Chapter 12: The Unseen Hand

Wang’s anger flared, and he demanded of Su Xuan, “So who’s going to buy your box office? It’s not as if it can fall from the sky! Tell me one person! Who’s selflessly devoted to you? Three billion! Forget buying the box office; you could buy yourself with that!”

Su Xuan’s expression was serious. “Sir Wang, human trafficking is illegal!”

Sir Wang’s face twisted in disdain. “If it’s really not your side’s fans, then it must be Shen Chao’s, perhaps his work team is soliciting funds from fans to boost his box office.”

“Impossible,” interrupted Su Xuan without hesitation.

The thought of Shen Chao’s fans buying box office tickets felt like an absurdity. In the past, fan-driven box office surges were common, albeit sneered at by non-fans. However, Shen Chao’s own fans had to act discreetly, for he despised such practices. During the release of ‘Nine Flows,’ his fans were even forbidden by the company from boosting the box office, resulting in a chaotic online response. The film ultimately succeeded through genuine audience interest, not fan manipulation. Post that, Shen Chao’s fans rarely engaged in such activities, except for occasional, moderate boosts for movies they genuinely enjoyed. The idea of a three-billion/yuan operation was beyond their scope.

Su Xuan pondered. If not the two companies, the theaters, or either’s fans, who, then, was behind this?

Song Xiao had been awake for nearly three days. She didn’t want to be, especially considering her pregnancy, but the allure of creating CP (Couple Pairing) content was too strong.

Her eyes, bloodshot from exhaustion, were glued to her phone, thumbs flicking through countless clips of her ‘gloriously’ fictional relationship with her rumored co-star, Starshine’s Shen Chao. She had collected 28 clips, all 18+/NSFW, into a private folder.

She clicked on one titled ‘Lover Boy,’ a compilation of scenes where Su Xuan, the promiscuous actor, was punished by Shen Chao. The official clips, despite promises of more, only contained two brief, vague references, leaving the rest to viewers’ imagination.

Song Xiao watched, entranced, as she listened to the clip on loudspeaker, her grip tightening on the armrest as the characters’ actions intensified. Her husband, a straight man, sat beside her, expressionless, as he had been for the past few hours.

“If I keep watching, I’ll start to bend,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

He had once been jealous of Shen Chao, but over time, he had come to understand that she merely used the actor as a shield, a male escort to fend off rumors and paparazzi. Their relationship was platonic, and she often referred to him as her ‘little brother,’ a term she used even in front of her husband.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Shen Chao. She opened it without hesitation, not hiding the conversation from her husband.

“Someone bought three billion yuan worth of tickets for ‘Four Courtyards,'” the message read, “and the ticket alliance is investigating. The film might be pulled.”

Song Xiao jolted upright, her voice panicked. “No! Why would they target our film?”

The official ‘Four Courtyards’ account had announced that for every hundred million yuan earned, they would release a clip featuring Shen Chao and Su Xuan. Song Xiao, hoping for more CP content, had already bought over a thousand tickets to boost the box office.

She had even tried to convince her husband to join in, but he had only sighed, “The idea is intriguing, but who buys hundreds of tickets without watching?”

“Maybe CP fans?” he suggested.

Song Xiao was stunned. “CP fans?”

Hua Wei’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “CP fans? What are those? Don’t you two just make this up to confuse me? I’ve never seen any fans like that in your movies.”

“They’re underground CP fans,” the representative from Starshine Culture explained, frustration evident in their voice. “We tried to suppress them from the start, but they’re strong-willed and have a substantial following. They buy tickets, write fanfiction, and even pay others to create and edit CP content. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Hua Wei was taken aback. “But what can we do about it?”

The representative sighed. “Starshine has decided to stop interfering, and the CP fans are only growing stronger. They’re not going to stop, and their influence is spreading. They’re even paying others to boost the box office, and the trend is catching on.”

Hua Wei was apprehensive. The film’s success threatened Starshine’s previous highest-grossing film, ‘Nine Flows,’ and he was not sure if he wanted that to happen.

The marketing department of Starshine Culture was disheartened. They had prepared a meticulous plan to combat any potential CP fan activities, but their efforts were in vain. The CP fans, despite their underground status, had grown in number and influence.

Su Xuan, who was usually aloof and kept a low profile, had been quiet during this entire ordeal. The department had been vigilant, removing any traces of CP content from online platforms.

But, the CP fans were relentless. Their influence, like a rising tide, could not be contained.

The film ‘Four Courtyards’ reached a box office of 15 billion yuan, and the official account celebrated by releasing a 15-minute behind-the-scenes clip and interview featuring Su Xuan and Shen Chao.

At 2:00 AM, the CP fans, who had been quiet for the past few days, changed their super topic’s avatar to a picture of Shen Chao leaning down to kiss a sleeping Su Xuan, and it immediately climbed to the top of the hot search list.

At 4:00 AM, Su Xuan was awakened by a phone call. He answered groggily, “Hello?”

The voice on the other end was cold and calm. “Su Xuan, we need to talk.”

Su Xuan, still half-asleep, replied, “Who is this? A stalker? Do you know what time it is?” He then hung up and blocked the number.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Gaze at the Tip of the Sword

BLFantasyPsychological

Read Now →
Not interested