Golden Assistant - Chapter 47 - Complete flop

When there was no filming, Xiao Yi would drive out to buy some food for everyone to replenish their nutrition. About a week later, Zheng Xiaocong, who had a guest appearance, wrapped up his scenes and returned to Beijing with a high fever and a cold. As he was leaving, he even had a runny nose and said to Xiao Yi, “Take care of Lu Zhou. This shoot might not finish in half a year.”

Xiao Yi felt lingering fear. With Lu Zhou playing the erhu every day like this, he was afraid that he would collapse before Lu Zhou did.

However, during these days of filming, Xiao Yi’s appetite had skyrocketed compared to before. Previously, he couldn’t care less about delicacies, but now his eyes would light up at the sight of fatty meat. Lu Zhou, on the other hand, was devouring everything like a wolf.

Director Chai would have a glass of wine every day, while Director Guo abstained from alcohol and accompanied Director Chai with tea.

After a month, as spring was nearing its end, Lu Zhou gradually got into the state. He would spontaneously start singing folk songs, emanating a hysterical yet despairing feeling that almost drew Xiao Yi into the play.

In April, everyone was waiting for the arrival of a heavy rainstorm. Finally, one day, thunder and lightning roared. Xiao Yi was extremely afraid, fearing that without lightning rods, there might be accidents, especially since the lights were set up on top of trees. If lightning struck, everyone would be in danger.

However, the scene where Lu Zhou fell into the mountain ditch during the thunderstorm went smoothly, almost in one take. Everyone was drenched in the rain as they filmed him slipping into the ditch.

Next, he searched for his daughter’s photo in the muddy water. In reality, the photo had been thrown away by a hooligan who cheated him for money on the road. Lu Zhou groped around in the dark rain, covered in mud, shouting, “Xiu’er, Xiu’er!”

Xiao Yi cried as he watched, and many people in the crew were in tears too. Lu Zhou, with a sobbing voice, had almost completely immersed himself in the role. In the vast darkness, lightning split the sky, and rainwater irrigated the earth.

It was the most unforgettable scene in Xiao Yi’s life. Amid the lightning effects created by the lights, it seemed as if a ray of light illuminated the long night. That soul burned itself in the strong light, only to be reborn from the ashes!

Xiao Yi pressed the strings of his erhu and played the tune, the music echoing in the dark night, plunging the entire world back into profound silence. Xiao Yi trembled as he cried, the tremor accompanied by the sound of the erhu and the pouring rain, expressing a heartfelt quiver.

That night.

“Why are you crying?” Lu Zhou shouted.

Xiao Yi: “…”

Xiao Yi’s strength hadn’t fully recovered, and Lu Zhou found it funny yet exasperating. Wrapped in a blanket, Lu Zhou shivered on the wire bed. In the dimly lit small room, the entire village experienced a power outage, while the generator roared outside. Xiao Yi boiled water to wash Lu Zhou’s feet.

“You’ve lost weight,” Lu Zhou said, pained.

Xiao Yi sat beside Lu Zhou, feeling choked up. Then, he nestled into Lu Zhou’s arms, and Lu Zhou hugged him, saying, “It’s all fake, it’s all fake…”

Xiao Yi touched Lu Zhou’s face, tears in his eyes. He couldn’t express his feelings anymore. He hugged Lu Zhou’s neck tightly, kissing his lips fiercely. Lu Zhou hadn’t cleaned his feet properly, but he turned around and hugged Xiao Yi, pressing him onto the wire bed.

The entire house was leaking, and the crew members living in tents outside almost suffered. The next day, some had cold, others had fever, and everyone drank ginger soup. Some had sore throats but persisted in continuing the shoot. Director Chai’s crew used to film documentaries, and they were all capable of hunting wild boars or knocking down old trees. These minor illnesses were nothing to them.

The last scene was of the male and female leads being hung up. After Lu Zhou finished his makeup, he stripped completely, leaving only a torn pair of pants. Initially, Xiao Yi was worried that Lu Zhou’s physique was too good to portray the emaciated Wang Genbao, but now he realized there was nothing to worry about.

