Chapter 109 Overseas

Chapter 109 Overseas

As expected, the hashtag #IsThatGoodLooking# instantly trended on the trending topics, accompanied by a picture of Lu Xu riding away on his bike with a carefree back view.

"...Hahahaha."

"Total knockout!!"

"Lu Xu on a bike is really cute!"

"One of the reasons I follow Lu Xu is that I always have fun watching him LOL, Lu Xu never lets me down."

"If I were in Qi Di's shoes, I'd feel pretty insecure. From this perspective, Qi Di is much more confident than me, truly a big star."

"...Lu Xu is so brave, not afraid of Director Liu Rennong at all. I'm just a country bumpkin, I admit, I really don't understand why Qi Di is being hyped. What's so special about Qi Di anyway?"

"Honestly, it's just sheer arrogance, always looking down on this and that."

Qi Di's reputation in the industry is not good; he's been stepping on toes left and right. Lu Xu's fans aren't the crazy type, but even those with fanatical fans have to step back when encountering someone with a strong background like Qi Di. So, Qi Di's temper has only gotten worse, daring to offend anyone.

Before Lu Xu, not a single star dared to openly state the fact that he is not good-looking.

Tonight's trending topics are buzzing, although it's just a small conflict between Lu Xu and Qi Di, both are known for causing trouble in the entertainment industry, making this conflict a showdown between heavyweights.

Fans noticed their idols sneaking online shortly after.

With so many people, mistakes are bound to happen. Indeed, on the way to the hashtag #IsThatGoodLooking# going "explosive," a certain star accidentally liked it, and although it was quickly canceled, it was still discovered.

"LOL, Ma Zifan gave it a thumbs-up. He was robbed of his position by Qi Di."

"How many in the biz are secretly glued to this drama?"

"What I'm more curious about is how many people Qi Di has offended. I didn't know before, but after a review, he's basically the kingpin of the entertainment world!"

"Now I'm just curious, who's pissed off more folks, Lu Xu or Qi Di?"

Everyone knows that Lu Xu and Qi Di are butting heads, but Qi Di is after all the third lead in "How Much Do You Know," and within the top three leads, it's considered a box office achievement, which is an industry consensus—"Deception" has no chance of surpassing "How Much Do You Know" at the box office.

Although Yan Huan's presence is much higher than the character Qi Di played in "How Much Do You Know."

Even though "Deception" hit the 1 billion mark, making it the clear winner of the Spring Festival box office, objectively speaking, "Deception" is still a niche genre, which limits the film's potential to make a huge profit.

"Lu Xu might never land a blockbuster like 'How Much Do You Know' in his career?"

↑ This is a direct quote from one of Qi Di's fans.

He almost looked at Lu Xu with pity.

Fans may not be unaware of Qi Di's character flaws, but the joy of being a fan of Qi Di lies in the instant gratification. Resources that other stars can't get, Qi Di can reach out and grab. Other stars can only dream of being in Qi Di's shoes.

Being a fan of such a person, fans can also experience that sense of superiority.

Even when facing a top-tier actor like Lu Xu, Qi Di has the strength to fight.

What if his popularity is not as high as Lu Xu's?

What Qi Di has is beyond Lu Xu's wildest dreams.

Although—shortly after this sentence, which Qi Di's fans regard as a famous quote, was published, "Deception's" official blog announced that "Deception" would collaborate with film distributors from North America, R Country, and K Country to push "Deception" into the overseas market.

"Wait, how did it end up overseas all of a sudden?"

"Seriously, 'The Deception', what other secrets are you keeping from me?"

The genre of 'The Deception' isn't exactly a hit in the domestic market, and the success it's achieved has taken the crew by surprise. In a way, 'The Deception' feels more like a wish-fulfillment novel, lacking the artistic depth of other Spring Festival releases.

But it's precisely because 'The Deception' has such a unique and rare theme, and its box office exceeded 1 billion, that the movie earned its spot for overseas promotion.

Take, for example, a few other Spring Festival movies: 'Homebound Train' is inspirational, and the core of 'The Eternal Night' is parent-child relationships. Both are solid films, and while similar styles have tried overseas releases before, the results were mediocre.

Even though 'The Deception' wasn't created with the overseas market in mind, it falls into a genre that's easy to market, and it has similarities with several films and series that have recently become popular overseas, making it a great candidate for testing the overseas market.

"What if 'The Deception' blows up overseas?"

"It can't be that simple, can it?"

"Didn't 'How Much Do You Know' try the overseas market before? I recall it didn't do too well."

"Wait, you don't actually think 'The Deception's overseas earnings can close the gap with 'How Much Do You Know', do you?"

Before 'The Deception' hit overseas screens, no one would've believed it.

But 'The Deception' breaking the 1 billion mark had already caught the eye of some overseas distributors. Coupled with the recent success of similar genres overseas, 'The Deception' found a distributor who is quite strong in promoting similar genre works.

The movie first took off in Country R.

'The Deception' is considered a traditional genre in Country R. At its initial release, as a foreign film, 'The Deception' didn't make much of an impact, and its audience was mostly international students and local Chinese.

But the movie's plot is gripping, with no dull moments. Just when the audience thought they could relax, the next scene would send their adrenaline skyrocketing.

The scene where 'Chang Qing' took off his glasses and became 'Yan Huan' even made it to the trending list in Country R.

"It's Lu Xu's face that's stealing the show!"

"Lol, calling Lu Xu's face a sacred object—how sacred are we talking?"

"A human treasure, the epitome of handsomeness! Join the Lu Sect! The Lu Sect is infinite, but turn back before it's too late!"

The North American market's response to 'The Deception' wasn't as heated as in Country R, but the main plot of 'The Deception' is easy to follow. Similar works to the movie have appeared in the North American market before.

