Chapter 68: Trailer p2
This time, Qiao Rubai and Pan Xiang had no objections. But Ji Junxin spoke up: “If we take it out of context, the audience might think that the empress is just jealous. Her performance in that scene was very good, and if the audience sees that first, they might think the empress is just a simple villain. When the movie is released, they might not see anything beyond the jealousy, which would be a waste of Mi Hongdou’s efforts.” There was something Ji Junxin didn’t dare to say. During the initial publicity, they had announced that Miao Qianye, played by her, was the female lead, and the empress was her rival. So, if they showed the scene of the lonely empress out of context, it might be used by someone to say that the empress’s jealousy and sadness were so convincing because she was jealous of Ji Junxin. Ji Junxin, feeling particularly sharp-witted today, thought of this possibility, but she didn’t want to say it in front of Mi Hongdou, hoping Qiao Rubai would understand.
By now, everyone at the table could see that Qiao Rubai and Pan Xiang were considering the bigger picture, Director Pan, familiar with the filmed footage, was offering suggestions, and as for Ji Junxin… she was prioritizing Mi Hongdou’s interests.
Mi Hongdou also saw this. Being protected by her idol felt strange… Logically, she should be humble, not cause trouble, and stop Ji Junxin from arguing. But seeing Ji Junxin fighting for her so earnestly, Mi Hongdou’s heart melted, and she couldn’t bear to reject her kindness. She could only add more lamb to Ji Junxin’s bowl, hoping to distract her… And the fact that she omitted Bao Yueqiao’s surname, she would let it go for now.
So, the meal went late, and the little girl was already drowsy when they finally reached a decision. Ji Junxin won. They would use the estate cooking scene for the trailer. After all, compared to the lonely empress scene, the cooking scene was more positive when taken out of context. The main goal was to clear Mi Hongdou’s name, there was no need to introduce another negative element. As for the audience’s speculation about the plot, as long as the official channels didn’t respond, it could be considered generating buzz.
But what they didn’t expect was that, after all their arguments about whether the cooking scene would reveal too much of the plot, the audience did speculate, but not about the plot.
The day after the hot pot meal, Director Pan had the footage from the estate test shoot edited and processed. That day, Mi Hongdou had only made egg fried rice. The scene, with its skilled chef and tempting fried rice, looked good, but it felt a little thin, more like a cooking show segment than a movie trailer. So, they discussed it and added Ji Junxin’s shots.
That afternoon, the official Weibo account of “Imperial Secrets” first posted an announcement about the script revision a few months ago and the resulting cast adjustments. Then, it reposted an apology letter from “Donghuan Entertainment Weekly,” stating that the letter would be officially published in the next issue. The third post was a repost of Bao Yueqiao’s new Weibo post, in which she clarified that she withdrew from “Imperial Secrets” because of the script revision, and Mi Hongdou joined the cast after her departure. She expressed her support and best wishes for the new young empress and hoped that everyone would support Mi Hongdou. She also mentioned that after leaving “Imperial Secrets,” she immediately took on a more suitable role in Director Gu Tiansheng’s new film, “Promise in Troubled Times,” which was currently filming, and she hoped for everyone’s support.
Finally, the “Imperial Secrets” Weibo account posted a fourth post, the trailer.
Within minutes of its release, the trailer’s view count exceeded 100,000, with over 10,000 reposts, the comments almost filling the screen.
The official title of the trailer was “The Empress Invites You to Dinner~,” clearly the work of the mischievous screenwriter, Pan Xiang.
The camera swept over a dilapidated village, then focused on a desolate courtyard. Not far from a few mud houses, Ji Junxin sat quietly on a bamboo stool, sipping water from a cup. Although she wasn’t wearing elaborate palace attire, just simple, slightly worn clothes, her every movement exuded elegance and grace, captivating the audience’s attention, making them unconsciously hold their breath, not wanting to disturb the tranquility.
