Chapter 191: Jing Tian Meets the Parents and the Fiery Olympics

The day of the Qi Xi Festival was both Wei Jin's 25th birthday and the day his father and uncle arrived in Beijing.

After much thought, Wei Jin still intended to take Jing Tian to meet his family; after all, in terms of age, Jing Tian and Liu Yifei were the most suitable candidates.

Considering Liu Yifei's status as a Chinese-American, his uncle might not like her too much, so Jing Tian was naturally the most suitable choice.

Early in the morning, Jing Tian got up and started to get dressed up. When she learned the news, she was overjoyed. Since it was her first time meeting Wei Jin's father, she had to look beautiful no matter what.

"Tian Tian, you look great even without makeup; is there really a need to be this formal?"

Watching Jing Tian try on one outfit after another, Wei Jin couldn't help but speak up.

"Oh, it's my first time meeting your uncle, so of course I have to take it seriously! It's all your fault for only telling me last night; I didn't even have time to buy your uncle a gift."

"What gift do you need to buy? My dad will be overjoyed just to see you. In a few years, when we have a bunch of chubby boys, my dad will probably treat you like a queen."

"What are you saying? Who wants to have a bunch of kids? I'm not a sow."

"Really? If you don't have them, I might go find someone else. Don't come crying to me then."

"Hmph, you only know how to bully me."

Amidst the playful bickering, they quickly finished getting ready and headed straight to the airport. This time, they hadn't arranged a private jet; during the Olympics, flight paths were too restricted to get approval. Fortunately, there were plenty of flights coming from Shaanbei, so it wasn't too much trouble.

Soon, Wei Jin saw the two old men. His father still had that scholarly and amiable air; his university teaching career had only made the scholarly aura about him more pronounced.

In contrast, his uncle seemed much older, looking like an old man who had been farming for a long time. His hair had also turned quite gray, which made Wei Jin feel a bit sad.

"Has Xiao Jin grown taller again?"

His uncle Wei Anguo hadn't seen Wei Jin for a long time and was observing him very carefully, something Wei Jin hadn't even noticed himself.

"I don't know, I haven't measured. Uncle, Dad, let's go to the parking lot first; I have a surprise."

Jing Tian was a popular actress after all, and appearing at the airport could easily attract fans to chase and block her, so she waited in the car.

Along the way, the two old men asked Wei Jin many things—how work was, if his career was going smoothly, and if he was getting along well with others. They seemed to treat him like a little child, appearing a bit long-winded, but Wei Jin enjoyed it thoroughly.

Just as they arrived, Jing Tian got out of the car. Zhu Wei had already checked the surroundings, so no one would be able to take photos.

"Uncle Wei, long time no see. How is your health?"

Jing Tian visited his uncle every year, and his uncle treated her like his own daughter.

"Tian Tian, you're here too? This old man is doing fine. How is everything at home?"

"Everything is great. I was just talking about visiting you during the New Year."

"Good, good."

After some reminiscing, Jing Tian turned to Wei Xingbang. At this moment, she wasn't as natural and appeared a bit reserved.

"Uncle Wei, hello, I am Jing Tian."

"Oh, oh, hello."

Wei Xingbang was still a bit dazed and pulled Wei Jin aside to ask in a low voice if this was the same young girl from last time.

Wei Jin stood beside Jing Tian, took the young girl's hand, shook it, and said, "Dad, Uncle, Tian Tian is with me now. She will carry on our family line in the future, so you can rest easy."

Wei Jin's words made Jing Tian's face turn bright red, but she felt extremely sweet inside.

"Good, good, good. Xiao Jin, you must not bully Tian Tian, or your uncle won't forgive you."

"That's right, that's right. Tian Tian, is it? If Wei Jin does anything wrong, you tell me, and I'll deal with him."

The two old men were overjoyed upon hearing this, especially his uncle, who had known Jing Tian for many years and had always liked this well-behaved young girl. Plus, they were family friends who knew each other well, making her and Wei Jin a perfect match.

The two old men's words made Jing Tian hold her head high. Now she had backing, and her status as the primary partner had gained another star of stability.

"You can rest assured; I couldn't bear to bully Tian Tian." — The theater screening rate for *Amour* was quite good, nearly 20%. The theaters promised that this rate could be maintained until before the release of *Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon*, which was more than a week away.

This was naturally due to Wei Jin's influence; another reason was that there were no other films being released, as the opening ceremony was the very next day.

Currently, the film still in hot release was *Now You See Me*, which the theaters had given a 60% screening rate. The remaining 20% was for *Fit Lover* and some films released last month, including *Red Cliff*, that hadn't finished their runs yet.

