AWB Chapter 609 Uncle Long Invites Dudu to Dinner, and Dudu Becomes Reclusive
Chapter 609 Uncle Long Invites Dudu to Dinner, and Dudu Becomes Reclusive
……
……
As the premiere in Shanghai came to a close amidst applause and laughter, Gu Qing stepped off the stage, took the water glass handed to her by her assistant, and took two sips.
The backstage corridor was already filled with staff members holding microphones bearing the logos of various media outlets.
The real busy period is just beginning.
Gu Qing, Zhao Liying, Deng Chao, and Han Han were each led away by their respective teams, split into four groups, and stuffed into interview rooms in different corners of the backstage area.
After asking on each platform, immediately switch to the next platform.
The platforms may differ, but the topics asked are generally similar.
What are your expectations for the film's box office? Were there any memorable or interesting moments during filming? How would you rate this collaboration? Would you like to work together again in the future?
Gu Qing sat in the interview chair, in front of a steadily mounted camera and a staff member wearing an in-ear monitor. Behind him, the backdrop was covered with posters of "Riding the Waves" and logos of sponsors.
He maintained a sincere and warm smile, patiently answering each question with a gentle and patient voice, as if he were answering these questions for the first time.
Whenever he felt like he couldn't laugh anymore, he would silently recall the cold, hard numbers in his bank account.
Just thinking about them makes me feel incredibly energetic.
Simultaneously,
Gu Qing was also the busiest person in the entire crew.
From blogs to Douyin, from Bilibili to Maoyan, from Tencent to NetEase, from Sohu to Sina.
Even the 6th Princess Channel personally arranged for a team to carry cameras and set up a camera position in the corner of the interview room.
The premiere ended at 4 p.m., and another four hours passed in the blink of an eye.
The sky outside the window changed from the warm afternoon sun to the gray-blue of the evening, and then sank into the deep black of the winter night.
Gu Qing didn't know how many words she had spoken, only that she had to suck on several throat lozenges to barely suppress the dry, burning sensation in her throat before she could finally finish recording the last segment of the interview.
"Gu Qing, can I take a picture with you? I'm a fan."
As the last interview ended, the young female director in charge of that camera position took off her in-ear monitor, clasped her hands together, and pleaded coquettishly.
"of course can."
Gu Qing nodded, her smile still the same perfect curve.
But he felt that his facial muscles, like those of celebrities who had received excessive Botox injections, were so stiff that he couldn't move them.
Gu Qing had no idea how she managed to take those last few photos. She only remembered standing in front of the camera until the staff said, "Okay, thank you, Teacher Gu."
Then he left and pushed open the door to the lounge.
What comes into view
Old Deng, Han Han, and Dong Zijian were already exhausted and were lying on the sofa or chairs, covered with down jackets and fast asleep.
Sister Zhao was the only one who was still conscious.
She unfolded her down jacket and covered her chest, tucked her hands into the sleeves, rested her chin on her hood, and was looking at something on her phone.
The light from the screen shone on her chubby face, and the corners of her lips unconsciously turned up in a wide arc, clearly indicating that she was in a particularly good mood.
"Little brother, you're back?!"
Hearing the door open, Zhao Liying looked up, her almond-shaped eyes flashing slightly in the screen light for a moment.
She put her phone aside, ignoring the fact that her down jacket had slipped down her chest, and stood up happily.
"..."
Gu Qing pointed to her face, using this effortless gesture to replace all her answers.
Don't be ridiculous, he even has trouble making a complete facial expression.
Gu Qing walked over and sat down on the sofa. As she sat down, she sank into the cushion and let out a long sigh of relief, as a wave of exhaustion washed over her.
Then the next moment,
A faint, sweet fragrance wafted over from nearby.
A pair of cool, soft fingers gently pressed on both sides of his cheeks, right on Gu Qing's jaw muscles, which were slightly sore from laughing all day.
The pressure was neither too light nor too heavy, as if afraid of hurting him, yet also afraid of not pressing the right spot, as she carefully circled the muscles on his cheek.
Gu Qing opened her eyes.
