My Virtual Girlfriend-Chapter 425 He Mengxue: Thank You for the Gift (Two Chapters Combined)

Chapter 425: Chapter 425 He Mengxue: Thank You for the Gift (Two Chapters Combined)

When the results came out on the first day, everyone who was paying attention or knew what this result meant was somewhat dumbfounded.

After all, the total box office of the historical ranking list for network movies was only 28 million.

Yet, "Soul Suppressing: Netherworld," this movie reached a quarter of that on its first day?

Even with the addition of a top female star, this was terrifying!

However, after seeing such results, people led by the Xu brothers still harbored some illusions: Maybe... it was all due to Lu Man’s fans’ solidarity.

They figured the movie might falter after a few days.

But "Soul Suppressing" did not afford them any illusions.

After achieving 8 million in revenue sharing box office on the first day, it continued its triumphant advance, garnering another 6.5 million on the second day.

It earned 14.5 million in box office in two days.

On the third day, 5.5 million.

In three days, the total revenue sharing box office broke 20 million.

It seemed that breaking the box office record had already become a certainty.

And this performance, even compared to theatrical releases, was terrifying.

After all, it meant reaching 60 million box office in just three days! This was enough to prove that the movie was a small hit.

The high number of followers also let the various topics related to "Soul Suppressing" emerge on different websites, whether it was Weibo, Douban, or WeChat, many people were discussing this movie.

Praising the plot’s brilliance and the characters’ richness.

Among them, although only making a guest appearance, Lu Man, as one of the lead actors, was of course the most reviewed.

With the "Acting Talent Potion," Lu Man’s acting exploded. Even with a small amount of screen time, she played a standout role, making a lasting impression.

This starkly contrasted with some films that touted top actors but only had a few photos.

The other main actors, although newcomers, earned a lot of fans and good reviews due to fitting their roles well, together with competent acting and appealing appearances.

Thus, "Soul Suppressing: Netherworld" single-handedly changed the "cheap" label attached to network movies, breaking past perceptions with a top female star and high-quality production.

On the fourth day, "Soul Suppressing" earned 4 million in revenue sharing box office.

On the fifth day, 3 million.

The sixth day was a weekend, and the box office slightly picked up, returning to 5 million.

On the seventh day, 4.2 million.

So, after a week, Soul Suppressing’s total revenue sharing box office reached 31.2 million.

Almost in one week, it covered a journey most network movies could not complete.

Moreover, just one week’s earnings reached four times the production cost. A huge, special profit.

And what shocked everyone who was paying attention was that while the box office soared, "Soul Suppressing" also received very high praise.

In seven days, over 20,000 people rated it on Douban, discussed it, and at one point the score soared to 8.1.

It could be said, even though the screening period for "Soul Suppressing" hadn’t ended, most people already had expectations for this network movie: a masterpiece.

After all, at the outset, this movie set a series of astonishing records:

The fastest to break ten million in revenue sharing,

The fastest to break twenty/thirty million in revenue sharing box office,

Single-week membership viewing number of 8.7 million (historical first),

Number one in network movie Douban rating participants,

Most video website rating participants (4.7 million+),

and so on.

This deeply made everyone contemplate one thing: the Sunrise project had succeeded again, Chenlu Film Company had succeeded again.

They weren’t really going to change the entire entertainment industry’s structure, were they?

It wasn’t that no company had achieved this degree before. They had produced several high-quality movies.

However, those weren’t achieved in a short time. And... it wasn’t a blossoming of multiple types of film and television projects.

Generally, those who filmed movies, filmed movies, those who made TV, made TV, and those who produced variety shows, produced variety shows.

But now, there was a company that excelled whether it was in movies, network movies, or variety shows.

Even in planning, they were involved in TV series.

This kind of project output capability was truly alarming.

Thus, for a while, the entire entertainment and film circles were tumultuously turbulent. Everyone was making their own choices...

...

A week after "Soul Suppressing" opened, and the day after it achieved 30 million+ in revenue sharing box office.

