Chapter 233: The True Worth of Box Office Appeal

"Across ten thousand mountains and a thousand rivers, I'm willing to go see them all with you!"

"Pfft!"

Cai Yi choked and sprayed water straight out, staring at the timid yet resolute little face on her computer screen, utterly impressed.

Holy crap. She was sold, she was truly sold!

What innate romance-prodigy constitution.

Only their Tang Ren could possibly "give birth to" a talent like this!

Watching the two overlapping silhouettes leap down from the plane on the screen, Cai Yi truly didn't know what to say.

A thousand words distilled into one: Nazha earned it!

She reached out and stroked the little kitty in her arms—this little thing was temporarily "fostered" with her by Nazha.

Because the kitty recently had to shoot quite a few ads, and the schedule clashed a bit with Nazha's own, naturally she had to find someone to help handle the kitty's "engagements."

Cai Yi declared: I'm free anyway, I'll do it myself~

So she just petted it to her heart's content~

This round-headed, chubby little thing—who could possibly not love it!

Even though Tang Ren wouldn't get a single cent of the kitty's appearance fees, Cai Yi was basically providing free service.

After all, the kitty hadn't signed with Tang Ren, and Tang Ren doesn't do pet management either.

"Little baby, your owner is going crazy awesome now~"

"Meow~"

"Hey, is that little lock on your neck pure gold?"

Cai Yi saw the little gold lock on the kitty's collar and thought to herself that Nazha really spoiled this little thing—buying gold jewelry for a cat.

But when she put the little thing on her desk and let it run around everywhere.

Click.

The little gold lock stuck right onto that capybara figurine—that thing was magnetic.

The kitty seemed a bit incredulous, looked at the stuck lock, then turned its head to look at Cai Yi.

"Hahaha"

While Cai Yi was laughing, she hurriedly soothed the kitty, "I'll buy you one, Nazha's such a cheapskate, I'll buy you pure gold."

When the kitty was lying in her arms, purring from being petted, she suddenly caught on again.

Oh no! Tricked!

Really all from the same family, every single one of them "plays dirty," coming to fleece her—just like that stinker Bai Liang.

But she'd already promised the kitty, so Cai Yi wouldn't go back on her word.

Tomorrow she'll buy it~

And before that, of course, she had to arrange the company's marketing work properly.

Nazha's momentum was so strong right now, naturally they had to press the advantage, aggressively push press releases and keep hyping her up.

Until everyone knew she was a top-tier star in the industry!

However, before Nazha's marketing could press its advantage, "Wolf Warrior 2" suddenly told everyone: I'm just off the fire, but I haven't pulled the pot from the stove yet!

On the second day "Divas Hit the Road 3" aired, which happened to be a Sunday, the box office curve of "Wolf Warrior 2," which had originally started declining, suddenly surged upward against the trend!

Over a hundred million in a single day!

Industry insiders:???

Breaking a hundred million in a single day was certainly a great result for many films, but for a movie of "Wolf Warrior 2"'s scale, it was actually just okay.

But the problem was the timing was wrong!

This movie's been out for almost a month! What does this mean?!

Again?!

Wu Jing: I don't know either, I've even stopped doing roadshows

But he seemed to dream that a capybara laughed at him, mumbling something about "the echo of great fortune."

In any case, unclear, didn't understand, so he simply tossed the credit to Bai Liang.

He directly posted a Weibo:

"Brother Liang is still going strong. If you don't show up at the celebration banquet, no one is allowed to raise a glass."

That "brother" really cracked the netizens up.

"Reversing heaven and earth, a post-70s calling a post-90s 'brother'—your seniority's all messed up."

"Honestly, if I were Wu Jing I'd really have to kowtow to Bai Liang. From promotion to release, how much traffic and attention did he bring in?"

"'Wolf Warrior 2' is strong on its own, but Bai Liang really is absurd—even someone like me who doesn't follow traffic stars knows who he is."

