Chapter 542
Sophia felt a wave of bitterness rising in her heart, especially when she saw the earth-shattering publicity
and the triumphant momentum for ‘Legend of Fan Lihua’ after its box office premiere. All the reviews for
the movie were favorable. In contrast, many viewers criticized and insulted ‘Doctor Invincible’, using
words that were very vulgar and harsh on the eyes.
Simrly, the fans of the opposing party would pop up from time to time to insult, mock, and ridicule the
movie. Not only that but they would extend their insults to the two middle-aged washed-up actors, who
had no endorsements nor variety shows.
From N?velDrama.Org.
You motherf*cker! Who the hell do you think you are, son of a b*tch?! Inside the Edwards Residence, the
two fangirls exploded with anger. Setting up twoputers in the living room, they began taking control
of the fan support group to do activities amidst the sound of mahjong in the background.
They monitored the data, conducted online and offline activities, chartered venues and cinemas,
controlled reviews, appeased fans, and so on. At the same time, they also had to watch ‘Doctor
Invincible’ and deliver the cured meat. Therefore, they were extremely busy.
Meanwhile, the two middle-aged washed-up actors were sucking on lollipops as they yed mahjong.
Stanley had a lollipop in his mouth too. While ying mahjong, he said, “Uncle Michael, don’t you think
Aunt is being silly? How could the movie sponsored by the Harpers possiblypete with the poprity
of your movie? Why does she need to spend so much money? She might as well use it to y mahjong
with me.”
Michael nced at Sophia, who was assigning tasks to the fan support group. Then, he said, “You won’t
be able to understand a girl’s heart.”
Simrly, Harry sneaked a nce at Sarah and said teasingly, “Bro, be careful. Otherwise, they will give
away all the cured meat in your house as their prizes.”
At the mention of cured meat, Michael felt a little distressed. He had secretly taken a look at their ‘Box
Office Rescue n’. ording to the n, half of his cured meat would be given away—they were
nning to use his handmade cured meat to reinvigorate the ticket sales! What a f*cking pain!
While Sophia was focused on monitoring the ticket sales, Richard couldn’t even fall asleep out of worry.
The movie, ‘Legend of Fan Lihua’, was X’s only remaining hope. If it became a sess, she would
be famous within the circles instantly.
Then, they would have hope of repaying the Huffs’ gigantic debt. If it failed, the Harpers would never
spend another dime on her again. When that happens, the Huff Family would copsepletely with
no hope of rescue anymore!
On the first day, the box office earnings of the movie recorded 300 million, and it seemed like it was
extremely well-received. What with the shocking amount of online and offline publicity, the situation
seemed to be very good. However, only Richard knew that those results were brought about through the
money poured into it by their investors! Therefore, he knew best just how much the 300 million recorded
in the box office earnings was actually worth.
In his anxious state, he finally waited until the final box office earnings for the second day were
announced—50 million! It was 300 million on the first day and 50 million on the second day. The sharp
decline in ticket sales was shockinglyrge.
The film reviews that had been bought over before had fallen apart as batches of movie fans voiced their
discontent after watching the movie. They furiously demanded refunds, citing that the primary roles and
the minor roles were imbnced; the supporting roles had more appearances than the protagonists; and
it had great special effects, but the storyline was terrible. Despite the amazing special effects, it could not
make up for the downsides. Many scenes had been cut out and the acting of the protagonists and
supporting roles were horribly exaggerated. At the same time, fans of the original work protested that the
movie had destroyed the original work….
By the third day of its release, the box office earnings fell to 30 million. In contrast, the bad reviews were
increasing by the day, and the word of mouth came crashing down. As the box office sales tumbled
down, the 500 million investment into the movie could not be regained. On the other hand, the box office
earnings of ‘Doctor Invincible’ remained scarily stable despite being ripped apart by the ghostwriter fans
of ‘Legend of Fan Lihua’. It recorded ticket sales of 300 million on stable days and 250 million on
unstable days. Still, the attendance rate remained extremely high even after 10 days.
Looking at the box office data, Richard felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Thus, he
slumped limply into a chair, his head hurting terribly.
“Richard, trust me. We probably chose an unfavorable date of release. The past two days were working
days, so the ticket sales won’t be as great. If we put in a little more money into publicity, the ticket sales
will definitely pick up,” X said reassuringly.