Zhao Liying had turned to the side at some point, taken off the down jacket she had tucked under her arm, and casually draped it over the back of the sofa.
She rested her knees on the sofa, leaning forward, her delicate body now much closer to him than before.
"You must be exhausted."
Sister Zhao gently pressed down, her almond-shaped eyes filled with a hint of heartache and concern, and said softly, "Don't worry, I just read the comments online—there are almost no negative reviews."
All the moviegoers who saw it praised our film, saying it will do well at the box office.
It's not just not bad, it's absolutely amazing!
After four hours of buzz and with hundreds of millions of yuan spent on marketing, "Sisters Who Make Waves" has now topped the trending searches on major platforms.
While Zhao Liying was leaning back on the sofa scrolling through her phone, she browsed from blogs to Douban and then to Maoyan and Taopiaopiao. The comments were full of hilarious reviews and strong recommendations from moviegoers and fans who had just watched the movie.
From a cinematic perspective, "Duckweed" unexpectedly tapped into a market gap that everyone had overlooked.
Fans who were originally crazy about Gu Qing's "Wolf Warrior" series have actually started to get a little tired of it.
Six billion in box office revenue—that's certainly a terrifying number.
But behind this number lies another equally true piece of information: many moviegoers have already watched it three or four times.
Is the quality of "Wolf Warrior 2" really so compelling that it's worth an ordinary person spending the money for three or four movie tickets and three or four afternoons repeatedly going into the same theater to watch the same movie?
It is definitely a good movie.
However, the figure of six billion also carries with it a kind of consumption inertia that is almost a nationwide movement.
Those netizens who later complained online that they were "morally coerced into watching Wolf Warrior" were not all maliciously slandering the film.
When the whole society is giving a movie overwhelming praise, from officials to ordinary people, from the media to the audience, from your boss to your neighbor to your mother, everyone is recommending that you watch it.
It's hard not to be swept up in the tide of consumerism.
You don't really want to watch it; you just can't stand being an outsider when everyone in your social circle is talking about the same movie.
This is the fundamental reason why marketing in the film industry has become increasingly distorted.
Capital discovered an easier pattern through "Wolf Warrior 2".
There's no need to bother improving the quality of the video; all you need to do is spend a lot of money hiring online trolls and promoters to create a frenzied atmosphere on social media where "everyone is watching."
Their mission is accomplished the moment they package a mediocre work into a must-see social commodity and lure you into the theater.
Whether you criticize or praise them after watching it doesn't affect their money-making.
However, the reason why "Wolf Warrior 2" did not suffer this backlash is because its quality is indeed quite good.
Its cultural value and social significance are so important that they justify its enormous box office numbers.
It's like movie fans chugging dozens of bottles of Red Bull.
Although the body was already extremely exhausted.
But the overwhelming sense of national pride and the unprecedented impact of the film pushed me to a state of extreme excitement.
However, the two-month run of "Wolf Warrior 2" has finally come to an end.
You're making moviegoers pay to go to the cinema to see the same patriotic films again.
In short: I'm tired of it.
No matter how delicious meat and fish are, no one can resist eating them every day, at every meal.
This explains why the subsequent patriotic films starring Jing Ge featured increasingly star-studded casts, larger-scale productions, and higher production values.
However, the fundamental reason why its box office performance could never reach the heights of "Wolf Warrior 2" is...
It's not that the film is bad,
The moviegoers are still in a long period of reflection.
They ate too much and need to slow down and have some light tea to cleanse themselves.
Movie fans are human too; they need to cool down and recharge.
Meanwhile, those capitalists in the film and television industry who are merely pretending to be something they're not, hoping to replicate the miracle of Wolf Warrior...
Faced with a lack of moviegoers, what solutions have been proposed to improve the situation?
Instead of focusing on improving the quality of the film, instead of discovering truly talented screenwriters and directors, instead of patiently polishing the script and acting.
It still boils down to two words: "value".
It simply shifted the dimension of value from grand narratives to the precise harvesting of a single group.
So far,
Female viewers, who are the main consumers in the film market, are starting to "enjoy the good life".
