Chapter 246: Chapter 246

"There’s only half an hour left to the movie premiere. Why hasn’t anyone checked the arrangements outside?"

"Mary, we only have so few people right now. Pressuring us more won’t help."

"Ugh, forget it. I’ll go check myself!"

Mary put down her work backstage and personally went outside to take a look around.

Today is the premiere of the movie "Customized Girlfriend", but the turnout isn’t very promising.

The main reason is Marilyn’s movie "Future Travel" is also premiering today, and all the notable media in Aethelgard have been invited next door. Our media viewing area isn’t even one-fifth full.

What can we do? It’s our own fault for not having money; we spent everything on the movie production. Our publicity isn’t as extensive, the event isn’t as grand, and even the staff contracted for today’s event dare to show attitude, as if they’re convinced our movie is doomed.

Mary, filled with anger, returned backstage and whispered to Anna Thornton: "This Quinn Locke is really unreliable. What kind of PR team did he hire? Everyone’s looking down on us. Once the event ends today, I’ll settle with them and send them away. No extra movie tickets. When our movie turns out to be the dark horse, they’ll have regrets."

Anna, who was getting her makeup done for the stage, nodded while the makeup artist switched brushes: "Alright!"

"Anna, do you agree with me doing this?"

"I also think the publicity was inadequate. It seems like nobody knows about our premiere today."

"We obviously don’t have the money to bombard ads like others do."

"Less money has its own way of promotion, but whether or not there’s effort can be seen, we must think of other ways."

"Anna, actually, you don’t need to worry too much. I went outside, and quite a few fans showed up for us today."

"Probably Pop’s fans, right?"

As the most popular idol in Starlight Entertainment right now, Florian Hollis, even if he has other work today, whether he can make it to the premiere after finishing is uncertain. However, his name alone is enough to rally fans.

"Oh right, Anna, earlier I went out and received two bouquets for you."

Mary placed a bouquet of red roses and a bouquet of blue roses in front of Anna Thornton: "Guess who sent them?"

Anna Thornton directly picked up the card from the red roses, glanced at it, and read the name: "Finn Grant?"

"Don’t you feel like Young Master Grant has been quite low-key recently? Before, he’d send hundreds of flower arrangements, making my hands sore from tearing name tags. This time, he only sent a bouquet, finally sparing us the trouble. The flower language of red roses is ’I love you every day’. Do you think Young Master Grant has turned into a literary youth now?"

Anna Thornton didn’t comment, glanced at the blue roses, and asked: "What’s the flower language of blue roses?"

"Love that’s impossible to achieve!"

"President Sterling."

Anna Thornton snorted coldly: "He sure knows himself well."

Since Conrad Sterling learned that Anna Thornton had lost a child, he hadn’t actively contacted her.

Anyone unaware might think Anna Thornton was too heartless, especially since the servants at Sterling Residence saw her living there with ease but never visited President Sterling even once during his hospital stay.

But she and Conrad Sterling know well who truly owes whom.

If that man had any sense of shame, he’d never expect anything from Anna Thornton in this lifetime.

Four years ago, when she needed these most, where was he?

"Wow, Anna, you look stunning today! In my twenty-something years of life, I finally understand the meaning of beauty being deadly!" Henry Willow sneaked backstage into the makeup room, showering Anna Thornton with exaggerated praise.

Immediately, he noticed the blue roses lying dead in the trash can under the makeup table.

Though he didn’t know what happened between Conrad Sterling and Anna Thornton leading to their strained relationship, Henry Willow couldn’t help but feel sorry for Young Master Sterling’s sentiment.

Not long ago, Young Master Sterling, despite his serious injuries, bravely stormed The Grant Residence to bring Pop out.

Naturally, for the sake of Henry’s safety, they didn’t inform Anna Thornton about this afterward.

Anna Thornton also didn’t know about another thing: that day, Conrad Sterling and Finn Grant had an argument, followed by a particularly childish bet.

Henry Willow couldn’t reveal the wager, but he felt Young Master Sterling’s chances of winning weren’t great!

The premiere began, and Anna Thornton and the main creators took turns going on stage.

Since Florian Hollis hadn’t arrived yet, the fans weren’t particularly enthusiastic.

