Chapter 1055

In order to respond, Miss Luo Quan didn't even tell her fans the good news that "Memories of Murder" had wrapped filming and was about to be released.

However, she had high hopes for this movie, so the publicity definitely couldn't be as laid-back as it was for "Sheep Without a Shepherd."

So, after eating the wrap-party cake at noon, the trailer was released in the evening; at this point, Miss Luo Quan hadn't even finished editing the movie, using only footage shot from the previous period.

But for a trailer, you can only show fans fragmented scenes to pique their interest, so it doesn't matter if it's not coherent.

In late April, when there were no major blockbusters being released, the publicity costs were much lower than during the Spring Festival, but it still cost her tens of millions.

This was even considering the inherent popularity and box office appeal of herself and Zhao Zhao Xilin; otherwise, the publicity costs would have been even higher.

However, although a lot of money was spent, the results were immediate.

Once a few topics hit the Weibo trending list and the paid posters discussed it on major platforms, the buzz was immediately there.

And the script used by the paid posters was: "I have an uncle on the crew, and he told me this movie is almost guaranteed to be the best of the year!"

This kind of exaggerated leak, which sounds like bragging, was actually arranged by Miss Luo Quan for the publicity department to execute.

When others use it, it's bragging and defrauding consumers.

But for her, it's a display of confidence, because she knows clearly how excellent the movie she filmed is; no amount of praise is an exaggeration.

So, when remarks like "Best of the Year Guaranteed" were hyped up, many passersby and film critics were bluffed, and expectations were raised quite high.

Miss Luo Quan's fans, who didn't know the truth, saw this public opinion trend and instinctively felt a hint of worry:

"Luo Bao, the momentum regarding the new movie on the forums is a bit off."

"Who promotes a movie like this? It feels like they're killing it with praise."

"I think a statement should be issued to tell these people who are blindly hyping it up to calm down."

"If expectations are raised this high now, if the movie is even slightly unsatisfactory, it might cause a backlash."

"Yes, bragging isn't done like this."

………………

Seeing the fans' suggestions, Miss Luo Quan smiled confidently: "Is there a possibility that the movie 'Memories of Murder' is actually really good?

I'm not afraid of being killed by praise, because this movie deserves such praise; after all, it's just 'Best of the Year,' not 'Best in Film History.'

Taking a step back, everything needs comparison; if this year's works are all just 70-point works, then if a 71-point one appears, can't it be called the best of the year?

So everyone don't worry too much, just quietly look forward to the movie's release."

After this response came out, the fans finally understood Miss Luo Quan's attitude.

Since you're so confident, then we don't need to be anxious.

Having watched her livestreams for so many years and been fans for so long, how could they not know what kind of personality Miss Luo Quan has?

With her caution, if she didn't have full certainty, she definitely wouldn't say such things.

As a result, the quality of "Memories of Murder" had quite a lot of room for imagination; could this be a masterpiece comparable to "Farewell My Concubine"?

In their perception, "Farewell My Concubine" belongs to that kind of god-tier movie that is released in the spring, but the awards don't need to wait for the summer, autumn, or winter to end.

Being excellent to this extent, if it can't win an award, it only means the award lacks gold content, not the movie.

This is a simple judgment made by the public under normal aesthetics, both subjective and objective.

And the final result didn't exceed anyone's expectations; "Farewell My Concubine" won almost every award it could, both domestically and internationally.

As for the two "double-yolk eggs" (shared awards), the former was unprecedented at Cannes and will be forever remembered and talked about.

And the shared award at the Golden Rooster Awards—the competitor belonged to the type that had to win, so for "Farewell My Concubine" to win together was already very impressive.

Although it wasn't the first shared award, it will definitely be remembered by future generations for a lifetime.

As for this "Memories of Murder," although it hasn't been released yet, it has already been pushed by public opinion, including Miss Luo Quan herself, to the same position as "Farewell My Concubine."

A movie that is discussed so intensely before it's even released is truly rare.

But because the director is Miss Luo Quan, everything becomes reasonable.

And just when countless fans were eager to see the finished film, "Memories of Murder" encountered some problems with censorship.

