Chapter 468: The Tomboy

The whole family chatted as they wandered, and the wandering went on endlessly; by the end, Fang Hong was utterly drained, while the three women still looked energetic.

They continued chatting and laughing all along, as if they never grew tired.

It was simply because this furniture mart was enormous, with floors upon floors, and every kind of bed and furniture stretched endlessly before them.

They kept choosing this one or that one.

Liu Tianxian chatted and laughed with the two mothers; seeing Fang Hong lagging far behind, slow and sluggish, she turned and waved: "Oh come on, hurry up, you're so slow."

"I'm too tired, I don't want to shop anymore," Fang Hong dragged his body, walking weakly.

He wasn't like girls who had endless energy for shopping—shopping forever—he could manage a little, but after a while, his whole body felt drained.

"You had energy when we were in bed," Fang Hong whispered in her ear.

"I really wanted to do it back then when I got that award, I had the urge, but now the momentum seems to have passed."

Fang Hong was still lying on Liu Tianxian's back, nuzzling her—his wife was still the best.

After saying that, Fang Hong hung up the phone.

"Oh, you've got quite the sweet tongue," Liu Tianxian teased.

"Of course I do," Fang Hong said.

"Over these many years, we've witnessed your union—it's truly rare, something that could become a beautiful tale," Councilor He chuckled.

"Let him be like that, it's fine," Liu Tianxian was always considerate of her man, letting him rest on her.

"What you cover doesn't matter—it's the fact that you're covering it with me that's the most beautiful," Fang Hong spoke his romantic words effortlessly.

Last year, at the Macau Film Festival dinner, he'd said that if they ever married, he'd invite them—but now they were married, and he hadn't invited them.

Do it well, you get scolded; do it poorly, you still get scolded.

Liu Tianxian slapped the back of his head.

Of course, maybe all boys are like this.

Liu Tianxian smiled faintly—this man loved to tease her.

And so Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong carried each other—Liu Tianxian felt it was heavy, while Fang Hong felt it was light.

"Let me properly reintroduce you—this is my wife," Fang Hong turned to Liu Tianxian, speaking formally.

"That thing?" Fang Hong had forgotten—it had been over half a year.

"You're too kind—you can call me anything you like," Liu Tianxian appeared poised and graceful, a faint smile on her face.

So merely collecting films and reviewing them was already a massive undertaking, not to mention organizing the festival itself and drafting its rules.

"This thing is really troublesome. My opinion is—if you don't want to do it, just decline. It's a lot of effort for no reward," Chen Zhixi didn't want to do it either—it was too expensive and too tedious.

"I've carried you before—many times—and never felt tired at all, it was effortless," Fang Hong spoke without hesitation.

"Oh, I see!" Tan Sijiang suddenly understood.

"So like this—what do you say? Do you want to do it?" Liu Tianxian asked.

The next day, Fang Hong brought Liu Tianxian to work, meeting Tan Sijiang, Councilor He, and a liaison officer from the International Cultural Communication Center.

"You look good in everything," Liu Tianxian said—in this place, this man looked good in everything.

"I'm wrong."

They'll scold you for your insider dealings, scold you for being unprofessional, scold you for being watered down—the Film Festival always finds a way to criticize.

Liu Tianxian, being close, could hear a little.

"Little Fang, if you're tired, find a place to rest—we've shopped enough already. Let's look a bit more, then go eat," Liu Xiaoli checked her watch—it was already five or six in the afternoon; they'd shopped for a long time.

"I'm being serious—don't be so silly," Liu Tianxian put on a serious face.

"Let's just chat—it's boring without conversation," Fang Hong said.

It was Chen Zhixi calling.

"Didn't you say before that their Macau Film Festival was amateur? Didn't you brag about giving them an awards ceremony? Was that just you blowing smoke? Now they've come looking for you," Chen Zhixi spoke casually.

"Are you bored? If you're bored, get off me," Liu Tianxian slapped the back of his head again—she knew this man was just bored and teasing her.

This isn't something money alone can fix—you need a committee to coordinate, a judging panel to review films, and you need to collect submissions.

