Volume Two: Shadows of the Past, Chapter Seventy-Six: Movie Promotion

The next day, Li Qingwei and Gu Tao’s duet single, "Thank You for Passing By," was released right on schedule.

Whether due to Chen Jing’s promotional live stream yesterday or not, as soon as "Thank You for Passing By" was released, it rapidly climbed various major music charts. At this rate of rising popularity, it would surely break into the top ten of the Huaxia Music Charts by tonight.

It must be noted that Li Qingwei and Gu Tao were essentially newcomers to the music industry. Yet, their very first collaborative song had achieved such a terrifying momentum, rivaling that of first-tier singers. Without a doubt, this was inextricably linked to Chen Jing.

Putting aside the fact that Chen Jing used his live stream to build momentum for Li Qingwei and Gu Tao, the most crucial factor was that "Thank You for Passing By" was written by Chen Jing himself.

Nowadays, as long as a song bore the name of Chen Jing as the composer, a massive wave of fans would gladly pay for it.

A product of Chen Jing is bound to be a masterpiece!

This phrase had already deeply rooted itself in the hearts of everyone in the music industry.

Of course, although "Thank You for Passing By" was an exceptional piece of work in its own right, the contributions of Li Qingwei and Gu Tao could not be denied. Many people were drawn to it precisely because of Li Qingwei’s rap and Gu Tao’s female high notes, which provided them with a true auditory feast.

Regardless, there was no doubt that the song would eventually surge into the top three of Huaxia's most popular music charts.

For Chen Jing, this was merely one of the many viral songs he had written. However, for Li Qingwei and Gu Tao, it was an unprecedented, explosive experience of sudden stardom.

Li Qingwei handled it relatively well, having already tasted this kind of explosive popularity when singing "Drifting North" and "Climbing" with Chen Jing.

For Gu Tao, however, this was the first time she experienced the thrilling rush of soaring popularity brought by singing a song written by Chen Jing. At that moment, she finally understood why singers throughout the music industry desired a song from Chen Jing so desperately.

Following the viral success of "Thank You for Passing By" and its direct entry into the Huaxia Most Popular Music Charts, the nerves of everyone in the music industry were once again stimulated. This made singers crave a song written by Chen Jing even more intensely.

Consequently, even more people could no longer contain themselves, initiating Chen Jing’s Weibo like-for-song campaign. Everyone racked their brains to collect likes from others, all for the ultimate chance to secure a song written by Chen Jing.

Because of this, Chen Jing's Weibo campaign escalated further. By now, it transcended the entertainment circle; anyone who used Weibo knew about this event.

Some individuals, chasing after clout, began reposting these Weibo messages. A larger crowd watched the event unfold with the attitude of onlookers enjoying a spectacle. As they paid attention to the campaign, they naturally noticed the movie promotional slogan attached to every single post:

On May 1st, the action-packed movie *SPL: Sha Po Lang* strikes fiercely! Everyone is welcome to watch it in theaters...

Those unaware of the truth initially grew curious. They wanted to know which big shot was behind the movie *SPL: Sha Po Lang*. After all, a movie capable of achieving such an omnipresent promotional effect must have been directed by a master filmmaker. However, upon closer investigation, they discovered the reality was quite different.

As people dug deeper, the fact that Chen Jing—primarily a singer and composer—had stubbornly decided to direct a movie was dragged back into the spotlight.

"A singer and composer can direct movies now? Has the threshold for becoming a director gotten this low nowadays?"

"I don't know, nor do I care, if the director's threshold is low. I just want to know if this movie is actually any good."

"To be honest, I'm quite curious too. Just how much confidence does Chen Jing have to cross over into filmmaking?"

"I've listened to his music, and Chen Jing's songs are undeniably good. But as for him directing a movie? Forgive me, but I dare not flatter it."

"Hey, don't write it off just yet. I actually really want to watch *SPL: Sha Po Lang*. Just for the sake of this overwhelming promotional blitz, I'll definitely go check it out."

"My thoughts exactly! I want to see this movie too..."

Amidst the heated discussions on Weibo, the hype surrounding the movie *SPL: Sha Po Lang* had thoroughly taken off. Although the majority expressed pessimism toward the film, even more people stated they would go watch it when the time came. They all wanted to see if the movie was truly as terrible as rumors claimed.

