Chapter 380

Of course taking off clothes is to change into something else—no one wears this around the kitchen.

But she could've just changed in her room.

"Oh no, I forgot there's a man guest today." Li Zhi took off her jacket, unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt, then placed her hands on her chest and blushed in sudden realization.

Wei Ming evaluated: Needs practice.

She then went into the room and changed into something looser and thinner than her casual home clothes. Seeing Wei Ming look at her, she blinked: "At home it's just me and Lingling, we always dress casually."

Still, no need to strip off the undergarments too—walking around like that, swaying back and forth, you're clearly trying to test if I can keep my composure, aren't you?

But once she tied on the apron, it was much better—held in place.

Now the situation was this: Wei Ming knew she was tempting him, and she truly was very attractive. When Melinda wasn't around, Wei Ming rarely saw a woman with a figure to match hers.

Yet out of loyalty to his lover, he didn't want to fall for her trap—but he still wanted to stand beside the hook and see just what delicacy it held.

As Li Zhi scrubbed the abalone, Wei Ming stood behind her and asked: "How do you plan to cook this abalone?"

"Braised in soy sauce?"

Wei Ming: "What about the oysters?"

"Steam them with vermicelli."

Wei Ming: "Need help?"

"No, I can handle it myself—I'm very capable," Li Zhi declared.

Wei Ming: "Then I'll go outside."

Seeing Wei Ming actually leave, Li Zhi pouted, disappointed—she'd really wanted him standing behind her, giving orders.

Just now they'd been so close; she'd felt his strong, hot male scent. If only they could press perfectly together.

While Li Zhi cooked abalone in the kitchen, Wei Ming pulled out his sketchbook and began designing the promotional poster for "Mistaken Love for Seven Days."

It was a slightly taboo story: a wealthy husband fled after accumulating debt, leaving his wife under government surveillance. The male lead, Li Du, was assigned to watch over the wife, Nai Dong. Over seven days, the two, initially repelling each other, gradually fell in love—and ended up in bed together.

But after seven days, the husband returned, and the wife chose to stay with him. For the male lead, those seven days felt like a dream.

Wei Ming didn't like this ending, but he didn't change it—after all, Hong Kong audiences loved it, and there must've been a reason. He was only after profit; he'd even invested half the film's budget.

First, no spoilers—but still must attract.

Wei Ming thought for a moment and decided to draw two images showing the evolution of the leads' relationship.

The first: Day one of meeting. The male lead, in police uniform, couldn't even enter the house. The female lead, in a revealing nightgown that showed off her figure, held a golf club, guarding fiercely—nervous, afraid.

The second: Seven days later. The male lead lay naked on the bed. The female lead, equally post-coital and languid, wore an even more sensual, revealing nightgown—like a real couple.

But above the bed hung a wedding photo—of the wife and another man.

Anyone who understood would instantly get it: Oh, he's been greened! Greened!

The stark contrast between the first and second images would make readers wonder: What happened in those six days? What was their real relationship?

And the art had to convey sensual temptation. Chung Chun-tao was tall and imposing, and in the film he sacrificed a lot—his physique was clearly excellent. But Yip Tung? Not so much—thin, bony, unremarkable. So Wei Ming drew the female lead with Yip Tung's face and Li Zhi's body.

Fake promotion? Let it be fake. Women are naturally skilled at creating false abundance through sheer compression. Someone as generously endowed as Xiao Li is rare.

After finalizing the concept, Wei Ming glanced again at Li Zhi in the kitchen, her nimble hands moving. Her stockings had been removed; from the open bedroom door, he could see them tossed on the bed, along with that large bra.

Since drawing the character designs for "The Seven Brothers," Wei Ming hadn't touched a pencil in ages—but thankfully, his skill hadn't faded.

About an hour later, the first comic was done. Just as he prepared to draw the second, the door opened.

"Xiao Li, I'm back." Wei Lingling entered and began taking off her clothes.

Wei Ming quickly stood up: "Auntie, I'm here."

