Under Qiao Sisi's guidance, five hundred and twenty fans checked into the Vanke Hotel.
As the group arrived at the hotel, they encountered Wang He and his entourage who were preparing to depart.
"Old Qiao?"
The two froze upon seeing each other, then quickly realized that such a coincidental meeting could only be arranged by Gao Fei.
With Hao Yacheng, Wang Anyu, and Dilireba present, Gao Fei's fans were somewhat shocked to see the three celebrities.
With the consent of Qiao Sisi, Wang He, and the three stars, the five hundred and twenty fans began to queue up for photos with them.
As for autographs, all three celebrities declined.
After all, with hundreds of people, their hands would be worn out if they signed for everyone.
Although the five hundred and twenty individuals were Gao Fei's die-hard fans, Dilireba and the others were also popular stars.
Having photos taken with them would not only bring attention when posted online but could also be used to exchange for money from the fans of the three stars.
It was a win-win situation, with potential for substantial profit.
By the time Hao Yacheng, Wang Anyu, and Dilireba had finished with the five hundred and twenty fans, more than half an hour had passed.
The Vanke Hotel was an establishment of the Wang Group.
Under Wang He's direction, the hotel manager began assisting the five hundred and twenty fans with check-in.
With someone handling the arrangements, Qiao Sisi, Wang He, Hao Yacheng, Wang Anyu, and Dilireba took a short break in the lounge.
"Our Boss Gao really goes to great lengths for movie box office revenue," Wang He quipped, taking a sip of tea. He continued, "I never imagined that his top fan, Sister Jin, would be you, Miss Qiao. I was wondering who had so much money to charter five planes to invite fans to Hong Kong to watch a movie. Seeing you now, it's clear that kind of money is pocket change for you."
"Get out of here. I don't have that kind of spare cash to do such things. My little brother Gao paid for it himself," Qiao Sisi explained.
However, seeing Wang He suddenly stunned, she immediately realized that Wang He's presence in Hong Kong was likely also arranged by Gao Fei.
Their eyes met, and they both offered a helpless smile.
Wang Anyu, sitting nearby, overheard their cryptic conversation and suddenly asked, "Brother Wang, when you mention Boss Gao, are you referring to Gao Fei?"
Hao Yacheng and Dilireba also looked up curiously. Although they were celebrities, they rarely browsed the internet. Their schedules were packed, and they generally relied on their assistants to keep track of online news. Today, they had traveled to Hong Kong without their assistants or managers, so they were largely unaware of trending news on the major social media platforms.
Wang He did not conceal anything and nodded, confirming that Boss Gao was indeed Gao Fei.
Dilireba blinked her bright eyes and continued the conversation, "Brother Wang, you said Miss Qiao and her group came to Hong Kong to help Boss Gao boost his movie's box office. Does that mean the movie 'The Haunted House,' wasn't sold exclusively, and the film company behind it was founded by Gao Fei?"
'The Haunted House' was creating a buzz in mainland China. The celebrities present had some awareness of the film.
Upon hearing Dilireba's question, Wang He realized he had inadvertently revealed the truth. His mind raced as he quickly explained, "The movie rights were indeed sold to a Hong Kong film company, but Gao Fei also signed a supplementary contract with them for a five percent share of the box office revenue."
After hearing Wang He's explanation, Dilireba, Hao Yacheng, and Wang Anyu all nodded, not harboring any further suspicion. Selling movie rights while retaining a share of the box office revenue was not an uncommon practice in mainland China.
As they were chatting, Qiao Sisi's phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the caller ID and moved to a corner to answer.
"Hello, Sister Jin."
"Have you arrived at the hotel yet?"
"Yes!"
"Have you met with Old Wang?"
"We're sitting together now, chatting." Qiao Sisi replied with a smile.
Jin Qiqi on the other end of the line pondered for a moment and then said, "Sisi, there's something I need to tell you. Gao Fei is currently in Hong Kong, but his status is rather sensitive, concerning the major transition in Hong Kong in November."
"What?" Qiao Sisi exclaimed.
Instantly, the others who were chatting turned to look at her with puzzled expressions. She smiled apologetically at the four and then turned back, confirming, "Sister Jin, you're not lying to me?"
"I'm not lying. This news is true. Otherwise, with Boss Gao's personality, if a movie from his own company was being released, could he really be this quiet and not stir up any trouble?"
"That makes sense!" Qiao Sisi agreed. She was, however, surprised that Gao Fei's current status could influence the November transition in Hong Kong. The news left her somewhat shocked and taken aback.
