Chapter 97 Chapter 97 I have a really good eye, I found so many...
Chen Zhuo also knew that Shao Chengzhang wanted to divert her attention. As long as she was alone, she couldn't help but think about all sorts of things, and even wanted to check the data every second.
She knew she couldn't do that, so she nodded and agreed: "Okay."
They usually had breakfast at home, but Shao Chengzhang said they were going out today. After they washed and changed, he took her to a nearby chain breakfast restaurant. Perhaps because it was the weekend, it was only eight o'clock, but the place was already quite crowded. Most of them were elderly, with couples and children. With the constant calls at the counter, the atmosphere was bustling.
Shao Chengzhang doesn't like coming to places like this because they are too noisy, but Chen Zhuo needs to go somewhere with more people.
"What do you want to eat?" Shao Chengzhang took her to the ordering counter.
"I'm fine with anything, you order." Chen Zhuo's expression was indifferent. She had no appetite at the moment.
Shao Chengzhang ordered some of the flavors that Chen Zhuo usually liked. After getting the receipt, he found a seat and asked her to wait while he went to pick up the food.
Next door to Chen Zhuo was a family of three. A little girl, perhaps three or four, was perched on the sofa, barely a head taller than the partition. She was chewing on a piece of candied huoshao (a sweet roasted bun). Chen Zhuo's eyes met the girl's and he smiled at her.
Chen Zhuo has always been popular with children. When she meets children on the street, they like to stare at her. She will also smile and greet the children, and sometimes even chat with them.
For example, now, Shao Chengzhang looked over and saw Chen Zhuo talking to the girl next door. There was an expression on his face and he looked a little more energetic.
He brought the meal over. The little girl's mother took her back and said, "Okay, sister also needs to have breakfast, don't disturb her." Shao Chengzhang raised his eyes and smiled at the little girl.
The breakfast shop’s signature dish is the beef steamed buns, with thin skin and rich fillings. They burst with juice when you bite into them, but Chen Zhuo has no appetite at the moment. He put down his chopsticks after two bites and sipped soy milk.
"Not eating anymore?"
"Hmm." Chen Zhuo said it was a bit greasy. Shao Chengzhang took the leftovers from her and put them on his plate, then picked up another one for her, "This one has chives and eggs, have two more bites."
Shen Zhuo reluctantly ate half of it, but the rest was eaten up by Shao Chengzhang.
"Shall we go to the supermarket later?" He had originally wanted to take her hiking or playing tennis, but since she slept so little, he worried she wouldn't be able to handle it, so he decided to just go shopping and eat. Shao Chengzhang planned to go to the supermarket in the morning, eat some Japanese food that Chen Zhuo liked at noon, watch a talk show and explore the shopping district in the afternoon, eat dinner outside before going home. In short, he had packed the day with everything.
Shen Zhuo had no objection, whatever he said was what it was.
Shao Chengzhang drove to Yuexiang. It had just opened for business, so there weren't many people there yet. The two of them pushed the cart side by side and strolled around casually. Chen Zhuo didn't say anything or take anything. After strolling for a long time, the cart was still empty.
Shao Chengzhang started to find a topic: "You know, my mother and I first met in this supermarket. She held up a list and asked me what was on it. I still remember you wrote Gewürztraminer and Mustang, and you even wrote 'Take as many as you can' next to it. I thought at the time that this girl might be an alcoholic."
Chen Zhuo finally couldn't help laughing. She tilted her head and asked, "And then?"
"Then I helped my mother find some wine. After we separated, I unexpectedly ran into her again in the parking lot. Her shopping bag was broken and blocked the road. I asked her to get in the car first, and when I found it was on the way, I took her home."
"I see." Chen Zhuo said, "You even sent my mom home. You're quite kind."
Shao Chengzhang smiled and said, "Fortunately, I am kind, otherwise I would be left without a wife."
Chen Zhuo laughed and tsk- ...
"Even if you don't believe me, you should at least believe Ms. Chi's judgment, right?" Shao Chengzhang didn't expect that Shen Zhuo had such a deep misunderstanding of him before they met.
"She was the one who kept pushing me to get married. She praised every man to the skies. If they were all so good, how could she not be married yet? There must be something wrong."
"Then you're so nice, but you've never been in a relationship."
"So I told Jiang Jun that maybe the matchmaker forgot to tie the red thread for me, so I just tied it randomly myself, and it ended up being you." Chen Zhuo took Shao Chengzhang's arm.
Shao Chengzhang looked down at her and said, "Is it possible that you are not the one who is trying to match us up? Instead, we are destined to be together and have been waiting for each other to come."
"Is that so..." Shen Zhuo pouted and thought. It's quite romantic to let Shao Chengzhang do this.
As they chatted, Shen Zhuo temporarily forgot about the box office. When she reached the fruit section, she looked at the dense crowd not far away and exclaimed, "Hurry, hurry, hurry over!" She pushed her cart and rushed towards the crowd.
Shao Chengzhang followed his gaze and saw the sign hanging above: Golden Pillow Durian 129 each...
