Chapter 57 Breaking Out of the Circle of Influence

Tang Yan had been in a panic for an entire day.

She had thought that once her scandal with Xu Ming was exposed, she would be hit by an overwhelming wave of public opinion.

She spent the whole night letting her imagination run wild.

It was only after waking up that she realized she didn't even have a name in the news report.

"Why, why is this happening..."

Tang Yan punched the plush toy in her hands, looking deeply aggrieved. "Having my female lead role stolen is one thing, but not even getting a name in a scandal? I am so miserable."

She understood more than ever why everyone in the entertainment industry fought tooth and nail to become famous.

Ring-ring!

Her phone rang, and seeing the name 'Yang' displayed on the screen, she felt a sudden, inexplicable panic.

"What's up, Mimi?"

"I saw the news today. You must be that 'young lady' from the report."

Yang Mi's very first sentence dealt ten thousand points of critical damage to Tang Yan.

The latter forced herself to keep up a front and said, "It's just a coincidence."

"Confess honestly, was the person who replied to my text message that night Xu Ming?" Yang Mi asked out of the blue.

"Didn't I already explain that to you? I was just drinking and joking around. Teacher Xu and I are just ordinary friends," Tang Yan replied smoothly, her tone giving away no trace of panic.

"Is that so? I really like Teacher Xu's comedy sketches. When are you going to set up a meeting so we can all hang out?" Yang Mi clearly didn't believe her and continued to probe.

"He's so famous, he doesn't have time to pay attention to me. Maybe some other time," Tang Yan laughed.

Yet, a sense of vigilance arose in her heart. What was this woman up to? She had already stolen her female lead role, and now did she want to steal—

"Alright then. By the way, do you have Teacher Xu's phone number?" Yang Mi asked, sounding as casual as could be.

"No. He's such a big star, I didn't dare ask for his contact information," Tang Yan said weakly, though her grip on the plush toy tightened considerably.

*You want my number, and you want his number—are the two of you running toward each other from both ends?*

*What do you take me for?*

*Are you treating me like a pawn in your little game?*

*No way!*

*I let her win last time, but no matter what, I am not backing down again this time.*

...

Ding-dong.

Xu Ming picked up his phone lazily and glanced at it.

[Sugar: Don't you dare lay a hand on my best friend, or I'll bite it right off!!!]

*What kind of nerve is she striking?*

He felt entirely baffled, but after pondering for a moment, the meaning dawned on him.

Wasn't this just a confession without even being interrogated?

Which best friend was she talking about? Mimi or Shishi?

Xu Ming stroked his chin. Actually, he wasn't picky and was quite happy to obey any assignment.

Of course, if he could get a triple-foldable one, it would definitely give him even more face.

"Brother Ming?" Xiaoyuan called out tentatively.

"Oh, it's nothing. Go on," Xu Ming snapped back to attention and said.

"The movie trailer and the song arrangement are scheduled to be uploaded simultaneously at 8:00 PM. We'll probably need your Weibo account to coordinate with the release," Xiaoyuan said.

"No problem," Xu Ming nodded.

"Also, *Love Apartment* is scheduled for release on June 28th. The Liaoning TV station wants to know if they should arrange for Li Jinming and the others to appear on a few more episodes of *Happy Comedy*," Xiaoyuan added.

"Didn't we sell the streaming rights to Sohu Entertainment? Let them coordinate the promotion online. As for Li Jinming and the others, let them go as far as their own abilities can take them. There's no need to resort to any shady behind-the-scenes manipulation."

Xu Ming waved his hand. Forcing someone onto a stage purely through hype when they lacked the ability would only lead to a backlash; it was completely unnecessary.

Besides, *Love Apartment* already came with a massive amount of controversy, so it was better to quietly make a fortune without drawing too much unnecessary attention.

8:00 PM.

The trailer for *Love Is Not Blind*, accompanied by the theme song *Never Too Late*, was released across major online platforms.

From this moment on, the movie's publicity and distribution funds began burning.

Money was being burned every single minute and second.

