Chapter 525

The movie Big Hero 6 has been continuously popular worldwide for nearly a month, with no signs of ending its run.

Especially in Japan, it earned 7 billion yen, equivalent to about 400 million RMB, ranking first at the box office for four consecutive weeks.

Its North American box office exceeded $211 million, and its global box office surpassed $550 million.

It also received overwhelming critical acclaim.

On IMDb, its reputation is excellent, with a rating of 8.1 and a popcorn index of 91%, undeniably a great film.

In North America's CinemaScore audience ratings, the film received an "A."

Film critics and media also gave high praise to this globally sweeping, heartwarming superhero animation; Rotten Tomatoes collected 118 reviews with a 91% approval rating and an average score of 7.3.

The authoritative review aggregation site Metacritic recorded an average score of 75 from 33 media outlets, higher than Frozen.

The Washington Post evaluated it: "This is a movie that looks fun. The appeal of Big Hero 6 lies not just in its action scenes, but in the inner emotions of its central character."

Entertainment Weekly believed: "The story is highly creative, especially the robot design, which is exceptionally novel."

For some, this lively animated film may be too noisy, but don't deny its dramatic charm—it's an extraordinary animated work.

Of course, there were dissonant voices accusing the animation of plagiarism, which is normal—every massively successful film attracts such criticism.

Domestic media also raved about this animation; People's Daily Online published multiple articles lavishing praise on it.

"Chinese animation is back! You warm hearts and warm people."

"The hidden secrets in Big Hero 6, the hidden strengths of Chinese animation."

"Give a thumbs-up for the rise of Chinese animation!"

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Such headlines and articles are everywhere on mainstream media like People's Daily Online and the Communist Youth League.

This animation film hardly needed any propaganda—mainstream and official media naturally blew it up, mainly because it was too popular.

That's not all—it also raised the technical standards of Chinese animation.

On November 27, the first World Internet Conference opened at the Wuzhen International Internet Convention Center.

Wuzhen is located in the "Golden Triangle" region of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai.

The architecture here has a strong tech feel but also retains the distinctive features of Jiangnan's water towns—pavilions, terraces, and towers.

The conference will last three days, ending on November 30; all major figures in internet and mobile phone companies connected to the internet attended, and Fang Hong was among the invited guests.

He came with Zhang Yiming.

The first day had nothing special—just attending the opening ceremony and listening to top leaders' expectations for them.

Also, listening to speeches by global political heavyweights.

The speeches offered little novelty, just formalities, but Fang Hong and others still showed utmost respect, tempering their usual business sharpness.

After all, this kind of meeting was extremely prestigious to him; some people he'd only ever seen on TV.

After the conference came the banquet, which only those with invitations could attend—Zhang Yiming, for example, had no qualifications to join.

He could only eat at the hotel arranged for conference staff—simple, because his rank was too low.

Fang Hong wasn't just CEO of Chang'e—he was also CEO of Yutu, and his recent achievements were explosive.

At the banquet, leaders introduced him to international guests with pride, calling him Chairman of Yutu, the company behind the internationally blockbuster Big Hero 6.

The international guests were astonished: "Oh my god, I've watched it too—my wife and daughter love it. It's amazing."

Fang Hong promptly presented them with a "Baymax doll" to take home and give to their daughter.

It bore the Principal's handwritten signature! Friendship was instantly forged.

The leaders laughed heartily—it was that simple.

You say Baidu or Tencent? These international guests might not know who they are. But mention Big Hero 6, and they all know.

That's the power and reach of culture.

The banquet leaders spoke slowly but were very approachable and gentle—not like the stern figures we usually see.

If there were problems or issues, they could be serious.

But of course, no problems arose at such an event—it was purely about building friendship, everyone in high spirits.

The banquet hall was spacious and bright; Fang Hong sat at a large white round table with other heavyweights like Jack Ma, Li Yanhong, Tony Ma, Ding Lei, and Zhang Chaoyang.

Jack Ma looked at the Principal with no expression, as if he weren't his enemy.

The other heavyweights all wore solemn, expressionless faces; even when they saw the legendary Principal, they merely glanced twice, with no intention to converse.

In fact, hardly anyone spoke—such occasions maintained relative quiet unless leaders came to greet them, then they'd put on warm smiles.

Fang Hong sat upright, the table laden with fine wine and exquisite dishes, arranged in an overly ornate, visually striking way—a dish even resembled a blooming flower, highly aesthetic. Whether it tasted good, no one knew.