Either way, Chen Jing achieved his desired effect. As long as people were willing to go to the theater, their motives for watching mattered little.

As for whether they would feel the movie was subpar after watching it, Chen Jing was entirely unconcerned.

Popularity naturally breeds detractors.

While Chen Jing's Weibo campaign was in full swing, several individuals published articles attacking his approach. The most ferocious critic was Xu Ce, a male singer from Tomorrow Entertainment.

On the very afternoon that "Thank You for Passing By" was released, Xu Ce published a lengthy Weibo post directly targeting Chen Jing, vehemently decrying the impact of Chen Jing’s actions on the Huaxia music industry.

He lambasted Chen Jing for his arrogance, using his own works to suppress others and leaving newcomers in the music industry with no path to prominence.

He ranted endlessly, essentially painting Chen Jing as a sinner against the entire Huaxia music scene.

Following Xu Ce's post, a large horde of people joined in, flooding Weibo with abuses against Chen Jing. It was unclear whether they were hired internet trolls or genuine haters of Chen Jing.

Yet, toward these people launching attacks on Weibo, Chen Jing paid zero attention. He couldn't even be bothered to reply to a single word from Xu Ce.

Against those who sought attention by pandering to the crowd and showed constant malice toward him, the success of his work would be the ultimate counterattack.

Guoyao Building. Tonight, a special press conference was to be held here.

Director Zhang Qiushan’s promotional press conference for *Bloody Battle at Gushan Ridge* was taking place right here.

Attending the conference that evening, Chen Jing was dressed in a well-fitted black suit, looking exceptionally handsome and striking.

Initially, Chen Jing felt that attending this press conference only required wearing something slightly formal; a suit was hardly necessary. However, Lin Xi and Lin Zitan firmly disagreed and specially custom-made this suit for him in advance. Having no other choice, Chen Jing ultimately wore the suit over.

Arriving at Guoyao Building before the conference began, Chen Jing dragged Lin Zitan aside to grab some food.

Because of their trip here today, neither of them had eaten a proper dinner, leaving their stomachs rumbling.

"Ah-Jing, is it really okay for you not to sit in the actor's seating area?" Lin Zitan asked, chewing on some food and speaking somewhat indistinctly.

Chen Jing sliced a piece of steak, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed as he replied, "It's fine. Staying right here is good enough. I'm not a main cast member anyway, so nothing requires my presence. Besides, hasn't the conference started yet? Hurry up and eat, otherwise, it'll be embarrassing once more people show up."

"Oh!" Lin Zitan voiced her worry, but her mouth never stopped moving.

As the two were eating, a mocking voice suddenly came from beside them: "I was wondering who was sneaking food here like a starving ghost. Turns out it's you."

Hearing this voice, Chen Jing let out an immediate sigh. Needless to say, such an irritating voice could only belong to Zhang Ke, someone who had previously crossed paths with him on set.

Chen Jing resignedly looked over, and sure enough, it was Zhang Ke’s punchable face.

Lin Zitan looked at Zhang Ke, then back at Chen Jing, and after a moment of thought, simply lowered her head and continued eating. She naturally recognized Zhang Ke; he was the one who had come looking for trouble with Ah-Jing back on Zhang Qiushan’s film set.

Although Zhang Ke came with ill intentions, Lin Zitan did not believe he would dare cause any trouble at an event like today's.

Zhang Ke walked up to Chen Jing, cast an arrogant glance at him, and demanded, "Why are you here too?"

Chen Jing retorted, "Why can't I be here?"

"A small-time extra like you has no business showing up at a press conference." In truth, Zhang Ke wasn't entirely wrong on this point; minor actors like Liu Manqiang had not been invited to attend.

Chen Jing had his reasons for being invited, but he had no obligation to explain them to Zhang Ke.

Just as Chen Jing was about to brush Zhang Ke off with a casual excuse, Zhang Qiushan, not far away, spotted Chen Jing.

Before even walking over, Zhang Qiushan called out toward them: "Ah-Jing, so you're over here. Why did you sit way over here? Come on over, the conference is about to start. Sit over on this side." With that, he walked over, intending to pull Chen Jing toward the main cast seating area.

Seeing Zhang Qiushan approach, Zhang Ke stammered out an involuntary greeting: "Uncle!"

