Chapter 579

Liu Tianxian huffed, watching without getting married herself, yet excitedly dragging her husband to watch—clearly intentional.

That palm strike was heavy, sending Yu Xian stumbling backward, nearly toppling off the director's chair.

"Fuck, that much force?" Yu Xian braced himself with his hands on the ground, turned to see Fang Hong being roughly dragged away by Liu Tianxian, vanishing around the corner.

He rubbed his back where he'd been hit—thank God he'd refused him back then; who could take this? He clasped his hands together and bowed his head in silent tribute to the Principal for three seconds.

Looks like choosing a wife shouldn't be based on looks—inner qualities matter more!

He turned his gaze to the monitor, watching the male lead slowly unclasp the female lead's bra, then press against her back, gently inhaling near her neck and face.

His breath brushed her skin, making her whole body tremble slightly—the scene was intensely sensual.

Such a perfect scene could only be enjoyed by him alone; some people could no longer savor it.

After being dragged away, Fang Hong showed no displeasure—only found it amusing.

"What are you laughing at?" Liu Tianxian turned back.

"I wasn't laughing. Did I laugh?" Fang Hong wore an utterly serious expression.

Liu Tianxian slipped on large sunglasses, concealing her face—they were outside now.

She wrapped her arms around Fang Hong's neck, leaning close to tease: "Hey, wanna try it like that?"

"What kind of way?" Fang Hong looked puzzled.

"Like being tied up by the hands, whipped with a leather strap—I think it's kinda fun," Liu Tianxian described the scene she'd just seen, speaking with clear enthusiasm.

"Really? You're not teasing me, are you?" Fang Hong was intrigued, staring at her.

"Who's teasing you? Let's buy some props and play at home, how about it?" Liu Tianxian's voice turned sweet and sultry, dripping with allure.

Hearing this, Fang Hong immediately pictured a scene: Liu Tianxian suspended, dressed provocatively, while he whipped her body and brushed her with a feather duster—he swallowed hard.

He nodded firmly, deeply tempted.

"It's settled then—I'll tie you up and tease you," Liu Tianxian grinned.

"Tie me up?" Fang Hong looked stunned.

"Of course, it's gotta be you," Liu Tianxian said as if it were obvious.

"Then I'm the bottom?" Fang Hong slapped his own chest.

"What's wrong with that?" Liu Tianxian asked.

"I'm a man! How can a man be the bottom? Where's my face?" Fang Hong raised his voice.

"What face? It's just at home—no one sees it," Liu Tianxian said.

"No, listen—I'm telling you, in these games, you always tie up women, not men. Women fit, men don't. Plus, anatomical reasons: women are visually appealing, men aren't. You get it?" Fang Hong tried reasoning.

"Get your head out of your ass. Nonsense," Liu Tianxian spat.

"Look at those films—I mean Japanese ones—most of them tie up women, hardly ever men," Fang Hong pressed on.

"Don't drag in nonsense I haven't seen. Even if I had, it wouldn't be like you say," Liu Tianxian dismissed him with disdain.

The idea that men can't be tied up but women can? Pure nonsense—trying to bully her for not watching.

If you can tie up women, you can tie up men—it's all about curiosity. Some like women dominating, others like men dominating—how could it be as he claimed?

Even if she'd never seen a pig run, she'd still eaten pork—she ate it every night.

"You're flipping dominance and submission. Turning heaven upside down," Fang Hong groaned in frustration—why couldn't she get it?

"So what? I tie up my husband—I can flip it however I want, turn it however I like," Liu Tianxian lifted her chin.

"Forget it, you're impossible to reason with," Fang Hong pulled her hand away and quickened his steps, breaking free of her grip.

He'd been excited at the thought of trying something new—never imagined it meant him being the bottom—who could take that?

Liu Tianxian sprinted a few steps, grabbed the back of his neck: "I just realized you're a hypocrite—you're thrilled to tie me up, but not to be tied yourself."

"Oh come on, there's just no such thing as tying up men—never in history, never anywhere," Fang Hong hunched his shoulders, still babbling.

"There will be—right now. You'll be the first in history, etched in the annals. You should be proud," Liu Tianxian mimicked his nonsense.

Fuck! Fang Hong was speechless.

They were just joking—curiosity sparked it, everyone has a taste for the unusual, Liu Tianxian included. But she could only joke like this with Fang Hong.

Universal Studios, in the northwestern suburbs of Los Angeles, housed Universal's headquarters, including Paramount.

It was a major filming location—many studios rented equipment and sets here to shoot.

It was also a famous tourist attraction, where props and models from countless films could be seen: Jurassic dinosaurs, the Harry Potter zone, medieval towns, and more.

Perfect weather—clear skies, pleasant temperature!

Donna heard Fang Hong and his wife had arrived, so she came with her assistant and bodyguards to greet them at the entrance of Universal City.

A black luxury sedan pulled over; Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian stepped out.

"Director Fang, Tianxian," Donna stepped forward, embracing each warmly, radiating enthusiasm.

Many tourists passed by, glancing curiously at them.

Of course, some recognized Liu Tianxian as the female lead of Gravity—whispers and questions arose: Was that really Liu Tianxian?

Liu Tianxian wore large sunglasses and a wide-brimmed straw hat, dressed in an orange suit with a plaid skirt, her long, snow-white legs exposed, radiating a unique aura.

