Chapter 82: Advertising

After the family driver took Huang Tao and Old Lady Zhou to the fencing club, only Huang Guolun and Bai Yao remained at home.

Huang Guolun shared his idea of taking Bai Yao to do a special performance with her. Bai Yao was very interested and promised she wasn’t afraid of hardship or exhaustion; before the performance, she would rehearse diligently with Huang Guolun.

At the end, she timidly asked Huang Guolun, “Teacher, I feel a bit embarrassed to ask, but I really want to know—how much money can you make from a special performance like this?”

It was clear that when it came to money, Bai Yao was very concerned. Huang Guolun was genuinely curious what this girl genius was saving so diligently for.

He told her, “I can’t say for sure, but it should be over a thousand at least. Anyway, you reap what you sow—as long as we work hard and prepare well for this show, the rewards will be gratifying.”

Hearing that it could be over a thousand, Bai Yao was quite satisfied—this was much more than she used to earn singing at Houhai!

“Thank you for thinking of me for such a great opportunity, Teacher. I’ll definitely work hard and rehearse with you!”

Huang Guolun nodded with a smile. He believed Bai Yao was someone who kept her word.

He was about to ask her why she was so determined to save money, when his phone rang suddenly.

It was a call from Zhao Jing.

On their end, Zhao Jing and her group had just finished watching “The Beautiful Corpse.” Zhao Yan and Huanzi weren’t particularly fond of this genre. Huanzi especially couldn’t handle gory movies—she only made it halfway before fleeing outside to bake cakes with Sister Xu, unwilling to endure more torment in the private room.

Zhao Yan, though, was interested in Huang Guolun’s music and watched until the end. The final plot twist, and the meaning-laden end credits song “The Beautiful People,” struck Zhao Yan powerfully!

When the film’s epic drum beats surged at the end, Zhao Yan felt as if a fire had been lit inside her, her whole being ready to ignite! Rarely had a bio-horror film, not known for depth, affected her so deeply.

Perhaps because she was going through a final emotional low point lately, she especially needed to do something different to vent her repressed frustration.

The film’s ending provided just such a release.

Watching the heroine turn into a zombie and charge at the dictator’s army, hearing the heart-rending cries against tyranny, Zhao Yan was swept up in the moment. It was as if she herself had become the zombie heroine, breaking through all barriers to attack Zhao Yijun—the emotional tyrant who had dominated her heart for so long—and perished with him in a blaze.

Though this catharsis was short-lived, it left Zhao Yan feeling exhilarated and uplifted.

Zhao Jing was even more elated after the film. She had always loved these thrilling popcorn flicks, and this “The Beautiful Corpse,” with its ridiculously bad title, far exceeded her expectations!

The film’s fast pace, gripping plot, and constant suspense made Zhao Jing feel as if she were on a death train to the zombie empire—there was no getting off, only a wild, roaring ride. Even the spiritual climax at the end left her wanting more after the credits rolled.

As soon as the movie ended, Zhao Jing called Huang Guolun, lavishing praise on the film, declaring it without question the best Chinese zombie movie she’d ever seen—absolutely fantastic!

Huang Guolun laughed over the phone and said, “If you enjoyed it, don’t forget to recommend it to your friends.”

“I’ll post it on my Moments soon and urge all eight hundred of my WeChat friends to watch it!”

“That’s really wonderful, thank you.”

Huang Guolun guessed most of Zhao Jing’s young friends would enjoy this kind of film.

“Are you still at home? If you’re free, come over quickly—we need to discuss how to do the special performance!”

Zhao Jing was clearly fired up by “The Beautiful Corpse” and was getting more and more interested in the show.

“All right, I’ll come over now. We’ll talk in person soon.”

After ending the call with Zhao Jing, Huang Guolun asked Bai Yao, “If you’re free, want to come with me to the café? The owners are all there—we can discuss how to organize next week’s special.”

“Right now?” Bai Yao hesitated slightly—it seemed she had plans.

“Do you have something else scheduled?”

“I thought I’d be free after Taozi went to fencing, so I made plans with Ma Xiaodan and some classmates to hang out at Xidan and have dinner together. They’re probably on their way there already.”

Huang Guolun was a bit surprised; he’d never seen Bai Yao actively arrange outings with classmates before.

It seemed this hard-edged academic prodigy was starting to act more like a normal girl—a good sign!

Bai Yao quickly added, “We arranged for all of us to wear ‘The Beautiful Corpse’ T-shirts while shopping. Xidan is crowded at this hour, so lots of people will see our walking advertisements.”

So that was it...

Bai Yao’s motivation for going shopping was actually to advertise “The Beautiful Corpse.”

Huang Guolun felt a warmth in his heart.

Whatever her reasons, Bai Yao spending time with girls her age, shopping and having fun, could only benefit her development.

So Huang Guolun didn’t insist on dragging her to the Duck House.