For a month, Lu Zhou only ate one bowl of rice per meal to prepare for this scene. By the time his hands were suspended, his protruding rib bones were visible.

Xiao Yi was driven crazy by this sight. Although it was inevitable for rib bones to be visible when hanging in that position, seeing a group of actors throwing stones at Lu Zhou and Ying Zhou still made him uneasy.

Ying Zhou was fair-skinned, and with makeup on, this nude scene was incredibly moving. The beauty, pain, and twisted feeling, along with the bruises on the skin, became the highlight of the movie.

That day, Lu Zhou was suspended for an hour, then lowered, then suspended for another hour, lowered again, and this cycle continued.

The scene where the supporting actors threw stones went through numerous cycles. Xiao Yi said to Director Chai, “Lu Zhou’s shoulder has been injured and can’t take anymore suspension.”

Director Chai replied, “Ask him how he feels and if he can endure it.”

Lu Zhou said, “It’s fine! Let’s continue!”

When the filming finally wrapped up, Lu Zhou’s shoulders were red, and Xiao Yi was terrified. Lu Zhou couldn’t even lift one of his hands and requested a rest. With the weather turning hot, Lu Zhou sat at the village entrance shirtless, while Xiao Yi carefully applied ointment to him.

“Do you want to go to the hospital?” Xiao Yi asked.

“No need.” Lu Zhou’s face twisted in pain. He added, “Just need to rest.”

Xiao Yi knew Lu Zhou cared a lot about this film, but health came first. He didn’t want any more halfway setbacks. However, Lu Zhou said, “I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry. Come, play the erhu for me.”

Xiao Yi sighed and sat down, fetched the erhu, and started playing.

During the break, everyone listened to Xiao Yi play the erhu under the scorching sun, while the world seemed to be bathed in sunlight, with the blue sky, dry land, and sprouting trees. Birds flew across the sky, and the music echoed between heaven and earth, conveying endless bitterness and desolation.

“Xiao Yi’s erhu playing has gotten better and better,” Director Chai chuckled.

Everyone applauded, but Lu Zhou, who had stayed up late for a long time, had red eyes and rough skin from the wind. He had tanned and lost weight, with a sweat towel draped over his back and wearing tattered pants, looking like a farmer as he smiled at Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi had also lost a lot of weight, thin and dark, wearing a yellowed shirt, shaking his head helplessly with a smile as he looked at Lu Zhou.

The final scene was a chase, with Lu Zhou fleeing with a child at dawn, destroying the erhu props, and then, after destroying them, switching to another old erhu he obtained from an old man during a funeral on the road. Lu Zhou carried Xiao Yi’s erhu, completing this arduous task.

The scenes in Shanxi were finally over. First, they returned to Taiyuan, settled there, and Xiao Yi finally felt like he was back in modern society. Skyscrapers, bustling streets – after spending nearly four months in the countryside, it felt like a different world. They first went for a follow-up examination with Lu Zhou, luckily nothing serious came up, so they didn’t need to stay in bed anymore. Then they went to feast by the sea.

Finally, there was a 3G signal again. Xiao Yi checked the internet and found that in the four months, the online world remained the same, with news covering various aspects. Not only were there genre dramas, but even the news seemed to be genre-specific now, with most of the news from a year ago being recycled with different subjects.

Next were the scenes in Shaanxi. The most difficult parts had already passed, and Xiao Yi felt that he would cherish this extremely difficult film in the future. It was the greatest challenge he had ever faced in his life. Sometimes at night, he would find Director Chai watching scenes alone, and he would sit down and watch seriously as well.

He had participated in every scene, even though he was never in front of the camera. But he was always standing in one place or another.

“How does it feel?” Director Chai laughed heartily, patting Xiao Yi’s shoulder.

Xiao Yi was deeply moved, but he felt that these scenes still seemed a bit rough. Rather than calling it a documentary, it was more like a movie. He looked at Lu Zhou, who had completely captivated him.

“We must attend the premiere,” Director Chai said.

