Chapter 180: Put to Death

The two of them were in such an intimate pose that anyone seeing them would think they were doing something scandalous!

Fang Hong stared at Liu Tianxian's delicate, flawless face and reached out to caress it: "Feifei, you're so beautiful."

"Slap!"

Liu Tianxian slapped his hand away: "Don't try to change the subject."

"Come on, I was just joking, don't take it seriously," Fang Hong chuckled.

"Don't joke around with me—I'm serious," Liu Tianxian glared.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm serious too."

Fang Hong forced back his laughter: "But can you please move first? This position is really inappropriate—if someone sees us, they'll misunderstand."

"Misunderstand what? I'm not embarrassed—what are you, a man, afraid of?" Liu Tianxian shrugged.

"Fair point. Then you stay right there."

Fang Hong resignedly spread his arms and relaxed his body, letting Liu Tianxian do as she pleased.

After all, he found it quite pleasant—above him was Liu Tianxian's chest, and he could smell her faint, sweet fragrance, a gentle warmth.

Liu Tianxian leaned down even closer: "Are you afraid of me?"

"I'm terrified!" Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian smiled, knowing he wasn't afraid at all—he was just teasing her, indulging her little whims.

She sniffed his face: "Younger brother, you smell so good!"

Fang Hong widened his eyes—wasn't this his own old trick from when they first met? Back then, he was the one pursuing; now, the roles were completely reversed.

"You've turned heaven upside down."

He wrapped his arms around her waist, ready to flip the situation—"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A knock came at the door, which swung open—Chen Zhixi saw the woman-on-top, man-on-bottom scene and covered her eyes: "Sorry, please continue."

"We're just fooling around, nothing happened," Liu Tianxian turned and stood up straight upon seeing who it was.

She still knew her limits—play was play, mischief was mischief, but she wouldn't let it interfere with this man's work.

Fang Hong sighed inwardly—his plan to turn heaven upside down had failed.

"Come in," Fang Hong gestured. "Feifei, go get me a cup of tea."

"Me?"

Liu Tianxian pointed at herself in disbelief—had she become a servant?

Fang Hong pushed her out, his tone earnest: "You've worked hard—go on!"

Liu Tianxian stared at him, sensing he had something he didn't want her to know.

Still, she didn't ask—she obeyed and left.

After Liu Tianxian left, Fang Hong closed the door, stood by the entrance for a moment, then whispered: "Found it?"

He spoke without looking at Chen Zhixi, eyes lowered to the floor, as if lost in thought.

"Found it. Lin Mingqian, Ceng Baoyi's boyfriend, works in Beijing. They broke up over Ceng Aizi's behavior, but they've reconciled and are back together as a couple."

Chen Zhixi added: "The reason for the breakup was exactly as you said—Ceng Aizi liked to be naked at home, and during a video call, Lin Mingqian saw him naked, which was why he couldn't accept it and broke up."

The video call here doesn't mean a phone—it could be a computer or laptop.

"Does he have any nude photos of Ceng Aizi?" Fang Hong asked.

"No. Huang Bing contacted him—he said if we pay him a sum of money, he's willing to get us the photos, but he won't do anything else—just provide the photos, nothing more." Chen Zhixi said.

Huang Bing was the head of the Public Relations Department, also in charge of the talent agency business.

His meaning was clear: as long as the money was right, he'd get Ceng Aizi's nude photos—but he wouldn't help expose them or face the media.

He only provided, didn't participate—he wanted to stay out of it entirely.

For Lin Mingqian to get Ceng Aizi's photos was simple: just visit Ceng Aizi's home more often, have a couple more video calls with Ceng Baoyi, and he'd inevitably see something.

Because Ceng Aizi had this habit—he didn't even bother hiding it. What a weirdo.

In his past life, this man had dated Ceng Baoyi for decades without marrying her—probably because he was repulsed. Think about it: you see your girlfriend living with her father, and this father strips naked in front of his daughter.

No one could accept that.

"Fine. Agree to him. Only—"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Fang Hong was about to say more when the door knocked again—he fell silent, switched his expression, and opened the door immediately.

He'd been standing right by the door.

"I made you a coffee," Liu Tianxian handed it to him.

"Great, so virtuous," Fang Hong praised.

Liu Tianxian smiled sweetly, her gaze flickering between him and Chen Zhixi, but she noticed nothing unusual in their expressions—as if everything was normal.

"I'll go now. When the box office numbers come out, I'll send them to you," Chen Zhixi said.

This carried another meaning: when Ceng Aizi's matter is settled, I'll send it to you.

"Alright," Fang Hong nodded.

After Chen Zhixi left, Liu Tianxian asked: "What were you two talking about?"

"Ceng Aizi's matter—I told you about it before," Fang Hong said.

Previously, he'd only said he wanted to target Ceng Aizi—he hadn't mentioned getting his nude photos, something so underhanded.

If this got exposed, Ceng Aizi would be ruined—his inclusion on the Blacklist was certain, and those nude photos would be too shocking to look at.

Referencing the nude photo scandal—it was too cruel. He didn't want Liu Tianxian to know.

Liu Tianxian assumed he just wanted to dig up and reuse Ceng Aizi's old scandals, so she didn't take it seriously.

She never imagined Fang Hong intended to put Ceng Aizi in a death trap.

"Didn't I say just avoid physical attacks? Mental attacks are fine." Liu Tianxian didn't suspect much.

She feared Fang Hong would lose his temper and hire someone to beat up the other person—sure, it felt good, but it was illegal. Mental attacks were fine; who isn't insulted? She herself got insulted all the time.

Besides, it was old material.

"Your skill is good—this coffee is delicious." Fang Hong took a sip and changed the subject.