Finally wearing a dress instead of jeans. She carried a handbag, standing beside Fang Hong and smiling: "We're about to head back home, so we came to say goodbye."

"Oh! So soon? Can you wait two days? I'll throw you a victory party." Donna tried to persuade them to stay.

Gravity earned such huge box office returns—it'd be inappropriate not to host a victory party. Global earnings exceeded two hundred million dollars, heading toward three hundred million; Universal had made plenty.

Of course, domestic box office had nothing to do with Universal—it was distributed by Rabbit Ticket.

Liu Tianxian didn't answer, but looked at Fang Hong.

"We've stayed in the United States long enough. Spring Festival's already passed, and we still have tons of work waiting back home. Staying here any longer isn't appropriate," Fang Hong said.

He had many things to handle—work to organize. He'd been buried in Gravity for so long, everything else had been neglected.

Liu Tianxian had plenty too—she was the focal point; without returning, many of her own projects couldn't proceed.

Now Gravity's box office has already reached 2.9 billion, just a little short of breaking the 3 billion mark, and it has already become the number one in the history of Chinese-language cinema.

After the seventh day of the new year, the box office was slashed again and again, everyone has gradually gone back to work, but there are still tens of millions now, breaking 3 billion is a sure thing.

Domestic media is still making a huge uproar, with mainstream media calling this film: the pioneering work of Chinese-language special-effects cinema.

The moment Zhang Hongsen got to work, he held many seminars with multiple departments for this reason, discussing Gravity's success.

The discussion was to continue pressing forward, riding this momentum to break through on the international stage. How could they break through without the Principal? That man hasn't even come back, and won't even answer his calls.

"Well then, I won't try to keep you two any longer, this isn't urgent either, we can handle it when you have time," Donna said.

It's still screening internationally anyway, and the box office heat is still very high, so waiting until the final box office numbers come out to handle it isn't too late.

He gestured and said: "Since you've come today, let me accompany you around to look at the sights here, the filming locations, and see how the special-effects shots here were filmed."

"Great, we were just wanting to look around here too," Liu Tianxian said happily, she still really enjoyed going out and about.

This whole period had been nothing but busy, the two of them hadn't had a proper chance to relax and stroll together.

What they headed toward was a white gate tower, European style, with a string of English letters on top; once past this gate tower, they entered the studio lot.

"You're not afraid I'll learn your techniques!" Fang Hong joked as they walked and chatted.

Along the roads of Universal Studios were rows of palm trees, sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on the ground.

"Technology is something that's constantly advancing. Without talent, without an environment for innovation, even if you learn it, you only learn it for a moment, and it also requires a complete industrial support system. Without it, even if you know how, you still can't produce it," Donna said.

Fang Hong nodded, indicating he understood. Modern technology all has thresholds, like photolithography machines — even though you know exactly what the principle is, explained very thoroughly.

But even if you let you see it, you still might not necessarily be able to build one; if even one of those supporting components fails to meet the standard, it won't work.

"Movies are a very magical thing, they're not bound by technology. It still comes down to the story, the content. It's not that strong special effects will do it — if the audience doesn't buy it, they still don't buy it. Special effects only play a supporting role, supporting the plot, they're not the lead," Donna chatted with the two about her views on film.

Other fields can be overwhelmed by technology, but movies can't. Tech special effects only let people enjoy something novel for a while.

And once that novelty wears off, it just feels like a lump of crap.

Marvel gets criticized for everything anyway, even people in Hollywood criticize it — it's just a lump of crap.

"The charm of a movie lies in making people forget time, not in waiting for it to end. Whether it's a commercial film or an art film, the essence is bringing people an emotional experience," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian listened earnestly, as if being taught, feeling her man spoke well.

"General Manager Fang, that was... what's that two-character word you Chinese use." Donna couldn't come up with the word for a moment.

It's not her native language after all, she's still not that fluent.

"Incisive!" Liu Tianxian supplied for him.

"Right, incisive."

Donna sighed in admiration, then said: "I didn't expect General Manager Fang to not only be brilliant at marketing, but also have such an original understanding of film."

"I'm doing marketing because I have no choice. Even good wine fears a deep alley. If a movie loses money, sometimes what you lose isn't just money, but a person's confidence," Fang Hong patted his own chest.

Donna nodded, indicating she understood. Take their Hollywood films for example — once a movie is a hit and does well at the box office, they frantically make sequels.

If that movie doesn't do well, they don't make it, they just cancel the project, because they've lost confidence.

The few chatted as they walked, already unconsciously heading deeper into the studio lot. Liu Tianxian looked around, seeing many familiar characters, props, and scenes from movies here.

There were Transformers, Fantasy Castle, and Elf City.

Up ahead there was also a King Kong, one hand gripping the wall, baring its teeth as if about to leap down — very novel, and very lifelike.

"Hey hey, look, isn't that your Conjuring haunted house?" Liu Tianxian patted Fang Hong's arm, pointing ahead.

"Looks like it," Fang Hong saw The Nun and the horror doll next to the haunted house, looking quite creepy.

These are all classic figures from The Conjuring Universe.

"Want to go in and play?" Donna said.

"No, next time!" Liu Tianxian waved her hand.

Actually she did want to go in and play, but with Donna here she felt it would be inconvenient — she couldn't just leave her standing there waiting, that would be so inappropriate.

If it were just her and Fang Hong, she would definitely have gone in to play, no holding back — she quite liked playing in thrilling haunted houses like this.

(End of chapter)