CH 13

The person that Liang Yu sent was a beautiful woman. Zhang Man didn’t know her name. All she knew was that everyone called her Chen jie.

Zhang Man actually wasn’t very happy about Yang Jierui’s insistence on giving payment. The reason she didn’t ask for any money before was because she was hoping that they’d be able to get some resources from Liang Yu. Then, Xu Jingzhe might have an opportunity to get on the big screen. Yet, here he was, insisting on settling accounts. It put her in an embarrassing position, and it made Xu Jingzhe look bad. 

Xu Jingzhe, on the other hand, didn’t really care. He even comforted Zhang Man. “Just treat it like an end-of-year bonus. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Zhang Man unhappily replied, “Do I look like I need this kind of spare change?”

Chen jie sent the money over very quickly. However, Xu Jingzhe had guessed wrong this time around. The amount of money sent over was almost a little terrifying. It almost caught up with a single advertising fee for Xu Jingzhe.

Although their opportunity at the big screen was gone, they still made a lot of money. Zhang Man was in a glowing mood for quite a bit. 

She gave Zhu Xiaoxiao a huge bonus. Zhu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy when she held it in her hands.

According to the logic of shippers, this bonus could be considered as wedding money from the groom. She uneasily accepted it. She was afraid that, at any second, the bride was going to say that it was just an acting fee.

Since the amount of money was so large, Xu Jingzhe’s professional spirit was raised to another level. There were still three more promotional events before the new year. He started actively preparing for them, but two of the events went by without any notice from Liang Yu.

Xu Jingzhe, who had received the money yet didn’t do anything, couldn’t help feeling uneasy in his heart. Finally, he took the initiative to ask about it straight up.

Liang Yu was going through the list of approved questions for the last promotional event. These were the questions that his team had sent to him after much review. The early-stage promotions were particularly important for a holiday film. The film’s box office performance didn’t just depend on the quality of the film itself. Rather, a great deal of its performance depended on publicity and marketing.

Xu Jingzhe’s villa was a three-floor building. The two bedrooms were on the third floor. The wardrobe and study were on the second floor. The study was divided into two rooms. Liang Yu wanted the inner room. However, he would sometimes handle unimportant matters in the outer room all the same.

Although it didn’t matter much, Xu Jingzhe still knocked on the door.

Liang Yu looked up from the paper he was reading. Perhaps he simply wasn’t expecting Xu Jingzhe, but, when he saw him, a strange expression seemed to ripple across his face. However, he soon returned to normal. 

“What’s the matter?” Liang Yu asked.

Xu Jingzhe: “Isn’t tomorrow the last promotional event? Do you need me to show up?”

Liang Yu: “Why would you need to show up? We didn’t prepare any questions for you.”

Xu Jingzhe offered his services. “It’s fine. I can be an enthusiastic audience member and help you hype up the movie. Or I can pretend to be a fan of yours. You can arrange it as you like.” 

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Liang Yu was speechless for a moment. It was obvious that he wasn’t too happy. “I’m the one giving you the money, so what’re you being so wishy-washy for?”

Xu Jingzhe had no choice but to say, “I didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted to help out a friend.” 

He truly, honestly felt this way. Actually, Liang Yu could tell that Xu Jingzhe was telling the truth as well. In the end, he couldn’t win against the man and irritably said, “Do whatever you want. Tell Xiao Luo to arrange a spot for you offstage. Just watch from there.”

Xu Jingzhe: “You really aren’t going to cue me? I’m fine if you do. I’m pretty good on the spot.”

“Cue you for what?” Liang Yu replied in a snarky manner. “What are they going to cue you for if I’m there? Are you going to read a poem too?”

Xu Jingzhe: “…” 

When Yang Jierui found out that Xu Jingzhe was going to be there, his attitude was the complete opposite of Liang Yu. He wanted nothing more than to let everyone know who was going to be coming. Unfortunately, Liang Yu ruthlessly rejected this idea.

Of course, Xiao Luo didn’t listen to him either. She did as Liang Yu requested and placed Xu Jingzhe in a very inconspicuous spot in the middle row.

“Make sure you’re wearing your mask.” Xiao Luo pulled something out of her bag. “A hat too. And sunglasses.”

Xu Jingzhe: “…” 

Xiao Luo: “Be careful. It’s not just reporters that you need to be worried about. Fans these days have sharp eyes.”

Xu Jingzhe was a little embarrassed. “It’s okay if I’m found out. I don’t mind showing my face or anything. We’ll also be able to promote the movie along the way.”

Xiao Luo said bitterly, “You might not mind, but Liang Yu minds. We didn’t prepare a list of questions for you. Who knows what kind of weird questions they’ll ask? It would be bad if they ended up offending you.”

Xu Jingzhe didn’t think he would be offended. Besides, he did his hair and makeup today. He really didn’t want to mess up his hairstyle by wearing a hat. 

Xiao Luo knew that he cared a lot about his image, so she considerately allowed him to wear a visor.

“Mr. Xu, don’t worry.” Xiao Luo comforted him. “Even if you cover up half of your face, you’re still the most beautiful one here. Except for Liang Yu.”

Xu Jingzhe: “…Thank you.”

