Chapter 394

"Still sleeping in?" Gong Ying smiled and slipped her hand under the covers.

But what she touched was flat and smooth—where were Ling Jie's breasts?

By the time she realized something was wrong, Wei Ming had already pulled her into the blanket.

It's a man!

Gong Ying was about to scream when she heard: "It's me."

"Ah?" Then she lost her voice entirely.

Every morning, Little Wei Ming was at his most energetic—he'd caught her at the perfect time, and he still carried Ling Jie's scent.

An hour later, the two lay entwined as Wei Ming told Snow Jie about his Hong Kong job: a million-Hong Kong-dollar script deal with profit-sharing, leaving her stunned.

"I also heard your song got nominated for some American Grammy Award—super impressive, right?"

Wei Ming: "Sort of. If I win, I can negotiate better contracts with the American music scene and earn more foreign exchange for the country."

"You're amazing—I'm so proud of you!" Snow Jie's eyes sparkled with admiration for the little man, followed by another round of playful banter.

Snow Jie had no such grand experiences, so she began telling Little Wei about funny moments on set, including two male actors caught by Director Yang Jie during a visit.

"Comrade Chi Zhongrui is already studying Buddhist sutras—he'll shave his head and enter a temple as soon as filming wraps."

Wei Ming chuckled: "I heard Wang Yue from Beijing Film Academy is also studying at a temple in Beijing—looks like Director Yang has options."

Oh, and there's another Tang Monk—I wonder if he'll get the part? Honestly, Xu Tang Monk is the most delicate-looking, and the most suited for the Daughter Kingdom arc.

After chatting a while, her strength returned, and after freshening up, Gong Ying asked: "You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll make you some noodles."

"Add a fried egg."

When Gong Ying was nearly done, Wei Ming had already slipped into his pajamas and wrapped his arms around her from behind: "I missed you both so much."

Snow Jie nuzzled his head: "Same here. I heard 'Mother, Love Me Once More' is out—let's go see the movie later."

Wei Ming: "Sure. After the movie, we'll wait at home for Ling Jie to come back."

Gong Ying blushed: "Don't even think about that kind of thing—we won't agree. Besides, I just got back; I'm sleeping at my parents' tonight."

"I didn't say anything! We're just talking, playing Landlord, that's all." Wei Ming looked innocent.

Wei Ming handled the ticket line; when the movie was about to start, the two slipped into the theater in darkness, fully covered up.

South Gong Ying, North Zhu Lin—no joke. The bundling strategy worked: their fan power now surpassed the North Film Three Golden Flowers, Shanghai Drama's Chen Chong and Zhang Yu, Changchun's Jiang Lili, and Emei's Pan Hong.

After 'Mother, Love Me Once More' released, Gong Ying appeared on over ten magazine covers, especially beloved by her hometown fans in the Magic City. Though she worked at North Film, the label "Magic City native" clung to her, and Shanghai Film Studio was already scheming to poach her from North Film.

Though 'Rickshaw Boy' was new, it was still morning—the theater was only half full, and the two sat unnoticed in the corner.

The film was truly excellent, and most crucially, the characters felt authentic—Zhang Fengyi was born to be Xiangzi; some people just stand there and become the role without doing anything.

Siqin Gaowa wasn't among the prettiest actresses, but compared to the novel's Hu Niuniu, she was far more beautiful—so she exaggerated her tiger teeth to compensate, adding a fierce tigress aura that utterly crushed the rookie Zhang Fengyi in performance.

After the movie, Wei Ming said: "Next year, you and Ling Jie will have real rivals for the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers."

"I can't. 'The Pen's Affection' has little screen time—I won't stand a chance for Best Actress."

Precisely because her role was small, she wouldn't need to stay on set constantly after returning to the Magic City.

"You won't win the Golden Rooster, but Hundred Flowers? Maybe. General audiences often vote based on popularity, not acting. You can milk the 'He Hua' role's popularity for at least two more years." Wei Ming believed Snow Jie was all but guaranteed the Hundred Flowers this year—if she didn't win, only Ling Jie from 'Happy Family' stood a chance; everyone else was out.

Gong Ying suddenly remembered: "So you'll have to watch it again with Ling Jie, right?"

Wei Ming sighed: "Yeah, but I'll wait until I'm about to leave—by then, I'll have forgotten most of it."

In mainland China's first- and second-tier cities, 'Rickshaw Boy' was playing; in third- and fourth-tier cities, 'Mother, Love Me Once More' was still showing.

In Hong Kong, nearing the Lunar New Year, the film season was quiet—everyone waited for the holiday days before the festival.

New Art City decided to move up the release: all four major studios had scheduled new films for January 22, but New Art City, directed by Zeng Zhiwei and starring Mak Ka-wai and Hui Ka-yin, advanced 'The Best of Both Worlds' to January 16—a Saturday.