If he could take photos, he'd have sent one to Liu Tianxian—she'd probably never seen anything like this.

This was equivalent to a state banquet—ordinary people couldn't even dream of eating here.

Everyone at the banquet ate with refined decorum; no one knew if they'd truly enjoyed their meals, but everyone was impeccably proper.

When it ended, everyone was assigned to hotel rooms.

That night, Fang Hong lay in bed and called Liu Tianxian, telling her about the people he met and the banquet he attended.

"If personal photos weren't banned, I'd have taken one at the banquet and sent it to you," Fang Hong said.

Only officially designated reporters and photographers were allowed to shoot; individuals were forbidden, and external media couldn't enter to film.

"That's a pity—I've never been to such an event," Liu Tianxian said softly over the phone.

"Next time I'll bring you," Fang Hong said.

"Great!" Liu Tianxian agreed immediately: "Hey, did the leaders say anything to you?"

"Of course they did—they shook my hand and told me to keep promoting film industry culture, to develop China's animated films well, make them bigger and stronger, and create new glory," Fang Hong boasted.

"Really? You're so amazing," Liu Tianxian said with admiration.

Hearing her praise, Fang Hong felt pleased and added: "I'll tell you, the leader's hand was thick and heavy—when he shook mine, I felt real strength."

"Of course, it's a matter of etiquette, a way of showing that we value you and are friendly toward you."

Liu Tianxian knew quite a lot, and asked again, "How's the food inside?"

"Delicious. The dishes on the table are both tasty and beautiful to look at, but everyone eats very politely — after all, it wouldn't look good if the leaders saw our real table manners, would it? One still has to maintain a gentleman's bearing." Fang Hong said.

"Hahaha, that's true." Liu Tianxian laughed heartily.

The two chatted about their observations and experiences at this banquet. Fang Hong liked to talk, Liu Tianxian liked to listen — after all, she had never attended one before and was quite curious.

She wondered how it differed from the banquets she had attended.

"You have to behave yourself out there, no going after those young girls or pretty ladies." Liu Tianxian urged.

"If I don't go after the young girls and pretty ladies, won't I be terribly lonely!" Fang Hong joked.

"Then I'll be lonely too — should I go looking for older boys, fresh-faced hunks?" Liu Tianxian laughed as well.

"Of course not." Fang Hong said.

"Hmph, if you're not faithful, then I won't be faithful; you're faithful, I'm faithful." Liu Tianxian huffed.

"Is that a case of an eye for an eye?" Fang Hong said.

"I wouldn't do that — however you treat me is how I'll treat you."

Liu Tianxian said this, then added, "I've heard that once a man has power and influence, he goes bad. Would you?"

"In our family, the one with the most power and influence is you — how would I dare?" Fang Hong said with a smile.

"As long as you know that." Liu Tianxian said, pleased with herself.

In this household, as long as there were no major issues, everything went according to Liu Tianxian — after all, she was more reasonable and knew how to handle relationships on every front.

No matter how one put it, Xu Liyun was a village woman; her insight was far behind Liu Tianxian's.

"You say I'm already pretty bad — if I got any worse, would I become a total scumbag?" Fang Hong chatted.

"Why would you say that?" Liu Tianxian was puzzled.

"Everyone else says so. They all think I'm very bad, think a man like me should play his way through the entire entertainment circle, living wild and free." Fang Hong said.

"That's others misunderstanding you. As far as I'm concerned, you're a good person — a very, very good person." Liu Tianxian gave him confidence.

No matter how others saw this man, in her heart he had always been quite decent — he had his flaws, but not to the point of being truly bad.

If even she didn't believe in this man, then no one would.

"No matter how others see you, in my heart you're a good person — the best, best person." She added.

As usual, the two chatted on until late at night, only stopping when they were nearly sleepy.

The second day was when the internet companies would hold their exchange. After breakfast, at nine-thirty in the morning, Fang Hong and Zhang Yiming were invited to a venue.

The venue was spacious, with rows of seats arranged neatly. In front was a slightly raised stage, on which sat a few sofa chairs, and at the very back was a huge rectangular LED backdrop wall.

On it was written: Sino-Foreign Entrepreneurs Summit Dialogue!

This conference would last about two hours, and the venue had already filled with many attendees and entrepreneurs there for the event.

(End of chapter)