They had to stir up the excitement themselves, not only with the lead actors giving their all but also with Henry Willow, currently the general manager of Starlight Entertainment, going on stage personally to perform. To ramp up the atmosphere, he even covered his mouth and showcased some beatboxing.

The media area in the front rows wasn’t very populated. If Young Master Willow’s performance could earn a headline, that wouldn’t be bad!

Finally, as the audience’s interest peaked, Henry Willow stepped down and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"In situations , you should’ve informed me in advance. I would’ve paid for hundreds of performing extras, crying when needed, laughing when needed, to avoid all this hassle!"

"Young Master Willow, you might not know, but Anna and Director Lucas insisted on not hiring extras; they wanted to see the most genuine audience reaction," Mary explained to him.

A movie’s true quality cannot be faked through audience feedback.

That’s why the screening segment during the premiere was the most nerve-wracking moment for Quinn Locke, Anna Thornton, and the main creators; every one of them held a tissue in hand to wipe sweat off their palms.

Fortunately, the final results turned out very well.

"Customized Girlfriend" is a light comedy with a sci-fi future theme, a genre rarely shot domestically, and considered an innovative attempt. Combining sci-fi and comedy, it delivered a laugh every five minutes, with an escalating storyline that left the audience wanting more even after the movie ended.

This was evident from the increasingly loud cheers when they went on stage again; most attendees were Florian Hollis’ fans. Yet, even when he wasn’t on screen, the audience consistently laughed and applauded, proving the acting truly won them over.

For the main creators, it was their first time seeing the complete work, and Mary finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling secure for Anna.

She nudged Quinn Locke beside her: "Impressive, Director Lucas."

Quinn Locke scratched his head sheepishly: "I’m not sure yet."

"It’s really good, ask Young Master Willow if you don’t believe me!"

"Why didn’t you release the main film earlier, so I didn’t have to warm up the crowd?" Henry Willow joked.

"It wasn’t intentional. I, as the director, still felt uncertain. A film’s success relies on many factors, with luck and capital playing a huge role."

Luck and capital are precisely what Quinn Locke lacks the most.

Even seeing the positive audience reaction, he couldn’t relax like Mary.

Until Florian Hollis arrived later, pushing the premiere to its climax and once again inviting all main creators on stage.

The host began to cue the popular guest’s talent show: "Florian Hollis is late due to work commitments today, but he has prepared a surprise for all the waiting fans by personally writing lyrics for the theme song of our movie, ’The Kind of Girl I Want to Love’, and will perform it live. Could we give him a round of applause?"

"Florian Hollis, I love you!"

"You are the kind of boy we want to love!!!"

Receiving warm love from the fans, Florian Hollis waved for everyone to briefly quiet down.

Then, he glanced toward Anna Thornton’s direction: "Everyone knows I turned eighteen this year, finally at the age to date. This song is written based on my own yearning for love. You’ve always wanted to know what type of girl I like, haven’t you?"

A fan screeched from below the stage: "Who is it?"

Mary and Kevin Jacobs, in the manager’s position, simultaneously covered their chests nervously and stared at Florian Hollis.

"The answer might be found in the song—and it could be one of you!"

Florian Hollis was quite the flirt, stirring up another round of ’Ahhhh~’ among fans.

Mary and Kevin Jacobs nearly jumped out of their skins hearing this, but finally could breathe a sigh of relief, exhaling concurrently in helplessness.

Florian Hollis playfully stuck out his tongue, feeling happy about the teasing: "Hehe..."

But just as he was about to sing, suddenly, there was an issue with the sound equipment, preventing the music from playing.

Almost at the same time, the microphone malfunctioned—producing no sound.

Mary hurriedly went to find out what was happening and discovered it was a technical fault. Dıscover more novels at novel·fıre·net

"What’s going on? Today’s the premiere and on such an important day the equipment is problematic?"

Mary confronted the company hosting today’s event, only to find out they were even more defiant: "How was I supposed to know your event would take so long, with the little money given!"

"What does that mean? We paid according to market value, looking down on us?"

"If you think we didn’t do well enough, then we won’t do it anymore."

"Hey, our premiere isn’t over yet. You’re all leaving with your staff, what about our event?"

"That’s your problem!"