Chapter 475: Sword Cuts a Sharp Edge, Kicking Someone When They're Down, The Celestial Returns

At the cocktail party, glasses clinked and people mingled.

In such settings, Wei Jin was always the center of attention, and many star actors came over with wine glasses to greet him.

At this moment, Wei Jin was chatting with Huang Xiaoming.

One has to admit, the efficiency of Hong Kong directors is truly impressive.

From the project's inception to filming, and then to wrapping up, Chen Kexin's "American Dreams in China" took exactly three months; this damn thing is almost catching up to Wei Jin.

After chatting for a few sentences, Huang Xiaoming left with his wine glass; as an up-and-coming capitalist, there were too many big shots at the venue whose relationships he needed to maintain.

However, very soon, someone else walked over.

"President Wei, wishing you a massive box office success."

Looking at the high-spirited and exuberant Zhong Lifang, a smile appeared on Wei Jin's face.

"Thank you for your kind words, President Zhong. Also, congratulations to Xiaoma for getting what they wished for."

"Hehe, thank you, President Wei. In the future, if there's an opportunity, our two companies should cooperate more."

"Easily done, easily done."

A few days ago, that acquisition case of Xiaoma that had dragged on for more than two years had finally settled.

Xiaoma Pentium, in partnership with India's Reliance Media, acquired the core assets of Digital Domain for 30.2 million USD, with both sides owning 70% and 30% of Digital Domain's shares respectively.

The media reports at the time could be described as extremely flattering, and a large number of industry insiders also appeared to take pride in it.

Zhong Lifang even personally admitted to the media that Xiaoma Pentium had already obtained all of Digital Domain's core business, as if they had perfectly picked up a bargain.

Other domestic companies might not be clear on the situation, but Wei Jin understood it all too well.

After incubating Shanhe Ink, Digital Domain faced a massive brain drain, and after Summit Entertainment sold its shares, it was even more on the verge of bankruptcy.

Such an effects company, having lost a large amount of technology, talent, equipment, and even business, was left with nothing but a brand name.

To tell the truth, Xiaoma had been in contact with Digital Domain for a year or two; they likely knew these facts.

But they still chose to acquire it. Wei Jin estimated that the greater consideration might be for the final IPO, as there was only a little over a year left until the deadline of the valuation adjustment mechanism.

Although Xiaoma had been wandering around these years, poaching and signing many well-known directors, screenwriters, and studios.

But until now, they hadn't achieved any notable results; if they didn't take a risky shortcut, it would be very difficult to achieve their goal of going public.

It was just that in doing so, the gambling nature of it appeared even greater.

However, for Wei Jin, this was actually a good thing; he was getting closer and closer to taking down Zhong Lifang.

The two-hour cocktail party ended, and Wei Jin took Jing Tian back to Dongshanshu; the media reports on the film premiere were also out.

"'Bottom-tier Girl' premiere, the Great Hall is packed with guests, shining with starlight!"

"Another sky-high copyright price exposed, 38.56 million USD! 'Bottom-tier Girl' refreshes the record for domestic film copyright transactions!"

"'Bottom-tier Girl': You and I will eventually shine brightly in these decaying days!"

"Can't keep going? Come and take a look at her!"

"."

One flowery report after another, without even needing guidance from Shanhe Media, directly brought the premiere news to the trending topics.

On Yinxiang Net, many fans who attended the premiere also began to give their own ratings and reviews.

Thanks to the fact that audiences now hadn't been poisoned by chicken soup for the soul, most of the reviews were positive.

"Although the story is very simple, it's just very moving; it made me cry until my makeup was ruined."

"The moment 'Dream It Possible' started, my eyes teared up; this music adds at least 30% to the score, Wei Jin is awesome!"

"Moved to tears, it's that kind of repentance toward oneself: 'You have never put in your full effort for anything'..."

"A five-year fan is very gratified; Tian Tian's growth is obvious, the future is promising, keep it up!"

At Dongshanshu, the water in the large bathtub rippled.

Jing Tian leaned into Wei Jin's embrace, her body shifted slightly, and she turned her head to gaze at the man with her large, cartoon-like eyes, her voice sweet and cloying: "Brother, what were Sister Wen Li and her little niece chatting with you about just now?"

"Oh, about the Golden Horse Awards, and also thanking me for giving Ma Sichun an opportunity..."

Speaking of this, Wei Jin felt a bit emotional.

The entertainment industry is indeed a big dyeing vat; after only two years of not seeing her, Ma Sichun no longer had the simplicity and innocence of when they first met, having become much more slick.

Perhaps this change was a good thing in Jiang Wenli's eyes, but Wei Jin felt a strange, inexplicable agitation; fortunately, he had the ability to protect the beauty around him.

