If you're reading this anywhere else, it has been stolen from https://daisyktranslations.blogspot.com/
Please read from original site.
Hello again~ ʕ·ᴥ· ʔ
Since it's my birthday, I figured I should work extra hard for a new chapter release! Accomplishment achieved.
Btw, I also added 3 more pics for C43, so readers please head back to take a look!
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Enjoy Chapter 44!
Enjoy Chapter 44!
(unedited lol what's new •◡• - pls lmk if there are any errors!)
Chapter 44 - Being Careful Not To Steal The Limelight From The Protagonist
Xiao Yi seldom watched shows involving gun fights, but Lu Zhou acted really well. Until the end, in the fourth scene to the last when Lu Zhou died in the desert, the bangs of the guns were simply thrilling. Accompanied by the soundtrack, the sun rose and Xin Hongkai stood alone in the desert.
"You did a great job in this dying with grievances scene." Xiao Yi whispered.
Lu Zhou: "You're the one who died with grievances......"
Xiao Yi: "......"
The female protagonist rushed forward to hug Xin Hongkai. The camera zoomed out, showing the desert, the horizon, the mountains and rivers, and the wind scattering the clouds.
The audience applauded. Before Xiao Yi came back to himself, Lu Zhou whispered: "How much of the applause do you think is for me?"
Xiao Yi glanced around. The entire premiere was at full capacity.
"I think it's almost all for you." Xiao Yi said.
"Why?" Lu Zhou raised his eyebrows, clapping while turning his head to look at Xiao Yi with eyes like a focused big child.
"Because they didn't laugh." Xiao Yi whispered, "Everyone has a sad expression. If it's for the protagonist, then they'll laugh and feel that the protagonist has finally succeeded. But because they were moved by Zheng Changrong, they feel the sadness. Even though the protagonist succeeded, the result is also regrettable since it's not a perfect ending."
Even as the credits were showing, everyone was still applauding.
While he was applauding, Lu Zhou tried cheaply to be humble and said: "Hey, I was very careful to not steal the limelight from the protagonist, guess there's no helping it."
Xiao Yi: "......"
Taking advantage of the moment before the lights came back on, Xiao Yi leaned over and kissed Lu Zhou's lips quickly. Once the lights were on and the credits were finished, the behind-the-scenes were played.
The first shot was of Lu Zhou who had acted as a corpse crawling out of the desert, rushing towards Xiao Yi with excitement, and the two of them did a flying twirl and hugged each other.
The atmosphere of the entire theater was pushed to its peak in an instant. Everyone burst into laughter and then kicked up a loud fuss. People from all directions turned to look at them. Lu Zhou's face was red, and he was about to burst out in laughter. He waved his hands to motion that an explanation would be provided to them later.
After the premiere, the host interviewed Lu Zhou. The first question was of course: "Lu Zhou, I saw that you were very happy in the behind-the-scenes shown at the end of the film. Why?"
"I was indeed really happy." Lu Zhou said, "This is my first movie since I recovered from the injury. My assistant used another kind of art to help me complete my understanding of this character."
"What kind of art?" The host looked up at the screen which was showing a replay of the behind-the-scenes. When Xiao Yi had ran out, the camera shot his back view. No one could see who it was. The camera turned around, but Xiao Yi was already smiling and standing up, and promptly exited from the side of the cinema.
Lu Zhou nodded and made a gesture to hint the host to hurry and go interview the protagonists, and not waste time on himself.
As a movie that released during Chinese New Year, Xiao Yi had finally seen the power of the box office battle. He had never paid attention to the ranking, rating nor box office sales. Now that he was attentive to these, he felt that it was all full of carnage and smoke from the gunfire on the battlefield, and could barely stand to look directly at it.
Three movies were released one after another. The last person casted for one of them was Zhang Xinran. Xiao Yi had a cold sweat. Fortunately, they had not accepted that script in the beginning, otherwise it would have been awkward to death.
Lu Zhou started his pattern of mocking in his group: "Not filming of course."
Xiao Yi: "......"
