The Villain Slaps The Protagonist’s Halo - Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Love is a Green Light

The celebratory atmosphere on the internet continued until the movie was released. The indescribable explosive special effects, a departure from the usual dark storytelling style, and the exhilarating soundtrack quickly became the focal points of discussion.

Upon seeing the first-day box office and attendance rates, Nie Jia no longer worried about the film's sustainability. Even if there were no profits, he could repay the money from the gambling agreement. By then, even if Lin Haoran received the money, it would be of no help to the Lin family.

The craze for the movie "World's End" continued to escalate. Initially, Nie Jia didn't pay much attention to promotion due to insufficient funds, but later, when Shi Chen saved him a considerable amount on electricity bills, Nie Jia reconsidered investing in publicity. After the film's release, with soaring box office and overwhelming acclaim, audiences transformed into an endless stream of praise, and Nie Jia couldn't be bothered anymore.

However, during the hot screening period, although the box office surpassed other movies in the same period, the audience's viewing experiences were somewhat polarized.

The unprecedented exquisite special effects perfectly portrayed a peculiar interstellar era, delighting the audience. What made it even more remarkable was that the plot was not overshadowed by the special effects. The entire film was intense, making it an impeccable commercial film that could shine internationally. While one group of viewers praised it endlessly, another group felt a sense of heartache.

The film was filled with meaningless deaths. Even Tong Hai, the male lead played by Tong Hai, sacrificed abruptly two-thirds into the movie without any foreshadowing.

As the viewpoint character, Tong Hai's death left the audience in the theater convinced that the protagonist would surely come back to life until the end of the movie, realizing it was genuine death.

Not only Tong Hai's character, but other roles also met their demise without discrimination, whether they deserved it or not. It was unclear whether the director was playing with narrative techniques or intentionally designed it this way, leaving the audience shocked and saddened.

"'World's End' is truly explosively good, but honestly, people with strong empathy, especially those suffering from depression or manic disorders, should avoid watching it. The overall tone of the film is too oppressive, death is everywhere, and the brightness at the end welcomes despair. The dark side remains pitch black with no hope, no turning point. The film gives a sense of powerlessness, as if sitting on a track, moving forward helplessly, no matter how hard you shout, unable to change the fate of those characters destined to die alone."

"The film dedicates a significant portion to depicting the protagonist's group's hatred and resistance against the darkness. I thought their process would be arduous and passionate, and justice would eventually triumph over evil. But no. We sing about the immortality of justice, yet the justice in the film dies without a trace. It seems to foreshadow the death of worldly justice and goodness, which is why the film is called 'World's End.' Without careful consideration, it feels painful."

"The screenwriter is Nie Jia, and honestly, if it weren't for the recent news of Nie Jia's marriage, I would be really worried about his mental state. How could he write such a depressing story? It's a kind of mental abuse. Now it seems Nie Jia probably wanted to break his previous creative pattern, considering his previous works were always about enduring justice."

"The entire film has a duration of 137 minutes, featuring 12 main characters, and not a single person laughs throughout. It's really too oppressive."

As the film gained more popularity, the dark emotions within "World's End" sparked numerous discussions. Most viewers accepted and agreed with the darkness, understanding that the world is not all bright, and darkness is omnipresent. Nie Jia's expression, perhaps, was just a reflection of reality.

However, a small fraction expressed dissatisfaction, questioning why they had to endure such a heavy and oppressive ending.

During promotional runs with the main cast, Han Manny was asked by the media about these questions. Why choose such a suppressed ending?

"Light welcomes despair, and darkness remains pitch black. This phrase from netizens summarizes it well," Han Manny said, smiling at the camera. "Although I am the director, I am just one of the staff chosen by Nie Jia. This is Nie Jia's work, and I think he wants to convey this message. We always say justice may be delayed but never absent. But the delayed justice is no longer necessary, and those few minutes you are absent might be a lifetime for some people. Justice will eventually defeat evil, but this is just a beautiful expectation of the world. It's an expectation because it doesn't actually exist in reality. In the world we face every day, every moment, 'justice' is consumed, just like in the film. The existence and disappearance of each person may not necessarily have meaning."

Han Manny's explanation was widely shared separately, making people realize the many helplessness in reality and, seemingly, leaving them more disappointed.

"Despair is boundless, but so is hope," Shi Chen said earnestly, his gaze gentle as he spoke to Nie Jia. "You were and still are the hope for many people, including me."

