CHAPTER 47

When the phone call came, it was exactly 8 o'clock in the evening. Xiaoyuan had just finished dinner and was taking a walk in the neighborhood below.

Assistant Gao asked, "Miss Xiang, what do you mean?"

Xiaoyuan replied, "...Is the contract content the same as before?"

Assistant Gao said, "President Wei wants to hear your thoughts."

She walked into a courtyard in the neighborhood, where a large patch of fragrant orchids was planted next to the path. Among the lush green leaves, small white flowers swayed in the evening breeze.

Xiaoyuan said, "Assistant Gao, can I speak with President Wei?"

As soon as she was done talking, she heard the subtle sound of Assistant Gao, taking a deep breath beside her ear. After a few seconds of silence, she heard Assistant Gao,'s polite and composed voice say, "Miss Xiang, I can't make that decision. I need to ask President Wei."

"President Wei is on business in the U.S, and it's early morning there now. I'll consult with President Wei and call you back."

Xiaoyuan: "...Okay."

Once she hung up, she stood in place for a while, her heart racing. When she came back to her senses, she continued walking in circles around the community. After 40 minutes, still without a call from Assistant Gao, she slowly made her way back home.

More than an hour later, having washed up and lying in bed ready to sleep, Assistant Gao's name finally lit up on her screen.

Xiaoyuan took a few deep breaths and answered, hearing her say, "Miss Xiang, President Wei said yes, but you'll have to wait until she's done."

Xiaoyuan felt her throat go dry, "...When will that be?"

Assistant Gao replied, "It should be tomorrow in China. You should rest for now."

Xiaoyuan said, "...Okay."

Putting her phone aside, she turned over in bed. A small nightlight illuminated the room, casting a dim glow that caressed her face, soothing her unsettled thoughts.

She knew what she needed to say during the phone call, but how to express it seemed to paralyze her language system. Unable to form a complete sentence after tossing and turning for a while, she eventually fell asleep without realizing when.

She was awakened by the phone ringing. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up and answered, "Hello?" Just waking up, her voice still carried the remnants of sleepiness, sounding like a lazy kitten rubbing its face and struggling to open its eyes.

"...Miss Xiang," Assistant Gao seemed to clear her throat a couple of times before saying, "Are you awake?"

"Mm, Assistant Gao..." Xiaoyuan became a bit more alert, glancing at the clock on the wall—it was just past nine.

"Miss Xiang, President Wei wants to speak with you now."

Xiaoyuan was truly awake this time, "Okay."

After waiting for a second or two, presumably Assistant Gao had tapped the screen, the phone should now be in Wei Zhuang's hands. Did Assistant Gao accidentally put it on speaker earlier?

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end. Xiaoyuan took a slow breath and was about to speak when she heard the familiar gentle voice, "You were looking for me?"

"Mm..."

"Is it about the contract?"

"Mm," Xiaoyuan stared at her bare feet, knowing what she should say, but her mind was blank, unable to organize her thoughts into words, "I..."

Wei Zhuang also fell silent, then asked, "What do you want?"

Xiaoyuan was stunned, and at that moment, she finally understood what was bothering her. "I don't want to sign the contract, I don't want it to feel like... work..."

She didn't think it was a Bao Yang contract, but it still felt strange. Plus, she couldn't hide it from her brother. If she told him she signed a contract, he would definitely disapprove. But if she didn't sign the contract, she wouldn't have any opportunity to meet Wei Zhuang.

"Are you saying you don't want to sign?" Wei Zhuang asked.

Xiaoyuan hurriedly said, "No, no, it's not that. I..." She unraveled her thoughts, and her core desire finally emerged. "...I want to meet with you, it's just... I don't want to sign the contract."

After saying that, she covered her face with her hand, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks.

"Or like before, I don't need you to provide me with film and television resources or anything else. I just want to... meet you... without signing the contract."

It was a struggle for Xiaoyuan to get her words out. 

After she was finally done talking, there was silence on the other end of the line.

Her breath seemed to stop, she felt too nervous, uncertain if Wei Zhuang would agree, but there seemed to be a possibility that she might.

She waited and waited, but after a while, there was still no response. Instead, she heard faint footsteps, and then it was Assistant Gao's voice, "...Miss Xiang, it's me. cough, I'll call you back."

