Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

"Auntie, next up, we might be promoting 'First Love, This Little Thing'."

Qi Hao hardly ate anything during the whole event.

He's currently in the midst of a weight loss journey, having lost quite a bit already.

Losing weight is a very common and ordinary thing that anyone can do as long as they are determined.

There's absolutely no need to use this as a gimmick to make money.

However, Qi Hao is the media's focal point, and his weight loss is quite noticeable to many.

There are numerous news reports about him being on a diet.

So, Ms. Liu wasn't surprised that Qi Hao ate so little; upon hearing this from Qi Hao, she nodded immediately and said,

"Just let us know if there's anything we need to cooperate on."

No kidding, they invested in this movie too; if the box office fails, they're also going to lose money.

Her daughter didn't even take a paycheck.

"This is a campus romance movie. I was thinking if we could stir up some romance rumors."

Qi Hao seemed very cautious.

"Rumors?" Ms. Liu frowned upon hearing that.

It's said that being associated with Qi Hao in rumors makes you famous, but actually, her daughter was already quite popular before the rumors with Qi Hao, and after the rumors, 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' aired successfully, but was soon banned.

This concept of a 'Fortunate Wife's Destiny,' well, just listen and forget it.

Therefore, she isn't too keen on rumors.

Moreover, Qi Hao, this brat, had once had notions about her young cabbage.

Qi Hao knows Ms. Liu very well, knowing she's not easy to fool, so he continued to explain, "We've invested too little in this film; expecting too much from this little money is unrealistic. Stirring up rumors becomes the most cost-effective strategy."

Indeed, the film's total budget is 10 million, with 2.4 million spent on the script.

If Qi Hao and An Feng weren't forgoing their salaries, the film wouldn't have such quality.

There's even less money available for marketing.

These days, without marketing expenses of over 5 million, there's always the issue of lack of exposure.

"It's true, marketing is really tough."

Ms. Liu is also a sensible person.

If they hadn't invested in this film, whether it profited or lost wouldn't matter much to them.

A low budget would be the producer's issue.

But now, with half of their investment involved, Ms. Liu must consider the issue from the producer's standpoint.

She really doesn't want her daughter to be involved in rumors with Qi Hao.

But the circumstances outweigh personal strength, making denial impossible.

"Stir little rumors... not really a good idea."

Although An Feng felt somewhat uncomfortable deceiving her mom, she knows Qi Hao is trying hard for the two of them, so she wouldn't hold back.

To eliminate her mom's prejudice, she must slowly make her mom accept Qi Hao.

If not, the two wouldn't have a future.

She's now questioning mainly to dispel her mom's suspicions.

To prevent her mom from thinking this is Qi Hao's conspiracy, and even suspecting her involvement.

It's called retreating to advance.

"Just need to occasionally let some information leak out for the media to capture. They'll market for us for free."

Qi Hao continued persuading vigorously.

He knew Ms. Liu would eventually compromise; this is simply a normal business activity.

"Alright, then you two can spread some rumors."

Ms. Liu had no objections, instead expressing gratitude toward Qi Hao for being "considerate," as typical producers wouldn't be concerned about your feelings when stirring up rumors.

They're even too lazy to discuss with you, and just start releasing press material.

You might have to hold back your opinions, as the contract clearly indicates you must cooperate with the producers for promotion.

Ms. Liu couldn't use An Feng being underage as a reason to stop, like she did with Zhang Jizhong before.

An Feng's long been of age now.

Qi Hao even asked for their opinion before stirring up rumors, which is a form of respect.

"Thank you, Auntie, for understanding; let's hope this film is a box office hit."

Qi Hao raised his drink.

"Mm-hmm, also thank you, Qi Hao, for being willing to invest with us."

Upon hearing "box office hit," Ms. Liu began to look forward to the movie, lifting her spirits away from stock losses.

These days, it's not like having money automatically allows you to invest in films.

Because without connections, ordinary people usually encounter scam investment projects.

Even for celebrities, good projects aren't easily brought to them.

'First Love, This Little Thing' is low-cost, quality production, with top idols like Qi Hao and An Feng participating. It's highly likely to be profitable.

"I've worked with An Feng before; she's quite suited for this role. Who else would I choose?"

Qi Hao chuckled.

Ms. Liu suddenly found Qi Hao quite agreeable.

Stirring up rumors isn't something that can be done right away; Qi Hao has many other tasks to address.

'October Fortress' not only has a premiere in mainland China, but as a co-production dominated by Xiangjiang's cast, the promotion over there is equally crucial.

Qi Hao attended once.

Yet, the real beloved project is still 'First Love, This Little Thing.'

Qi Hao and An Feng soon started spreading "authorized" rumors.

"Mom, I'm going out with Qi Hao today."

An Feng was packing clothes.

"Is it starting? Do you want me to go with you?"

Ms. Liu wasn't too surprised, after all, she also supported her daughter and Qi Hao having a fake romance to promote the movie.

"No need, Mom. If people see us, we can't drum up gossip."

An Feng had to admire Qi Hao's creativity, this guy is really a genius at dating.

She was always worried about her mom finding out when she dated Qi Hao.

But Qi Hao wasn't worried at all. He even found an excuse to promote the movie, so her mom would support them going on dates.

