Even though the text was in Chinese, Roy had little trouble reading it after all these years of study. Apart from a few obscure words and the ever-evolving internet slang, regular reading posed no issue at all.
He glanced over a few of the posts on Laila's phone.
"You don't have an account on here?" he asked. "Even one of the footballers I know has set one up."
Laila paused, then rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"You're right—why didn't I think of that?"
Because she hadn't really been active in this region's online scene, she'd overlooked its promotional potential. Maybe it really was time to consider it seriously.
Whether it was divine timing or just a stroke of luck, before Laila even had the chance to make an account, someone came knocking.
Since Laila didn't have an agent, and very few people had her direct contact info, Weibo had struggled to reach her about opening an official account. But with her name trending online for two months straight, the company couldn't wait any longer. After going around in circles, they finally landed on Yao Yingxia as a point of contact.
Yao Yingxia herself ended up being the one to send the invite. She thought it would be a great way for Laila to connect with fans and happily agreed to help. She'd originally planned to persuade Laila with a few kind words—but to her surprise, Laila agreed immediately. Not only did she say yes, but she even agreed on Roy's behalf.
To be honest, Laila saw herself more as a behind-the-scenes director. In terms of fan following, Roy definitely had the bigger crowd. Besides, building a good foundation in this market would be great for his future career.
Both of them agreeing to open accounts made Yao Yingxia overjoyed.
"That's wonderful! Do you want me to have the team create the accounts and send you the login info?"
"No need—it's simple enough."
They already had local phone numbers, and that was all they needed to register. And with who they were, dealing with the minor logistics would be no trouble at all.
And so, just half an hour later, news spread across the internet: Laila, Roy, and @庄家小姜 [@Xiao Jiang from the Zhuang Household] had all officially opened Weibo accounts.
Within a short period, their follower counts soared into the millions—and the growth showed no signs of slowing. It was expected they'd hit over ten million within a few days.
As predicted, Roy's follower count was slightly higher—by several hundred thousand. He was, after all, the youngest actor ever to win an Oscar, and with his devilishly handsome face and effortlessly sexy charm, it wasn't just women who fell for him—men found him hard to resist, too. His physique was all lean muscle and clean lines—attractive without being intimidating.
Scrolling through her Weibo feed, Laila noticed her first greeting post had already gathered countless comments. Most were asking why she had come to the East—was it for movie promotion?
After thinking for a moment, she uploaded a few scenic shots from their trip, one of which featured Roy's silhouette.
#We're here for our honeymoon. In advance.
It was a candid shot Laila had snapped with her camera—a sunset bathing Roy in golden light, framed by green hills and flowing rivers. It looked like something straight out of a manga: picturesque and dreamy.
Roy was holding Eli in his arms at the time, but because his back was to the camera, the baby couldn't be seen. Still, it was one of Laila's favorite shots from the past few days.
Her photography skills were world-class. Many of her earlier works had been hailed as classics in the photography world. So when she posted the scenic photos, a crowd quickly gathered to admire them.
"It looks like the same place I visited… But why does it look so different in her photos?"
Among the flood of "So beautiful!" and "Stunning shot!" comments, one unusual reply suddenly climbed to the top. The user even posted their own photo of the same spot—and sure enough, it was the same location. But due to lighting, angle, and composition, it looked like a completely different place.
Once the comment went viral, a flood of "hahahahahahaha" filled the replies.
Laila's photo had perfect composition and color—it could've been printed on canvas and hung in a gallery without any editing. Meanwhile, the commenter's photo was a disaster: the scenery was lackluster, and the girl in the frame looked like a tragic meme—big head, slumped shoulders, and a bizarre smile that made everything feel… off.
The funniest part? Not long after, another photo climbed to the top—it was a selfie from the same girl in the tragic shot. If you hadn't known better, you'd never have guessed it was the same person.
Except for the outfit and similar background, they looked like two completely different people—like comparing Xi Shi and Dong Shi (an ancient Chinese idiom used to contrast beauty and ugliness).
The girl only left one sentence:
"What do I do if my boyfriend can't take a decent photo?"
And just like that, what started as a small moment turned into a viral thread of girlfriends roasting their boyfriends' photography skills. One after another, women posted their selfies versus the horror shows their boyfriends had taken. The contrast was hilarious—mud and clouds, night and day. The entire thread became a meme goldmine for the year.
Laila was a little helpless at how things had spiraled. Her original intention was simply to grow her presence on Weibo and show off a few aesthetic shots. Who would've thought one picture would blow up into a full-blown trending topic?
Roy, however, wasn't surprised.
She was always landing on the trending page for one reason or another. It was like she carried a spotlight around with her. Sometimes, even she didn't know how it happened—but it happened anyway.
"You should take advantage of this buzz to promote your movie," Roy suggested.
Laila frowned. "This is our honeymoon. I don't want to use it to make money."
Roy didn't quite understand this level of stubbornness.
"Why can't a honeymoon also be profitable? Isn't there a saying here—'kill two birds with one stone'? You could be enjoying your vacation and making money at the same time. Isn't that great?"
Laila wasn't unaware that the two things weren't mutually exclusive. But she had this old-school mindset—some Eastern idealism, maybe—that if she really used their honeymoon for profit, it would taint something meant to be pure. She had always been ruthless when it came to maximizing box office revenue and marketing. But now… she just couldn't bring herself to commodify her private life, her marriage, and this once-in-a-lifetime journey.
Maybe after two lifetimes of being rational, she was finally letting her emotions take the lead for once.
"I don't know how to explain it… I just don't want to."
Roy rarely saw Laila this stubborn. But he could only smile helplessly and let her have her way.
As the box office crept closer to breaking records, he was starting to feel nervous on her behalf. Who would've believed her back when she boldly declared she was aiming for the top spot in cinematic history?
And now… who wasn't watching her numbers like a hawk?