How did I become famous?

Chapter 108 First Weekly Box Office (First Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets~)

Inside the elevator, Fang Bie was utterly exhausted.

A moment of passion finally convinced Old Man Su to temporarily refrain from interfering in Su Mulin's life, but then a problem arose.

How can Fang Bie package the young lady properly?

Songwriting?

I've almost run out of ideas.

Of course, they could come up with some new "half-songs" later on, but that would be meaningless.

The young lady hasn't even finished listening to all the songs yet, how is she going to catch up on the later ones?

acting?

With the young lady's acting skills, which are so bad that she can only play a corpse and still need multiple takes, letting her act is like torturing the entire crew.

What should we do then?

Making variety shows?

They can get on variety shows like "Let's Get Married" and "Let's Fall in Love".

However, firstly, the young lady doesn't seem to be someone with a strong sense of variety show performance.

Besides, who's going to pair them up with? Aren't you afraid of seeing brains splattered and people drowning in the river?

He had just promised Old Man Su that he would protect Su Mulin in the entertainment industry, and then he ended up on this show. He was really asking for trouble.

So what to do?

With a sigh, the elevator doors opened, and Fang Bie stepped out and opened his own security door.

A tempting aroma wafted into his nostrils, whetting his appetite.

Su Mulin, who was busy in the kitchen, turned around when she heard the noise. With her hair tied in a low ponytail, she smiled like a gentle wife waiting for her husband to come home.

"You're back?"

Fang Bie was immediately taken aback.

Was the young lady always this gentle in her speech?

And her smile, did she ever smile so gently before?

Fang Bie thought about it carefully and came to a conclusion—

No, it never happened.

You're already being kind enough by not having a cool, aloof face all the time, do you really expect her to smile at you?

So Fang Bie's heart was in turmoil.

As the saying goes, something unusual must be a sign of trouble. What kind of wicked idea is the young lady up to now?

Su Mulin didn't say anything; she didn't even ask Fang Bie to help her serve the dishes.

A minute later, at the dinner table, Fang Bie stared silently at the abundant dishes laid out on the table.

Braised beef brisket with potatoes, stir-fried lamb with scallions, braised pork ribs, Mapo tofu, stir-fried eggs with chives, crystal shrimp, stir-fried squid with green peppers.

There's even West Lake Beef Soup.

Did the young lady make all of this by herself?

After I've been gone for so long, not only did she not ask where I went, but she also prepared this whole table of food?

Where's the promised egg pancake?

Do I have that many ingredients in my refrigerator?

Of course, he didn't have any in his refrigerator; these were all ordered by the young lady to be bought by that group of men in black suits.

The young lady is in a good mood today.

No, it's more accurate to say she's never been in such a good mood.

Resting her cheek on one hand, she tilted her head slightly to look at Fang Bie across from her, her voice incredibly gentle: "Eat~ What are you standing there for~"

Fang Bie shivered; that voice was way too sweet.

What did the young lady experience while I was away?

But he dared not say it, nor did he dare ask.

He could only eat in silence.

The water has been boiled three times, and the dishes have been prepared five times.

The young lady put down her chopsticks and said casually, "When are we going back? The first week's box office results should be out by now. I'm afraid Liu Mang and the others are getting impatient waiting for you."

Fang Bie sighed and took out two plane tickets that Uncle Su had given him earlier from his pocket: "After dinner, we'll leave tonight."

I don't know how Uncle Su and the others managed to buy tickets for themselves without their own ID cards.

"good!"

The young lady was completely relieved.

She got up without even eating and headed towards Fang Bie's bedroom: "I'll prepare more clothes for you this time! We can buy the rest over there!"

This time, I absolutely won't give him an excuse to slip away!

"Director Xu, the first-week box office results are in."

".How many?"

"Sixty-five million three hundred and seventy thousand."

"Wasn't the plan to have those young, popular male and female celebrities encourage fans to watch the movie?"

"Of those 60 million, more than 10 million came from the time they posted on Weibo urging their fans to come see the movie."

"They each have tens of millions of followers, how come this is so few? Aren't they supposed to have huge fan bases and loyal followers? Otherwise, why would I cast these actors with no acting skills and blank faces in a movie?"

