Yun Xiangxiang went back to her busy filming schedule. “The King’s Plan” saw an increase in the box office, but it didn’t break two billion by the twenty-second.
At the last minute on the twenty-second, the box office stood at 1.95 billion and only broke through two billion on the twenty-fourth.
“A Gathering of Shows” would be broadcast on the twenty-fifth. With only seven days left, it was tough to make another six hundred million.
They couldn’t break the record, but Wu Zhao, Xiong Ao, and even Cao Chi, the producer, were elated.
As a historical film, grossing this much was already a surprise.
They were just hoping for one billion in the box office. Now it was more than double of that. They were understandably happy.
The celebratory feast was set on the first of June. Yun Xiangxiang would finish her work in Shanghai on the twenty-eighth. All the remaining scenes would be shot in Beijing.
As the feast was also in Beijing, she could go there. Wu Zhao decided on the place after everyone agreed to it.
Deng Yang sent her a few pictures on this day. They were of a beautiful silk rope.
“It’s a new synthetic fiber. Slightly elastic, durable, resistant to corrosion, and shiny,” Deng Yang called Xiangxiang.
“Do I only have these colors to choose from?” There were black, white, yellow, and red.
Black was suitable, but since the stone was already black without being shone on, it wouldn’t make a good match.
“What color do you need?” Deng Yang asked.
Yun Xiangxiang thought about it, “Brown. A darker shade of it.”
“Sure, I’ll have someone deliver it to you a few days later. No problem with the size, right?” Deng Yang asked.
As it was a thicker rope, it wasn’t suitable for weaving. Deng Yang had to ask Xiangxiang.
Even so, this was the thinnest she could find. If it were any thinner, its features wouldn’t shine.
“No problem.” Men’s wrist ropes were supposed to be thick.
Xiangxiang forwarded the news Deng Yang told her to Song Qian. She couldn’t send it to Yongnian. The elderly only used models like 3310.
He was already in Beijing for a while now, but he was still finding his bearings. It had been a long time since he sculpted a piece of jade.
They took the stone from Xiangxiang when Song Qian went to pick him up.
He knew what he needed to do if he started work in June. Even so, he hoped Yun Xiangxiang would give him the rope first.
If she did, he could satisfy Xiangxiang’s requirements without wasting even a part of the stone.
Jadeite like that was one of a kind. He wanted to use every inch of it.
When he received the photos, Yongnian immediately drew a few blueprints which could use the stone to its fullest. Song Qian sent it back to Xiangxiang.
Xiangxiang settled on the one that had six round squares. A hole would be bored at their center, and a cloud would be carved above each square.
The jadeite might only be as big as an egg, but it could still be used to make many accessories after the wristrope was done.
Xiangxiang trusted Yongnian’s skills. She didn’t ask about the final product. Yongnian would have the freedom to do so.
“A Gathering of Shows: The King’s Plan” was aired the next night. As it was Xiangxiang’s first appearance in a variety show, the fans were excited.
With “The King’s Plan” topping the charts, the fans “The Gathering of Shows” had, and the contributions of actors and their fans, this episode broke the show’s rating record when it was aired.
As Yun Xiangxiang didn’t have any filming for the night, she watched the show after her call with Song Mian.
The show’s editing team added to the already funny scenes. The captions were also hilarious.
Xiangxiang didn’t expect Sun Qiluo’s bedhead to be an afro. He Xingzhou jumped up from the ship when he noticed the crew filming him. He looked funny.
As she watched the show, Xiangxiang pieced together what her colleagues were doing during the recording.
Xingzhou wandered like a lost soul. Sun Qiluo was stuck at the question and finally sat in frustration outside the Grilled Erkuai shop.
Hou Cang met a middle-aged woman with a northeastern accent when he was looking for food. When he found out she was the wrong person, she said, “Are you stupid?”
As the jade search went on, Yun Xiangxiang found a piece that was supposed to be Xingzhou and Lu Jin’s. Even Hou Cang and Qiluo found one before them.
The scene paused, and the duo was labeled as “Kings of Losers.” Xiangxiang couldn’t stop laughing.
With the film’s popularity and the leads’ help, this episode of “The Gathering of Shows” recorded the highest ratings.
The show piqued its audience’s interest in the film’s plot. They couldn’t wait for the Blu-ray Disc and bought the tickets.
The film’s box office rose the next day. It recorded a sale of eighty million yuan in a day.
The film would be taken down after the twenty-sixth. They had five days left. They only needed to make sure every day’s average stood at fifty million yuan.
With that, “The King’s Plan” would break the record and become the highest-grossing film. Everyone started becoming nervous.
That throne was special. The director and the actors could take the title of “Highest-Grossing Film” as long as nobody surpassed them.
But the single-day box office declined to fifty million on the twenty-seventh. Their dream of breaking the record was shattered.
A post appeared on the Net on the twenty-seventh. “Who has the strongest backer among the newbies?”
There was a list of newbies whose popularity soared quickly up there. Even Wei Shanshan was there, though she was dead last.
Qin Yue was there too. A newbie from another company was also there. She debuted as the protagonist of a TV drama and became famous thanks to that.
She was only twenty-two, but she was already in the list of popular actresses.
The last one was Xiangxiang, who sat at the top.
Xiangxiang had been the female protagonist in every film she participated in. Of course, there were actresses like her, but unlike her, not all their films were hits. Xiangxiang only used a mere three years to become the highest-grossing actress.
Her progress was remarkable. All the resources she had were top-tier. The article alluded to a strong backer hiding behind Xiangxiang,
But Xiangxiang came from an ordinary family. The readers were guessing about the backer’s identity.
The haters attacked her in the comments. Some of them were downright vulgar.
The article didn’t get viral though. Xiangxiang thought of it as a joke.
But Shanshan was upset, “I’m dead last, and they were already accusing me of having a sugar daddy. You’ll be getting worse attacks.”
Shanshan started filming dramas after she was done with her main character part in “Caring Love.” She began as a side character and became the female protagonist in her latest work.
She started at a much better place than those who were still side characters even though they were already in the industry for seven or eight years.
“They said you have one sugar daddy. I probably have five or six. According to them anyway,” Xiangxiang pointed at the replies under the post.
“Oh my god, do they have nothing but illicit thoughts in their minds?” Shanshan was incensed when she recalled how her mother interrogated her.