Xiao Yi nodded.

*

A month later, the scenes in Shaanxi were completed, and Director Chai returned to Beijing with his crew. They could finally relax after returning, but it wasn’t over yet. All the major scenes were shot at China Film Group, as this was Wang Genbao’s original home.

Lu Zhou had been acting for almost half a year, plus his understanding of Wang Genbao began last year. Including the time he first encountered this script, he had been acting for nearly a whole year.

After returning to China Film Group, Zheng Xiaocong personally came to visit the set and could hardly recognize Lu Zhou and Xiao Yi. Xiao Yi smiled at him like a farmer from the mountains, revealing his white teeth, dressed all in black.

“Brother Xiaocong, let’s get some autographs.”

The official photos were developed, and as per Director Chai’s request, all the main actors and creators signed on the back of the pictures. Xiao Yi had a feeling that these would become family heirlooms. Ning Yaqing happened to be shooting a spy drama in the adjacent studio and came to greet them. When she saw Lu Zhou, she was utterly speechless.

That day, seeing the scene where Lu Zhou and Ying Zhou hung themselves, Ning Yaqing was shocked when she heard Lu Zhou’s explosive performance.

“What script is this?” Ning Yaqing asked.

“I’ll send it to your email tonight,” Xiao Yi said. “It’s about a blind person.”

When Ning Yaqing saw Ying Zhou hanging from the ceiling beam and Lu Zhou fumbling around, touching his wife’s body, and finally embracing her hanging feet, crying loudly, tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

“Is this inspired from a true story?” Ning Yaqing choked up.

“Yes,” Xiao Yi whispered, “her daughter was kidnapped by traffickers, and his only hope in life is his daughter.”

“A blind person,” Ning Yaqing couldn’t bear it. “Life must be very difficult.”

After Lu Zhou finished that scene, he could almost do it in half a day now. When he came down, he greeted Ning Yaqing, who had brought some snacks to share with the crew. She smiled and said to Lu Zhou, “When are you two getting married?”

Lu Zhou was taken aback.

Xiao Yi: “…”

Lu Zhou said, “When I go to Europe to accept the Best Actor award in the future, I’ll get married then.”

Ning Yaqing laughed, and Lu Zhou asked her, “When are you getting married?”

Ning Yaqing said, “No plans yet. Good guys like you are all taken. What should we do? Anyway, I’ll be off.”

Xiao Yi watched her leave, still smiling, then looked at Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou said, “It’s not like you’re doing me a favour. Where’s the snack for visiting?”

Xiao Yi quickly nodded and said, “Right, Lu Daxia (NT: knight) is right. But Ning Nüxia (NT: woman warrior) is really nice.”

Lu Zhou said, “That’s because I worked with her on a drama. Their crew is like a gang, rough but united.”

“Oh…” Xiao Yi thought to himself, indeed, the first crew they followed was like a bunch of arrogant hooligans. No wonder they still chatted on WeChat every day. The last time the ratings exploded, the whole crew almost went on strike. The WeChat group was full of comments like “Those losers from XX TV” and “That idiot Li Changzheng”…

After returning to Beijing, although they still woke up before dawn and returned home in the dark, compared to the days of filming in the countryside, life was much better now. Unbeknownst to them, all the scenes had been shot. As the leaves turned yellow on the streets, Lu Zhou finished his final scene.

From March to October, it took a full seven months to complete filming. Xiao Yi felt like he had been reborn. Lu Zhou had also become more mature. After returning to Beijing, both of them had gained back a bit of weight. Director Chai wasn’t quite satisfied with the last few scenes.

However, Director Guo said it was reasonable for Wang Genbao to be in better spirits at the beginning and end of the film. At the beginning, he was at home with his wife taking care of him, so his family life was fulfilling. And towards the end of the movie, he returned to his hometown with his daughter, experiencing a new life. In these two stages, there was no need for them to endure hardships. That’s why Director Chai didn’t ask Lu Zhou to continue dieting.