"Oh, I'm still going to attend her movie premiere." Lu Zhou smiled pretentiously while on the call with his friends, "Recently our family's little Tzuki didn't allow me to go out, saying that Chinese people should stay at home during the New Year...... nothing can be done about that. No no, just like what you've said, why would I want her to drop dead? We have gone our separate ways and are happy. A gentleman who breaks off contact won't say bad things about the other, right?"
Xiao Yi: ".................."
If you're reading this anywhere else, it has been stolen from https://daisyktranslations.blogspot.com/
Please read from original site.
The box office on the first day for that was 7.9 million.
Lu Zhou glanced at it and said: "Zhang Xinran actually used a relying on countenance approach this time. It's not enough to increase the number of screenings, but there may be some hope on Valentine's Day."
"Valentine's day is not good either." Xiao Yi said, "Zheng Xiaocong and Ning Yaqing's is going to air on Valentine's day."
Lu Zhou remembered that behind closed doors Ning Yaqing was too fierce, that even Zheng Xiaocong was pulled over by her, so Zhang Xinran's approach was really not good.
"Can you recoup your investment?" Xiao Yi asked.
"30.3 million on the first day." Lu Zhou said: "It's certainly possible. As long as the movie gets enough screenings this year, it can even garner 200 million yuan. What investment can't be recouped."
On Spring Festival, that movie was released. It was a special effects fantasy production that invited a good Hollywood team. If it was possible, Xiao Yi would have wanted to go for the experience. However, considering the dual reasons of Lu Zhou's body and mood, he could only give it up.
The box office on the first day was 20.5 million.
"Hahahahaha!" Lu Zhou's schadenfreude had never stopped, and he mocked to his friends on the phone, "Oh, no one has watched xx films these days, Li Changzheng and Gu Xiaoqing, do you think these two little sisters can produce any sparks?"
Xiao Yi had already directly seen Lu Zhou's talent for mocking. This person had completely misplaced his potential talent to the point where he did not know where it was going.
"Oh, I'm not going against him." Lu Zhou squinted at Xiao Yi while talking, and then said into the phone, "Our family's Tzuki doesn't know the dangers of the entertainment industry, it's necessary, there is an indomitable person around him, the man among men, why is there a need to have a little enoki mushroom like Li Changzheng?"
Xiao Yi was in virtual tears thinking, Your exclusivity is too strong, don't get too proud okay!
As soon as Li Changzheng's movie was released, the rating for on Douban* had instantly soared to nine points, and ratings for《War of the Dawn》began to drop. Major forums and Weibo began to post photos in a frenzy.
*Douban is China's SNS for posting reviews regarding movies, films, etc.
Xiao Yi had an inkling to what was going on, and said: "Is this a water army*?"
*A group of Internet ghostwriters paid to post online comments with particular content.
Lu Zhou was still on the phone: "Hahahaha! The part where he brought investment into the filming, what did you say? Water army, oh for sure! If Li Changzheng didn't hire any water army, the sun will rise from the west......"
Xiao Yi hollered angrily: "Hire the water army to mess the ratings of his own film! Why is he messing with ours!"
"Hey." Lu Zhou took time out of his busy schedule to mock him once, "Can you not be so naïve, Zhang Xinran's already been trashed, would you tell him to go to her?"
Xiao Yi was full of anger because of Li Changzheng's water army. No, it should not have been hired by Li Changzheng himself, but by the film and television company, to help boost him and bring Lu Zhou down a notch. Now that Lu Zhou had no boss, he had at most an affiliation. Dumei also did not care about him anymore, so Lu Zhou had to be trampled on by thousands of people, making him the scapegoat for anything.
Lu Zhou was still enjoying the aura of a winner. Although he was only a supporting character, it seemed like he was the leading actor. He was showing off so much that he was about to hit the ceiling.
Xiao Yi said: "Do you have any contact information for water armies?"
Lu Zhou: "Aha! I don't need to do anything, Zheng Xiaocong alone can settle him......"
"Do you have any contact information for water armies?!!!" Xiao Yi shouted.
Lu Zhou: "In the ledger can't you see it yourself! Nothing, Little Tzuki's going to help his male god hire a water army to fill the entire box office. You say, how is Li Changzheng's life so good, hey, unlike me Lu Zhou, who can only pave the way for people......"
