The Lunar New Year has arrived. After a long year of preparation, <<Super Time Redemption>> finally premiered on the silver screen.
Ye Fei was already trending due to the Affair of Father Ye. With his involuntary support, Tianxi and the movie it produced drew the attention of the general public.
It was an open secret that <<Super Time Redemption>> took 300 million yuan to produce, and when you included both the theater cut as well as other miscellaneous expenses, the film would need at last 900 million to break even. While in today’s terms, 900 million was an easy number to hit for a blockbuster, <<Super Time Redemption>> was not your typical comedy. It had sci-fi elements and was no comedy; it would be difficult to achieve such takings.
After all, who watches sci-fi during the Lunar New Year? It was a time for family reunion; a light comedy to enjoy with your children was far preferable to something that made your brains melt! In addition, there was not one but two comedies competing with <<Super Time Redemption>> at the theater. It was no wonder that <<Super Time Redemption>> had takings of only 40 million yuan on the day of its premiere.
As the day went on, Gu Ruijia was so nervous that little blisters started to appear near his mouth. “That Lunar New Year drama has takings of 130 million, and we just have one third of their receipt! Can we really continue like this?” He had called Ye Fei for reassurance, his face twisting in a bitter frown.
“I’m going to be ridiculed again when my family gets together on the third day.” Afraid that Ye Fei would think too much, Gu Ruijia paused, “I’m not blaming you, I’m just, I’m just complaining about it, okay?”
Ye Fei let out an “hm” and minimized the call window. He leaned against Yan Xiao while playing Travel Frog, and told Gu Ruijia, “It’s okay, it will be fine in a few days.”
“Just console me,” Gu Ruijia sighed as he pulled at his hair, “With such a poor audience, there would be less showings tomorrow. If it goes on like this, when will it end?”
“It’s never too late for a good meal,” Ye Fei stretched his long legs, lazily leaning on the coffee table and commented indifferently, “Take a step back. Look at us, are we the ones who can’t afford it?”
“Damn,” Gu Ruijia came here to ask for comfort, but when he heard this, he felt even more uncertain. “Is money the key? I’m afraid of shame! And don’t forget, Brother Xiao invested 200 million! You’re all prodigals! ”
Ye Fei raised his eyebrows, and chuckled softly, “I’m not wallowing in misery myself, why are you worrying so much?”
“You—” Gu Ruijia’s lungs ached from hearing Ye Fei’s nonchalance. He was about to scold a few choice words before he recalled that it was inauspicious to swear during the Lunar New Year period. Gu Ruijia had no choice but to swallow back his vitriol and hang up.
“President Yan,” Ye Fei tossed his phone away, looked at Yan Xiao with a tilted head and a smile, “Your 200 million will go down the drain.”
“It’s okay.” Yan Xiao held his hand.
“Then if I ask you again, will you still invest?”
“Yes.”
“Then our President Yan is a lovestruck fool.” Ye Fei teased as he got up and sat on Yan Xiao’s lap. Yan Xiao tilted his head to one side, staring at him in confusion.
Rather than answer his unspoken question, Ye Fei chose to duck his head, and give a light peck as he smirked. “But I like it.”
Yan Xiao did not ask, and instead held Ye Fei’s waist and pressed hard against him, deepening the kiss.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the major domestic entertainment media had already prepared reports on the cold reception of <<Super Time Redemption>>. However, no one could expect that word of mouth had caused <<Super Time Redemption>> to explode in popularity.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
It was a credit to Song Wen’s prowess as a story-teller. Although it had sci-fi elements, the setting was easy to understand. There was no long exposition by characters, and he intertwined world-building and human nature into his story, letting the audience dig out the plot for themselves.
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In other words, it was a critical hit and a crowd-pleaser. Everyone from film critics with millions of fans on Weibo, to the mass public boasted of watching <<Super Time Redemption>>. With a great deal of film reviews and praises spanning the forums and Weibo, this film entered the hot search and stayed there.
Initially, this had led others into believing these watchers were merely members of a water army designed to promote the film. However, upon further inspection, these reviews were written by netizens with authentic backgrounds and high verification rates.
Everyone was curious and liked to follow the herd. If you see a large crowd in the distance, you would unknowingly wait in line even if you had not intended to make a purchase. And besides, who would actually want to stay at home to be scolded by your mother or pestered into marriage by your father? It was far better to watch a movie and occupy your time outside your home.
