Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 229 Prelude to Going Abroad
At Jingyuan's home, the night was already deep.

Song Ci stood at the study door, looking at Miss Liu who was still sitting in front of the computer surfing the internet, and gently urged her:
"It's already past 1 a.m., you should get some rest, Shishi."

The premiere ended at nearly 10 p.m., and the two had a small get-together with Wang Sicong, went to the second screening, had a late-night snack, and didn't get home until almost midnight.

Liu Shishi stared at the computer screen, dragging the mouse with her hand, and replied without turning her head, "Go to sleep right away. I'm reading reviews of 'First Love' on Weibo. You should rest first, darling."

Song Ci shook his head helplessly, knowing that his girlfriend's mind was entirely on the movie, and turned to go back to the bedroom first.

After a while, Liu Shishi finally stretched and loosened her stiff shoulders and neck from sitting for so long. She glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the screen and exclaimed, "Oh my, it's already past 2 o'clock!"

I quickly shut down the computer and tiptoed towards the bedroom. The bedroom door was ajar, and a dim, yellowish light shone through the crack.

Liu Shishi quietly pushed open the door and saw a bedside lamp emitting a soft glow. Song Ci was still awake and was half-lying on the bedside, engrossed in reading.

"You're still awake, Yi Yi?"

Song Ci seemed so engrossed in reading that he didn't speak until after a long while, his calm tone carrying a unique sentiment.

"I've been waiting for you."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi blushed slightly and said softly, "You wouldn't be thinking of doing something bad, would you? But I'm not available today, so we can only sleep together."

"What were you thinking? I was just waiting for you, and before I knew it, more than an hour had passed."

"Oh." Liu Shishi playfully stuck out her little tongue, sat down on the edge of the bed next to Song Ci, and casually glanced at the book in his hand, "The New Book of Tang!"

After saying that, Aunt Liu turned to the side and lay in her boyfriend's arms like a lazy cat, asking curiously, "Why are you suddenly reading history books again?"

Song Ci wrapped one arm around his girlfriend's slender waist: "I've been idle for long enough. I want to start writing a new book about the history of the Tang Dynasty, so I've been looking at Tang history lately. Let's go to sleep!"

Liu Shishi pressed her head against Mr. Song's chest, listening to his strong heartbeat: "I can't sleep!"

"Are you nervous about the film's box office?"

"A little! But I just saw on Weibo and Douban that the audience's reviews of 'First Love' are pretty good, so I'm quite looking forward to the box office."

Song Ci gently stroked Miss Liu's back, as if to comfort her: "Don't worry, I think reaching a small goal at the box office is no problem."

He also watched the movie, and it was of excellent quality. Moreover, youth films are not common in the domestic film industry these days, so this type of film is still quite novel for the audience.

With effective marketing and strong screening support, the box office performance shouldn't be too bad, and it has a good chance of reaching 100 million yuan.

"A small goal?"

"It's 1 million."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi's expression instantly turned strange, and she couldn't help but tease, "Darling! I suddenly realized that you're really good at showing off. A hundred million is just a small goal for you!"

After saying that, she reached out and cupped Mr. Song's handsome face, giving him a quick kiss on each cheek, and said with a grin, "But I just love how you subtly show off, it's so cool."

Song Ci pursed his lips. Miss Liu definitely didn't understand the origin of "small goal". He had just spoken carelessly and had stolen Lao Wang's classic scene.

"Okay, stop being so infatuated and get some rest. I'm going to America tomorrow afternoon."

"Oh right! How many days are you staying in the US this time, darling? It's a pity I don't have time because I'm promoting my movie, otherwise I would have gone to the US with you. I've never been to North America before."

Song Ci mentally planned his itinerary. He first needed to visit Riot Games in California to inspect the development progress of "League of Legends," as this was related to Tengda Group's future strategy in the gaming and esports market.

After that, I have to go to Wall Street to meet with Paulson to discuss short selling and other matters. These two things together will take at least a week.

"If things go smoothly, I'll return to Beiping on the 8th."

Liu Shishi nodded obediently: "Okay, I'll pick you up from the airport if I have time."

Song Ci reached for the lamp switch, yawned, and urged again, "Let's go to sleep!"

"Wait, one last thing!"

"What else?"

Liu Shishi leaned lightly against Song Ci, her arms wrapped around his neck. In the dim, ambiguous light, she stared intently at her boyfriend, her eyes seeming to hold a thousand words, yet she pursed her lips and remained silent, gazing at him quietly.

