Chapter 65: The Lines You Just Spoke—They Weren't Meant for Me, Were They?

The final scene of the film was finished, shot right on the shore of Erhai Lake. They had just wrapped the wedding of Hao Yi and Avanda. It would have been a terrible waste not to use the beautifully decorated lawn wedding site for the opening press conference.

Chen Ling stood nearby, waiting for the crew to finish setting up the stage. The seats below were filled with reporters who had traveled from afar. Chasing after breaking news was a journalist’s duty, though this time the location was somewhat remote. Still, their trip was not in vain—travel expenses had certainly been arranged by the crew.

When it came to reporters, Chen Ling had always been generous. Reporters might not always help you, but if it came to causing trouble, they were experts.

As the crew busied themselves with the arrangements on stage, Liu Yifei, standing by Chen Ling’s side, lifted her head slightly to look at his profile and said, “Junior, your performance in that last scene was superb—I almost couldn’t keep up.”

“I was the one who almost couldn’t keep up, okay? Let’s not flatter each other.” The rest of the main cast were chatting among themselves, each keeping a polite distance.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Liu Yifei edged closer to Chen Ling and whispered, “That line you just said wasn’t meant for me, was it?”

Chen Ling was taken aback, lowering his head and looking at Liu Yifei, who stood beside him with her hands behind her back, gazing up at him. “Which line wasn’t for you? I don’t think I flubbed my lines.”

“It was pretty good, though,” Liu Yifei replied, tilting her head and smiling brilliantly at Chen Ling.

Alright then.

Just as she guessed, Chen Ling fell silent. Indeed, in that moment, his thoughts had been elsewhere—on someone else, the very person who had inspired him to make this film.

He wondered how that silly girl was doing now. Was Lu Zheng taking good care of her? Was filming hard on her? Had the online mockery made her cry? Knowing her, it probably had. And was she, just like him, still secretly keeping tabs on each other’s news?

And this Liu Yifei—was she always this sharp? She seemed different than usual. Could she really have sensed something was off just from a single line? In their time working together, she’d always come across as endearingly goofy, but now, just from a single line, she’d guessed what he was thinking. It made Chen Ling wonder if Liu Yifei’s innocence was just an act.

There weren’t many genuine naive sweethearts in the entertainment industry; running into Jing Tian had already been a stroke of luck. Surely he wouldn’t encounter another, would he?

...

November 17th: Young director Chen Ling’s new film, “Break Free,” wrapped filming today. At the wrap-up press conference, the director revealed the film is slated for release during the Chinese New Year season.

Director Chen Ling praised the cast, including Liu Yifei, saying their acting skills have been seriously underestimated.

Top model Lin Zhiling from Taiwan complimented director Chen Ling’s extraordinary talent, revealing at the press conference that she is a fan of his music and that her phone’s ringtone is one of his songs.

With only two and a half months until the New Year release window, there are concerns whether “Break Free” can finish post-production in time.

The crew refused all set visits during shooting. According to the director at the press conference, the film is packed with humor.

“Break Free” is set to drop into the New Year slot, intensifying the competition for the holiday box office.

...

Counting from the first table read, the film had been in production for just over fifty days—a relatively quick turnaround for a road movie.

They’d wrapped early yesterday and took the opportunity to hold a press conference. Since the film was aiming for a New Year release, promotion had to start immediately. Chen Ling had high hopes for this project and was determined not to skimp on publicity as he had with his previous film.

Compared to last time, Chen Ling now had both the funds and the manpower.

By the time the press conference was over last night, it was already late, so the wrap party was pushed to this evening. They shot one last supplementary scene in the morning, and by the time Chen Ling returned to the inn, the wrap party preparations were nearly complete.

They’d set it up like a bonfire party in the inn’s courtyard, right beside Erhai Lake. With the season and the temperature, it promised to be a comfortable night for a lakeside bonfire.

Back at the inn, everyone was still discussing the film’s New Year release.

“Director Chen, when will the film promotion start?” Liu Yifei asked, and everyone turned to listen. The actors would need to participate in promotions and had to set aside time for them.

“I’ll need a month for post-production—editing, scoring, and so on. We’ll launch the offline promotion before the end of December. I’ll notify everyone in advance,” Chen Ling replied.

“So this New Year, I’ll get to see myself on the big screen,” Shen Teng said with a self-satisfied grin. At this point, he hadn’t yet performed on the New Year’s Gala nor begun his cameo career in film and television. Strictly speaking, this was his first supporting role in a movie, and he’d been invited to audition by the director himself. It was a rare opportunity for him.

...

“Director, what’s your box-office estimate for our film?” Liu Yan asked, carrying a pot of flowers as she passed by Chen Ling. The question had come up at the press conference yesterday, but Chen Ling had dodged it with a vague “the higher, the better.” With no reporters around today, Liu Yan was genuinely curious what Chen Ling’s expectations were. In the end, a commercial film lives or dies by its box office.

Over the past few days, everyone had noticed the director and producer often huddled together, whispering—obviously discussing the film. The announcement yesterday that the film would hit the New Year slot had stunned them all. The schedule was tight for both post-production and promotion; if anything went wrong, it could hurt the film’s prospects.

None of them knew what clever marketing tricks Chen Ling had up his sleeve for the film’s release; even Chen Zhixi only knew part of it. Chen Ling already had a comprehensive plan for squeezing every bit of box-office potential out of the movie and making a splash in the New Year market. A good film, in his eyes, deserved to reach its full value.

With everyone’s attention on him, Chen Ling declared loudly, “Producer Chen has estimated our box office at four hundred million!”

He raised his right hand, holding up four fingers and giving them a little shake. The courtyard fell silent at his words. Everyone stopped what they were doing, clearly shocked.

“Four hundred million? That high?”

“What, don’t you have any faith in our own film?” Shen Teng teased, though he wasn't as well-known as Lei Jiayin, his screen time in the movie far surpassed Lei's.

“Do you know what four hundred million means?” Lei Jiayin, knowing Shen Teng was new to movies, lowered his head and explained quietly, “A four-hundred-million box office, not counting foreign films, would rank in the top ten of all Chinese-language films.”

Shen Teng was stunned. “That high? Top ten box office?”

“What did you expect? Our total investment was only thirty million!” Clearly, Lei Jiayin was as shocked as anyone. As a recent graduate with a minor supporting role, he couldn’t believe he might be part of a top-ten box-office hit.

“What are you two whispering about?” Chen Ling asked. Though they were speaking softly, the courtyard was quiet, and he stood right beside them. He could guess what was on everyone’s mind, even from their silence.