Just like that, <<Super Time Redemption>> had hit 150 million yen in receipts on the second day, providing Gu Ruijia with a boost of confidence as he continued to search for ratings on the internet.
This was only just the beginning. On the third day, <<Super Time Redemption>> hit exponential growth. Before three in the afternoon, the single-day box office takings exceeded 100 million, finally boosting the total receipts to 400 million, shocking everyone.
It was clear that <<Super Time Redemption>> had become the must-see film of the season. On the fifth day, the total broke the one billion yuan mark, and so it was set in stone that Ye Fei could recover the cost of making this show. Instead, it was time to drool over how much he had profited.
Gu Ruijia had a good Lunar New Year. He was able to proudly boast of making a blockbuster in front of his relatives. There was still a spring in his step as he arrived at the office after vacation.
In the end, <<Super Time Redemption>> ended perfectly with a box office taking of 5.1 billion yuan.
With this success, Tianxi had emerged as a big-player in the industry, drawing the attention of more investors than before. And the entire company was motivated by this achievement into becoming even more hardworking, because it had finally made it.
With both his career and relationship on track, the investigation Ye Fei had been waiting for came to its natural conclusion. Due to the social implications of a wife and son dual murder, the ones who had participated in the interrogation of Father Ye and Zhao Jin were the most experienced in the police force. While Father Ye had initially denied his part, Zhao Jin was wary that Father Ye would try to pin the blame and had kept evidence against Father Ye.
Not only did he have records of Father Ye transferring money to him, he even recorded the conversation whereby Father Ye had outlined his plans while picking up the thallium sulfate.
The truth of this case that had been covered in dust for 21 years finally came to light.
There were no disputes nor heated exchanges. It was merely Father Ye’s twisted self-esteem at work. He eagerly wanted to erase all evidence of depending on his wife’s connections to ascend the social ladder; yet he could not bear to part with his wife’s wealth. When all his wife’s family had died, he was struck with the urge to clean up his traces.
Zhao Jin had been baited with five hundred thousand yuan. Ye Fei’s mother had been first poisoned, before her hospital records were tampered, successfully fooling everyone that her death was due to illness. When he heard of this ridiculous explanation, Ye Fei remained reticent. Under Yan Xiao’s worried gaze, he forced a smile and explained, “Let’s wait for the judgment.”
Though the heavenly net was full of holes, it still could catch its prey.
At the end of March, the verdicts of Father Ye and Zhao Jin came down.
Father Ye was sentenced to death for the crime of intentional homicide and executed immediately; Zhao Jin was only sentenced to 16 years as an accomplice. Zhao Jin had no objection to the verdict, but Father Ye filed an appeal, unwilling to accept his fate.
Ye Fei… was not surprised by this. For this sort of scumbag that regarded others as trivial obstacles, Father Ye’s life was far more important and had to be treasured. But no matter how much he struggled, that appeal would fall through.
Ye Fei’s lunar birthday had reached before the second trial started.
In his previous life, he had been virtually unapproachable in his old-fashioned suit and glasses. In this life, his assistant found Gu Ruijia and held a surprise birthday party for him during their lunch break.
The custom-designed birthday cake was small, but paid close attention to detail. It was covered in cream white and bordered with gold leaf and chocolate. There was a mini-figurine of Feixiao Technology Building, with a little signboard that read “President Ye, happy birthday!”
Rather than giving him presents, the employees all recorded a birthday celebration video for Ye Fei. From the signed-on celebrities to the office staff, everyone appeared on camera.
His employees’ blessings were sincere and warmed the cockles of Ye Fei’s tobacco-laden heart. He cut the cake and his eyes crept into a curl. “Thank you everyone. I will invite you to have afternoon tea later, order whatever you want.”
Immediately, a round of cheers and celebrations broke out.
“F*ck it,” Gu Ruijia sourly critiqued while holding a piece of cake after the party, “We’re all bosses. Why do you have a birthday greeting video and I don’t?”
“Probably…” Ye Fei pretended to give some thought on the subject. Looking at Gu Ruijia’s humbled face, he chuckled, “It’s a matter of character.”
“Scram!” Gu Ruijia took his last bite and dumped the plate and fork into the trash can. He pointed to Ye Fei’s desk. “See, your birthday present is there. Remember to open it when you get home.”
“Can’t I unwrap it now?”
“No way.” After pausing for a while, Gu Ruijia specifically reminded, “Remember, it must not be opened in advance.”
What’s with all the mysterious hints? Ye Fei was not very curious and snorted as he put the present aside.
