Chapter 15

Little girls have always been unable to hide their feelings.

After coming back from the movie, Wang Jinglu had been in high spirits for several consecutive days.

Her demeanor was impossible to hide, so that night, her mother asked her, "What good thing happened? Why are you so happy?"

The little girl was startled, her eyes darting around as she said, "I watched a good movie and felt that the male and female leads were so happy."

This response left Wang Jinglu's mother quite puzzled.

The next day, before class, her close friends couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Xiao Lu, why are you so happy? Have you decided to accept that prince on a white horse?"

"It's a blue horse, okay? That Lamborghini is so cool!"

"Hey, are you dating a prince or a horse?"

"Cut it out, Xiao Lu, ignore them... I mean, that guy is so handsome, just marry him already!"

"The key is the Lamborghini; it's obvious his family is super rich!"

"You gold digger, go die, don't ruin Xiao Lu's love perspective, okay?"

"Hey, you're about to get married this summer, do you even understand love? Marriage is the grave of love, you're about to enter the grave, so what are you talking about love for?"

"Hey, you guys talk so much, do you even consider Li Qian? He's our childhood friend..."

"Cut it out, Xiao Lu herself said they're just ordinary friends! Besides, what can Li Qian compare to? He's a high-flying graduate from Cambridge University, look at Li Qian, sure, he's improved a lot recently, but he's only at the top of the national university. Our Xiao Lu is going to be a big star, he doesn't match up! Cambridge University does!"

Wang Jinglu had been listening to their chatter with her head down, but when someone mentioned Li Qian, she couldn't help but raise her head and timidly defend him, "Hey, Li Qian isn't as bad as you say!"

"Huh?..."

A chorus of surprised voices echoed.

...

After school in the afternoon, Li Qian, unusually, did not stay to practice his guitar.

At the newspaper stand at the school gate, he spent a long time selecting and finally bought two newspapers and a magazine.

The two newspapers were: "Entertainment Express" and "Film Weekly."

The magazine was "China Film Weekly."

That evening, these two newspapers and one magazine were his homework.

However, unfortunately, apart from some immediate news from the entertainment industry, "Entertainment Express" had nothing substantial, leaving Li Qian to lament the wasted money. He skimmed through it and tossed it aside, deciding never to buy it again.

The weekly box office statistics in "Film Weekly" were one of the most important things for him.

However, the situation didn't seem too optimistic.

"Alien 3" had officially been taken off the screens. Before that, it had swept through the Bear Country, raking in 1.7 billion rubles, equivalent to over 200 million US dollars! In China, this blockbuster also grossed 325 million Chinese yuan, equivalent to over 160 million US dollars, ranking fourth in the country's box office history—here, "Film Weekly" listed some past data: since 1975 when detailed box office statistics began in the country, only nine films had grossed over 100 million Chinese yuan, of which four were imports: "Alien 3" with 325 million Chinese yuan from the US, "The Best Lover" with 158 million Chinese yuan from the US, "Star Wars: Episode III" with 131 million Chinese yuan from the US, and "National Mission" with 107 million Chinese yuan from the Soviet Union.

Notably, "The Best Lover" was released in 1982, and its domestic box office record of 158 million Chinese yuan was only broken by a domestic film in 1988, having held the top spot for over seven years! Considering inflation, its box office was not far behind "Alien 3"!

Holding the newspaper, Li Qian pondered for a long time.

"Film Weekly" specifically recalled this point, indicating that the editors must have had some thoughts, but unfortunately, they didn't really express any views.

Instead, they used an entire page to cheer for "The Three Musketeers in White," with three film reviews and an editor's note, all strongly promoting and calling on people to contribute to the box office by going to the cinema!

Of course, "The Three Musketeers in White" also performed well, grossing 14.83 million in its first four days of release. In the second week, their decline was minimal, grossing 14.22 million over seven days, a 12.5% drop from the weekend box office. The total box office for two weeks was 29.05 million Chinese yuan.

According to "Film Weekly," if this decline trend continues, even with an 8-week run, the film has a chance to break 80 million Chinese yuan. Breaking 100 million... if it can be extended to a long-term run, it's not entirely out of the question, after all, martial arts films are the favorite of the Chinese.

And it's said that the film's investment was less than 20 million, so profitability is a certainty.

Overall, "Film Weekly" had a relatively optimistic attitude towards the future development of domestic films, which left Li Qian somewhat... disappointed.

