11: A summer movie season where the best films are battling it out!

Time reached the beginning of June.

The release date for nightclub was approaching.

At this moment, Chen Le felt a bit uneasy, as if something bad was about to happen.

Just then, his phone rang.

He checked it and saw it was a call from Dean Wang.

Chen Le was a bit surprised. Could Dean Wang have some business with him?

He answered the phone, and Dean Wang's voice came through.

"Chen Le, I have some bad news for you."

Hearing Dean Wang's words, his heart skipped a beat.

Leading with bad news right away? Did it have to be so scary?

"Huh? Old Wang, what bad news? You gave me a fright as soon as you opened your mouth!"

"It really is bad news. I have some inside information. This year's summer season seems to be a clash of titans. Stephen Chow's CJ7, Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock, and Jackie Chan's The Karate Kid are all being released during the summer season, along with several other new movies."

After Dean Wang finished speaking, Chen Le's heart went cold.

Because Dean Wang was right; this truly was a clash of titans.

What left Chen Le bewildered was: were there really this many titans in the 2009 summer season?

Stephen Chow's CJ7 was a sci-fi comedy.

Feng Xiaogang's Aftershock was a disaster movie. The cast was a powerhouse collaboration, featuring Li Chen, Xu Fan, Lu Yi, and a luxurious lineup of others.

Big Brother Jackie Chan's The Karate Kid was an action film. Needless to say, Jackie Chan alone could carry a whole movie.

The box office prospects for these three were each higher than the last.

"Chen Le, I'm a bit worried about your movie's box office now," Dean Wang said, stating his concerns bluntly.

Chen Le's mouth twitched.

Now, it wasn't just Dean Wang worrying; even he was starting to panic.

Chen Le had originally wanted to wait a bit longer, but now it seemed he had to release it early.

Otherwise, if he really collided with those titans, he expected things would be even worse.

Now, Chen Le could only pray that nightclub's box office would reach a normal level.

He didn't expect to hit over 11 million at the box office like in his previous life, but reaching eight or nine million shouldn't be a problem.

"Old Wang, I'm getting a bit worried myself. I think it's better if I release it earlier."

"If I run into any of those big shots, nightclub will be finished."

Hearing Chen Le's words, Dean Wang felt a sense of relief.

He had thought Chen Le might want to go head-to-head with those big shots; it seemed Chen Le was still rational.

For such a low-budget movie, achieving any success would be good enough; compared to those blockbusters, it was still far behind.

"In that case, let's release it early. Although nightclub is good, it's still a bit lacking compared to those blockbusters."

And so, nightclub was released on June 3rd.

Because it was a low-budget production, although the theater chains did Dean Wang a favor, the number of screenings they allocated for nightclub wasn't very high.

However, for Chen Le, it was enough.

For the current Chen Le, an early release meant earning money sooner, avoiding a later collision with the big shots which would cost him box office revenue for nothing.

On the day nightclub premiered, Chen Le didn't hold any grand premiere ceremony; he just invited a few acquaintances to watch the premiere together.

After all, this movie was a low-budget production to begin with; there was no need to make it too grand.

Thus, Chen Le only invited Yang Mi, her two best friends Liu Shishi and Tang Yan, as well as Dean Wang, Gang Zi, and Baoqiang.

The reason he invited Baoqiang was that the next new movie was related to him, so he certainly couldn't leave him out.

When they arrived at the theater, the three women—Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, and Tang Yan—greeted Dean Wang respectfully upon seeing him.

"Hello, Dean Wang."

Dean Wang looked at the three women and nodded with a kind expression.

"Hello to you all."

Chen Le smiled and introduced Dean Wang to Baoqiang. "Baoqiang, this is the Vice Dean of the Beijing Film Academy. You can just call him Dean Wang."

Hearing Chen Le's introduction, Baoqiang immediately stood up straight. He rubbed his hands together a bit awkwardly and bowed to Dean Wang, saying, "Hello, Dean Wang."

Seeing this, Dean Wang also nodded. "Hello, Baoqiang."

Only after seeing Dean Wang nod did Baoqiang sit down, still feeling quite nervous.

He hadn't expected that the person sitting in front of him was actually the Vice Dean of the Beijing Film Academy.

"Old Wang, Mi Mi is my girlfriend now." After saying that, Chen Le introduced Yang Mi again.

In front of Dean Wang, Chen Le openly admitted their relationship.

"Hahaha, good. I saw you two together every day back then, so I guessed you were dating," Dean Wang said with a gratified smile.

When Baoqiang heard Chen Le's words, he was completely stunned.

He knew who Yang Mi was. chinese paladin 3 had been so popular recently that few people who had watched it didn't recognize her.

Adding to that, after her explosive rise to fame, Yang Mi had been constantly participating in various variety shows and taking on commercials; her popularity was very high.

And now, hearing Chen Le say that Yang Mi was his girlfriend, Baoqiang was so shocked he was speechless.

Baoqiang glanced at Yang Mi, who still had a smile on her face.

Yang Mi did not deny it.

On the side, Liu Shishi and Tang Yan turned to look at Chen Le upon hearing his words, staring at each other with wide eyes full of surprise.

This is the boyfriend Mi Mi was talking about?

Before they could continue dazing off...

Yang Mi suddenly stood up and introduced Liu Shishi and Tang Yan to Chen Le.

"Old Chen, this is Shishi and Tang Yan."

Chen Le naturally knew both of them, and Baoqiang beside him recognized them as well, but even so, he was very surprised.

Chen Le was actually able to invite so many prominent figures.

Chen Le looked at Liu Shishi and Tang Yan and nodded to them.

Then he spoke up: "Today is the first screening of nightclub. Since it's a low-budget production, I won't be holding a premiere ceremony."

"It's fine, we don't care about those things," Dean Wang said with a smile.

"Alright, then let's go in."

With that, they walked into the cinema.

They went to a private screening room. Because of Dean Wang's presence, the cinema had specially arranged a private room for Chen Le and the others to watch the premiere.

The movie began to play. As Dean Wang watched, his brow furrowed slightly as he began to critique it.

Meanwhile, Baoqiang, Liu Shishi, and the others were simply watching the plot.

Soon, the plot reached the classic supermarket scene where the character played by Wang Xun raised three problems.

"I only bought a few things from you, and I've already found three problems."

"First..."

Seeing this segment, Liu Shishi and Tang Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Baoqiang, on the other hand, watched Wang Xun in the movie with a focused frown, studying his acting techniques.

Dean Wang, beside them, widened his eyes, staring intently at the screen.

"The filming technique, the use of the camera—it's far too seasoned, isn't it?"

Dean Wang was deeply shocked because this movie didn't look at all like something a rookie director could produce.

These filming techniques couldn't be mastered without over a decade of experience.

This kid really is a genius!