Chapter 279: Birthday: Liu Yifei's Death-Trap Question

Beijing, Dongshanshu.

"President Wei, thank you for giving Wanda this opportunity, thank you."

Lu Zheng said with a sincere tone; Wanda had collaborated with Shanhe Media many times over the past few years, but this was the first time he had seen such a large co-production project.

In Lu Zheng's view, there were not many companies in the country capable of participating in co-productions, mainly because there were almost no good projects.

But he knew clearly that Wei Jin's projects were different from other films, and the prospects were absolutely impressive.

Having learned about this project in the car earlier, he had very much wanted to participate, but he hadn't figured out how to phrase it; he hadn't expected Wei Jin to present such a big gift directly.

"President Lu, you are too modest. Not to mention that we have known each other for many years and have a deep personal friendship, plus the connection with Tian Tian here, just speaking in terms of business, Wanda's massive theater layout also makes you the best partner."

Wei Jin picked up his teacup and took a sip; since they were all acquaintances, there was no need for him to be hypocritical.

Today was also a fortuitous occasion; taking advantage of Jing Tian's 22nd birthday, he had just happened to invite Lu Zheng to his home to finalize the matters regarding *Pacific Rim*.

"Haha, although that is true, Wanda still owes you a favor. I hope our two companies will continue to cooperate so happily."

Lu Zheng replied with a smile; he knew in his heart that while Wanda had advantages, it was not irreplaceable, so he had to accept this favor.

"President Lu, if you really feel embarrassed, just support us more with film scheduling in the future, haha."

Wei Jin said half-jokingly; the level of scheduling could directly determine the life or death of a film.

"That's no problem, I will definitely make President Wei satisfied."

Just as the two were chatting happily, Jing Tian poked her little head in from outside the study door.

"Brother, Lu Shu, you can go wash your hands first; we are about to start eating."

"Good. President Wei, I'm basking in your glory today; this is my first time tasting Tian Tian's cooking, haha."

Upon hearing this, Wei Jin's expression became somewhat unnatural; he hoped Lu Zheng would still be able to laugh later.

"Ahem, President Lu, take it easy later." — Looking at the dishes on the table that were clearly prepared with care and looked quite decent, Wei Jin was somewhat surprised, then turned his head to look at Jing Tian, only to see the latter wearing a proud and spoiled expression.

"Brother, you're underestimating me, aren't you? Diligence can make up for clumsiness; I specifically apprenticed under a master chef. Everyone, pick up your chopsticks and have a taste."

The little girl's confident expression made Wei Jin feel expectant; perhaps it was actually good? Picking up a piece of twice-cooked pork, Wei Jin put it into his mouth and chewed.

"Mmm~~ Not bad, there's a lot of improvement."

Wei Jin was not lying; the improvement was indeed significant, at least the presentation was absolutely fine.

"Oh? Let me try it too."

Lu Zheng followed suit and took a bite; soon, the expression on his face began to grow complex. He finally understood why Jing Tian was so devoted to Wei Jin—this kid could spout nonsense without even blinking.

"Lu Shu, how is it?"

Looking at Jing Tian's expectant eyes, Lu Zheng didn't have the heart to voice his inner assessment.

"Not bad. I rarely eat Sichuan cuisine, it must be quite authentic, right?"

"Phew, that's good. I studied this dish for a long time. If you think it's delicious, then eat more, Lu Shu."

Seeing that Lu Zheng had given a positive review, Jing Tian took the initiative to pick up several helpings for him with her chopsticks.

Seeing Jing Tian being so enthusiastic, Lu Zheng grew anxious and hurriedly changed the subject.

"Ahem, Tian Tian, let's have a toast; today is your birthday, after all."

This suggestion was approved by Wei Jin, who was also afraid of eating too much and gaining weight, so he took the initiative to raise the wine glass in front of him.

"Tian Tian, happy birthday!" X2 "Thank you, Brother, thank you, Lu Shu."

Looking at the man she loved and the respected elder, Jing Tian felt warm inside and raised her glass to drain it in one gulp. — The birthday dinner, apart from the dishes being somewhat "ordinary," was truly enjoyed by both host and guests.

After seeing Lu Zheng off, Wei Jin took out the birthday gift he had prepared long ago, under Jing Tian's expectant gaze.

"Tian Tian, these are two songs I prepared for you, one in Chinese and one in English. See if you like them."

The two songs prepared this time were *In My Song* and *So Far Away*; Wei Jin believed these were more suited to Jing Tian's current vocal ability.

After a simple flip-through, Jing Tian stood on her tiptoes and kissed Wei Jin.

"Brother, thank you."

"Silly girl, do we need to say thank you between us? As long as you like them, that's enough."

