Chapter 424: Face Cannot Be Lost

Beijing was already wrapped in silver, with a thick layer of snow covering the roadsides and buildings.

However, it wasn't as damp and cold here as in the south.

Back in Beijing, Liu Tianxian headed straight home—of course she came with Fang Hong, who had driven her back.

"Ah! My dear mommy."

Liu Tianxian was unusually happy and excited to see Liu Xiaoli, throwing her arms around her mother's neck, cheek to cheek, looking utterly blissful.

They'd only been apart ten days or half a month—why so worked up? Maybe because she'd gotten herself married off.

"Oh, the moment you get back you throw yourself at me—what kind of behavior is that?" Liu Xiaoli said, though she was secretly delighted.

"I missed you, that's all." Liu Tianxian nuzzled her mother's cheek, very affectionate.

"Then let Mom see if you've changed at all." Liu Xiaoli took her daughter's hand.

Liu Tianxian was quite willing, even twirled around once.

Liu Xiaoli looked her up and down—her bearing had gained a touch of alluring charm, her skin was rosy and glowing, as if she'd grown more beautiful and magnetic.

Then she glanced at the way she walked and her hips, and confirmed her daughter had been deflowered—after all, she'd been through it herself.

She sighed inwardly but said nothing.

"Auntie, Feifei, I'll leave the luggage here and head back now." Fang Hong carried Liu Tianxian's bags inside.

Though the two had gotten their certificate, they hadn't discussed moving in together—mainly because they didn't know if Liu Xiaoli would agree, since they hadn't held a wedding ceremony.

"Stay for a meal before you go!" Liu Xiaoli urged him to stay.

"We already ate on the way back, we're not hungry," Fang Hong said.

"We just ate on the way back."

Liu Tianxian pouted and blew Fang Hong a kiss through the air, waving him off—go on, go on.

Ever since being deflowered, her mood had improved a great deal—she'd become happier, livelier, cuter. Perhaps this is what it means to be nourished, wrapped in love!

Liu Xiaoli had noticed too. After Fang Hong left, she stroked her daughter's face and said, "You silly child."

"Mom, don't worry—it was completely my choice." Liu Tianxian pulled out their two red booklets from her bag: "Look, we've already got the certificates."

Liu Xiaoli was surprised. She took the two booklets and flipped through them—they'd been issued on January 5th.

"So you don't need to worry, we're completely legal," Liu Tianxian said.

"Too early." Liu Xiaoli sighed—she'd originally wanted to wait until they formally married before getting the certificates.

"It's not early. We're only missing the ceremony now—everything else is done. Rest assured, we'll be fine." Liu Tianxian reassured her mother.

She knew what her mother was worried about—she'd protected her too well—but she had her own ideas.

She felt the two of them could step into marriage, and they had always intended to marry anyway.

"Did he have you sign any property certification agreement or anything like that, separating your assets from his company?" Liu Xiaoli closed the booklet.

Generally, big business bosses and their wives had to sign such documents—this was mainly stirred up by Tudou Video,

which made many company bosses and shareholders wary.

Tudou Video had been about to list in the United States, but his ex-wife sued him in court, requesting a reassessment of their pre-marital asset distribution.

U. S. securities regulators rejected Tudou Video's listing application, and from then on Tudou Video never recovered, eventually being acquired by Youku.

Because Youku had listed earlier and had money.

That's how the business world works—one step lost, the whole board lost.

"No, we didn't sign anything. He said as long as the two of us have no problems, there are no problems at all—signing that stuff is meaningless." Liu Tianxian's tone was emphatic, brimming with absolute confidence.

Liu Xiaoli was silent, said nothing, didn't know what to say—these matters were hard to judge, no one could predict the future.

"And he gave me half of Chang'e Technology." Liu Tianxian produced the agreement the two had signed.

This was to make her mother believe in the love between them, to believe the two trusted each other absolutely, that their bond was rock-solid.

"I don't know what to say. I hope it's really as you say—my heart is happy too." Liu Xiaoli placed her hand over her heart.

"It will be," Liu Tianxian said solemnly.

After getting home, Fang Hong continued working on the song "A Little Happiness"—he'd only written the lyrics; the melody needed a professional to compose.

Yutu Company had in-house arrangers, and they could also outsource to Dong Dongdong, who had been collaborating with Yutu all along.

As long as there was a basic melody, creating a song was quite simple. Once it was done, he sent it to Yao Beina.

Yao Beina, hearing how pure and innocent the song was, agreed to sing it and set off for Beijing to record. The creative level was already quite impressive—a quality song.

This year's Spring Festival Slot was livelier than last year's. Last year was the inaugural year of the Spring Festival Slot, with only one film, "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," which also kicked off the Spring Festival Slot.

This year's Spring Festival Slot had several blockbusters. One was "The Monkey King," starring Zhen Zidan, Guo Fucheng, and Fa Ge—a super lineup from Hong Kong.

Market expectations for this film were very high!

Another film was "From Vegas to Macau," directed by Wang Jin, starring Fa Ge—a Bona production.

Market expectations for this film were also very high! Then there were "The Four" and "Frozen"—no need to mention them, they posed no threat.

But they all shared a common enemy: "Love Like the 1980s"!