Xiao Yi had now totally automatically filtered what he was saying. He gradually felt that since he had pierced this layer of paper window that night and got together with Lu Zhou, his love for him had become a bit different. His love in the past was of pure worship for the male god and idol.
And now, it was more like the pride between family and relatives, making him feel that Lu Zhou was too awesome, and sometimes he felt his performance was funny, like a kid waiting to be praised, but was not praised enough by the fans? He seemed to look forward to Xiao Yi's own worship more than to fans.
Lu Zhou: "Yeah, he wanted what birthday present, so I can only shoot a movie to gift to him, hey, I'm already old, already old...... after the Chinese New Year? I didn't think about it......"
Xiao Yi flipped through the ledger, thinking that he had not heard Lu Zhou mention before, but he actually even hired his own promoter to create hypes? But was this not Dumei's responsibility?
He was dumbfounded when he found the contact person's public relations fee.
It was from last year, expenses from hiring a promoter to create Weibo marketing strategies. It was all about Xiao Yi, although last year’s talent competition was not hyped by Lu Zhou, but on the first night of Xiao Yi’s preliminary contest, Weibo pushed up the content. Lu Zhou did activate the water army and spent 100,000 to move it along. There was even a budget of nearly 300,000 in the future expenditures, waiting for the public relations company's quotations.
However, Lu Zhou only pushed the content up once that night. The next day he saw that it was already trending without any push, so he stopped taking care of it and only allowed the company to pay attention to the follow-up situation.
Lu Zhou was on the phone when he suddenly remembered, and immediately came over after he hung up the call. Xiao Yi heard Lu Zhou say: "Can't talk to you anymore, got to go." He immediately closed the ledger and pretended to have just flipped it open.
"Why are you hiring a water army?" Lu Zhou said as he quickly extracted the ledger away. Xiao Yi had no time to flip through it and he seemed as if he was at a loss as he thought, Please, you inherited my acting skills. You see, you haven't noticed that I'm acting...... and hence he replied: "To boost our movie."
"No need." Lu Zhou said impatiently, "The box office is enough to make them look like losers, so you don't need to hire any water army."
Xiao Yi had no choice but to give up. However, as he was watching a group of people who were scolding《War of the Dawn》on Douban, he gritted his teeth with hatred and finally could not help himself but to go into the battle. He posted a long and eloquent commentary about how well Lu Zhou had acted and how sturdy he was, how was the movie lousy?
However, what was completely out of his expectation was that the goal of that water army was not to smear Lu Zhou at all. Everyone said yes, Lu Zhou saved this bad movie, that was why the box office had more than 200 million yuan, but this could not change the fact that it was still a lousy movie. Thus, everyone started to chime in to frantically smear that Xin Hongkai's acting was bad, the female lead was just a pretty vase, and so on. This caused Xiao Yi to be stuck between laughter or tears. It was as if a punch was launched into cotton, and there was no reaction at all.
Xiao Yi then did not bother to look anymore. In the end, the box office was out, 250 million. Although he heard that the cost was overrun at the end, reaching nearly 40 million and there was no big explosion when the movie was released, but there was still a profit.
300 million, but the cost had risen to 140 million, and it would take nearly 600 million to cover the cost. *Li Changzheng's movie
Zhang Xinran's movie ended with more than 40 million. It was a small profit. If they had not invited her, they might have earned a little bit more. Qi Quan would constantly boast about how Zhang Xinran was carrying the entire box office, but this time it crashed. Xiao Yi could not help but feel it was funny.
If you're reading this anywhere else, it has been stolen from https://daisyktranslations.blogspot.com/
Please read from original site.
During the Lantern Festival, the crew held a celebration banquet in the hall of a five-star hotel. Xiao Yi thought, Ah, ah, this five-star buffet was the meeting place for my former boss and editor-in-chief, it's a high-class dining location!
All you can eat salmon ah ah ah ah!
Xiao Yi still remembered that he had wanted to come here before, so he desperately asked for two meal tickets from his colleagues. He wanted to bring his girlfriend for a meal, but unfortunately he was asked to work overtime that night. When he had finally finished work after 8 o'clock and went over with his girlfriend, they found that there was only dragon fruit left as decoration on the plates, and he was scolded by her as they left and he had left in a taxi by himself......
