As the year-end approached, the most anticipated release was undoubtedly "Fu Sheng," a film that had been a constant fixture on trending searches from its initial planning to its wrap-up. The screenwriter, nine, possessed a peculiar knack for generating buzz; any news associated with her would capture the attention of the entire internet, fueling public curiosity about the mysterious figure to the point of a collective online plea for her to reveal herself.
Even before its release, the film had garnered substantial traffic.
Consequently, on the day the movie's release date was announced, the number of reservations surpassed one hundred million. Trending topics related to the film's imminent premiere appeared frequently, and the viewership for #九神nine#'s super-topic surged to tens of billions, solidifying nine's status as a truly revered master.
On the day of the film's premiere, the opening box office revenue directly exceeded two hundred million.
Quan Jiu received this data at precisely one minute past midnight, notified by Wang Feifei.
On the phone, Wang Feifei was practically stomping her feet in excitement, "Jiu Jiu, two hundred million! The Film Association's rating is 9.3, and the internet is flooded with trending topics about us. Everyone's calling 'Fu Sheng' this year's dark horse."
Quan Jiu held her phone a little further away and teased with a smile, "So, how low were your expectations to begin with?"
"I was just worried that a good work might be overlooked, you know? After all, many excellent films lack traction and end up with dismal box office performance."
Wang Feifei expressed her relief, "We didn't use any traffic, the female lead is a complete newcomer, Xing Di was an unknown, and the rest of the cast were even more obscure. With this configuration, to have two hundred million at the premiere, this achievement is almost unbelievable if you were to tell it."
"Alright, alright, calm down. If you get any more excited, you won't be sleeping tonight," Quan Jiu chuckled.
"I'm going out to celebrate tonight. You should get some sleep early."
After hanging up, Quan Jiu found herself unable to sleep. She decided to open Weibo and, as expected, the top five trending topics were all related to the movie. Xing Di and Liu Wenwen, the male and female leads, were particularly prominent, occupying the top three spots on the trending list.
Quan Jiu clicked on their Weibo profiles. Liu Wenwen had previously only had around a hundred thousand followers, a number accumulated from the news surrounding the film's production. Now, she had three million, and this rapid increase had propelled her to second place on the day's most talked-about personalities ranking.
As for first place, it was undoubtedly Xing Di. With a base of three million followers, he had now risen to seven million. After all, the female fan base, being larger among younger demographics, was more advantageous for prominent male actors.
This was the epitome of overnight success.
And that wasn't all. As an artist under Chu Xin Culture, Xing Di's meteoric rise also boosted Chu Xin Culture's trending status. The internet was filled with praise, touting the boss of Chu Xin Culture as having a discerning eye for talent, and coupled with the mysterious identity, netizens began to deify the boss of Chu Xin Culture.
Simultaneously, the boss of Chu Xin Culture became another mysterious figure, alongside nine, that the entire internet was clamoring to see.
As Quan Jiu casually browsed through netizens' comments, she received a message from Xing Di.
"Boss, thank you for choosing me back then. I will repay your kindness with more lucrative opportunities."
Quan Jiu couldn't help but smile. "You're already so grateful for this small favor? If I make you a top-tier star next year, you'll probably prostrate yourself in gratitude."
Xing Di immediately sent a prostrating emoji. "No need for next year, I'm prostrating myself now. So, when will the new script be ready?"
"The draft will be completed next month. I'll discuss collaboration with the director this month. For the rest of this month, besides endorsements, you should focus on honing your acting skills. If your acting is poor, I will replace you."
"When has the boss's judgment ever been wrong? Poor acting wouldn't dare appear at Chu Xin Culture."
As they were chatting enthusiastically, Liu Wenwen also sent a message, asking Quan Jiu if she could sign with Chu Xin Culture.
Quan Jiu immediately sat up and called Liu Wenwen.
However, to her surprise, a male voice answered the phone.
"President Quan, hello. I am Wenwen's husband. Wenwen is in the restroom. You can convey any signing requirements to me. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Kong Mu Yi."
Kong Mu Yi? Quan Jiu was secretly astonished. The founder of Xuan Fei, China's top software company, was Kong Mu Yi.
She hadn't expected Liu Wenwen's husband to be Kong Mu Yi! Previously, during the film's production, it had been reported that Liu Wenwen was married and had children, but the identity of the husband had never been revealed. Quan Jiu had almost forgotten about it.
"There are no specific requirements. I would be very happy if Wenwen is willing to join Chu Xin Culture. She can go to the company with her agent to sign when she has time."
