It was past midnight. The house was still, and the Qin Family was asleep.
Lin Jiang received a message from Qin Yangyang.
Qin Yangyang: "Come over. I left the door unlocked."
Quietly, Lin Jiang got out of bed.
When he came out, he saw Qin Yangyang’s door was ajar. He tiptoed inside.
He’d gone...
Into the older sister’s room...
A small night light glowed inside. Qin Yangyang, clad in a silk nightdress with her arms crossed, watched Lin Jiang with an amused expression.
"So, how was it, staying in my little sister’s room?"
"It was so-so. Your room smells nicer."
"At least you know what to say."
Qin Yangyang knew perfectly well that nothing could have happened between Lin Jiang and her sister, but she was still unhappy, the jealousy written all over her face.
"Who knocked over the vinegar jar? This whole room reeks of jealousy."
"You have some nerve."
Qin Yangyang tilted her head away with a huff, refusing to look at Lin Jiang.
"It’s not my fault. Aunt Jiang arranged everything."
Lin Jiang got onto the bed, pulled Qin Yangyang into an embrace, and slid his hand under her nightdress.
The instant his hand touched her skin, her body went soft.
After all, they hadn’t been intimate in a long time, but she was still putting up a front.
"From the way my parents are acting, they’re dead set on getting you two together."
Lin Jiang’s hand began its familiar roaming under her nightdress.
Qin Yangyang’s breathing grew heavier.
"Well, I have a solution. I just won’t come over anymore."
"Not coming anymore?"
"The way things are going, whenever I come to your house, they’ll insist I stay the night. Right now I can still sleep in the guest room, but once they’re more used to me, they might just arrange for us to stay in the same room."
Lin Jiang said, his hands still exploring,
"You know what kind of man I am—a perfect gentleman. I would never do anything inappropriate. But once I’m asleep, I can’t guarantee what your sister might do."
"You? A perfect gentleman?"
"What kind of gentleman makes a girl call him ’Daddy’?"
"Why can’t a gentleman adopt a daughter?"
"Utter nonsense. Just a bunch of twisted logic." Qin Yangyang slapped his hand. "Alright, stop it."
"Then you’d better keep it down. You can’t be as loud as you usually are. This isn’t Century Triumph; they’ll hear you."
"No way. It’s too risky at home," Qin Yangyang said.
"Can you resist?"
"I have to resist, even if I can’t. If anyone heard us, it would be social suicide."
Qin Yangyang adjusted her position, preparing to solve the matter through... oral negotiations.
"If I remember correctly, *Xia Luote’s Troubles* premieres at midnight tonight, right?" Qin Yangyang said, her voice muffled.
Lin Jiang nodded. "A guaranteed 2 billion minimum, but I have no idea what the ceiling is."
"That’s what I love about you—that confidence."
Her bright eyes shone with girlish adoration.
"Tomorrow’s no good. Let’s go the day after. I’ll bring my parents to show our support."
"I’ll get you a few tickets."
"If we take your tickets, how is that supporting you? We have to contribute to the box office numbers."
"Well then, my thanks to Qin Lu."
Lin Jiang and Qin Yangyang weren’t the only ones still awake late that night. So was Zhou Jin.
That night, Zhou Jin had taken several of his company’s top executives to a midnight screening.
The 3DMAX theater in Huipin City was packed.
Looking at the crowd, Zhou Jin was extremely pleased. His confidence in the film *Farewell, Youth* surged.
The movie was about two hours long. Zhou Jin watched with great interest, thinking it was exceptionally well-made.
While watching, Zhou Jin also made sure to observe the audience’s reactions.
Seeing many in the audience moved to tears, Zhou Jin grew even more satisfied with his strategic move.
Around two in the morning, Zhou Jin and the executives walked out of the cinema in high spirits.
"It’s only just begun, but we’ve definitely secured the top spot at the New Year’s box office."
"Both the casting and the plot are fantastic," said Zheng Tongbiao. "Even though we’re up against a film from Director Zhang and a Hollywood blockbuster, with the quality of *Farewell, Youth*, surpassing them won’t be difficult."
"President Zheng, that’s not what matters anymore," the operations director said. "Whether it’s a film by Director Zhang or a Hollywood blockbuster, if the quality is poor, audiences won’t pay to see it. After all, money doesn’t grow on trees, and viewers will vote with their feet."
"I have a feeling that by tomorrow, we’ll be number one in daily box office sales. And our opening score on Douban will be at least an 8.0."
"I can’t believe it," Zheng Tongbiao sighed. "We originally decided to make this film just to compete with SuperPlay. I never expected we’d stumble our way into opening up a whole new path."
"From now on, we won’t have to worry about SuperPlay. We can go all-in on developing our film and television division, which can then support Trendy World. We’ll have achieved our goal."
"Exactly. This is the strategic path we need to follow from now on."
"Alright, let’s go. I’m taking you all out for drinks. Let’s celebrate!"
「The next morning.」
Lin Jiang was up early. He had to go home today and had a lot to do.
He had dozens of messages on his phone. Most were from Fang Jie, asking to meet up and see if he had time.
The rest were from Chen Jingxian and He Siyao.
Their messages were all about the same thing.
*Xia Luote’s Troubles* had premiered at midnight.
The three of them had sent short videos, mostly recording the live audience’s reactions.
Endless laughter...
This was exactly what Lin Jiang had expected.
Within a week at most, the word-of-mouth for *Xia Luote’s Troubles* would build. Breaking the two billion mark would be a piece of cake.

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