Chapter 362: Overcoming the Lead

Cao Yang proved with his actions that he was absolutely not a lecherous playboy... a man greedy for flowers; he decisively rejected the suggestion of staying overnight at Cheng Long’s house.

Cheng Long had no choice but to personally drive Cao Yang back.

He also dropped off Zhang Jingchu and Sun Mingming at their hotel along the way; the production crew had arranged for both of them to stay at the same hotel.

Sun Mingming got out of the car at the hotel entrance, but Zhang Jingchu didn't get out at all, nor did she offer any explanation, as if this weren't the place where she was staying.

Cheng Long also acted as if he hadn't seen it.

Cao Yang didn't know where Zhang Jingchu was staying, so he certainly couldn't say anything.

Upon arriving at the Arcadia villa, Cheng Long parked in front of the house where Cao Yang lived, and both he and Zhang Jingchu got out of the car.

Cao Yang thought they were just being polite, so he also politely asked Cheng Long if he wanted to come up and sit for a while.

Cheng Long smiled and declined, greeted Cao Yang, and drove off in a flash.

Cao Yang even thought to himself, why are you in such a rush to drive so fast? This is a wealthy neighborhood; the security here is absolutely beyond reproach.

That’s the one good thing about the States; despite all the "pew-pew-pew" and "zero-dollar shopping" and various similar incidents happening every day, in wealthy residential areas, such situations are basically never seen.

How else would it be called a "paradise" for the rich?

Cao Yang was still lamenting Cheng Long’s "carelessness," and surely Zhang Jingchu must have similar thoughts to his own... right?

Hmm?

Zhang Jingchu?

Damn it!

Fang Long!

My reputation!

Cao Yang’s first reaction was "It’s over, it’s over"; he feared he wouldn't be able to wash himself clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River now.

Cheng Long’s approach was truly the traditional style of Xiangjiang filmmakers.

"Director Cao, the location of your place is truly excellent; you can actually overlook the entire Los Angeles."

Zhang Jingchu exclaimed sincerely.

Cao Yang hesitated for a moment and didn't mention sending Zhang Jingchu back to the hotel.

Anyway, he had already jumped into the Yellow River and gotten wet; no matter what he did next, in Fang Long’s eyes, he certainly wouldn't be able to remain innocent.

"Come in."

Cao Yang opened the door and led Zhang Jingchu inside.

Although he hadn't helped get *Rush Hour 3* released in the mainland, things weren't calculated that way; he had attended the premiere of *Rush Hour 3* and reminded him, making him realize where the problem lay.

This was actually already a huge favor to him.

He looked back at Zhang Jingchu again; to be honest, if Zhang Jingchu weren't trying so hard to dress in a sexy way, but instead appeared pure and artistic, Cao Yang’s sexual interest would be even greater.

Is this a traditional skill of the Xiangjiang film circle?

A thank-you gift after receiving help?

Looking at the level of tacit understanding between Cheng Long and Zhang Jingchu today, they must have discussed it beforehand.

For Zhang Jingchu to agree to become Cheng Long’s "thank-you gift," Cheng Long must have promised her some resources.

Cao Yang quickly considered it; Cheng Long shouldn't dare to scheme against him. Whether in terms of Hollywood status or domestic status, he wasn't qualified to arm-wrestle with him.

He still wanted to use this incident to establish a closer connection with him.

Cao Yang glanced again at Zhang Jingchu, who was looking around; it was impossible for her to be forced. She agreed to this, perhaps not knowing if she could gain benefits from him, but there were certainly no downsides.

Instead, she could still get resources from Cheng Long.

Having figured this out, Cao Yang smiled and said to Zhang Jingchu, "You go take a shower first."

As he spoke, he picked through his closet, found one of his own white men’s shirts, handed it to her, and continued, "Sorry, I don't have women’s pajamas here; you’ll just have to make do with this for now."

A white, long-sleeved, collared men’s shirt, and he only gave her this—no bottoms—Zhang Jingchu already had a picture in her mind.

However, she didn't say anything; she gave a sweet smile, revealing her two little dimples.

Cao Yang also went to take a shower, and not long after he finished washing up, Zhang Jingchu came out too.

Her hair was tied into a simple ponytail, a somewhat oversized white shirt draped over her upper body, with her two slender legs exposed below.

Cao Yang nodded with satisfaction; this was the look an artistic young woman should have.

Quiet and elegant on the surface, pure yet alluring, seductive yet not brazen, charming yet not vulgar, her whole being exuded an aura of youth and health.

Of course, looking good made it even more fun.

With this kind of outfit, as long as a few buttons were undone at the top, it felt even better than taking the clothes off.

On Friday, August 10th, *Rush Hour 3* and *The Fault in Our Stars* were released on the same day.

*Rush Hour 3* was a sequel; the previous film, *Rush Hour 2*, had been a massive box office hit in North America. As a sequel, even though years had passed, it was still highly anticipated, which could be seen from the number of theaters it opened in.

This film was released in 3,778 theaters in North America, with its presence fully maximized.

