Chapter 233

It was afternoon, the sun slanting westward.

Bored and idle, they hurriedly set up a barbecue stand, gathered some charcoal and tools, and took out meat, melon rinds, and vegetables from the fridge.

It was July, the height of summer, and Fang Hong wore a short-sleeved shirt and seven-eighths pants, exposing a patch of leg hair.

He was drenched in sweat from carrying all the heavy items.

After finishing, he sat aside threading meat and vegetables onto skewers—he'd never done this kind of work in his life.

Eating out would've been so much easier; why go through all this trouble? He didn't get it.

When a woman gets excited, nothing can stop her!

Liu Tianxian changed into a short-sleeved top and summer denim shorts, her smooth, long legs taut and powerful.

"Huh! Huh!"

She had her hair tied in a ponytail, puffed out her cheeks, and blew hard at the lit charcoal—her face flushed red, but the charcoal only sparked faintly and hadn't fully ignited.

This stuff needs wind to catch fire.

"You help blow too," Liu Tianxian panted, one hand on her hip, the other waving.

"You're so dumb."

Fang Hong found a fan and fanned the charcoal; it quickly burst into thick smoke and blazed up: "Isn't this easier?"

Liu Tianxian shoved his head, annoyed—he called her dumb? She'd just never thought of it.

On the nearby table lay skewered chicken, duck, fish, meat, and vegetables—all fresh.

"You're pretty good at this—your skewers are neatly aligned," Liu Tianxian picked up a skewer and examined it.

"If it weren't for film shooting delaying me, I'd have opened a barbecue stall—maybe even a nationwide chain by now," Fang Hong continued fanning, casually boasting.

"So filming's a hardship for you, huh?"

Liu Tianxian picked a skewer of pork belly first to try grilling—she didn't know how, so she'd test the feel.

"Filmmaking's the hardest—you need to consider so much. You not only need money to make it, you need to sell it. Some people make films but can't sell them. Barbecue's simple: just set up a stall, get decent flavor, and people will come. It's all about the atmosphere."

Fang Hong chatted idly with her.

Liu Tianxian understood—filmmaking wasn't for just anyone; TV was the same—you needed connections, funding, organization.

Even after clearing all that, you still had to sell it. If you couldn't, then that was the end.

Some people's lives only get one failure, then keep failing, keep starting over—either rich or powerful.

"So behind every successful man is a woman who supports him—otherwise you'd go do something else, right?" she smiled sweetly.

"Right. Without you, I'd be the BBQ King," Fang Hong draped an arm around her shoulder.

"Get lost."

Liu Tianxian laughed heartily, nudging him with her shoulder—this man always managed to joke so seriously.

With his arm around her, she leaned back slightly, pressing closer—despite the heat, their shadows stretched long under the sunlight.

"Brush on some oil, sprinkle salt, add seasonings."

Liu Tianxian grilled the skewers, scooping seasoning with a small spoon and shaking it out bit by bit onto the meat—"sizzle, sizzle, sizzle"—smoke rising.

She looked nothing like a professional; more like a complete beginner.

"Do you even know how to do that? Everyone grabs a handful and just sweeps it on—so smooth," Fang Hong watched, frustrated.

"That's too careless—not precise enough."

Liu Tianxian's expression was serious, her hand holding the spoon trembling like Parkinson's, terrified of adding too much.

Fang Hong stared, unimpressed—it wasn't precise at all.

"Alright, try it."

Liu Tianxian judged it done, picked up the skewer, and handed it to him.

Fang Hong looked at the charred skewer—seasoning clumped in lumps, the result of too slow application and too slow grilling.

Still, he took it and bit into it.

"How is it?"

Liu Tianxian stared at him with hopeful eyes.

Fang Hong chewed, nodded: "Hmm. Tastes good. Really good."

"Huh? Really?" Liu Tianxian was stunned.

"Yes. You've practiced this before, right? So delicious," Fang Hong praised seriously.

"This is my first time."

Liu Tianxian took his hand, bit into the skewer, and immediately scrunched her face, spitting it out.