If his planning had started from getting her to star in and invest in "First Love, This Little Thing," then Qi Hao really is a master schemer.

"Alright then, remember to take Xiaominzi."

An Feng's assistant Xiaomin had high physical prowess, she used to be an athlete, one person could take on three.

Ms. Liu wasn't worried at all.

It wasn't to guard against Qi Hao, but to prevent being surrounded by people.

Although Qi Hao had many rumors and unclear relationships with many women, there were no rumors about him acting against women's will, so she wasn't worried he'd do something outrageous under the guise of a fake romance.

It's just stirring up gossip, not catching a cheater.

"I got it, bye Mom."

An Feng swaggered off to have fun with Qi Hao.

Qi Hao, wearing Sven Glasses and a low-key hat, held An Feng's hand and played all day, but no one managed to take their picture.

"Where did you guys go?"

After returning, Ms. Liu, seeing the calm media, couldn't help her curiosity.

It doesn't make sense.

Her daughter wasn't washed up; she's still popular with the media.

Why is it that after going out on a date for half a day, there's not even a little buzz?

"We met at ten in the morning, then went shopping… also bought two books in a bookstore, and then ate at the mall…"

An Feng counted their dating itinerary on her fingers.

"Did no one see you? Did you guys disguise yourselves?"

Ms. Liu found it unbelievable that such a handsome couple could stroll in the mall unnoticed for half a day.

Even if she thought Qi Hao was a scumbag, she had to admit he was good-looking, one of the few male stars in the entertainment industry who could match her daughter.

"Of course, we had to disguise. We both wore hats and glasses."

An Feng said matter-of-factly.

"Since you're trying to stir up gossip, why disguise?"

Ah, that was the issue, Ms. Liu almost thought her daughter had become unpopular.

"Of course, we had to disguise. Qi Hao said that drumming up gossip requires skill, we can't just blatantly let people take our picture, otherwise everyone would know we're doing it for the movie, and the public wouldn't buy it."

An Feng explained a bit; this was Qi Hao's reasoning, successfully convincing Ms. Liu, making her feel briefly ashamed of her narrow-mindedness and superficiality.

"What did you do in the afternoon?"

Ms. Liu sighed, thinking her daughter would solve the problem after one outing.

But now, it seems, she still had to mix with that little scoundrel.

"In the afternoon, we went to the amusement park and had so much fun."

An Feng thoroughly enjoyed her dates with Qi Hao, even if she had been to the amusement park many times before, she remained enthusiastic.

"People at the amusement park are focused on their own fun, each more engrossed than the other, who would pay attention to you two?"

Ms. Liu even began offering them reasons.

"In the evening, we went to watch 'October Fortress', and again, no one noticed us."

An Feng's face was full of worry. Initially, she felt a bit guilty toward her mom, but after so much fun, that guilt had long vanished into the clouds.

"What should we do?"

Ms. Liu was also troubled. She knew many rumors in the entertainment industry were planted stories.

If her daughter and Qi Hao wanted a romance rumor, would they have to plant stories too?

"I don't know either; we'll just have to go out again tomorrow. Actor Shen Teng, from the movie, is the director and playwright of the play 'Somali Pirates', and there's a show tomorrow, we plan to watch it."

An Feng didn't tell her mom that it would be performed in Jinmen.

So, she and Qi Hao planned to play in Jinmen.

"Then go, if it doesn't work, stop disguising so well."

Ms. Liu wasn't suspicious at all, what bad intentions could her daughter have, wasn't it all for the movie?

However, even after An Feng and Qi Hao went to see the play, no gossip emerged.

Seeing her daughter's dejected expression, Ms. Liu began to comfort her instead:

A lot of things are like this, the more you don't want them to happen, the more likely they are to happen.

But when you wish for them, they refuse to occur.

If needed, just go out a few more times, surely gossip will eventually spread.

An Feng pouted, feeling encouraged, and cheerfully went off to date Qi Hao again.

Of course, movie promotions can't rely solely on stirring up gossip.

The current online network is just one of the many stages for promotional activities, solely relying on netizens is unrealistic.

In fact, online promotions have only emerged in recent years.

In the past, under the distribution and exhibition model of the planned economy, all films produced by national film studios were outright purchased by the China Film Distribution & Exhibition Import & Export Company. Then, China Film Company distributed them to cinemas at various administrative levels: province, city, and county.

The 1993 reform of the Chinese film industry mechanism, especially the exploration of the box office sharing system, led to the birth of professional distribution companies, with the active participation of production companies, forming a production-to-distribution industry loop.

Take the 2002 film "Hero" as an example. To achieve the maximum promotional effect, it extensively displayed offline posters at city stations, lightboxes, bulletin boards, held its grand premiere at the Great Hall of the People combined with local screenings, ran serialized advertisements and interviews in newspapers and magazines, first broadcasted film clips during CCTV's prime time, and simultaneously released documentaries, stamps, and other derivatives, forming an integrated commercial marketing chain.

"First Love, This Little Thing" can't afford all these but promoting through the main cast shooting promotional posters, doing ground promotion at malls and theaters, roadshows at provincial universities, and appearing on variety and talk shows isn't a problem at all.

So, Qi Hao decided to bring An Feng on a variety show this time.