Xiaoyuan even doubted if her ears were playing tricks on her, but soon Assistant Gao ended the call. She checked her phone in disbelief—she really had been cut off.

Is that it?

Huh?

Xiaoyuan blankly fell back on the bed.

Did the conversation fall apart?

Is it over?

"Knock, knock, knock!" The sound of knocking on the door came, accompanied by Cai Juan's voice, "Yuanyuan, wake up, it's past ten already!"

"I'm coming in! Get dressed!" A minute later, Cai Juan pushed the door open and saw Xiaoyuan lying on the bed, her face buried in the pillow.

"What's wrong?" Cai Juan asked, noticing Xiaoyuan's expression wasn't right.

Xiaoyuan sat up and slowly said, "The contract is over."

Cai Juan raised an eyebrow, about to smile, but noticing Xiaoyuan's expression, she held back. "You're not happy?"

Xiaoyuan sat up slowly and said, "...I think I am a little."

"Alright, alright, I know you don't dislike her," Cai Juan came over to comfort her, "Meeting and parting is a normal thing, we're still too far from her level."

Xiaoyuan lowered her head, "..."

Cai Juan's eyes flickered as he quickly tried to change the subject. "Hurry up and get up! We need to go to the gym. The premiere of 'Zui Xiaoyao' is coming up soon, and you know how important this press conference is!"

Xiaoyuan took a deep breath. "I know."

This could be said to be the most important event she had attended so far; it was an opportunity she had long awaited, and that was what mattered most.

Other matters could wait.

"Zui Xiaoyao" was set to premiere on both television and online during the National Day. The two months leading up to the premiere were the golden publicity period.

At the end of August, the first two-minute teaser was released.

Fang Hao, Zou Yirui, and Xiang Xiaoyuan, who played the male lead, female lead, and second female lead respectively, gradually appeared, each delivering a line to introduce themselves.

Fang Hao and Zou Yirui, dressed in white, practiced swordsmanship by the lake together, with the blue sky reflected in the water, smiling at each other.

Ling Yao, in a red dress, swung a long whip to hook a tree branch, gracefully leaping over it. As she emerged from the foliage, her face appeared, with autumn-like eyes and a captivating smile.

Following that was a sharp and thrilling fight scene montage, scene transitions, ending with a beautiful aerial scene leading into the title of the drama.

The response was great, with fans of Fang Hao and Zou Yirui eagerly sharing the content, combined with the promotion of various marketing platforms' influencers, creating a lively atmosphere.

Next came the original book fans, whose comments were more objective and fair, and more realistic.

[The book by 'Canghai Yisu' is of good quality, Boyi is is investing a lot. Liu Qin is experienced in filming Wuxia, the production team is solid. I'm more concerned about the popularity of the male and female lead, but this Ling Yao is indeed stunning, just not sure about her acting skills.]

[Having several seasoned actors join is great, but I'm concerned about the abilities of the younger generation. The writer is Canghai himself, so we don't have to worry about the pacing of the plot.]

[When Canghai writes books, he loves to depict characters' inner thoughts, that's his style of writing books; scriptwriting is another matter, but thankfully he's doing well as a screenwriter—cutting what needs to be cut and adjusting what can be adjusted is his strength. I'm just worried whether the actors can handle the roles he created...]

[Boyi has mainly adapted Canghai's newer works before. This 'Zui Xiaoyao' is Canghai's second book, and the original book is well done. Canghai's strength lies in his ability to write female characters exceptionally well. His female characters outshine the male characters, emotions are handled very delicately, although the plot may lack creativity, it excels in depth and conflict, likely to be a hit!]

[Canghai's big fans were initially worried, but after watching the trailer, most concerns were alleviated, looking forward to the release.]

[The characters all seem fitting, especially the actress playing Ling Yao is too beautiful, the lady in red is stunning, I'm already captivated! I can't wait for it to air!]

These are more serious analyses from the original book fans, while some are more playful:

[Following Canghai's style, I guess it's not a love triangle but a multi-faceted love story, with various pairings forming CPs. (heart eyes emoji)]

[I agree with the comment above. This is his second book, we all remember his first one, The Record of Immortal Cultivation: My Beloved and My Sister's Yuri' so I boldly and irresponsibly predict that the female lead and second female lead will be a couple! The male lead is going to suffer! (Doge face)]

[The comment on the right makes sense. I've been a long-time reader of Canghai since his first book. I still remember the rollercoaster of emotions while following 'The Record of Immortal Cultivation,' and thinking back, it's still thrilling! I still want to beat him up! (Smile)!]

