IPCFS: Chapter 90 Part 1

In the dimly lit movie theater, it wasn’t just the main creative team who was nervous. The fans of the actors who came to watch the premiere were nervous as well.

Among the domestic movies released in the same period, the pre-sales box office of ‘Time Lobbyist’ was almost at the bottom, and the in theater screening rate was less than 10%.

Among the New Year’s Day movies, it could be called the least favored movie by the outside world.

If the movie was still rated at a low to medium level after the screening, the box office success of this movie would be over.

Ji Li’s fans sat in their seats, their eyes firmly on the big screen in front of them. It was obviously a cold winter in December, but they were so nervous that their palms were sweating.

Strictly speaking, ‘Time Lobbyist’ was Ji Li’s third movie and television work after his debut.

Ji Li became popular with his roles of Song Zhao and Xie Yan, but the entertainment industry was a place with a fast update rate and popularity was a consumable luxury.

If an actor didn’t have continuous exposure, then it was easy for them to be eliminated by the market.

During the past few months when Ji Li was filming, his Weibo data had declined. In fact, his die-hard fans were waiting for him to be a hit with a new movie.

After all, as long as the movie was successful, the box office results could directly be linked to Ji Li!

“Please, please, do your best.”

“Please, please, if this movie really collapses, then baby Ji Li will be the one who is ridiculed the most by the outside world.”

Ji Li was called the ‘top reserve’ actor by the outside world during the time when he was hottest. He must not ‘crash’ halfway!

Fang Yue heard the discussion that was coming from around him. They were obviously two of Ji Li’s fans.

She couldn’t hold back. She hid her ‘CP fan’ attribute and said, “No, we have to believe in Ji Li. He has never let us down.”

He might just be the third male lead of the movie, and the current pre-sales box office amount was poor, but he would definitely counterattack as a dark horse for the outside world to see!

Ji Li had this type of ‘popular’ physique!

“That’s right!”

The three star-chasing girls looked at each other and the tension in their hearts dissipated. They were suddenly full of expectations for the movie.

Since his debut, Ji Li encountered many setbacks, but he was about to fight back and each time he fought back in a more courageous manner than before, turning the adversity against him into an advantage.

This time, he would definitely be able to stage a mythical counterattack!

The movie and television company credits played, and then the movie officially started.

There was a depressing and tragic tone the moment it began.

Torrential rain fell on thousands of gravestones as if disrupting the tragic song of fate.

Black umbrellas filled the camera in a panic. The guests who came to express their condolences were frightened and fled in a panic.

Suddenly, a thin figure struggled to push through the crowd. “Make way! Make way!”

The simple words were a plea that tore at his throat, and the desperate cry hidden in it attracted everyone’s attention.

The camera turned 180 degrees, revealing the person’s appearance. It was Xiang Suian, played by Ji Li.

The first personal scene in the movie didn’t belong to the male lead or female lead, nor the second male lead or second female lead. It was actually Ji Li, the third male lead?

Before Ji Li’s fans could be surprised, they were shocked by the next change in the other person’s eyes.

It went from an initial disbelief to a death-like despair.

His slightly dimmed eyes revealed his character’s inner emotions and infected everyone present!

Such a change took only five or six seconds.

This acting skill was amazing!

This empathic ability was too powerful!

“What is going on? What happened?” Such questions popped up in everyone’s mind. Then the next scene gave them the answer.

Right in front of Xiang Suian, Cheng Yu, played by Feng Cheng, showed a cold hatred in his eyes while he held a sharp, blood-stained knife in his hand.

Drip.

The camera moved down with the drops of blood.

Cheng Yu was stepping on a man in a suit who had fallen to the ground. The man begged weakly, and a steady stream of blood gushed out from his stabbed abdomen.

Under the effect of the torrential rain, flowing blood bloomed a magnificent and poignant picture in front of the gravestone.

It wasn’t until this time that the big characters ‘Time Lobbyist’ appeared on the screen.

Everyone held their breath in unison. The shock and curiosity in their hearts were infinitely magnified after this opening scene.

