He plays Feng Yuxiu, and his girlfriend is a fairy-like beauty.

I hung up on Liu Weiqiang.

Ye Mo sat leaning against the headboard for a while.

He pulled up his phone's contacts and scrolled down.

Find that name: Sammo Hung.

Dial it.

It rang three times, then I answered.

"Ye Mo!" Hong Jinbao's voice was still as strong as ever. In the background, someone was calling out the location of the lighting rig. "Why did you suddenly decide to call me? I watched Extreme Challenge. You were up at 4:30 in the morning just to trick people—you really did a shrewd job."

"Brother, please stop teasing me. I have something I'd like to ask you."

"explain."

When will the promotional campaign for "Sha Po Lang" begin? I'll be there.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

It wasn't that the signal was cut off; it was that Hung Kam-pao was processing that statement.

He's been in the film industry for decades and has seen too many actors who finish filming, collect their paychecks, and leave. It's a favor if the publicity team comes, and it's their right not to.

Few people proactively call to inquire about the timing of the publicity campaign.

Why are you suddenly asking this?

Ye Mo held his phone and rubbed his fingers on his knee.

"Brother, last year when I wasn't famous yet, you were the one who brought me into 'SPL: Sha Po Lang'. Later, when director Liu Weiqiang asked me to play Chen Yongren, you were the one who spoke up for me."

He paused for a moment.

"Without you, there would be no Chen Yongren. Although 'Infernal Affairs' hasn't been released yet, I'm popular again because of 'Go Fighting!' I can't just take advantage without giving anything back. Tell me when, and I'll be there."

Hung Kam-po remained silent.

Two seconds passed.

A very soft laugh came from the microphone.

"You little rascal, you still remember these things."

"I remember."

Sammo Hung cleared his throat: "I was going to inform you in a couple of days that the publicity for 'SPL' would start in the next couple of days, and it would be released in half a month at the latest."

"So fast?"

"Because 'Infernal Affairs' was released on May Day, I knew about it a few days earlier than you. I discussed it with the bullet and distribution teams—to release it before 'Infernal Affairs'."

Why?

"Listen to me." Sammo Hung's tone turned serious, not out of anger, but because he wanted to say something seriously.

"Infernal Affairs is not an ordinary police and gangster film. I knew from the first draft of Alan Mak's script that once this movie came out, the way Hong Kong films were going to change. The annual output of Hong Kong films has dropped from more than 200 films at its peak to dozens now. Many films only gross two or three million Hong Kong dollars. Gunfights, explosions, street fights - audiences are tired of them. The whole industry is saying that Hong Kong films are dead. Infernal Affairs is different. It doesn't rely on gunfights but on dialogue, and it doesn't rely on explosions but on psychological games. Lau Wai-keung, Alan Mak, Andy Lau and their team are gambling that audiences want to see a different kind of police and gangster film."

Ye Mo listened.

"Once this kind of film becomes a hit, all the police and gangster films in the following six months will be compared to it. Can they compete? No, they can't. 'SPL' is a good film. In my opinion, the alley fight scene is worthy of being recorded in film history."

"But it's not a film like 'Infernal Affairs' that subverts the genre. If it were released later, it wouldn't have gained much at the box office, and film critics would have to compare it to 'Infernal Affairs' to see which one is better. The investors and the director discussed it with me for several days, and there was only one conclusion: release it first and capture the market before 'Infernal Affairs' comes out."

"Then why not release it during the summer holidays? That way, it would avoid the peak season."

"With so many big-budget productions crammed into the summer movie season, medium-sized productions like ours can't compete for screen time. Plus, the summer movie season is too close to May Day. If 'Infernal Affairs' gets a bad reception, the summer movies will be affected too. There's no way to avoid it; we can only try to get more screenings."

As Ye Mo listened to Hung Kam-pao break down the entire scheduling logic, only one thought came to his mind.

In this industry, only someone of Sammo Hung's caliber can handle everything from scheduling to promotion to premiere within half a month.

"Brother, please send me the specific time for the publicity campaign. I'm currently filming 'The Big Shot,' but I can squeeze out a day for it."

"Okay, you're very popular right now. Your appearance here saves us millions in advertising costs. I like actors who bring their own audience. It's not about saving budget, it's about saving us a lot of trouble."

"Brother, just say you're trying to ride the wave of popularity."

"I'm an elder, so I won't be so blunt."

They both laughed at the same time.