Miss Luo Quan's works rarely encounter problems with censorship; unless there is indeed violating content that cannot pass, otherwise it's usually a green light all the way.

The last time she encountered a red light was filming "Farewell My Concubine," and she had to change quite a few lines.

But after all, there were era issues involved, touching on some sensitive content, so encountering a red light was normal.

And this time, the reason was simpler: it's not allowed for evil to triumph over good.

At the end of the movie, the police put in huge amounts of manpower and resources, investigating the case until they were almost on the verge of a breakdown, yet they still couldn't find the culprit.

The murderer remaining at large—this is definitely not allowed.

To modify it, the culprit must be brought to justice.

But if it's changed like that, the film's impact would be much worse; this is a completely irreconcilable contradiction.

Artistic quality and passing censorship—you can't have both.

After being clearly told that the murderer couldn't remain at large, Miss Luo Quan even had thoughts of giving up the mainland market entirely.

But fortunately, Director He helped a lot; under his mediation, Miss Luo Quan obtained a compromise plan.

That is, the film content remains unchanged, but a note must be added at the end of the film stating that the real-life case has been solved, and people have finally seen the clear sky.

So Miss Luo Quan agreed to this request and added a sentence at the end of the movie:

"This work is adapted from the Hwaseong serial murder case in South Korea. The case was solved in 2019, and the murderer confessed to the heinous crimes committed twenty years ago..."

This way, it didn't change the content of the film, and it promoted the positive energy that all evil will eventually be brought to justice, which can be considered a perfect satisfaction of both parties' needs.

Finally, the movie passed censorship without any danger.

Sure enough, for an excellent work to be released, it always has to go through some twists and turns.

The harder it is to come by, the more legendary color it can add to it.

Censorship passed, the movie's release date was officially confirmed, the pre-sale channel opened, and it grossed nearly 100 million in box office overnight.

As mentioned before, this 100 million is the base Miss Luo Quan has accumulated through years of hard work and reputation.

As long as there is a new movie released, the pre-sale box office will be at this level, unshakable.

However, because the publicity was effective this time, the pre-sale box office definitely won't be just this much; if it were during the Spring Festival, it might even break a record or something.

It's a pity that the only holiday she can encounter now is the May Day Labor Day; although there is a small long weekend, the enthusiasm for watching movies definitely can't compare to the Spring Festival or National Day, so breaking records is basically out of the question.

And as the days passed, the release date of "Memories of Murder" began to count down, and Mia's due date also began to count down.

Mia giving birth is the biggest thing in the family right now.

For safety's sake, Mia had already been sent to the Fudan University Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital to wait for delivery, with Gao Liang and Miss Luo Quan taking turns guarding the bedside.

At the same time, they were on a video call, and parents and Mia's parents would also come to check in from time to time.

On a stormy night, Mia, who was happily drinking chicken soup, had her water break without any warning.

Miss Luo Quan, who already had experience, was not as panicked as her younger brother and sister-in-law; she first pressed the emergency button by the bedside and said into the speaker: "The pregnant woman in Room 603 has had her water break, please have doctors and nurses prepare for surgery immediately."

"Luoluo, you're so experienced, you're not nervous at all." Wen Xia saw Mia wailing, her face pale, and her whole heart was in turmoil because of Mia's wailing.

"I was there when my mom gave birth to Luoxi, the situation wasn't much different; you can't panic at this time, just quietly wait for the doctors and nurses to come."

Miss Luo Quan said as she opened the door and looked at the corridor outside, seeing no one.

Thinking about it, they had just started calling, so it wouldn't be that fast.

Two minutes later, the doctors and nurses arrived.

The female doctor first checked Mia's situation, and after confirming she was about to give birth, she immediately had the nurses send her into the operating room on a gurney.

Gao Liang followed the gurney all the way and was stopped outside the operating room.

But it wasn't that he wasn't allowed in; expectant fathers can enter the operating room when the expectant mother is giving birth, which can provide comfort and encouragement.

However, before going in, he had to change clothes and disinfect.

As for Miss Luo Quan, Wen Xia, and the others, they could only wait outside the operating room.

With Mia's physical condition, plus the fetal-protection medicine she exchanged from the system, there wouldn't be any problems with this delivery.

