Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Suppressing Emotions
Song Shiye watched incredulously, walked up, and patted Qin Feng on the shoulder: "Seriously, I can’t with you. What’s so funny about this?"
Qin Feng was laughing so hard tears streamed down his face. He wiped the damp corners of his eyes, took a deep breath, and finally calmed down: "You wouldn’t get it. My laughter just got completely triggered."
Sang Ning shook her head, slightly disdainful: "Have you ever thought about transitioning into a career as a comedian?"
At this moment, the PD walked over and handed a card to Sang Ning: "Congratulations on earning the privilege to stay in the Dome Starry Sky Tent!"
Sang Ning took the card. It wasn’t particularly remarkable, just a graphic of the Dome Tent design. After receiving the card, she heard the PD cue up the next phase: "The warm-up game has ended. Up next is tonight’s relaxation and entertainment time. We’ve prepared a blockbuster movie for everyone to watch together in this romantic setting."
Camp staff bustled around, and soon a giant outdoor projection screen was set up. In front of the screen, seven reclining lounge chairs were arranged in a semicircular pattern, awaiting the guests to sit.
The staff had already prepared dinner. When the guests finished eating and stepped out of the food truck, the night had completely fallen. The moon hung high in the sky, casting a soft silver glow over the entire desert. The breathtaking starry night felt as if it extended infinitely into the cosmos. The shimmering lights of the camp intertwined with the starlight, delivering a deeply cleansing feeling to the soul.
One had to admit, watching a film in this environment was truly a treat. Sang Ning felt like much of the frustration she’d been carrying was gently washed away.
The lounge chairs were large enough to completely cocoon one’s body. Each chair even came with an individual pillow. Sang Ning hugged the pillow to her chest, leaned back, and let herself sink into the chair. Her tense body finally relaxed just a bit.
When all the guests had taken their seats, the PD announced the official start of the movie screening.
The screen lit up, yet no image appeared. Gentle, soothing music played, everything seemingly normal—until a passionate, thunderous voice suddenly ripped through the night, catching Sang Ning off guard. Startled, she sat bolt upright. Her own face suddenly flashed on the film’s opening sequence.
Sang Ning hadn’t yet figured out what was going on when Song Shiye exclaimed loudly in shock: "Wow, Sangsang, isn’t this your new movie? I was planning to make time to see it in theaters, but I can’t believe the show crew is giving me this dream moment right here!"
"Hey, this is my new movie too, okay?" Qin Feng shouted, asserting his presence.
Wei Lan and Li Haidong recognized it was Sang Ning’s new film as well, sitting up straight in their chairs like well-behaved students in class.
Sang Ning slapped her forehead. Watching herself act on screen alongside this many acquaintances made her feel as if she was socially digging her own grave. She turned to the director and PD next to her, frantically giving them knowing looks: "What tricks are you guys pulling here?"
The director and PD just grinned silently, their expressions clearly saying, "You know what’s up."
Sang Ning pursed her lips, slowly straightened her posture, and reluctantly stared at the big screen.
The opening theme turned out pretty normal, with no bizarre visuals. But when the opening credits ended, a QR code suddenly popped up on the screen, and she couldn’t keep it together anymore.
The QR code clearly led to her Weibo account, featuring her profile picture—a cringy selfie where she was posing with a peace sign. She no longer dared to look at the screen. What was even going on here?
Song Shiye let out another loud exclamation: "Sangsang, isn’t this your Weibo QR code?"
Sang Ning buried her head and grudgingly said, not wanting to admit it: "Yes, I know."
"What’s written beneath it?" Hearing Song Shiye’s comment, Sang Ning couldn’t resist looking up. Sure enough, a line of bold text appeared under the QR code—
"Scan the Weibo QR code to follow this account and receive 50 free VIP movie tickets! These tickets can be redeemed at any cinema in China."
Fifty tickets! That would cost thousands of dollars! Giving them away to one person was fine, but if there wasn’t a limit, wouldn’t this result in a huge financial loss?
Not only was Sang Ning stunned, but the other guests, too, were entirely shocked. Even Qin Feng, part of the film’s creative team, stared wide-eyed at Sang Ning. "Sister Sang, is your company seriously going all out on this promotion? Damn, this must have cost a fortune!"
"Could it be a scam?" Jiang Xiaoti mumbled as she pulled out her phone. "Uh oh, I think I already followed your account using my main Weibo profile. Let me try my secondary account."
Without any hesitation about revealing her secret secondary account, she scanned the QR code using Weibo. Moments later, she turned into a repeating machine: "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I actually got 50 free VIP movie tickets! They even sent a text to my phone number tied to my Weibo—apparently, all I need is this number to redeem the tickets! Who designed such brilliant code for this campaign?"
"What?! Really? I don’t believe Sister Sang’s company would go this big—it’s probably just a publicity stunt!" Qin Feng pulled out his own secondary Weibo account to test it himself. The text message he received informed him the tickets could be redeemed both online and in cinemas. Out of curiosity, he opened the corresponding app, entered his number, and shockingly—even he successfully redeemed one VIP ticket. "Seriously... I actually got a ticket! This is legit blowing money!"
Sang Ning felt thoroughly bewildered. All of a sudden, an urgent alarm sounded in her mind. She was startled, thinking something had gone wrong with the System. But after the alarm subsided, the System’s typically cold, robotic voice suddenly sounded excited: "Host, host, your Weibo followers are spiking at an abnormal rate!"
Hearing this, Sang Ning couldn’t hold it anymore. She stood up, stared at the director, and asked: "Director Zhou, is the QR code on-screen seriously not some prank by the show crew?"
Zhou Rui innocently shook his head: "I have no idea. The film’s content is provided directly by the production company, and we wouldn’t dare mess with anything."
Sang Ning’s brow twitched wildly. The film was already screening in major theaters nationwide. Could the same QR code be appearing during screenings across all cinemas?
Who’s the reckless spender behind this campaign? Burning money aside, don’t they realize forced publicity often backfires disastrously?
Instinctively, her gaze shifted toward Wei Lan and Li Haidong. The couple understood her unspoken suspicion but responded with equally baffled expressions, shaking their heads in denial.
Now that’s strange—who could be behind all this? Surely, it wouldn’t be Li Juezhou, would it? He hasn’t shown up until now, after all.
Such an extravagant PR stunt would undoubtedly stir up heated discussions online from any audience who attended the screenings.
Sang Ning casually opened her Weibo, and sure enough, the hashtag #SangNingPaysForYourMovies# was trending at the top of the hot searches. Clicking on it, she saw countless posts of netizens sharing screenshots of their newly redeemed movie tickets.
She swiftly created a temporary secondary account to run her own test—and, indeed, she successfully claimed the tickets!
On the projection screen, the QR code had vanished, transitioning smoothly into the movie’s main feature. Suppressing the emotional turmoil within, Sang Ning sank back into her lounge chair.