"The skydiving in the final episode of 'Divas Hit the Road 3' made me tear up, he's really hardcore! Following him always feels like someone's out adventuring on my behalf. This guy Da Xian really is so dashing. If I were him, after becoming top-tier I definitely wouldn't want to take those risks—making money comfortably is way better."

"No wonder these two get along—Wu Jing is also someone willing to risk his life. And I still remember to this day the episode where he arrived by helicopter—also playing cool with his life!"

"The entertainment circle could use more artists like them."

"."

Clearly, the final wave of buzz created by Bai Liang and Nazha together on the show—the biggest buzz of the entire season—achieved a perfect closing chapter.

It even brought positive returns to every party on this chain of interests.

Including Dilireba.

Don't be fooled by her seeming to be at a disadvantage for now—every wave of hot searches and traffic from Bai Liang and Nazha, she actually got a share of each time.

The CP war between the three had reached this point long ago, tangled together inseparably.

Discuss Bai Liang and Nazha, and Dilireba's name would inevitably come up in the conversation.

These two Misses, the same age, the same hometown, even birthdays very close together, the bond between them might be even deeper than the CP bonds between Bai Liang and each of them individually.

Because, let alone CP pairings, even dating can end in a breakup.

But the "grudge" between two girls can keep going all the way, from debut to retirement from the scene.

In more professional terms, is this called tormenting fans to lock them in?

It directly stabilized her core fanbase.

However, on Jiaxing's side, clearly not very satisfied with Reba's falling into a disadvantage, a project was brought up.

The sister piece to "Eternal Love," "Eternal Love of Dream."

This one would star Bai Fengjiu and Donghua Dijun as the male and female leads!

But one of the problems now is that Bai Liang is too expensive! Jiaxing can't bear to pay that much.

Still, it's not like they have no other options — they can go the personal-connection route~

After all, everyone knows now that Bai Liang is a man of great "loyalty and righteousness," personally stamped by Wu Jing — who in or out of the industry doesn't know that~

If they let Reba go "pretty please," act cute and beg, and have Bai Liang discount his own fee, everyone would be happy.

Jiaxing's higher-ups thought this was reliable, so they went to negotiate with Dilireba.

Dilireba: Get lost!

Ahem, of course her attitude wouldn't be quite that intense, but the gist was pretty much that~

"You guys really picked the perfect timing — Nazha just said that on the show, and she's gone crazy gaining fans, and now you want Reba to play the villain? What were you thinking?"

Yang Mi couldn't help but roast them once she heard about this.

Can't be bothered, it's definitely not going to work.

She could actually understand what Reba was thinking right now.

Nazha just said "Across ten thousand mountains and rivers, I'm willing to go see them with you," basically handing her whole "life" to Bai Liang, and now they want Reba to say "Are you willing to sacrifice your interests for me?"

Isn't that ridiculous?!

Even if this capybara Bai Liang might genuinely not care, Reba herself would care!

How would she ever face off against Nazha again? How would she keep standing on equal footing?

She'd inexplicably be a head shorter.

The hardest hurdle for a person is never others — it's themselves.

Acting might not be Yang Mi's strong suit, but when it comes to this kind of thing, she's crystal clear.

The relationship between men and women is a very subtle art.

It changes differently depending on the people involved.

Put it this way — for a player like Bai Liang, if he ran into one of those shameless bad women, under normal circumstances they'd suck him dry to the bone.

But if the Misses he meets are all decent, the less he cares and the more generous he is, the more those Misses will feel for him on their own.

It's a matching-mechanism issue.

Meet someone worthy, and naturally it's a two-way run, everyone happy.

Honestly, Yang Mi is damn curious too!

In this industry, that kind of woman is hardly rare.

What the hell — how has Bai Liang not run into a single one?

Apart from Reba and Nazha, those few with slightly lower status also don't seem to have caused any trouble.

At most they just casually hitch a ride on his coattails.

Incredibly well-behaved. That defies logic — among all those, every single one is a good girl who behaves and doesn't stir up drama?