It was another Monday, the start of a new week.

When Chen Yan went to work, unlike before, he didn’t go directly to the gaming company. Instead, he stopped on the 17th floor first and visited the film company.

Upon arriving at the film company, the entire atmosphere was completely different from when Chen Yan had established it.

Although still a bit more relaxed compared to the gaming company, everyone wore confident smiles on their faces and moved briskly as they walked.

When they saw Chen Yan, whether ordinary employees or senior executives, everyone stopped and from the bottom of their hearts greeted him with a smile.

After all, it was Chen Yan’s multiple precise selections that led the company’s projects to one success after another.

Compared to the beginning, when Chen Yan didn’t command much prestige and people worried about him being "an amateur leading professionals," Chen Yan now held a unique prestige within the entire company.

Certainly, this was also due to Yang Rou’s deliberate nurturing.

In many good things, she would attribute all the credit to Chen Yan.

She neither grabbed the credit nor bought people’s hearts.

She was like a calm lake, quietly staying there.

This related to their roles in the company.

Among the two, Chen Yan was the big boss, so he played the ’good cop’. All the accolades went to Chen Yan.

Yang Rou, because she was colder and not very sociable, played the ’bad cop’. If there was something negative in the company, she would deal with it and give reprimands.

The two, one as ’good cop’ and the other as ’bad cop’, were in a tacit partnership.

While thinking about his coordination with Yang Rou, Chen Yan walked into her office.

He knocked on the door, "Knock, knock, knock."

A crisp voice from inside responded, "Come in."

Hearing this, Chen Yan pushed the door and entered.

Inside the office, Yang Rou’s desk was piled with stacks of documents, and she was engrossed in marking and annotating them with a pen.

Seeing this, Chen Yan didn’t disturb her.

After entering, he casually took a seat on the sofa and patiently waited for Yang Rou to finish her tasks.

Yang Rou was very efficient, and within just a few minutes, she finished modifying the remaining documents and stacked them neatly on one side of the desk.

After doing all this, she finally remembered someone had entered the office.

So she belatedly looked up.

When she realized that the person who had come to wait was Chen Yan, Yang Rou was momentarily taken aback, then she quickly said, "President Chen. I had no idea you were here."

Chen Yan smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It’s fine. I’m not in a hurry. I enjoyed watching you work, so I just waited."

Having said that, he asked, "Are these projects part of the new ’Sunrise Plan’?"

Yang Rou, looking tired, nodded and said with a smile, "Yes."

"We’ve had two successful starts, so more and more companies and practitioners want to collaborate with us."

"In these few days alone, hundreds of documents have been submitted."

"Because there are several directors and screenwriters I admire among these projects, I feared the lower level staff might overlook some."

"So, I wanted to personally go through them first."

Hearing Yang Rou’s words, Chen Yan looked at her in surprise.

It was undeniable, this woman had a truly desperate fighting spirit.

Normally, as a high-level executive who had become the helm of a company, she wouldn’t partake in such meticulous screening tasks.

But she followed up on projects every day, checking every detail, striving to avoid any errors.

It was precisely her meticulousness and attention to detail that allowed Chenlu Film Company to produce three hits in just one year since its establishment.

With this in mind, Chen Yan’s gaze toward Yang Rou softened a lot.

He said, "Sister Rou, don’t overwork yourself, make sure to rest more."

Yang Rou merely gave a faint smile and said, "No worries. I’ve gotten used to it over the years."

Seeing her response, Chen Yan felt it was not suitable to persuade her further.

However, he was contemplating how to help this woman before him.

After all, setting aside personal feelings, Chen Yan enjoyed a very pleasant cooperation with Yang Rou.

He certainly did not want to see Yang Rou overexert herself to collapse in the office.

But, the last time Chen Yan told Yang Rou to rest, she did not rest.

This time...

Chen Yan took another careful look at Yang Rou’s face.

Nearly forty years old but very well-maintained, she looked to be just in her early thirties.