"Is that so? I thought she was going to play matchmaker between you and that girl..."

Jing Tian's voice carried a hint of inexplicable meaning; she even felt that the way Jiang Wenli looked at Wei Jin wasn't very pure.

After all, as a member of the Northwest Circle, Jing Tian knew about the romantic affairs of that "big sister" who still possessed charm despite her age.

"Hey, you little head, what are you thinking about?"

Wei Jin reached out and tapped Jing Tian's forehead, feeling a bit between laughter and tears; not wanting to dwell on this topic, he reached out to pull the girl tighter into his arms, one hand climbing onto her milky-white, perky breasts.

"By the way, Tian Tian, the upcoming roadshow will have to rely on yourself."

Jing Tian nodded, her face full of determination: "Mm, Brother, I know, I won't slack off during the National Day."

Wei Jin reached out to hook the girl's smooth chin, saying softly: "Tonight, let Brother cheer you up again; after all, roadshows are very tiring."

"Mmm~~~"

This year's National Day Slot, films were released one after another.

Following "Tai Chi 0", Zhang Ziyi's "Dangerous Liaisons" was also released.

It was just that there wasn't much attention from within the circle; most industry insiders' gazes were focused on the first-day results of Huayi's "Tai Chi 0".

But sometimes, the higher the tone is set, the more painful it is when one gets slapped in the face.

The 9.7 million first-day result of "Tai Chi 0" directly made the industry's production companies drop their jaws.

They swore to take the National Day Slot championship, but this was the result? It couldn't even compare to an art-house film like "White Deer Plain".

The key was that the word-of-mouth online wasn't very good either; it was only the first day of release, and the Yinxiang Net rating was only 6.3, while Douban was slightly more decent at only 6.8.

"The plot is thin, the pacing is sluggish, it's like stagnant water with no climax and zero originality; it has basically collected all the elements of a trashy film." "Is Eddie Peng's accent for real? If he can't do it, they should have dubbed him; it's so distracting."

"Damn, the big boss is amazing, he can actually get immersed in this. The leads have zero acting skills and the fight scenes are mediocre, relying entirely on the supporting cast, yet you can actually get immersed."

"Angelababy really doesn't disappoint; her acting level is as 'online' as ever—big eyes, formulaic expressions, and stiff, she's exactly like Xiao Fengxian."

"A hodgepodge of various elements, overly crude, and flashy, it just wasted the reputation of Wudang for nothing."

At this moment, Zhang Ziyi was quite happy; it wasn't that she had a grudge against Huayi, but rather that in the clashes of the film market, one relies on the contrast provided by peers.

With "Tai Chi 0" performing so poorly, "Dangerous Liaisons," which was released later, might actually end up benefiting quite a bit.

Unfortunately, things went against her wishes; Zhang Ziyi miscalculated her own drawing power. Even with an average screen share of 20%, the opening day box office for "Dangerous Liaisons" didn't look good, and the media reports were nothing short of character assassination.

"Starring Zhang Ziyi and Cecilia Cheung, the 200-million-yuan investment romance film 'Dangerous Liaisons' flopped on its opening day, grossing only 7.89 million, with no hope of breaking even."

If it were just poor box office, that would be one thing, as there are genre limitations, and the online word-of-mouth is actually quite decent, with a 7.5 rating on Impression Net.

But the problem is that Zhang Ziyi was too high-profile before, repeatedly shouting about her 20-million-yuan salary to join the film to highlight her status, and now she is facing the backlash.

Suddenly, many voices appeared online, with terms like "International Zhang's sky-high salary doesn't match her reputation" and "a money-losing burden who can't carry the box office" emerging one after another.

The backstabbing between female celebrities is ubiquitous. Since her debut, Zhang Ziyi has always thought highly of herself, looking down on others, offending many people, and not even taking Gong Li or Maggie Cheung seriously.

Now that they've caught the chance, how could her competitors not kick her while she's down? Led by Fan Bingbing, others like Li Bingbing, Zhao Wei, and Tang Wei, who all had grudges, followed suit, making snide, passive-aggressive remarks on Weibo.

Fans of various A-list actresses also chimed in online, questioning Zhang Ziyi's sky-high salary and how it dragged down the production.

Zhang Ziyi, under heavy fire, naturally wouldn't sit and wait for death; one must know that commercial value is always what female celebrities value most.

Especially for someone like Zhang Ziyi who cares deeply about her own status, the term "money-losing burden" was a critical hit to her.

Because this could very well affect her future acting contracts, press releases, market value, and status, Zhang Ziyi immediately organized a counterattack.

