Chapter 943: Crazy Racing (Part 2)

"I'm really touched that you still care about my new movie," Luo Quan said with a delighted expression. "But don't worry—I'm still very confident about its performance, even in this market with a downward trend."

"You ask why I'm so confident? Of course, because my movie is simply excellent."

"Didn't you say the previous prosperity was all an illusion?"

"Schrödinger's illusion."

"I don't quite understand your logic."

………………

Seeing her fans seemed confused, Luo Quan explained: "The market was indeed a false prosperity, but we still have 1.4 billion people—we're the world's second-largest economy. Even after the false prosperity is exposed, the box office potential we can still deliver is astonishing."

"Take those blockbuster films from a few years ago—their numbers were real. Even if they were released today, they'd still earn fantastic box office results."

"Crazy Racing is exactly such a movie."

"After hearing you say that, I can't wait to see it."

"You haven't leaked a single piece of news since filming started—your lips are sealed tighter than a vault."

"True, not a single still has been released."

………………

"I know you're eager," Luo Quan chuckled. "The movie is already more than halfway done—I estimate it won't be long before you all get to see it."

This was probably the most exciting news for fans tonight.

Although everyone knew Luo Quan shoots fast—a movie usually takes about two months to finish—waiting without knowing the exact progress was always the hardest part.

If there were a countdown to release, the effect would be even better; fans watching the numbers tick down one by one would always have something to look forward to.

But a countdown is something Luo Quan can only set after the film is finished and submitted for review, because during filming, delays always happen for all sorts of reasons.

Like when we were shooting "One Down, One to Go" in Hengdian—who could've predicted a martial arts fanatic would show up and throw half of Hengdian into chaos?

These are all unpredictable, uncontrollable incidents.

Although "Crazy Racing" hasn't encountered anything similar, Luo Quan has already attended several external events outside filming, which have also affected the schedule.

The good news is, this movie has almost no visual effects shots—once filming wraps up, it's practically done. In today's era obsessed with VFX blockbusters, that means we can get to fans faster.

In short, she's already blown her own trumpet—and it's drawn attention from both fans and the public.

Now all she needs to do is focus, work hard, and make this movie truly excellent.

The next day, the whole family flew back to Hengdian.

Luo Quan's movie had entered its final stages, while Leon was preparing to accompany Director Guo on promoting the already-finished "The Dawn Era."

He took on this role during his last visit to Hengdian. Luo Quan knew full well it was a terrible film, but believing that suffering brings good fortune, she didn't interfere with his decision.

So under Director Guo's enthusiastic invitation, Leon accepted the role.

Honestly, a stoic, domineering CEO role requiring little acting, with limited screen time and a high salary—it was an offer impossible to refuse.

In fact, after reading the script, Leon already knew this movie would almost certainly be a flop, filled with materialism and exaggerated fantasies of ordinary people about the rich.

And with the female leads' plots being pure melodramatic nonsense—didn't he already know exactly what the final product would look like?

But which top actor hasn't made a few bad films?

A celebrity without gossip isn't a celebrity; similarly, an actor who hasn't made a bad film isn't a true top actor.

Leon felt taking on a light, easy job now and then wasn't really a problem.

Second, Director Guo was paying way too much—it was a price impossible to refuse.

The movie would be trashed after release, but it would also become wildly popular.

All he needed to do was perform well and keep his acting on point.

After all, he wasn't the lead—he was just a supporting character introduced to move the plot along. No matter how bad the movie was, the criticism wouldn't land on him.

With this mindset, Leon had been actively cooperating with Director Guo's promotional efforts.

Luo Quan's hope of giving Leon a lesson was likely going to fall through.

That night, Leon returned to the hotel looking utterly exhausted.

"What happened? You look like you've been working on a construction site for three straight days."

A group of girls were watching a movie on the sofa. Mia looked up at her husband and asked, "What's going on?"

"Chinese fans are just too intense. Today, when they heard I was coming for promotion, they completely blocked the venue."

Leon collapsed onto another sofa, opened a bottle of Qianshui Mountain water, and took a big gulp.

Foreigners usually drink bottled water bought from supermarkets; to them, drinking boiled water is as strange as drinking raw water is to Chinese people.

And foreign tap water isn't nearly as clean as the so-called "public intellectuals" claim—drinking it directly still causes stomachaches.

Moreover, foreign tap water lacks the softening process, so its mineral content is extremely high; after boiling, it often leaves heavy scale.

Thus, most foreigners simply buy bottled water from supermarkets. Those who don't mind the hassle use water softeners.

As for boiling water—foreigners simply don't have that concept.

After all, the nationwide habit of drinking boiled water in China is only a recent phenomenon, rooted in unique historical circumstances.

But since coming to China, Leon had adjusted his lifestyle in many ways—except when it came to drinking water, which remained unchanged.

He still drank bottled mineral water, occasionally chilling a whole bottle of soda for a treat.

After finishing his water, Leon continued complaining: "No one expected so many fans to show up—I didn't even realize I was this popular in China. You didn't see the scene—it was literally flags waving, crowds everywhere."

"I saw it," Luo Quan said, having already found the trending topic. "Haha, you got roasted for disrupting public order."

"That's not my fault!" Leon looked genuinely aggrieved. "Let me see how they're insulting me."

Actually, for foreigners like Leon who haven't done anything truly offensive, Chinese netizens' language is still relatively gentle, using only common terms like "white skin" or "foreign devil."

Fortunately, Leon is white—if he were Black, things would've been terrible.

