"Those Miserable Years of Youth" had a total investment of over 1 million yuan.
It was considered a low-budget film.
But Liu Yue and the director poured lots of heart and soul into it.
If this movie could succeed, it would not only open up the market for youth films set in school.
It could also make a big splash for their company, which would make it much easier to secure investments in the future.
That's why they put a lot of effort into the promotion.
Firstly, all signed artists from the company, including Chen Xueyi, the second shareholder, actively promoted on Weibo.
Then, they started campaigning fervently on various big forums, making it trending.
Zhou Qingyue also got to work.
She changed into a few outfits.
Some were mature, some were pure.
She took a lot of photos.
Then posted them all to the group chats from her high school and middle school.
Zhou Qingyue's beauty was undisputed.
In high school, no one could outshine her except for An Nuonuo.
So naturally, she had a lot of loyal admirers.
When she posted the photos, she quickly received lots of praise.
"Wow, our superstar looks so beautiful."
"That temperament, that figure, if she were my girlfriend, I'd be willing to live a hundred years, with a fortune of billions."
"Well, looks like the dude above is not going to take any losses."
...
The group chats were immediately buzzing with Zhou Qingyue's photos.
Zhou Qingyue, seeing all the praises, remained emotionless.
Because, Jiang Xu didn't respond.
But she still recorded a sweet message and sent it out.
'Thank you all for your support, "Those Miserable Years of Youth" starring me will be released the day after tomorrow, I hope you guys can go to the cinema to support, love you.'
There wasn't much response in the original middle school group chat.
Most of male classmates stated they would support her.
But the high school group chat exploded.
"Wait, isn't this the novel written by Jiang Xu?"
"Did they actually turn it into a TV drama?"
"How much did this cost?"
"Are you two dating? Why else would you be allowed to act in a film adapted from Jiang Xu's novel?"
Several people began to tag Jiang Xu and Zhou Qingyue.
Some of male classmates decided not to support them if they were dating.
Jiang Xu saw all these messages in the group chat.
It didn't make him happy, it just annoyed him.
His own novel had been messed up by Zhou Qingyue.
At that moment, Zhou Qingyue wouldn't say anything she shouldn't.
She firmly stated that there was no relation between her and Jiang Xu.
The rights to the novel were purchased by the company; she was only performing.
With that clarified, many more male classmates pledged their support.
Some female classmates also said they would support her.
But whether they would ultimately go or not was another story.
Zhou Qingyue then sweet talked the group chat members to help her promote the movie.
She also mentioned that she would visit the school after the start of the school year.
At that time, everyone could exchange movie tickets for her private signed photos.
Upon hearing the words "private photos", most of male classmates got excited.
The group chat was abuzz with discussions.
Watching this, Zhou Qingyue sighed in relief.
At least this could promote the film a bit and contribute to the box office.
Then she turned off her phone and started packing.
She needed to promote the film in the Capital city tomorrow.
Then there were other major cities included in the promotional tour including Jiang City.
In fact, her school was on the route too.
Liu Yue had already negotiated with the school administration and got their approval.
Having a star graduate from a school could also increase the school's reputation.
The next day, An Nuonuo arrived on time.
Jiang Xu gave her the red envelope.
She now knew that Jiang Xu was rich.
And after their trip to Hua city together, they had become much more close.
She didn't make a fuss, but gratefully accepted it.
However, upon learning that they would not be able to sell rice anymore, she felt a bit down.
Didn't that mean they wouldn't be able to come every day?
But her worries were unnecessary.
Jiang Xu, who had his heart set on this, had already thought of an excuse.
He pulled out a pile of senior three practice exercises.
With a stern face, he said, "Before school starts, you have to come here every day and finish these exercises."
"Oh, I get it," An Nuonuo happily replied.
Then she obediently sat down and started solving the problems.
Jiang Xu felt great seeing her so obedient.
He wished she could become a bit more obedient.
But that wasn't possible for now.
He had to wait until senior three graduation, for the restriction to be lifted.
Even if An Nuonuo were more obedient now, Jiang Xu wouldn't dare to do anything.
He would instantly get shut down.
In the following days, Jiang Xu spent most of his time writing frantically.
Twelve or thirteen hours a day.
An average rate of six thousand words per hour.
He could pump out seventy to eighty thousand words a day.
This speed was not top-tier.
But for Jiang Xu, it was already his limit.
Going any faster would be too much for him to handle.
Just after six o'clock one evening, Jiang Xu had just finished eating when An Nuonuo arrived.
She had gone back home to take a bath.
Changing into a blue high-waist long skirt.
She had grown taller this summer, now reaching 168 cm.
By senior three, she could probably reach 170 cm.
Her dark, soft, long hair tied up sleekly.
Her fine hair strands wrapped around his heart.
Without makeup, she already made countless boys swoon.
At this moment, a phrase naturally came to Jiang Xu's mind.
Make a killing in three years, no loss in ten.
Shaking his head, he brushed aside those strange thoughts.
Jiang Xu, you must hang in there.
Just wait until next year.
He walked over, curiously asking, "Why are you here again?"
An Nuonuo blushed as she took out two movie tickets, "It starts at seven, want to go?"
Jiang Xu took a closer look.
Well, isn't it "Those Miserable Years of Youth"?
To be honest, he didn't really want to go.
Mainly because the star was Zhou Qingyue.
Jiang Xu didn't really have any feelings for her initially.
But the words she said to An Nuonuo last time made him start to dislike Zhou Qingyue again.
If he didn't know about that incident.
This silly girl An Nuonuo, after listening to Zhou Qingyue, would maintain distance from him, wouldn't that make him devastated?
An Nuonuo realized Jiang Xu's reluctance, and she softly said, "I really like this story.
It doesn't matter who the actors are."
Jiang Xu chuckled, "Alright, let's go."
After all, it was the first time An Nuonuo had invited him to go watch a movie.
Even if they were showing a story about two maggots, Jiang Xu would still go.
"Wait a moment, I'm going to take a bath."
While Jiang Xu was taking a bath, An Nuonuo took the initiative to wash the dishes, including the pot.
She also cleaned up the living room.
Seeing that Jiang Xu still hadn't come out, she went into the bedroom and started tidying up.
Partway through the cleaning, something dropped from the desk.
When An Nuonuo picked it up, her face flushed...