"A couple of days ago, Weibo's backend malfunctioned, and then... the real traffic of those young male celebrities was revealed."

"How many?"

"Their circle of friends has over 100 points of discussion."

"How much did you say?"

"It was over 100, but only half an hour later, Weibo said it was a system error, and then it went back to over 100 million. However, Director Fang Bie's popularity was already over 10 before that 'system error,' and it remained over 10 after the error. So..."

"So you mean those ten million+ in box office revenue were 'ghost box office figures' manipulated by the company behind them?"

"Yes."

The office was so large you could hear a pin drop.

Xu Kuangfu looked much older, his old face full of dejection.

"No wonder their company said the package deal for these top-tier young male celebrities is only 40 million. No wonder."

They spent over ten million to boost the box office of Ghost, and still made a net profit of over twenty million. This business is faster than robbery!

"By the way, Director Xu, President Wang asked me to pass on a message to you." Assistant Xiao Ye pushed up his glasses. "He said that since the film's box office performance was a failure, he won't hold you responsible, but you must return the ten million you embezzled to the company within a specified time, otherwise he will pursue legal action against you."

Xu Kuangfu glared angrily: "Bullshit! The actors' salaries were reported as 60 million! I only took 5 million! The remaining 15 million went into Wang Shouxin's pocket! Does he think I don't know?"

Xiao Ye didn't say anything, she just looked at him quietly.

After a long silence, Xu Kuangfu said dejectedly, "Reply to President Wang that I understand and I will hand over the ten million to the company on time."

He hasn't aged decades.

Because at his age, if he were decades older, he'd probably have to treat the whole village to a meal.

Besides, it's only ten million, not enough to seriously damage him.

But

"Fang Bie! Don't run into me!"

Sometimes people are just strange like that; even when it's their own fault, they always like to find someone to shift the blame onto.

Perhaps this is why 5V5 esports is more popular than 1V1 esports.

Because if you lose a 1v1 match, you can't blame the network or your teammates.

How can a game that can't shift blame still be popular?

"Xiao Wu, how much was the box office in the first week?"

"Eighty-seven million one hundred and thirty thousand."

"That's good. Judging from this trend, your movie has completely shaken off the slump of your last movie."

This is Zhang Luo's home, and this is a conversation between Wu Kai and him.

"Actually, the box office wasn't good at first, but..." Wu Kai clenched his fist, "Uncle Zhang, why did Fang Bie post on Weibo to speak well of me?"

This film, which the director made to earn easy money and didn't like the art-house genre, has seen a turnaround in its reputation and a decent box office performance.

But compared to Fang Bie's wildly popular online film "The Shadow of Light," which achieved both critical and commercial success, he felt utterly outclassed, unable to even see Fang Bie's taillights.

In just this week, Fang Bie's movies have already grossed over 600 million yuan.

Sitting opposite him, Zhang Luo stubbed out his cigarette in the glass ashtray on the coffee table and said calmly, "Xiao Fang is a very respectful person, and he doesn't have that arrogance that comes with early success. He's doing me a favor by forgiving you. Xiao Wu, learn from him in the future, and stop getting involved in those crooked ways. You have to be strong yourself. This time, Xiao Fang is a good person and willing to forgive you. If you had fallen into the hands of an old bastard like Xu Kuangfu, you wouldn't have fared well."

Wu Kai pursed his lips tightly.

He's feeling incredibly wronged right now.

Even though Fang Bie was the mastermind behind the smear campaign and the one who was tricked by him, why is it that I am the one apologizing?

But he had to bow his head, just like he did when he graduated seven years ago.

"I understand, Uncle Zhang."

"It's good that you understand."

After a moment of silence, Zhang Luo continued, "By the way, I've already submitted your application for the Golden Phoenix Awards. Your film has a very good chance of winning, so you should seize the opportunity. Whether you can completely turn your career around or not, you don't need to listen to others anymore; this is crucial."

Wu Kai lowered his head and smiled bitterly: "Uncle Zhang, it's hopeless. With 'Shadow of Light' as the winner, who else can get this award? It has rave reviews, depth, and its box office has already exceeded 600 million. To be honest, I wouldn't be convinced if this award were given to someone else."