Currently, online anti-Black sentiment is extremely high. Even if a Black person trends for doing something good, they'll still be called "nigga."

In truth, every race has good and bad people—but the rate of bad actors among Black people is simply too high.

Moreover, because their ancestors were exploited by white people, in today's Europe and America, under the help of white leftists, they wield "political correctness" like a weapon.

For example, a biologist who won the Nobel Prize and is called the "father of DNA."

He was immediately vilified and blacklisted after publishing a finding that Black people have the lowest average IQ among all races.

Perhaps his research was purely scientific, with no racial bias whatsoever.

But if you say Black people have the lowest IQ, that's racism—you must be socially destroyed.

However, as time passed and more evidence piled up, people realized this "father of DNA" had been remarkably accurate.

Whether his IQ claim is true or not is debatable, but his crime rate claim is undeniable.

In the U.S. alone, Black people, making up less than 20% of the population, account for 50% of all criminal records.

And it's not just the U.S.—Europe is nearly the same.

Asia has no such records simply because there are far fewer Black people here.

So although Black people generally have lower standards of conduct, you're not allowed to say it—say it, and you'll be accused of racism. This leaves many locals deeply frustrated.

Leon isn't American, but he's spent years in New York's underground rap scene and lived among many Black people—he knows exactly what they're like.

Hot-tempered, loyal, greedy, lawless… these labels fit them well.

Relatively speaking, he doesn't harbor racial prejudice against them.

But if he hears the song "Sunshine Rainbow White Horse," he'll happily hum along.

This song is currently the most popular Chinese song overseas. Its melody sounds like a cheerful children's tune, but the lyrics hide a hidden trick.

In its chorus, there's a long string of "nei ge nei ge nei ge nei ge"—which sounds almost identical to the most hated term for Black people: "nigga."

This term can only be used among Black people themselves; if anyone else says it, they'll trigger an explosion.

The song went viral because some mischievous Chinese netizens tricked foreign streamers into playing it.

When the chorus hit, the scenes were hilarious.

Then the song exploded—many streamers even deliberately played it to gain attention.

Since the song isn't meant as an insult, opponents can't get it taken down by reporting it.

Leon happened to hear it by chance and added it to his playlist—he plays it sometimes to lift his mood.

But all this only applies online and on his phone.

He wouldn't dare play it in front of a group of Black people.

Although he learned the magical "Dennis Conner," he still couldn't fight a gun—out of self-preservation, he knows the difference between online bravado and real-life bravado.

The same applies to Chinese netizens.

Although they happily call him "white skin" online, in person, they might be the first in line asking for his autograph.

Online is a platform where almost no one takes responsibility for their words, so they freely vent their negative emotions.

Leon himself frequently browses Tieba—he understands this perfectly.

So when he saw these insults, he felt no real emotional disturbance.

Let them curse—what does it cost me?

Besides, there's nothing he can do to stop it—after all, even his sister can't make everyone like her.

So Leon just laughed off the online insults.

As for the negative news about too many fans causing chaos—there was nothing he could do. It was truly unprepared, and the scene got messy; Leon sincerely apologized.

His sister once told him: if you make a mistake, never be stubborn or pretend to be dead—just admit it, promise to correct it next time. Those who dare to fight netizens always end up badly.

Leon rarely admires anyone—but he deeply respects his sister.

As a perfect star, she has too many shining qualities worth learning from.

Unfortunately, so far he's only learned her laziness—in slacking off, the siblings are evenly matched.

After the apology, the negative news Redu dropped significantly.

Clearly, netizens have a higher tolerance for artists like him with real talent.

Besides, it wasn’t really a big deal—though chaotic and crowded, no one got hurt, and Leon had been doing his best to maintain order; it was just the fans getting too carried away.

Come to think of it, he was also a victim, tricked by fans who loved him too much.

After thinking it over, Leon posted another Weibo urging fans to pursue celebrities rationally, attaching a song called “Stan,” written and composed by his older sister and sung by both of them.

The song tells the story of how irrational fandom leads to serious consequences.

When released, it was hailed as a masterpiece that opened a new chapter in rap and won that year’s Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.

Now that the hype had slightly died down, Leon promoted the song again in China, targeting lesser-known platforms.

That night, “Stan” topped the trending songs chart and received unanimous praise from China’s hip-hop community.

It wasn’t a new song; most Chinese hip-hop artists had heard it at least a little.

Now people were liking it mainly to ride the wave and pay their respects to Leon.

After all, he’d been a mentor on two rap variety shows and helped launch many underground rappers.

Though no new variety show had been announced yet, if they got familiar with him now, they might get preferential treatment when the show finally aired—wouldn’t that launch them?

That’s what they call: everyone lifts up a flashy facade, and when the cake grows big, everyone gets a slice.

For Leon, he was quite willing to share this cake with other rappers.

After all, he was an outsider—he couldn’t swallow the biggest slice like his sister could, so it was better to share with others and earn a good reputation.

But fame brings controversy: while some fawned over him, others dissed him.

Since arriving in China, rappers had continuously dissed his actions in various ways, accusing him of just chasing money.

Leon couldn’t refute this—he was indeed here to make money.

But isn’t making money fine?

Leon just thought the rappers who dissed him were too low-level, so he had no interest in engaging with them.

The controversy gradually faded away.

Luo Quan no longer distracted herself chasing other trends; she threw herself fully into filming the movie.

Before the Mid-Autumn Festival gala, the film was successfully wrapped and submitted for review to Dai Ying.

The whole family left Hengdian and returned to Shanghai to watch the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala.