Chapter 240: A Short Separation is Better Than a Newlywed: *Xianjian 3* Explodes in Popularity

The matter of *No Man's Land* had been causing a stir for many days, but it finally returned to calm.

Wei Jin also received a call from Ning Hao; he knew that his senior brother only felt comfortable calling him now that the matter was basically settled, as he had already tried to persuade him before.

"What is the situation now? Did they say what the reason was?"

On the other end of the line, Ning Hao had a dark expression and looked somewhat dispirited.

"No, they didn't say any reason at all."

Hearing this, Wei Jin frowned; although it was very unreasonable, it was indeed the style of those old fellows.

"However, Han Dong told me to cut those darkest scenes and resubmit it; he will help this time."

In fact, Ning Hao had already started re-editing these past few days; although he didn't think there was anything wrong with his work, he had to yield in the face of censorship.

"Hmm, with Han Dong stepping in, there should be some certainty. What are your plans next?"

Wei Jin reckoned that if Ning Hao were free, he could give him some responsibilities.

"Keep editing the film, I hope it passes smoothly; I'm still waiting for Venice."

Regarding this, Wei Jin could only wish him luck. —— "Yuan Yuanjie, today it all depends on you. This scene needs a reversal, it needs an outburst; you must lay the groundwork for your emotions properly."

Today's scene was about the male lead intending to propose to the female lead, but being told the truth by the robot's program, causing the female lead's emotions to collapse and her to lose all hope.

This kind of scene was truly a test of acting skills, and Wei Jin didn't know if Gao Yuanyuan could get it in one take.

"I'll try my best."

Clearly, Gao Yuanyuan also knew this was the hardest part to act.

In the frame, the male and female leads sat in front of the bar, and Lei Datou poured them drinks.

Qiao Zhenyu left under a pretext for a moment, preparing for the upcoming proposal.

"It seems you two get along very well. Is this what humans call being in love?"

"Yes, a blessing in misfortune. Although the malfunction of the Hibernation Pod caused me to wake up early, fortunately, I met him. At least we can still accompany each other and walk on together."

Watching the image on the monitor, Wei Jin nodded; Gao Yuanyuan had already entered the state, and the smile on her face was very infectious.

At this moment, the robot played by Lei Jiayin crashed once again.

"My program settings do not allow me to lie. I must correct your wrong statement; your Hibernation Pod did not malfunction, it was him..."

In the frame, the changes in Gao Yuanyuan's facial expressions were very vivid, and Nazha, watching from the side, was stunned.

Wei Jin, behind the monitor, also nodded secretly; the current performance was acceptable.

It was a pity that later, when it came to acting against the male lead and bursting with emotion, Gao Yuanyuan couldn't hold up and NG'd several times.

Plus, this kind of emotional outburst couldn't be summoned at any time, so one scene took an entire day to shoot.

Looking at the image on the monitor again, Wei Jin finally shouted, "Cut."

"Alright, this take is a wrap."

"Oh my god, it's finally over. I'm almost out of energy..."

Gao Yuanyuan's spirit and energy were severely depleted at this moment; if it had gone on for two more takes, she really wouldn't have been able to hold on.

"Thank you all for your hard work. The current progress is very good; I'll treat everyone to extra food tonight."

Looking at the wilted crowd below, Wei Jin shook his head; the intensity today was indeed too high.

It seemed that a simple extra meal couldn't satisfy everyone's needs, so for the sake of the entire crew's state, Wei Jin had to increase the stakes.

"How about this: I'll give everyone a half-day off tomorrow to adjust yourselves properly, alright?"

"Yay!" —— After finishing the day's filming, Wei Jin came to see Liu Yifei; after all, it had been a while since he had 'called upon' the young girl.

"Wei Jin, you're here."

Liu Xiaoli welcomed Wei Jin into the house very enthusiastically, truly looking like a mother-in-law treating her son-in-law.

"Yifei is upstairs; go up and see her, I'll go make you something delicious first..."

"Thank you for your hard work, Auntie." Wei Jin nodded and walked upstairs.

Before he could even enter the room, Liu Yifei, having heard the movement, had already pounced over, hugging Wei Jin tightly.

"Brother, I missed you so much."

As she spoke, Liu Yifei buried herself deep in Wei Jin's chest, breathing greedily.

"Yifei, I missed you too. I've been busy filming lately and neglected you."

Wei Jin knew his own situation; with so many women, it was hard to allocate time.

"I don't blame you, Brother. Kiss me."

With the beauty inviting him, Wei Jin naturally happily obliged, and the two soon began to embrace and kiss.

Wei Jin naturally knew the reason for Liu Yifei's enthusiasm.