*The Fault in Our Stars* was a low-budget artistic film; its investment couldn't compare to *Rush Hour 3*, and it had no big-name stars.

If it weren't for the wildly popular wish-granting campaign, even with Cao Yang’s name attached, it would have been impossible to secure so many theaters. It likely would have started in one or two thousand theaters and relied on word-of-mouth to increase screenings.

This film was different from *Juno*; although both were low-budget films and both were adapted from Cao Yang’s novels, *Juno* had won an Oscar first and had influence before its release.

However, who could have predicted that a wish-granting campaign would become so popular? Its influence was directly no less than an Oscar nomination.

As an artistic film, *The Fault in Our Stars* reached 2,780 theaters on its opening day in North America.

This film didn't have a large investment, but it was a co-production, with investments from China Film Group and the Youth Film Studio.

However, Cao Yang didn't have the film released simultaneously; he chose to release it in North America first. After all, the film’s investment was small, it had no big stars, the director wasn't famous, and the wish-granting campaign hadn't reached the domestic market.

For this kind of low-budget artistic film, there was no need to use the gimmick of a simultaneous release.

The main force for the promotion of *Rush Hour 3* was definitely Cheng Long and the big black guy. When promoting around Los Angeles, they brought Zhang Jingchu along, but when going to other places to promote, Cheng Long simply didn't bring her, as no one would recognize her anyway.

Actually, according to the original plan, Zhang Jingchu was only called to North America to attend the premiere, and she would be sent back after it was over.

But plans always fail to keep up with changes, don't they?

Cheng Long directly let Zhang Jingchu stay, intending for her to stay for two weeks.

Zhang Jingchu was happy, and Cheng Long was happy.

Cao Yang... was the manual laborer.

"So nervous, the opening day box office for *Rush Hour 3* should be tallied soon, right? It should be able to become today’s box office champion, right?"

Zhang Jingchu was wearing... Cao Yang’s shirt. She discovered that Cao Yang liked her dressing this way, so these past few days, whenever she came here to spend the night, she wore it.

After saying this, she suddenly realized that *The Fault in Our Stars*, adapted from Cao Yang’s novel, was also released on the same day, and the box office would be tallied at the same time, so she hurriedly added:

"The reputation of *The Fault in Our Stars* is so big, the box office will surely be good too."

Cao Yang smiled and didn't speak.

Through several days of contact, he found that Zhang Jingchu was the type of person who was straightforward and blunt—well, that’s the nice way of putting it; to put it another way, sometimes she spoke without using her brain, and her emotional intelligence was average.

Speaking of being straightforward and blunt, Cao Yang couldn't help but look at Zhang Jingchu, who had two little dimples; her cherry-red mouth was still quite useful.

"Come."

Cao Yang beckoned and said with a smile, implying something, "It’s coming out soon; as long as you are willing to work hard, it will definitely come out faster." Zhang Jingchu understood in a second.

She bit her lip and looked at Cao Yang; every time it was so tiring, could it really come out faster?

This time it did indeed come out very quickly; well, the box office did.

Cao Yang only got a rough understanding, couldn't help but reveal a smile, patted Zhang Jingchu’s head, and subsequently became even more interested.

*Rush Hour 3* had an opening day box office of 18 million dollars; its word-of-mouth could only be described as passable, not enough to collapse.

According to this trend, it was expected to hit 50 million dollars over the three-day weekend.

However, considering it was released in 3,778 theaters in North America, this result, as a sequel, could only be described as barely satisfactory.

Forecasting agencies had already lowered their projections for the North American box office of *Rush Hour 3*.

*The Fault in Our Stars* exceeded everyone’s expectations.

A low-budget artistic film, with no big stars, managed to get 15.2 million dollars at the box office while being released in a thousand fewer theaters than *Rush Hour 3*.

This made Columbia incredibly happy; Tom Rothman even personally called Cao Yang to say that the company had already adopted a contingency plan and would increase the number of theaters tomorrow.

When Zhang Jingchu first learned that *Rush Hour 3* had 18 million dollars in box office, she was quite excited.

For New Line and Cheng Long, an 18 million dollar opening day box office could only be described as average, or even poor, considering the film’s 140 million dollar investment.

But for Zhang Jingchu, 18 million dollars on the first day, converted at the real-time exchange rate of around 7.6, was nearly 140 million RMB.

This was 140 million RMB, a single day’s box office! How many films in China could reach this box office by the time they finished their run? Extremely rare!

A moment ago she was still thinking, as expected, Big Brother Cheng’s movies are truly awesome.

Zhang Jingchu also had a dream of becoming a Hollywood star like International Zhang or Fatty Bing; otherwise, wouldn't the nickname "Little Zhang Ziyi" be called in vain?

Of course, excitement aside, Zhang Jingchu still took the opportunity to ask about the box office of *The Fault in Our Stars*.

Cao Yang smiled and shook his head, saying, "It’s not as high as the box office of the film you’re in; it’s a bit behind."

Zhang Jingchu hurriedly smiled and comforted him, "It doesn't matter; *Rush Hour 3* had an investment of 140 million dollars. According to Hollywood, it’s a super-large-scale commercial film.