After hanging up the phone, Ye Mo placed it on the bedside table.

He recalled his first meeting with Sammo Hung last year, and how he looked at the big boss with immense envy on set.

At that time, he was a newcomer who had just come from Hengdian.

Now he's able to turn the tables and support Sammo Hung.

He put the idea aside.

He turned over and dialed Liu Yifei's video.

It rang several times before I answered.

The screen lit up. Liu Yifei was wearing a light blue pajama set, her hair was loose, and the background was her sofa at home.

She leaned closer to the screen for a glance, then leaned back.

"It's all dark over there."

"The lights are off."

"How was Zhao Tai's acting?"

"The first scene today was filmed in one take, but a scene was added at the last minute for the second scene, which completely baffled Chihara-ge."

"Are you adding drama again?"

"When Zhao Tai was exposed for using a fake gun, he lost face, and the script ended there. I added a scene where he slaps Sun Dasheng's face with the back of his hand and says, 'You are the real big shot.'"

Liu Yifei smiled on the screen.

"and then?"

"Then Wu Bai stood up and applauded, and Qian Yuan said, 'Just give me the title of Thousand-Faced Actor.'"

Liu Yifei's smile widened slightly: "Wang Qianyuan said such a thing?"

After he finished speaking, I asked him if he was joking, and he said no.

On the other side of the screen, Liu Yifei swept his hair back.

Then she looked at Ye Mo on the screen and lowered her voice a little.

Are you particularly busy right now?

"A bit. The promotion for 'SPL' is about to start these next few days, and Brother Hong's release date is set for within half a month. In April, we also have to do promotions for 'Infernal Affairs,' and the second season of 'Go Fighting!' will also be filmed in April." Ye Mo counted on his fingers, one by one.

"Then your body—"

"It's alright, better than last year."

To be honest, taking on three roles before the Lunar New Year was really tiring.

Liu Yifei looked at him for two seconds without saying anything.

But Ye Min recognized that look in her eyes; it was the same look she gave him when he came in last year, when he was lying paralyzed in his rented room.

"I'm fine, really fine," Ye Mo said.

"Regarding the character Zhao Tai," Liu Yifei put down his cup, "after you finish filming, remember to step back. Don't be like Feng Yuxiu last time, whose eyes were all wrong for a week after filming."

"Won't."

"You always say that."

"This time it really won't happen. Zhao Tai is crazy, but there's a reason for his madness. Feng Yuxiu is just plain crazy."

Liu Yifei gave a soft hum: "You're quite good at distinguishing them."

The two chatted for a while longer.

Ye Mo briefly recounted what had happened in the past two days—the mango sticky rice in Bangkok, Wu Bai personally picking him up at the airport, and Wang Xun embracing him upon meeting.

Liu Yifei listened, occasionally chiming in with a comment or two.

At the end of the conversation, Ye Mo suddenly said, "After we finish filming these movies, I'll take you out for a meal."

"Where to?"

"A place with lots of people."

"Are you no longer afraid of my mom, or do you think my mom can't handle a knife anymore?"

......

Two days later.

A message suddenly went viral online.

The official Weibo account for "SPL: Sha Po Lang" posted a promotional poster. The image is a freeze-frame shot of Zeng Zidan and Ye Mo confronting each other in an alley.

The poster features the film's title, "SPL: Sha Po Lang," at the top and the release date, April 12th, below.

The comment section received over 20,000 comments in ten minutes.

"Holy crap, Ye Mo is in 'SPL: Sha Po Lang' too? He just won the title of 'Go Fighting!' and now he's back to fighting?"

"It's Bullet Bro and Money Bro fighting again??? Buy tickets, buy tickets!"

"April 12th, right? I'd like to ask for a day off first."

"The moment I saw Ye Mo appear, I knew who the ultimate martial arts expert in this show was!"

"Don't forget, there's also Sammo Hung; he's never played a henchman in any action scenes!"

Ye Mo's Weibo account was tagged tens of thousands of times.

In the screenshot that was forwarded, someone enlarged the poster eight times and pointed to the bloodstains on his fist, saying, "This injury is not makeup."

The message also popped up in the Extreme Challenge group chat.

Huang Bo: "@Ye Mo, your new movie is about to be released?"

Zhang Yixing: "Support! Support!"

Sun Honglei: "You only have three movies in total, and two of them are collaborations with big names like Zeng Zidan. Amazing!"

Huang Lei: "Not bad, not bad."

........