After the wrap-up meal, on the last day, Lu Zhou returned home, facing Xiao Yi and everything felt so familiar yet so strange.

“Finally…” Xiao Yi couldn’t describe his feelings.

Lu Zhou: “Maybe we’ll have to do reshoots, don’t get too excited.”

Xiao Yi said, “I still have to oversee the post-production sound effects.”

Lu Zhou asked, “Do you need to record songs?”

Xiao Yi waved his hand and said, “I feel like no song can do justice to this movie anymore. Adding lyrics would be redundant. Just music, pure music.”

Lu Zhou didn’t say anything and went to take a shower and change clothes. He made a fruit salad for Xiao Yi to eat. Xiao Yi suddenly felt that their relationship had almost completely changed. Before, he took care of Lu Zhou, but now Lu Zhou took the initiative to take care of him more often. They would often argue over who would do the dishes, and in the end, Lu Zhou would roar, “Just put it down and let me do it!” Xiao Yi had no choice but to give in.

A few days later, Du Mei called. Xiao Yi was a bit afraid to talk to her, fearing that he might offend her with his words, but Lu Zhou signalled it was okay, and it didn’t matter how he talked.

“Have you two started your own studio?” Du Mei asked with a smile. “I see you’re not going to Zheng Xiaocong’s place anymore. How about affiliating with my company?”

“Well…” Xiao Yi hesitated and said, “I need to discuss it with Zhou Ge.”

Lu Zhou nodded, indicating it was okay. Xiao Yi felt ecstatic and said, “Zhou Ge says it’s possible… to consider.”

Du Mei said, “Then pick a time for you two to come back to the company and talk?”

“Okay,” Xiao Yi said.

Since Lu Zhou opened his own studio, he no longer relied on Du Mei for acting jobs. He explicitly stated that he could no longer film TV dramas. Du Mei arranged for him to shoot some movies and take on advertising endorsements. When Lin Yao saw Xiao Yi, he immediately exclaimed, “Hey! Director Xiao!”

Xiao Yi also changed into a full suit, shook hands with Lin Yao, and hugged him. Xiao Yi said, “I’ll treat you to drinks tonight. Let’s go.”

Lu Zhou was speechless. After talking with Du Mei for an afternoon, they finally signed a contract. Currently, Lu Zhou’s studio only consisted of him and Xiao Yi. Seeing Du Mei’s expression, it seemed like she wanted to bring more people in, so Lu Zhou said they would discuss it with Xiao Yi later.

That day, Du Mei arranged for Lu Zhou to have an interview with a men’s magazine and even got him on the cover, titled “The Ideal Man at Home, Fashionable Gentleman Lu Zhou.” She also promoted Lu Zhou’s new movie and had Xiao Yi write an article about it to be published in the magazine. Xiao Yi had no choice but to go find a screenwriter friend to help him with the writing.

“When will it be released in theaters?” Xiao Yi asked. “Can it be shown in IMAX?”

“Stop dreaming,” Lu Zhou said. “With a budget of over 30 million, we didn’t even use special film stock.”

In the end, the film went over budget to 30 million, which Xiao Yi could accept. However, to break even, the film needed to make 120 million at the box office. Guo Dao and Deng Xiaochuan approached several investors, but they hadn’t finalized the release date yet.

Lu Zhou would always be exhausted after filming a movie, especially this one. Xiao Yi thought that making movies and TV dramas was indeed a young person’s game. This high-intensity commitment was far more demanding than a desk job. They couldn’t take on any more projects this year, so they rested at home until just before the next Chinese New Year when Xiao Yi finally received some news.

The screening license was obtained, but the scheduling was tricky. Deng Xiaochuan’s connections weren’t good enough, and while Director Chai and Director Guo’s relationships with the film industry bosses weren’t bad, they weren’t strong enough to secure prime slots. Several major film companies also didn’t invest, so they couldn’t secure good screening times. Xiao Yi asked Du Mei for help, but even she couldn’t do much. Lu Zhou had barely rested when he heard this news and was almost furious.

“Are you capable or not?” Lu Zhou almost shouted into the phone, while Deng Xiaochuan kept apologizing on the other end.