Before release, the promotional campaign was already at full throttle: they lured Hui Ka-yin away from Shaw Brothers with a shocking HK$2 million salary, stunning the Hong Kong film industry.

Before this, only Cheng Long had earned over a million—thanks to his overseas market, where he was marketed as Bruce Lee's successor.

At the time, top Hong Kong stars earned only HK$1–2 million per film, and a movie's total budget was typically HK$1–2 million.

The second selling point of 'The Best of Both Worlds' was its massive scale: officially billed as an HK$8 million investment, it was at least HK$6 million—absolute blockbuster funding, dubbed the "Hong Kong version of 007."

With such aggressive advertising, crowds lined up on opening day.

A Min had already taken vacation; without A Ming to accompany her, she looked around and ended up going with Aunt Lin Ni—the old ghost was only too happy to be freed from his little wife's side.

Lin Ni excitedly educated Min: "The female lead is Zhang Aijia—she used to come to our house every Lunar New Year with her parents. Such a spirited little girl."

"Auntie, have you ever met Deng Lijun?" A Min asked curiously. The top female singer in the Chinese-speaking world right now was undoubtedly Taiwan's Deng Lijun.

Though Hong Kong's queen of pop Xu Xiaofeng had strong influence in Taiwan, Deng Lijun's impact extended far beyond Hong Kong and Taiwan—her songs had even broken into Japan, the world's second-largest music market.

"Yes, she performed at our home. She had a round little face," Lin Ni said. "Her voice was incredibly sweet."

As they arrived at the Golden Princess cinema, A Min quickly pulled on a mask to avoid being recognized.

But the mask got in the way during the movie—it hindered her popcorn-eating.

They ate, laughed, and gasped "Wow!"—and afterward, they said only two words: "Worth it!"

No wonder it was an HK$8 million production—the explosions, car chases—all the Hollywood staples were here, and Hui Ka-yin even performed a real skydiving stunt, looking like one misstep would force a recast.

And the title song, sung by Hui Ka-yin, was also fantastic.

At the same time, New Art City's Seven Weirdos watched audience reactions in the theater—afterward, they knew they'd won: big investment meant big returns; the local box office might already cover costs.

The actual cost was HK$6 million; as long as it surpassed 'The Romantic Cop,' they'd break even—overseas profits were pure gain!

Their expectation was HK$17–18 million, but when momentum built, the explosion exceeded even the creators' wildest dreams.

Magic City, evening.

When Zhu Lin returned home, she immediately smelled dinner.

She saw not only Wei Ming in the kitchen, but also Gong Ying.

"Xue Jie, you're back!"

Zhu Lin first hugged Gong Ying; Wei Ming seized the chance and joined in, and the three embraced as one.

Then Zhu Lin: "What's that smell?"

"Oh no, my steak!" Wei Ming rushed to turn off the stove—luckily, it was only slightly burnt; scraping it off would fix it.

Gong Ying laughed: "He insisted on cooking steak himself at home."

Wei Ming sighed: "Now that I'm going out to fancy dinners with you two, I'll have to keep experimenting at home."

Zhu Lin: "No problem. Tomorrow we'll go to Red House—I know how to avoid attention."

It was simple: Zhu Lin and Gong Ying would enter first and eat; then Wei Ming would arrive, spot them, and join their table.

The staff would only assume South Gong Ying and North Zhu Lin were inseparable—no one would ever imagine Wei Ming was dating both. Who could conceive such a wild idea?

After dinner, Gong Ying prepared to leave; Wei Ming didn't want her to go—they hadn't even played Landlord yet.

But if she didn't leave now, it would be dark soon. Magic City's safety was no better than Beijing's—it was teetering on collapse.

Zhu Lin didn't want her to go either—more people meant more fun: "Why leave? I'll take the first half of the night, you take the second. We haven't hung out like this in ages. You're a big star—what if you run into thugs on the way?"

Gong Ying bit her lip—how could they discuss this right in front of him? So embarrassing.

Finally, she whispered: "I'll take the first half."

Zhu Lin: "Deal. I'll call Auntie right away."

In Beijing, Zhu Lin's parents believed Gong Ying was staying in this apartment; in the Magic City, Gong Ying's parents believed Zhu Lin was staying here.

Since Gong Ying had returned to the Magic City last night and stayed home, this call couldn't be avoided—Gong's mother was reasonable: her daughter was grown, with her own social life.

Then the three went upstairs, and Wei Ming pulled out from the master bedroom—Flying Chess.

He'd inherited it from Melinda, never shown it to anyone before—he'd dug it out and modified it for three players.

Seeing the punishment rules, Gong Ying and Zhu Lin were shocked—Zhu Lin was intrigued, while Gong Ying blushed and wanted to run home to her mother.

She glanced at the drawn curtains and suddenly felt very sleepy.

Wei Ming pulled out three pawns and a die: "Let's begin, good sisters—I'll show you how… move five spaces. Result: kiss your opponent. Do you take turns—or all at once?"