It is worth mentioning that the director of *Fit Lover*, Wang Lelun, and the producer, Li Xiang, were jokingly called "the second Ning Hao" by the media, naturally benchmarking them against the husband-and-wife team of Ning Hao and Xing Ai.

Moreover, with the help of Mango TV's channels, the hype was in full swing, which was a bit nauseating. Because of this, Ning Hao had called Wei Jin more than once to complain.

However, this film was released at the same time as *Now You See Me*, and its daily screening rate was less than 20%, getting crushed instantly. After a week of release, the box office was barely ten million. Wei Jin could be considered to have vented some frustration for his senior brother.

Thanks to the Qi Xi Valentine's Day becoming more hyped in the last two years, there were still quite a few young couples willing to walk into the cinema to watch this so-called pure love type of romance film.

Yu Feihong was also taking the cast on a roadshow through major cinemas in Beijing.

After a busy day, Yu Feihong had just finished showering and forced herself to stay alert, instructing her Assistant to open the laptop, ready to check the opening day box office at any time. She felt a bit nervous.

This was normal; making a film might be out of a dream, but once the film was released, the thing one cared about naturally became those cold box office numbers.

After all, film production requires money. The production and post-production costs of *Amour* reached as high as thirty million. Yu Feihong had almost staked her entire net worth, so naturally, she couldn't remain indifferent.

Previously, she had sold it for over 1 million USD in Berlin. Relying on the influence of Shanhe Media, she sold three spots for embedded advertisements, totaling 9 million. Added together, that was nearly 16 million. Compared to the 30 million production cost, they had only broken even by half; the rest could only be recovered through the box office.

Yu Feihong herself knew that the box office for this film might not be very good, so she appeared very nervous, chatting with her Assistant intermittently and urging the latter to press F5 to refresh from time to time.

"Feihong, it's out, it's out! The opening day box office is 5.8 million."

Hearing this number, Yu Feihong let out a sigh of relief. The number wasn't bad. If she continued to do good promotion, there was still hope of reaching 50 million. According to the revenue-sharing ratio, after deducting distribution and marketing costs, she could barely break even.

Thinking of this, Yu Feihong actually had an urge to cry, feeling that her efforts during this period had finally paid off. However, she couldn't let her guard down yet, so she immediately asked: "How is the word-of-mouth? Never mind, I'll look at it myself."

Snatching the computer, Yu Feihong noticed a rating of 6.2, which made her feel slightly at ease, and then she carefully read the reviews on Yinxiang Net.

Netizens had mixed reviews about *Amour*; some liked this style, while others said they didn't understand it, making her mood rise and fall like a roller coaster. After thinking for a long time, she took out her phone and called Wei Jin. It took a long while for someone to answer.

"Hello, Senior Sister."

"Junior Brother, I'm sorry to bother you so late. The opening day box office is out: 5.8 million."

"That's pretty good, congratulations, Senior Sister." "Is 5.8 million worth congratulating? This must be the lowest opening day record for a film you've participated in, right?"

"You can't say it like that. *Those Years* was only nine million, and yours... hiss."

Yu Feihong felt something was wrong and hurriedly asked: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I kicked the table. I'll call you back in a bit."

After saying this, Wei Jin hung up the phone, leaving Yu Feihong blushing. She thought of some embarrassing scenes—"Tian Tian, why are you biting me?"

Wei Jin stroked Jing Tian's little head; it made no sense that she would still bump it after so long. After returning from the airport, Wei Jin had settled the two old men in, and in the evening, he and Jing Tian had dinner with them, which could also be considered celebrating Wei Jin's birthday.

However, the two were advanced in age, and coupled with the fatigue of travel, they packed up and rested early. Tomorrow was the opening ceremony, after all, and they needed to conserve their energy.

"Hmph, Brother, I'm working so hard, yet you're still answering the phone."

Jing Tian did not allow Wei Jin to be distracted when they were being intimate, even though he didn't actually need to do anything.

"Alright, alright, from now on, when you are working, I absolutely will not answer the phone."

Wei Jin was somewhat between laughter and tears and could only go along with what the girl said; after all, his vital point was being held.

"By the way, Brother, are you going to attend the Bazaar Charity Night in a while?"

The Bazaar Charity Night hosted by Fashion Bazaar had been going on for several years now, but although this non-official charity gala was doing good work, it was still more of an entertainment nature.

The people invited were all the hottest stars in the circle or big shots with status and prestige.

As a popular young actress born after 1985 who developed across film, television, and music, Jing Tian was naturally on the invitation list.

"If I have time, I can attend; after all, I've been invited several times."

Come to think of it, ever since *Those Years*, Su Mang had sent Wei Jin an invitation every year, but he was either filming a movie or abroad; in short, he had never attended once.

"Mm-hmm, then we'll go together when the time comes."