It's a bit late now—if we take it on, we have at most five months to prepare.

His Web Drama Industry Summit really had great influence—it even shook the foundational user base of other video platforms.

"You're lying on Xixi—you're making her tired too," Liu Xiaoli said.

"You've misunderstood—we haven't held the wedding yet, only registered our marriage. When we do hold the wedding, we'll definitely invite you," Liu Tianxian said.

Tan Sijiang and the others froze, visibly surprised, then quickly recovered and laughed: "Then shouldn't we call you Mrs. Fang?"

"Tan Sijiang from the Macau Cultural Bureau and Councilor He have come to Beijing, along with a liaison officer from the International Cultural Communication Center—they said they want to meet you," Chen Zhixi said over the phone.

The two mothers were also energetic, having stopped to examine a sofa, waiting idly for the two talkative ones.

"We're the ones troubling you—it's only right," Tan Sijiang and Councilor He were very courteous.

It was still the same "Tandang" office—spacious and bright, the group gathered.

"Who are you calling 'big sister'?" Liu Tianxian glared at him.

Completely unlike yesterday's complaints—now he was polite and refined.

"."

"They probably just noticed how well I handled the first Web Drama Industry Summit, how big its influence was, and came looking," Fang Hong said.

"You can do it—I believe in you. You're the most tomboyish tomboy I've ever met," Fang Hong joked, puckering his lips to kiss her cheek.

In the end, they bought nothing all day—just wandered aimlessly.

This was also why Fang Hong criticized Macau.

Research shows that due to physiological differences, women are better adapted to prolonged walking and standing, while men tire more easily.

"You think it's boring—we don't think it's boring. You should pick something too," Liu Tianxian picked up a purple duvet cover hanging nearby: "Do you think this looks nice?"

One year at the White Magnolia Awards, a popular idol wasn't nominated, and their fans, unable to swallow the grievance, launched attacks on public figures and organizations, stirring up a huge public outcry.

Fang Hong smiled, then said, "We're definitely going to do it, just need to think it over." The human body structure is different, so the fatigue feels different; they walk with a swaying gait.

If Fang Hong takes over and runs it, he'd definitely have to redesign the rules, not stick with the old ones.

It's not easy for two people in the entertainment circle to end up together.

"Get lost." Liu Tianxian nudged him with her elbow.

Without a film review panel, you can't review films or run a film festival. And a typical film festival receives hundreds of submissions; just the review work alone is a massive undertaking.

"Director Tan, Councilor He, Liaison Officer—hello. Sorry to trouble you coming all this way. If you'd let me know, I could have gone to Macau." Fang Hong, dressed in a sharp suit, appeared very polite.

"Big sis, we've been shopping all afternoon, and you still say we haven't shopped?" Fang Hong was rather speechless.

Pressing down on her, it felt like even walking was a struggle.

"You're fooling a ghost. When you were carrying me on your back, I heard every word of your complaining." Liu Tianxian wasn't buying his nonsense.

Liu Tianxian stood beside Fang Hong, smiling, poised and graceful.

This was to tell them that Liu Tianxian's status was now different.

Chen Zhixi, hearing what came after, felt it made sense—after all, the woman's status was right there. She said, "Then I'll reply on your behalf."

The two were bantering here, while the two mothers had already walked around the corner and disappeared from sight in a single turn.

"You men really are something—before you've even started shopping, you're already saying you're tired and have no energy." Liu Tianxian complained.

So everything has to start from scratch, and the time isn't enough—it's a real hassle.

The few exchanged brief pleasantries; they all knew each other, so there was no need for excessive formalities.

They'd already been shopping for several hours, going non-stop since after the meal, and adding in the house viewing, they'd been out for nearly a whole day.

So Fang Hong had casually mentioned wanting to put on a kickass film festival for them, but that was so long ago, and since there'd been no news, he hadn't paid it any mind.

Pushing the entire film and television industry forward.

"I'm not fooling a ghost—I'm fooling you." Fang Hong laughed.

"Ring ring ring!" Suddenly a phone rang.