Song Ci stopped urging him and gazed at Miss Liu's pretty face with gentle eyes, patiently waiting.

The bedroom was quiet for a moment, with only the soft breaths of the two people mingling and intertwining.

After a long pause, Liu Shishi slowly spoke: "Darling, filming for 'Chinese Paladin 3' is about to wrap up, and Sister K promised us, the main actors."

After filming this movie, we'll treat everyone to a trip abroad around New Year's Day. Will you come with me? I'll give you an unforgettable birthday celebration overseas.

Song Ci hesitated for a moment. At this time of year, the group's affairs were always busy, and he was afraid that he would not be able to find the time. So he prepared to politely decline.

"Don't refuse me! Your birthday is very important!"

Liu Shishi reacted quickly, placing her slender finger on her boyfriend's lips. She had been planning for Mr. Song's birthday for a long time, but if the male lead didn't show up, wouldn't all her preparations be in vain?

Song Ci grasped the soft hand that was covering her lips, feeling the warmth of the small hand. Her ambition couldn't withstand Liu's gentle touch, and she finally gave in: "Alright! Where do you plan to go?"

Seeing that her boyfriend had relented, Liu Shishi smiled brightly, her beauty captivating: "There are three choices: the Egyptian pyramids, the Swiss Alps, and the Greek Aegean Sea! Whichever you choose, I'll talk to Sister K and we'll go there."

Song Ci pondered for a moment: "Egypt is out of the question, I can't stand the heat, and the security there isn't as good as in Europe. Switzerland and Greece are fine, whatever."

“Okay!” Liu Shishi nodded. Now that Mr. Song was accompanying her, she had to consider her boyfriend’s safety. The security conditions in Africa were indeed not as good as in EU countries, and the snow-capped mountains and the sea were more romantic than the pyramids.

"Any thing else?"

"Gone!"

"Can I turn off the lights and go to sleep now?"

"Why are you so sleepy? Can't you chat with me for a bit?"

"Sister, it's already 3:21 AM, it'll be dawn soon!"

"Okay, time to sleep!" Liu Shishi stopped being willful, lay down on her side, took Mr. Song's hand, and prepared to drift off to sleep. Time flies, and a week passed in the blink of an eye. In the blink of an eye, it was October 7th, the last day of the National Day holiday.

At this time, Liu Shishi, who had been busy promoting the movie "First Love" for several days, had returned to the "Chinese Paladin 3" crew in Hengdian.

At noon, the crew finished filming for the morning, and the lead actors took a short break before the crew started lunch.

Liu Shishi, dressed in an elegant blue flowing dress with wide sleeves, lay on a rocking chair looking at her phone, relaxed and content.

Hu Ge was peeling fruit beside him, serving the girls.

On the other side, Yang Mi, who had also rushed back from the Dream of the Red Chamber filming set, was chatting with Tang Yan.

"Yan Yan, are you really not coming to Switzerland with us? It's a rare opportunity for us to go abroad."

Tang Yan smiled wryly, "I can't help it, I just can't change my schedule. 'Storm Riders 2' is a big production starring Heavenly King Guo Fucheng, and I can't give up the opportunity to participate in this movie."

Although she also wanted to travel to Switzerland with her two best friends to enjoy the exotic scenery and relax, the opportunity to star in a big-budget film was more important to her career.

"Okay!" Yang Mi looked distressed. Liu Shishi was now somewhat wary of her. Without Tang Yan acting as a "lubricant" to mediate their relationship, the situation was a bit awkward when she was alone with Tangren's top female star.

She could understand Tang Yan's feelings. After all, big-budget productions in the industry are rare and precious opportunities to participate in are invaluable. No actor would give up such an opportunity for a trip.

However, Yang Mi then thought that this trip would be a good opportunity to coax Liu Shishi more, since she was the future boss's wife and they needed to maintain a good relationship.

"Mimi, have an apple." Hu Ge, having peeled the fruit, showered Yang Mi with affection.

"Thank you!" Yang Mi accepted the apple gracefully, then looked up at Tangren's top star with a fawning expression, her feelings quite complicated.

Hu Ge's feelings for her were all too obvious. During the filming period, the two spent every day together, and when they were acting and getting into character, they were full of affection for each other. Unconsciously, she also developed some feelings for Hu Ge.

But seeing that her best friend Liu Shishi had found a boyfriend who was as good as Song Ci, she felt a little resentful, always feeling that her man couldn't be too much worse than Song Ci.

Tang Yan, with her sharp eyes, covered her mouth and chuckled, teasingly saying, "Old Hu, you can't just have eyes for Mimi. We're all friends, you can't be too biased. What about me and Shishi?"

