CHAPTER 331: CHAPTER 327 "THOSE YEARS" RELEASED

"Zhao Liying, you’re the second female lead, right? Do you have a romantic storyline in the movie?"

Several major male actors were asked questions.

As one of the few female actors, Zhao Liying also received some attention.

This is the benefit of participating in a popular project.

Even if you’re playing a minor role, as long as there’s a story about you, the media is willing to dig deeper.

"I’m a witness of love."

Zhao Liying was a little nervous, worried that she might answer the question incorrectly, or accidentally offend someone while answering.

If she offended Qi Hao, this relationship would be completely over.

Fortunately, she was prepared for the question the media asked.

As a supporting character who might only be asked one or two questions, she prepared seventy to eighty potential questions that might be asked.

For example, whether she envied An Feng.

Saying she envied her would imply an interest in Qi Hao, which is clearly a wrong move.

Saying she didn’t envy her would mean believing An Feng’s choice of Qi Hao was a mistake.

Also questions about love and career.

And questions about how she felt about a bunch of people chasing after her best friend instead of her, etc.

Anyway, she had thought about all the potential pitfalls she might encounter.

The question asked now was exactly what she had prepared for.

A witness of love.

This answer might not be perfect, but at least it kept her from being caught in a dilemma.

"You came into contact with Qi Hao because of your cameo in ’Lost on Journey’, right? On set, did you interact more with Qi Hao or An Feng?"

Yet another tricky question.

This was still without being specifically targeted by the media; they’re merely routine inquiries.

Mixing in entertainment is not easy.

Especially when you’re in a humble position, you’re just a tool for providing topics.

Only when you’re really popular can you request topics for interviews, request the tone of the interviews.

"I interacted more with Qianqian; we actually have a lot of topics. Qianqian is a very easy-going girl; she’s really easy to get along with, and I learned a lot from her."

Her words were not just purely flattering.

An Feng, you only know how beautiful she is and how great her charisma is when you see her in person. You understand she’s not really a cold person.

There are many people who call her ’Immortal Sister’, and the imagined An Feng is someone who doesn’t eat the food of common mortals and doesn’t understand human emotion.

But actually, she’s very grounded and nostalgic.

A chair she can sit on from debut until now without planning to change.

A piece of clothing she can wear for many years.

Her friends, she can maintain relationships for many years as long as they haven’t wronged her or distanced themselves, she’s willing to always treat them as friends.

"I’ve learned a lot from Liying too. She’s straightforward, but very kind at heart..."

Mutual commercial praise.

For those who show goodwill towards her, An Feng also returns the favor.

Even though Zhao Liying signed with Mrs. Hua, who had conflicts with her.

Zhao Liying was discovered by Feng Xiaogang, and thus joined Mrs. Hua, but didn’t receive particularly good resources from Mrs. Hua.

The downside of big companies is that while there are many resources, there are also many people who need them.

Moreover, the good resources are taken by the big stars.

What remains is just leftovers.

Zhao Liying’s contract with Mrs. Hua expires next year, likely to end without renewal.

For a low-profile person like her, Mrs. Hua’s side probably won’t make things difficult.

In their view, they gave you an opportunity, but you didn’t become popular, so it only proves you don’t have the destiny to become popular.

However, there is now a variable.

Zhao Liying participated in ’Those Years’, and she gained some fame before the movie was even released. If the box office explodes, she might seize the opportunity to rise.

At that point, whether Mrs. Hua will let her go is uncertain.

After the interview ended, they started playing games.

And lastly, it’s time to watch a movie.

Qi Hao and the others returned to the audience seats, holding hands like an ordinary couple, starting to watch the movie.

Among those attending the premiere, quite a few came with a critical mindset.

They felt Qi Hao and An Feng previously had ’First Love, This Little Thing’, which is about high school romance.

This time they shot ’Those Years’, still high school romance.

Definitely a cash grab.

Actually, the issue has already been explained by the film side.

These are two completely different stories.