Zhang Luo didn't say anything; he simply took out two more cigarettes and lit them for himself and Wu Kai.

When the cigarette had burned down to half its end, he said, "Xiao Fang won't win this time; he wasn't shortlisted."

Wu Kai suddenly looked up: "Why?!"

Although I hate to admit it, my "Life Is Not Worth Living" is indeed not as good as "Shadow of Light".

Why shouldn't he be shortlisted?

"Because Xu Kuangfu is on the judging panel this time, and those old guys are willing to give him face. Besides, they don't like Xiao Fang either; he's made two movies and hasn't even paid him a visit." Zhang Luo's tone was tinged with sarcasm.

He wasn't mocking Fang Bie, of course.

"Then," Wu Kai lowered his head again, hiding his expression in the shadows under his bangs, "I'm not going either."

What he wanted was to defeat Fang Bie and Liu Mang honorably, and then watch them weep bitterly.

Instead of spreading any nonsense or shady dealings.

He didn't want to be like he was seven years ago, and he didn't want to be burdened with the blame for ostracizing others again.

"You're not a child anymore," Zhang Luo said, looking at him. "You're too old to call me 'uncle,' and we're still fellow disciples. This is your last chance; are you really planning to give it up?"

"Can"

"No buts. I've already talked to Xiao Fang, and he won't attend even if we invite him this time." Zhang Luo's eyes were a little complicated as he said this.

Those were eyes filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"That kid got invited to the Venice Film Festival."

"So you chose Venice over Cannes?"

"What else? Actually, I don't want to go to any of them; they're just a waste of time."

In the conference room of Fangmu Film and Television in Hengdian, Fang Bie slumped in his chair, like a salted fish waiting to be slaughtered on a chopping board.

He's only been back for a day and he's already so busy, meeting with Zhang Luo, arranging accommodations for Lao Wu and the other two, and attending meetings. All he wanted to do was quietly draw some Minecraft original artwork and check out the cosplay girls on Weibo.

Why make him so busy?

"No!" Liu Mang pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his chubby face. "You're just going to forgive Wu Kai like that?"

"What else can we do? Beat him up?" Fang Bie said lazily.

Moreover, it was he who tricked Wu Kai, even though Wu Kai had tricked Liu Mang before, so he didn't feel guilty.

But Wu Kai didn't cause any trouble this time, so why bother nitpicking and holding onto him?

For example, if it were his previous life, would the two Little Ma brothers have cared about other people's provocations?

Obviously not.

"What about Xu Kuangfu? What did that old man say about us?"

"Sigh, why bother arguing with an old man? Besides, I've known Director Xu for a long time."

Fang Bie did indeed have a good impression of that old man, Xu Kuangfu.

He used to criticize himself a lot during his live stream, and I was actually quite happy about it when I found out later.

It wasn't because he was a masochist, but because it helped Fang Bie's previous movies flop.

Unfortunately, Liu Mang and his team make such powerful movies that no one can withstand them.

And then there's this Golden Phoenix Award, which I've never heard of before. Fang Bie even went to check last year's list of winners.

Can someone win Best Actor with a deadpan, expressionless face?

Can someone win Best Actress with those dead fish eyes?

That worthless prize was given to Fang Bie, who complained that he couldn't get a good price for it when selling scrap metal.

Originally, he was hesitant to refuse Zhang Luo out of consideration for Zhang Luo's feelings, but it just so happened that Xu Kuangfu was targeting him.

Isn't that wonderful?

Moreover, Fang Bie greatly admired Xu Kuangfu's ability to "fail whenever he wanted," and he wished he had met him a few months earlier so he could have asked him for advice on how to make a movie flop.

What a pity. You were born before I was born, and I was born after you had grown old.

This line of poetry is actually not very appropriate for the occasion, but Fang Bie couldn't think of anything else for the time being.

"Shall we go to Venice?"

"Go ahead, what else can we do?"

When I think about what will happen to Wu Kai, that scene comes to mind vividly.

(End of this chapter)