As soon as Xiao Yi entered, he was running around crazily like a wild dog with rectal prolapse. Lu Zhou whispered a threat in his ear: "If you make me lose face, I will divorce you today."
Now, Lu Zhou’s threat had changed from "fire" to "divorce you." Xiao Yi was completely immune to Lu Zhou's hard exterior, soft interior threats. It would be all good as long as he could smoke past him. Lu Zhou just said "Hey" after entering, smiling as he shook hands with another producer who had come to join in the fun.
Xiao Yi was about to take all the salmon on the plate away neatly with a shovel, but with a slight step, Lu Zhou suddenly appeared behind him.
Xiao Yi could only stand up straight, pick out two small pieces casually, and smile at Lu Zhou: "Eat?"
Lu Zhou: "You eat, I'm here to watch you eat."
Xiao Yi: "......"
Lu Zhou grabbed Xiao Yi by the collar and dragged him away from the salmon. Along the way, when he met the producer, their expressions changed instantly. Both of them nodded enthusiastically, smiling as they greeted the producer.
After the producer, Lu Zhou took Xiao Yi by his collar again and brought him to the dining table. The reporter sitting next door convulsed.
Xiao Yi: "......"
"Eat, eat." Lu Zhou said.
"Hey! Hero Lu!" A middle-aged man next door said with a smile.
"Hello, hello." Lu Zhou shook hands with the middle-aged man. Xiao Yi knew that Lu Zhou's inner voice must be saying "Who is this" at this time. The other party hurriedly handed out his business card, and Xiao Yi accepted it. The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Hello, you are......"
"I'm Hero Xiao." Xiao Yi nodded sincerely, "A single name is like a peak, and the people around call me a red cloak wearing Tzuki."
Lu Zhou: "......"
Middle-aged person: "......"
Hero Xiao ate salmon as Hero Lu was squeezing mustard for him. Lu Zhou snapped his fingers and realised the mustard was gone in a flash, so he got up to take more and said to Xiao Yi: "You wait here."
Lu Zhou was not interested in talking to the middle-aged man at all, he faced and nodded to the middle-aged man to show his politeness, then got up and left.
"Lu Zhou looks thinner than before when he was on TV." The middle-aged man said, then realizing that Xiao Yi was watching him, he hurriedly continued, "My name is Deng, Deng Xiaochuan."
"Hello." Xiao Yi said, "I am Lu Zhou's agent."
Xiao Yi was afraid that this person named Deng would say something strange. For example, if he did not know the relationship between Xiao Yi and Lu Zhou and unintentionally mocked a few words, both sides would be very embarrassed, so he just smiled at him and introduced himself first.
"I'm a producer." The middle-aged man said, "Has Lu Zhou accepted any new scripts recently?"
This was the first time that Xiao Yi had ever came across a person who talked like that, he was asked if they had accepted any scripts right off the bat. People would usually talk about recent movies first, praise a few words, and then inquire about the projects of Zheng Xiaocong's studio this year. Producers who knew the way of doing things would have inquired around about the news before asking to accept their own scripts. Why would one just ask if he was free on the spot, I have a show I'm wanting you to act in, was this asking migrant workers to move bricks!
Xiao Yi felt awkward to death, he could not answer, but he could not not answer either. Not to mention that he was still an agent and could not say: "I don't know." Finally, he said: "We are discussing this issue ourselves. I want to let him rest first, his shoulder injury still has not healed."
Deng Xiaochuan handed Xiao Yi a business card again. Xiao Yi glanced at it and saw that he was affiliated with a small company. Lu Zhou had obviously never heard of him, and he adhered to the entertainment industry's principle of "praising the high and stepping on the low". At this time, Xiao Yi should just concentrate on dealing with his salmon.
However, Deng Xiaochuan talked about his project with sincerity on his face, so Xiao Yi had to put down his fork and listen in earnest. His inner voice was begging non stop for Lu Zhou to hurry over and save him from the situation. Deng Xiaochuan was a producer of a small project, his project was equivalent to no project. Xiao Yi had encountered this situation more than often. Every time in a TV festival or film festival, there were many lesser-known directors and producers with their own stories, trying to capture the interests of the bosses or movie stars.
