Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 143 System Task Completed
After a two-week preview screening, plus internal promotion by Tencent and other companies, the results have been impressive.

The premiere of "Detective Chinatown" was a very lively event.

The large theater, which can accommodate hundreds of people, was already packed with men and women sitting together. Friends who came in groups inevitably chatted and discussed things.

With so many small, fragmented sounds, the atmosphere inevitably becomes noisy.

In stark contrast to the bustling activity inside the main theater, the next room, temporarily used as a dressing room for the creative team, was oppressive and silent.

As the film's directors, Chen Sicheng and Xiao Yang immediately displayed a mutual dislike for each other upon entering the cinema; their earlier cheerful and harmonious demeanor on the red carpet was all an act…

The film's main actors, Wang Baoqiang, Peng Yuchang, and Zeng Xiaoxian, have three distinct personalities, and it's hard to imagine what they would talk about together.

Producer Wei Feng and Chen Zhixi sat together and chatted quite well, but both seemed to be keeping their voices down and not wanting anyone else to get involved.

Zhang Zifeng, whose round face still showed signs of childhood innocence, stared with curiosity at the two figures on the side of the front row of the lounge. Strictly speaking, he was staring at the more robust figure.

Dilraba glanced at the Blancpain watch she had just received, then turned to Chen Xiu beside her and said, "Brother Xiu, shouldn't we go next door?"

"No rush, there are still 10 minutes before the premiere begins. Someone will come and inform us in a bit."

Chen Xiu's answer seemed somewhat absent-minded; he always felt that the waiting time before starting was the most meaningless thing.

Unfortunately, as one of the main creators of the premiere press conference, he couldn't get into the theater on time... so he used the time to chat with Meng Ziyi on WeChat.

Watching Chen Xiu stare intently at her phone screen, her two fingers moving rapidly, Reba couldn't help but purse her lips.

Although she knew that Meng Ziyi was Chen Xiu's real girlfriend, she still felt that this "love rival" she had never met was a bit too clingy.

Over the past week, Reba and Chen Xiu have been together almost every day, so she knows how frequently Meng Ziyi contacts Chen Xiu.

We call each other on average every two days, and communicate even more frequently via text messages and WeChat.

If I can't get in touch with Chen Xiu for three days, I wonder if this silly beauty will rush back to find him.

Reba was having a slightly wicked thought about this possibility when a voice suddenly came from beside her.

"Mr. Chen, there's still some time before the premiere. Do you have a moment to chat?"

Chen Xiu and Reba turned their heads and saw Chen Sicheng, whose beard was not clean-shaven, standing to their side. His overly enthusiastic smile looked a little unnatural.

Putting away her phone, Chen Xiu glanced at Reba, stood up, and gestured to Chen Sicheng with her chin, indicating that they should go talk over there.

Arriving at the corner under the curtain, Chen Xiu silently looked at Chen Sicheng, wanting to hear why he had come to see her.

Realizing that time was limited, Chen Sicheng didn't bother with any preamble and simply looked up at Chen Xiu.

"Mr. Chen, recently during the movie promotion, many tabloids have published news headlines that are extremely exaggerated. I wonder if you are aware of this?"

"I didn't pay much attention to it."

"I heard a rumor in the industry that someone thinks you're too high-profile and is planning to take you down..."

Chen Sicheng lowered his voice, deliberately leaving half of his question unsaid, hoping that Chen Xiu would ask out of curiosity. This way, he could keep her in suspense and make up for the oppressive experience he had during filming in Bangkok.

In response, Chen Xiu merely smirked and said, "There are plenty of people who want to step on me. I hope they have the ability!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Sicheng, who had prepared a lot of content, suddenly didn't know what to say.

After a moment of stunned silence, Chen Xiu asked politely, "You asked me to come here just to talk about this?"

"Uh, yes."

"Haha, thanks for your concern. We'll need your hard work as the director for the upcoming roadshow."

Chen Xiu patted Chen Sicheng on the shoulder, her words of encouragement sounding exceptionally sincere.

He really didn't take the sordid things Chen Sicheng mentioned to heart at all.

Feeling Chen Xiu's hand patting his shoulder and seeing the gentle smile in his eyes, Chen Sicheng suddenly realized that he might really have been narrow-minded...

"Mr. Chen, you can almost prepare to enter!"

The cinema manager's reminder snapped everyone in the lounge out of their daze.

After a moment of unconscious eye contact, everyone turned their attention to Chen Sicheng and Chen Xiu beside him.

With her hand on Chen Sicheng's shoulder, Chen Xiu turned to look at everyone and said, "Since it's time, let's go out and say hello to the fans!"

"Okay!"
They responded in unison, and a rustling sound filled the theater before turning into a unified sound of footsteps.

……

The spot where Naza sits is quite close to the front; she bought it several days in advance so she could be closer to the main creative team.

When the host stood on the stage and finished reciting a long script that few people cared about, Nezha's attention naturally shifted to the film's main creators who came up on stage one after another.

To get a better view, she took out the binoculars she used for watching plays from her bag and placed them on the bridge of her nose.