Chen Zhuo beckoned him over. He laughed and shook his head. Sure enough, seeing the delicious food wiped out all his emotions. He strode over. Chen Zhuo sniffed and examined the boxes, then handed him two, asking him to weigh them. He then compared them and chose the heavier one. He finally managed to take both.
Then they came to the prepared food and bakery area. Chen Zhuo's eyes lit up again. He took one by one after trying it. Soon his trolley was full.
Shen Zhuo glanced at the cart. She was holding a large box of puffs in her hand and was a little hesitant: "Isn't it a bit too much? Should I buy it or not..." He raised his eyes to look at Shao Chengzhang, and their eyes met.
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Shen Zhuo asked.
"Rock, paper, scissors." said Shao Chengzhang.
The two people spoke in unison. Shen Zhuo laughed and then put his hands behind his back and started shouting commands.
Rock vs. Paper. Shen Zhuo loses.
Chen Zhuo: "No, no, no, best of three." Shao Chengzhang said with a smile.
Stone vs. Stone.
Scissors vs. Scissors.
Scissors vs. Paper. Shen Zhuo wins.
Stone vs. Stone.
Shen Zhuo thought for two seconds and made the final choice.
Rock vs. Papers. Shen Zhuo wins.
"Are you doing this on purpose?" Chen Zhuo noticed that the order of his punches was always the same. Was it a habit?
Shao Chengzhang didn't answer but asked, "Don't you want to eat?"
Shen Zhuo snorted and laughed: "It has to be you, how come you know everything?"
After strolling around the supermarket and buying several large bags of food, Chen Zhuo felt much better, no longer as listless as he had been in the morning. Shao Chengzhang glanced at the time. It was almost noon, and there would be traffic jams if they returned to the city. However, it would be midnight by the time they reached the shopping district. He asked her if they could have Japanese food for lunch.
Shen Zhuo had just tasted everything in the supermarket. She wasn't hungry at all, but she had no opinion on what to eat. Shao Chengzhang drove off to the restaurant.
Stuck in traffic, Chen Zhuo was bored and couldn't help but take out his mobile phone to check the data. It was still rising.
But maybe she has accepted this fact, and she seems to be calmer now.
Shao Chengzhang suddenly held her hand and said, "Brother-in-law will invite you to watch a talk show this afternoon, okay?"
"What?" Shen Zhuo laughed out loud. How come the limited-edition brother-in-law returned?
"Do you want to go?"
Shen Zhuo put away his phone, turned to look at him, and said with a smile: "Brother-in-law said he invited me to see it, so I'll go."
He didn't eat much at noon, but he didn't sleep enough last night. It was only a ten-minute drive from the restaurant to the business district where the talk show was held, but Chen Zhuo was already leaning back in his seat with his eyes narrowed.
"If you're tired, let's go home." Shao Chengzhang parked the car in the parking lot and rubbed Chen Zhuo's head.
"The tickets are already bought, let's go." Chen Zhuo covered his mouth with his hand and yawned.
Shao Chengzhang wiped the corners of her eyes with his fingertips, "Why do you cry every time you yawn?"
"I don't know, I've been like this since I was a kid. When I was little, my classmates always thought I was crying." Yawning makes me cry, and crying makes my nose runny. Shen Zhuo sniffed and said.
Shao Chengzhang smiled and said, "Just say you are a water baby, made of water."
Shen Zhuo glared at him: "Can you be more serious?"
"You like me even though I'm not serious."
"Who said that?" Chen Zhuo raised his eyebrows, "I only like serious people."
"You're just being stubborn." Shao Chengzhang chuckled softly and raised his hand to turn on the natural wind. "It's not time yet anyway, let's sleep in the car for a while."
Chen Zhuo turned sideways, facing him with her whole body, her hands folded together to support her face. She didn't sleep, just looked at him.
"What's wrong?" Shao Chengzhang also leaned sideways, leaned on the backrest, and looked at her straight.
"Just look at you." Chen Zhuo said, "You're pretty, but can't people look at you?"
"Yes, I can see it. I wish you could look at me more." Shao Chengzhang said with a smile.
Shao Chengzhang didn't put on any hair mud today, and his hair hung down in front of his forehead, making him look very young. Shen Zhuo found that he really could never get tired of looking at this face of his.
"Shao Chengzhang, thank you." Shen Zhuo said suddenly.
"Hmm? What are you thanking me for?" Shao Chengzhang looked at her with a slight smile.
"Thank you for all your arrangements today." Even though he was very busy, he still took time out to accompany her. She knew his intentions. Shen Zhuo smiled and said, "I'm much better now, really."
"Thank you, this is what I should do."
Shen Zhuo looked at him with emotion: "I have such good taste. I found such a good husband."
Shao Chengzhang laughed out loud: "My wife is really good at praising."
It was almost time, so Chen Zhuo took Shao Chengzhang's arm and walked into the mall. Coincidentally, there was a poster for a popular movie in the elevator. Chen Zhuo remembered that this movie had the most screenings at the moment, and his newly adjusted mentality collapsed again.
