Chapter 85

Hearing this, Liu Tianxian thought the man was truly divine—he could handle everything alone.

She smirked: "Look at you, you still can't get by without me!"

"What else can I do? I've realized I can't manage without you," Fang Hong said with a smile.

Actually, he was mimicking Liu Tianxian's speech—this girl had a catchphrase: "What else can I do?"

"It's not too late to have this realization," Liu Tianxian joked.

The atmosphere lightened; Fang Hong got serious: "I need you to express your views on female independence during the interview and when promoting the film—something like: 'When women are independent, the whole world opens up!'"

Liu Tianxian widened her phoenix eyes in surprise: "That last line of yours is so classic—how could it come out of your mouth? It should be a woman who says that."

In her past life, she had said that at age twenty-four—next year.

"Spoken from the heart—men understand women best, because we are observers."

Fang Hong told her: "Women are always anxious and insecure; only true independence lets you stop resenting injustice and stop raging over what you can't have."

These words deeply moved Liu Tianxian; she realized this man had real depth, and his thoughts aligned closely with hers.

"But how does this relate to the movie?"

"Our film targets female audiences—we must serve their emotional state," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian studied the man intently: "Sometimes I just don't understand you. Such profound, uplifting words—I'm deeply moved—and yet you use them to promote a movie? That's so profit-driven."

Actually, Fang Hong had just said it offhand; he never expected Liu Tianxian to resonate with it.

Time flew, and before they knew it, it was mid-December. Who won between The Orphan of Zhao and The Laughing Jianghu didn't matter anymore.

No matter how fiercely they fought, total box office would only reach a hundred million—roughly the same level as Those Years in midyear.

But this clash crushed the Northeast Circle's Zhao Family's ambition to enter the film market; after this, they never produced another decent film to challenge the Beijing Circle.

They had failed before, when collaborating with Lao Mouzi on A Simple Noodle Story.

This time, partnering with the Hong Kong-Taiwan Circle on The Laughing Jianghu was also crushed—how could they still have the heart to make films?

Performing xiaopin was much safer!

You could say the film market wasn't easy to break into.

Zhao Dashu had popularity, tactics, and a team.

Yet in film, he still had to lie flat!

After Let the Bullets Fly premiered on the 16th, The Laughing Jianghu and The Orphan of Zhao had no chance left—they could only retreat in silence.

Let the Bullets Fly drew 30.18 million on its first day, 40 million the next, peaking at 60 million per day—surpassing Avatar!

It crushed every other film, leaving no rivals, dominating the field—until it met Fang Hong, this freak who played by no rules.

That day, Liu Tianxian appeared on Sohu's interview to spread her ideas on female independence.

The camera showed only Liu Tianxian—her long hair smooth and silky, her skin fair and luminous, exuding a subtle beauty.

The host, off-camera, asked: "Can you talk about your movie Love in the Time of Breakup?"

"This film is about how women overcome heartbreak and heal themselves—it's deeply meaningful."

Liu Tianxian spoke softly, with gentleness.

Host: "That must've been a big challenge for you—in our impression, you've never really been in love, right?"

"Hmm, I haven't had deep romantic feelings."

Liu Tianxian spoke ambiguously, leaving people puzzled.

What did "not having deep romantic feelings" mean?

Did she have love or not? The host didn't understand; the audience didn't either.

Host: "I heard you got slapped a few times while filming this movie?"

"Yes, I don't like talking about it—it's unfair to single out one scene from the film."

Liu Tianxian adjusted her posture and began speaking fluently: "The film tells a human story—many people may go through love, heartbreak, and healing, just like the female lead. That's life. That's humanity."

The film teaches people how to think, how to adjust themselves when facing hardship.

Just like Love in the Time of Breakup—its core message is teaching women how to be independent: when women are independent, the whole world opens up. That's the meaning this film brings.

So don't fixate on a single shot. If you calm your mind and experience the whole film from start to finish, you'll find your heart grows peaceful."

Liu Tianxian spoke with clarity and strong verbal expression.

This interview was quickly released, but initially stirred no waves—only spreading among fans in small circles.

But soon, her offhand remark: "When women are independent, the whole world opens up,"

was embraced by little goddesses, widely shared—because it perfectly matched modern women's tastes, becoming a feminist mantra and sparking major discussion.

Love in the Time of Breakup became tied to female independence, since Liu Tianxian had starred in the film and thus "discovered" the slogan.

This was Fang Hong's strategy of tying feminism to the film.

Had they truly been independent?

No one dared speak, no one dared say, no one dared comment.

Fang Hong simply leveraged their ability to spread, launching his campaign.

On December 21—the fifth day after Let the Bullets Fly's release and the day before If You Are the One 2 premiered—

Love in the Time of Breakup launched its global premiere.

Called a "global premiere," it was just a banner—no gifts, no souvenirs.

Only one poster of Liu Tianxian, bearing her quote: "When women are independent, the whole world opens up!"

No delays—only female bloggers, female filmmakers, female media figures, and little goddesses were invited.

Even the audience was entirely female—very few men showed up!

Whoever was boxing, they invited these women with social influence and media ties to watch the film.

No media Q&A—if asked about gender antagonism, it's hard to say; better to avoid such topics, the more you say, the more mistakes you make.

In other words, Fang Hong had no intention of getting too deeply involved!

Enough nonsense—let's just watch the movie.

The theater lights clicked off with a "snap," and Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian remained seated in the front row.

"Feifei, this is the second time we've watched a movie together, right?" Fang Hong tilted his head.

Liu Tianxian was rather speechless—the way he called her "Feifei" was so intimate: "It's not a date, why keep such a close count?"

"When I'm free, I'll ask you out—will you do me the honor?"

"Depends on your sincerity!"

Liu Tianxian didn't refuse, pointing at the opening animation "Chang'e Holding Rabbit" on the big screen: "Why hasn't it been replaced yet?"

(End of chapter)