*The Fault in Our Stars* is an artistic film with such a small investment; it’s very normal that it doesn't have a higher box office than *Rush Hour*. I believe that when your *Pirates of the Caribbean* is released, it will definitely surpass *Rush Hour*."

After saying this, perhaps fearing that Cao Yang would be disappointed with the box office of *The Fault in Our Stars*, Zhang Jingchu changed the subject and asked, "Is the post-production of your *Pirates of the Caribbean* finished?"

"Almost, just these next two days."

Cao Yang’s words tugged at Zhang Jingchu’s heartstrings; it wasn't that she had any deep reflections, but that in two more days, she would have to return to her country.

The resources promised by Big Brother Cheng shouldn't be a problem, but after her efforts over these past few days, fighting both above and below, she still hadn't obtained any substantial benefits from Cao Yang, which made her somewhat disappointed.

However, as a "gift," one shouldn't have held unrealistic hopes in the first place; if Cao Yang could give her some resources, that would count as an unexpected joy.

Could there be an unexpected joy?

Zhang Jingchu looked at the young and handsome big director in front of her; let’s try working hard a bit more.

August is considered the tail end of the North American summer movie season; its popularity certainly cannot compare to July, but it is still much better than other times.

Saturday, in particular, is the day of the week with the highest number of moviegoers.

"Rush Hour 3" took in another 18.2 million dollars at the box office, a slight increase over yesterday, which is about the same as no growth at all.

For New Line and Cheng Long, although it was an increase, they could not feel happy; hidden beneath this slight growth was the weakness of the box office and a bleak outlook.

The box office for "The Fault in Our Stars" also grew, reaching 17.8 million dollars today, an increase of 2.6 million dollars over yesterday's 15.2 million.

Both films were working hard to grow their box office, and Zhang Jingchu was working hard too.

The hard work was finished.

She was panting for breath, drenched in fragrant sweat.

However, no matter how exhausting or tiring it was, she still asked about the box office results.

Only a global box office hit could bring more exposure and influence.

Haven't you seen how Fatty Bing, thanks to "Inception," has a popularity in Hollywood that almost suppresses International Zhang, who has been struggling for many years, to the point where her asking price is even a little higher than International Zhang's.

Zhang Jingchu also wanted such an opportunity.

"The box office for 'Rush Hour 3' grew, and it got 18.2 million today."

Cao Yang said.

Zhang Jingchu became excited in an instant; that was another 140 million RMB in box office, Big Brother Cheng's box office appeal in the old US is still very high.

Of course, she didn't forget to ask about the box office for "The Fault in Our Stars"; compared to Big Brother Cheng, Cao Yang is the greatest director at promoting actresses.

It's a pity, he is young, handsome, and famous, but she hadn't been able to get an opportunity before.

Even though she has the opportunity now, it isn't the kind between a man and a woman, but rather being sent over as a "gift"... that is a huge gap.

Better to keep working hard and see if she can get some "hardship pay."

"It grew a bit, but it's still lower than the box office of the movie you starred in."

Cao Yang said with a smile.

Zhang Jingchu originally wanted to find some words to comfort him, but forget it, better to use practical actions; that is more effective than anything and seems more sincere.

Sunday was the third day of release for "Rush Hour 3" and "The Fault in Our Stars."

According to common sense, the box office for this day should be a bit lower than Saturday, and on par with or slightly higher than Friday.

However, the box office for "Rush Hour 3" dropped a bit today, even lower than Friday's box office, at only 14.2 million.

"The Fault in Our Stars," however, performed strongly, partly due to more theaters showing it, and it achieved a great result of 18.6 million in box office.

The North American weekend box office chart was freshly released, and it stunned everyone.

"Rush Hour 3" took in 50.4 million dollars in its first three-day weekend; although this result was below expectations, it was still not bad for the tail end of the summer season.

"The Fault in Our Stars" had excellent word-of-mouth and a large-scale increase in theaters; reflected in the box office, it took 51.6 million in its first weekend, staging a comeback against "Rush Hour 3" at the last moment.

She was going back tomorrow, so Zhang Jingchu went all out, continuing to work hard.

Until she was panting for breath.

"The weekend box office chart should be out, right?"

She rested for a moment and took the opportunity to ask.

Cao Yang nodded, also taking this opportunity to relax, and said with a smile: "It's out. 'Rush Hour 3' got 50.4 million dollars at the box office, suppressing Ma Te Da Meng's 'The Bourne Ultimatum' to rank second."

"Wow."

Zhang Jingchu exclaimed, then beamed with joy.

Although "The Bourne Ultimatum" was in its second week of release, being able to suppress this globally famous spy thriller on the weekend box office chart was still very worth celebrating.

"Which film is at the top of the weekend box office chart?"

While happy, Zhang Jingchu asked with some curiosity.

"'The Fault in Our Stars' barely ranks at the top; well, it's just a little bit more than 'Rush Hour 3.' 'Rush Hour 3' is already very impressive..."

Zhang Jingchu opened her cherry-red mouth in shock, her two small dimples particularly obvious.

(End of chapter)