"More handsome than you." — Female Lead 1.

"More handsome than you." — Female Lead 2.

"More handsome than you." — The main villain Jack.

"More handsome than you." — Grace Miller.

"……" — Male Lead Howard.

"Everyone, wait for my good news." Grace Miller seemed to have her meridians suddenly opened, instantly losing all hesitation and confusion, now brimming with fighting spirit and full of confidence. "This time, I’m going to lead you shrimp soldiers and crab generals to a beautiful comeback. When we succeed, I’ll invite you all to star in [堵王前传二], and I guarantee the investment will exceed ten million!"

"We’re definitely going to win, this is what I, Grace Miller, say—even Jesus couldn’t stop us."

"Go, Sister Zhou! Once the new promo copy is out, we’ll help spread the word too~~"

The previously dead atmosphere in the group chat suddenly ignited.

……

Chapter 6: Showing Off! I’m Serious

After leaving the group, Ethan Brooks casually replied to a few friends’ congratulatory messages, then opened Weibo again.

The promo post he just shared had already reached over 800 views, more than 100 likes, 20 shares, and over a dozen comments. His follower count had increased by more than ten.

Hmm, there were also a few proper fan DMs.

"Brother Yixia is making a comeback? That’s great, I’ve finally waited for you. I’m sharing this and going to watch the new film."

"You heartless guy, you disappeared for almost two years…"

"Yixia, keep it up, I’ll always support you."

"Why are you back? I’m already in postpartum confinement!"

Uh, what!?

Ethan Brooks broke out in a sweat.

What does her postpartum confinement have to do with him, Ethan Brooks?

But at this point, he had calmed down a bit. His earlier behavior in the group, rallying everyone, seemed rational, but it still felt like he was tempting Sister Zhou to mortgage her house and borrow money for promotion.

If it worked out, fine. But if they lost…

He’d really have let Sister Zhou down.

Ethan Brooks felt he should do something.

After thinking for a while, he went into the study, set up his phone on a tripod facing the desk, recorded a short video, and then posted it on Weibo again.

****

10:30 p.m.

A five-star hotel in Sucheng.

The currently popular second-tier starlet Emily Foster was wearing a bathrobe, holding a tablet and watching "堵王前传."

With her refined features from her Mo Drama background, fair skin, and long, beautiful legs, she definitely had what it took to be a star.

Her agent Linda Harris, however, was anxiously pacing back and forth nearby, muttering, "My dear Miss Foster, why did you take the initiative to message Ethan Brooks? What exactly are you trying to do? Don’t tell me you want to get back together with him?"

Emily Foster didn’t even look up, her face expressionless: "No, I just want to get my personal belongings back."

"What personal belongings are so important?" Linda Harris was anxious. "We can buy new ones. If you really don’t want to go, I can go for you."

"Vivi, this is the perfect window for your career to take off and break into the top tier. So many people wait their whole lives for this chance and never get it! Don’t mess things up at such a critical moment."

"I’m not messing things up." Emily Foster kept her eyes on the screen, watching Alex show off his dazzling card skills. "Don’t worry, Sister Ping, I know what I’m doing."

"You’d better know what you’re doing." She grumpily picked up her teacup, took a sip to moisten her throat, then glanced at the tablet screen and couldn’t help but start mocking again. "You’re still watching? What’s so good about this web movie with an investment of less than four million? I already asked around—its numbers aren’t great, it’s probably going to flop."

"And that Ethan Brooks, he’s been signed with the company for two and a half years, and his acting is still so bad. Clearly, he has no ambition in his career. He’s just not on your level."

"I admit he’s really handsome, but so what? These days, looks alone aren’t enough to make it big."

"You’re still too young, you don’t see the essence of life. You and he are from two different worlds. Listen to me, let him go and focus on your career."

"I’ll talk to him for you later, tell him not to stay at Jingchen anymore. The rent there is expensive. He should just go back to school and focus on his studies. Maybe he’ll get some good grades. Wasting time in showbiz will only ruin his life."

Linda Harris kept rambling on, but Emily Foster didn’t seem to hear a word, still watching "堵王前传."

After watching the climax where Alex and the main villain Jack face off in a high-stakes gambling match, her mind drifted back to the messages Ethan Brooks had sent her.

"I wasn’t home this afternoon. If you still have the community access card, you can get your things yourself."

"I’ve deleted your fingerprint from the smart lock. When you get to the door, message me and I’ll set a temporary password for you remotely."

Deleted. He deleted my fingerprint!

Suddenly.

Linda Harris’s phone, still buzzing with her chatter, vibrated twice. She opened the message and saw it was from her contact at Y Station who had been checking the numbers for her.

She was stunned for a moment, but then her expression gradually turned strange.

The numbers for "堵王前传" had suddenly improved?