chapter 18
“Her acting is superb, and this script is something I’ve studied extensively. She didn’t just perform well—she truly became the soul of the character.”
Liu Ming turned his gaze to Su Jin. The first time he saw Su Jin was on set, and initially, he had mentally dismissed this actress. However, her acting skills genuinely astonished him.
“Well, since you put it that way, alright then.”
Time flew by day and night, and two months passed in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, on August 25th, the films “Peerless Beauty” and “Eternal Song” premiered as scheduled during the same period, with large posters hanging at the entrances of major cinemas.
The styles were distinct. In “Peerless Beauty,” Liu Xin’s youthful attire caught everyone’s eye, while Su Jinfan, featured on the poster of “Eternal Song,” portrayed a woman holding a phoenix seal, her profile exuding an eerie elegance that sent chills down the spine.
The posters were exquisitely designed. Moreover, these two films had already been widely covered by major media outlets, and their target audience was primarily young people. In the film industry, the simultaneous release of two movies with similar themes, starring artists from the same company, was unprecedented and truly exhilarating.
And on the very first day of their release, they caused a massive stir in the entertainment industry!
Since “Peerless Beauty” was directed by an internationally renowned filmmaker, more people chose to watch this movie on its opening day.
The first scene of the film depicts a young girl played by Liu Xin being forced to enter the palace. The post-production effects were stunning, but everyone present couldn’t help but cringe at Liu Xin’s attempt to play a much younger character. The role was supposed to be a 13- or 14-year-old girl, but Liu Xin clearly didn’t fit the part.
The scene then shifts several years later, with Liu Xin’s character Xing Yu now a concubine in the palace. She is seen earnestly writing something in a notebook, while fragmented sunlight streams through the window, creating a powerful visual impact.
“Honestly, I didn’t quite understand that earlier part.”
Seeing such a bizarre and disjointed plot, some audience members had already begun whispering discussions with their neighbors.
“So how did Xing Yu suddenly become a concubine out of nowhere?”
“This drama… is so boring.”
No one knew how much time had passed, but the overly convoluted movie finally came to an end. The moment the first screening concluded, the official Weibo was already flooded with comments.
[Can only laugh at Liu Xin’s acting skills.]
A netizen with the username “Rarely Serious” seized the top comment on the official Weibo within half an hour after the movie screening.
[Actually… the production isn’t bad, but the movie is really quite boring.]
[It’s actually not bad, with top-notch special effects and production, but it just feels a bit off somehow.]
……
By the next morning, after several screenings had already taken place, the official Weibo account of “Peerless Beauty” and the related actors had amassed tens of thousands of comments, most of which expressed disappointment with Liu Xin’s acting and the final product of the film.
Meanwhile, Su Jinfan, who had just woken up, remained completely unfazed. After all, regardless of how bad the reputation of “Peerless Beauty” was, the extensive promotion had at least successfully drawn attention to it.
Someone knocked on the door. Su Jinfan opened it to find Shen Bai waving two movie tickets in his hand. “Guess what I bought?”
“Tickets for ‘The Long Song’?”
Su Jinfan looked at the words on the movie ticket and raised her head in confusion, staring at Shen Bai.
“This is our Xiaofan’s first period drama, of course we have to go see it. I bought tickets for this afternoon—get ready and we’ll go.”
Shen Bai lounged casually on the sofa. It was the second day of the movie’s release, and to be honest, the box office performance was poor—not even a third of what “Peerless Beauty” had achieved. At the time, she was also entangled in various rumors, so she had no expectations for this film.
However, it wasn’t until she went to the cinema that she realized how quickly the world could change. The movie “Chang Ge” had been promoted countless times overnight on the giant LED screens in theaters. And if you took a closer look at Weibo, it was filled with nothing but praise for the film.
At the entrance of the cinema, a large crowd stood near the poster for the movie “Chang Ge,” discussing both “Chang Ge” and “Peerless Beauty.” Some even openly stated that “Chang Ge” was more maturely crafted than Director Fang Hua’s work.
“Is it really that good?”
Several people, drawn by online reviews, had come to the city center to watch the film. After seeing the trailer, they couldn’t help but ask.
“Absolutely! I originally planned to watch ‘Peerless Beauty’ yesterday, but the timing didn’t work out, so I ended up seeing ‘Chang Ge’ instead. Let me tell you, it was absolutely amazing!”
Others also responded without revealing any plot details.
“Ahhh! I need to take a photo with the poster to prove I was here.”
The cinema lobby was packed, and even the staff found it strange. Despite “Peerless Beauty” having fifteen screenings throughout the day—morning, noon, and afternoon—while “Chang Ge” only had four, people were still willing to wait in the theater for this film rather than watch another major production of the same genre?
“Sorry, there are no available seats for ‘Chang Ge’ today. You can check the official website for future screening schedules.”
