Chapter 728: My Son Can Do a Backflip

Just as the entire entertainment industry was boycotting and banning the fashion circle.

This year's National Day box office season quietly kicked off, with "Passing Through Your World" leading the charge, grossing over 600 million yuan in its first seven days.

The film received terrible reviews, scoring only five-point-something out of ten; its success stemmed from the novel's massive fanbase—nowadays, it's all about fan economy.

Moreover, the heart-wrenching car-chase scene featuring Xiao Yueyue—specifically the "Yan Zi, Yan Zi" moment—successfully broke out of its niche and resonated with countless viewers.

Just that one scene made many people cry.

However, it was a copy of the car-chase scene from "33 Days of Losing Love," where Liu Tianxian once chased after a man.

Simply by swapping the roles, it still exploded in popularity.

Liu Tianxian also experienced another wave of nostalgia thanks to this scene; one viewer said: "Liu Tianxian's crying performance felt genuinely good."

Due to the film's massive success, reporters brought Liu Tianxian up for comparison: "How do you think Xiao Yueyue's acting compares to yours?"

"I was chasing a man; he was chasing yours—we're each chasing our own."

Liu Tianxian smiled wryly, avoiding a direct answer, then added: "Honestly, I didn't expect that after dropping his comedy persona, Xiao Yueyue's performance was so heartbreakingly moving—really good."

This was a compliment to Xiao Yueyue; she couldn't say anything bad—businesses always have to flatter each other.

Following closely behind in this year's National Day box office was "The Mermaid Operation," grossing 570 million yuan over seven days—about 30 million less than the previous film.

But in terms of quality and reputation, this film is incomparable to "Passing Through Your World."

Even though its box office isn't as high, its momentum will surely last, thanks to organized viewings by government and institutional units.

Moreover, its boldness was unprecedented—audiences kept exclaiming "Holy shit!" and "Holy shit!" in delight.

Whenever a film breaks boundaries, audiences will buy tickets—simply because they've never seen anything like it and crave novelty.

This film not only accelerated Bona's IPO process but also showed them a path forward: they'll keep making main-theme blockbusters.

If Zuoshandiao were still in charge, this film would never have been handed to Bona—nowadays, China Film Group has become stingy and lost its former boldness.

When both companies bid for this subject with the Public Security Bureau, China Film Group offered only 60 million yuan; Bona immediately offered 200 million.

That's the difference—that's the boldness.

A company's entire character changes the moment its leadership changes.

Now, although China Film Group is still a state-owned enterprise, it has lost the drive it once had to develop the industry.

Of course, it still controls vast resources—just the import film quotas alone are enough to keep it well-fed.

The other films, "L. O. R. D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties" and "Mission Milano," performed mediocrity but were savaged by audiences, criticized to the heavens.

Audiences mocked "L. O. R. D: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties": "What the hell is this?" "Give Guo Xiaosi twenty S-Cards!"

Audiences mocked "Mission Milano": "Liu Tianwang has ruined his reputation!" "Liu Tianwang has gone mad!"

Liu Tianwang successfully showed audiences his new bottom limit—his "favor debt" excuse no longer works; you can't keep owing favors forever.

Honestly, he had no choice—his acting ability is limited, his roles are limited, and his status is high, so the directors available to him are truly few.

And it's not even him choosing directors—it's directors choosing whether to cast him; the circle is that small.

Unless you create your own resources, everything basically comes down to connections and begging for favors.

These National Day days were also when Douyin saw its steepest growth; Zhang Nan announced Douyin's daily active users surpassed 200 million, forming a tripod with Alibaba and Tencent.

This surge came from accelerated adoption by fourth- and fifth-tier cities and middle-aged and elderly users, with monthly revenue skyrocketing to 2.2 billion yuan.

Before Double Eleven, they'll launch a "Shopping Cart" feature that redirects to Taobao, JD. com, and Pinduoduo, with Chang'e Technology taking a commission—this is their exploration into e-commerce.

Chang'e Technology still doesn't have its own online mall; it's still under development.

This year, Pinduoduo has also been fierce, surpassing 10 billion yuan in annual transaction volume, becoming a phenomenon that has pressured Alibaba.

Alibaba urgently revived "Juhuasuan"; JD. com launched "JD PinGou"!

Jack Ma internally compared Pinduoduo to: "The Japanese fleet that attacked Pearl Harbor."

You can imagine how seriously he took it.

Jack Ma has encountered a new rival and no longer has time to care about Fang Hong—compared to the threat in entertainment, Pinduoduo is the real threat to his core.

The market works this way—you never know when or where a new rival will emerge.

Just as Jack Ma felt threatened by Pinduoduo, Tencent felt threatened by Chang'e Technology.

Chang'e Technology's main rival right now is Tencent; both sides are still locked in a bitter battle over copyrights—Tencent Music may be powerful.

But its many short-video platforms under its umbrella keep stealing content from Douyin.

Because they have few creators and lack sufficient original content, they can only copy videos from Douyin and Bilibili.

