Feng Xiaogang sat at the breakfast table in a daze, his eyes fixed on the half-open private room door through which Zhang Yimou had just disappeared. The expression on his face was complicated, almost ugly.
He truly couldn't understand it.
Why had Chairman Han of China Film Group called Zhang Yimou… but not him?
Wasn't it just because Zhang Yimou had won a few more awards?
But in terms of commercial success, was he any worse?
Big Shot had premiered in the mainland last December, and the results had been excellent. On the opening day alone, the box office had reached 500,000 yuan. In just three days, it climbed to 2.06 million, and by the fifth day, it had already hit 3.865 million.
In Beijing alone, the film broke through the ten-million mark after barely ten days of screening.
Those numbers were no joke.
Not only had it opened a new chapter for Huaxia cinema's box office performance, it had also fully proven Feng Xiaogang's strength in the commercial film market.
No matter how he looked at it, Chairman Han's call should have come to him.
Yet it hadn't.
The rich Western breakfast laid out before him suddenly felt tasteless.
At that moment, the loud voice from the phone pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Hey, Xiaogang, did you hear what I just said?"
Feng Xiaogang frowned, lightly spat to the side in annoyance, and replied impatiently, "I heard you. Say it again."
On the other end of the line, Wang Zhonglei of Huayi Brothers frowned as well.
Feng Xiaogang's tone clearly irritated him, but after all, the other party had just delivered a major box-office success for the company. Whether he liked it or not, he had to tolerate it.
"Xiaogang," Wang Zhonglei said in a lower voice, "my brother has already spoken. Keep a close eye on that U.S. boss, Luo Zheng. If there's any opportunity, seek cooperation with him. As long as the conditions aren't too excessive, we can agree."
He paused before adding with emphasis, "This is a great chance for the company to expand outward."
The mention of Wang Zhongjun instantly made Feng Xiaogang's expression soften.
"Alright," he said, his tone noticeably better. "I understand, Little Boss Wang."
"Good. How's the copyright sale for Big Shot going?"
Feng Xiaogang's expression darkened again.
"Not ideal. There aren't many distributors asking, and the offers are too low."
"It's fine. Anything sold now is profit. Push a few more regions if possible. When you return, the company will hold a celebration banquet for you."
"Understood. Thank you, Boss Wang."
The call ended just as the private room door opened again.
Zhang Yimou walked back in, calm as ever.
Feng Xiaogang didn't bother hiding his curiosity.
"Director Zhang, was that Chairman Han from China Film Group just now?"
Zhang Yimou nodded with a faint smile as he set his phone down.
"That's right. Chairman Han asked me to get closer to Director Luo Zheng, obtain his contact information, and convey China Film Group's intention to cooperate."
Feng Xiaogang forced a grin, but inwardly his resentment deepened.
So that's how it is.
Why didn't he call me?
I know Luo Zheng too.
On the other side, Luo Zheng spent the entire morning accompanying Xixi through the Berlin Film Festival's exhibition screenings.
When they watched Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki, the little girl laughed one moment and cried the next.
By the time the movie ended, she had almost used up an entire pack of tissues.
It took Luo Zheng a good while to comfort her.
By noon, both of them were a little tired, so they returned to the hotel to rest.
If he hadn't already arranged to meet Zhao Benshan in the afternoon, Luo Zheng would have flown straight back to New York today.
As for the follow-up work regarding The Man from Earth, Kevin had already taken over.
This trip to Berlin had already exceeded all expectations.
The film had secured a five-million-dollar guaranteed deal.
On top of that, future box office revenue and DVD royalties would continue to flow in.
It was safe to say he had made a huge profit.
Back in the hotel room, Luo Zheng casually flipped through the newspapers.
The headlines from Hollywood made him frown slightly.
Almost every major outlet shared the same tone.
They believed the film had been wildly exaggerated.
Some even suggested it was little more than a nominal work created purely for publicity.
As for a twenty-one-year-old Marvel chairman crossing over into directing, they dismissed it as nothing more than a promotional gimmick.