Blood at the beginning?

How was this a youth movie? It was exciting and stimulating!

“Oh my god, isn’t this a youth movie? This is the opening scene?”

“What is going on between Ji Li and Feng Cheng’s characters? I didn’t see this scene when I watched the trailer!”

“How thrilling? The content of this movie definitely isn’t simple!”

Small sounds of discussion rang out from all directions. After the rendering and foreshadowing of the opening atmosphere, everyone’s expectations and curiosity about this movie were completely raised.

Wang Zhang, who was sitting in the first row, heard the commotion behind him and smiled with satisfaction.

Just wait, the show had only just begun!

The painting suddenly flashed white. Xiang Suian struggled to get up from his bed. He looked at the calendar on the wall and muttered miserably, “…Has it started again?”

The gears of fate turned back and time was frozen back to seven years ago.

“Is this the flashback filming technique?”

“Is this rebirth?”

Everyone speculated, but they had to suppress their curiosity and continue to watch.

Based on past marketing experience, being eye-catching was a crucial element for youth dramas to become popular.

In this regard, the movie’s casting was very reliable.

The moment the male trio of Feng Cheng, Wei Lai, and Ji Li appeared on stage, the female fans cheered enthusiastically in the theater.

Handsome, so handsome!

The unruly school tyrant, the taciturn academic god, the well-behaved and gentle good student—three handsome guys of different types were pleasing to the eye when they stood together.

It wasn’t known who shouted in a bitter manner, “Why did I only have cooked dates when I was a student? It would have been fine if there was such a handsome guy who belonged to me!”

This sentence immediately triggered the laughter of the star chasing girls.

“Who wouldn’t want a handsome guy?”

“For me, there aren’t many requirements. He just has to look like Ji Li! Sister’s little cutie, Mama’s treasure…”

Ji Li couldn’t help smiling when he heard these remarks, but his eyes fell on the big screen intently.

Soon, the story ushered in the first small climax. Xiang Suian came home from school and saw his stepfather carrying out domestic violence on his mother.

Many viewers gasped the moment the veteran actor, Wei Guofu appeared on the screen.

Help!

The shadow of their childhood was here!

Why was Teacher Wei playing a man who committed domestic violence again?

In addition, everyone was pleasantly surprised to find that the person playing Mother Xiang was the movie empress Song Chenxing?

What was going on with the crew’s announcements?

There were obviously so many big names in the movie! Why wasn’t this promoted well in the past?

The fans were just feeling puzzled when they were interrupted by the sounds coming from the movie.

Suppressed sobs, loud curses, the whipping of a belt over and over again… the cooperation of Wei Guofu and Song Chenxing suddenly brought the audience into the terrifying atmosphere of ‘domestic violence.’

Under Mother Xu’s faint pleading, Xiang Suian only struggled and hesitated for a moment. Then he quickly went back to his room, closed the door, and locked it.

There was a new round of a violent beating outside the door while he sat indifferently at his desk, a stranger to the whole process.

Such an indifferent attitude made many viewers frown.

Xiang Suian, what is wrong with you?

That is your mother! Right now she is being tied up and beaten by a beast! Shouldn’t you go and save her? Go!

Wang Pen saw this scene and thought he had found excellent ‘criticism’ material.

Tsk tsk, Ji Li couldn’t do it. Look at his wooden acting skills. How was he praised as one of the new generation of acting stars?

Yes, a young man like him definitely wouldn’t be able to handle the acting skills of two veterans!

Later, he could blacken Ji Li’s acting skills in the review of the movie!

With such stinky thoughts, Wang Peng continued to watch the next scene with a sense of criticism.

Xiang Suian sat quietly at the table and silently took out his test papers. He pressed on the curled corners with his palm, but his shoulders showed an unnatural trembling.

The fragile test paper was suddenly torn apart, and a tear fell on the poorly printed handwriting, smearing it into a heavy black.

The camera panned up and revealed Xiang Suian’s red eyes that were filled with tears.