"President Quan, I'm free tomorrow, I'll come tomorrow," Liu Wenwen's excited voice came through the phone.
"Tomorrow is Sunday," Kong Mu Yi said with a hint of helplessness.
"Oh... right. Then President Quan, I'll come the day after tomorrow, Monday," Liu Wenwen called out, leaning closer to the phone.
Quan Jiu smiled, "Okay, I'll inform the HR department in advance."
Kong Mu Yi added, "Thank you, President Quan. Wenwen will send you my contact information later. Our company has extensive business dealings. If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me. It's free of charge."
"Huh?" Quan Jiu didn't quite grasp it.
"When we were casting, Wenwen was embroiled in controversy due to her marriage and child. You spoke up for her and insisted on choosing her as the female lead. I've always remembered that kindness," Kong Mu Yi explained.
Quan Jiu nodded in understanding and replied, "That was so long ago. It was just a small favor, nothing to mention."
"Does your company use an office system? If not, I recommend you use the Xuan Fei office system. I'll provide it to you for free for the first three years. After three years, the annual usage fee will be discounted by 20%, costing only one million."
"We have our own system, so we won't trouble you, President Kong," Quan Jiu said.
Before Quan Jiu could reply, a cold voice echoed from the doorway.
She sighed softly and quickly turned off the speakerphone, silently gesturing to Chu Rong, "Go out."
Chu Rong, however, advanced instead of retreating, walking to the edge of the bed and sitting down, placing the milk cup into Quan Jiu's hand.
Kong Mu Yi clearly paused upon hearing the voice, and after a moment, he chuckled, "President Chu, you are truly surprising."
"Likewise. It's so late, don't waste everyone's phone bills," Chu Rong said, hanging up the phone for Quan Jiu without further ado.
Quan Jiu glared at him irritably, "You get out. Who allowed you to listen to my phone call? Who allowed you to enter my room?"
"Self-awareness," Chu Rong smiled. "Our company's system is more user-friendly than his, and it's free for life."
Quan Jiu pondered for a moment and then said seriously, "Then you can have your sales representative come to my company. I'm planning to expand our business and do need an office system."
After drinking her milk and ushering Chu Rong out, Quan Jiu reopened her work email and was immediately startled by the "99+" notification in her inbox.
She scrolled through them one by one. There were over a hundred and twenty new emails, almost all of them seeking collaboration, with more than half being offers from various directors.
The overwhelmingly positive reviews for "Fu Sheng" had compelled these directors to pay attention to the film. Upon watching it, they finally understood the term: "Nine God."
They finally realized that "Nine God" was not an exaggeration.
Good screenwriters were scarce, and excellent scripts were even rarer. Thus, these directors began contacting her proactively, hoping for a chance to collaborate with Nine God.
This was a delightful surprise for Quan Jiu. Unable to sleep, she began to filter them, selecting ten directors she wished to collaborate with and contacting them individually.
As a screenwriter, she could not only create scripts for her preferred genres but also tailor them to the client's requirements. Quan Jiu did not confine herself to any single format, instead proactively inquiring about the directors' preferred genres.
Perhaps these directors were all night owls, but out of the ten emails Quan Jiu sent, four received prompt replies. Among them, Director Lai Junjie, whom she most wanted to work with, expressed great interest in her current script in his reply.
Quan Jiu immediately sent him the draft of the script and Xing Di's profile, stating her desire for Xing Di to play the male lead, as the script was tailor-made for him.
Although Lai Junjie was somewhat resistant to a screenwriter dictating the male lead, given the weight of nine's reputation and Xing Di's popularity, he did not hesitate and readily agreed.
Things proceeded so smoothly that Quan Jiu could hardly believe it.
She called Liao Wei, relayed the news, and asked him to take Xing Di to meet the director the next day, where the contract could be finalized on the spot if everything went well.
Liao Wei, who was still analyzing Xing Di's performance, was overjoyed upon receiving the message. In just one day since the film's release, he had secured three well-known brand endorsements for Xing Di, and now he even had his next leading role, and with Lai Junjie, no less, a renowned director.
After hanging up, Liao Wei couldn't help but say to Xing Di, "Fortunately, you latched onto President Quan. We've truly become famous this time. I've been waiting for this day for four years."
As he spoke, he was overcome with emotion and tears of joy.
Xing Di was also amazed, "Just a few minutes ago, you said nothing was confirmed, and now the director has been chosen and the male lead is already decided for me. My boss is truly something else."
He then dialed his grandfather's number, reasoning that his own works should be invested in; it was a sure bet.