When he arrived home with his present, Yan Xiao was already waiting in the living room. An exquisite cake box sat on the coffee table.
“Come back so early today?” Ye Fei bent down to change his shoes.
“Yes,” Yan Xiao said. “Today is special.”
“How special?” Ye Fei sat next to him as he unwrapped his present, questioning even if he already knew the answer.
“It’s your birthday,” Yan Xiao replied, “Happy birthday.”
Ye Fei threw the wrapping paper into the trash can, opened the carton inside, and looked at Yan Xiao. “Didn’t you wish me this morning?”
“Say it again.”
Ye Fei pursed his lips, wanting to say something more. But when he saw the contents in the carton, the expression on his face gradually froze.
“No wonder I was asked to go home before I unwrap it,” Ye Fei sneered as he inspected a box of XL-sized condoms. “Gu Ruijia, that little bastard, he hasn’t been downtrodden enough by society.”
Coincidentally, as soon as he finished speaking, Gu Ruijia’s call came and his proud voice emitted from the speaker. “How is it, buddy? Don’t you find me considerate?”
Ye Fei threw the condoms aside, and emotionlessly responded, “Oh, I can’t use it.”
Without waiting for Gu Ruijia to ask, he continued, “It’s too small, you must have measured your little brother.” After a pause, he added meaningfully, “No wonder.”
“It’s okay, don’t feel inferior. I won’t spread it. How about it, buddy, don’t you find me considerate?”
Gu Ruijia: “…”
Gu Ruijia hung up the phone without saying a word.
Think I can’t deal with you? Ye Fei raised his eyebrows and put down his phone.
“Don’t pay attention to him, he’s breaking down day by day.” Ye Fei moved to Yan Xiao’s side, and reached out to open the cake box, “Today is worth living; I got to eat birthday cake twice.”
“Twice?” Yan Xiao asked.
“Well,” Ye Fei pulled the cake out of the box and told Yan Xiao, “A colleague from the company bought it.”
Unlike the cake ordered by the assistant, Yan Xiao had ordered a plain square one. The black cake was divided into two; the left side was drizzled in blue chocolate syrup, with a pile of blueberries at a corner, while the right had a “Ye Fei, happy birthday” written on it.
Concise yet generous, typical Yan Xiao style.
Ye Fei took a knife and cut two slices, handed one to Yan Xiao, and announced, “But I still like what you bought.”
“Really.” Though he had kept his tone calm, as though he had not been put into a tizzy by Ye Fei’s words, this did not stop Yan Xiao’s lips from twitching upwards.
After the two of them finished eating their respective slices, Ye Fei rubbed his belly in despair. Fresh cream was too excessive. He wiped his mouth, about to declare he could not eat another bite, when Yan Xiao took out a jewelry box from his pocket.
Ye Fei’s heartbeat suddenly quickened. He slowly put down the fork in his hand, and gazed at Yan Xiao. His eyes were met with Yan Xiao’s patient gaze as he opened the jewelry box, and took out a ring.
“Ye Fei,” Yan Xiao called his name, “When Gu Ruijia was celebrating his birthday, he was happy when he received a gift. I thought that I want you to experience the same happiness too.”
“Sorry, I lied to you when we got married, but I couldn’t find a way to get close to you.”
“I’ve always wanted to tell you,” Yan Xiao pronounced, “From the first time I saw you, I wanted to marry you.”
Ye Fei ducked his head, and examined the ring. It was made of platinum, with Yan Xiao’s name in pinyin engraved in cursive script. A little diamond was embedded between the words. Clear and bright, it matched Yan Xiao’s sincere love with no impurities since its inception. He put on his own, and placed its matching pair on Yan Xiao’s hand.
“I’m very happy,” Ye Fei stopped. It took all of his courage for this admission. “If I had a bad impression of you at the very beginning, then I wouldn’t have signed that contract at all.”
Happy birthday 🎂 ❤️❤️
Happy, happy ♡(> ਊ <)♡
Thank You for the new chapter ( ꈍᴗꈍ)❤️
Very nice! Great for them! Happy Birthday Ye Fei, enjoy many more. Thanks for the chapter.
Thanks for the chapter
Thank you for the update ❤️💯
Yan Xiao doing things in Yan Xiao style but trying to do them in Ye Fei style ends up being just right 😌
🥰🥰
Thanks for your hardworking ❤️
Aww, I’ve missed my Lunar birthdays @_@ I now feel emotional, lol.