He wasn't sure whether it was physical or mental attack—if that short guy couldn't handle it and jumped off a building, things would get messy.

The next day, box office figures for the 15th were released: "Dragon Gate" 15.92 million; "The Flowers of War" 13.92 million; "The Big Man" 11.84 million.

It was less than the other two films—there was nothing to be done; screenings were fewer, as theaters still favored the first two.

In the original timeline, those two films held over 80% of screenings; in this timeline, each had been reduced by 5% to 10%, including other marginal films, freeing up 25% for "The Big Man."

The box office performance of "Dragon Gate" and "The Flowers of War" was four to five million less than in the original timeline.

There was nothing to be done—originally, only those two films were competing; now "The Big Man" had crashed in.

But today was only half a day—wait and see the 16th.

The next day's box office was normal, but still disappointing.

"Dragon Gate" 23.02 million; "The Flowers of War" 26.35 million; "The Big Man" 25.35 million.

"The Big Man" ranked second, overtaking "Dragon Gate"—Fang Hong had targeted this film specifically.

Although "Dragon Gate" had star power, it was the worst of the three; only Chen Kun had become famous from it.

Jet Li and Zhou Xun were both overshadowed! Audiences commented: "This movie's 3D is just formality—the plot is garbage, the fight scenes are brilliant, three stars for the eunuch!"

The film's rating didn't even reach seven points.

Audiences evaluated "The Flowers of War" this way: "Very shocking, but the values are terrifying—prostitutes on one side, virgins on the other, and finally they're made into martyrs."

The film's visuals and cinematography were unquestionably masterful, but the ending's passionate love scene dragged down its quality.

With national hatred and vengeance at stake, who has the heart for bed?

Only Ni Ni became famous from this film; its rating was eight points—the highest among the three.

Evaluation of "The Big Man": "Pure commercial entertainment. After watching 'The Flowers of War' and feeling too depressed, watch this—it releases pressure."

"What surprised me was that the crowd actors weren't stereotyped—they stood up to power and blocked the criminals' escape. Just for that, five stars! Every actor delivered strong performances; the villain was terrifyingly handsome. Liu Tianxian's few scenes were standout moments."

"Liu Tianxian finally lowered her status, daring to play a star who was kept as a mistress and injected with poison—breaking past her previous image; this deserves praise."

"."

In truth, Liu Tianxian had just been scared by Fang Hong's influence—not because her acting was particularly good.

But the audience didn't know.

All three films had positive and negative reviews; the good ones were kept, the bad ones deleted.

"The Big Man" had a rating of 7.8 points.

On the third day, the weekend, the overall box office rose: "Dragon Gate" 36.45 million; "The Flowers of War" 39.35 million; "The Big Man" 42.60 million.

On this day, "The Big Man" directly surpassed the other two, becoming the hottest film—it seemed audiences still loved entertainment.

"The Big Man" was an original, not a remake; audiences hadn't lost their freshness for it, as they had in the original timeline.

If it hadn't been inserted into this slot, the film's performance should have been even higher.

But all three films were crammed together, and after three days, none had crossed 100 million—none were doing well.

None had recouped costs; all were still in loss.

"Dragon Gate" reportedly cost 200 million; "The Flowers of War" reportedly cost 600 million; "The Big Man" cost 45 million.

Regardless of truth or falsehood, all were struggling.

Fang Hong had a personal grudge against someone—he didn't care if he made money, as long as the other person didn't.

Moreover, "The Big Man"—also known as "The Old Man"—performed extremely well in South Korea.

On its opening day, it defeated numerous domestic and international blockbusters, claiming the top spot on the daily box office chart.

On that day, it screened 5,093 times across 956 screens—meaning each screen showed the film four to seven times per day.

Daily viewership exceeded 410,000!

If this trend continued, "The Old Man" might break records—its box office wouldn't be lower than in China.

In other words, even if Fang Hong lost money in China, he could make it back through the South Korean market—Southeast Asia wasn't worth mentioning; its performance was poor.

Fang Hong didn't understand what they liked—while "The Flowers of War" performed poorly overseas, "Dragon Gate" was completely rejected by foreigners—it was outdated.

Seeing the damage to all three films, an Expert called out: "The domestic market cannot simultaneously support three major productions."

Yu Pangzi couldn't sit still and spoke again: "I originally agreed to stagger the screenings, but 'The Flowers of War' and 'The Big Man' refused to give my theaters any showings. My theaters couldn't remain empty, so to achieve nationwide synchronized release, I had to open on the 15th alongside those two films."

I also contacted China Film Group and Huaxia to tell Zhang Weiping and the Principal to stagger the releases—they all refused."

Again, blame-shifting—always claiming he was right and others were wrong, unaware that his own theaters showed only "Dragon Gate"! This man had high emotional and intellectual intelligence.

Zhang Weiping's big mouth couldn't stay silent: "Deliberately provoking conflict between New Picture, theater chains, and even the Film Bureau—your tactics are despicable. See how you die."

Chen Zhixi also spoke to reporters: "The strong never complain about the market."

The three sides began another round of verbal warfare.

One Wangyi commented: "All three are merchants with inventory to sell. The difference is one has his own shop, while the other two don't. The two without shops gave up some channels; the one with a shop lost other profitable products he could have produced."

This article was vivid—it first appeared in the Hangzhou Daily, then was republished by Phoenix.

In this fierce film battle, minor players didn't even get to step on stage or speak—they could only tremble, terrified of being burned by the fire.

All were General Managers, all had resources and directors—if they spoke up, they wouldn't even know how they died.

The bosses of major film studios also paid attention, reassessing Yutu's strength.

Such an important transformation film was being used for fighting—who else would play this way with money? Everyone wanted to avoid it.

Hua Yi's blacklist didn't have that much power.

(End of Chapter)