Chapter 136 Thank You in His Own Special Way

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more wrong it felt. He quickly dialed Huang Sibo's number.

Even though there was a mole and the deal couldn't be stopped, Pei Qian couldn't help but ask.

He wanted to understand even as he died!

"Hello? President Pei?"

Huang Sibo's voice was a little noisy, as if he was busy.

Pei Qian didn't waste any time with pleasantries and asked directly, "Who handled the movie's marketing and promotion?"

Huang Sibo was stunned for a moment. "Huh? Shenhua Film and Television, didn't President Lin tell you?"

With a "beep," the call ended.

Huang Sibo looked at his phone screen, completely baffled.

"Strange, wasn't it President Pei himself who brought in President Lin from Shenhua Film and Television to help with the movie's promotion?"

…

After hanging up, Pei Qian immediately called Lin Chang.

"Hello? President Pei, is there anything you need? The movie doesn't premiere until tomorrow, does it?"

Hearing this, Pei Qian felt his heart sink.

Sure enough, this was all his doing!

Pei Qian forced himself to suppress the pain in his heart. "Was the marketing and promotion for *A Beautiful Tomorrow* done using Shenhua Film and Television's resources?"

Lin Chang on the other end of the phone paused slightly before saying with a smile, "Yes, President Pei, you've already noticed? Oops, I was originally planning to give you a surprise on the day of the movie's premiere."

"President Pei, you don't have to take it too seriously. I didn't spend too much money, just casually used the resources I had on hand. Just a small matter, a small matter."

Pei Qian was speechless with anger.

Listen to what he's saying! Is that human language?

Didn't spend too much money, just casually used the resources he had on hand?

And then you got me nearly forty percent of the screenings?

Lin Chang heard no response from President Pei on the other end of the phone and thought he had moved him. He quickly said, "Really, I'm just returning the favor. President Pei, you definitely don't have to take it too seriously."

"Moreover, the subsequent screenings will depend on the movie's attendance rate and word-of-mouth. It might not always stay above 30%."

"Of course, since it's a movie invested in by President Pei, it must be excellent. I'm just going with the flow."

"If President Pei really feels bad about it, you can symbolically give some publicity expenses after the box office explodes."

Pei Qian: "…"

Wait until the box office explodes?

By then, I'll already be underground! Isn't it too late to talk about "compensation"!

Pei Qian said weakly, "Who told you about this movie…"

Lin Chang chuckled. "What, does President Pei want to thank them in person? There's no need. It's not a secret that Fei Huang Workshop is filming a movie. You can find out with a little inquiry."

"In short, President Pei, you don't have to worry too much. As long as A Wan's matter is settled, what are these publicity resources worth?"

"Once A Wan really goes home, I'll help you promote every movie you make in the future!"

Pei Qian: "…"

If you keep saying that, Lin Wan will never be able to return to your Lin family in this lifetime!

Pei Qian finally understood what was going on. Lin Chang had obviously misunderstood and taken it upon himself to do something "within his power" as a thank you to Pei Qian for persuading Lin Wan to quit.

But President Pei was suffering inside. This isn't thanking me, you're clearly screwing me over!

Pei Qian laughed dryly. "President Lin, if the movie's box office explodes, I'm not letting you off the hook!"

With a "beep," the call ended.

Lin Chang looked at his phone screen, slightly surprised.

"President Pei is President Pei, even his way of expressing gratitude is so unique."

In fact, Lin Chang made it sound simple, but it took a lot of effort to secure such a high percentage of screenings.

Fortunately, the other movies weren't very strong, which allowed him to successfully get such a high number of screenings on the first day.

"It seems like A Wan will be home soon."

Lin Chang thought to himself with satisfaction.

…

…

February 22nd, Tuesday.

Midnight.

Pei Qian secretly went to the movie theater on the top floor of the Global Paradise Street alone to watch the premiere of *A Beautiful Tomorrow*.

Huang Sibo, Zhu Xiaoce, Lu Zhiyao, and Zhang Zuting were all out of Jingzhou. They were going to big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou for publicity and to meet fans.

At this moment, they were probably also in a movie theater in some big city, waiting for the premiere, right?

The reason why Pei Qian came to the premiere secretly by himself was because he was afraid that if the premiere's reception was too enthusiastic, he might not be able to control himself.

If he wasn't seen by acquaintances, he wouldn't lose control on the spot and damage President Pei's image.

Before entering the movie theater, Pei Qian first saw the Modest telephone booth. There was actually someone singing in it so late at night.

Seeing Modest's expression, which seemed to be mocking him, Pei Qian felt his eyelids twitch. He quickly turned his head to the side and hurried into the movie theater, so that his mentality wouldn't collapse before the movie even started.

Because he bought the tickets a bit late, he didn't get a very good seat and just sat in a corner near the edge.

Pei Qian thought this seat was quite good.

