CH 70

The reporters and fans who had been invited to the event were shocked beyond relief, and they could only react after some time.

The methods of marketing companies were getting more and more tricky; they must be really patient to have bided their time, only release such an important piece of news now. It was also intriguing to find out which celebrity was able to hold it in for so long, and not use this piece of news as a means of promoting themselves.

In reality, the organizer was already seething mad internally. What was the production team doing? They should have shared such information long ago, so that they could also rely on Ning Xi’s fame to stir up more hype. For such a glaring mistake to happen, it was a wonder if this was the producers’ intention, or there were other reasons involved.

As much as he was unhappy with the producers, but he knew that he could not afford to offend them. The saliva from fans could already drown him to death. Hence, he forced a smile, and tried to observe the expression of the various people.

“Jiang Yun, we’re really grateful to you. If not for you, we probably wouldn’t have been able to enter.” A young lady wearing a blue blazer looked at Jiang Yun. “You’re awesome. I heard that it’s incredibly hard to get entrance tickets this time, and even the daughter from a wealthy family tried and still failed.”

“How is she the daughter from a wealthy family?” Jiang Yun sniggered. “She can’t even be considered as part of the social circle of the descendants from prestigious families.”

When a few young ladies heard Jiang Yun’s words, their faces were filled with envy. They were all fans of Hart. Even though they weren’t familiar with one another, from Jiang Yun’s dressing and appearance, it was clear that she was a rich and widely-connected young mistress from a wealthy family.

“Did you hear what the host said? There’s actually a Chinese actress in the movie?” One of the younger ladies said excitedly, “Ahhhhh! I wonder which actress could actually achieve this.”

“What’s so great about that? She’s probably just an extra inside with barely two lines, or even worse, with no lines at all.” Jiang Yun said scathingly, “Aren’t all the domestic celebrities like this?”

Awkwardness flashed across the faces of a few ladies. Even though they were fans of Hart, they were also fans of a few local celebrities, yet Jiang Yun was obviously snubbing them.

“If you despise celebrities, then why are you here?” A young lady sitting in front of them suddenly turned around and glared at Jiang Yun in disdain. “It’s not like local celebrities are relying on your family for sustenance, why must you be so dismissive of them?”

“What did you say?” Jiang Yun’s face was as ugly as a toad, and her chest heaved up and down. If the staff members didn’t signal for the audience to settle down as the event was about to begin, she would likely have started a fight with the other party.

At this moment, some reporters at the event had already spread the news of a Chinese actress playing role in The Unrivalled 2. Netizens who read the news were mostly of the impression that it was fake news used for promotional purposes, while others simply suspected the veracity of the information.

While Chinese productions were on the rise, their progress in the international market wasn’t smooth. Nowadays, foreign film investors would intentionally arrange for a couple of Chinese extras in order to gain the favour of Chinese viewers, or include a few lines complimenting China in their scripts. The Chinese fans couldn’t be more familiar with their methods.

Hence, with regard to news of Chinese participation in The Unrivalled 2, most people chose to remain observers.

At the press conference, seeing that the reporters’ curiosity had been piqued and the backstage was ready, the hosts laughed and said, “Now, let us welcome the director and main cast of The Unrivalled 2.”

When Director Joseph appeared onstage, the fans clapped politely. Even though they were somewhat welcoming, their response wasn't enthusiastic, since they were eagerly anticipating the appearance of Hart and Juliana.

True enough, when Juliana appeared, the entire venue burst into thunderous applause, and the entire venue livened up.

After allowing some simple interactions between Juliana and the fans, the hosts invited Hart out. Immediately, the shrieks from the female fans almost brought the roof down.

The response from the fans made the crew and promotions team for The Unrivalled 2 very happy. Even though they didn’t speak a common language, Hart and Juliana were very good at entertaining the fans, so the venue was hyped up.

The hosts then took the chance to introduce the two other leads, but since they weren’t as good looking as the male and female leads, the fans still focused their attention on the two main actors.

“Now, let us welcome the fifth lead, Ning Xi!” After the host said this, he looked at the expressions of the audience. True enough, there were countless astonished faces, making him feel exceptionally satisfied.

The reporters were truly dumbfounded. When the organisers said that a Chinese actress had participated in the movie, all sorts of names flashed past their minds, but they had never considered Ning Xi.

Ning Xi might be popular now, but domestically, she still wasn’t considered a top celebrity, what more be of the calibre to participate in an international production. Hence, this thought had never crossed their minds.

Yet, when they witnessed Ning Xi, who had dressed up for the occasion, walking out from backstage, as much as they didn’t dare to believe their eyes, this was the truth. It turned out that Ning Xi had, before anyone knew about it, walked onto the international stage.

The moment Jiang Yun saw Ning Xi appear, her expression darkened.

What was this woman doing here, and why did she seem to be close to Hart?

“Ning Xi looks really beautiful in the flesh, her skin’s really good!”

“Yes! Even the way she walks is so graceful. Why is it that a woman like myself would stare at another woman?”