Then, a faint sound, as if someone had stepped on dry twigs and leaves. The camera shifted to a girl with her hair tied up, a few loose strands framing her face, wearing a beige dress, entering the courtyard. She glanced at Ji Junxin, who was looking in another direction, didn’t disturb her, and as she turned towards the small kitchen shed, self-consciously smoothed her slightly disheveled hair.
A shot comparing the girl’s slightly disheveled appearance to Ji Junxin’s continued elegance.
Then, the egg fried rice making process, so aromatic that you could almost smell it through the screen. The girl skillfully used a traditional stove to make a plate of egg fried rice that made everyone want to lick their screens and then presented it to Ji Junxin.
Ji Junxin took the bowl, thanked her, but didn’t eat.
The girl who cooked the rice stood beside Ji Junxin, looking at her worriedly.
Finally, the camera shifted. Ji Junxin was alone in the courtyard again. She picked up the bowl and, bite by bite, meticulously finished the egg fried rice, not leaving a single grain.
The trailer ended.
It was very short, just over a minute.
The trailer was released while everyone was on set, so a strange scene unfolded. Although everyone was present, they weren’t filming. They were all on their phones, watching the trailer.
Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou watched it together on one phone. The first time, they just watched the trailer. Afterward, Mi Hongdou asked Ji Junxin what she thought, and Ji Junxin silently gulped. The second time, Mi Hongdou turned on the comments… and they seemed to have stumbled upon a new world.
During the shots of the courtyard and the dilapidated houses, the comments were filled with questions. It was supposed to be “Imperial Secrets,” why did it look like “Rural Secrets”? Some even asked if they had opened the wrong video.
When Ji Junxin appeared, her fans flooded the screen with the usual comments: Goddess, you’re so beautiful! So cute! I want to have monkeys for you! And a few unique ones: Goddess, your sleeve is frayed, should I sew it for you? Goddess, it’s windy in the courtyard, there’s sand in your cup, don’t drink it!!
Mi Hongdou paused the video. “Was there sand in the cup?”
Ji Junxin, amused and exasperated, playfully punched her and pressed play.
Then Mi Hongdou appeared. The comments shifted from praising the goddess to a mix of everything. Some asked if this was the actress playing the young empress, others confirmed it, and then some asked why the empress was also wearing such simple clothes… Of course, there were also comments praising the young empress’s beauty, followed by counter-comments praising Ji Junxin’s beauty.
Mi Hongdou felt a little awkward being compared to Ji Junxin… She wanted to create a fake account and join the chorus of “My Junxin is the most beautiful!”
Ji Junxin, not caring about Mi Hongdou’s thoughts, was engrossed in the comments, even pointing out the interesting ones to Mi Hongdou.
Mi Hongdou looked at her sleeve, then at the comments, then at Ji Junxin. Just looking at her idol was enough.
Soon, the egg fried rice scene appeared, and the tone of the comments changed. The screen was filled with: Wow, so that’s how you start a fire… Damn, she’s not afraid of getting burned… is that lard? … Mmm, smells so good… Oh, I see, she’s making egg fried rice… It looks so delicious…
By the time the fried rice was almost done, the screen was filled with “Licking the screen…” “Licking the screen…” “Licking the screen…” …
“…Does it really look that delicious?” Mi Hongdou paused the video and asked Ji Junxin, a little unsure. “It’s not a very complicated dish…”
Ji Junxin looked at Mi Hongdou with a yearning expression: “I really want to eat it…”
“I’ll make it for you tonight…” Mi Hongdou smiled and pressed play.
On the screen, the bowl of egg fried rice was handed to Ji Junxin, and the comments quickly divided into two camps. One side shouted, “Put down that bowl, let me have it!” The other side said with relief, “Xinxin, eat more, you’ve lost weight…”
When Ji Junxin ate the fried rice, the comments unified again, a chorus of “Goddess, you didn’t even leave a single grain for me, I also want to eat!”
Ji Junxin, satisfied, closed the video, opened her Weibo, reposted the trailer, thought for a moment, and added, “Okay, I’m back, mwah~”
So, combined with the trailer’s title, it was like a conversation.