There was no one else in the elevator for the time being, so Shen Zhuo leaned his head against his shoulder and snorted, "Why do other people's movies make money, but mine don't? How can this be? Do you think I've been having it too easy lately, and I have to suffer the pain of losing money?"
After getting out of the elevator, Shao Chengzhang said, "There are wins and losses. Actually, I was thinking today whether we should go to the movies this afternoon to support "Like Her", but I was worried that you would feel bad."
"I finally understand what it means to be afraid of ropes after being bitten once. This investment is really a mental exercise. Now I realize how amazing you are. How could you dare to gamble on the VAM when Dreamora was initially losing money? You're so bold." Chen Zhuo sighed, "Maybe I won't be able to make a fortune in this lifetime."
"Everyone excels in different areas, and I can't be as accurate as you in judging scripts and artists and making them the best actor or actress. Besides, the success of something actually requires many conditions. Our own efforts and abilities are only part of it, but there are also some things we can't control. For example, the film and television industry is in a downturn right now. People have lost confidence in the industry's output and are reluctant to go to the cinema. These are things you can't control, so you can't blame yourself for not succeeding."
Shen Zhuo nodded: "I know, it seems that my core is still not stable enough."
"Just think of this investment as a stepping stone for you. Things will get better and better in the future."
As they reached the ticket gate, the two stopped talking. Shao Chengzhang had bought a front-row ticket, but this time, Shen Zhuo said he wouldn't sit in the front row at all, and instead pulled Shao Chengzhang to sit in the middle of the third row.
When she got home in the evening, Chen Zhuo fell asleep early. After washing up, she lay down straight, folded her hands on her lower abdomen, and tried to fall asleep. Shao Chengzhang was leaning against the headboard beside her, watching iPad.
Shen Zhuo couldn't help but ponder. She'd checked the data again half an hour ago, and it had already surpassed one million yuan at the box office. Shao Chengzhang had said one million a day meant thirty million in a month. Although everyone knew it wasn't calculated that way, it still made Shen Zhuo a little happy. It hadn't even reached half a million yuan at noon, but in less than twelve hours, it had already doubled. The predicted box office was even up to twelve million yuan.
She also saw a blogger's tweet on the social platform, strongly recommending everyone to watch the movie "Like Her". At that time, the likes collection exceeded 8,000, and it was quite popular. Perhaps it was due to big data, she saw a lot of recommended posts one after another, and she liked them one by one.
But it’s still not enough. Why can those terrible movies have hundreds of millions or even billions of box office revenue?
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
Shen Zhuo suddenly opened his eyes and said, "I think you are right. I can't blame myself."
She sat up suddenly, indignantly saying, "If you want to blame someone, blame the current market and the audience! Why do people like to watch those terrible movies? The plots are so utterly rubbish, yet they still enjoy watching them! They plagiarize and steal ideas, yet they still praise them... It's like bad money driving out good money, and wild boars can't handle fine chaff! Don't you agree?!"
"Yes." Shao Chengzhang nodded in agreement, "Wife, it's time to go to bed. Don't be angry. It's not good for your health."
Chen Zhuo groaned heavily, but she didn't say anything. She just threw back the quilt and got out of bed.
He quickly asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Drink some water!" Chen Zhuo replied. "I'm really irritable and angry right now!"
“…”
Chen Zhuo's mood is not very stable and is always jumping back and forth.
After Shao Chengzhang finally calmed down, he might retaliate again after a while, and then say to him with a sad face, "If I could go back to six months ago, I would definitely not buy this movie... Or I would go to the temple to pray. I don't expect to make money anymore, just getting back my investment is enough..."
On Sunday night, the box office of "Like Her" exceeded 2.5 million. However, this is of little use, because this figure is destined to be a long way from breaking even.
"I don't know what I'm doing. I finally made some money and lost it just like that. Can't I just run the studio well? Why do I have to switch to investment? I don't know anything?!" Shen Zhuo fell into despair.
A week later, Shen Zhuo finally accepted the truth. She stopped talking about the box office figures with Shao Chengzhang, as if the incident had been suddenly erased. Although she rationally told herself to accept it, she subconsciously felt very sad.
I'd wake up around 5 or 6 in the morning, then never fall back asleep again. I'd get up around 8:30, then go to work and come home. I couldn't sleep well, and I couldn't enjoy my meals. I'd only eat a couple of bites before saying I couldn't eat anymore. I stopped sharing fun things with Shao Chengzhang before bed, often getting lost in my thoughts while scrolling through my phone.
She wasn't fat to begin with, but she'd already lost six or seven pounds in the past two weeks, and the little flesh on her face had completely vanished. When Shao Chengzhang held her in his arms at night, he felt like her waist wasn't much wider than his hands.
Shao Chengzhang felt so distressed seeing Shen Zhuo like this that he even worried that she might have mental problems.
Just when he decided to take her to see a doctor, Jiang Jun brought good news.
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