Just open any movie trailer, and it's already trying to teach you values and how to be a woman.
what:
"The awakening of women's freedom," "The cry for women's independence," "Women must break free from the shackles of family constraints"
"Moms refuse to become haggard housewives and bravely be themselves", "Midlife crisis", "Domestic violence", "The pain of the family of origin"...
In a series of trailers, the female lead is either heartbroken or beaten black and blue.
Marketing accounts on short video platforms generally use the same tactic:
"Who understands... Finally someone understands... Finally a director dares to make this... Only women understand women... Only girls understand girls."
They practically just smeared a line of large characters directly onto the screen.
"If you don't support my movie, you don't deserve to be a woman!"
A series of combined punches were delivered.
The male movie fan was so frightened he cried, while the female movie fan was stunned.
Male moviegoers felt like they were being tortured when they went to the cinema.
The average female moviegoer feels like she's being precisely harvested like a leek when she goes to the cinema.
Both groups were so badly beaten by the same marketing tactics that they no longer dared to buy tickets easily.
Just a few years have passed,
Capitalists have successfully driven away all the normal movie fans and audiences.
When the film and television industry truly enters a downturn, and the market is so cold that even weekend evening screenings have dismal attendance,
They started blaming the audience again at various forums and industry summits, looking distressed: "Why don't you go to the cinema to support Chinese films?"
After reflecting on the situation, they concluded that the audience's aesthetic sense was lacking, short videos had ruined the audience's attention, and the poor economic environment meant that people had no money.
They've said all the good and bad things themselves.
At this juncture...
Gu Qing's "Riding the Waves" stands out among a multitude of terrible films disguised as good ones.
It's like a plate of stir-fried vegetables and smashed cucumber that was suddenly served.
They won't give you any valuable insights, nor will they talk to you about grand narratives or national sentiments.
It's designed to make you laugh, to make you happy, and to let you sit in the movie theater and forget the messy world outside for 102 minutes.
There was no forced sentimentality throughout the entire film.
Even at the end of the story, when Xu Tailang wakes up from his dream, he can only exchange a smile with his elderly father across the hospital bed.
The only thing that could bring tears to the eyes of movie fans was...
It's just the song "The Wind Rises" that Gu Qing plays and sings with a guitar at the end of the credits.
This is more like a remembrance of youth, a release of pressure, and a gentle gaze upon a bygone era.
So, by a twist of fate, "Duckweed" became the top choice for moviegoers to unwind in a market bombarded with all sorts of "values".
It did nothing.
It simply told an interesting story honestly, and then quietly sang a nice song.
But in an era where even normal works have become rare commodities, it has become the most dazzling one.
……
"I'm not worried about the box office."
Gu Qing reached out and gently grasped the cool, slender fingertips on her cheek, gathering them entirely in her palm.
He turned to the side, picked up the white down jacket next to the sofa, and helped Zhao Liying put it on, stopping the zipper at the collar.
Gu Qing cupped her still somewhat thin, round face, gently rubbed it, and put on the fluffy hat:
"Just like you said, Sister Liying—the movie we both star in won't be bad." His voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was very soft, so soft that it was as if he was making a promise that only she could hear.
"Um……"
Zhao Liying slightly raised her eyes. The light from the lounge shone through the downy edge of her hat.
A small patch of light was cast deep within her clear pupils, reflecting Gu Qing's gesture of raising his hand to adjust the brim of her hat.
Gu Qing's slender fingers gently brushed against the brim of her hat, smoothing down a feather that had sticked up, his knuckles inadvertently brushing against her forehead.
He performed these actions quietly, not out of deliberate gentleness, but out of an ingrained habit.
The downy feathers on the brim of her hat swayed gently under the light, and when they brushed against her fair skin, they felt a tingling, numb sensation.
Zhao Liying suddenly leaned forward, wrapped her arms around Gu Qing's waist, and hugged him tightly, resting her delicate chin on his shoulder.
Sister Zhao felt that Gu Qing's body under the down jacket was like a perfectly heated stove. Even through their clothes, the heat easily penetrated all the fibers, dispelling all the lingering chill of winter from her body.