“Are you asking me to do everything, including scheduling screenings, to provide you with comprehensive service?” Lu Zhou almost roared. “Do you even have any connections? You’re just relying on sucking up to powerful people!”

Xiao Yi: “…”

Xiao Yi thought it was really vicious. Shouting like this, others would surely hate him. Lu Zhou hung up the phone, furious, and had to make another call. Finally, the schedule was set—the April slot, the weakest in the market, just after Valentine’s Day and before the summer blockbuster season.

“Will it flop?” Xiao Yi asked.

“I don’t know,” Lu Zhou said. “With this promotion, we might as well give away tickets on Weibo and do a lucky draw. We only got about 8,000 reposts.”

Lu Zhou was completely out of patience. The promotion and distribution were both lackluster. Then, Director Chai called again, saying, “Little Lu, don’t be angry. We don’t rely on these…” Lu Zhou could only smile wryly and reluctantly agreed. But Xiao Yi remained optimistic. After all, he had struggled for so many years, and now he didn’t care if his work would become popular. As long as it was made, he was satisfied with his conscience.

On April 1st, the movie premiered.

“Who picked this date anyway!” Lu Zhou was almost about to explode. “Premiering on April Fool’s Day. Who would come!”

Xiao Yi sighed and smiled. He had a meeting at Du Mei’s company that day, so he couldn’t attend the premiere. They talked about a new movie project, and Lu Zhou went to the premiere by himself. Du Mei gave Xiao Yi four scripts to choose from and asked Lu Zhou to star in “Wu Henggu,” with Xiao Yi in a supporting role and Lu Zhou as the lead, and Xiao Yi took them back to his place in the evening to seek Lu Zhou’s opinion.

Lu Zhou, seated on the sofa, seemed still lost in thought and suggested, “I’ll arrange for us to watch it tomorrow. We can reserve the entire theater.”

Xiao Yi intervened, “No, there’s no need for that. Let’s watch it with the general audience. Director Du handed you four scripts today and expects you to mentor Wu Henggu. He’ll be playing a supporting role while you take on the lead.”

“I won’t take him,” Lu Zhou refused.

“Why?” Xiao Yi asked, puzzled.

Although Wu Henggu was skilled in face-changing techniques, there was a clear boundary between personal and professional matters. Lu Zhou’s studio was affiliated with Du Mei’s company, which took a 5% cut. It was only natural for Lu Zhou to help groom new talents. Du Mei’s promotion and distribution efforts were always strong, with an extensive network. If she were involved, they wouldn’t have been pushed to April, with only four screenings per day.

“No reason,” Lu Zhou glanced at Xiao Yi and added, “I just don’t want to work with Wu Henggu.”

“But I’ve already agreed with Director Du,” Xiao Yi said.

As Xiao Yi spoke, he realized he might get scolded again. However, Lu Zhou didn’t lose his temper this time. He smiled and said, “I’ll refuse her. Just listen to what I say next time.”

Lu Zhou’s temper had improved significantly since they finished filming. Xiao Yi felt that Lu Zhou had become much calmer. Although he still occasionally raised his voice, he no longer directed his anger at Xiao Yi.

“Ah, Director Du,” Lu Zhou said, “the thing is, I won’t work with Wu Henggu. Xiao Yi wasn’t too pleased about it.”

Xiao Yi was caught off guard, feeling as if he had inherited Lu Zhou’s roaring soul. He thought, ‘Why does it matter to me?’

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right,” Lu Zhou continued, “He didn’t say it at the time, but he cried when he got home. You see, we used to be involved in some BL stuff…”

Xiao Yi thought his image was about to be completely destroyed. Lu Zhou added, “Family stability and unity are the top priorities, right? Okay, no problem. Apart from Wu Henggu, I can work with anyone.”

Lu Zhou hung up the phone and looked at Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi pounced on him, but Lu Zhou quickly used a pillow as a shield and said, “Listen to me! You’ve got it wrong… you…”

Lu Zhou amusingly remarked, “Du Mei knows everything, she just wanted an excuse to reject him. She knows very well that I don’t want to work with Wu Henggu.”