Even an older pregnant woman like Mom Zhang had a smooth delivery after taking the fetal-protection medicine.

Mia is in better health and younger, so naturally, there wouldn't be any accidents.

So after the operating room door closed, Miss Luo Quan sent a message to her parents and Mia's parents:

"Mia's water broke, she's already in the operating room, and Gao Liang is inside with her."

Concise and to the point, without any extra description.

And Dad quickly sent a video invitation; after connecting, they found both couples sitting on a sofa, their expressions also showing varying degrees of nervousness.

The two men were slightly calmer, asking Miss Luo Quan about the specific situation in a deep voice.

Miss Luo Quan answered truthfully and comforted them, saying not to worry, Mia would definitely be fine.

Then, after about half an hour of video calling, Miss Luo Quan faintly heard a loud cry of a baby from the operating room.

"It seems she's given birth." Miss Luo Quan looked up at the indicator light above the operating room; "In Surgery" was still lit.

"Is it that fast? It's only been half an hour."

The two women on the other side of the screen were shocked; they didn't expect it to be so fast!

Even Miss Luo Quan was shocked by this speed, because usually, from contractions to water breaking to natural birth, the fast ones last several hours, and the slow ones are over ten hours.

Mom belonged to the faster type, and it still took her four or five hours.

Didn't expect Mia to be even more impressive; the whole process took less than an hour—this counts as a precipitous birth!

A precipitous birth isn't a good thing, because it happens too fast, it may be accompanied by tissue tearing and bleeding, and both the mother and baby have a risk of infection.

The abnormal speed of delivery quickly made the two couples on the other end of the phone extremely nervous, constantly asking their doctor friends if there was any problem with giving birth in half an hour.

But the answers they got were all, "Are you kidding me?"

Translated, it means, are you teasing me?

Clearly, even these doctors were shocked, thinking it was a joke.

However, as the "In Surgery" sign went out and Mia walked out supported by Gao Liang, everyone finally felt relieved.

Although Mia's face was a bit pale, she didn't show much fatigue, and her steps were steady; she didn't look like someone who had just given birth.

On the contrary, Gao Liang's own steps were a bit weak, and his legs were visibly shaking.

Mia had a swaddled bundle in her arms, a baby with golden hair but dark eyes.

"It's a boy, seven pounds three ounces, he cried so loudly that he even startled the nurse holding him."

Mia looked at her son in her arms with a face full of happiness, then frowned after a while: "Why is his head so pointed? So ugly."

"Newborns are all like this, it'll be fine in two days." The nurse next to them explained with a smile, "Also, the baby will defecate within 24 hours of birth; you need to pay attention to the color of the stool and clean it up in time.

When sleeping at night, sleep in the same room but different beds; adults should also pay attention at all times, and notify us if there's anything unclear.

We will arrange for someone to explain the precautions to the mom and dad later, be sure to keep it in mind."

After the nurse finished speaking, she was about to turn to work, but was stopped by Miss Luo Quan: "Nurse, did my sister-in-law give birth too fast this time? It took less than an hour from entering to finishing?"

"Our director is also surprised, saying that in over ten years of delivering babies, she hasn't encountered such a situation."

The nurse took off her mask, but judging from her expression, she seemed quite happy; she probably had new material for bragging later.

"However, we have already checked carefully; the mother and baby are both very healthy, especially the mother—she can walk on the ground right after giving birth; it's estimated she will fully recover in three days at most.

Our dean is coming over to take a look later; your sister-in-law said she might even become a special case in textbooks."

After the nurse finished speaking, she left the stunned family in a mess.

After a long time, Eric on the other end of the phone turned to ask his wife: "Wife, how long did it take you to give birth to Miss Luo Quan? I can't quite remember."

"Three hours, I guess, it almost tortured me to death." Luo Ni recalled after a while, saying with lingering fear.

"It seems this baby will be extraordinary in the future; what's his name again?" Mia's dad slapped his thigh hard, emitting laughter like a string of firecrackers.

"His name is Arthur." Gao Liang grinned and answered his father-in-law, "I discussed it with Mia before; if it's a boy, we'll name him Arthur!"