050 A New Global Wonder!

"Do you have feelings for Qian Lang?"

"Is there any possibility of a future between the two of you?"

Since his granddaughter had told him to get straight to the point, Pei Guodong certainly wouldn't stand on ceremony.

Yet Pei Duoduo was completely dumbfounded at that moment.

What was going on?

Why was her grandfather asking these things out of the blue?

Had the damned marriage pressure come knocking again?

Sigh, she should have quickly found a suitable man to marry and contributed offspring to the country when they first suggested it; why was this already on the agenda now?

"Grandpa, the most important thing right now is developing my career."

Over the phone, Pei Duoduo's voice lacked conviction.

Heh, she was indeed developing her career, and she even held the Supreme Loss-Making Rebate System in her hands, but alas, she had never managed to lose a single penny.

Now, there were hardly any bills left in her pockets.

All her money was tied up in the company's accounts.

Sigh, what should she do?

Could she truly never escape the four words "idle and useless"?

"Oh, my dear granddaughter, your career is already developed well enough..."

Pei Guodong lectured earnestly.

Pei Duoduo didn't pay attention to a single word that followed.

Wait, her grandfather said her career was developed well?

Did she hear that right?

"I never expected that you, playing around as you do, would actually develop the company so well. I hear that you had the exceptional vision to recruit Qian Lang; such a rare talent must be..."

Pei Guodong rambled on.

Yet Pei Duoduo's mind was wandering, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.

"Grandpa, just tell me straight what you want me to do."

Pei Duoduo pouted.

Her grandfather always spoke concisely, and this was the first time he had ever been so long-winded.

Whatever he wanted, he could have just said it plainly.

For her own grandfather to resort to psychological tactics—wasn't he just trying to force her to rip off the bandage and speak first?

"Heh, just bring Qian Lang home for your grandfather to see."

Pei Duoduo was stunned all over again.

No way?

Had this plot derailed completely?

...

October 1st.

This day was the National Day of the Great Xia, and it was also the global premiere date of *The Wandering Earth*.

As for the box office earnings and such, Pei Duoduo had long since stopped paying attention.

After ignoring it completely for several months, upon returning to Galaxy Pictures this time, she noticed that the atmosphere had changed.

Of course, her family members were still just as enthusiastic.

Seeing her naturally felt like angels meeting the Madonna, but there were so many unfamiliar faces around!

She had no idea the company had grown to such a massive scale.

However, none of that mattered!

What mattered was that she acutely sensed she was no longer the backbone of Galaxy Pictures.

Calling it a "backstab" sounded a bit too harsh.

It was just that Pei Duoduo knew there was simply no possibility of the movie losing money.

After all, what kind of movie was filmed was entirely up to Qian Lang.

She had thought he was a director of trashy films, only to find out he was a box office miracle worker!

Forget it, forget it!

What meaning was left in dwelling on that now?

Right now, wasn't the most agonizing problem the fact that her grandfather had asked her to bring Qian Lang home?

Pei Duoduo felt melancholy to her core, yet on the surface, she had to appear radiant and full of joy.

After all, her family members were all immersed in an excited and peaceful atmosphere; as the big boss, did she really want to act out of the ordinary?

Wouldn't that hurt her family's feelings?

"President Pei, I have successfully fulfilled my mission! *The Wandering Earth* is performing quite well, and it should sweep away the sluggish downturn of the Great Xia film market!"

Inside the conference room.

Pei Duoduo's thoughts were wandering in the clouds.

Meanwhile, Qian Lang was solemnly reporting to her regarding the film's progress.

"Good!"

Pei Duoduo immediately smiled and nodded.

Ha, at a time like this, would she dare utter even half a word of dissent?

Even with a blade pressed against her neck, she had to put on an expression of unyielding composure.

Seeing Pei Duoduo look so satisfied, Qian Lang inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Come to think of it, handling this film the way he did actually violated a major taboo according to certain office schemers.

He wasn't part of the company's executive leadership.

As a director, when dealing with major decisions, although Pei Duoduo had said she wouldn't interfere, he was still supposed to report up the chain in a timely manner.

After all, in the minds of certain leaders, a subordinate should report everything and ask for instructions on every single matter.

Only then could they be called a loyal subordinate!

For instance, pulling in investments and building a cinematic town.

This wasn't just shooting a movie; Qian Lang had no right to carve out his own territory independently, but fortunately, Pei Duoduo completely shrugged off such matters.

"Director Qian, how much do you think the box office for *The Wandering Earth* will reach?"

Even though she didn't want to care, Pei Duoduo still couldn't help but ask.

At her question, every single family member present cast eager yet slightly worried gazes at Qian Lang.

After all, this movie had cost an immense price.

If the box office fell even a bit short of three billion, the bosses who had participated would turn the place upside down!

To be honest, it was the first time they had ever witnessed employees turning into shareholders, and suppliers turning into shareholders, just through the process of making a movie.

They hadn't realized it at the time.

It was only after hearing gossip from others afterward that they learned Director Qian possessed such terrifying bewitching skills.

While money wasn't an issue, Director Qian would never spend a dime of his own pocket if he could avoid it.

Take the lead actor, Wu Jing, for example. The Beijing Film Academy had originally recommended him just to make a cameo appearance.

Of course, it wasn't that he looked down on the movie, but his schedule conflicted.