Even so, she knew in her heart that the movie was a flop. In order to persuade herself, or perhaps to
persuade him, she continued, “Many movies start off with poor ticket sales. However, their ticket sales
start to skyrocket once word-of-mouth picks up.”
As she talked, she started to choke up. She knew that she only had several chances left, and her
chances were reducing bit by bit. If she failed to perform well this time around, the Harper Family might
completely lose their patience with the Huffs. Moreover, her parents were still in the intensive care ward
at the hospital, and their medical expenses came to approximately 20,000 to 30,000 per day.
Although the debtors had been appeased by the Harpers, for now, they would surely return sooner or
later. Besides, the Huff Family would fall to utter ruin once they lost the support of the Harper Family.
Therefore, she had to seed and make her mark in the entertainment circles so that the Harper Family
would continue to support her acting career. Conversely, if she was unsessful, the consequences
would be dire.
He remained quiet. Countless ns shed through his mind in an attempt to reinvigorate their box
office earnings. If he failed this time, not only X, but he, too, would suffer the consequences. However,
each of his ns was mercilessly turned down by himself. How could it be so easy to rescue their box
office earnings?
Meanwhile, she red bitterly at ‘Doctor Invincible’, which stood arrogantly at the top of the box office
rankings. If it wasn’t for that movie, ‘Legend of Fan Lihua’ would have been a hit! It’s all that movie’s fault!
I had a cameo in that movie, but I can’t believe that particr scene was cut off before its release! Not
only that but my role in ‘War Dragon’ was canceled too. So, now I only have ‘Legend of Fan Lihua’. Then,
she resentfully muttered, “If only a scandal involving Taylor Murray could surface during this time…”
If a scandal were to appear, the sales tickets of that movie will fall, sooner orter. When that happens,
‘Legend of Fan Lihua’ will shine in its ce! She na?vely believed that her movie would be popr
as long as there were nopetitors.
He was currently under great pressure. ring at the irritating words ‘Doctor Invincible’ written at the top
of the box office rankings, a bold idea came to him suddenly. Once that idea took root, his mind
immediately reyed those words Taylor had said to him back then: ‘How embarrassing would it be for
you if word got out that your ex-girlfriend had gotten herself a husband who is leagues better than
you?’ However, he had no other choice. He had to try everything in his arsenal.
Thus, he broke his silence and said, “I happen to know a scandal about Taylor. Moreover, it’s rted to
Sophia…”
Upon hearing those words, X’s eyes brightened. “What scandal? Hurry up and tell me!”
Richard hesitated, considering it over and over again. In the end, he said, “Back then, Taylor spent
80,000 to buy Sophia and make her his wife. Perhaps we can use that to our leverage.”
…
Over at The Imperial, Sophia began to send out the cured meat via delivery services upon her return
from her holiday at Riverdale. Therefore, the cured meat at home was nearly all gone. Michael was
starting to worry as he studied the amount left over—it wasn’t enough tost them for the year.
Meanwhile, Nathan hurriedly stole a few pieces and hid them at Linus’ ce.
Sophia had been extremely busy over the past two days. After vacuum packing the cured meat, she had
to ce them in gift bags before posting them out via delivery services. At the same time, she had to
make more cured meat. For that reason, Michael was also instructed to make more of his handmade
cured meat during his off days at home. Dressed in his pajamas with an apron over it, he yawned as he
put on gloves and prepared to make the cured meat. First, he rubbed handfuls of salt into the fresh meat,
then he left them to marinate for a while before hanging them out to air dry for several days. After he was
done making cured meat, he quickly sneaked into the basement to look for Abel, for fear of being forced
to continue making cured meat.
All of a sudden, the phone in his pocket vibrated. It turned out that ‘Eddie Fletcher’ had posted a new
tweet on Twitter. He had listed her ount under favorites, so he would receive a notification on his
phone as soon as she posted something on Twitter. Taking out his phone, he saw that she had posted a
picture of him in his pajamas, yawning as he made more cured meat. The caption was: ‘Shocking!
Middle-Aged Washed-up Actor With No Endorsements or Variety Shows Makes Cured Meat for a Living!’
Michael was rendered speechless by what he read.