Opening "China Film Weekly," Li Qian was pleasantly surprised.

The first film review had a title that might shock most current filmmakers— "The Wolf is Here!"

Yes, the wolf is here!

This review comprehensively analyzed the gap between domestic films and Hollywood blockbusters like "Alien 3," from script creativity, directorial techniques, cinematography, editing, to music, with a particular focus on Hollywood's special effects, expressing deep concern as a film critic.

At the end, the author offered advice to domestic film professionals, summarized in three points:

First, pay attention to the creativity and innovation of film scripts. Don't keep struggling with martial arts films. No matter how much the Chinese love them, they will get tired. The taste of film professionals must lead the market, not follow trends or what makes quick money, which leads to blind following.

Second, improve the overall level of the film industry. Outdated cameras should be replaced. A good story can't withstand poor image quality. Film production companies should invest in better cameras, or commission research from universities and research institutes. Additionally, the film processing technology in the country is too outdated and needs to be developed and improved to avoid being left behind.

Third, send people to Hollywood to learn special effects production, no matter the cost! In the future, using computer-generated special effects for big-budget films will be the absolute trend in the film industry, a natural result of capital development—high investment, high return! Those who ignore this will surely suffer in the market!

From Li Qian's perspective, this review was spot on! The three final suggestions were solid and hit the key points.

This article had vision, content, perspective, and direction... it was perfect!

After reading the review twice, he specifically noted the author's name—

Huang Yujie.

...

After school in the afternoon, Qi Jie, as usual, stayed in the office to read a novel.

The novel was good, one she had just discovered last night, a new book by an old author.

She had no classes in the third period of the afternoon, and she was restless in the office, waiting for the school bell to ring so she could read to her heart's content.

But now, with the school empty and quiet, something felt off.

It was a story she really liked, but she just couldn't focus.

Sighing, she closed her laptop, stood up, and decided to listen to some music as usual.

Recently, she had started to enjoy going to the fifth floor corridor after school, sitting on the steps to listen to the singing upstairs.

It felt like something was incomplete if she didn't hear the clear guitar sound every day.

So she got up, opened the door, and slowly walked upstairs.

But after a few steps, she suddenly realized that today... there was no sound?

She was first surprised, then shocked.

Listening carefully, there was really no sound!

"Is he not here today?" she wondered in surprise.

After a moment's thought, she continued up the stairs.

Fourth floor...

Fifth floor...

Absolutely no movement!

For some reason, she felt a bit anxious.

Her steps seemed to become more hurried.

Reaching her usual spot, she held her breath and listened again.

There was really no sound upstairs!

No coughing, no drinking, no guitar, no singing!

After a moment's hesitation, she slowly climbed up.

At the entrance to the rooftop, she took a deep breath and stepped out... it was empty!

She couldn't help but sigh in disappointment, her brows furrowing, a sense of frustration rising.

On the rooftop, near the corridor, there were eight identical stone benches.

Qi Jie stood at the entrance for a moment, then walked over and sat on one of the benches, looking around the empty rooftop, imagining the scene that should have been there—

A boy, yes, he should be a bit handsome, because his voice is really good, so he shouldn't be too bad-looking. He might have a bit of personality with his half-long hair, and maybe a few pimples on his face?

Every afternoon after school, as the sun sets and the balcony remains hot, he would sit on one of the stone benches, perhaps with the wind blowing his hair, or perhaps not... who knows!

The surroundings were hot, but no one was around, making it quiet and suitable for emotional expression.

He brought a guitar and a cup of warm water to moisten his throat between songs.

Then, he started playing the guitar and singing.

After every two or three songs, he would take a break, drink some water.

It might be very hot, making his face red, with sweat trickling down his chest, back, and cheeks, itchy, and then... he might take off his shirt like the basketball players, exposing the slightly lean chest muscles of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy.

Then, he would play and sing over and over again, completely unaware that just a few steps away, someone was sitting on the steps, eyes closed, listening to every note and every song...

...

"I wonder if he will come back to sing again?"

Qi Jie sighed, as if trying to recall something, a sense of melancholy gradually spreading, like the twilight, unstoppable, making her feel a bit sad.

"I wonder which song he sang to his beloved girl, and whether she accepted his pursuit?"

Thinking about these scattered thoughts, Qi Jie looked at the western sky.

Staring blankly, she remained still, watching the sunset slowly sink into the western mountains.

The sky was bright, the evening glow like fire.

She sighed, stood up, and slowly walked down the stairs.

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