Chapter 215 – Movie Premiere

Chapter 215 - Movie Premiere

The Mercury City premiere was scheduled for 3:30 PM on New Year's Eve.

The official public screening would commence at 8 PM the same night.

Tickets for the premiere were like gold dust, with seats scarce beyond critics, journalists, the creative team, investors, and staff related to the cast. The public ticketing channels had long been overwhelmed with demand.

Tang Fei's fan club, leveraging their connection with her, managed to secure twenty tickets. These tickets would be distributed three days in advance through a lottery among her fans.

Poor Zhou Weichuan could only blend in with the crowd vying for the sugar-coated lotus seed paste giveaways.

Tang Fei had promised him tickets for New Year's Day, but due to his busy schedule, he hadn't had time to collect them. As a result, the ticket had returned to the fan club one day later, and now he had to rely on his luck to snatch it.

"Come on, Tang Fei, that's not fair."

Zhou Weichuan fervently retweeted the post, hoping to increase his chances by adding to the pool of participants. However, his grumbling at Tang Fei was inevitable.

"Zhou Weichuan, what did you expect for being late?"

"Traffic jam, I was stuck on the road for three hours and missed my flight. I can only come back the next day."

"The fan club needs tickets, 19 looks incomplete. It'd be better to have a nice, round number like 20."

Zhou Weichuan hooked Tang Fei's chin with his finger. "You did that on purpose."

Tang Fei chuckled and pushed Zhou Weichuan away. "On purpose, huh? What are you going to do about it?"

"Of course, I'll try my luck in the lottery." Zhou Weichuan angrily tapped on his phone.

In the end, Zhou Weichuan, as expected, couldn't compete with thousands of fans and didn't win any prizes.

Transforming into 'Angry Zhou,' he held his phone and gave Tang Fei an intense stare that seemed to pierce through her face.

"Are you angry?" Tang Fei looked up at Zhou Weichuan's eyes, which were glowing with small flames.

"What do you think?!" Zhou Weichuan had asked Zheng Haisheng for tickets, but the seats Zheng Haisheng secured were as far from the stage as possible.

Seeing Zhou Weichuan getting more and more agitated, Tang Fei slowly took out two tickets from her drawer. "Boss, don't be so petty. I was just joking with you."

Zhou Weichuan put down his phone after securing the tickets, holding onto Tang Fei tightly. "Playing with me? You do this kind of thing to tease me too? Hiding it from me for a whole day – you've gone too far."

"I waited a whole day too, and I'm even accompanying you today. That's quite a bargain for you."

"Tang Fei, you're so petty."

"Yup, I am petty. So what? Do you want to break up—"

"Stop right there! Don't bring that up casually. I'm not joking around anymore. Let's go eat."

Tang Fei made a zipping motion with her lips. "Alright, no more mentioning it. It was my mistake."

The two of them left together. On this day, while they and their fans were busy securing tickets for Tang Fei, others were quietly scheming to get closer to her.

Xing Le obtained an entrance ticket from He Baoyi. In addition to him, Xiao Yuan's two brothers had also managed to secure tickets.

When He Baoyi asked Xing Le to cooperate with Xiao Yuan's brothers, Xing Le grew wary. He said to He Baoyi, "Sis Yi, is there something that even I can't know?"

"Kid, stay out of too much trouble. It's better to keep things clean. Just guide them, don't get involved in this matter."

With the white cat, Joy, nestled in her arms, He Baoyi looked at Xing Le and said, "Frankly, I don't really want you to go. But there aren't many people who can lower Tang Fei and Zhou Weichuan's guards. After Tang Fei saved you, you've gotten along well with them, so they wouldn't be as wary of you."

"A'Le, do you think Tang Fei saved me and now doesn't trust me?" Xing Le bit her lip, her resolute gaze fixed on He Baoyi. He Baoyi smiled. "I would trust no one before I distrust A'Le."

Xing Le looked down and said, "Are you afraid that if I were to be investigated, you wouldn't be able to escape unscathed? After all, if they were to investigate me, my past connections would be intertwined with yours."

He Baoyi's brows knitted together. "A'Le, are you questioning me?"

"I... I merely wish for you to understand that I won't betray you solely because someone else has saved me. You can trust me."

He Baoyi let out a sigh, gently stroking Xing Le's hair. "A'Le, I don't want to test you. Why do you insist on putting yourself through this? I've never doubted you, but with Tang Fei being so famous, any incident involving her will definitely be thoroughly investigated. Regardless of what happens to Tang Fei, I don't want anything to happen to you."

Xing Le thought of Tang Fei and recalled her words. She had mentioned overseeing the production of "The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," taking responsibility for all the accidents that occurred during its making. Therefore, saving him was no different from saving others; he shouldn't overthink it.

What exactly did Sister Yi mean by "something happening"?

"Will it put her life in danger?"

At this unexpected question, He Baoyi chuckled.

"Worried about her?"

"I... I won't interfere with your affairs, but if it's a matter of life and death, could you show mercy and spare her life, given that she saved me once?"

"A'Le, sentimentality is a liability in business. Once you've chosen your side, don't burden yourself with moral dilemmas. If you have reservations, then don't go that day. Spending the New Year with your father at home is fine too."

Xing Le shook his head. "My father is Zhou Weichuan's, not mine. He expelled me from the house before for him, and now he's disinheriting me for him. Going to celebrate the New Year with him would only mean I'm holding a grudge."

He Baoyi pondered. "Actually, who inherits the family business mainly depends on the continuation of the enterprise and the accumulation of wealth for the family. It's about capability, not love. Not giving it to you doesn't mean they don't care for you. The real estate under your name was given by Zhou Xianfeng, while Zhou Weichuan gets the parts that require more effort and dedication."

"How can they claim to love me if they don't believe in my abilities?" Xing Le didn't buy He Baoyi's explanation. "That real estate was mine to begin with. I should have a share, but he didn't give me a single cent of equity, afraid I might snatch power from his precious son."

In the end, Xing Le didn't get any information about what they planned to do to Tang Fei from He Baoyi. As He Baoyi had predicted, his conscience plagued him after learning this news.

He didn't care about Zhou Weichuan or Zhou Xianfeng; he never thought blood ties were worth much. He only cared about who treated him well.

He Baoyi had been good to him, so he returned all that he had, pouring his passionate feelings into their relationship. And Tang Fei had risked her life to save him, even though she kept telling him not to worry.

But the one who was saved was none other than him—how could he not care?

On one side was Yi Jie, and on the other was Tang Fei, who had just saved him not long ago. Xing Le's heart was torn.

"How could I betray Yi Jie for Tang Fei? The life I owe isn't owed by Yi Jie; I'll pay it back myself, without implicating Yi Jie."

"If something happens to me, how can I keep it from affecting Yi Jie?"

Xing Le saw the ticket beside him and suddenly wondered why Yi Jie, who knew him so well, would tell him about it and even return the ticket.

If she really didn't want to test him, she should have stopped him from leaving the country.

She said she didn't want to put him through a test, but in the end, wasn't this still a test?

Xing Le held onto the ticket, waiting until New Year's Eve. At 3:30 in the afternoon, in the largest cinema in the capital with a 500-seat giant screen hall, the premiere of Mercury City began.

Zhou Xianfeng was home alone, hugging Doudou while facing a table of cold dishes. A public service advertisement about going home for the New Year was playing on TV. He sighed wryly. "Doudou, it's just you and me again this year."