If not for her mature charm and aura, someone might believe her if she said she was just a twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old girl.

But likely because she was excessively worried about the company, her complexion had grown worse, and there were dark circles under her eyes, clearly showing signs of insufficient rest.

Insufficient rest...?

As he pondered, Chen Yan’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Well, fundamentally, rest is about resting both physical and mental energy, right?

What if, he gave Yang Rou some Stamina Pills and Energy Pills to take?

"She can replenish her stamina and energy like this?"

"After all, Chen Yan had tried the Stamina Pills, even if he exhausted all his stamina, he’d quickly replenish it after taking one."

"So, he believed that the Energy Pills would probably work similarly."

"If he let her take one kind every day, wouldn’t she stop experiencing such heavy exhaustion like she does now?"

The moment this idea formed, it lingered incessantly in Chen Yan’s mind.

He felt that the only problem was how to reasonably explain the origin of these pills. And... given that Yang Rou was such a workaholic, she’d probably consume a lot of them.

Chen Yan believed that if he didn’t set limits, Yang Rou would likely eat these pills nonstop and then work 24 hours at the office...

Maybe because Chen Yan was too absorbed in his thoughts, he suddenly stopped talking while chatting with Yang Rou, just staring straight at her face.

Initially, Yang Rou was puzzled, wondering if there was something dirty on her face. But seeing that Chen Yan’s gaze seemed unfocused, she couldn’t help but smile attractively.

She didn’t disturb Chen Yan, but propped her chin with her hand and gazed back at him.

As she observed Chen Yan closely, Yang Rou realized that the young man before her was really handsome and had a certain "flavor"...

The flavor of a man is different from that of a woman. It’s an indescribable and undefinable aura.

Usually, only men who are well-read or hold high positions possess it.

And now, Chen Yan already had it.

It was an extraordinary, grand, and steady aura.

Yang Rou’s gaze softened.

She always felt as if she was playing a role-playing game: after all, this young man before her had transformed step by step under her watch.

From an immature young lion into the current true king of beasts.

All in just over a year.

Time, truly is marvelous...

While Yang Rou was lost in these thoughts, Chen Yan finally snapped out of his daze.

He looked towards Yang Rou.

Their gazes met.

Yang Rou was startled and quickly retracted the tenderness in her eyes, straightening her hand.

But Chen Yan cleared his throat and awkwardly said, "Sorry, I was just spacing out."

He said, "Sister Rou, actually, I also came here to discuss the Sunrise Project with you."

Hearing that they were switching to business, Yang Rou also straightened up and said, "Mr. Chen, please go on."

Chen Yan said, "It’s like this."

"I think our pace is still a bit slow."

"We have ten projects in our first batch, and two have already been completed."

"The others have just started shooting, or are even still in preparation."

"It will take a long time to finish them."

"So, I think, why not start working on the remaining eight projects at the same time?"

"If money’s needed, just approve it from the company, and if it’s not enough, I’ll invest again."

"Also, I see you’re already looking into the second batch of projects. I think that indeed needs to be started as well."

"My goal is to spend 10 billion in five years. At our current pace, we might not even spend it all in ten years."

Chen Yan’s main reason for wanting to accelerate the Sunrise Project was because he was running out of funds.

He wanted to take revenge for Meng Xue and to achieve huge profits, so he needed to acquire an additional two billion in shares from Headline Technology.

But Chen Yan did not have that much cash right now.

Of course, his obvious recourse was the "Profession Cashback."

Fortunately, with Yu Qiao Qiao’s double buff, the cashback factor had increased from 2 to 4.

To raise two billion, Chen Yan only needed to spend five hundred million!

For the current scale of Chen Yan’s group, that was merely a trifle.

At this point, hearing Chen Yan’s plans, Yang Rou was deep in thought.

After a moment, she asked, "Wouldn’t this be too risky?"

"So many projects starting at the same time will require several billions just in the initial stage. And in the later stages, it may simultaneously involve operating over ten billion in funds."

"If one project gets delayed, or needs increased investment, it could easily collapse the entire group."