Xu Jingzhe was pretty familiar with the process for promotional events. The big screen would first show a preview. Once they hyped up the atmosphere a bit, the promotional poster would be revealed. The stage was surrounded by fans who were ready to record at any moment. Liang Yu’s face was at the very front, impeccable as always. He was truly loved by the camera. Every single angle looked like it was measured out by a ruler. When the light hit his face, it looked like a filter. 

This wasn’t the first time that Xu Jingzhe had seen Liang Yu on the big screen. However, it was different from before. The process of getting to know each other wasn’t a simple sunny day nor a cloudy starless night. There were too many personal emotions involved. When Xu Jingzhe watched his movies now, he found that he couldn’t bring himself to be as objective and uninvolved as before.

To be more specific, he was like those brain-dead fans who would indiscriminately give out five-star ratings on Douban.

It was probably because he was too focused on the screen, but Xiao Luo looked over at him several times. She wanted to remind Xu Jingzhe to be careful. There were already cameras pointing in this direction.

The leading actors arrived from backstage one after another. Fans started cheering. Staff members brought chairs onstage. Liang Yu sat in the middle with the director. Mai Jiu and Jiang Yueming sat on either side of them. 

The host started kicking things into gear. Liang Yu was the biggest celebrity here, so most of the questions were aimed at him. Although, Liang Yu seemed a bit more like the host at this moment. Everyone was chatting. The atmosphere was very relaxed.

Jiang Yueming was a newcomer. She was also the only actress. There were quite a few questions for her.

“Who gave you the most pressure onset?” The host asked her jokingly. “The director? Or Mr. Liang?”

Jiang Yueming glanced at Liang Yu. The director egged her on. “Go ahead and say it. He won’t be able to scold you now.” 

There was laughter from below. Jiang Yueming’s face flushed. Still, she replied honestly, “Mr. Liang. Acting with him was so nerve-wracking.”

Liang Yu laughed. He asked, half-jokingly, “Am I really that scary?”

Jiang Yueming: “No, you’re just too good of an actor. It was so real. I felt a lot of pressure to match up to you.”

Mai Jiu, who was standing to the side, completely understood. “I totally get you. I cried the first time I acted with Liang Yu. It was even photographed by the media. I wasn’t able to keep up with him at all.” 

Host: “Mr. Liang, have you ever met someone who was particularly good at acting? Someone whose acting skills were on par with yours?”

It wasn’t clear whether it was intentional or not, but Liang Yu swept his eyes across the crowd. He paused for a few seconds. Then, he calmly replied, “Yes.” He added, “You guys know who it is, right?”

It was such an obvious hint. The audience exploded. The host wasn’t afraid of making a big deal of things. He exaggeratedly shouted, “Wow!” Then, he said, “I actually don’t know who it is! You’re going to have to say it!”

Liang Yu refused to say any more. He decided to play dumb. “Ask about something else.” 

He got the director involved as well. “Why don’t you ask Director Zhang some questions?”

Director Zhang, however, sabotaged his attempt. “I want to know too. Don’t change the subject.”

Unfortunately, the more they tried to convince him, the more he refused. Some reporters even shouted, “Mr. Liang, don’t be embarrassed! Mr. Xu didn’t show up again!”

Xu Jingzhe: “…” 

Liang Yu didn’t want to spend too much time on this topic and risk exposing Xu Jingzhe. Due to his tough attitude, he managed to get past this segment of the event.

While they were receiving questions from fans, there was a surprise event. The organizers were going to call out certain seat numbers. Xiao Luo was completely stunned. She subconsciously glanced at the back of Xu Jingzhe’s chair. There was only one word that could describe her expression. “Fuck.”

“Let’s call on someone in the middle row.” The host was in high spirits. “We’ve called on too many fans from the front row. We’ve got to give the fans in the back a chance. In that case, one, two, let’s go with number three.” The host was very happy to see that it was a male fan. “Do you have any questions for Liang Yu?”

When the microphone was handed to Xu Jingzhe, Xiao Luo subconsciously wanted to stand up and stop it. However, she realized that doing so would be way too obvious. She had no choice but to silently shrink herself into her seat and hope that the camera doesn’t look over here. 

Liang Yu had asked her to arrange a seat for Xu Jingzhe, but he hadn’t really cared about where it was. When Xu Jingzhe stood up, Liang Yu finally realized that something was wrong. He frowned indiscernibly. His eyes were fixed on the middle of the crowd.

Xu Jingzhe took off his mask. There seemed to be some sort of commotion in the crowd. Several photographers pointed their cameras towards him. However, since he put his hat on before getting up, most of his face was hidden. They couldn’t get a clear picture.

He cleared his throat, but he changed his voice when he spoke. It was almost impossible to tell that it was him. “I really like Liang Yu’s movies a lot. I hope that this movie does well in theaters.”

The host also felt that something was off, but his voice was way too different. No one suspected that it was Xu Jingzhe. 

He had to continue with the event. “In that case, how many tickets do you plan on donating?”

Xu Jingzhe thought for a while. Then, he answered rather earnestly, “I want to support Liang Yu, so I’ll donate ten theaters’ worth of tickets.”

Host: “…?”

The author has something to say: 

Host: “Is this that so-called nouveau riche fan?”