“The Empress invites you to dinner~”
“Okay, I’m back, mwah~”
Ji Junxin rarely managed her Weibo account. Most of her posts were about promoting new films, as requested by Qiao Rubai, or reposting other artists’ posts. If Qiao Rubai didn’t remind her, she could go months without updating. And yet, she still had tens of millions of fans.
After reposting, Ji Junxin suddenly remembered something and asked Mi Hongdou, “Aiya, should I have tagged you in the repost? Do you use Weibo? You should have an official account now, right?”
They had just watched the video together, and Ji Junxin had reposted it without thinking, not even hiding her typing from Mi Hongdou. That “mwah~”… made Mi Hongdou’s ears burn. Now, talking to Ji Junxin, her ears and head were buzzing, and she couldn’t even hear what Ji Junxin was saying.
“Hey… why is your face red?” Ji Junxin touched Mi Hongdou’s face and smiled. “Are you embarrassed by the comments? Being an actress is like this, people will always comment on you, you’ll get used to it. Besides, they were all praising you, don’t be shy.”
Are you an idiot? Mi Hongdou grabbed Ji Junxin’s hand, her face turning even redder, a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
“I haven’t applied for an official Weibo account yet, Yang Lianyi said she would take care of it. But I think she forgot.” Mi Hongdou thought for a moment. “I’ll remind her later, it’s not urgent.”
They continued chatting about Weibo. Pan Xiang, who had been browsing Weibo next to Director Pan, ran over and looked at Ji Junxin, then at Mi Hongdou. “Have you two seen the official trailer?”
“Yes,” Ji Junxin and Mi Hongdou nodded.
Pan Xiang’s gaze swept over them meaningfully. “Did you read the comments?”
“Yes,” they nodded again.
Pan Xiang typed on her phone, then showed it to them: “Did you see these comments too?”
[The Empress is calling Xinxin home for dinner~]
[Xinxin, remember to mwah first before eating~]
[The fried rice looks so good, can I also trade a mwah for fried rice~] [Get lost, the fried rice is for our Xinxin~]
[Get lost yourself, the Empress is also our Xinxin~] [Asking timidly, is the emperor dead? Why didn’t the empress invite him to dinner?] [The emperor must be dead!]
[Perhaps the emperor isn’t dead, the empress and Xinxin eloped~]
[Haha, yuri is the best!! A large serving of fried rice please!!]
The first few comments were still normal… but the later ones…
“I don’t know why, the comments were normal the first few times I watched, but just now, they’re all like this…” Pan Xiang said, puzzled, noticing the slight blush on their faces.
Ji Junxin, a little embarrassed, showed them her phone, her Weibo repost, and asked softly, “Could it be because of my repost?”
“I think… it probably is.” Pan Xiang looked closely and chuckled… then, looking at the embarrassed Ji Junxin, she thought she could write a story about a clueless person accidentally coming out of the closet.
Ji Junxin looked at her pleadingly, “Is it too late to delete it and repost with a different message?”
Pan Xiang looked at the repost, which already had over 120,000 likes: “I think it’s too late. Now, it’s just the fans having fun, if you delete it, it might cause more trouble.”
Ji Junxin checked the comments, which were mostly fans asking her to “mwah” with them, not with the empress, and she felt a little relieved. It seemed that the comments were just the fans having fun, it would blow over soon.
“By the way, let me tell you something… well, do you know why my grandpa was so angry when we mentioned Gu Tiansheng during the hot pot meal yesterday?” Pan Xiang hadn’t intended to bring this up, but looking at the clueless Ji Junxin and the slightly evasive Mi Hongdou, she couldn’t help herself.
As expected, Ji Junxin shook her head.
Mi Hongdou hesitated, then also shook her head.
Pan Xiang glanced at Director Pan, who had his back turned to them, and lowered her voice, “Let me tell you, but don’t tell anyone I told you.”
Just then, Director Pan, as if sensing something, looked in their direction, his face a little dark.
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