Chapter 352: Are Kings and Generals Born of Noble Blood?!

Whether or not "The Wandering Earth" surpasses "Wolf Warrior 2," it has already become the second-highest-grossing film in Chinese film history!

Many of Bai Liang's fans feel a bit regretful.

Mainly because he didn't join "Operation Red Sea"—otherwise, he'd have been in all three of the top films! That would've been such a big deal~

That's right, "Operation Red Sea," with over 3.6 billion yuan in box office, is now ranked third; the top two have pulled far ahead of the rest.

Once "The Wandering Earth" breaks 6 billion yuan in box office, no matter whether it or "Wolf Warrior 2" comes out on top, there are no other contenders between the 4-billion and 5-billion tiers.

A true, massive lead.

Thinking of this, Bai Liang's fans have started complaining about "Operation Red Sea" again, thinking whether he acted in it or not doesn't matter.

Moreover, besides being the lead in the first and second films, the seventh-ranked "Love Is a Magical Thing" is also his.

These results are absolutely explosive.

However, barring any surprises, "Love Is a Magical Thing" might drop another spot soon.

Because in April, "Avengers: Endgame" will be released domestically.

But no matter what, Bai Liang is currently unquestionably the top figure in China's film industry in terms of box office achievements—the king of box office draw.

And he's only twenty-seven this year, even counting by lunar age.

He's also the king of commercial value.

This year's Forbes list came out unusually early.

The number one spot is none other than Bai Liang!

But unlike previous years, after Fan Fan Bingbing's fall, female celebrities as a whole seem to have dropped somewhat.

Among the top ten, there's only one Yang Mi.

Reba and Naza are right next to each other at eleventh and twelfth, while the two new Jiang sisters continue to battle fiercely.

As for the male celebrities in the top ranks, besides Hu Ge and Zhou Jielun, all the others are the most box-office-drawing figures in the film industry.

Bai Liang, Wu Jing, Huang Bo, Xu Zheng, Shen Teng.

Thus, this year's Forbes Celebrity List has been jokingly dubbed the Forbes Film List.

No one knows if it's because these people's incomes are so opaque—previously, the list would include estimated earnings, but this year it lists only names.

After all, Forbes isn't that all-powerful; many incomes are simply impossible to track.

Take Bai Liang, for example—many of his endorsement fees have never been publicly disclosed; no one knows how much, but everyone knows it's astronomical.

Plus, his box office share from "Wolf Warrior 2" was never revealed, and the same goes for "The Wandering Earth."

Whether Wu Jing or Guo Fan, both have indeed confirmed that Bai Liang received a substantial box office share.

But his company isn't a Shangshi Company, so it doesn't disclose financial reports publicly.

Sister Yanzi is relatively low-key in this regard—just quietly get rich; after all, the money they donate every year is among the highest in the entertainment industry, so there's no need to flaunt wealth—it only invites hatred.

After "Wolf Warrior 2," whenever anything happened, people kept demanding Wu Jing donate—some even scolded him for donating only a few million, saying it wasn't enough.

Also, the industry often leaks lists of astronomical paychecks—someone got this much for a single drama, etc.

Total hatred magnet.

A bunch of people go on to rant.

Bai Liang rarely gets such reports, because so far, the only project he's done purely for a fixed salary is "The Longest Day in Chang'an."

All other projects, including "The Longest Day in Chang'an," involve profit-sharing, and Sister Yanzi holds official positions.

If you look only at salary income, "The Longest Day in Chang'an" might break the industry's ceiling for single-drama actor pay.

Beyond that, Bai Liang's cash salary compared to his status is practically charitable.

But profit-sharing is where the real money lies—everyone knows Bai Liang is now unquestionably the entertainment industry's undisputed money magnet.

The damn bastards are making so much they're numb.

But how the hell is Forbes supposed to calculate this?

Still, the media always cares deeply about this—especially old acquaintance Xiao Shui, the editor-in-chief.