In the quiet restaurant, with no one around except for Shi Chen, whom he loved, Nie Jia smiled with relief and obediently ordered some dessert. Shi Chen also smiled, dug out a spoonful of dessert, and fed it to Nie Jia.

Then, Nie Jia started coughing violently.

"Oh, wife? Jia Jia!" Shi Chen exclaimed, rushing over and giving Nie Jia a resounding slap on the back.

Pressing against the table, Nie Jia coughed, his face turning red. He suddenly spit out a platinum plain ring.

Ye Ying and Ten Li, watching from the shadows, couldn't bear to look. "Isn't the boss too tacky? Putting a ring in a dessert, what was he thinking?"

Ten Li also expressed disdain. "Exactly, he's been married to Mr. Nie for so long, and only now he thinks of giving a ring."

Nie Jia could only smile wryly at this and, with a face red from coughing, looked helplessly at Shi Chen. "Who gave you this idea? Was it Ye Ying?"

Ye Ying instantly bared her teeth. "I'm not that tacky!"

Shi Chen said, "Learned it from watching TV. People on TV just bite it out with one mouthful, why did you swallow it?"

He gently massaged Nie Jia's back, afraid he might have hurt him while patting. After rubbing it, he returned to his seat, cleaned the ring, and handed it to Nie Jia, asking, "Do you like it?"

Nie Jia reached out to take it, but Shi Chen dodged for a moment before gently and carefully placing the ring on Nie Jia's ring finger, just right.

A plain, undecorated ring. This was the third time Nie Jia received one. His cheeks flushed slightly as he looked up and asked, "What about yours?"

Shi Chen took out a velvet box from his pocket and handed it to Nie Jia, silently watching as Nie Jia put the wedding ring on him, his eyes also filled with a hint of blush.

The two smiled at each other, both looking delighted.

After the end of the screening period, the domestic total box office for "World's End" reached 2.4 billion. In a year marked by the explosive growth of domestic films, 2.4 billion in box office might not be considered exceptionally outstanding. If the special effects were outsourced to a studio, the profit might not be substantial after deducting the profit-sharing. However, Nie Jia was the producer, distributor, and investor himself. The dazzling special effects cost, which was essentially zero when considering Shi Chen's and a few computer's electricity bills, provided him with ample funds. Apart from the theater's share and the main creative team's remuneration, the rest of the profits were his. After repaying Lin Haoran's money, he could provide sufficient working capital for other projects in the company and even afford to buy a few yachts for Shi Chen.

Unfortunately, Lin's family was currently in a crisis. At this critical moment when they needed money the most, the investor for this gambling agreement had changed to Lin Xian, with no relation to Lin Haoran.

Facing Lin's crisis, Shi Yiyuan accidentally learned about the gambling agreement between Lin Haoran and Nie Jia. Now that the box office for "World's End" was so considerable, she requested Nie Jia to repay the money to assist Lin's family. However, it backfired, and Lin Xian used the contract to slap her face.

The agreement was originally signed by Lin Haoran, but now Lin Xian's name was on the contract. Shi Yiyuan instantly understood that her father had biased towards Lin Xian, willing to sacrifice Lin's family!

"Do you feel angry?" Lin Xian, after returning from the company, went to check on Lulu, who was doing her homework. When Shi Yiyuan came to find him, he emerged from the study in a suit, looking at Shi Yiyuan with mocking eyes. "When you sided with Lin Haoran against Dad, I was also very angry."

He patted his left leg, "Do you know how much my leg hurts when it's rainy and gloomy?"

Shi Yiyuan was angry, but she didn't show it. She could endure it better than Lin Haoran. If she hadn't married into Xia City back then, she would have been the head of the Shi family by now. How could she easily succumb to Lin Xian? "Did Lin's family have something to do with this?"

"So what if it did? What can you do to me now?" Lin Xian bent slightly, getting closer to her. "I learned everything from you. Do you remember how you pressured me back then? I'm just copying what I saw."

Shi Yiyuan remained silent and gave Lin Xian a resounding slap.

Suddenly, Lulu rushed out, a five-year-old child with eyes filled with hatred, staring coldly at Shi Yiyuan and saying, "I'm going to ask my great-great-grandfather to kill you!"

Lin Xian lifted her up and comforted her for a few words. Shi Yiyuan sneered, "Lulu is indeed a well-trainable child. However, whether Dad is still there when she grows up is uncertain."

She seemed to imply something, coldly leaving.

Lin Xian watched her leave, as if he was observing prey stepping into a trap.

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