The release of *Bodyguards and Assassins* was just around the corner, and the promotional work had long since begun. As one of the main creators, Liu Yifei would have to join the team for promotions in two days, so wouldn't she have to seize the time to be intimate? The two were kissing passionately, and soon Liu Yifei realized that the clothes on her body were becoming fewer and fewer, so she couldn't help but stop the man.

"Brother, we're about to eat..."

Although the young girl also wanted it, this matter couldn't be resolved in a short while, and it would be even more uncomfortable to be left hanging later.

"Alright, Yifei, as long as you can hold back." —— For dinner today, Liu Xiaoli made Wei Jin's favorite Sichuan dishes as usual, since it was rare for the latter to come over, plus she had her own requests.

Seeing that they were almost done eating, Liu Xiaoli spoke up.

"Wei Jin, look, Xixi has been idle at home for half a year now; is there any project suitable for her?"

Nowadays, Liu Xiaoli had completely accepted Wei Jin's philandering; there was plenty of time, and as long as her daughter was still by his side, she would eventually achieve final victory.

What was urgent now was to make her daughter the most popular actress; being the head of the Four Dan Actresses was not enough.

"Hmm... *Ghost Blows Out the Light* is about to start; Yifei is quite suitable."

After some thought, Wei Jin gave his answer; currently, this was the only project that was relatively suitable.

"Are you directing it?" "How much is the investment?"

Two voices rang out at the same time, showing that the mother and daughter were focused on different priorities.

"I am not directing; I have handed this project over to Wu Ershan."

Wei Jin naturally knew what Liu Yifei was thinking, but he truly had no interest in directing this subject matter.

"This film has many special effects, so the investment won't be small—at least 100 million." Although he hadn't done the budget yet, Wei Jin could roughly estimate it, and this was still relatively conservative.

Regarding Wei Jin's answer, the mother and daughter had different reactions; Liu Yifei was somewhat disappointed, as she had been pinning her hopes on Wei Jin's film.

Conversely, Liu Xiaoli was all smiles; with such a large investment project, directed by a newly minted 300-million-box-office director, plus a massive fan base from the original work, she believed it would definitely be a blockbuster project.

Seeing her daughter hesitate at this moment, she took the initiative to persuade her: "Xixi, Wei Jin is human too; you can't expect him to start several projects every year. This film is really suitable for you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yifei also understood this logic; not to mention that Wei Jin was spread too thin, even just considering whether the role was suitable was something that needed to be thought through.

"Mm, Brother, I'll listen to you."

"However, Auntie, in the current film market, there aren't many roles suitable for Yifei. It is better to be idle than to take on roles indiscriminately."

Wei Jin could understand Liu Xiaoli's eagerness, but he truly did not agree with it; a real top-tier female star cannot be made by being a workaholic and relying on quantity.

Once at a certain status, one should instead reduce their works and cherish their reputation.

Furthermore, the reason Wei Jin gave the *Ghost Blows Out the Light* project was that he truly found series films to be the most worry-free; after all, there were too many women to handle if he tried to promote them all.

Jing Tian was tied up with *Now You See Me*, so he wouldn't need to promote her himself for the next two years. Now, by tying a series film to Liu Yifei, Wei Jin himself could have a wider range of choices for his subsequent films.

"I understand."

Liu Xiaoli naturally understood this logic as well; in fact, she had already rejected many scripts, including a *Mulan* from Hong Kong. It was said that this film had already started shooting, with Chen Kun and Zhao Yanzi as the leads.

But just letting her daughter stay idle at home was not a solution, which was why she had brought it up today.

Now that she had secured a project from Shanhe Media, the look in Liu Xiaoli's eyes when she looked at Wei Jin was truly that of a mother-in-law looking at a son-in-law—the more she looked, the more satisfied she was. —Dinner ended, and Liu Yifei shyly pulled Wei Jin upstairs.

Regarding this, Liu Xiaoli could only shake her head; as her daughter grew older, her physiological needs had to be understood.

The moment the two arrived in the room, Liu Yifei couldn't wait to kiss him; she had been holding back for the entire duration of dinner.

Feeling the young girl's intentions, Wei Jin extended one arm to wrap around her waist.

The two kissed all the way from the entryway, gradually moving closer to the bed. Liu Yifei began to be unsatisfied with wet kisses and wanted more.

"Brother, love me."

The young girl's face was flushed red at this moment, truly like a celestial being descending into the mortal world; how could any mortal withstand such a test?

No longer hesitating, Wei Jin's hands began to wander, signaling the start of their intimacy.

Receiving the man's response, Liu Yifei took the opportunity to squat down and began to warm him up.

That night, Liu Yifei displayed extreme tenderness; truly, a brief parting is better than a new marriage. —Just as *Passengers* was being filmed in an orderly fashion, *Chinese Paladin 3* began airing to great heat.