"Huh, you're still just an editor-in-chief?"

Hearing Bai Liang's question, Xiao Shui looked utterly confused. "What do you mean, still an editor-in-chief?"

"Aren't you getting promoted one level a year? I was waiting for you to become vice-president or president of Weibo."

Xiao Shui couldn't help rolling her eyes, thinking Bai Liang really overestimates himself—at least another one or two years.

"Cough, cough, I'm here to interview you! Be serious!"

"Oh." Bai Liang obediently placed both hands on his knees, assuming a primary-school-student posture.

Damn, he looks so well-behaved! I really want to ruffle his hair!

The female celebrities in this industry eat way too well.

Xiao Shui silently muttered to herself, but before she could let her thoughts wander, Bai Liang whispered slyly:

"Do you know what Tianlin Yuan Nian is?"

"Oh my! What are you doing~"

Xiao Shui couldn't hold back anymore and burst out laughing. "The netizens are so creative! But this is your fault—you should've just held him down back then."

"Could I have held him down through the internet cable?"

"You could've tried! You won't know unless you try~"

Bai Liang thought to himself—he only knew that if you tried, you wouldn't be a kid anymore.

Seeing the two about to drift into nonsense again, the cameraman couldn't help coughing.

Xiao Shui immediately snapped back to reality and insisted she was truly here to interview him.

Then she asked the question everyone wanted to know: "How much box office share did you get from 'The Wandering Earth'?"

"How much do you think I got?"

"Fifteen percent?"

"Then it's fifteen percent."

"We're old friends—why are you messing with me like this?"

"Yanzi said I can't tell~"

"Tell me secretly—I won't report it."

That works too~

After Bai Liang whispered the exact figure into Xiao Shui's ear, the camera precisely captured her pupils contracting sharply.

Holy shit, how much is it that even the camera's curiosity is stirred up?

But Xiao Shui was a woman of her word—after being stunned, she immediately moved past the topic.

After asking some routine interview questions, she added: "Do you think 'The Wandering Earth' can surpass 'Wolf Warrior 2'?"

"That depends on whether Little Broken Ball lives up to expectations~"

"Let the movie work hard—you've already finished filming, right?" Xiao Shui rolled her eyes, thinking: typical of him—finish the job, then lie back and do nothing.

"Yeah, what else?"

"Number one in Chinese film history! Don't you crave it?"

"I'm already part of the current number one—moving to another spot wouldn't make much difference."

"Say that publicly and you'll get beaten up. I'm going to report this—I'll help you stir up some hatred."

Later, Xiao Shui asked Bai Liang's opinion on the newly released 'Alita: Battle Angel.'

He replied he had no opinion—he hadn't even seen the movie.

This clearly disappointed many—the opening weekend box office was only four hundred million.

Although it did take some screening slots, it had virtually no impact on 'The Wandering Earth.'

To slow 'The Wandering Earth's' steady box office growth, a film earning at most one billion is useless—it would need at least two or three billion to dominate the post-Spring Festival movie market.

Only then could it squeeze 'The Wandering Earth's' box office.

'Alita: Battle Angel' can only make people wonder: why are truck drivers so weak now?

Its box office trend even looks like an idol fan movie.

Not even close to 'The Wandering Earth.'

Instead, it actually boosted 'The Wandering Earth's' box office, triggering a slight daily increase.

The truth proved that those hoping Hollywood films would "deliver justice" were completely disappointed.

As for 'How to Train Your Dragon 3,' it was even worse.

'Green Book' had excellent reviews, but it's not a theater movie—it's better watched at home.

As for the yet-to-be-released 'Captain Marvel,' its domestic appeal is limited—it's nowhere near as powerful as the other Avengers.

Thus, Hollywood's "divine intervention" now seems to rest solely on the upcoming 'Avengers: Endgame.'

