Chapter 84 – Is birthday really happy
After taking the highest domestic single-week box office record of 1.5 billion in its first week,《Different Roads》took in another 500 million in its second week. The film’s follow-up was so long-lasting that even the constant release of new films failed to shake its position as the single-day box office champion.
 
《Different Roads》used a step-by-step accounting distribution model. The longer it is in cinemas, the higher the percentage of the cinemas can allocate. Combined with the fact that the attendance rate never dropped significantly, the movie’s running time was spontaneously extended. Judging from the current records, it is just around the corner for 《Different Roads》 to break the total box office record of domestic movies. In this case, the publicity and development team also has a new motivation. Soon, the crew started the second round of road shows during the screening.
 
Unfortunately, the third day of the second round of the road shows was An Xumo’s birthday.
 
An Xumo himself did not feel anything. He has long ceased to be the eager little boy back then, and his special feelings for birthdays have faded a lot. Although he had gradually increased contact with fans recently, An Xumo has little idea of his identity as a traffic idol. If it wasn’t for Tang Tang telling him about his fans’ support, he wouldn’t have been aware of the fact that fans would spend money for their idols on their birthdays.
 
“…… so many?” An Xumo was a little surprised. “It’s all because of my birthday?”
 
“Yes,” Tang Tang laid out the data one by one, “the newspaper pages of eighteen domestic newspapers, outdoor billboards in eighteen foreign cities, eighteen charity projects, and the giant LED caption on Waitan in S City……”
 
The more An Xumo listened, the more frightened he was. He somewhat said helplessly, “It’s just a birthday. It’s not worth spending so much money, right?”
 
“This is your coming of age birthday ah. Of course, it will look grand.” Tang Tang went through the whole information, “If not for the crew’s arrangement, the company would have planned to give you a birthday party for fans. Half a year ago, there are fans who asked about the plan.”
 
An Xumo paused, “Then if it didn’t work out, it would have let down the fans?”
 
Tang Tang was amused by his statement, “What makes you think so?”
 
An Xumo pointed to the lists of supports.
 
“Let’s put it this way,” Tang Tang explained after laughing, “Birthday parties are indeed an opportunity for people who have traffic to consolidate their popularity and give back to their fans. This is also quite popular in the circle but not doing it can never be said to be a fault.”
 
“What’s more, you can’t get away because of Ma Lao’s several billions worth of movies. Fans are now more enthusiastic than the crew at the box office count, so how can you feel you’ve let them down?”
 
An Xumo is still at a loss, “But this……isn’t it all something what I’m supposed to do?”
 
“Yeah,” Tang Tang said. “You work to attract them so what fans want to see most is also the way you work hard.”
 
An Xumo did not speak, his expression was slightly stunned.
 
Tang Tang looked at him curiously, “Xiao Mo, what’s the matter with you?”
 
An Xumo was silent for a while before he said softly, “I just didn’t expect…… it turns out that just by doing your job well, you can be liked by others.”
 
Tang Tang was going to say something but when she thought about it and recalled An Xumo’s family background, she swallowed those words back.
 
She reached out and patted the boy’s shoulder, silently comforting him.
 
An Xumo smiled and asked, “Then if I continue to receive better movies or other resources…… will they be happy?”
 
“Definitely,” Tang Tang said with certainty. “The traffic label is only temporary and there are no fans that do not want their idol to become a real powerhouse. Box office, rewards, ratings, films, and television works, fans will even care more than the artists themselves.”
 
“Good.” An Xumo nodded.
 
“I will work hard.”
 
–
On his coming of age birthday, An Xumo’s studio released a new set of intense pictures in collaboration with a leading fashion magazine. In addition, the studio also included a series of benefits activities, including signed magazines and handwritten blessing cards from An Xumo, as a way to give something back to his fans.
 
It wasn’t only the fans and the team who went through the trouble of celebrating his birthday. Since An Xumo was participating in the promotion of his movie on his birthday, the team prepared a big cake for him. The promotional activities themselves were very busy, and An Xumo thought that his blessings would only take up a little time. However, to his surprise, the crew treated him like the main character of the day, and most of the activities were centered on him, celebrating his birthday while promoting the movie.
 
