It was only the beginning.
After Jack’s article appeared in the newspaper, everyone was baffled. Most people guessed that he had been paid off, and his fellow critics were delighted. They hurried over to pile on.
Once they had finished, they added sarcastically:
“Everyone’s tastes are different. There’s also a tiny chance that he wasn’t swayed by money, and that this movie really touched his soul.”
The remark was met with a wave of laughter.
Even the editor of the newspaper Jack wrote for couldn’t withstand the pressure and came to ask him what was going on.
“Let them say whatever they want.”
Jack sneered.
“Time will prove everything. The more people cursing me now, the more people will praise me later!”
Then, almost overnight, public opinion completely reversed itself.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe it. There’s actually a movie like this in the world.”
“It’s incredible. Absolutely incredible.”
“It’s in color! Compared to this, all the black-and-white movies from before are complete garbage. It’s so much easier on the eyes. Movies with color are simply more realistic.”
“Damn it, I should have listened to Jack and bought my ticket earlier. Now I can’t get one at all. There are too many people. I can only pay a fortune to buy one from someone else.”
As for why people were willing to pay extra just to see it?
Obviously.
Everyone was discussing The Feast—discussing color-film technology and those exquisite sets. It had already become a trend.
If you didn’t want to fall behind the times,
you had to take part.
And this trend wasn’t limited to the United States. Like a hurricane, it swept across the entire world. No one was mocking The Feast anymore or claiming that a Chinese lead actor couldn’t carry the story, or that fans of the actors playing supporting roles wouldn’t pay to see it. Their tune had changed as well.
The male and female leads became overnight sensations!
Their fees skyrocketed.
Their faces appeared in advertisements everywhere. Whenever they went out, they were chased by hordes of fans. Their clothes and hairstyles were copied by countless people. They had unmistakably become the hottest stars of the moment.
How could that not make people jealous?
Even famous actors like James began mentioning everywhere that they had played roles in the movie and recounting amusing stories from the filming.
They showed no embarrassment whatsoever.
Of course not.
This was the first color film in the world!
As for the movies they had starred in—their leading actors had defected as well. What else was there to say? Whether they were good or bad, highly funded or low-budget, none of it mattered anymore.
Because they had all been defeated by The Feast.
It was like the sun hanging high in the sky.
The stars were still there, of course.
But beneath the sun’s blazing radiance, who would notice them?
The box office surged forward like a force of nature, climbing relentlessly.
After three days in theaters,
the box office broke one million… and that was one million U.S. dollars.
By the fifteenth day,
it had surpassed five million dollars.
At that point, the daily box office reached its peak and began to decline slowly. Then it would rise a little again on holidays, like a glass marble rolling across the floor. Its speed grew slower and slower, yet it continued far beyond everyone’s expectations, refusing to come to a stop.
Six million came and went.
Then seven million.
After that, it struggled past eight million…
Exaggerated?
Su Ning didn’t think so at all. Even though the film industry had already gone completely mad, people who weren’t afraid of dying were still contacting her, desperate to learn how the color images had been created.
Director Zhou was moved to tears. He thanked Heaven and burned incense to his ancestors, offering prayers of gratitude.
His earlier dejection had vanished.
His confidence had returned in full force.
Su Ning, however, was not entirely satisfied.
Of course, it wasn’t because she couldn’t watch Zhou Tian’s helpless, furious collapse unfold… Though that was certainly entertaining. The main problem was that The Feast still hadn’t reached the top of the box-office rankings!
“Actually, those figures include the revenue from rereleases. Even so, it’s only a matter of time before The Feast catches up.”
After saying that, Lin Sen reminded her:
“Since the theater chains are in your hands, you don’t need to split the earnings again. In reality, Miss, your rate of return is far higher than that of other film investors.”
Oh…
That was true.
As everyone knew, when you invested in a movie, you couldn’t simply take a proportional share of the total box office.
Generally speaking,
about half had to be given to the theaters first. Only the remainder could be divided among the investors.
But Su Ning didn’t have that problem.