Wei Jin scraped the girl's nose with some indulgence and said gently.

"By the way, I have already bought a theater troupe. When you have free time, you can go take a look; the plays they write are actually quite interesting."

Honestly, the stage plays of Mahua FunAge were indeed good; otherwise, they wouldn't have become popular across the country and even held national tours.

"Mm."

Jing Tian nodded, and a blush appeared on her face.

"Brother, let's play role-play again tonight."

"Okay."

Regarding the girl's birthday request, Wei Jin naturally followed her lead.

That night, the little girl almost couldn't tell whether she was Jing Tian or Liu Yifei. — In the film market, the highly anticipated *Aftershock* was released.

The first-day box office of 42.6 million was truly head and shoulders above the rest in this Summer Slot.

Perhaps because she had nothing to do, on the second day of the release, Liu Yifei dragged Wei Jin to watch this movie.

After more than two hours, the little girl had used up an entire pack of tissues. Fortunately, it was the group's private screening room; otherwise, the news of the "Fairy Liu" turning into a little crybaby would likely have hit the trending searches.

There was no help for it; the movie was indeed tear-jerking. Even though Wei Jin, a grown man, had already seen it in his past life, he still felt his nose sting watching it again, let alone young girls who were mostly sentimental. It was indeed very easy to be moved by such a disaster film.

After comforting the little girl for a while, Wei Jin took the time to look at the relevant reports online.

The media was indeed paying close attention to this film, and there were already many reports online.

Data showed that the occupancy rate in most theaters was above 75%, with some reaching 90% or even higher.

Wei Jin shook his head; the maneuvering was too obvious, and he wondered what his peers would think.

But this was not surprising; after all, it was a film with the lion's share of funding coming from official sources, and it was expected that it would enjoy the same treatment as films like *The Founding of a Republic*.

Currently, the word-of-mouth online was quite good, but some people also pointed out that Huayi was selling suffering and taking the opportunity to amass wealth.

Regarding this, Huayi naturally denied it categorically, having issued several notices since the release stating that this is not a disaster film, but a historical record.

After resting for a while, Liu Yifei recovered, gently leaned against Wei Jin's back, and asked a question: "Brother, if it were us in that situation, what choice would you make?"

Wei Jin naturally knew who the "us" in the young girl's mouth referred to, but this question was truly a bit of a death trap.

Turning around to cup Liu Yifei's small face, Wei Jin said very seriously: "I don't know, but I would try my best to save everyone; if I couldn't, then I would stay with you all." Seeing the young girl was about to continue asking, Wei Jin hurriedly interrupted her.

"Yifei, this kind of question has no meaning."

Taking the opportunity to wrap his arms around the girl's slender waist, Wei Jin gave his promise.

"You only need to know that if you do not leave, I will never abandon you."

Although she did not get the answer she wanted most, Liu Yifei was already very satisfied; at least it was an equal footing, wasn't it?

"Brother, kiss me" — this Summer Slot was destined to be the world of *Aftershock*.

On the 24th, the box office closed at 48.5 million; this figure was already approaching the original *The Martian*, and coupled with the administrative guidance behind it, it was likely to set a new record.

At this, the entire circle was a bit uneasy.

However, Wei Jin did hear from Zhao Feng of Shanhe Cinema Line that cases of full-house bookings had already appeared, meaning a 100% occupancy rate with not a single empty seat.

Under such strong administrative support, achieving this result was not an exaggeration.

On the 25th, *Aftershock* closed at 52 million; on the 26th, the box office was 51 million.

Breaking 200 million in 4 days, this result left the entire film industry speechless, to the point of feeling unreal.

The industry had already concluded that this film would surely refresh the record of *The Martian*, and even break the shackles of 700 million to become the new record holder for domestic films.

Huayi naturally would not let go of this good opportunity to show off, stepping out to high-profilely state that they must break the 700 million barrier.

With such a dazzling box office, Huayi's stock price also rose with the tide, and the 50 million shares in Wei Jin's hands brought him quite a lot of profit.

However, with this film performing so strongly, it was the films released in the same period that suffered.

*Tang Bohu 2* had a box office of over 30 million and was directly pulled from theaters by the cinema chains; as for *Xi You Ji*, that film was already gone.

Facing the strength of *Aftershock*, many films released in August were trembling, and *Cold War* was no exception.

Even the usually calm Shi Nansheng called, her words carrying some worry.

"President Wei, should we make adjustments to the release schedule?"

Wei Jin shook his head; the promotion for *Cold War* had already begun, and changing the date now would be a slap in the face to him, Wei.

"Don't be scared by *Aftershock*; for a film with full-house bookings like this, its box office explosion period is usually in the first half-month, so there is basically no conflict with *Cold War* in terms of scheduling."