The characters have no similarities, at most just involving similar story elements.

Campus, high school, first love...

Besides, ’First Love, This Little Thing’ was bought by Feiyang Media before it was even released, along with a finalized casting of Qi Hao and An Feng for ’Those Years’.

It wasn’t a case of seeing ’First Love’ hit it big at the box office and then deciding to shoot ’Those Years’.

However, biases in people’s minds are like a mountain; they only believe what they want to believe and refuse to listen to any explanation.

As the movie was released, everyone gradually became engrossed in the film.

And was willing to believe ’Those Years’ and ’First Love’ are truly different.

The character settings are vastly different.

Xiaoshui starts out as timid and insecure, but bravely changes for love, making the audience see their once unconfident selves trying to improve for someone they love, becoming better.

While Shen Jiayi is a top student, representing the best of youth, her excellence and kindness attract everyone around her.

The themes of the movies are also different.

’First Love’ revolves around the beauty of secret crushes and growth, while ’Those Years’ elevates the theme to reflect on regrets from youth.

The latter teaches viewers to boldly face the regrets of youth, learn from them, and walk more firmly on their future life path.

’Those Years’ deeply portrays the regrets of youth, hitting the softest part of the heart and bringing longer-lasting reflections.

Many who watched ’First Love’ were deeply attracted by ’Those Years’.

The quality of the film itself was solid.

The popularity of ’First Love’ hasn’t completely faded.

Qi Hao and An Feng’s official announcement boosted it.

For these reasons, the cinemas were very optimistic about the movie, providing ample screenings.

All these factors accumulating made ’Those Years’ break 38.55 million in its first-day box office.

Previously, ’Great Earthquake’ had a first-day box office of 36.2 million, surpassing ’Transformers 2’ at 33.71 million and ’Avatar’ at 33.03 million, becoming Huaxia’s new champion for first-day box office.

Yet, this champion position for ’Great Earthquake’ didn’t stay firm for even a month before being taken over by ’Those Years’.

Three days after the release of ’Those Years’.

Feng Xiaogang, in a media interview, was asked about this issue.

He certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

Immediately starting to complain.

First, he complained that the actors he chose aren’t idols and can’t hype up a couple.

This was a dig at Qi Hao and An Feng’s hype.

Actually, he wanted to hype too, but simply had no means to.

After all, ’Great Earthquake’ is a pure commercial film, and any means conducive to increasing the box office he would use.

Secondly, he complained about the declining audience quality.

He believed the audience couldn’t see the artistic core, and his excellent film ’Great Earthquake’ shockingly lost its first-day box office to a movie about first love.

He considered it a disgrace to Chinese cinema.

Viewers should reflect, ask themselves what constitutes a good movie; cinemas should also reflect on allocating so many screenings to ’Those Years’, questioning what value it truly brings.

Feng Xiaogang made his move, and the media flocked to Qi Hao.

Hoping to get him to rebut.

Then, a seasoned director and a new generation director would begin their clash.

But Qi Hao simply ignored him.

Just when Feng Xiaogang was complaining on Weibo, An Feng uploaded a new post.

The content was her and Qi Hao cooking together.

The cooking was genuine.

Qi Hao was teaching An Feng at home to make "Bean Sprout Stir-fried with shredded Meat."

This dish originally belonged to Zhejiang cuisine.

But Qi Hao slightly modified it, making it less sweet and adding some vermicelli.

An Feng’s caption even mentioned she ate a big bowl of rice.

Neither had any intention of sparring with Feng Xiaogang.

However, this retaliation was very effective.

More people went to cinemas for ’Those Years’.

What initially had high buzz and a strong start, but was expected to wane later, now sustained several more days of box office success.

Feng Xiaogang was greatly disappointed.

He deliberately provoked Qi Hao, hoping for some retaliation.

If Qi Hao engaged, the nearly month-old ’Great Earthquake’ could reignite some buzz.

Yet Qi Hao was immune to provocation.

Unexpectedly had the mood to cook with his girlfriend.