[The comment above reminded me of when I was a kid, I didn't want to understand so much (laugh-cry)...]

......

At the same time, there were casual onlookers and enthusiastic netizens, whose opinions were more straightforward.

[Wow, wow, wow! The visuals are too high! I'm drooling, I'm going to follow this, buying a membership!]

[Wow, the fight scenes look so exciting! I'm in!]

[Who is that girl in the red dress? So beautiful! I'm dead! Someone send her to kill me!]

[She's too beautiful! Someone let her whip me! (Dangerous statement)]

[What? Do those original fans mean this is a yuri drama? (New strange knowledge gained!)]

[What? Isn't this so bold and stimulating? But looking at the two ladies' looks, I can't help but ship it.]

[Wow. I usually don't watch martial arts, but this has sparked my curiosity!]

......

Riding on this wave of enthusiasm, "Zui Xiaoyao" topped the trending charts on Weibo and Douyin that day, maintaining high discussion levels for several days.

The National Day release period was highly competitive. Aside from movies, there was fierce competition among television dramas. During the same period, several dramas were set to launch, but only two posed any real competition for "Zui Xiaoyao"—one was a detective drama co-invested by Warner, and the other was a period drama entirely produced by Warner.

However, the former is a small IP with moderate production, and the latter's period drama targets an older audience demographic. While these two dramas can draw some attention away, they cannot compare to "Zui Xiaoyao."

In early September, Boyi and the cooperating Penguin platform began a large-scale promotion.

First came the second teaser, which mainly featured dramatic scenes, clearly outlining the plot and character relationships, making it very friendly for casual viewers.

A few days later, the production team held a press conference, attended by the core creators and actors.

Under Boyi, there is a subsidiary company, Li Feng Planning, primarily responsible for the main company's film and television marketing.

That evening, on Weibo, Douyin, and various news platforms, the photos of the creators of the production team flooded the screens.

Fang Hao in a pink suit, Zou Yirui in a white dress, and Xiang Xiaoyuan in a black suit.

Everyone has a love for beauty, and most netizens were straightforward. Aside from fans' enthusiastic praise, other casual viewers commented joyfully, "Fang Hao really is pleasing to the eye; the pink doesn't make him look feminine, but rather youthful!"

[Even though he looks young, he has an eight-pack abs, I'm checking him out!]

[Zou Yirui looks great, she's smiling naturally now, and her face is indeed small.]

[Her looks can definitely compete among young actresses, wait, who's next to her?]

[This lady is stunning! Her figure is incredible! Oh my gosh, she's both slim and well-endowed with long legs!]

[The black suit looks cool and suave on her, with such fair skin, I want to be the little vest inside her coat, don't get me wrong, I'm a woman!]

[I'm a woman too, and I'm drooling! What's going on? I swear I'm a serious person!]

[Let me just say, I'd take any of them!!!]

...

Everyone is delighted!

Boyi is generous and grand, allocating a large sum of publicity and promotion fees to Li Feng. The focus of Li Feng's promotion is on the drama, starting with his male lead actor, Fang Hao, followed by Tonghua's Zou Yirui, and finally the Shiyuan Studio's Xiang Xiaoyuan and others.

This prioritization was very reasonable.

Tonghua has very few young artists, with Zou Yirui being the only young actress. "Zui Xiaoyao" is a key project for Boyi, with Tonghua's artist as the female lead. The film and television director, along with the publicity director, met with the project leader from Boyi early on, reaching a consensus to cooperate in promotion for mutual benefit.

Xiang Zhishi had foresight and found a business management company for Xiaoyuan in advance, collaborating with Feiyi. Under his advice, Feiyi avoided competing with the other two major companies, opting for a low-key approach in their early promotions for Xiaoyuan.

The next three days were harmonious, with everyone assuming that, barring any surprises, they would just wait for the premiere in a lively and successful manner.

However, just then, an unexpected incident occurred.

This sparked an unpredictable and bizarre public relations battle that no one had anticipated, unfolding in a spectacularly dramatic fashion.

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