But if 'The Wandering Earth' is still standing by then, that would be terrifying—holding out for another month?

Guo Fan didn't dare dream that.

By now, there were essentially no films in March capable of challenging 'The Wandering Earth'—everyone could only watch as it neared six billion.

Maoyan's prediction had been revised to 6.4 billion.

Yet Yanzi had overlooked one thing: it wasn't just national sentiment pushing 'The Wandering Earth' forward.

Many online "spiritual shareholders" also hoped it would keep rising.

If there was a real chance to dethrone 'Wolf Warrior 2,' a whole new wave of people would rush to theaters to rewatch it several times.

Even Wu Jing himself hoped to be "dethroned"—it would spare him from being hounded by those with PTSD.

Go harass Bai Liang instead~

His wish was, in some sense, coming true.

Among those Wolf Warrior PTSD sufferers, some were even pushing the narrative: "Let's all go buy tickets for 'The Wandering Earth'—no matter what, we'll dethrone 'Wolf Warrior 2'!"

This kind of over-smartness actually drew a surprising number of followers.

Yanzi almost thought these were her own water army or moles—until she realized they were just pure over-smart people.

These people had completely missed Guo Fan's hidden agenda.

The internet!

Indeed, it reveals the diversity of humanity.

Then Yanzi actually joined in, hiring more water army to push this narrative.

But after doing this, she felt a certain weight of sin.

Scamming the black hat fans was one thing—but she seemed to be scamming the fools.

Still, compared to exploiting the fanbase like a bunch of suckers, this guilt felt lighter.

——

At the end of the interview, Xiao Shui casually asked about Bai Liang's next plans.

She'd originally wanted to find out what film he was shooting next.

But she got an unexpected answer.

"I'm going to attend the 'Stars and Seas' Youth Actor event—three days."

"Wait, say that again?" Xiao Shui asked, bewildered.

Clearly, she had no idea what this event was.

After Bai Liang gave her a brief explanation, Xiao Shui looked at him with a complex expression.

Mainly because she hadn't expected him to be this "deranged"!

Fuck, the top box office draw in China, the most commercially valuable person, is going to learn and grow with a bunch of newbie kids?

It's like a Peking University postdoc going to take remedial classes in a gifted youth program. This is just too perverse.

Hmm. Peking University postdoc sounds unlucky. Tsinghua University postdoc then.

Xiao Shui fell silent for a moment, then finally said: "Hope you have fun."

After leaving, she had the persistent feeling that she'd forgotten something.

She flipped through the script and realized she hadn't asked one question: Who is the female lead of "Youth of You"?

But after checking the list of the Star Sea Youth Actors Program, she suddenly understood. Bai Liang is here to "select concubines"—no, select the female lead?

After a burst of imagination, Xiao Shui happily pulled out her phone and started messaging the group.

The recent Bai Liang Global Millionaire Fan Club had been quite lively, thanks to a new chatterbox.

She hadn't realized Miss Jing Tian was so obsessed with chatting in groups, constantly posting photos of this and that, sharing her daily life.

She'd already been the "Dragon King" for days—wonder if she'll ever spray water.

She'd already gotten pretty close with many in the group. Even made plans to attend Fashion Week—she was thriving.

But when Miss Jing Tian proposed her "rebellion plan" to become group owner, the current owner vetoed it outright.

Xiao Shui couldn't help laughing.

She never expected this woman of wealth and beauty had such a side—so adorable!

Xiao Shui couldn't resist sending Miss Jing Tian a private message: "Sister Tian Tian, do you really want to be group owner?"

On the other end, Miss Jing Tian, pouting in frustration over her "revolution cut short," brightened at the message.

"Yeah~ I really do."

Big Tian Tian is still hardworking and ambitious—this millionaire group? Of course she must be the owner!

Xiao Shui: "Let me help you plan it. I've been wanting to take down that group owner for ages—Are kings and generals born to rule?"