"Huh? Why are you here too?" Zhang Qiushan paused in surprise upon seeing Zhang Ke, then realized the situation and said sternly, "Go back and sit down properly! If you dare cause any trouble for me tonight, watch out or I'll complain to your old man."

At this, Zhang Ke genuinely felt like crying. He hadn't done a single thing, yet he still received a severe scolding. Who could he turn to for justice?

By eight o'clock, the press conference commenced on schedule. Chen Jing was naturally pulled by Zhang Qiushan to sit in the actor's seating area.

At the start, the reporters directed all their questions toward *Bloody Battle at Gushan Ridge*, and Zhang Qiushan and the others answered each one seriously, creating a very cordial atmosphere at the conference.

In reality, most reporters attending such press conferences had received red envelopes, so they naturally understood discretion. They were crystal clear on what should and should not be asked.

Chen Jing sat there idly, trying his best to maintain the appearance of someone who was "listening very attentively."

Once the reporters finished asking all the expected questions, the conference entered its final stage, opening the floor to an open Q&A session.

Suddenly, a reporter pointed directly at Chen Jing and asked Zhang Qiushan, "Um, I’d like to ask Director Zhang, is this gentleman the musical talent known in the music industry as Chen Jing?"

Zhang Qiushan laughed cheerfully and offered a mild compliment: "That's right, he's the hottest singer in the music industry right now, Chen Jing."

The reporter immediately asked with excitement, "May I ask him a few questions?"

Zhang Qiushan nodded. "Of course. If you have anything to ask, go ahead and ask him." He then turned to Chen Jing with a smile and said, "Ah-Jing, the floor is yours. I'll leave the performance to you!"

Here it comes!

Chen Jing shrugged helplessly. Truthfully, he really didn't want to promote his own movie at Zhang Qiushan's film promotional event, but he simply couldn't refuse Zhang Qiushan's warm enthusiasm.

"Mr. Chen Jing, I heard that not only did you act in Director Zhang's movie, but you also directed a movie of your own called *SPL: Sha Po Lang*, correct? May I ask what drove you, a singer, to direct a movie?" an excited reporter asked. Having held back all evening, they had long been eager to question Chen Jing. After all, Chen Jing was the hottest trending topic of late.

Chen Jing smiled and replied, "Because, much like Director Zhang, I simply love making movies!"

As soon as that question was answered, a second reporter immediately followed up: "The Weibo campaign distributing songs in exchange for likes has been causing a massive uproar these past few days, and it's being used to promote this very movie of yours. However, regarding your film *SPL: Sha Po Lang*, many people have expressed pessimism. What are your thoughts on this?"

"As for people being pessimistic about my movie, honestly, no amount of talking on my part will change that. I'll only say one thing here: once my movie is released, if everyone still thinks it's no good after watching it, then feel free to come find me and settle accounts."

"Many people on Weibo say that you're using unscrupulous means to promote your movie, and that you've even disrupted the development of the music industry. Do you have anything to say about these claims?"

Faced with this rather sharp question, Chen Jing merely smiled faintly: "Talent is always met with envy; what is there to say? Furthermore, I believe that with the addition of my works, the Huaxia music scene will only become more diversified."

Clap, clap, clap!

As Chen Jing finished speaking, everyone present broke into applause.

"I have one more question. Some people say that the songs you write are exclusively given to singers from your own company and never to artists from other agencies, accusing you of using such selfish tactics to suppress singers from rival companies. Is this situation actually true?"

Hearing this, Chen Jing let out a scornful laugh. "That is entirely baseless, a deliberate smear campaign against me. Putting everything else aside, let me ask you this: the interview notes you're taking right now—when you go back, do you submit them to your own company first, or to another company? You hand them to your own company, obviously! Isn't it the same for me? I'm an artist under Jingrun, so the works I write naturally must be given to my company first. Otherwise, why would the company bother signing a contract with me?"

Hearing Chen Jing's flawless retort, Zhang Qiushan silently praised him in his heart as brilliant.

Watching Chen Jing converse smoothly with the reporters, Zhang Qiushan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Just two days ago, he had thought that letting Chen Jing promote his movie during his own film's press conference would be a favor, a way of lifting Chen Jing up.

Yet, after a mere two days, he realized the reality was quite the opposite. Given Chen Jing's current level of hype, he didn't need to borrow his movie for promotion at all.