Afterwards, he loaded a hundred “The Beautiful Corpse” T-shirts into his car, dropped some off for Bai Yao at Zhongsheng Alley, and drove straight to the Duck House.

By five o’clock, Huang Guolun had returned.

Across from the Duck House, in the fitness square, a group of aunties were still dancing energetically to “Little Apple,” showing no sign of fatigue.

Influenced by their enthusiasm, the Duck House had barely any customers all afternoon.

When Huang Guolun entered, only two clerks and Sister Xu were inside, bored, making cakes and listening to Joanna Wang’s music.

Hearing that he’d brought a hundred T-shirts, Zhao Yan rolled up her sleeves and helped him carry them in, with Liu Xiaowei and the others lending a hand. In no time, the shirts were inside.

Zhao Jing picked the brightest yellow T-shirt and pulled it over her white shirt, enthusiastically telling Huang Guolun, “I’ll wear this all day to promote your movie. Even though it’s kind of ugly, I’ll put up with it!”

Huang Guolun thanked her with a smile—it was obvious that “The Beautiful Corpse” had truly won Zhao Jing over.

Huanzi, unimpressed by Zhao Jing’s antics in front of Huang Guolun, muttered, “What’s the point of advertising? The shop’s empty, who’s going to see it?”

Zhao Jing shot her a look. “Who says there aren’t any customers? There’ll be plenty tonight! I’m wearing this all evening. Teacher Huang, see how I support you!”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Zhao Jing’s blazing enthusiasm caught Huang Guolun a little off guard.

Zhao Yan picked out a large, orange-red shirt, intending to wear it too, in support of the film that had briefly set her free.

She also asked Liu Xiaowei and Su Ling to pull on the T-shirts over their aprons. Today, the whole shop was going to advertise “The Beautiful Corpse”—a small contribution from a group of friends.

Only Sister Xu and Huanzi, being too large for the available sizes, didn’t put one on. Everyone else wore the movie T-shirt.

Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Huang Guolun took off his jacket, found a white T-shirt, and pulled it on over his black shirt to match the group and help promote the film.

Liu Xiaowei suggested, “Why don’t we line up and take a walk around Houhai? There aren’t many customers here, but Houhai is always packed—it’ll definitely have a promotional effect!”

Sister Xu scolded, “Xiaowei, don’t come up with such silly ideas. If Teacher Huang and Duckie go out in those T-shirts, won’t it be embarrassing?”

Zhao Yan smiled. “I think... there’s no problem.”

Huanzi was surprised. “Really? You’d dare wear that out? Duckie, your skin’s getting as thick as your sister’s.”

“Hehehe, what’s that supposed to mean? If we’re talking about thick skin, Huan, I have to learn from the master—you!”

Zhao Jing shot back at Huanzi with a cold laugh. This chubby woman scrounged off her sister for everything, yet dared call others thick-skinned?

Sensing the rising tension, Zhao Yan quickly interjected, “All right, enough bickering. Zhao Jing, are you coming or not? If not, stay here with Sister Xu. The rest of us will go out and help promote Teacher Huang’s movie.”

Zhao Jing volunteered, “Of course I’m going! A beauty like me is the most eye-catching human billboard there is!”

So the group decided to head out.

Huang Guolun, however, was a little taken aback.

To be honest, he felt embarrassed about parading around outside like this. The last time, when he took Huang Tao and Bai Yao to the zoo, they spent the whole day trying to promote, but it didn’t have much effect—the movie’s release was still met with indifference.

Now, being asked to do it again, Huang Guolun truly felt uneasy.

But with Zhao Yan and Zhao Jing so eager to help, it would be wrong of him not to go, leaving all the work to them.

With no choice, Huang Guolun donned round-framed sunglasses, steeled himself, and joined Zhao Yan, Zhao Jing, Liu Xiaowei, and Su Ling for a long walk around Houhai’s Lotus Market.

In terms of looks, Zhao Jing was truly dazzling—like a clear river, a figure from a secluded valley, her long hair flowing like a fairy descended to earth. Wearing such a “distinctive” T-shirt, she drew nearly every gaze, achieving maximum advertising effect.

Long accustomed to being the center of attention, Zhao Jing was full of confidence and completely at ease. She chatted and joked with Huang Guolun the whole way, constantly teasing him about how his round sunglasses made him look like Blind Abing, making him feel awkward.

Zhao Yan, on the other hand, shared Huang Guolun’s aesthetic sense. She thought the sunglasses gave him a vintage vibe, making him look like a literary gentleman with a story—she rather liked him in them.

As they walked, the conversation soon turned to live streaming.

Only then did Huang Guolun learn that Zhao Jing didn’t plan to stream their music special on Douyu, but rather on a site called “Sunny Day.”

Huang Guolun was a bit baffled and asked, “Is ‘Sunny Day’ a legitimate streaming site? I’ve never even heard of it!”