Fired up!

Though Xiao Shui's slogan sounded awkward, it was perfect for Big Tian Tian.

"Great! What's your plan?"

!

"Win over some, divide some, suppress some."

Miss Jing Tian didn't understand, but it sounded incredibly impressive.

She felt like she'd found her own dog-headed strategist.

And Xiao Shui wasn't just good at slogans—she'd long since mapped out every detail of the group.

Besides, a millionaire group—how could there be only one?

Outside the big group, there were smaller ones.

Xiao Shui herself was the owner of one such small group, whose members mostly came from media families.

This millionaire group was never just a place to cheer for Bai Liang—the girls often swapped resources.

But that wasn't important.

What mattered was the rebellion.

Why rebel? That didn't matter either—who knew what Miss Jing Tian was thinking?

Don't meddle in Bai Fumei's affairs.

Xiao Shui admitted she'd been deeply influenced by the capybara—she just wanted some fun.

She really wanted to see: what effect would the group's only entertainment industry female star have on Bai Liang's "harem" dynamics—if she actually became the owner, blessed with some strange power?

She was sick of watching those two new red beauties fight all day~

Two-power rivalry is boring. Three-way standoff is fun.

——

Xiamen.

This was where the Star Sea Youth Actors Selection Program was being held.

Thirty-two outstanding young actors, recommended by seasoned filmmakers, top universities, and renowned agencies, would spend three days and nights on a creative field trip.

The activities would be grounded in real life, with immersive experiences, group challenges to different professions, and exploration of cultural landmarks.

Since Xiamen hosts the Golden Rooster Awards, they'd hold this event again when this year's Golden Rooster Awards came around.

This time was just a trial run—it was the first edition after all.

Originally, competition for this year's Star Sea Youth Actors wasn't especially fierce.

Even though it would air on the Movie Channel, anyone with half a brain knew no one would watch.

That was the plan.

But now it was different.

When certain companies and artists received a certain piece of news, the competition intensity skyrocketed!

Several originally confirmed contestants were immediately kicked out—because people who never intended to join now entered the race.

The final thirty-two were truly all of extraordinary backgrounds.

Meng Jie didn't even know how she'd slipped in.

Wow! Zhou Dongyu!

Wow! Liu Haoran!

Wow! Xi Zi Ge!

Wow! Wang Junkai!

As Meng Jie marveled, many others were sizing her up.

After realizing this, Meng Jie, though internally trembling, straightened her back and forced a calm expression, trying to appear more imposing.

She only found out yesterday that she'd been chosen for this event.

Boss Jia Shikai personally came to her home to drag her out: "Meng Jie, it's time for work~"

After arriving, she realized this seemed like a gathering of connections!

Until she saw Jin Cheng.

She exhaled in relief and hurried over to find her, sitting right beside her.

"Chengcheng~"

"Oh my god, Meng Jie, you're so gross—keep your voice down, we don't have the right to cause trouble here," Jin Cheng whispered to Meng Jie.

Meng Jie's eyes widened. "Even you're scared?"

In her view, Jin Cheng, this crazy woman, dared do anything—she was the classic example of boundless boldness.

Yet today she was actually behaving.

"I nearly lost my own spot to someone else—how could I not behave?" Jin Cheng was straightforward, then began explaining to Meng Jie.

"You know the most famous ones: that guy, Dong Zijian, Wang Jinhua's son;"

"The one beside him, Zhang Xueying, from Tongtong's company—but Tongtong didn't come, she did;"

"That one over there, Zhang Ruonan, heavily promoted by Guangxian;"

"The one beside her, Song Zuer, from Xitian, same company as Zhang Tianai;"

"Those two who look alike, Zhou Ye and Zhang Jingyi, their backers are Li Bingbing and Zhou Xun—each one's influence is bigger than the last."

"That one over there, Li Gengxi, backed by Xu Jinlei;"

"Chen Duling? I don't know her."