"I have them all, I'll go cut them right away." Hu Ge, his thoughts exposed, scratched his head, chuckled, and continued to work diligently.

Yang Mi gently shook her head, as if trying to shake all her troubles to the winds.

No one can control the future, and when feelings come, no one can control them. As for my relationship with Hu Ge, I'll just have to take it one step at a time.

So he took a big bite of the apple in his hand, stopped thinking about it, and turned to his sister to ask, "Shishi, how's the box office for your movie?"

Liu Shishi parted her lips slightly, about to answer, but out of the corner of her eye she caught Cai Yinong carrying several documents and walking hurriedly towards the rest shed. She quickly stood up and greeted him, "Sister K!"

Cai Yinong, with a mixture of eagerness and excitement, approached the group and exclaimed, "You're all here!"

"Sister K!" "President Cai!"

"Sister K, the box office figures for yesterday are out, right?" Liu Shishi's beautiful eyes shone brightly, her face full of anticipation.

She was busy filming this morning and hadn't had a chance to ask about the box office results of "First Love" yesterday.

Cai Yinong beamed with joy, waving the materials in his hand: "I came here to talk about this. Congratulations, Shishi, as of yesterday, the cumulative box office of 'First Love' has officially exceeded 4000 million."

"Wow, 4000 million in box office in six days, that's an amazing result."

"At this rate, the box office will surely break 100 million!"

Yang Mi and Tang Yan looked on with envy and exclaimed repeatedly.

Even Hu Ge, who was standing quietly to the side, couldn't help but glance at Liu Shishi a few more times. If the box office exceeded 100 million, her junior sister's career would take off.

Although it was expected, Liu Shishi couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. As long as the box office trend remained normal and there was no precipitous drop, she might become the leading actress in a movie worth over 100 million yuan.

Once you've proven your abilities on the big screen, your status in the industry will rise significantly, and you'll likely receive a flood of brand endorsements and high-quality scripts.

"Actually, 'First Love' could have performed even better. However, it was released during the same period as 'Painted Skin' and 'The Dark Knight,' and those two films were the biggest winners of the National Day holiday."

Cai Yinong looked regretful and handed a report to Yi Jie, saying, "I don't know what Tengda Culture was thinking, that they actually scheduled 'First Love' and 'Painted Skin' to be released during the National Day holiday."

Liu Shishi took the latest box office report and examined it carefully.

Let's leave aside "The Dark Knight" for now; it's a Hollywood "Batman" series blockbuster, and there's no comparison.

Among all the Chinese-language films, the most outstanding performance belongs to "Painted Skin". The film was released on September 26 and its box office exceeded 100 million yuan in 6 days.

Yesterday marked exactly ten days since its release, and the box office has already soared to 1.52 million yuan, a rapid increase that is astonishing.

"Director Teng told me before that the National Day holiday is currently the second most popular holiday period after the Spring Festival. People take advantage of the long holiday to go to the cinema, which can easily accommodate two or three blockbusters."

Moreover, from October to the Spring Festival, there are big movies to be released every month, and the competition is fierce, which is why Tengda Culture put both movies in the National Day holiday period.

No one expected "Painted Skin" to achieve such phenomenal box office success. However, I'm already quite satisfied with the results "First Love" has achieved.

Cai Yinong nodded, probably surmising even Tengda Culture with the unexpected box office success of "Painted Skin."

"Although the box office of 'First Love' is not bad at the moment, since there is hope of breaking 100 million, we still have to give it a shot. I will arrange for more press releases to promote it, and Tengda will also put in a lot of effort."

The eldest sister smiled sweetly: "Thank you, Sister K."

After discussing the box office, Cai Yinong said mysteriously, "I have some amazing news to share, Shishi, would you like to hear it?"

The eldest sister remained calm, but Tang Yan, unable to contain her curiosity, exclaimed, "President Cai, stop keeping us in suspense! Just tell us what good news you have!"

Yang Mi and Hu Ge were also surprised, turning their gazes to the female CEO, whose excitement was palpable, and waiting for her to speak.

"You're really good at keeping your composure!" Cai Yinong teased with a smile, looking at Liu Shishi's calm demeanor. He then handed another document he had been holding to Liu Shishi, saying, "Take a look at it yourself."

Liu Shishi slowly lowered her head, but her eyes widened instantly when her gaze fell on the contents of the document.

Then, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly, revealing a smug smile filled with boundless joy.

(End of this chapter)