Moreover, WeChat has begun massively blocking Douyin video links—users can't share them directly; if they try, they only get the message: "During the internet short-video rectification period, external links are temporarily disabled."

Chang'e Technology has also launched its gaming counterattack, banning Douyu from streaming—Douyu's parent company is Tencent.

At the same time, they've begun building social features to retain users on Douyin; both sides are now competing across all fronts, and what was once hidden beneath the surface is now surfacing.

The big names in the internet industry are watching closely.

But this is a long-term competition—neither side can defeat the other; each has its own advantages.

This lifetime's Chang'e is stronger than its past-life ByteDance, precisely because it has gaming as a powerful booster and weapon, plus the Yutu content production system.

In its past life, ByteDance was completely crushed by Tencent in the gaming content sector—it couldn't move an inch; otherwise, Douyu and Huya wouldn't even exist.

Moreover, Fang Hong had long ago acquired Moonton Technology, whose "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang" has dominated Southeast Asia.

In just a few months, it secured the top spot in the MOBA genre, generating over ten million U. S. dollars in revenue.

The Southeast Asia market can't be compared to the domestic market—their willingness to pay is weak, most people are even poorer than in China and can't afford smartphones.

Even if they can afford them, the devices have very low specs.

No country has China's level of basic electricity, network infrastructure, or smartphone penetration rate.

"Honor of Kings" now generates over 200 million U. S. dollars in monthly revenue, thanks to Chang'e Technology's endless traffic funnel and its uniquely advantageous position.

All of Chang'e Yutu's chains are now fully circular—only e-commerce monetization remains uncompleted.

"Mua, mua," in the courtyard, Liu Tianxian returned after several days of promotions, hugged her son, and kept kissing his chubby cheeks.

The "pupu" sound was quite loud.

Clearly, she missed him—she hadn't noticed at home, but after being away a few days, she missed him terribly.

Their son bit his little hand, giggling "xixi hahaha."

"Xuanxuan, don't chew your fingers!" Liu Tianxian pulled his hand away.

They named their son Fang Liuyunxuan; four-character names are trendy now.

"Wah!" Without his hand, Yun Xuan burst into loud, wailing sobs.

"Alright, alright, don't cry—you can eat it!" Liu Tianxian shoved his hand back into his mouth.

This is how they raised kids.

"You really are—why not just give him a pacifier?" Fang Hong said, speechless.

"I looked it up online—it says babies shouldn't suck pacifiers every day; it breeds bacteria and deforms teeth," Liu Tianxian said.

"But sucking fingers isn't right either," Fang Hong said.

"Let him suck for now—he'll cry if you don't; he'll grow out of it," Liu Tianxian lifted her son and teased: "Right? If you don't let him suck his fingers, he cries."

Yun Xuan giggled "xixi" again.

"Go to Daddy, let Daddy hold you—I'll check if you've pooped or peed," Liu Tianxian handed the baby to Fang Hong.

Fang Hong laid the baby flat.

Liu Tianxian removed his diaper, glanced inside—it was a mess of poop and urine.

"So dirty," Liu Tianxian slapped the baby's little butt.

Then she fetched wet wipes and a fresh diaper, wiped his crotch, and put on the new diaper.

"Xiao Wang's mom already wired me a hundred million," Liu Tianxian said, busy with the baby.

That was the earlier agreement—she'd pay back a hundred million first.

"Then revoke his equity rights at Pusi Capital," Fang Hong said.

Since the grudge was settled, there was no need to hold onto it—she wouldn't default.

Later, Wanda and Xiao Wang also paid up, even when they were in that state.

"Dudu du" Liu Tianxian tickled the baby's belly.

"Gahahaha," Yun Xuan was overjoyed, kicking his legs and flailing his arms wildly.

Babies around four or five months old start becoming fun—they're adorable and curious about their surroundings.

At that moment, Liu Tianxian's phone suddenly rang "dudu du."

She pulled out her phone and frowned: "Why is Jing Tian calling me?"

"Just answer—it's not for me anyway. If it were for me, you'd complain again," Fang Hong said.

"Hey, you're misrepresenting me—I've never complained," Liu Tianxian denied.

She picked up and said: "Hello, Tian Tian!"

"Xianxian, are you home?" Jing Tian said over the phone.

"Yes, I just got back—what's up?" Liu Tianxian figured the girl had something to ask.

If there was nothing, she wouldn't have called.

"It's like this—the Chairman of the Fashion Group wants to talk to the Principal. I'm just passing on the message; whether you accept or not is up to you, not me," Jing Tian originally didn't want to get involved, but since someone told her, she couldn't refuse.

Still, it was better to clarify things.

"Then come over—come to my house," Liu Tianxian said.

"Why come to your house? Just meet somewhere—I won't go," Jing Tian said.

"Come to my house—I'll show you my son. My son can do a backflip," Liu Tianxian laughed.

Fang Hong stared at her speechlessly—he couldn't even crawl yet, let alone do a backflip.