"Hahaha!" Fang Hong burst out laughing.

"You bastard, you're teasing me!"

Liu Tianxian punched the man, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, rinsed her mouth, then spat it out.

The skewer was painfully salty—the salt hadn't dissolved, and the same spot had been overcooked until it turned to ash, charred and sticky.

"You worked so hard grilling—no one tastes it? What a waste," Fang Hong said, reaching to bite again. His words moved her slightly, but she snatched the skewer from him and tossed it in the trash.

"Don't eat it. Let's go out to eat."

"No need. I'll grill for you," Fang Hong said.

Everything was ready—going out to eat would be such a waste. Too spoiled.

"You can?" Liu Tianxian was surprised.

"I can."

Fang Hong definitely could—even though he'd never done this in this life, he'd done it in his last one.

He'd cooked and barbecued for others before.

He was seen picking up a skewer of chicken, duck, fish and meat, placing it on the grill, brushing oil over it with a brush — the oil dripped onto the charcoal and a great flame leapt up at once.

This gave Liu Tianxian a fright, and she couldn't help stepping back.

But Fang Hong was perfectly calm; he bent down and blew once, and the flame died out, looking entirely in control — nothing like Liu Tianxian's cautious manner just now.

The food being grilled was also sizzling with a sheen of oil, looking very appetizing at a glance.

Liu Tianxian watched him looking so earnest, his face and neck gleaming with sweat, and felt he was very manly!

Being manly doesn't mean fighting bravely and viciously.

"Shhh-shhh-shhh!"

Fang Hong grabbed a handful of salt and seasoning, sprinkling them casually — the powder flew out and landed on the food: "That's how you sprinkle evenly; if you do it slowly the way you were, it'll clump together."

"Mm!" Liu Tianxian watched from the side, saw the food gleaming with oil, and couldn't help swallowing: "I'll just eat, you don't need to teach me."

"I have to teach you — a girl should be able to hold her own in the parlor and the kitchen." Fang Hong said.

"You can bear to let me into the kitchen?" Liu Tianxian looped her arm around his shoulder and leaned in.

"I can bear it."

"Get lost, not the slightest bit of tender feeling for a girl." Liu Tianxian gave the back of his head a slap.

Chatting and laughing, a few skewers were soon grilled.

"Have a taste."

Fang Hong handed a meat skewer to Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian took it, opened her little mouth and took a bite, her eyes lighting up: "Mm, not bad, not bad, tastes good — didn't expect you to have this kind of skill."

As she spoke, her mouth kept smacking.

"Of course — I told you, if I hadn't been held back by movies, I'd be the King of Barbecue."

Fang Hong was proud, then sighed: "A jade rabbit of ruined talent!"

"Look at you showing off — would you die if you didn't pose?"

Liu Tianxian finished eating, took all the skewers from his hand, and kept eating nonstop: "Keep grilling, don't stop, it's really good."

"Seems like you're the one who said you'd grill for me." Fang Hong looked at her.

"You've already eaten."

Liu Tianxian nudged the trash can with her foot: "See that? That's what you ate — the corpse is still there!"

"Miss Liu, we're all cultured people — could you show a little face?" Fang Hong was speechless.

"Tee-hee-hee, alright, here's your reward."

Liu Tianxian laughed, saw him looking sulky, and held the half-eaten grilled sausage in her hand up to his mouth.

"You've already eaten it — I won't." Fang Hong turned his head away, wanting to take an untouched one from her hand.

"Hey, getting picky now, are we?"

Liu Tianxian dodged with her hand, pouted her lips, rose on her tiptoes, and went to kiss him on the lips — those lips were covered in oil smears, with seasoning crumbs still un-wiped at the corners, utterly lacking in dignity. Fang Hong turned his head to the left, and she leaned to the left; Fang Hong turned his head to the right, and she leaned to the right.

She was in a good mood and insisted on getting that kiss.

In the end Liu Tianxian had her way, pressing her lips onto Fang Hong's soft lips, and pressing them together deeply.