"As a celebrity artist, one should still set a good example for fans; don't just do petty things behind people's backs, it shows a lack of character. An artist must first have artistic integrity."

At this point, before the other A-list actresses could even speak, netizens started helping to mock her.

"Things like 'character'—you didn't talk about it when you were abroad, you didn't talk about it at parties, you didn't talk about it on the beach; now that you're talking about it, isn't that a bit too double-standard?"

For a time, the fans of the various A-list actresses all came to join the fray.

Although Zhang Ziyi has high name recognition, she doesn't really have many die-hard fans, and facing the collective fire, she was beaten back step by step.

Just at this moment, the notification that "Back to 1942" would be selected to compete for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film was announced, and the eyes of the internet and the industry instantly focused on it.

Since the 1990s, the domestic quota for Oscar submissions had almost been monopolized by Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, who took turns holding the spot; the only exception was Wei Jin.

At this moment, Feng Xiaogang had finally fulfilled a long-cherished wish, and he couldn't have been happier, immediately posting on Weibo: "Thanks to the leaders for their trust. 'Back to 1942' is a true piece of history and the film I have put the most effort into shooting over these years. I believe that with its profound and moving story, it will definitely touch the judges."

For a time, a large number of celebrities began posting congratulations on Weibo, which actually suppressed the news about Zhang Ziyi.

Regarding the online commotion, Wei Jin just watched it for fun; he was currently focused on the attendance of "Flying Colors."

Thanks to his long-established brand and good relationships with theater chains, the screen allocation for the release of "Flying Colors" was very strong.

There's no need to mention the Shanhe theater chain, which had a screen share as high as 40%; Wanda was also over 35%, and chains like Shanghai New Film Association and China Film Stellar were almost all over 30%.

As a result, this low-budget inspirational film had an average screen share of 34%, arguably the highest for the National Day holiday period.

With such a high screen share, if the attendance rate were poor, it would look a bit ugly.

Fortunately, the feedback from the theaters was quite good, with daytime attendance rates maintaining over 50%.

"Looking at the situation, the golden evening slots shouldn't have an attendance rate lower than 80%; the start is quite good."

After muttering to himself, Wei Jin checked the time, left the office, and instructed the driver to head to the airport.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Liu Yifei for over a month, and Wei Jin actually missed her quite a bit.

With a sense of anticipation, Wei Jin arrived at the airport and found that the flight had just landed.

However, with a VIP pass, he didn't wait long in the parking lot. Before long, he saw a disguised Liu Yifei and Shu Chang, along with an assistant pushing luggage, walking over.

"Wow, Boss Wei came to pick us up in person today; I really have a lot of face."

Shu Chang took off her sunglasses and leaned in, teasing him in an exaggerated way.

"Hmph, you're just an add-on."

After a bit of banter, Wei Jin walked toward Liu Yifei.

The young girl was wearing a white wide-shoulder T-shirt paired with blue skinny jeans; with just a touch of makeup, she already looked ethereal.

Reaching out to cup the girl's pretty face, Wei Jin said softly, "Yifei, you've lost weight."

Feeling the warmth of the man's palm, a blush appeared on Liu Yifei's face. She rubbed her delicate, fair cheek against his hand and said coquettishly, "I haven't, Brother."

"Hey, hey, this is a public place; you two be careful."

"You talk too much. Let's go, I've arranged for private home-cooked food tonight to shut your mouth."

"Ha, eating Boss Wei's treat? Then I'll have to eat a lot."

"Ugh, Changchang, can you not be so funny?"

After the dinner, Wei Jin took Liu Yifei straight to the Xishan villa.

Having not seen each other for over a month, the girl was very enthusiastic; as soon as they arrived, she kissed him.

Feeling the girl's intentions, Wei Jin wrapped one arm around her waist.

The two kissed all the way from the entryway to the bedroom. Liu Yifei was no longer satisfied with just a wet kiss and wanted more.

"Brother, take me..."

The girl's cheeks were flushed, and her alluring red lips were slightly parted. Who could resist such charm? Wei Jin didn't speak, but expressed it with action, kissing her red lips deeply once again.

Tasting the girl's soft and supple lips, Wei Jin's hands weren't idle either, fully utilizing his talent for "understanding clothes."

Although the jeans were a bit difficult to undo, with the girl's cooperation, in just two or three minutes, the two were unencumbered.

Looking at the alluring flush on the girl's exquisite face and the longing in her eyes, Wei Jin didn't hesitate; with a movement of his hands, he pinned the girl beneath him.

"Oh~"

Accompanied by a long and satisfied song, the two figures gradually merged by the bedside. (End of chapter)