"So impressive," Jing Tian said, genuinely believing Liu Tianxian.

"Really, come quick—you won't see it if you don't!" Liu Tianxian loved showing off and didn't care at all about the Fashion Group.

Whether she got banned from the entertainment industry no longer affected her current status—she was leaving abroad in two months; The Martian was about to premiere, and another global promotional wave was coming.

"Then I definitely have to come see!" Jing Tian was curious and eager, wanting to see what the Principal and Liu Tianxian's son looked like.

After hanging up, Fang Hong held the baby and said, speechless: "You really make things up."

"Gegége," Liu Tianxian laughed with her eyes closed: "Let her see my son—he's so cute."

She patted the baby's little face.

"Why did she call? Not just to chat and catch up, right?" Fang Hong asked.

"Oh—the General Manager of the Fashion Group wants to talk to you," Liu Tianxian suddenly remembered.

It must be about the entertainment industry's ban on the fashion circle—this incident had caused a huge uproar.

Many stars had gone to shoot for Elle, Vogue, and other top magazines; domestically, the Fashion Group wasn't the only major player.

They were happy to see Baisha get knocked down by the Principal!

Every industry had competition—it was never peaceful.

"Come on, ride on Daddy's neck—we're going out," Liu Tianxian picked up the baby and placed him on Fang Hong's neck.

Fang Hong lifted the baby up, walking with exaggerated, bouncy steps; Liu Tianxian stood beside, holding him steady.

The family of three walked out into the garden to enjoy the day.

In October, Beijing's daytime temperature was neither cold nor hot—just a hoodie was enough.

Liu Tianxian dressed simply: wide-leg pants, a knitted cardigan—elegant and minimalist.

When Jing Tian and Fashion Group Chairman Liu Jiang were led in, they saw the family of three laughing and playing in the garden—warm and romantic.

"You're here!" Liu Tianxian spotted them.

"Wow! Is this your baby? So cute." Jing Tian walked over quickly and saw the chubby baby in Liu Tianxian's arms.

"Yes! He's a little over four months old now." Liu Tianxian said with a smile.

"Can I hold him?" Jing Tian asked, her big eyes full of expectation; fair-skinned and beautiful, she looked quite noble.

"Of course!" Liu Tianxian agreed, and said to the baby: "Come on, go to Auntie."

Jing Tian carefully took him, rocked him a little, and said in pleasant surprise: "He doesn't even cry."

"He doesn't cry, he doesn't shy from strangers." Liu Tianxian said.

So many people come by to look, and with so many visitors and so many people playing with him, he no longer shies from strangers.

"Baby, do you like Auntie or not!" Jing Tian said in a sweet voice.

Yun Xuan looked at the auntie before him in a daze, and let out a little "hehe" laugh.

"Ah! So cute, I must have one of my own in the future." Jing Tian was thrilled when she saw the baby smile at her.

The two women were laughing and playing with the baby here, while Fang Hong and Liu Jiang had long since stepped aside to talk business.

This man was in his sixties, with a bald forehead, slightly stooped, looking as though his health wasn't great.

"Principal, what you've done here puts us in a very difficult position!" Liu Jiang sighed.

"The Bazaar of the past, though it had its shady side, had never fallen this low. How has the Bazaar today decayed and degenerated so fast?" Fang Hong said.

"I can't explain too much of this to you either. We're just a middleman, just a brand. They used our name, but the money didn't go into our pockets." Liu Jiang explained.

Fang Hong nodded and said nothing; many things, once spoken too deeply, would only make things worse.

"You've basically wrecked Bazaar's charity work. If it's wrecked, then so be it — we can let it end here." Liu Jiang looked at him.

Charity isn't easy to do; never mind!

"It's already been done. How can we just turn back and end it here?" Fang Hong said.

"Then how about this: I'll act as the middleman and get Liu Tianxian to sign on as Lancome's spokesperson, and put her on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. Then this whole thing is behind us. What do you say?" Liu Jiang looked quite sincere.

Lancome is, after all, a top-tier beauty brand.

"General Manager Liu, you'd be throwing me into the fire. I just rallied the entertainment circle, and then through your introduction Xixi signs on as Lancome's spokesperson and lands on the cover of Bazaar. How will those people in the entertainment circle see me?"

Fang Hong said this, then continued: "Those people will say my Principal is a hypocrite — that he sold them all out, while secretly signing with you for endorsements to make a fortune, using them all as pawns.

If we do this, people's hearts will scatter, and the team will be hard to lead."

"Then Principal, what is your suggestion?" Liu Jiang ventured.

"You need to show some attitude too. Su Mang must be fired — without firing her, there's no way to pacify those stars." Fang Hong said.

This matter could only start by making an example of Su Mang, to show at least some attitude. Of course, this woman had been pushed out as the scapegoat.

But she had also reaped plenty of benefits, and offended plenty of people. Letting the entertainment circle's people feel they'd won could soothe their fury.

(End of chapter)