"You're a grown man—how could I possibly carry you?" Liu Tianxian's body squirmed and twisted.

Though it was a joke, this kind of thing could be taken seriously or not—depends on how you think about it.

"Oh!"

"Let me hear what they have to say before deciding. Besides, they've come all this way, so I definitely have to meet them. But I'm busy today—I'm with family. Let's set it for tomorrow." Fang Hong said.

"Get lost!"

"What do you think? Carrying me on your back—tired or not?" Liu Tianxian said.

The two chatted as they walked, shopping for about another hour, before the two mothers and Liu Tianxian finally felt a bit tired and suggested going to eat.

"Auntie, I can still hang in there." Fang Hong now felt much more relaxed.

"Okay."

That liaison officer, handsome and dashing, was meeting the Principal for the first time, and he also shook hands with Fang Hong with humility and courtesy.

For dinner, it was no longer roast duck, but fish.

Then, from these hundreds of films, they had to pick which ones made the shortlist and which didn't, who won and who didn't. And they needed to find a bunch of professionals—ordinary people wouldn't do. Without authoritative figures, even the winners would feel the event wasn't taken seriously.

"Looks good." Fang Hong nodded.

International cultural events all need approval and review from this department, so Director Tan needed to brief them, and they also needed to come to Jade Rabbit to see the situation.

They'd known each other since filming Now You See Me, two or three years now—basically watching them fall in love.

Liu Tianxian watched him put away his phone and asked, "Macau really wants you to come put on a film festival for them?"

"Wife, are you tired?" Fang Hong asked softly.

"Then take your time thinking it over."

And this was before they'd even started shopping—looks like women's combat power in the realm of shopping is beyond imagination.

One movie is a few hours; in a day you can only watch two or three films, three or four if you're diligent. To watch hundreds of films would take at least several months.

Then Liu Xiaoli said nothing more—the young couple's little games, however they wanted to play was up to them.

Before, he and Liu Tianxian had both won awards at the Macau Film Festival, and the two of them complained that there was no surprise, no anticipation—the award was watered down beyond belief, with no sense of accomplishment.

Now that the initial enthusiasm had passed, he didn't really feel like doing it anymore.

Back then, receiving that watered-down award, he felt it was a loss of face, and wanted to raise the prestige of the Macau Film Festival.

Because this thing can't satisfy everyone, especially those stars with fans—if it blows up, they can come after you.

"Hello, General Manager Chen, what's up." Fang Hong picked up.

Still, it felt quite satisfying—a family rarely gets to come out together in full formation to shop and eat.

"General Manager Fang, I have to say something to you. Didn't we agree you'd invite us to the wedding? This sneaking around isn't very sporting of you!" Director Tan said with a note of complaint.

"It's been over half a year now. Coming at this point in time, even if we do put on a film festival, at most we'd have half a year—and that's being generous. It's really a bit too cavalier." Fang Hong complained.

"You really do change your mind every other minute. Before, you were saying we didn't have an authoritative awards ceremony and wanted to put one on—I was even thinking you had real vision. Now you're saying you've lost the drive. When will you ever have the drive?" Liu Tianxian said.

"Right? So, how about it—am I impressive or what?" Fang Hong teased.

Fang Hong admitted he was wrong, walked over and hooked his arm around her neck from behind, letting his full weight lean on her, instantly feeling much more relaxed, and said beside her face, "You carry me as you walk."

Fang Hong took out his phone and looked at it; Liu Tianxian could also see it. In their current position, the phone was right in front of her line of sight.

They continued browsing, not really buying anything—just wandering here and there, looking around. If they liked a style, they'd inquire and order next time. The house wasn't renovated yet, so there was no rush.

"Why would they want to see me?" Fang Hong was puzzled.

The others also smiled, laughing heartily. The liaison officer couldn't help but size the two of them up.

"Then Director Tan, you all chat—I won't disturb you." Liu Tianxian gestured for them to go discuss business.

"Alright!" Director Tan nodded.

"This way, please." Fang Hong gestured for them to head to the reception area, and the group followed him and took their seats on the sofas there.

(End of this chapter)