"It's so warm..."
Sister Zhao mumbled something, her voice even softer than before, and then rubbed her cheek against her shoulder.
She noticed her eyelashes were a bit heavy and felt sleepy.
"Really? Can I hug you too?"
"No—huh?!"
Zhao Jie's brain abruptly switched from "drowsy" to "flair alert," startling her so much that she jerked away from Gu Qing's shoulder. She turned her head...
Seeing Old Deng wake up, rubbing his cheeks, he grinned mischievously.
"Xu Tailang! You really deserve a beating!!"
Zhao Liying gritted her teeth in anger, her chest heaving slightly beneath her white down jacket, her fists clenched tightly, wishing she could punch him on the spot.
"Haha, just kidding!"
Deng Chao unknowingly picked up Chen Chichi's cheeky mannerisms, winking and provoking, "When I was holding my little brother, you didn't even know him."
The noise from the two of them arguing
This caused Han Han and Dong Zijian to groggily open their eyes.
"Brother Gu, you've finally finished the interview..."
Dong Zijian rubbed his eyes and sat up from the ground, clutching his stomach and wailing, "Can we eat now? I'm starving..."
Having relied on his mother's connections to get by in the industry for so many years, this was the first time Dong Zijian had ever experienced such a lively premiere.
Even though he was only the third male lead in "Duckweed", he was interviewed by more than a dozen media outlets.
Each family earnestly asked him about his understanding of the character, interesting anecdotes from filming, and his feelings about acting opposite Gu Qing.
In the past, Dong Zijian would never have dared to even think about it.
When he sat in the interview chair being asked questions by reporters, he had only one thought in his mind: it was so important to follow the right big brother.
……
"It's ready to eat. Let's go, it's on me."
Gu Qing roused himself and stood up. He glanced at the time on his phone and added a word of advice, "Get some rest after you finish eating. You have a 7 a.m. flight to the capital tomorrow."
"Brother Gu, can I ask for leave?"
Dong Zijian's vision went black.
"Sure, if you're too tired, I'll approve it for you."
Gu Qing thought of how this young master had vomited from working so hard on a variety show, and nodded in understanding.
"I was just kidding, Brother Gu, don't take it seriously!"
Dong Zijian quickly changed his tune, "If I really asked for leave, my mom would beat me to death the first time she found out."
"Sister Jinghua only has one son, do you think she'd be willing to part with him?"
Gu Qing teased.
After the assistants finished packing their belongings in the lounge, the group put on their coats, opened the door, and got out of the car.
The cold wind of a winter night in Shanghai seeped in through the cracks in the revolving door, and the group of people simultaneously shrank their necks.
Then he jumped into the waiting van and headed to the nearest restaurant for dinner.
By the time we finished dinner and returned to the hotel, it was already late at night.
"Sister Liying, get some rest tonight. I still have some work to take care of, and I'll probably be up late and disturb you."
"Okay, little brother, don't overwork yourself."
Sister Zhao understood Gu Qing's pressure, and before leaving, she gently gave him a few more words of advice before returning to her room.
"pat~"
After closing the door and inserting the power card, Gu Qing went straight to the bathroom to wash up. Then, she lay down on the bed and turned on her phone to handle work.
Compared to his previous role as a single actor, he now also has the role of a producer, which naturally involves a lot of new work.
Examples include: promotion, purchasing advertising, negotiating revenue sharing ratios, and signing contracts with cinema chains.
There's also the physical labor involved: sending dozens of people to cinemas across the country for events, promotions, securing advertising space, monitoring screenings, and ticket collection, among other things…
Gu Qing must oversee all of these.
Especially the interview I gave to Maoyan tonight.
As a popular online ticketing platform, Maoyan's staff, after hearing him say, "Movie tickets are quite expensive,"
Surprisingly, they took the initiative to approach Gu Qing and discuss a cooperation plan for a price reduction and discount event.
Under the guise of "giving back to the fans who have always supported Gu Qing," the platform even subsidizes the price difference of the discount.