Anyway, Yang Mi felt that if it were her younger self, she might have thrown caution to the wind and clung to him, putting on all kinds of shows in front of the media.

How could she be like Reba and the others, tearing into each other, never dragging Bai Liang in, with no public moves at all?

As for her now, well... consider it this kid Bai Liang's good luck~

He ran into top-tier actress Yang Mi, not the Yang Mi who was struggling desperately, fighting tooth and nail to climb up.

Yang Mi: Send him a bad woman already! Can't stand seeing this kid so comfortable.

Beyond all doubt, under Dilireba's resolute refusal, the "Eternal Love of Dream" project could only be shelved for now.

Bai Liang being too expensive is only one part of it — he might look down on the script, or with his current weight, it could bring in too many variables.

In today's film and TV industry, there are way too many people wanting to "chase" Bai Liang.

For example, "Great Ming's Legacy" — which previously needed back-and-forth, even requiring Miss Jing Tian to step out and help.

If now Sister Yanzi went to negotiate, Bai Liang could probably bring a few screenwriters into the production himself and revise the script entirely according to his own ideas.

Countless people are waving checks and scripts, just hoping Bai Liang would "favor" them.

No errors in any chapter, every hit, every release, all content is here!

Especially after Sister Yanzi leaked the news: their Dou Xiao Bai wouldn't only focus on films, but would also take on TV series.

Both the film and TV circles went "crazy."

Even knowing Bai Liang has no slots left this year, every single one of them wants to book out his entire schedule for next year.

But under these circumstances, he'd naturally be extremely picky about scripts.

If Jiaxing didn't go the personal-connection route and just handed "Eternal Love of Dream" over, it might not even pass his agent's desk.

They still had some self-awareness.

This project might even stay vacant forever.

After all, who the hell would dare take over and play Donghua Dijun from Bai Liang?!

Even though in "Eternal Love" he was only the second male lead — and a second male lead promoted by added scenes at that — somehow, without relying on the plot, just the styling alone took the internet by storm.

If there were still any "ancient-handsome-men-of-the-internet" lists these days, Bai Liang would definitely be on them.

No matter who plays it, they'll get cursed out — and cursed out from every direction.

Not a single male artist at Jiaxing dares to take this role, so of course it can only be shelved.

On the other hand, Gu Man's side feels like it could use a nudge — when the time comes, Jiaxing just needs to join in and that'll be that.

Plenty of people in the circle know that Bai Liang and Dilireba once promised Gu Man that when she wrote her next script, the three of them would team up again.

And now, because these two's star power has skyrocketed, Gu Man's side has also received a huge amount of attention.

After all, as the saying goes, everyone knows Bai Liang is a man of his word — he's very loyal and righteous.

Once she finishes writing, a bunch of investors will probably be fighting to get in line.

It's just that, after asking around, the people at Jiaxing nearly cursed out loud.

Damn it, that slowpoke turtle!

Writing that slowly?!

Really want to lock her up — no food until she finishes.

Compared with Jiaxing's worries and dilemmas over here, the film industry has truly been silenced into complete speechlessness.

Wu Jing, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to destroy the film industry?!

Five point five billion, five point six billion, five point seven billion six zero!

Amid a wave of jubilation, the box office of "Wolf Warrior 2" officially broke through six billion!

This number left countless people speechless — even when facing reporters, they could only open their mouths without being able to say a single word.

The most outrageous part is — damn it, it still hasn't stopped!

The box office is still climbing! Feels like there's no end in sight.

Luckily, the workload on the box office poster designer isn't as intense now — every additional hundred million still takes quite a bit of time.

Unlike at the very beginning, when they were desperate to churn out several posters a day.

Such an absurd box office — its influence has already gone beyond just the domestic market.

Even Hollywood couldn't sit still — what the hell?! Relying solely on the Chinese mainland box office, this movie has charged into the top fifty of the global film box office rankings?

And the ranking is still climbing.

What the hell do you call the Chinese market?!

The shockwaves it sent through friendly foreign nations aren't worth mentioning — Wu Jing never expected this film to be a global hit either. Money contributed by Chinese audiences is still money, all the same; foreign folks' money isn't any more noble.

