Chapter 159: Little Baby (Requesting Monthly Tickets, Requesting Rewards)

After clearing the air, they stopped dredging up past grievances and moved forward, returning to their usual sweet and affectionate state.

But it was already late, and Fang Hong couldn't stay longer—he had already drawn Liu Tianxian's disapproval before, for hitting her.

She thought he acted recklessly, without sense of proportion.

Of course, Liu Tianxian didn't care; their relationship was like this—hit her, she hit back.

"Drive safely," Liu Tianxian warned. "I'll come to your office tomorrow."

Before, she'd always run over to Yutu; Bao Jinjin and Jiao Huajing would ask if she'd returned, and why she didn't come by anymore.

Few knew about their quarrel; Chen Zhixi wasn't even fully aware—she merely disapproved of Liu Tianxian's antics, not out of personal grudge.

After all, she ran the company and had to be responsible for it.

"Mm, one more kiss." Fang Hong leaned out from the driver's seat.

"Get lost already."

Liu Tianxian pushed his head away.

Watching the Porsche drive off, Liu Tianxian smiled and returned to the Villa, heading to the kitchen to help her mother pick vegetables.

Liu Xiaoli washed her hands: "Did that little Fang leave?"

"He left—he doesn't eat here, why would he stay?" Liu Tianxian said.

Liu Xiaoli fell silent, busy with her tasks.

She understood what her daughter meant: she wasn't inviting Fang Hong to stay for dinner.

Liu Tianxian noticed her mother's expression and affectionately linked arms with her. "Mom, don't hold a grudge against him—we were just fooling around."

"What grudge? He didn't hit me," Liu Xiaoli replied, glancing at her, tone still flat.

Liu Tianxian smiled. "Actually, he's a good guy—he just gets irrational when it comes to me. When it's not about me, he's perfectly clear-headed. You haven't seen him at the negotiation table—he's very charismatic."

"You're already defending him before anything's even happened. If you marry him one day, will you forget about me entirely?" Liu Xiaoli teased.

"Mom, you're saying that like I'm not your little baby forever," Liu Tianxian leaned her head against her mother's chest, clinging affectionately.

"Who's little baby? Before, you came home moody and silent. As soon as little Fang showed up and hit you, you bounced right back. Looks like your mom's not as effective as some outsider." Liu Xiaoli sighed.

"You make it sound like I'm pathetic—we just had a spiritual connection that fixed things." Liu Tianxian explained.

"Alright, alright, you're right. Go play, don't bother me while I'm cooking."

Liu Xiaoli affectionately tapped her daughter's forehead.

She didn't hold any real grudge against Fang Hong—she just didn't know him as well as her daughter did.

Besides, he'd left a bad impression by hitting her daughter.

Liu Tianxian lingered, chatting with her mother; after returning home, Fang Hong also talked with his mother.

"Hey, I recently heard Yifei's dating a girl—doing lesbian stuff. Is that true?" Xu Liyun pulled her son aside, face serious.

She liked Liu Tianxian very much; hearing this made her uneasy, and she didn't know if it was true.

"No, she was just used. There are too many people in the entertainment circle who spread nonsense." Fang Hong said.

Hearing this, Xu Liyun breathed a sigh of relief, then grumbled: "I knew Yifei couldn't be a lesbian—those people's mouths are too loose."

"Who told you this?" Fang Hong asked. His mother rarely used electronic devices—he had no idea how she'd heard.

"A few rich housewives nearby—they chat together, and I listened in," Xu Liyun said.

"Oh? You've made friends with them already!" Fang Hong laughed.

That was good—he just wanted his mother to settle in comfortably here.

"Not really—I was just taken along by someone," Xu Liyun said.

"Oh!"

Fang Hong nodded, not asking who.

"So, how's your relationship with Yifei now?"

Xu Liyun mainly feared her son and Liu Tianxian would have a falling-out or break up—that would be bad.

"It's fine," Fang Hong said.

He didn't tell his mother about their earlier quarrel.

"Good."

"."

The next day, Xu Liyun lived as usual—sometimes gardening, sometimes walking Heizi. Life was dull but stress-free.

She locked Heizi in the courtyard before stepping out—others were afraid to be near him now. Heizi had grown huge, half a person tall, towering and imposing, looking especially fierce.

Ordinary people simply dared not enter her home.