Pausing, Wei Jin continued.

"Furthermore, Shanhe Cinema Line and Wanda Cinema Line will do their best to increase the screenings for *Cold War*, so you don't need to worry too much."

"Then President Wei, how much box office do you think this film can get?"

On the phone, Shi Nansheng's voice carried anticipation; the rise in stock price brought by *Silent Witness* was truly fascinating, and one must know that as management, she also held shares.

"Don't think too much, breaking even is absolutely no problem."

The investment for *Cold War* was no more than 30 million, and including marketing, it would not exceed 50 million at most, so the pressure to break even was minimal.

"Next, don't let the final round of promotion fall behind."

"Understood, President Wei." — Having not seen him for a long time, Ning Hao was still dressed in that same style, wearing a big gold chain, looking every bit like a social big brother.

Seeing Wei Jin, he didn't exchange pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Junior brother, *The Great Robbery* starts filming in two days, you can send a producer over; I will also notify Xiaoma about it."

"You've dragged this out for too long, Lei Datou is probably waiting until he's moldy."

Wei Jin didn't know what to say about Ning Hao's efficiency.

"Hey, let him wait; this is to temper his character. Didn't you often say that good things are not found in a rush?"

Perhaps because Xing Aina had been at Shanghai Film Park recently, Ning Hao rarely had peace of mind and was in a good mood; at this moment, he sat lazily on the sofa, looking more and more like a social idler.

"Fine, everything you say is right. How long is the filming expected to take this time?"

Wei Jin sat on the guest sofa and handed Ning Hao a cigarette; the latter was also an old smoker, and the two were truly temperamentally compatible.

"Expected to finish within three months, then fly straight to the Golden Horse Awards."

Taking a deep drag of the cigarette, Ning Hao looked at Wei Jin with some curiosity.

"Junior brother, do you really have no thoughts on this?"

"What thoughts?" Wei Jin was a bit confused.

"The box office record, aren't you worried?"

*Aftershock* had been released for a week, and the box office had already exceeded 300 million, currently still maintaining a daily box office of over 30 million, with momentum even fiercer than the original *The Martian*.

"His box office has a lot of water in it; more than half is money spent by enterprises and public institutions, just like that tribute film of Han Dong's, no need to take it seriously."

Hearing this, Wei Jin shook his head. Many people had called him these days, all saying things of a comforting nature, but he really didn't feel anything.

"However, Feng Dapao won't be proud for long; who knows, *Passengers* might just take it back."

"So confident? In terms of effect, this film should not be as good as *The Martian*, right?"

Ning Hao had also seen the finished film; his intuitive feeling was that although the special effects of *Passengers* were great, it was still inferior to *The Martian* in terms of storytelling, so he was not very optimistic.

"Senior brother, haven't you noticed? The ceiling for film box office this year has generally increased, which shows that the film market is constantly expanding; box office figures of 600 or 700 million will likely emerge one after another in the future."

Wei Jin played the role of a prophet; the entry of capital accelerated the prosperity of the domestic film market, and coupled with the rise in ticket prices, *Passengers* might really bring him a surprise.

"Hmm, that seems to be the logic. In that case, *The Great Robbery* might even break 300 or 500 million?"

"Not necessarily, but it's worth looking forward to, isn't it?"

"Right, worth looking forward to, haha." — From the very beginning of the project *The Great Robbery*, Xiaoma Pentium had been very optimistic about it.

In any case, from *Crazy Stone* to *Lost on Journey*, and then to *Crazy Racer*, Ning Hao had already proven his achievements in commercial films.

Therefore, upon receiving the notice from Ning Hao, Zhong Lifang couldn't wait to announce it to the media.

"*The Great Robbery*, jointly invested by Xiaoma, Bad Monkey, and Shanhe Media, is about to start filming."

Throughout the entire press release, Zhong Lifang held Ning Hao in high regard, and her words revealed genuine sincerity without a trace of sycophancy, which was truly impressive.

Wei Jin became increasingly interested in this woman, but unfortunately, Xiaoma Pentium was currently ambitious, and since Zhong Lifang was the general manager, he feared he could not offer a corresponding position and would have to wait a while longer.

In the film market, Aftershock was still reaping strong returns, not at all inferior to The Martian from back then.

Huayi and Feng Dapao were already surrounded by flowers and applause, and the latter even happily stated to reporters: "Once the remaining five-film contract with Huayi is completed, I shall retire after my success and enjoy life."

Regarding this, Wei Jin did not believe it one bit; this old fellow would still stir up trouble even after fleeing to North America, as he was certainly not the type who could sit idle.

The second update for today (End of this chapter)