"."

Meng Jie listened with rapt attention—no wonder you're Da Xi! You've figured all this out?!

But there seems to be one unknown person mixed in?

Jin Cheng replied: Don't worry about those details—there are still experts around!

"Did you see the girl at the very front?" she said mysteriously.

Meng Jie craned her neck to glance: "I saw her—can't make out her face, what's up?"

"The new chosen girl! Liu Haocun, only eighteen or maybe nineteen this year."

"Hssss"

As Meng Jie sucked in a breath, Jin Cheng said she didn't need to introduce the rest—she herself wouldn't dare act up today.

Just stay quiet and cower.

Then Meng Jie tilted her head, her sharp intellect taking over: "Da Xi, what about you?"

"Me? What about me?"

"Everyone else has backing—what's yours?"

"I'm Taiyangchuanhe."

"You found a new company?"

Jin Da Xi smiled. "Otherwise, how could I be here?"

"So impressive!"

After enjoying Meng Jie's praise, Jin Cheng suddenly slapped her forehead. "Wait, I forgot about you."

"Me? I've got no background—my boss isn't even that powerful," Meng Jie muttered casually.

"Your boss and company aren't bad at all—not nearly as mediocre as you claim—but that's not the main point."

"What is, then?"

"Count the people—see how many there are."

"Thirty already," Meng Jie blurted out—she'd already counted.

"Two more haven't arrived, Meng Jie—your backer isn't weaker than theirs, maybe even stronger!"

Meng Jie didn't know who else was coming—her boss hadn't told her a thing before she came.

That damn boss of hers, Jia Shikai, loved to drag things out.

He'd just said: "It's just a regular gig—there'll be people you know. Relax."

After arriving and seeing everyone here was a heavyweight, she'd only dared cling to Da Xi for comfort.

But now, after Da Xi's words, her mind involuntarily pictured her little hedgehog.

Then she thought it impossible—Bai Liang wouldn't just show up here for no reason.

Even though there were "many experts" here, compared to her little hedgehog, they were nothing.

Not even close to being enough to fight.

Only Zhou Dongyu and Liu Haoran might stand a chance—just barely.

Do you even understand the value of a 16-billion-yuan movie emperor?

Even a Weibo emperor, under the prefix of 16 billion in box office, shone brilliantly.

And that number is still rising.

Thinking of this, Meng Jie still felt no real confidence—Bai Liang hadn't come.

Jin Cheng: Why is Meng Jie smart one moment and dumb the next?

At that moment, the door opened again.

The later someone arrived, the more attention they drew.

A handsome guy pushed the door open—seeing so many people staring at him, his first reaction was to stiffen his face, but then he seemed to remember something and forced on a seemingly gentle smile.

Meng Jie: Chen Feiyu is copying my little hedgehog again! Has he gotten addicted to it?

He used to imitate Wu Moufan, but now it seems he's switched tracks.

After all, he's the son of Director Chen Kaige, so everyone still smiled and nodded politely—no pressure at all, and some even waved at him warmly.

The words "status" appeared on the public screen~

But Chen Feiyu ignored all those "losers" inside, turned, and fully pushed the door open, leaving it wide open.

Then he waved to someone not far away: "Bro, over here~"

This time, the smile was much more genuine!

He even looked like a sycophant, acting as a door attendant.

Xi Zi Ge reacted fastest—he saw Chen Feiyu's attitude and knew exactly what was going on; it was way too familiar. He immediately stood up.

He reminded his former teammate Wang Junkai: "Get up, are you still playing with your phone?"

Wang Junkai looked bewildered: "Huh?"

Unfortunately, it was still a bit too late.

This time, what appeared was the authentic, ultra-warm smile~

"Wow! So many people~" Bai Liang smiled warmly and remarked.

——

Third chapter, sixteen thousand words, muah~

Requesting monthly votes.

(End of chapter)