Chen Xiu, walking in the middle, still had his hair neatly slicked back, but the gray suit seemed a bit too old-fashioned on him...

While criticizing Chen Xiu's fashion sense, Nezha kept her eyes following his every step.

When Chen Xiu stopped, she was still turning her head. This slight shift allowed Reba to successfully appear in Nezha's field of vision.

Seeing her fellow villager, Nazar's expression was somewhat complicated. Considering that the two had known each other since high school, she took a couple more seconds to look Reba up and down.

In those two seconds, Nezha saw something different. The way Dilraba tilted her head slightly to look at Chen Xiu felt strangely familiar to Nezha, because that's how she herself looked at Chen Xiu…

People in the same ecological niche often understand each other the best; a single glance can convey a wealth of information!

Realizing that Reba also had feelings for Chen Xiu, Nezha felt a strong sense of crisis.

When they were dating, she asked Chen Xiu what he liked most about her.

The answer I received was a unique exotic charm that no one else possessed.

It was this answer that made Nezha feel unique to Chen Xiu, but now a competitor, Reba, had appeared, and the way she looked at Chen Xiu was so...

The hand gripping the binoculars began to tighten unconsciously. Nazar felt she couldn't proceed slowly anymore; she needed to use some drastic measures to win Chen Xiu back.

At this moment, Chen Xiu on the stage is answering questions from reporters.

"Mr. Chen, the male and female leads of this movie are both contracted artists of Datang Film & Television. Does this mean that when you initiate projects, you only give priority to your own artists?"

"I think this issue needs to be viewed dialectically."

Holding the microphone, Chen Xiu addressed the reporter who asked the question: "Rather than saying that I'm prioritizing my own artists, it's more accurate to say that all the artists signed to our company have the opportunity to become the male or female lead, right?"

The reporter seemed helpless when his question was countered, but he couldn't refute it.

After he stepped down, another reporter asked a question that was likely to generate discussion.

"Mr. Chen, do you have any expectations for the film's box office performance?"

"Of course there is."

"How much exactly?"

"Um……"

Holding the microphone, Chen Xiu hesitated for a moment before addressing the hundreds of moviegoers in the audience: "If you ask me, I hope that 'Detective Chinatown' will gross over 10 billion yuan by the time it leaves theaters!"

"Wow~~"

"Hua hua hua~~"

Cheers and applause erupted as the moviegoers reacted spontaneously.

Some things, regardless of whether they can be accomplished, must have a grand and attention-grabbing goal.

This is what encourages discussion, and discussion leads to attention.

The reporters all wore satisfied smiles upon receiving the news topics they wanted.

After the on-site interviews concluded, the creative team left the stage and took their seats in the front row. As the lights in the theater gradually dimmed and the big screen lit up, the film screening officially began.

...Two hours later...

When Chen Xiu returned to the stage with the creative team after the film screening, the fans gave them an even more enthusiastic round of applause.

"Bah bang bang!!"

The same sound can always combine to create a powerful force, so powerful that it almost lifts the ceiling off the theater.

As the applause subsided, the final fan interaction segment turned into a Q&A session where audience members asked questions of the creative team.

However, the movie fans who were called upon to stand up and ask questions didn't seem to be that interested in learning about behind-the-scenes stories of the film's production; they were all more interested in talking to Chen Xiu about the movie.

"Mr. Chen, how did you initially come up with the idea of ​​writing this detective comedy novel?"

"It suddenly popped into my head, and then I wrote it down."

Chen Xiuzhen can answer any question. His way of stating facts without any pretense gives the fans below a feeling of being impressed but not quite.

The questions from movie fans did not stump Chen Xiu, until one question arose.

"Mr. Chen, who exactly is Q in the movie?"

This question isn't hard to answer; it's simply a matter of finding out in the next movie, or perhaps the plot hasn't been decided yet.

However, Chen Xiu was stunned for a moment after the question was raised, and even her eyes began to wander.

It wasn't until the host reminded him that he came to his senses: "Oh, I'm sorry, I can't answer your question about Q right now, but it's definitely not a person."

Q is an organization.

After silently reciting the sentence, Chen Xiu gestured for the host to deal with the fans, while she herself focused most of her attention on the synthesized electronic voice that appeared in her mind.

[Career Establishment Tasks: 1. Lead the production and successful release of a film. Completed! 2. Star in a television series as the male lead. Completed!]

[Task Reward: A 10% increase in positive attributes such as luck, charm, and charisma! Rewards are being distributed.]

Chen Xiu's body trembled slightly, feeling a strange sensation, though she couldn't quite pinpoint what changes had occurred.

On the contrary, Reba, who was standing to the side, suddenly felt that Chen Xiu seemed more attractive, and her eyes couldn't help but dart over in their direction, her pearly white teeth gently biting her lower lip...

Just as Chen Xiu noticed Reba's almost tangible gaze, the system's next broadcast came.

[The life story of Li Shimin before his ascension to the throne will begin in one hour. Please prepare yourself...]

(End of this chapter)