But most of the time not even the screenwriters were hired yet, and the stories were just preliminary ideas. Once the details were implemented, many problems would arise. The investment was not in place, the production team was not good, the contractor was not well-connected, and the film remuneration was not suitable. The delusion that a star would accept a lower remuneration due to appreciation for the story, 99% of such similar situations were idiotic dreams.
Deng Xiaochuan also brought his story. Xiao Yi was okay to read scripts, but he was often inattentive when listening, especially when there were delicious foods in front of him. The talk went in his left ear and out from his right, and he totally did not know what the producer had said.
"I want to contact a good director." Deng Xiaochuan said, "I've looked around and think that only Lu Zhou can play Qin Shan."
"It's hard to hire a good production team." Xiao Yi replied, while thinking, What the hell is Qin Shan. Deng Xiaochuan spoke eloquently for nearly ten minutes. Lu Zhou came back and knew what was going on as soon as he saw Xiao Yi's expression.
"Is there a script?" Lu Zhou said.
"The script is still in progress." Deng Xiaochuan said.
Lu Zhou said: "If there is a script, we can take a look first."
"I think this story is good." Xiao Yi said, "It's very attractive."
Deng Xiaochuan smiled and said: "You think so too, don't you."
Xiao Yi made a sound of agreement. Lu Zhou faced Xiao Yi and said: "Come here, I'll introduce you to someone. What story did he tell?"
Xiao Yi: "I don't know......"
Lu Zhou: "In the future, waste less time on these people."
Xiao Yi followed Lu Zhou to greet the boss of an investor. Zheng Xiaocong invested four million and came to join in the fun. Holding a glass of red wine, he faced Xiao Yi and said: "Xiao Yi!"
Xiao Yi smiled and called him Brother Xiao Cong. A group of wealthy bosses stood chatting, and most of them were able to relate to each other. For example, a was the boss of Juhua, b was the vice president of Lixing, c was someone formerly acquainted with Dumei, and there was a boss who had a long-term relationship with Li Ye, and several producers from Zhongying. They took advantage of this time to come out and socialize with each other.
Lu Zhou smiled and talked to them. Most of the conversations were about his plans after the comeback, and that they were looking forward to a good project. One of the producers said to Xiao Yi: "You all can prepare a promotional plan, haha!"
"Huh?" Xiao Yi laughed a little stiffly, thinking, Deng Xiaochuan is also a producer, but sure enough, there's still a big difference between the producers. Xiao Yi asked, "Are you saying to publicize the comeback?"
"《The Wind Floats》" That man said, "Maybe a broadcast license can be obtained."
Xiao Yi immediately became excited, and said in surprise: "Really?"
Lu Zhou hurriedly said: "Hey! Thank you Brother Lin!"
The producer said: "No need no need, this is what I heard, a friend of Director Guo has made great efforts, and 《Iron Horse and Glacier》 should be able to pass too. This year, Lu Zhou, is the year when your works will break out! When are you coming to be our cameo guest star hahaha."
"No problem!" Lu Zhou smiled, "Hahaha......"
Xiao Yi thought to himself that this kind of occasion was too much like a group of bad actors shooting a commercial film...... but if《The Wind Floats》and 《Iron Horse and Glacier》could be broadcasted it was still joyous. He did not expect Lu Zhou to rise up from just these two films, because Lu Zhou would hardly consider TV series anymore. But, he really liked these two TV series very much and wanted to see Lu Zhou's figure.
"Are you going to cooperate with the show's publicity?" Xiao Yi asked as he was driving home.
"The birth characters haven't been written yet." Lu Zhou said, "They're just casually talking, don't believe it."
Xiao Yi said: "Huh? It made me happy for nothing."
Lu Zhou seemed to be in thoughts as he said: "But the news should be right, the TV station itself is also anxious."
Xiao Yi stared at the Weibo of several TV stations every day, but Lu Zhou had no plans. After the box office for《War of the Dawn》was full, people began to look for Lu Zhou to act in movies, and they were all male protagonists. The vice president of Zheng Xiaocong's studio called Lu Zhou and asked Xiao Yi to go to a meeting to get the scripts.