Mainly because Liu Tianxian was using force.

"See if you still find me disgusting." Liu Tianxian was thoroughly satisfied.

"Female tyrant." Fang Hong wiped his mouth — it was all oil smears.

"Who are you talking about?"

Liu Tianxian kicked his backside: "Get grilling — this is your chance to perform."

Hands aren't free — holding skewers!

With no choice, Fang Hong could only obediently grill skewers — who let him know how.

Liu Tianxian sat down on a chair at the side, placed the skewers on a plate on the table, picked up a bottle of iced beer, opened it, took a sip, and bit into a skewer: "Wow, so comfortable."

Fang Hong glanced at her, sighed, and shook his head — if he married her and brought her home, he'd be done for.

Soon he had grilled a whole full plate, and the two sat facing each other; Liu Tianxian opened him a bottle of beer.

The two just sat leisurely eating skewers, drinking beer, and gazing at the distant sunset.

Chatting about life, chatting about ideals — how wonderful life was! "Your skill really isn't bad, following you I'd never starve." Liu Tianxian fed him the skewer in her own hand.

"You're following me?" Fang Hong said as he ate.

"I'm following you right now, aren't I — you're my little baby, I'm your Xiao Feifei."

Liu Tianxian laughed as she spoke, raised her glass and said: "Come, little baby, let's cheers."

"Xiao Feifei, cheers!" Fang Hong raised his glass.

In the afterglow of the sunset, the two clinked their glasses together.

Before long, the place was a mess all over — wooden skewers and beer bottles tossed about everywhere, along with charcoal, oil and the like scattered all over.

And the two were also tipsy and dizzy, sitting together; Liu Tianxian leaned her body against Fang Hong, and Fang Hong's hand rested on her smooth thigh.

When Liu Xiaoli came back, she saw exactly this scene, and instantly anger rose up in her.

"Look at the mess you've made — you think you don't have to clean up?" She stepped forward and pulled the two apart — utterly shameless.

Though the two were tipsy and dizzy, they were still clear-headed — beer couldn't get them drunk.

"Mom, you're back — you eat too."

Liu Tianxian was a little tipsy, her cheeks flushed red, her mouth corners covered in oil smears.

"I'll eat your head."

Liu Xiaoli flicked her daughter's forehead, then pulled her along: "Hurry back inside and wash your face — look what you've turned into, a little calico cat."

Fang Hong could only stand awkwardly to the side, watching Liu Tianxian being dragged away.

Looking at the mess all over the floor, he silently picked up a garbage bag and started cleaning up.

When Liu Xiaoli came back, she saw the rooftop had been cleaned up almost completely, the things were organized, just not moved away.

This couldn't help but make Liu Xiaoli look at him with new respect. After getting to know him a little, she found Fang Hong seemed pretty decent.

Except for being hand-crazy, touching her daughter's thigh! "Xiao Fang, let me do it, you go sober up."

"It's fine, Auntie, I can do it too." Fang Hong continued cleaning up.

Liu Xiaoli also helped: "Xiao Fang, do you usually clean the house too?"

"When I'm alone, I clean up often. When my mom is too busy, I help too—after all, the house is big." Fang Hong said.

The two chatted casually while cleaning. Liu Xiaoli just made small talk, trying to get a sense of what kind of person he was in daily life.

Her attitude wasn't so cold either, fairly polite.

In the evening, after finishing up, Fang Hong said goodbye and went home, not staying the night.

At this point in the summer slot, only three films were competing: Painted Skin 2, Lucy 1, and Search.

Among them, Search had already been released on July 6th.

Only Painted Skin 2 and Lucy 1 were in a white-hot competition.

Painted Skin 2 was also holding its own—the creative team was running around the country doing promotion, and online it was full of buzz, showing a trend of going viral before release.

Anyone planning to watch a movie and following this beat had basically heard of Painted Skin 2; the media was also bombarding it in waves.

"Painted Skin 2 premieres at midnight on July 15th!"

"Nandu Entertainment Weekly: Why is Painted Skin II so popular!"

