Madam Chu Hong put away her phone, the panic on her face gradually subsiding, replaced by her usual gentleness.
"Got it, you should get to bed early too. You have to get up early tomorrow for New Year's visits."
She stood up, patted Jiang Ci's arm, and turned to go back to her room.
The living room fell back into darkness and silence once more.
That night, he didn't sleep soundly.
The following few days were still filled with the bustle of visiting relatives and friends.
His mother never brought up anything about the internet again, nor was she caught "studying" late at night by Jiang Ci again.
Just like before, she busied herself preparing als, chatting with relatives.
But Jiang Ci noticed that the ti his mother spent looking at her phone had indeed increased.
She would wipe her hands during breaks while cooking in the kitchen, pick up her phone, and glance at it for a minute or two.
During comrcial breaks while watching TV with his grandmother, she would lower her head and tap the screen rapidly a few tis.
She was extrely discreet about it. Jiang Ci didn't say a word about it.
The fifth day of the Lunar New Year.
The small city was still imrsed in the lazy holiday atmosphere.
Online, after the tentative scheduling on its opening day, *Palace Conspiracy* experienced a terrifying surge in box office revenue.
Cinema chains across the country slashed screenings of other films and allocated them all to *Palace Conspiracy*.
Single-day box office: 350 million.
A crushing lead.
Continuing to hold the daily crown.
anwhile, the highly anticipated fantasy blockbuster *Ninth Heaven* had its screenings suppressed again and again.
Its single-day box office had already fallen below 20 million, completely becoming the laughingstock of the Spring Festival season.
The sixth day of the Lunar New Year.
Driven by the fervent recomndations of countless grassroots fans and the enthusiasm of those watching it for the second or third ti, *Palace Conspiracy*'s reputation completely exploded across the entire internet.
The phrase "General Gu's Unresolved Injustice" evolved from a simple trending topic into a cultural phenonon.
Countless fan art, remix videos, and tear-jerking short essays spread virally across various platforms.
The film's total box office also officially broke through the 1.5 billion mark on this day.
1.5 billion.
This number made all the investors and film critics who previously didn't have high hopes for this film drop their jaws.
As for the subsequent, feeble sar attacks launched by the *Ninth Heaven* production team,
they all seed so laughable in the face of *Palace Conspiracy*'s absolute box office dominance and critical acclaim.
It even triggered backlash from the audience.
"The movie is terrible, and all they know is dirty tricks outside the arena. So shaless!"
"Instead of spending that money on marketing accounts, they should have hired a better screenwriter."
"LOL, General Gu next door already has grass three feet tall on his grave, and we're still contributing to *Palace Conspiracy*'s box office. What about you guys?"
The online sentint had completely shifted in favor of *Palace Conspiracy*.
The seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
Jiang Ci was leaving ho.
A light drizzle fell from the sky of the small city, the air carrying a cool, damp chill.
His mother didn't say much, unlike usual.
She just silently, trip after trip, stuffed things into the trunk of the Audi Q7 parked at the door.
Ho-cured bacon and sausages, New Year cakes made by his grandmother's own hands, oranges picked from his aunt's orchard...
She wanted to pack the entire taste of ho into his luggage.
Madam Chu Hong closed the trunk and walked around to the driver's side.
"Eat on ti when you get to the capital."
"Don't keep staying up late just because you're young. Your health is your own."
Her reminders were still the sa as before, simple and trivial.
Jiang Ci looked at his mother. A few more white hairs seed to have appeared at her temples.
Before getting into the driver's seat, almost as if possessed, he glanced at his system panel.
Over the past few days, because he was spending ti with family, he had deliberately avoided paying attention to the online developnts.
But now.
When he saw the numbers on the panel, his heart skipped a beat.
After these days of continuous ferntation, his data had once again received an epic update.
[Heartbreak Value Balance: 3125 points.]
[Current Remaining Lifespan: 780 days, 18 hours.]
Seven hundred and eighty days.
Over two years of life!
Jiang Ci closed the panel.
He got out of the car and, under his mother's astonished gaze, gave her a deep hug.
The hug was tight, carrying a tremor he himself hadn't noticed.
He said into her ear, in a tone almost like a promise, once again.
"Mom, wait until I co back next ti. I'll buy you a bigger house."
His mother was stunned for a mont.
Then, she smiled, patted her son's back, and chided, "Stop talking nonsense. The house is big enough."
"As long as you're doing well out there, that's what matters most."
Jiang Ci released her.
He saw a glistening tear appear at the corner of his mother's eye.
The Audi Q7 slowly drove out of the small city.
Speeding along the road.
By evening, the car rged into the congested traffic flow of the capital.
At the foot of the Spark dia company building.
A young man wearing a down jacket was anxiously pacing at the entrance, looking up at the intersection from ti to ti.
It was assistant Sun Zhou.
When the familiar Audi Q7 pulled over by the roadside, Sun Zhou's eyes instantly lit up.
He rushed over in a few quick strides.
As soon as Jiang Ci parked the car, the door was pulled open from the outside.
"Ci-ge! You're finally back!"
Sun Zhou leaned half his body in, his face flushed red with excitent.
"Director Lin wants you to go straight to her place as soon as you arrive! She says there's heaven-shatteringly good news!"
Jiang Ci unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.
"Leave the keys in the car. Have soone drive it back to the company later," he said, tossing the keys into the car.
"Got it!"
Sun Zhou then pointed at a black entourage van parked not far away.
"Bro, the car is waiting over there. Let's head over now."
Jiang Ci sat in the spacious back seat of the entourage van.
The car started smoothly.
Sun Zhou sat opposite him and, as soon as he got in the car, opened the floodgates, starting to report on work.
His speech was extrely fast, every word brimming with excitent.
"Bro! Do you know how popular you are right now!"
"*Fengshang*, *Jia Ren*, *GQ*... Cover invitations from several major fashion magazines have all co in! All specifically asking for you to shoot!"
Sun Zhou waved his arms excitedly.
"And this is just the beginning! Once *The Legend of Han and Chu* airs, bro, you'll be the next Film Emperor!"
Jiang Ci leaned back in his seat, listening quietly.
He had little interest in these manifestations of comrcial value.
Money, fa—these weren't the reasons he was fighting so hard.
He looked through the window at the bustling nightscape of the capital flashing by outside.
Those neon lights, colorful and dazzling, couldn't shine into his heart.
He interrupted Sun Zhou's torrent of words.
"Is Director Lin looking for about the new script?"
Sun Zhou was montarily stunned, seemingly not expecting this to be Jiang Ci's primary concern.
He quickly nodded.
"Yes, yes! Exactly! It's about the script!"
Sun Zhou's expression grew even more excited, even taking on a hint of mystery.
"Director Lin said, the script she prepared for you is absolutely... earth-shattering and tear-jerking!"
Jiang Ci: "..."
That description was truly Lin Wan's style.
"So, what exactly is this 'heaven-shatteringly good news'?" Jiang Ci asked.
Sun Zhou grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"The good news is, this script... Director Lin has finished writing it!"
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