He had already clenched his fists tightly to prevent himself from crying. The bottomless despair that filled him instantly touched everyone present.

There were obviously no lines, but everyone could read Xiang Suian’s inner cry for help.

They had wrongly blamed the teenager.

Xiang Suian was so thin. How could he beat his strong stepfather? It wasn’t that he didn’t want to save his mother. It was that he couldn’t do anything!

They were afraid that this wasn’t the first time that this had happened to the mother and son. It appeared that no one could truly save them.

The audience figured this out and waited anxiously for the next development.

Xiang Suian couldn’t hold back after all. He rushed out to protect his mother with desperate courage.

“Go away! Don’t touch my mother!”

The teenager’s long-suppressed outburst resulted in even crueler treatment from his devilish father.

Some timid girls didn’t dare look any longer. They covered their red eyes, and the sound of cursing and whipping filled their ears, making their hearts throb with pain.

Xiang Suian fainted, and the old family portrait that fell from his pocket to the ground immediately made everyone cry.

The expressions of the male audience members were equally serious. Many people even gritted their teeth at Wei Guofu’s performance.

Bah!

Hitting your wife and child, is this still a person?

Everyone was immersed in their anger and grief, but the plot didn’t give them a chance to breathe.

The camera shifted suddenly and returned to the alley in front of the house.

The same calls for help and the sound of violence came from inside the house. There was another round of domestic violence.

Unlike the script, where the former and latter scenes were separated, the movie connected the story threads of the two time and spaces through clever camera connections that ran side by side.

But this time, Xiang Suian didn’t have the timidity from before. He picked up a brick and entered the house. Then he violently hit his scumbag father!

The scumbag was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. He no longer had the strength to commit violence.

Xiang Suian slowly picked up the blood-stained belt and whipped the other person again and again. Fierceness slowly gathered in his eyes, and there was an even more terrifying aura than when Wei Guofu was committing domestic violence!

The audience’s extremely suppressed emotions were released at this moment. They couldn’t help applauding in their hearts.

Well done!

This domestic violence man should be beaten! He should be beaten to death!

It didn’t take long for everyone to understand everything from the conversation between mother and son.

It turned out that Mother Xiang was caught by the scumbag just as she was about to escape and was brutally beaten again.

In the end, Mother Xiang cruelly left Xiang Suian and took advantage of the night to escape from this home full of pain. Xiang Suian stood alone at the door of his house, and the reluctance and helplessness in his eyes stung everyone.

“How can this be? Don’t leave An An!”

“How can Ji Li always play such a poor person? My heart isn’t made of iron!”

“It is the same scene and same role. How can Ji Li act with a completely different feeling? Too strong.”

“The family of three is on the same stage, and the people watching it are really happy, right? Ji Li is awesome. He didn’t lose his aura in front of old veterans.”

Feng Cheng and Wei Lai looked at each other, completely convinced by these evaluations!

They were the leading actors, and they naturally understood Ji Li’s acting skills.

Compared to the original chaotic scene at the site of filming, the impact presented on the screen was thousands of times higher!

Was there any actor born for the big screen? If so, Ji Li must be one of them.

He could use the screen to magnify any subtle expression to convey his character’s emotions at 100% effect, pulling ordinary audience members to empathize and sink with him.

Ji Li was the best among the young actors, and he had unlimited possibilities in the future.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed in the darkness, “F*k, has it only been 15 minutes?”

There was a total duration of 80 minutes, yet the plot was so compact from the beginning?

This movie was too amazing!

Ji Li might have been only the third male lead, but there was a reason why Wang Zhang put his scenes first.

If everyone’s initial expectation for the movie was only 50 points, this subsequent expectation could be raised to 80 points due to Ji Li’s interpretation of his character!

Wang Peng watched this scene and felt like his face was swollen.

How was this poor acting skills? It was clearly ridiculously good!

No no no, this criticism was completely unfounded. He had to keep his eyes open to look for other problems.

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TL: Advance chapters are available over on my Patreon. You can go check out the details on my Patreon page.

Proofreader: Azure