Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

It was 9:59 a.m. on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

The servers of the domestic film box office data network are experiencing unprecedented access pressure.

The entire film and television industry, theater managers, media reporters, and countless netizens were all staring at the countdown in the upper right corner of the screen.

10 o'clock sharp.

The page froze for two seconds, then refreshed automatically.

The top spot has changed hands.

Goodbye Mr. Loser's daily box office: 1.84 million yuan!

Wuji's daily box office: 1.22 million!

A gap of 60 million.

The internet erupted in celebration.

A Weibo post Chen Kai made a few days ago has been unearthed, and screenshots are spreading wildly on various forums and social media.

"I predict that the box office will never exceed 50 million."

This statement, coupled with the daily figure of 1.8 million, has become a complete joke.

Netizens' comments flooded Chen Kai's Weibo homepage.

"Director Chen, why don't you come out and show your face? 180 million in a single day, and you call that less than 50 million?"

"A 600 million yuan investment was squandered on a 40 million yuan cost, what about the art? What about the passion?"

"As it turns out, the audience isn't blind. Whoever treats the audience like韭菜 (a metaphor for being exploited), the audience will leave them starving."

"I suggest Director Chen buy a ticket and go to the cinema to learn how to tell a story. Stop making those pointless, whiny pieces every day."

Shanghai, a small villa.

Jiang Fan sat on the sofa, holding a glass of warm water in his hand.

The phone on the coffee table kept vibrating.

The messages in Xinghuo Media's internal WeChat group kept updating.

Shen Feng sent thirty crying emojis in a row: "1.8 million! Brother Jiang, we made 1.8 million in a single day! Am I dreaming?!"

Ma Yue sent a voice message, her voice clearly trembling with tears: "I just went downstairs to buy breakfast, and the shopkeeper actually recognized me as Ma Dongmei and gave me two extra fried dough sticks!"

Ning Yuan: "This is a miracle. President Jiang, you led us to create a miracle."

Rinko: "My legs are still weak, I can't stand up."

From being ridiculed by the entire internet on the first day of the Lunar New Year to making a comeback and topping the daily box office charts today.

This group of stage actors, marginalized by the mainstream, experienced a rollercoaster ride from hell to heaven.

Jiang Fan put down his water glass, tapped on the screen with one hand, and clicked send.

"This is just the beginning. Get ready for the celebration banquet to celebrate the 1.5 billion."

The group chat was silent for a second.

What followed was an even more frenzied flood of posts.

"1.5 billion! Let's do it!"

"I'll shoot wherever Brother Jiang points!"

Morale soared to its peak.

Jiang Fan locked the screen. 1.5 billion? You're still too conservative.

The bedroom door opened.

Xu Qingya walked out wearing that men's shirt, the hem of which barely covered her thighs.

She rubbed her eyes, walked to the sofa, and sat down next to Jiang Fan.

"What are you looking at?" Xu Qingya rested her head on Jiang Fan's shoulder.

Jiang Fan handed over the phone.

"box office."

Xu Qingya squinted at the screen.

1.84 million.

She paused for two seconds, snatched the phone, and looked at it again with wide eyes.

"One hundred and eighty million in a single day?" Xu Qingya turned to look at Jiang Fan. "Your return on investment is faster than robbing a bank."

Xu Qingya wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Director Jiang, I'll have to stick close to you from now on."

---

At the same time, in the president's office of Times Media.

Su Yuyan sat in her executive chair, staring at the computer screen.

The screen displayed the steep upward box office curve of "Goodbye Mr. Loser".

A few months ago, when Jiang Fan sat across from her and casually set a box office target of 1.5 billion, she thought this man had gone mad.

It seems now that the world is the one that's crazy.

Based on the current screening ratio, coupled with that ridiculously high occupancy rate trend.

Let alone 1.5 billion, at this rate, it might even reach 2 billion!

Su Yuyan picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and couldn't hide the smile in her eyes.

She opened her phone's notes app.

On the screen lay the line I had written down before the new year: "If the box office is less than 1 billion, Jiang Fan will be an assistant for a year."

This man has won again.

"Ten percent of the distribution revenue," Su Yuyan murmured softly.

If the box office really exceeds 2 billion, we will take 10% of the portion exceeding 1.5 billion.

This sum of money was enough to solidify her position at Times Media, and no one would dare to bring up her seniority again.

She picked up her phone and sent Jiang Fan a WeChat message.

"Director Jiang, my dream of becoming an assistant has been shattered."

Kyoto, a high-end apartment.

Ye Anran sat on a single sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

She was wearing a silk robe, her long hair casually draped over her shoulders.

As the top of the Four Heavenly Queens and a leading figure in the Chinese entertainment industry, she is used to standing at the pinnacle.

But now, as she looked at the box office figures on her tablet, her brows furrowed tightly.

The value of "Wuji" has dropped to 1.2 million.

What she found even more unacceptable was the prevailing sentiment on Weibo.

The overwhelming ridicule not only overwhelmed Chen Kai, but also began to affect her.

"Besides being a pretty face in 'Martial Peak,' what other use does Ye Anran have?"

"The actress with the expressionless face was far outshone by Ma Dongmei in terms of acting skills."

"The diva should go back to singing and stop trying to make money in the movie industry."

Ye Anran swiped her finger across the screen, reading through the messages one by one.

She has won two Golden Rooster Awards for Best Actress, but now she is being compared to an amateur stage actress and even judged as "outshone".

"This Jiang Fan..." Ye Anran closed the webpage and placed the tablet face down on the small round table.

Out of curiosity about the film, and even more so out of an inherent competitive spirit, she wanted to see what kind of talent a singer could produce.

Ye Anran stood up and walked to the dressing room.

"Go buy a ticket for tonight's late-night showing of 'Goodbye Mr. Loser'."

Fangjie was stunned: "Anran, you're going to see a movie?"

"right."

"Watching 'Goodbye Mr. Loser'?" Fang Jie's eyes widened.

A top star like her was utterly humiliated by this movie, and now she's actually going to personally contribute to the box office of her rival?

She could already imagine tomorrow's headlines if she were photographed by paparazzi—

"The more secluded the cinema, the better, so we don't get recognized." Ye Anran took a long black down jacket from the coat rack.

"But……"

Ye Anran turned her head, her gaze cold and unwavering.

"Go and do it."

Fangjie swallowed her words, turned around and went out.

It's 11:30 p.m.

An old movie theater outside the fifth ring road of Kyoto.

The cold wind swirled the flyers on the ground.

Ye Anran was wearing a long black down jacket, a black baseball cap, and a mask, completely covered up.

She kept her head down and quickly passed through the ticket gate.

Enter screening room number three.

Ye Anran walked to the last row and sat down in the corner.

She looked around.

The screening room was 80% full.

At this time, in this remote location, it's simply unbelievable.

Everyone's eyes were focused on what was in front of them.

The lights dimmed, and the dragon emblem flashed by.

Ye Anran crossed her arms over her chest, straightened her back, and raised her chin slightly.

She wanted to see just how funny this comedy, which had branded her with shame, really was.

She made up her mind.

I will never laugh.

Even just a moment.