The receptionist wiped the cold sweat from her forehead as she addressed the crowd.
“Then tell me, when can we watch it? We came all this way for nothing.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the cinema grew even noisier. It wasn’t until they explained the situation—emphasizing that it would boost “Chang Ge’s” box office—that the disappointed crowd finally dispersed.
Meanwhile, the topic surged again on Weibo. Many claimed to have spotted someone wearing a mask at a downtown cinema in City A, suspected to be Su Jin. This revelation prompted even more people to rush to the cinema—if they couldn’t see the movie, they were determined to see the real person!
“Xiao Fan, it seems we’re destined not to watch this movie.”
Shen Bai waved apologetically, then grabbed Su Jinfan’s hand and ran outside with her.
“Xiao Bai… what are you doing?”
As Su Jinfan spoke, the people around finally noticed her presence in the crowd. Immediately, a quick-witted young man rushed up to Su Jinfan.
“Ah! I’m your fan, could you give me an autograph?”
Immediately, everyone else also reacted and quickly chased after them, while even more people who hadn’t grasped the situation joined in just for the fun of it.
“I suddenly feel like being the center of attention is exhausting too.”
Shen Bai, pulling Su Jin along as they ran, said jokingly.
“You know better than anyone, Shen Bai, that my comeback wasn’t achieved by my efforts alone.” Su Jinfan panted heavily.
Su Jinfan raised her head to look at Shen Bai. The previous song recordings and now the LED loops playing in numerous cinemas—these weren’t things an ordinary person could casually arrange. Just as Li Mochen had said, Shen Bai was no ordinary man.
The two of them ran breathlessly to the cinema entrance when suddenly Shen Bai pulled Su Jinfan into his arms. With a darkened expression, he said, “Xiao Fan, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
Su Jinfan was startled. She glanced at Shen Bai, who seemed to have something on his mind. But what was she supposed to do in this situation? Her mind went completely blank.
“Did Li Mochen tell you? Do you believe it?” Shen Bai quieted down, glanced at Su Jinfan, and asked.
“If I said I don’t, do you think that’s possible?” Su Jinfan suppressed her smile and replied with a faint grin.
Shen Bai shook his head: “Impossible.”
“So you already knew the answer, yet you came to ask me anyway.” Su Jinfan finally voiced the doubt buried in her heart. “Shen Bai, actually, this movie, including all the promotional efforts, even that ‘Da Bai’ who regularly interacts with me on Weibo—it’s all you, isn’t it?”
“At least I’m still the same Shen Bai standing before you.”
Su Jinfan pressed her lips together without saying a word.
“Su Jinfan, do you remember? Back in high school, I promised to protect you for a lifetime.” Shen Bai gazed at Su Jinfan, his words leaving no doubt about his affection for her.
“I just don’t want to be deceived. These past few days, I’ve been pretending not to know, waiting for you to tell me.” Su Jinfan slightly lowered her voice.
“Su Jin Fan, after all these years, why haven’t you forgotten that Li Mo Chen?” Shen Bai laughed instead of getting angry.
Su Jin Fan suddenly fell silent, but no matter what, she didn’t want her little vulnerability to be exposed and discussed!
“Shen Bai, I told you, I haven’t.” Su Jin Fan wanted to avoid this topic.
“I’ll see for myself whether you have or not.” Suddenly, his smile vanished, replaced by a deep chill in his eyes. He abruptly closed in on Su Jin Fan and began kissing her fiercely. Su Jin Fan could only struggle as her lips were sealed by his thin ones.
Su Jinfan remained stubborn, struggling desperately until she finally broke free and shouted, “Shen Bai, what do you want me to do?”
The next second, Su Jinfan turned away. Shen Bai didn’t stop her from leaving, only responding, “Su Jinfan, think carefully—have you ever had feelings for me? I’ll wait for you.”
……
[Director Fang Hua: Hello, dear movie fans. The script for this film was personally written by me. I don’t understand why another movie released around the same time has 80% similar content. I’ve already notified my lawyer. Thank you.]
On the fourth day, Director Fang Hua posted this Weibo message, directly implying that a certain movie had plagiarized his work—and the film caught in the crossfire was none other than “Chang Ge.”
During these few days, “Chang Ge” not only achieved the highest box office among films released in the same period, but also came close to the 150 million box office of “Peerless Beauty.” Director Fang Hua could no longer sit still—he couldn’t just watch his reputation be ruined by such a small-scale production.
“Peerless Beauty” was also the film that Ding Sheng Company had invested the most in. Although both films belonged to the same company and ostensibly shouldn’t interfere with each other, Su Jinfan pondered for a moment and quickly understood the reason.
Director Fang Hua was clearly trying to stir up new discussions to push his film to new heights while also warning “Chang Ge” not to go too far—a move that killed multiple birds with one stone.
However, what happened in the following days was something even Su Jinfan hadn’t anticipated.