Yet somehow, Wu Jing went from a cameo to starring in the lead role for zero salary, and his original schedule was canceled altogether.

Heh, just think about it.

If this production hadn't achieved such dazzling results, how many people would have come to strangle Director Qian by the neck!

"It should be able to break ten billion, I suppose."

Qian Lang mused for a moment.

This answer was undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline for the family members!

Though in truth, he had no solid footing in his own heart either.

However, the movie was already finished and released, and the investments he had coaxed out of people had all been spent.

If the market turned out to be unsupportive, he would just slowly direct other movies to pay off the debts.

Anyway, he had a whole stack of complete, market-proven movies right in his head!

At worst, he could write songs and sell the copyrights; money—what a trivial matter that was!

Of course, if the market proved supportive, then he might just be able to take a well-deserved break for a while.

Ah, the filming of *The Wandering Earth* had truly nearly wrung him dry.

Li Liangjie was right.

Looking back on past events, there really was that feeling of having escaped death by the skin of his teeth.

"Then I can finally rest easy!"

A smile bloomed on Pei Duoduo's face as well.

Yet deep down, her heart was bleeding!

Ten billion?

How dare he even think of that!

Heh-heh-heh!

This guy was clearly nothing more than a bad-movie director.

Yet he simply had explosive, off-the-charts luck!

It was enough to infuriate a person!

No, she absolutely had to demand compensation from him!

Five billion, no less!

If he couldn't pay it back, he could just surrender himself in marriage.

Perhaps it was the psychological suggestion planted by her grandfather's words, but these messy thoughts suddenly popped up in her mind, leaving Pei Duoduo utterly dizzy.

The project meeting concluded.

The family members left the conference room one after another.

Qian Lang followed the flow of people walking ahead.

Yet Pei Duoduo called out to stop him, "Cough, cough, Director Qian, well... my grandfather happens to be a sci-fi fan!"

"And?"

Qian Lang listened intently.

But Pei Duoduo stopped right there.

"So... could you go meet him?"

Pei Duoduo blinked her large eyes, her delicate little face visibly flushing red.

"No problem at all!"

Qian Lang agreed readily.

It was only natural for a director to meet a fan, right?

Besides, the fan was the boss's grandfather!

There was nothing left to decline!

"Awesome then!"

Pei Duoduo bolted away in a flash.

Damn it!

Why was she blushing?

The excuse she found was clearly a very good one.

Pei Duoduo cursed herself for acting like a guilty thief in such a flustered state.

However, Qian Lang paid it no mind at all.

Right now, what he cared about most was the box office data.

Sigh, he hoped the heavens would cooperate; at least he had done everything he possibly could.

The next morning.

The first ray of morning sunlight spilled inward.

Qian Lang woke up naturally.

He hadn't overthought things last night; the moment his head hit the pillow, he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Yet the other bosses who had participated in the project didn't possess such a calm mindset.

Not a single one of them had slept all night.

Their sole purpose was to find out the first-day box office results of *The Wandering Earth* the very instant they dropped.

"How much will it be?"

Qian Lang picked up his phone.

Oh, wow!

The notifications displayed on the screen showed 99+!

If he hadn't turned on airplane mode last night, he would have been driven crazy by the noise.

He tapped to open the messages.

"Director Qian, our movie has exploded!"

"Director Qian, the first-day box office has broken ten billion!"

"Director Qian, you've broken a global miracle!"

"Director Qian,..."

There was no need to read any further; every message spoke of the exact same thing!

*The Wandering Earth* had succeeded!

Ten billion on the first day alone?

Then the heights this film could reach...

It felt so unreal!

When he predicted the box office to his family yesterday, he was essentially just talking nonsense.

Yet right at this moment, dreams had actually stepped into reality.

Instead of the wild ecstasy he had imagined, Qian Lang felt only a profound peace settling into the depths of his eyes.

At last, he wouldn't have to worry about those duped investors coming to settle scores with him!

True to its name as a sci-fi film.

"Ah, isn't this just an ordinary, plain day after all?"

Reality itself was sci-fi!

A faint smile touched the corner of Qian Lang's lips.

With a swift pull, he drew back the curtains.

Sunlight poured in like a cascading waterfall.

He pushed the window open, took a deep breath of fresh air, and savored the boundless beauty of the moment.

"Wonderful!"

Three films.

Mere three films in total.

He had transformed from a universally mocked washout into a globally renowned master director.

In his original imagination, reaching the peak should have been a journey of taking it one step at a time.

Yet in reality, for him, there had been no such concrete, incremental process.

Flash!

*Crazy Stone*—one billion at the box office!

Flash!

*Little Big Soldier*—three billion at the box office!

Flash!

*The Wandering Earth*—over ten billion at the box office on day one!

Perhaps, when the heavens wish to help someone realize their dream, it takes nothing more than a few simple words.

[—From then on, he walked toward the peak of his life!]

The End—

Scattering petals—

The latter half of this novel was rather rushed.

Because the serialization data wasn't good, a plot originally planned for one million words had to be rapidly compressed.

Consequently, it only featured three films.

In fact, everyone could probably tell that the plot for shooting the third film was compressed to its absolute limit.

Many details that should have been elaborated on were simply skipped over in a single stroke.

Though it wasn't fully fleshed out, all necessary closures and explanations had been delivered.

It's just that the final wrap-up ended up being a bit abstract!

Heh-heh-heh!