Even Mira's praise as jury president was being questioned.
Luo Zheng let out a cold laugh.
If he hadn't urgently needed to monetize the film and stabilize Marvel's internal morale, he would absolutely have submitted it to Cannes or Venice later in the year.
He wouldn't dare guarantee the Golden Lion—
but a Silver award?
He was very confident.
Just as his competitive spirit was rising, the phone rang.
Chairman Han Sanping from China Film Group.
The timing couldn't have been better.
Luo Zheng had been wondering how to help Xixi secure the audition for The Story of a Noble Family.
And now the pillow had arrived right when he was sleepy.
Originally, he had considered using Feng Xiaogang or Zhang Yimou as the connection.
But compared to them, China Film Group was clearly the superior choice.
Still, cooperation required calculation.
First—what benefits could he gain?
Second—what type of film would suit the mainland market?
After all, the current domestic market simply couldn't support large-scale Hollywood-style commercial blockbusters.
Even excellent films often struggled to make money locally.
That was precisely why so many directors relied on international festivals to sell overseas rights.
For now, only Feng Xiaogang's style of films was reliably profitable in the domestic market.
On that point, Luo Zheng had to admit Feng Dapao truly had talent.
If he wanted to make money solely through the mainland box office, he would need to wait at least another two years.
For now, his main battlefield remained Marvel and Hollywood.
But an award film?
That was different.
Cooperating with China Film Group on an award-contending film could prove his strength, irritate Hollywood, and even indirectly boost Marvel's stock.
A perfect move.
After making up his mind, Luo Zheng lay back on the bed and began planning his next steps.
At some point, Xu Jinglei had quietly left.
The two had already agreed to meet again in the mainland.
She would return first to prepare for her own new film.
Neither of them mentioned the nature of their relationship.
And Luo Zheng was perfectly happy to leave it undefined.
More than friends.
Less than lovers.
A simple physical relationship.
For now, that was ideal.
At that moment, he casually opened the system interface and froze.
There was an unread message.
When did this appear?
He clicked it open.
[Congratulations Host, you have triggered the side quest: Younger Female Cousin's Troubles]
[Completion Condition: Use your connection with Han Sanping of China Film Group to ensure Liu Xixi passes the audition for The Story of a Noble Family]
[Reward: Lucky Draw ×2]
Luo Zheng's eyes lit up.
So the mission had been triggered during his phone conversation with Han Sanping.
The system must have automatically muted the notification to avoid interrupting him.
Interesting.
It seemed he would need to check the system more often in the future.
After all, two lucky draws were no small reward.
Soon, he turned on his laptop and logged into Penguin QQ.
Since he now held Tencent equity, it was only natural to inspect his "territory."
The moment he logged in, the friend icon at the bottom right began flashing.
A new message.
Luo Zheng clicked it open.
As expected.
It was from the newly added contact the system had rewarded him with a few days ago.
[Excuse me, who are you? Why did you suddenly appear in my friend list?]
The sender was currently offline.
Luo Zheng leaned back in his chair, a smirk slowly forming.
Then he typed:
[I'm a director. I accidentally added your QQ. Can we be friends?]
He hit send.
The smile at the corner of his lips deepened.
This era's internet environment was still pure.
Making friends online really just meant making friends.
Not like the chaotic future filled with traps and deception.
After closing the laptop, he was just about to rest when his phone rang again.
He glanced at the caller ID.
Dong Jie.
At first, he considered ignoring it.
But checking the time, there was still a while before his meeting with Zhao Benshan.
After a moment's thought, he hung up the call and sent a short text instead.
[Westin Hotel, Room 502, Black Silk]
On the other side, Dong Jie stared at the disconnected call.
Her eyes instantly reddened.
She clenched her fists, disappointment rising in her chest—
until her phone vibrated.
With trembling fingers, she opened the message.
The moment she read the short line of text, tears of joy welled in her eyes.
A smile slowly bloomed across her face.
Tonight…
she still had a chance.