Xiao Yi took three movie scripts. One was about a Mohism school and the public troupe during the Warring States Period, and the male protagonist was in the public troupe. One was an urban romantic drama, and the last was about Xiao Fengxian and Cai E. Xiao Yi was a little tempted, in thought that Cai E was a good character, and with Lu Zhou's temperament, it may explode with popularity if he acted as Cai E.
But there were too many lines. After discussing, Lu Zhou decided to wait. There was no need to be anxious for this sort of matter. He would rather wait a year for a good script and a good director than to just pick up movies casually.
Spring arrived, the sun was shining to the point where people felt warm inside. This year, there was no smog in Beijing. Xiao Yi was lying on the sofa doing nothing, and there was also no work. All he needed to do was to work out, surf online, eat, sleep, and read a book every day. It was indeed good to have money.
He was going to pick up his own composition and along the way, let his family deliver his erhu to him, so that he could write songs for Lu Zhou in the future.
The courtyard was full of flowers in spring. Lu Zhou planned to change to a house with a swimming pool and was asking for help in finding a house. When this season came, both of them had an impulse* in their hearts. They wanted to do nothing and just follow the nature's way and the habits of the species, to just do it at home.
Xiao Yi gradually got used to the relationship with Lu Zhou, and also gradually got to know that completely different Lu Zhou. Their relationship changed from a fan and an idol to getting along like husbands. Although Xiao Yi still admired him, he was now more seriously taking care of him. For many people, the Lu Zhou in the past was just an image.
In Xiao Yi's heart, he was a man in his thirties with emotions, sorrows, shortcomings, and all kinds of strange behaviors, just like Xiao Yi in Lu Zhou's eyes was an obedient boyfriend. Xiao Yi was no longer afraid of Lu Zhou and often taunted him, just like how he did with his former friends. Lu Zhou also seldom got angry at Xiao Yi anymore, as if he knew to cherish this hard-won love.
Xiao Yi often looked at Lu Zhou and felt that it was a pity to be with the male god that existed in many people's hearts and not make the best use out of him? So he treated Lu Zhou like a doll and planned to play various dress-ups for him every day. At the beginning, Lu Zhou was almost confused to the point of laughter and tears by Xiao Yi, but afterwards he was actually very cooperative.
Thus, suit, swimming trunks, military uniform, sportswear, pajamas, home cotton shirts...... everything Xiao Yi could find would be worn by Lu Zhou. In the end, Lu Zhou did not continue to be polite, and began to make various demands on Xiao Yi.
One of Xiao Yi’s favorite style was a white shirt, especially when Lu Zhou was almost entirely naked, wearing a tie or bow tie with his chest revealed and lying on Xiao Yi. The second was after running and exercising. Lu Zhou's bronzed skin would be a little sweaty, his shorts and vest were all stripped off and he only wore a pair of sneakers while pressing onto Xiao Yi to do it.
Lu Zhou then asked Xiao Yi to wear rimless glasses, let him lie down on the dining table, and he would come in from behind. Or after exercise, he would let Xiao Yi strip naked, then wear a pair of canvas shoes and a sports wristband, separate his legs, and go in from the front while touching Xiao Yi's chest and abdominal muscles.
Finally, Xiao Yi was asked to wear cotton slippers, white socks, and an apron, and would be done from behind when cooking or washing dishes.
Xiao Yi originally thought that he was already very perverted, but he did not expect Lu Zhou to be even more perverted.
"I, I, I...... have something on." Xiao Yi said, "I'll leave for a while.
"Oh." Lu Zhou said, "Aren't you coming?"
Lu Zhou had just returned from a swim. He was shirtless, wearing briefs and sneakers, and sitting lazily on the sofa.
#Raw word count: 6626
#NextChapterIsR21 :)
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Happy birthday! Thanks for translating and sharing with us! Hope you have a great day.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this chapter! Hope you had a wonderful birthday! X
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your wonderful work, I hope you had a very happy birthday, although my greetings are a bit late, I send you many affections and blessings, congratulations !!!
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