Maoyan's goal is simple: to gain long-term market share and user loyalty by offering short-term discounts.
But this is mutually beneficial for both parties and even all three parties.
Moviegoers get cheaper tickets, platforms get more users, and movies get higher attendance and more screenings—no one loses out, everyone wins.
With the gradual decline of the film market in the future,
To stimulate market recovery, it will become increasingly common for ticketing platforms and top-tier production teams to collaborate on discount and low-price promotions.
Gu Qingli was among the first to benefit from this trend when it was just beginning to emerge.
He leaned against the headboard, his fingers rapidly typing messages on the screen, assigning team members to handle the details of the cooperation with Maoyan.
If this goes well, his future film releases can be linked to ticketing platforms, allowing him to secure tangible benefits for moviegoers each time.
This will have a long-term positive impact on his public image and brand reputation.
"I've helped you get a discount on the movie ticket prices."
They even have promotional copy.
"Boss, there's another list. I've had someone compile it." In the internal communication group, Zhao Ya tagged Gu Qing and sent a file.
He clicked on it and saw a list of celebrities who helped promote and share the film "Duckweed" on its opening day.
Gu Qing quickly scanned the page—hundreds of celebrities, including those she knew, those she didn't know well, those she had worked with, and those she hadn't worked with but had heard of, helped to share the promotion.
Most of them are quite famous and experienced. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that almost half of the entertainment industry came to support them.
These are all small favors that Gu Qing has accumulated over time.
He never put on airs when chatting with senior actors on set, and instead of kicking others when they were down, he helped them out.
All those small favors accumulated bit by bit were repaid today.
"Sister Xiaoya, could you please arrange for someone to reply with a simple message of thanks using an account? Please make sure the wording is sincere and don't use any mass-sent templates."
When Gu Qing sent this message, she felt a little regretful.
He really wanted to reply to each one personally, but he simply didn't have the energy.
Fortunately, most of the artists in the same industry understand this principle; all they want is to maintain a respectable image.
There was a public response, which saved face for both sides' fans, and the goodwill was thus maintained.
"Got it, boss."
Zhao Ya quickly replied, then added, "Also, Brother Chen Long's agent called me tonight."
After the premiere in the capital tomorrow, boss, could you stay in the capital for one more day?
My older brother is coming to the capital the day after tomorrow to promote his new movie, and he wanted to have dinner with you tonight. He said... he misses you a lot.
Zhao Ya finished typing this part with a strange expression.
Brother Chen Long is just different from others.
He treated female celebrities like they were nothing, summoning them at will and dismissing them just as easily, his face full of impatience, completely disregarding them.
But what about men?
Holding hands, kissing, showing tenderness and care, displaying unwavering loyalty and affection, he speaks sweet words effortlessly, embodying the true demeanor of a great older brother.
Fortunately, he was known for his romantic escapades, otherwise Zhao Ya would have been quite worried about her boss.
"Sure, I was going to stay in the capital for an extra day anyway to rehearse for the Spring Festival Gala, could you please reply for me?"
Gu Qing asked again, "Is there anything else?"
"That's all for now, boss. You should get some rest."
Zhao Ya's profile picture went dark.
Immediately afterwards, Xu Wei called Gu Qing again to discuss the arrangements for the subsequent trending topics.
Buying trending topics isn't simply a matter of spending money to edit an eye-catching headline—that's just what laymen imagine.
True trending topic management requires following real-time public opinion, constantly fine-tuning the copy and angle, and maximizing the extraction of traffic.
For example, today's premiere.
Han Han explains the behind-the-scenes background of Gu Qing's song creation.
Gu Qing's impromptu speech in response to doubts about the box office performance of "Wolf Warrior 2"
Zhao Liying naturally extended her fingers on stage and made a pinky promise.
The meme of Deng Chao's utterly resigned expression when a reporter asked him if he felt awkward calling someone "Dad".
These can all be broken down into independent promotional points, and each one has the potential to trend on social media.
This is much more attractive and generates more discussion than simply saying "So-and-so wore this today" or "So-and-so looks beautiful today".