"Oh, I guessed." Wei Lingling hung up her jacket, slipped on slippers, and sat beside Wei Ming. "What are you doing? Sketching Xiao Li?"

Short hair, big chest—who else could it be?

In the kitchen, Li Zhi's ears twitched. She smiled faintly. She'd already noticed Wei Ming watching her, scribbling away. Hmph, men.

Wei Ming: "No, I'm drawing the promotional comic for 'Mistaken Love for Seven Days.'"

Li Zhi: "Hmph, men!"

"Auntie, dinner's ready!" Li Zhi turned and carried a dish to the table. Wei Ming went over to help.

It seemed Wei Lingling had no intention of letting Wei Ming leave—she even poured him a glass of red wine: "Didn't expect 'Transformers' isn't out yet, but 'History Miao' was a huge success. I toast you."

Wei Ming: "I can't hold my liquor—let's just sip, sip. Besides, your toys selling well also promotes our comics. Many kids never get to read 'Maniac Comics,' but they buy the toys—and that boosts the comics' influence."

Wei Lingling nodded. Wei Ming added: "But I heard the plastic versions aren't selling well."

Wei Lingling: "True. But we're not stuck—we can release them slowly through Holiland. We've sold off old surplus toys the same way."

In the original timeline, McDonald's Happy Meal would introduce this practice of giving kids small toys years later, sparking a collecting culture across Europe and America. Now it was Holiland's innovation.

Wei Ming shook his head: "But Holiland has too few stores—they won't move fast. I have a plan to help you sell these History Miao toys quickly."

"What plan?"

Wei Ming smiled slightly: "You've heard Old Ghost made a fortune betting on horses, right?"

"I know. I don't like his gambling, but the Hong Kong Jockey Club has huge influence. The best-selling tabloids always have a horse racing section, and there are thirty professional horse racing newspapers. The Jockey Club has penetrated every level of Hong Kong society."

Wei Ming snapped his fingers: "Hong Kong people have a strong gambling instinct—it can be exploited. What I'm about to tell you is a sales model called blind boxes. This model is worth at least a hundred million!"

"Blind boxes? A hundred million?" Wei Lingling laughed. "You'd really tell me about a hundred million?"

Wei Ming picked up a piece of Li Zhi's abalone: "You're my own aunt. Even a billion wouldn't matter—I don't run a business anyway."

Besides, he'd eventually be invented by the Japanese anyway.

Wei Lingling laughed and ordered: "Take notes."

Under Li Zhi's apron was a notebook and pen—she was always ready to learn.

Wei Ming said: "Usually, when we buy things, we know exactly what we want—clear purpose, single outcome. But blind boxes are different. Take the History Miao series: put different History Miao into a box, tell people it contains History Miao, but don't say which one. The key is the hidden variant."

"Hidden variant?"

Anyone who collected the Water Margin cards from Xiao Wanxiong instant noodles would know—some characters were impossible to find.

For example, in this series, all other Miao are equally common, except Qin Shi Huang—his quantity is scarce, his size larger, his craftsmanship finer. Wouldn't fans who want to complete the set spend far more money chasing just this one? Far more than buying a full set outright?"

Wei Lingling's first reaction was: What a ruthless trick!

But then she thought: This is Hong Kong—everyone, old and young, loves gambling. Maybe they'd love the thrill of opening the box. And a small toy costs far less than betting on horses or going to Macau.

Get the thrill of horse racing for the price of a snack!

So this trick hid real genius—it might truly generate a hundred million. But the key was triggering an irresistible urge to buy—and that required promotion and hype. Wei Lingling was a professional at that.

"But Hong Kong's market is too small. Even if every child bought one, how much could that be?" Wei Lingling said. "If the mainland fully opened up, we'd make a fortune!"

Wei Ming: "What about Taiwan? Thanks to you, 'Maniac Comics' has entered Taiwan—heard the response is good, and they're printing more. The History Miao blind box toys can easily be dumped there too."

Li Zhi scribbled furiously—absolutely right! That added another two hundred million in developed-market potential!

Wei Lingling nodded, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.