"Mm, now it's time to work, Tian Tian." — The Olympic opening ceremony was right before them, and a large number of people were anxiously waiting at the airport.

News and photos on the internet were being updated at any moment, all of them stars from home and abroad.

Liu Tianwang was very bold this time, bringing a female companion; this was equivalent to an official announcement.

Cheng Long held an album release conference in the Olympic Center area and was also the only male artist among global Chinese to be invited to release an Olympic album. One had to admit, in terms of influence, Big Brother was deservedly the number one Chinese person.

Near dusk, outside the Bird's Nest, it was incredibly lively. Stars from all walks of life stopped here, giving time for reporters to take photos and conduct interviews.

Popular stars from Mainland China, well-known figures in the music circle, representative delegations of stars from the Hong Kong Circle, and star artists from Japan, South Korea, Europe, America, and Southeast Asia—a star-studded team of hundreds of first-tier and second-tier celebrities, and the media were already becoming overwhelmed.

However, circle culture existed everywhere, and stars and celebrities were naturally no exception; everyone divided themselves into small teams.

Wei Jin brought Jing Tian, his uncle, his father, as well as the ticket-mooching Huang Bai and his wife, and Ning Hao and his wife—a full eight people arrived at the scene.

Huang Bai got married last year; the couple didn't hold a big ceremony, so Wei Jin just sent a gift. Xing Aina had already been pregnant for nearly half a year. Ning Hao originally didn't want her to come, but he couldn't resist the fact that Wei Jin's tickets were in such an attractive location.

Tonight's Bird's Nest boasted one hundred thousand spectators. Those who could buy tickets to get in cherished them doubly. The best core seats were not sold to the public, and Wei Jin's eight tickets were of this kind.

In addition, there were a very small number of VIP boxes, which were for hosting dignitaries from various countries.

At the entrance, Wei Jin temporarily parted ways with Jing Tian and the others because his mentor, Tian Zhuangzhuang, was waving at him.

"Teacher."

"I have heard about your situation. Don't be in a hurry for now. I will go and communicate with them in a while; it shouldn't be much of a problem."

Tian Zhuangzhuang naturally knew what that group of old stubborns wanted to do. Since his disciple was unwilling to yield, he had to step in himself.

"Don't, Teacher. I already have a plan. Please don't go and face those people's cold expressions again."

The mentor's words moved Wei Jin somewhat, and he immediately informed him of his own plans.

"Teacher, I have already registered the same script abroad. Since this group of people in the country won't let me film it, I will go abroad to film it. When I actually win an award then, I want to see how this group of people will handle themselves."

"Must you be so head-on? Being too rigid is easily broken."

Tian Zhuangzhuang also knew his student had been wronged, but sometimes one had to bow their head.

"Teacher, it's not that I must be this way; it's that they are forcing me. You have also seen the script; I believe I have done a good job with the necessary avoidances. They are just demonstrating their power to me, showing off their authority, and forcing me to submit. This time, I just want to tell them that the times have changed."

The reason Wei Jin acted so resolutely was that he did not want his mentor to privately bow his head to help him resolve the trouble. If that were to happen, his years of effort would truly have been in vain.

"Sigh, if that is the case, then as you wish. It is also true, you are still young, and you should be high-spirited."

Tian Zhuangzhuang also knew that Wei Jin's mind was made up, so he said no more and made up his mind to leak some wind out, letting those old guys stew in their own juice.

The sky gradually darkened, and the Bird's Nest was a People Mountain People Sea. Bidding farewell to his teacher, Wei Jin brought Jing Tian, his uncle, and his father to their seats.

As for Ning Hao, Huang Bai, and the others, they were in another area; after all, these were internal tickets from two different group companies.

After Wei Jin sat down, he looked around; to his left, right, front, and back were all big shots from the circle, led by Han Sanping.

After chatting with Han Sanping for a few sentences, the opening ceremony performance officially began.

The fully confidential Olympic opening design met the world's audience for the first time.

Whether it was the 2,008 people beating the drums or the giant footprints in the sky, everything was eye-catching.

That ink-wash painting scroll unfurled, completely unveiling the five thousand years of heritage, which made the audience gasp in admiration.

All the remaining performances would be staged within this scroll.

"It's truly so beautiful, Brother..."

Jing Tian exclaimed in wonder, and Wei Xingbang and Wei Anguo had even redder eyes, feeling gratified for the rise of the nation.

The subsequent *Characters*, *Opera*, *Silk Road*, *Ritual Music*, and so on—every new segment made the audience at the scene boil with excitement.

This night, Zhang Yimou was completely canonized as a god.

Second update of the day. I implore all book friends to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up reads, collections, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets. Thank you all! (End of chapter)