She had financed the film herself, and most of the theater chains also belonged to her. It was merely a matter of moving money from her left pocket to her right. She didn’t need to worry about anyone falsifying the accounts, either. And besides, tax collection was chaotic at the moment—the powerful president who would later take office had not yet appeared—so with a little maneuvering, she didn’t even need to pay taxes.
Her private treasury had grown a little fatter again.
A smile spread across Su Ning’s face.
…
And it wasn’t only her private treasury that had benefited.
After the film’s release, she received quite a few rewards as well, though they might sound difficult to understand.
The explanation was actually very simple.
Industry revolution.
The word “revolution” itself represented a tremendous shock to those who profited from the existing system. The moment people involved in black-and-white films saw a color movie, they were so furious with Su Ning that they ground their teeth in hatred.
Then there were those who had mocked The Feast and hoped to see Su Ning stumble. Their hopes had been dashed, so naturally, they experienced intense emotions.
Some were so enraged that they nearly spat blood.
The most representative example was—
Huo Xiang.
When the movie ended,
he finally came back to himself and realized that he had been completely absorbed in it. His face instantly turned ashen.
He remained seated, not daring to move.
He was afraid that the moment he stood up, he would lose control and go mad.
He had originally intended to witness Su Ning’s failure with his own eyes, so he could feel a little better. Instead, he had watched his enemy triumph once again, leaving everyone—including him—with egg on their faces.
Who could possibly feel good about that?
Huo Xiang certainly couldn’t.
But Guan Jixing misunderstood. He exchanged a glance with Mu Wan.
See? I told you. Even when he’s so busy, he still insists on watching her movie. It’s over, and he’s still reluctant to leave.
I believe you now… Ah, love—what is it, that it can make people live and die for one another? I heard that Su Ning humiliated Mr. Huo several times, yet he fell in love with her anyway. Love truly is the most mysterious thing in the world.
The two communicated through their eyes.
Then they sighed at the same time.
They looked at Huo Xiang with pity, suddenly understanding why he had brought only the two of them to see the movie.
He didn’t want his most capable subordinates to continue resenting the woman he secretly loved. This was his roundabout way of expressing his hope that the conflict between them could be resolved!
“Impossible.”
Guan Jixing shouted. He looked excitedly at Huo Xiang, thinking he had made his opposition perfectly clear. But when he considered the pain of love, his heart softened.
After thinking it over, he said with great restraint:
“Wan’er and I will watch The Feast a few more times. But some wounds run too deep to ever be erased. I hope you understand.”
Huo Xiang, who had brought them along simply to mock and criticize Su Ning together so he could earn their goodwill and gain Fate Points, was left speechless.
What…?!
He endured it again and again.
Swallowing the string of curses that nearly burst from his mouth, he chose to change the subject.
“How is the breeding farm doing? Can it supply enough chicks? Next, we’ll have to expand the scale by more than ten times.”
“Of course. You can rest assured when I handle something.”
Guan Jixing thumped his chest as he gave his guarantee.
“There absolutely won’t be any problems!”
Only then did Huo Xiang reluctantly believe him. Naturally, he knew exactly how capable the man was. But for the sake of Fate Points, he had no choice but to entrust him with important responsibilities.
Fortunately, it was only raising chickens. What could possibly go wrong?
This batch of white-feathered chickens was extremely important.
It was meant to supply the Japanese army. After his previous failure in the Northeast, he had fled back and was hoping to use this opportunity to restore his standing. The earlier batches had been kept small to focus on breeding, but the chicken he supplied was both delicious and inexpensive, and had already won the Japanese side’s approval.
As long as this batch succeeded, he would not only regain their trust—his status would rise dramatically as well.
Then he thought of where the white-feathered chickens had come from…
Huo Xiang smiled smugly.
He felt much better.
…………
That day, Su Ning received two pieces of good news in a row.
The global box office had finally surpassed ten million.
The second piece of good news was something Su Ning herself hadn’t expected—
They had found traces of “the true young master.”