“I’m so envious of Boss Chang. He could actually get himself such a beautiful girlfriend. If I look at Goddess Ning’s face anymore, I’m going to become a lesbian!”

Listening to the compliments of Ning Xi around her, Jiang Yun’s mood worsened, and she almost couldn’t maintain her composure. If she had known that this woman would be present today, she would never have attended this event no matter what.

Onstage, Ning Xi flaunted her personality, as she interacted naturally with the fans. Many male fans acted like they were brainwashed, as they looked at Ning Xi with dazzled looks.

“Ning Xi, can you tell us your thoughts about working with Director Joseph?” The host noticed that Ning Xi seemed to be on very good terms with the various leads. Their interactions did not appear staged, so he tried to bring the attention to Ning Xi.

“Director is someone who’s very approachable and personable.” Ning Xi said this, then paused and looked at Joseph. “Of course, if he didn’t miss the steamboat I make, that would be better.”

Joseph didn’t understand what Ning Xi and the host were talking about, but after the interpreter translated the conversation to him, he could only lament, “That’s not our fault. Ning, the steamboat that you make is just too delicious!”

The host had a good command of English, so he understood Joseph’s words. “The director said, it’s all Ning Xi’s fault for making her steamboat too delicious. Looks like our Ning Xi used Chinese food to conquer the director!”

Immediately, loud applause filled the venue. Everyone was obviously expressing their appreciation to Ning Xi, who had used good food to conquer the taste buds of the foreigners.

“It seems like Ning Xi has many fans in China.” Juliana whispered to Hart. I feel like their eyes are glowing when they look at Ning.”

Hart looked down from the stage and smiled like the first spring’s blossom, “I have always known that she’s a wonderful woman.”

At this moment, the host was already asking about Ning Xi’s thoughts on the cast when they acted together.

“It’s pretty good.” Ning Xi walked over to Hart and Juliana, then patted Hart’s shoulder, “Everyone might think that Hart’s just so handsome, but he’s also the most lively on set. Every time we have steamboat, he’s also the one who eats the most.”

The audience burst out in laughter. Initially, they suspected that Ning Xi was just pretending that she was close to the cast, but Ning Xi’s words had refuted that.

If Ning Xi weren’t on such good terms with them, she would definitely not dare to say such things in their face, as it would be too easy to expose her if it was untrue.

As the only Chinese actor in the cast, Ning Xi not only spoke about topics that the fans were interested in, she also led the crew to interact with the fans, making the cast feel approachable.

Even the host at the side felt that his role seemed to have been taken away from him.

With Ning Xi acting as an intermediary, the foreign actors soon relaxed, and weren’t as uptight as other foreign casts when they attended such events. This made the fans feel like they had gained an unforgettable experience attending this event.

“The press conference is about to end. If our reporter friends have any other questions, please raise them quickly. We have arranged for thirty minutes of interview time.”

After waiting for so long, it was finally time for interviews. Everyone was getting excited.

“Ning Xi, why didn’t you tell anyone that you had participated in The Unrivalled 2?”

“I filmed this movie before I returned to China. Hence, I didn’t even know when the movie was going to premiere.” Ning Xi said in a somewhat embarrassed tone. “I only received news two days ago that the production crew was coming here for promotions.”

Reporters: Sounds reasonable, but why does she want to be so low profile? If other celebrities had a role in such a huge production, they would have used it to market themselves, and they would want the entire country to know that they had entered the international stage!

Ning Xi did not care about the media’s thoughts. She simply showed that she was low profile and very hardworking. Not only was the press impressed by her, the fans were also very much attracted to her.

Juliana, Hart and Ning Xi were surrounded by the reporters. While the reporters interviewed the foreign actors, Ning Xi also helped to translate, and her fluent language impressed the press.

“My favourite actor in the crew?” Juliana’s eyes widened, as she looked at the reporter asking the question. “Goodness, is there a need to ask this question? Of course my favourite is Ning.” She hugged Ning Xi, and even moved her face closer to her. “It’s really great to be with Ning.”

The moment the two beauty’s faces were in the same frame, flashlights from the cameras lighted from everywhere, almost blinding the audience.

============

When Chang Shi Gui arrived at the second floor of the event venue, he was welcomed by the scene of Ning Xi in the embrace of a blond beauty. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly recalled what Ning Xi’s manager had said when he had met Ning Xi and her manager outside a hotel last year.

“Boss?” Xu Zhou was awestruck by the attractive picture of the two beauties before him, but after he turned and saw his boss’ darkened expression, he immediately regained his composure.

Chang Shi Gui withdrew his gaze and said solemnly, “There are too many reporters here. Let’s go to the carpark.”

“Alright.” Xu Zhou immediately followed. Before he left, he even looked at the crowd once more.

“Where are you going?” One of the girls saw Jiang Yun preparing to leave, so she asked with concern.

“I’m going home.” Jiang Yun pushed the girl’s hand away impatiently, and left in a hurry.