“Okay,” Xiao Yi said, flipping through the script, “For this film… let’s do a romantic drama. Let’s not stir up trouble anymore. We can’t afford it.”

Lu Zhou said, “Sure, how about this one ‘Marriage proposal’?”

Xiao Yi glanced at the script. It was a low-budget urban film about a man proposing to a woman after going through numerous trials and tribulations, borrowing a house and a car from friends to propose to his beloved.

“Alright,” Xiao Yi said, “Let’s go with this one. The pay is 4.8 million.”

Lu Zhou only received a little over 2 million, considering it as an investment in his career advancement. Xiao Yi took on the task but was busy for a week before finalizing things for Lu Zhou. With Du Mei’s team’s involvement, Lu Zhou seemed to have acquired a mother figure, grooming him and assisting in his transformation towards a mature, respectable man.

Du Mei reorganized Lu Zhou’s publicity route. As Lu Zhou’s parents were overseas, she mobilized online promoters to hype up and promote Lu Zhou, claiming he was a rich second generation, portraying him as wealthy, gentlemanly, and a bit of a playboy.

Now, this rich second-generation young master had experienced the ups and downs of the entertainment industry, remaining calm amidst praise and criticism as he entered his thirty-fourth year, sharpening his skills.

“This is making me want to become a Buddha,” Lu Zhou said, looking at Du Mei’s promotional materials with a wry smile.

Xiao Yi also felt it was a bit over-the-top. He checked an online forum where comments ranged from “Nonsense, isn’t Lu Zhou’s mom running a grocery store in Canada?” to various other speculations. The chaos had started again.

“Is your… I mean, is your mom really running a grocery store?” Xiao Yi asked.

Lu Zhou said, “She’s a Chinese immigrant in Canada, not a grocery store owner. She actually runs a Chinese supermarket. I’ll take you there next time, and you can take whatever you want.”

“Okay, okay!” Xiao Yi immediately agreed. He hadn’t casually taken things from a supermarket before. Even though he now went out shopping with Lu Zhou and took whatever he wanted, it felt different.

The film would be taken off the screens in three weeks. Xiao Yi checked the box office earnings. In the first week, it had only made a measly 2.4 million. Though the film had a high rating on Douban, some said it was a tearjerker, while others claimed it was just for entertainment, and nobody wanted to watch such a sad movie.

Although it flopped, neither Xiao Yi nor Lu Zhou mentioned it. They had invested millions in it, but Xiao Yi felt it was worth it. A week later, Lu Zhou took Xiao Yi to watch a screening at 8 p.m. There were hardly any people during seat selection; just two or three.

Most people were watching the 3D movie in the adjacent hall. Even Xiao Yi felt tempted to go see it after seeing the poster. It looked thrilling!

“Do you want to watch this?” Lu Zhou stood there and asked Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi: “…”

Xiao Yi couldn’t comprehend what kind of obsession this was and said, “No, let’s watch ‘Qin mountains’.”

Lu Zhou had a lifetime VIP card for the cinema, so they didn’t have to pay for the movie. They chose the best seats available. Xiao Yi checked his watch; there were still five minutes before the movie started, and there were only seven people in the entire theater.

The opening scene was accompanied by an erhu melody. As the music echoed, Xiao Yi couldn’t believe that this was the theme song he had heard countless times before. With the lingering melody, the camera suddenly panned to the vast blue sky and the rolling hills of the Loess Plateau.

The colours, enhanced in post-production, appeared intense and majestic, with striking contrasts. The visual impact was overwhelming, dragging one’s soul into the world of the Loess Plateau sixty years ago.

The camera shots were vast, making Xiao Yi’s heart feel open and free. The first line that appeared on the screen was:

Starring: Lu Zhou.

When Xiao Yi saw those words, he felt an uncontrollable surge of excitement.

Lu Zhou smiled, raised the armrest of the chair, reached out, and hugged Xiao Yi. They leaned against each other to watch the movie.