It just started off a little slow.

"Nowadays boys value a thousand pieces of gold over a pair of full breasts."

"They're completely fantastical when silent, and every word they speak is sheer nonsense."

"A scatterbrain paired with Lin Daiyu's heart—I'm talking about you."

"When you buy a refrigerator, the warranty is only three years. When you marry a person, do you expect them to go through life without a single flaw?"

The pacing of the trailer was edited very quickly, incorporating almost half of the classic lines.

And the fleeting appearance of Uncle Benshan turned out to be a huge Easter egg.

As the trailer neared its end, Xu Ming's singing voice rang out.

"Just a hug, let's pretend we were never together~"

"Is it for the best, because it's already too late to explain~"

Meanwhile, the visuals in the trailer had shifted to scene after scene of Song Jia with reddened eyes, crying uncontrollably.

This movie trailer had been edited under Xu Ming's direct supervision, guiding Teng Huatao step by step until it was transformed into this viral, emotional style.

Men would fall silent and women would weep; anyone who watched it would feel a deep sense of sorrow and touching emotion.

As for what they were sad about or moved by, they couldn't quite put it into words—just listening to this song while watching the people on screen shed tears made them empathize inexplicably.

At the very beginning, Teng Huatao had threatened to strike in protest.

As a director, having a screenwriter poke their nose into editing even a trailer was utterly humiliating; he might as well find a rope and hang himself for the sake of dignity.

Then came the moment when the revised trailer was finished and everyone had watched it.

Teng Huatao decided to replace the rope with a bowl of noodles.

Dammit, what kind of demonic sorcery was this?

First, looking at the editing quality, it insulted a director's reputation; then, looking at the editing effect, it insulted a director's self-esteem.

From start to finish, Teng Huatao wore a look that screamed, "So this is actually allowed?"

The disjointed footage and the seemingly nonsensical crying scenes, when paired with the music, were simultaneously tear-jerking and deeply emotional.

Once released online, it caused a massive uproar.

It summoned countless sentimental men and women out of the woodwork.

"I don't know why the tears just started flowing. I'm currently at Chang'an Jiaoda University, are there any senior or junior female students who want to chat?"

"Give me thirty seconds, I need all the information on this trailer!"

"Is the person above an idiot? Doesn't it clearly say *Love Is Not Blind* releases on July 25th?"

"It feels like it's going to be both hilarious and heartbreaking. Does anyone want to go watch it together in July?"

Some of these comments were from genuine netizens, while others were paid internet trolls.

No one had expected that a simple movie trailer and theme song could wield such immense power on the internet.

Coupled with the hype previously accumulated by the serialized novel, almost all online platforms were buzzing with discussions about *Love Is Not Blind*.

Even though some people could see that this series of moves was purely a marketing campaign, and reviews varied wildly, it still failed to dampen the explosive popularity of the movie.

In fact, this level of web traffic startled companies across various industries.

It wasn't just entertainment companies paying attention; firms in other sectors turned their gaze toward it as well.

The impact brought by internet marketing far exceeded the expectations of industry insiders and outsiders alike.

The stage of the internet seemed to have been played with a brand-new set of tricks by Xu Ming...

The influence penetrated the online world and spilled over into the offline world.

The streets and alleys gradually echoed with the melody of *Never Too Late*.

Especially thanks to Xu Ming's massive national popularity, whenever people realized the song was sung by him, most would pause and listen for a while.

"Is this song sung by that sissified guy from this year's Spring Festival Gala? I remember his singing wasn't bad."

"His voice was so piercingly loud. I was just about to fall asleep back then, and he jolted me right awake."

"Why does it keep talking about hugging? I thought it was *The Big Sedan Chair*."

Under such widespread popularity, *Never Too Late* quietly climbed onto music charts like the *Music Billboard*.

Though it was lingering at the very bottom, it still caused a panic among the music industry veterans, making them cry out that the wolf was at the door.

By a stroke of sheer luck and coincidence, this became yet another breakout masterpiece for Xu Ming following *Not Bad Money*.