Only because this film was produced by Yutu, supervised by the Principal, and was also set to release during this Spring Festival Slot.

The Principal's reputation needed no elaboration—just know that he had beaten every film company into the ground. The just-passed New Year Slot was still fresh in memory, with two massive hits.

He'd even slapped the "money-grabbing" label on Feng Kuzi, so they had no choice but to take him seriously.

Who knew what the Principal would do to them?

Recently, "The Monkey King" and "From Vegas to Macau" had launched an all-out Propaganda Department blitz—on the internet, at major events and shows, in media and newspapers—the leading actors of both films could be seen everywhere.

They appeared at roadshow events in major cities, especially Fa Ge, who was putting in extra effort promoting his film.

A reporter asked Fa Ge: "What's your view on the current film market?"

"This market is bad—it's been ruined by Yutu, by these new-generation directors led by the Principal." Fa Ge dared to say it—his blast radius was wide; the new generation only referred to directors from Neidi.

As long as everyone believed Neidi directors were trash and Hong Kong films were the gold standard, wouldn't they have more room to survive, with far less competition?

And Fa Ge isn't afraid of offending anyone—he's always been outspoken, later even blaming mainland China for Hong Kong cinema's decline in Simitida.

This is a demonstration of strength and status; he isn't afraid his words will isolate him from Neidi filmmakers—he doesn't care. He's already this old; what do the others who eat from the same bowl matter to him?

Fa Ge's remarks to the reporters sparked a huge uproar online, and Wangyi flooded in with comments:

"Fa Ge is right—Yutu's films are absolutely terrible."

"Like Fa Ge doesn't make bad films—didn't 'Tong Que Tai' just come out and suck just as badly?"

"Are there any good Hong Kong films left? Living off past glory, milking nostalgia, always the same old tricks."

"Support Fa Ge! Support Fa Ge's films!"

"."

Wangyi's discussion was a mess—everyone said something different; no one could convince anyone else, and everyone had their own fans taking sides.

Riding this wave of hype, Bona, Beijing Culture, Oriental Motion Pictures, and other Hong Kong capital groups poured massive sums into Propaganda Department campaigns, smearing Yutu as a terrible company and their films as garbage, claiming Liu Tianxian's movies were all trash.

This way, they could plant the idea upfront that 'The Bound Love' was a bad film.

After all, this movie stars Liu Tianxian!

Not only did they smear this one—they listed every junk film Yutu had produced or invested in.

The Abortion Trilogy? The Ex-Files? All trash. Even 'Dad Where Are We Going,' which enraged gods and men alike, had this company involved.

Since Fa Ge started it, they simply rode the wave. They weren't afraid of the Principal—they're rivals anyway. Would they just hand over their profits without a fight?

It's a direct box office clash: if you take more, others get less. It's a zero-sum game—no room to yield.

Yu Fatty had to tread carefully—he was currently seeking delisting from the United States. If performance was poor, he'd lose capital funding to make that delisting happen.

So he appeared at countless events, where reporters asked if his film would also be as terrible as 'Dad Where Are We Going' or 'Personalized Dreams.'

Reporters love stirring trouble—they dragged all three into it.

He replied: "No. We make films, not Variety or skits."

This insulted both Yutu and Huayi.

Though they were all from Beijing's circle, they weren't exactly harmonious—there was no such thing as harmony in today's film market.

This Spring Festival Slot was lively—everyone watched the show, as 'The Bound Love' prepared to battle Hong Kong cinema and Fa Ge's two major blockbusters.

It was intriguing: Liu Tianxian stood alone against Hong Kong cinema, challenging Fa Ge's film dominance.

This came after Liu Tianxian's previous flop, 'The Four Legendary Warriors 2,' which was savaged mercilessly.

Of course, Fang Hong had little confidence in 'The Bound Love'—simply because, in his past life, after its import into Neidi, its box office was poor, only earning ninety million.

But for an imported film, that result was quite impressive—those who saw it all hailed it as a masterpiece.

Outside Hollywood films, few imported movies ever reached such box office heights.

At this moment, Fang Hong was discussing the promotion of 'The Bound Love' with Chen Zhixi and Zheng Zhihao—they couldn't afford to lose. Losing would be humiliating; it would mean being crushed by Fa Ge.

He could then swagger in and taunt them, lecturing the junior filmmaker from on high: "You should learn manners."

Whether they made money or not didn't matter—this face couldn't be lost.

"You've finally come back," Chen Zhixi sighed. This period was the busiest—not only year-end accounting, but also the release of countless major films.

And Fang Hong had been gone for ten days, even half a month—everything fell on her shoulders.

"What, you missed me?" Fang Hong chuckled.

"I wouldn't dare miss you—I'm afraid you'll go home and kneel on a rice washer," Chen Zhixi joked.

She knew Fang Hong had returned to his hometown with Liu Tianxian—their relationship was drawing ever closer.

"Pfft, you don't know my status. I say east, she won't dare go west; I say two, she won't dare say one; I cough once, she has to shut up." Fang Hong boasted wildly.

Chen Zhixi laughed heartily; Zheng Zhihao also smiled lightly—they hadn't expected these two to be so close.

(End of Chapter)