As soon as Xu Liyun stepped out, she saw a beautiful figure waiting at the gate, waving: "Auntie Xu, where are you going?"

If Fang Hong were here, he'd recognize her—they'd collaborated on "To Our Youth"—it was Jiang Shuying.

"Oh, buying groceries, then taking a stroll," Xu Liyun replied warmly.

"Then let me accompany you!" Jiang Shuying smiled.

"Sure."

"."

Fang Hong knew well—after going public, people would inevitably probe into his family, targeting his mother.

And now that he was growing bigger, he was no longer bound by blacklisting.

His own route was hard to access—he rarely appeared publicly, avoiding all circles except the essential ones, making him nearly impossible to reach.

But his mother? She was simple—bored every day.

He'd only asked Lu Dabo to assign someone sharp to keep an eye on things—he didn't want to interfere with his mother's normal social interactions.

The eleven-day holiday was over, but Xiebazi was still being vilified—he'd be cursed for at least a month, until he doubted his own existence.

Shoehorn himself was also a man full of nonsense, fond of accusing in front of reporters, sometimes saying there was a hidden hand out to get him, cursing the hidden hand as despicable and shameless.

Other times he would play nice, asking the hidden hand to let him off.

In any case, he himself would provide the heat; the people behind the scenes just had to fan the flames.

The Sorcerer and the White Snake had been out for ten days, with a box office of only 89.12 million, which left Shoehorn thoroughly disheartened; there would be no chance later either, the holiday was already over.

Shoehorn said in front of reporters today: "I'm going to quit the film industry, all movie projects behind me are to be cut."

In other words, he didn't want to set foot in this circle anymore — this circle couldn't hold him, it wasn't one he could stay in at all, better go back and invest in some TV dramas.

But even so, the cursing of him still hadn't stopped! Because the core issue wasn't whether he quit the film industry or not, the core issue was that he had to take the fall for Liu Tianxian.

Bear with it, just hold out until next month and it'll be fine — next month the news of Liu Tianwang's wife being pregnant will be announced.

If it isn't announced, Fang Hong will help him announce it.

That way it can be dragged out until the Golden Horse Awards, and also let "Legend of the Hongmen Banquet" be released smoothly.

Painted Wall's box office was slightly better, 104 million, with only a few million afterward; in a few days it won't even hold onto a few million.

For Wang Zhangtian, this was already beyond expectations — the film that old fool Chen Jiashang shot was truly unbearable to look at, rotten enough to anger gods and men alike.

The audience really damn well couldn't stand watching it.

What's the deal with Hong Kong directors now, one worse than the next — where did all those once-hyped godlike abilities go?

Liu Tianxian wasn't idle either — she and Zeng Yike had already stopped publicly contacting each other, even unfollowed each other on Weibo, meaning she was doing her best to make a clean break.

Try to downplay this matter as much as possible; her meaning was still to handle it coldly, so neither side would hurt the other.

Anyway, there's still time now.

As for whether they're still in contact privately, that's unknown — just be careful with words and actions, or else when people release your chat records later it won't look good.

"Bad Genius" had already been out for ten days, breaking 256 million in ten days, but starting from this day the box office was cut in half to only around ten million.

It would get worse day by day afterward.

In other words, everyone's gone back to work, not watching movies anymore.

Still, this film had plenty of buzz, with many people online recommending it, saying it was the most satisfying movie of the year.

Liu Tianxian wasn't as bad as the outside world criticized — the most said was that she was "playing with cheats," "two-meter-eight aura," that sort of thing.

This role wasn't about acting to begin with, just radiating her own aura — no matter what that aura was, as long as it let the audience feel it, that was fine.

So her reputation rose again, and her commercial value picked back up.

There were brands looking for her to endorse — just radiating aura at events would do, but she still didn't dare go out, afraid of a public opinion explosion.

She had to fulfill the contract for "Legend of the Hongmen Banquet" with Wang Zhangtian and Mr. Zheng — before this film was released, she couldn't blow up.

Mr. Zheng had already called her! In the recording studio, Fang Hong sat in front of a pile of machines, wearing headphones and listening to dubbing, when his eyes went dark — someone had covered his eyes from behind.

Those hands were ice-cold, and very delicate.

Fang Hong took off his headphones and saw Liu Tianxian's smiling face right up close to his eyes, very playful.

(End of chapter)