Chapter 624 - Another Year Passes
The next seven days passed In the blink of an eye.
The exams were over, and it was finally the winter break.
Liu Bingyao flew all over Huaxia in the past week for signing events, which contributed to a rise in album sales.
Meanwhile, Haotian Pictures released the second trailer of “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” which set off another wave of excitement. The number of followers of the official Weibo account rose soared again.
The film critics and directors crawled out of the woodwork once more.
“Haha! It’s actually releasing on the first day of the Lunar New Year? How daring! Are the people of Haotian Pictures all idiots?”
“How dare this small-time trash movie release on Lunar New Year? Hahaha! I’m dying of laughter!”
All of them mocked.
Admittedly, the two trailers were very well-produced, but a good trailer did not mean that the movie was good.
It happened too often that a bad movie was saved by an amazing trailer.
Moreover, the movie only had a production time of three and a half months, from October last year to mid-January.
How would one shoot a movie in three and a half months? Even the simplest rom-com would have taken longer.
An action movie like “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” that had many special effects would take at least one year to make.
In conclusion, one could imagine how bad and rushed the movie could be. They probably blew their entire special effects budget on the trailer.
Every Lunar New Year, the box office would be a battlefield on which major films would vie for dominance. A debut film by a no-name director would be easily crushed.
The Lunar New year period of this year was no exception. All the big-name directors would release their films on the same day.
Director Tian’s fantasy masterpiece “The Legend of Deification”, Director Zhang’s mystery masterpiece “Bait and Switch”, Director Chen’s fantasy masterpiece “Journey to the West”, and so on…
These were all famous veteran directors with huge followings. Their names alone had a great appeal at the box office.
Those companies would be dividing the majority of the Lunar New Year’s box office profits among themselves.
Other movies, including the rising star Director Liu’s “Middle School Detective Genius” and Director Mo’s “Potsticker Man” among others, had great potential.
It was quite reckless to release “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” with such intense competition.
The production crew was used to those remarks. They did not bother replying to the negativity, instead focused their efforts on advertising.
After the winter break started, Tang Hao brought Yan’er and Cao Fei back to Westridge.
A few days later, Qin Xiangyi’s factory closed for Lunar New Year. The two of them enjoyed their intimate time together for the next few days.
Lunar New Year got closer and closer as the days passed. The atmosphere was getting livelier.
Tang Hao prepared gifts and other items for the festivities.
Now, he was not alone anymore. He was obligated to give gifts to many of his friends.
Last year, he had prepared many jade talismans and potions. This year, he had prepared many talismans and pendant-shaped Artifacts.
Artifacts were precious items and were meant for the people closest to him. The other friends would receive jade talismans.
He spent the next five days crafting everything and putting them into gift bags.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiangyi decorated the mansion, which made it more festive.
Before the Lunar New Year, Tang Hao made a trip to the provincial capital, then to River Delta City and the Capital to deliver gifts.
On New Year’s Eve, Tang Hao and Qin Xiangyi went to Greenwillow village and had a lively reunion dinner.
Close to midnight, the couple sat on the top of a skyscraper, waiting for the new year to come.
The night wind that brushed past their faces was slightly cold.
They leaned against each other, looking at their watches without saying a word.
The second hand marched rhythmically toward midnight.
“Ten… nine… eight… seven…” She counted softly.
“Zero!” The second hand struck the number twelve.
Bang! Bang!
Fireworks were set off everywhere in the city, lighting up the night sky in a dazzling display.
“So beautiful!” Qin Xiangyi exclaimed.
She turned her head and looked at Tang Hao. “Happy New Year, Lil Tang!”
“Mm! Happy New Year!” Tang Hao replied and held her hand tightly.
“How time flies, Lil Tang. It’s been another year. This is the second year we are together.” She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah! It’s so fast!” Tang Hao said.
“Actually… I hope it can be faster. You’re only twenty years old this year. You’re still too young!” She muttered.
She paused for a while and continued, “Lil Tang, do you remember last year? We celebrated the New Year like this too. We’ll celebrate New Year this way every year after this, OK?”
“OK!” Tang Hao kissed her forehead and said solemnly.
After a while, she looked at her watch and said softly, “Let’s go! We’re going to miss the premiere!”
Then, she stood up in a hurry.
Tang Hao smiled and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t miss it!” Then, he picked her up and rode the wind.
She cried out in surprise and hugged Tang Hao tightly.
They flew past the tall buildings and landed near the cinema.
The entrance of the cinema was very lively, even though it was past midnight. Many people brought their families to watch a movie. They looked very happy, greeting each other with “Happy New Year!”
“What are we watching, dear?”
“Let me see. ‘Bait and Switch’ should be pretty good. The director is very famous. Look at the all-star cast. ‘The Legend of Deification’ should also be good.”
“What about this ‘Mao Mountain Taoist Master’? I heard that the trailer is amazing.”
“Ha! It’s a trash movie. You can tell by the name of the director. I don’t even know all these actors.”
Tang Hao could hear those conversations as soon as he stepped into the cinema.
He grimaced and felt a little helpless.
Many people decide on what movie to watch based on the names of the director and actors. “Mao Mountain Taoist Master” had no renowned director and big-name actors, which put it at a disadvantage.
According to Manager Zhuo, the movie got a pitifully low number of screenings in the cinemas.
That was within expectations. It was indeed quite difficult to take on the major titles.
However, the Lunar New year holiday period was still long, and he was confident that his movie would perform better. It might not be number one, but it should not perform too badly either.
There was one midnight showing of “Mao Mountain Taoist Master”, and that was specifically requested by the company. After all, Westridge was the home base of Haotian Group, and the cinema owner was acquainted with the owner of the cinema.
The couple bought popcorn and went into the theater.
“Hey! Isn’t that chairman Tang?”
They ran into familiar people as soon as they entered. A group of people stood up from their seats and greeted him.
Tang Hao was surprised. They were all young Haotian Group employees.
“You guys are here too!” Tang Hao said.
“Of course! We have to support our own movie.”
“Some people say that the movie is terrible. I’d like to see how bad it can be.”
They laughed jokingly.
Tang Hao could not help but laugh. He and Qin Xiangyi found their seats and sat down.
Not long after, the screening began.