After the opening credits, the story turned to a desolate village, where the music focused on the erhu played by Lu Zhou’s character, Wang Genbao, and the village’s stage. It was a story familiar to Xiao Yi from countless scripts, yet it felt entirely different, as it was experienced with Lu Zhou, bringing forth new emotions.

After his daughter was kidnapped, Lu Zhou, holding the erhu in one hand and a cane in the other, returned home. The camera cut to outside the courtyard, and after a moment, a heart-wrenching scream echoed from within.

Next, Lu Zhou played an erhu tune at the grave of his buried wife.

Both Lu Zhou and Xiao Yi shed tears. Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “During the premiere, everyone was bawling their eyes out.”

Wang Genbao’s voice in the film had become hoarse as he began searching for his daughter.

The entire process was gripping, from losing his only photo, the emotional support, to finally finding his daughter, although no one explicitly stated that it was his daughter. Even the makeup on Ying Zhou, played by Lu Zhou, looked entirely different from that of Wang Genbao’s wife.

By the end of the movie, they finally returned home, where Wang Genbao passed away.

Shortly after, with descendants filling the house, the departed souls of Wang Genbao and his wife sat on two chairs in the main hall, surrounded by grandchildren.

Xiao Yi glanced back and saw that there were only five people left in the cinema, including themselves; the other couple had already left.

As the end credits rolled, the remaining audience members wiped their eyes and got up to leave. Xiao Yi sat quietly with Lu Zhou. His name was the second to appear in the music team credits, following Teacher Chen.

“Not bad,” Lu Zhou remarked.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Yi said, “Being part of this film makes my whole life worthwhile.”

As the credits ended, Xiao Yi was about to get up when Lu Zhou pressed him back down.

There was an after-credits scene! A post-credits scene!

Xiao Yi immediately smiled, but unfortunately, everyone else had left the cinema, leaving only the cleaning lady.

The first shot was of Lu Zhou and the little girl playing hopscotch, a scene they both found heartwarming. It also included scenes of Lu Zhou bargaining at the market, all of which Xiao Yi had recorded. Director Chai had the footage re-edited.

It felt as if the soul of the character Wang Genbao from the movie had been reborn in Lu Zhou. Then, there was a group photo of the entire crew, including Zheng Xiaocong, all looking dishevelled.

“Could it win any awards?” Xiao Yi asked.

Since the box office performance was poor, they could only hope for awards to console themselves. Lu Zhou thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, “It’s unlikely. The story lacks depth, and there isn’t much room for reflection. It focuses too much on stirring emotions.”

Xiao Yi didn’t say anything. He knew that Lu Zhou no longer cared much about these things. Lu Zhou stretched and said, “Let’s turn the page! The next movie will be even better!”

Xiao Yi was filled with determination. However, the next day, Du Mei poured cold water on their excitement.

“What?” Xiao Yi found it hard to believe.

Du Mei sighed, “The investors’ demands, though unreasonable, are… I’m thinking about how to reject them. Should we wait a bit longer?”

The male lead was requested to be replaced in ‘Marriage proposal’, with another actor collaborating with the investors. Lu Zhou would once again be relegated to a supporting role. Xiao Yi said, “This is impossible.”

“The box office for ‘Qin mountains’ wasn’t good,” Du Mei regretted. “It can’t be considered his representative work.”

“Have you watched it?” Xiao Yi asked.

Du Mei nodded and said, “Yes, it was well-made, and Lu Zhou’s performance was excellent. But the investors don’t recognize it, or rather, they do, but they’re worried that the audience won’t.”

With a final box office of just over 13 million, it was a complete flop. Xiao Yi checked the online comments, finding that very few people had watched it. Most believed that movies were meant for enjoyment, not suffering, and only a few who liked this genre would watch it.

“I’ll go back and discuss it,” Xiao Yi said, “but I think the possibility is slim. If the investors don’t acknowledge his talent, I’d rather wait.”

Du Mei said, “I’ll do everything I can to negotiate.”

Translator : DarNan