An Xumo only thought that this was the crew’s consideration so he didn’t think too much about it. In addition, everyone present also sent their best wishes for him.
 
The main crew was basically there, only Lin Rui was not present due to scheduling issues. An Xumo realized with hindsight that since the film’s premiere, he hadn’t seen the film emperor.
 
With the movie promotion and birthday celebrations, having been busy for nearly a whole day, this is still the first birthday that An Xumo has received so many blessings. It wasn’t until the promotional activities were about to end that Tang Tang, who came in a hurry, found an opportunity to pull the person alone over to ask a few questions.
 
“An unarranged gift?” An Xumo was a bit puzzled.
 
Tang Tang nodded and lit up the picture on the screen for him to see, “This is a gift sent to various media in your name. At first, when the editor-in-chief of Ming Entertainment sent a message over, I thought they had sent it to the wrong person. As a result, more and more media sent messages later, and many of the media present also received gifts, and they were all of great value.”
 
An Xumo asked, “Brother Shen and the others don’t know either?”
 
“They didn’t know either.” Tang Tang said, “Moreover, with our team’s funding, we definitely can’t afford a gift of this size. Even if we report it to the company for approval, there’s not much chance of success.”
 
An Xumo thought of his own supports, “Could it be done by fans?”
 
“No,” Tang Tang directly shook her head. “We were the first to rule out this possibility, like fans, the drama crew can also support to it. But this kind of resources and contacts in the industry is absolutely impossible for fans to have access to.”
 
As far as she knows, this must be an arrangement made by someone in the circle.
 
“But who would come to give such an expensive gift without even saying hello ah?” Tang Tang really couldn’t understand.
 
Hearing her say this, An Xumo had a faint thought.
 
“The person who sent the gift……did they leave any other information?” An Xumo asked tentatively, “For example, whom assistant is the person giving the gift……”
 
“Huh? No, ai.” Tang Tang was a little confused, “Those who gave it to the media on the spot were on-site staff, the fashion magazines and the like that were not present were delivered to the door by the courier company, leaving only your name and no other information.”
 
An Xumo also paused.
 
Then……it can’t be brother, right.
 
He thought, if it was his brother’s plan, the other party will certainly show his identity, and then reveal to others the intimate relationship between the two.
 
“Forget it; let’s not talk about it first. Go back and check it slowly.” Tang Tang said, “Is the publicity over? Let’s go back to the company first. Brother Shen has prepared a lot of sweet honey for you after asking the doctor, the kind that you can eat even after dinner time.”
 
Fortunately, today’s promotion is in S City and he returned to the company about an hour or so. Pushing open the door of the office, Tang Tang looked at the empty room and was a little surprised, “Yi,^[1]expression of surprise how come Brother Shen and the others are not here……”

An Xumo followed her in and saw the desk in the room had been cleaned up and was covered with sweet fragrant meals. Thousands of layers of cheese drenched with tempting honey, sweet-scented osmanthus honey brewed in warm water, and many other delicious pastries written all over it. In between the pile of honey desserts, there was also an extremely delicate three-layer cake with eighteen colorful candles set up on top.
 
“Didn’t I say there was only honey water……?” Tang Tang muttered suspiciously, “It’s not like you can eat too much at night……”
 
An Xumo did not hear Tang Tang’s words, his attention was completely attracted by the cake.
 
Tang Tang looked back and saw him staring intently at the largest cake in the middle. She called out to the person, “Xiao Mo?”
 
It was only then did An Xumo come back to his senses, “…… Hmm?”
 
“Do you want to eat this cake?” Tang Tang asked.
 
It’s possible to make an exception today but can’t eat too much. Otherwise, with Xiao Mo’s digestive system, he would still be definitely uncomfortable.
 
She was a little confused. The team clearly stated before the discussion that they only prepared honey to nourish the stomach. In order for Xiao Mo not to have cravings, she deliberately bought only triangular-shaped cupcakes.
 
And yet, where did this big cake come from?
 
“Oh,” An Xumo smiled, “I just thought that the brand of this cake is a bit familiar.”
 