"That aside, if two or three projects fail, we could easily fall into greater trouble."

Yang Rou’s considerations aligned perfectly with logical thinking.

After all, for a company, the most important thing isn’t market value or assets, but cash flow.

A company with a cash flow can survive difficulties, but once you spread yourself too thin and cash flow stops, then things become problematic.

Moreover, although the film industry has high returns, the risks are also substantial.

So often, the funding comes from external sources, with film companies only contributing a portion, or even just contributing technology in exchange for shares.

But these are all just "logical scenarios"; does Chen Yan need to follow these logical scenarios?

Having the "Instant Camera" from Xiao Ha, he could know the success or failure of every project.

With the now 4x (2*2) profession cashback, he merely needed to invest money to receive four times the cashback on it!

So, he never worried about projects failing, nor about running out of cash.

Thus, he boldly gestured and said, "Don’t worry. I’ve considered and prepared for all these."

"With your and my vision, there’s no doubt about the projects’ success rates."

"And as for money, that’s what I least lack."

"I actually feel that spending money is too slow, which gives me a sense of urgency!"

Upon hearing Chen Yan’s rich person statement, Yang Rou couldn’t help but giggle softly.

However, what she liked about Chen Yan was exactly this attribute: his drive.

It’s good for the youth to make bold moves.

Even if they fail, they wouldn’t regret it.

Hmm... they definitely won’t fail.

Thinking this, Yang Rou silently decided to delay her own off-time by half an hour to help Chen Yan keep an eye on the projects and prevent any potential issues.

Having communicated his plan, Chen Yan also timely prepared to leave, instructing, "Then, Sister Rou, I’ll leave the rest to you."

"I’ll transfer five hundred million into the company’s account over the next few days. You start up the projects."

"If there’s any left over, throw it into ’Wandering Planet’."

"I remember Director Xu complaining to me the other day, saying their funds were tight and they’re hesitant to spend liberally."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yang Rou first nodded, then added in a cool tone, "Their project is too big. They really need to tightly control the costs, otherwise they won’t make back their investment."

Chen Yan recalled what he had seen on the "Instant Camera" about ’Wandering Planet.’

It seemed like a movie that made several billion at the box office, right?

With this in mind, Chen Yan reassured Yang Rou, "Sister Rou, no worries."

"Although we are very optimistic about this project, I want to say, even if initially we weren’t optimistic about this project, I would still invest in it."

"Because it represents a kind of experiment in our domestic sci-fi films."

"If it really succeeds, it will open a door for domestic sci-fi movies!"

"So, this is about dreams!"

"Dreams are priceless!

"If he needs money, then let’s give it to him."

"Approve whatever amount is needed."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yang Rou wasn’t "brainwashed"; she just glanced at Chen Yan and calmly commented, "Mr. Chen. We are a business company."

Chen Yan winked at her, "Oh? I always thought we were a dream company."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Yang Rou was momentarily stunned.

After a moment, she smiled and nodded, "Okay. Noted."

Seeing Yang Rou agree, Chen Yan finally felt relieved.

He chatted a bit more with Yang Rou and then left her office.

He felt that once Yang Rou spent this batch of five hundred million, he could officially start his plan concerning Headline Technology.

With this thought, Chen Yan mentally reminded himself: Don’t forget to test the Energy Pills and then replenish Yang Rou’s energy.

As he thought this, Chen Yan took the elevator back to the gaming company.

Upon reaching the president’s office, even before Chen Yan entered, he found He Meng Xue waiting outside the office door.

Seeing He Meng Xue, Chen Yan smiled and waved, "What a coincidence."

He Meng Xue rolled her eyes at Chen Yan, "What coincidence? I clearly came here to wait for you, okay~?"

Chen Yan laughed as he opened the door, and said, "What did you want to see me about?"

He Meng Xue’s hand casually rested on Chen Yan’s shoulder as she said, "I came to thank you."

Hearing this, Chen Yan looked at her puzzled, "Thank me?"