While 'The Deception' faded from the domestic market, it popped up on a global box office ranking, creating a striking contrast.

The conclusion is—this Spring Festival season, 'The Deception' earned a total of 1.996 billion at the box office, just short of 2 billion after a long wait. This result is second only to 'Homebound Train', beating 'The Eternal Night' and 'When We Were Young'.

But in the overseas market, 'The Deception' inexplicably won.

For the main creators of the movie, no one expected the film to be popular overseas.

They had dreamed, but never thought it would come true.

Lu Xu and Yue Hui were even invited to participate in several overseas movie events. Brand C simply invited Lu Xu to their local store to participate in the event, and in the event photos, Lu Xu's position as the spokesperson was very prominent.

"Is Brand C slapping Qi Di in the face for Lu Xu? 23333"

"Your own event was ruined, who can swallow that anger? Qi Di, if you're good-looking, that's fine, but what do you mean by blocking Lu Xu's display of products? You don't think some wealthy lady would have the desire to buy after seeing your face, do you?"

"The global box office of 'The Deception' is almost the same as 'How Much Do You Know'!"

"So what, anyway, Lu Xu will never be able to act in a blockbuster like 'How Much Do You Know' in his lifetime. The little dog can just act in 'The Deception', which earns a few billion. [dog head][dog head][dog head]"

"...Suddenly I wonder, does the overseas box office of 'Deception' include a share for the little dog?"

To this question, Gao Xingchuan provided an answer—yes, there is a share for them.

The contract states that Yue Hui and Lu Xu are entitled to a share of the revenue from 'Deception' in any form.

"Hit the jackpot!!!"

"I'm all in on Lu Xu's career luck!"

Everyone is guessing whether Lu Xu has already earned over a hundred million from just one movie, 'Deception', and might even be able to retire now.

But no one is jealous of Lu Xu's paycheck, because it wasn't obtained by cutting corners on the film's budget. 'Deception' was well-made, and the box office was high enough, which is a result that left the entire crew satisfied.

Photos of Lu Xu taken by C brand were posted on the brand's official social media—C brand's way of backing Lu Xu as their endorser.

Lu Xu's fans are finally satisfied.

However, a netizen noticed something was off.

That morning, she went ahead and posted photos of Lu Xu's activities overseas and domestically, and then added a few photos of Qi Di.

"If I'm not mistaken, Qi Di only pushes our domestic stars aside? (See Figures 2, 3, 4), but when attending events overseas, he’s on his best behavior, politely greeting overseas stars, and willing to stand in the corner. (See Figures 4, 5, 6)"

"Ah this..."

"!!! I remember now! That's indeed the case!!"

"And super enthusiastic... the same with fans, he is very polite to overseas faces, but when it comes to domestic faces, he looks sour and unapproachable, as if someone owes him a fortune."

"The funniest thing was when a fan asked for a photo with him, Qi Di looked annoyed, but as soon as the person spoke in R language, his expression immediately changed, and he even posed for a photo with them."

"...I don't like this, it’s just unnecessary."

"Same here."

Qi Di's habit of hogging the spotlight from other stars had been exposed before, but only the fans of the stars he bullied were indignant, and it had very limited impact on him personally.

However, once his double standards were exposed, more netizens weren’t buying it.

"Tough at home, but a pushover abroad, huh?"

"Thousands of words boil down to three—I’m not worthy to watch his movies, am I? I should be thankful if he doesn’t roll his eyes at me."

"...I’m regretting buying tickets to 'How Much Do You Know', I really liked that movie at the time!!!"

"It's okay upstairs, 'How Much Do You Know' is indeed a good movie, but that doesn't mean Qi Di won't make movies in the future. Anyway, I'm putting it out there, movies made by someone as high and mighty as Qi Di are for the elite, we lowly people are not worthy."

Netizens spontaneously started boycotting Qi Di's movies, and even a few enthusiastic netizens took the initiative to list the businesses Qi Di is currently signed to and the movies he is filming or waiting to be released.

By this time, his agency and that arrogant agent finally had to act.

The agency didn't dare to issue a statement to intimidate anymore, as netizens were quite angry—mainly because Qi Di himself and Liu Rennong's studio had always been very arrogant, and any further intimidation would only add fuel to the fire.

Qi Di's agency stated that it was Qi Di's first time abroad, he couldn't adjust to the time difference, and he wasn't feeling well. Those foreign friends in the photos were all executives of the brand, and they couldn't be offended, etc.

Although—he had been abroad before.

The statement also said that Qi Di did not mean to bully others, and he has a good relationship with domestic stars and fans, hoping netizens wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

As evidence, photos of Qi Di with his domestic fans at various events popped up on the trending list, where Qi Di was beaming with a big smile.

Though—all the photos were taken this month.

Netizens: "..."

So, why didn’t they release a statement right when Qi Di was caught stealing the spotlight from other stars?

"Domestic stars are nothing—can they really stand in the way of his opportunities? Offending one is no different from offending a hundred."

"It’s a whole different story when the audience boycotts his films. Investors’ money doesn’t grow on trees. Pushing someone like him could lead to box office losses in the tens or even hundreds of millions. Who would take such a loss?"

"They caved right away—tsk tsk, what took them so long?"

"It’s all about the money—no shame in that. If it weren’t for the money, this bully would keep it up next month—bet on it."

Author's note:

The overseas box office mentioned in the chapter is my fantasy. Everyone understands the situation of domestic movies going abroad; they won’t give you a chance.

The face-slapping will continue! It might be visually fatiguing, but Xiao Lu’s movie journey has just begun, and this plot won’t end so quickly.

"Deception" belongs to a genre I’m not very good at. I’m not skilled but love to write. I can’t describe its mystery, so I’ll try a different genre later.