Tang Tang was puzzled, “Brand?”
 
An Xumo pointed to the decoration on the candle and read out the French word above. “This is a Belgian dessert brand. It’s quite rare to see this dessert in China. I don’t remember having this in S City.”
 
Tang Tang was silly stunned, “B-Belgium?”
 
There are so many cake shops in S City. Who is so idle and how can they go to Europe to buy cake?!
 
An Xumo looked at the cake, his voice tinged with a touch of nostalgia, “When I was young, I have eaten these sweets……it’s probably more than ten years ago and I can still remember the taste up to now.”
 
For more than ten years……wasn’t Xiao Mo just five or six years old at that time? How special is its family’s candy that can make people remember for so long? Tang Tang was full of questions, none of which could be answered.
 
“Is this family’s candy very delicious?”
 
An Xumo curved the corners of his lips, “Very sweet.”
 
That is the sweetness that has supported him through these ten years.
 
An Xumo walked over and saw eighteen colored candles, supported by transparent brackets on top of the cake without destroying its shape. He stretched out his hand and used a pair of small scissors on the side to cut off the topmost plastic seal. Soon, the candles were exposed to the air and burned by itself.
 
The flame flickered and the warm light reflected on An Xumo’s face. Tang Tang played 《Happy Birthday》 on her phone and sang softly along with the rhythm.
 
“Happy birthday to you……“^[2]Written in English in the raw. I’ll use bold for English words from now on.
 
After singing the song, Tang Tang stopped An Xumo who was going to blow out the candles, “Make a wish first, Xiao Mo!”
 
“Ah,” An Xumo smiled embarrassedly, “I forgot.”
 
He thought about it, “I already made a wish during the day…… is it possible to make a second wish now?”
 
“During the day?”
 
“Yes, the crew’s cake. I wished for the box office to continue to rise.”
 
Tang Tang laughed in spite of herself, “That kind of wish does not count; you have to make your own wish ah.”
 
An Xumo looked at the cake, “Then I hope, after the age of eighteen, I can find a new self.”
 
He said softly, “I want to learn…… to live for myself.”
 
Tang Tang originally wanted to remind him that wishes could not be said but hearing An Xumo’s last words, she was completely unconcerned about these details.
 
“Thinking of it this way…… it’s really great Xiao Mo.” Tang Tang covered her mouth for a moment and took a deep breath before saying, “I used to think, including Brother Shen, the others were saying that you always look lonely, and don’t have anything you want. That is, what you accomplish is the expectations of others but you don’t have the time to be genuinely happy.”
 
“The way you looked at Brother Zhou before, made people feel quite worried.” Tang Tang’s voice was intermittent as if trying to suppress something. “Later, when they came up to mention that plan, we all felt that it would be detrimental to you. I was worried at that time that you could not stand being treated like this……”
 
She covered her eyes; her voice could wring out water, and repeated incoherently, “It’s really, really great that you can think about yourself……”
 
An Xumo reached out and gave her a light hug.
 
“Don’t cry,” he said with a smile, as soon as Tang Tang cries, she will cry herself to tears.
 
Tang Tang took the tissue from the person’s hand and wiped her tears absent-mindedly before breaking into laughter.
 
“Alas,” she sighed, “I really, I feel that I have taken you for a long time, and I also become a mother fan……”
 
She hadn’t finished her words yet but she saw the boy in front of her suddenly freeze.
 
Tang Tang was taken aback and followed An Xumo’s line of sight, looking over.
 
They were standing in front of the desk with the blown candles, their sides facing the door and their line of sight was mostly blocked. Just now, the birthday song on the phone kept ringing again that they couldn’t hear the sound that came from the door.
 
A man in a long trench coat is standing there with dark eyes and a handsome face. Even the light of the night did not weaken the least bit of his elegant demeanor.
But perhaps the night is too heavy that it seemed to be pushed and intruded without permission from the man at the door, engulfing the light and sweetness of the room in an instant.
 
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The author has something to say:
 
Xiao Mo finally accepted the situation and move on ai, and then it…… _(:3」∠)_