"Holy shit, it really passed?"

"Watch closely — I'll only perform this once. This is how a top-tier star is used — Bai Liang."

"This movie is probably going to be written into film history. The results are absurdly exaggerated — even if it isn't some classic, under this kind of box office, everyone has to kneel and kowtow~"

"Our Great Immortal's second film after debut, and it feels like he's already reached the peak in one go. Probably won't be able to surpass it in the future."

"This time Bai Liang was only the second male lead. If he were the male lead, damn, I can't even imagine which top-tier star would dare to crash his party."

"So the question is — just how big a role did Bai Liang play? Feels like an unsolved mystery."

"Next year there's a film he's in called 'How My Girlfriend Went Psycho on Me' — a low-budget movie. We can use it to test his true mettle."

"Who's the female lead? Holy shit, Sister Tian Tian. The Great Immortal is badass! He dares to take on a hell-level dungeon like this?!"

"If Bai Liang can even carry Sister Tian Tian along, I'll crown him the strongest! That box office pull is pure gold!"

"But — if that movie flops, the Great Immortal's value is gonna take a serious hit."

"His next movie seems to be some sci-fi thing — just hearing it sounds pretty unreliable."

"."

Obviously, Miss Jing Tian is a very good "litmus test."

Whether it was "Wolf Warrior 2" that carried Bai Liang, or whether Bai Liang played a huge role in it — we'll find out by looking ahead.

There's a saying that's not wrong — if Bai Liang can keep creating miracles while shouldering Sister Tian Tian, that box-office poison, his box office pull is truly insane!

He'd immediately be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Wu Jing, becoming part of the top tier of male actors with box office pull in the industry.

Right now, he really does need a question mark next to his name.

Jing Tian: Angry!

Why on earth are people saying she's dead weight?

And all that talk about "carrying her along" — just say plainly that Bai Liang's box office pull is genuinely impressive. That's way too insulting.

Still, her past "battle records" are right there in plain sight, and they do leave her a little lacking in confidence.

Thinking it over — that Bai Liang really can carry her along, right?

He's so amazing — he should be able to, right?

Jing Tian looked at the latest box office numbers for "Wolf Warrior 2" — this time it really was winding down.

Exactly six point six billion!

Marveling at the box office results, she was also a little impatient to ask Bai Liang: Can you really cover for me or not?

Today happens to be a pretty good opportunity.

The Bazaar Charity Gala.

Jing Tian had specifically found out that Bai Liang would be attending this time, which is why she showed up.

Just like that time she caught him at the Bulgari launch event — her intentions are very serious nature.

However, after walking the red carpet, she searched for a long while but simply couldn't find any trace of Bai Liang.

Unable to hold back, she found someone from Bazaar and asked: "Where is Bai Liang? When is he coming?"

"I'm afraid it'll be quite a while longer. Teacher Bai Liang is the grand finale of tonight's red carpet."

"He's the grand finale?!" Jing Tian nearly lost control of her volume. "For real?!"

The other party smiled — clearly, they weren't joking.

Having calmed down a bit, Miss Jing Tian thought it over again and felt it was reasonable.

And Bai Liang, upon seeing the box-office figure reach "sixty-six," also felt it was very reasonable.

"Sixty-six billion sounds pretty nice, auspicious too!"

"Brother Xiao Bai, I think eighty-eight billion sounds even better~" Sister Yanzi said with a grin.

"Wu Jing is so useless, what are we going to do?"

"He's still useless~" Sister Yanzi clicked her tongue.

After the box office of "Wolf Warrior 2" broke six billion, she had been driven half-mad with work.

But she discovered that her own Brother Xiao Bai still didn't seem to have much awareness in this regard.

For instance, he hadn't realized just how popular he was now! Just how high his traffic was!

Today, she'd let him broaden his horizons!

The Bazaar Charity Gala.

Many people were already looking forward to it eagerly.

(End of this chapter)