"How far is Painted Skin 2's diversified operation from the Hollywood model?"

Anyway, it was all kinds of hype. Since the movie plot couldn't be hyped, they could only hype all sorts of random stuff,

Even the explosive gossip on the two female leads was dug up for hype.

"Star-studded Painted Skin 2: Da Mimi rises to the top, Yan Zi and Young Master Zhou at odds?"

"."

Meanwhile, Lucy 1 showed no movement at all. Only on Tencent, Meituan portal sites, QQ's top-right ad slot, Qzone and other places was this headline posted:

"Liu Tianxian invites you to watch Lucy 1, original price 60 yuan, now only 19.9 yuan."

The headline also showed Liu Tianxian's movie promotional image.

Of course it couldn't really be as high as 60 yuan—they just inflated it by 20 yuan; the actual ticket price was around 40, a real 20 yuan cash subsidy.

Half the price of Painted Skin 2! Clicking this headline would automatically redirect to the Rabbit Tickets ticketing platform to purchase.

Originally you were supposed to claim a coupon, but no need—just a direct discount, incredibly simple and convenient.

Enlight Media, Wanda, China Film Group cinemas were also helping promote: Lucy 1 for just 19.9, and they opened up the Rabbit Tickets website and QR code download channels.

QR codes were already starting to catch on. To drive traffic, you definitely had to download the APP or go to the platform to get the discount.

The money was given just so people would download, register, and log into Rabbit Tickets—to pull people's ticket-buying habits online. What did you think?

However, registration required using your own phone, and the verification code SMS cost 0.15 yuan per message, which Rabbit Tickets covered themselves.

Anyway, 15 million for 10 million people, they've already spent the big money, they don't care about this bit—phone registration is the trend going forward.

And phone SMS verification had been around since Super Girl years ago, not some technical challenge, just needing to interface with the three major carriers.

It's about making money—easy to interface.

"Jade Rabbit has made a move. They're subsidizing tickets for viewers—40 yuan tickets, selling for 19.9." Deputy Chen Guo had been keeping an eye on Lucy 1's movements all along, reporting any developments.

Although General Manager Xiao Wang told the media he didn't take it seriously, he actually did. Last time he wasn't paying attention and got caught off guard.

This time he was closely monitoring Jade Rabbit's every move.

"Doing it like this, can they handle it? They're not making money, right!" General Manager Xiao Wang was a bit baffled—people actually play it this way?

40 yuan, directly minus 20. Those cinemas and theater chains won't discount—they're in business when they open their doors.

Not running a charity.

"Seems like it's Rabbit Tickets doing it, not Jade Rabbit." Deputy Chen Guo said.

"Rabbit Tickets?"

It was General Manager Xiao Wang's first time hearing of such a thing.

Before this, Rabbit Tickets had kept a low profile, only doing small-scale tests, then deploying ticketing machines.

Plus Jade Rabbit's film distribution and promotion had been minimal—this counted as one big push.

"It's a ticketing platform, for selling tickets." Deputy Chen Guo briefly explained the principle.

General Manager Xiao Wang fell silent, feeling the pressure.

He even somewhat admired these people. This was clearly a long-laid plan—no wonder they promoted so quietly. Who could resist the temptation of free money?

Common folks are the most practical—they watch whoever's cheaper.

"Can we find a ticketing platform to cooperate with?"

"Right now the biggest platform focused on the film sector on the market is Gewara, but I don't know if they'd help us with ticket subsidies." Deputy Chen Guo was worried.

That's no small amount of money.

"Reach out to them. They probably don't want to see Rabbit Tickets grow either. We can make concessions. Also talk to the theater chains, see if we can push ticket prices down."

General Manager Xiao Wang felt the pressure.

That money-burning approach was basically a dimensionality-reduction strike.

Get the theater chains to lower ticket prices, then have the ticketing platform chip in a bit, and they too can claim a 60 yuan ticket discounted by however much.

That way they can still salvage something, otherwise all the people get sucked away. In this era, the number of people going to cinemas is finite.

(End of chapter)