant to accept favors or gifts, and those who participate in offline events for the sake of saving money are mostly college students.

They didn't have much ill will towards Ma Ruo; they were just energetic and loved to join in the fun. If they actually got to see a movie for free, these naive college students would definitely have a better impression of Ma Ruo, and might even gain a lot of new fans.

It can generate news for the movie, strengthen Ma Ruo's rich woman persona, and convert fans. It's like Qin Shi Huang touching an electric gate – he's won big.

After settling Ma Ruo in, Wang Yao took Nazha to the celebration banquet prepared for him by Director Hu Mei.

You can speak well and make people accept your way of thinking.

Only by being able to do it will people recognize your abilities.

In one afternoon, Wang Yao proved the feasibility of his ideas and creativity with facts, and achieved results, thus earning the right to formally sit down for a discussion.

The main reason for bringing Nazha along was to ask for a favor, since Hu Mei is a graduate of Beijing Electric Power University, and they wanted to see if they could hitch a ride to her university.

Wang Yao deliberately had Nazha without makeup, dressed simply in jeans and a t-shirt. Her features are already very distinctive, so this made her look clean and eye-catching, which also suited her age.

After instructing her not to talk nonsense or drink alcohol, Wang Yao took her to a restaurant for a banquet.

The banquet was held in a Chinese manor, a typical Suzhou-style garden with rockeries, water features, stone tablets, artificial hills, pavilions and towers, as if it were another dimension hidden beneath a modern metropolis.

As Wang Yao entered the room, led by a waiter, he explained with a smile.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. I just finished arranging for Ma Ruo to book the entire venue offline."

"We just arrived too. You must be tired today. Please sit here." Hu Mei warmly invited Wang Yao to sit next to her, her gaze lingering on the pretty girl behind him. She raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "And who is this little sister?"

It is considered very impolite to bring strangers to such private banquets, especially on the first occasion. It is either considered a lack of etiquette or a way to use someone as a bargaining chip.

"This is my sister. I can't hold my liquor, and I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself if I drink too much, so I brought her along to see me. Naza, please introduce yourself," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Naza forced herself to remain calm and gave a shy self-introduction.

"If you can't hold your liquor, then don't drink. I don't have any industry malpractices here. But your sister is a bit too beautiful. What, are you planning to develop a career in film and television?"

Having been in this industry for over thirty years, Hu Mei had seen all sorts of brother-sister relationships and naturally understood Wang Yao's intentions.

"I'm not doing well in my studies, so I've been thinking about this and am planning to try out the entrance exams for the three major arts schools first," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"Is your sister from the Northern Frontier? Beijing University of Technology has special recruitment quotas, let me ask around for you." Hu Mei looked Nazha up and down and promised.

"Wouldn't this be too much trouble for Director Hu?" Wang Yao feigned fear.

"It's nothing, just helping you out. Come on, little sister, sit next to me." Hu Mei chuckled, letting Nazha sit beside her and pushing Wang Yao aside.

It's a veiled expression of dissatisfaction, but things are likely to go through.

Wang Yao didn't take it seriously and casually chatted about the public opinion feedback on the internet today.

After chatting for a while, Chen Lingjuan brought Ren Quan and Huang Shengyi in.

Ren Quan had already become familiar with Wang Yao in just one afternoon, and was quite casual about it, only expressing his curiosity about Nazha.

Huang Shengyi appeared much more reserved. It's likely that Yang Zi was originally supposed to come, but Chen Lingjuan replaced her with Huang Shengyi to fill in.

He sat there restlessly, pretending to be invisible; he looked rather pitiful.

　Thanks to the following users: 无聊滴, 无所谓葬爱, 尘世中迷途小书童, 书友20210709064404786, 晚晚太黑, 路人王sh, 乡间土人, 赵健_bd, 和尚衙门, 书友20230120776199, 单单狗挺好, 汐汐秦, 低低行曲, 清风明月FANG, 淡薄灵魂, 神说？ 让放光, 书友20250414111215222, and 书友20250209154310803.

　　The following readers are extremely grateful for their monthly tickets and recommendation votes: 骉神仙, 豫州仙, 一米之光, 小孩晓你好啊, 九霄天外逍遥仙, 原愿随风, 中年少女, 秋意随风起佳人入梦来, 磨OK了, 给我认真写, 偶然会发笑, ZL大帝, 书友20200229172242940, 书友20190522091626772.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)