Benefiting from the fan base established by the previous work, as soon as *Chinese Paladin 3* began airing, a large number of viewers flocked to it.

In just a few days of its premiere, the ratings soared, making it arguably the most prominent TV series of this summer.

The explosive popularity of the TV series provided an unimaginable boost to the main cast.

Not to mention Hu Ge, who was already a popular young actor born in the 80s in the country; for him, *Chinese Paladin 3* was at most the icing on the cake.

Wang Kai, who played Xu Changqing, became an overnight success, directly promoted to a second-tier actor. Although he had only barely stepped into that rank, he believed that with the release of the film *The Message*, he would sooner or later be able to stand firmly on his own feet.

With the subsequent support of the company's resources, Wang Kai believed that he would sooner or later catch up to Qiao Zhenyu and become a top-tier male star in the country.

By comparison, the ones who benefited the most were the three actresses, with Yang Mi being the foremost, followed by Zhang Li and Liu Shishi.

Yang Mi was very happy; she had truly become popular this time, and it was worth the effort she had spent to get the role.

She had a premonition that *Chinese Paladin 3* would become her representative work, just like Zhao Ling'er was for Liu Yifei. After this TV series, she would be a true member of the Four Dan Actresses.

As long as the subsequent resources kept up, she would definitely not be worse than anyone else; Liu Yifei, Jing Tian—count them one by one, she would surpass them sooner or later.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin's figure appeared in her mind again; as long as this man was willing to promote her, she, Yang Mi, would definitely become the most popular female star in the country, bar none. —Also very happy was Miss Cai of Tangren.

Watching the TV series' ratings climb steadily, the smile on her face could not be hidden at all.

However, Miss Cai knew in her heart that although *Chinese Paladin 3* had achieved great results, in the current entertainment industry, TV series could only increase popularity; to soar in status, one still had to rely on film resources.

Liu Yifei and Jing Tian had both achieved their current success only after becoming popular through TV series and then switching to the film circle. By comparison, Liu Shishi still had a long way to go.

Thinking of this, Miss Cai felt that she still couldn't be complacent and needed to give Shishi more tasks.

"Shishi, you need to keep in touch with President Wei more."

"Mm, I know, but he has been busy filming lately, so I don't want to disturb him; I can only send him a text message occasionally."

Liu Shishi had a relatively gentle temperament; although she was a bit disappointed that Wei Jin hadn't come to visit the set before, she could still feel the man's affection for her.

One had to know that Shanhe Media had many female artists, and there were plenty who were more suitable than her for the big-heroine TV series *Palace*.

At this time, when the man was busy with his own career, how could she disturb him too much?

"Mm, after the promotion for this period ends, he should be done with his work. By then, you can spend some quality time with him."

During this time, the main cast of *Chinese Paladin 3* was busy with intensive promotion for the second and third rounds of the series, and their daily schedules were very full. Miss Cai certainly wouldn't let Liu Shishi go now.

"Mm, I know, Sister K."

Thinking of Wei Jin's strong physique and the pleasure he brought her, Liu Shishi's pretty face flushed slightly. —Without exceeding Wei Jin's expectations, *No Man's Land* was rejected once again.

This time, even Han Sanping was full of fury. He had originally thought that by relying on his face, and having already edited out many dark scenes, this small matter would be a sure thing.

As a result, he had been slapped in the face; these old fogies didn't even give him face, and the reason they gave was also very perfunctory: 【We are acting according to the rules.】

Hearing the news, Wei Jin couldn't help but sigh. Talking about rules with Han Sanping? He wondered what Zuoshandiao would think of that?

However, Ning Hao was very aggrieved; he had already started the third round of editing. With time running out, it was highly probable that they would miss the Venice Film Festival. It was a pity that Ning Hao and the cast had suffered through months of wind and sand for nothing.

At the same time, the large-scale promotion for *Lucy* had also begun.

Jing Tian's solo poster had already appeared in major cinema chains, and in the most conspicuous positions at that.

The 60-second promotional short video for the film had also been released online.

The clean and crisp fight scenes, the car chase on the streets, and the mind-boggling superpowers directly maxed out the audience's expectations, and there was much discussion online.

Flying Peiqi: "Damn, this is too awesome. With one thought, everyone instantly surrenders their guns."

Pillow That Wants to Sleep: "Jing Tian's figure is really great; Wei the Dog is too lucky."

Duo Duo: "Evolving from a human into a god, Wei Jin's Hole is truly too big."

Seeing the reviews online, Jing Tian was also full of confidence and began her own promotional tour. Wishing everyone a Happy Spring Festival!

(End of this chapter)