"Focus on promoting myself, the end credits song, and the movie itself. You don't need to worry about Brother Chao and Sister Liying; their teams will handle it themselves."
Gu Qing clearly defined the boundaries and hung up the phone.
He glanced at the time on his phone screen; it was a little past 11:40 PM.
Nearly two more hours have passed.
"I still have messages on my phone to reply to..."
Gu Qing looked up at the ceiling and muttered to herself, her voice carrying a hint of resignation.
He can arrange for a team to reply to reposts and comments on social media accounts, but he has to reply to each and every private message on his phone himself.
Fortunately, he had changed to a private number beforehand, and the celebrities who could save his number were generally those with whom he had a good relationship.
Otherwise, if she had continued using the old number, Gu Qing probably wouldn't have been able to sleep at all tonight, as her phone would have been ringing like firecrackers all night long.
"Senior Sister... Sister Tiantian... Sister Tao... Sister Jiangxin... Teacher He... Chen Chichi... Brother Chen... Brother Kai..."
Gu Qing lay half-reclined on the bed, holding her phone in front of her face, her fingers tapping rapidly on the screen, so fast that it almost left afterimages.
"Why is Sister Ma apologizing to me? Did Huang Xuan say my acting is bad?"
"Stop making a scene, sis. The reporter is just spreading rumors. You want your aunt to help you get revenge? What are you trying to do?"
Gu Qing was forced to send a voice message, advising Sister Ma to calm down.
He couldn't even imagine how Aunt Jiang could vent her anger on Huang Xuan.
"Sister Mi... Sister Bingbing... Nazha... Sister Chen Yao... Chu Ran... Da Xi? Hehe, you broke up again, didn't you?"
Gu Qing gave a middle finger emoji without any politeness, "You're always drinking and acting crazy when you're drunk, be careful something bad happens one day!"
Although replying to messages is tiring,
Seeing so many people, whether genuine or not, expressing their support for your film immediately, it would be a lie to say I'm not happy.
"Ono... Jingyi, you even helped me promote it? Your account has a million followers, that's amazing."
Gu Qing's vexed mood gradually calmed and relaxed as she replied to messages.
"Little Ears? There's even a video?"
Curious, Gu Qing clicked on the video sent by Chen Duling. As the screen lit up, a series of clear and melodious pipa sounds flowed from the phone's speaker.
He squinted, brought the phone closer, and saw Chen Duling sitting in a wheelchair, holding a pipa in her arms, her fingers carefully plucking the strings.
Her technique wasn't quite there yet, and she would occasionally get stuck while rotating her fingers.
"Why are you playing the pipa and sitting in a wheelchair?"
Gu Qing exited the video in surprise and scrolled up the message history.
Only then did I see Chen Duling's depressing message from a few days ago:
“Xu Yi, I twisted my ankle while dancing. The director said that God had opened his eyes and that watching me dance was worse than just letting me sit in a wheelchair.”
"He has now arranged a new teacher for me, and he wants me to give up dancing and learn to play the pipa instead."
Includes a meme of a rabbit crying.
Gu Qing: "..."
Director Lü's mouth... could it be something he learned from Sister Zhao?
"Little Ears, rest and recover. You play the pipa quite well. I watched the video, it sounds great, you have a lot of talent."
Gu Qing offered a word of comfort and encouragement.
And then I saw,
His 'Teacher Li'
They sent out a lot of information about Kunqu Opera singing techniques, with new content and tutorials every day, and even audio recordings of their own performances.
Gu Qingdu felt a little guilty. This teacher was too dedicated. It was no different from handing over the sect's most treasured secrets.
Gu Qing still holds a deep respect for the inheritance of traditional culture.
"Teacher Li, a movie has been released recently. I'll catch up on the lessons after I'm done with my work."
"I will read through all of these later."
Gu Qing sent a voice message earnestly and apologetically.
But after replying to all the messages on her phone, Gu Qing realized it was past 1 a.m., so she put down her phone, took a breath, and closed her eyes to sleep.
……
...(End of this chapter)