"Will that day really come?" Laila honestly couldn't say for sure.
This time around, she had calculated every factor and chosen what she believed to be the best possible moment. But if she had to do it again at another time, who knew what the outcome would be?
Roy gripped her hands tightly and said firmly, "It will! It definitely will!"
Even if the whole world doubted her, he would always believe in her.
When she didn't even have faith in herself, yet saw how much confidence someone else had in her—it warmed her heart, and made her smile. "Thank you. I don't think I'll be stopping here, either."
Yes, she had been caught in a mental spiral. Even if she didn't break the record this time, she'd have plenty of chances to take the number one spot in the future. Eastern theaters had been a huge boost this time, and she was already planning to replicate that model and expand her theater presence in other countries. She still had decades ahead to build her film empire. How could she give up now?
"Let's go home. I miss little Eli," she said, grabbing her coat and hooking her arm around his as they left the office together.
Demi, watching her boss leave with a smile, finally let out a breath of relief. Thank god the clouds have cleared. Honestly, she'd much rather see her boss in domineering CEO mode than in that gloomy, lost state.
Back home, Laila was able to completely relax and play with her son without a single trace of mental baggage.
She had truly worked it out in her head—between her previous life and this one, she'd only been involved in filmmaking for about 30 years. She still had many years ahead of her to continue exploring this path. Youth was her biggest asset. The joy of beating the record could wait—it wasn't going anywhere.
"By the way, isn't Silence about to start promotion?" Roy asked, hoping to shift her attention elsewhere. And when it came to Laila, only another film could successfully divert her thoughts from one movie.
Sure enough, the mention of Silence instantly lit up her eyes.
"Still have to wait a bit. The Avengers is still in theaters—if we start promoting now, it'd be a waste."
"Wouldn't this be the perfect time to promote? More people are paying attention to you than ever."
"You're not wrong, but if I redirect media focus onto the new film now, The Avengers will lose momentum. That wouldn't help either film. Better to let this one finish out strong first."
Roy nodded in understanding. "You're releasing for the Christmas season, right? When will the promotion start?"
Laila thought for a moment. "One or two months in advance. By then, The Avengers' remaining box office will mostly be tapped out, and we can make a clean handoff—shift audience attention to the new film."
"If there's anything you need from me, just say it. I haven't taken on any new gigs recently."
Roy had become more interested in being a full-time stay-at-home dad lately. Spending time with their son was far more fulfilling than making money. Besides, his past earnings were more than enough to support the whole family. Unless a truly exceptional script came along, he had no interest in sacrificing precious family time to go film something.
"Don't worry, I won't be shy about asking." Laila grinned.
The next day, Demi saw a completely re-energized, clear-headed boss.
Seeing Laila back at her desk, focused and brimming with determination, it was like her whole being had been recharged. This was the boss she admired!
Now that Laila had shaken off her mental burden, she turned her attention to something she could fully throw herself into: planning the promotional strategy for the most personally significant film of her life—Silence.
But as the saying goes, "The tree wants peace, but the wind won't stop."
In life, not everything unfolds the way you want. Sometimes, the universe stirs up chaos just to remind mortals who's in charge.
While Laila was hard at work and The Avengers continued to rake in its remaining box office globally, a minor incident in the East unexpectedly exploded into a full-blown sensation.
It all began with a single photo posted on Weibo.
People have always tended to photograph beautiful things. But ever since smartphones became commonplace, that instinct turned into a full-blown compulsion to share share share. Pretty things got posted. Ugly things got posted. Even when there was nothing to post, someone could snap a fallen leaf and write a dramatic "youthful melancholy" caption to go with it.
The photo in question came from a high school girl. Based on her posts, she seemed to come from a well-off family. She liked sharing pictures of luxury items and idol merchandise. Over time, her account had gained tens of thousands of followers. While she did have a hint of that "rich kid showing off" vibe, her age and relatively natural look (no heavy makeup), combined with her posts about "high society" aesthetics, attracted a lot of curious onlookers. So she wasn't quite as annoying as other show-offs.
One day, she suddenly posted a photo of a piece of red fabric embroidered with a phoenix. Even to someone who knew nothing about embroidery, the craftsmanship was visibly exquisite. Not just lifelike—if phoenixes existed, they'd probably look exactly like the one in the photo.
The comments section quickly filled up with praise for the stunning phoenix design. Some people admired the excellence of local embroidery craftsmanship, while others asked about the price—it had to be expensive, right?
The girl replied to one curious commenter, casually saying, "Add two more zeroes to your guess, and change it to USD. That's about right."
Because this wasn't just any embroidered piece—it was a full Eastern-style wedding gown, entirely covered in top-tier embroidery. A true masterpiece.
The bystanders were stunned. A wedding gown worth millions—and in U.S. dollars? What kind of dress was that, made of solid gold?
"Who the hell would spend that much money on a dress?"
"Plenty of people want to—but how many can actually afford to spend that much? Is some celebrity getting married?"
"Why does it have to be a celebrity? Some tycoon might be getting married, too."
"Bet it's some coal baron. They spend money like water."
"Man, if I'd known, I would've skipped school and learned embroidery instead. One piece like that could feed me for life!"
"Get real. To embroider at that level takes more than practice. You need talent, okay?"
"I just wanna know who gets to wear that gown. If it were me, I'd laugh myself awake every night from the sheer joy."
Then, the girl dropped another bomb in the comments:
The dress had been custom-ordered by a foreigner.
"You'll never guess who it is," she teased. "If I hadn't overheard someone talking about it, I'd never have imagined it was that person!"
As her follower count began to skyrocket, her little face flushed red with excitement.