On the one hand, he wasn't expecting a great viewing experience, just watching it casually was fine; on the other hand, there would definitely be a lot of couples watching this movie, and sitting in the corner could effectively avoid being bombarded with displays of affection.

However, as soon as he sat down, Pei Qian was speechless.

There was a couple right next to him.

He tried to avoid it, but he still couldn't escape!

Pei Qian could only try his best to munch on the large bucket of popcorn in his hand, using it to divert his attention.

The occupancy rate of the entire screening hall was about seventy to eighty percent, not completely full. This was already quite good for a midnight premiere, especially since this was Jingzhou, not a big city like Beijing or Shanghai.

Of course, what others considered "good" was not the same as what Pei Qian thought. For him, this occupancy rate was quite bad!

"Calm down, calm down."

"You must maintain a peaceful state of mind."

"Those who came to the premiere are probably Lu Zhiyao's die-hard fans. As a top domestic actor, it's normal and reasonable for some die-hard fans to come to the premiere."

"Once these die-hard fans have all watched it, the movie's occupancy rate should plummet."

Pei Qian cheered himself up while munching on popcorn.

Just after midnight, the lights in the entire screening hall were turned off, gradually dimming.

The opening was a bunch of company logos, including Fei Huang Workshop and Shenhua Film and Television.

The discussions in the movie theater gradually subsided, and everyone watched the big screen intently.

The movie officially began.

Accompanied by the names of the main creators and the background music, were several montages:

A fast-food relief meal on the table;

Waste paper balls and a crushed beer can at his feet;

Advertisements chirping non-stop on a small screen;

A half-eaten bag of potato chips filled with crumbs…

From these shots, one could get a slight glimpse of the entire story's science fiction background. The style of the table, the small billboards in the room, the cramped but technologically advanced space, all seemed to be hinting that this was happening in a future world.

The chaotic rustling sounds in his ears gradually became clearer. A seemingly well-made but not very exciting variety show was playing on the big screen. Clear and standard English voice-overs came on, and subtitles appeared at the bottom of the movie screen at the same time.

Lu Zhiyao's back was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed, staring intently at the big screen.

Suddenly, the "Guessing Result" screen appeared. At the same time, the huge celebratory words "congratulations" exploded on the screen with confetti effects. This meant that the male protagonist had guessed correctly and earned income from this variety show.

"Yes!"

Lu Zhiyao shouted excitedly, clenching his fists and waving them vigorously. After a series of celebratory actions, he went to the food counter to buy a can of beer…

?

Pei Qian suddenly realized that he seemed to have seen this scene before.

Next, was the part where he drank beer!

When filming it, President Pei even personally "guided" Lu Zhiyao's acting skills…

Pei Qian's heart sank.

This movie was throwing out a trump card right from the start!

When he watched the rough cut, the first scene wasn't this, was it?

This change in the opening instantly had a preemptive effect!

The movie theater was silent, and even the sound of eating popcorn was lowered.

Pei Qian instantly had a premonition that "something seemed amiss."

It looked very different from the rough cut!

On the screen, Lu Zhiyao didn't pick up the thrown-out can. Instead, he sat dejectedly on the floor, leaning against the window, hugging his knees with both hands, and burying his head deeply in his arms.

This was the opening of the movie.

Then the camera turned, no longer showing the male protagonist's capsule, but starting to show the external scene.

After midnight, the outside world became the domain of the extremely poor.

Towering skyscrapers pointed to the night sky, like glowing tombstones.

In the distance, the rooftops and courtyards of the buildings could be vaguely seen. Many wealthy people were keen to build their retro mansions on the top floors of the skyscrapers, and they had to emit bright lights at night, constantly shining in the night sky, so that all the extremely poor who could only come out for three hours at night could admire them properly.

At the bottom of the buildings, colorful neon lights flickered, which was completely different from the fairy-like scenes at the top of the skyscrapers.

The faint starlight and the neon lights on the ground seemed to be connected by glowing "tombstones," revealing a bit of absurdity.

Thousands of flying cars flashed with different colors of light as they shuttled between the skyscrapers, like flowing stars in the night sky, converging into many colorful rivers.

However, the extremely poor people walking on the road with umbrellas in the drizzle did not care about what was happening above their heads. They were buying all kinds of snacks that looked strangely shaped and might not be tasty, engaging in some cheap entertainment activities, and arguing over a few dollars, as if they were used to it.

News programs were playing on the TVs in the roadside shops. An extremely poor person was subjected to extremely severe punishment for coming to the outside world at the "wrong time." The host was "sincerely advising" all citizens to come to the outside world at the prescribed time and not to violate the rules.

Pei Qian hadn't seen this part.

Because most of the shots in it were made with special effects in post-production, and the majority of the investment was spent here.

Looking at this magnificent scene and the almost realistic special effects, Pei Qian became even more nervous.

"Calm down, calm down."

"There's only this small part with special effects, just a few minutes, and there won't be such big scenes later."

Pei Qian grabbed another handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth, using eating to relieve his nervousness.