Jin Qiqi continued, "Your arrival in Hong Kong with the fans has already caught the attention of the 'white gloves' of the competitors who operate in the open. Gao Fei suspects that someone will approach you to build connections and offer favors as soon as you leave the hotel. Therefore, he wants you to team up with Old Wang and strategize your next moves to avoid giving those people any openings."
"Okay, I'll discuss the follow-up arrangements with Old Wang now."
"Call me back once you've discussed it."
"Alright!"
After hanging up, Qiao Sisi used a matter of urgency as an excuse to pull Wang He aside to a secluded spot and relayed all the information she had received from Jin Qiqi.
"What the heck? Gao Fei can influence the major transition?" Wang He, who had been smoking, was dumbfounded. He was even more shocked than Qiao Sisi. Previously, he had been curious why his father was paying so much attention to Gao Fei. Now, knowing that Gao Fei could affect Hong Kong's transition, it implicitly meant that Gao Fei's current status could no longer be viewed as merely that of a celebrity or businessman.
"We were both invited by him to bring people here to boost box office sales, and we'll continue to meet. So, Gao Fei wants us to stick together and discuss our future plans to avoid giving those 'white gloves' any leverage," Qiao Sisi relayed Gao Fei's instructions verbatim.
Wang He frowned and said with a wry smile, "This is quite difficult! I have over a hundred people, and you have over five hundred, totaling nearly a thousand. It would be easy for those 'white gloves' to find an opening. If there's any incident of violence, they can act immediately."
Hearing this, Qiao Sisi nodded in agreement. Together, they represented a group of nearly a thousand people. If any local gangs were to cause trouble with a specific agenda, those 'white gloves' would surely seize the opportunity.
After a brief discussion, they decided to book a hot spring resort to accommodate the fans. By booking the entire resort, they would be among their own people, significantly reducing the chances of the 'white gloves' approaching them.
Once their plan was communicated to Jin Qiqi, Gao Fei immediately agreed. Within moments, ten million in activity funds were transferred to Qiao Sisi's account. With the funds in hand, Wang He and Qiao Sisi promptly booked a hot spring resort and arranged for the fans to check out of the Vanke Hotel. An hour later, the group of over six hundred, nearly seven hundred people, headed towards the hot spring resort.
Meanwhile, the tens of thousands of fans from mainland China who had come to Hong Kong to see the three celebrities, unable to enter the resort for the time being and thus unable to meet Hao Yacheng, Wang Anyu, and Dilireba, decided to treat this impromptu trip as a vacation. They spent their time shopping, dining, and sightseeing in Hong Kong.
Given the immense popularity of 'The Haunted House' in mainland China, with some taking the lead, over ten thousand fans sequentially headed to the cinemas to watch the movie. Everyone was eager to see how terrifying the film was, to the point of causing people to be hospitalized.
On that day, the box office for 'The Haunted House' had dropped to 1.9 million. As cinema companies debated whether to remove the film from its daytime slots, they saw the influx of over ten thousand fans eager to watch it and immediately abandoned the idea of pulling the movie. They then arranged for people to find and assist the audience members from mainland China. Ambulances and rapid-acting heart medications were all made readily available within a short period.
Before the movie began, in each screening hall, a group was overheard chatting, "Hey, brother, are you from Shenzhen too? Are you here to see Dilireba?"
"All five of us here are here to see Dilireba. We just didn't expect them to book a resort, so meeting them is probably out of the question."
"If we can't meet them, we'll just treat it as a trip. But do you really think this movie is that scary?"
"Heh, I'm Yang Dadan. I've never seen anything scary since I was born. It's just a movie; the claim of scaring people into the hospital is probably just Hong Kong audiences exaggerating."
"I agree. Saying a movie scared people into the hospital is definitely bragging."
As a small group chatted, others also believed that a movie was just a movie, and how terrifying could it possibly be? Only people with no sense would believe such an absurd claim of a movie scaring someone into the hospital.
Amidst the laughter and skepticism, the movie finally began. One hour and forty minutes later, the mainland Chinese audience members who had been questioning and mocking before the screening all walked out of the cinema with ashen faces. No one was laughing or questioning anymore. At that moment, a shadow of fear, dominated by Sister Chu, enveloped their hearts. The young man who had called himself Yang Dadan earlier, upon exiting the cinema, felt his legs tremble, his vision went black, and he fainted on the spot.
Instantly, waiting medical personnel appeared and began emergency treatment on the man. Additionally, some audience members, clutching their chests, boarded ambulances, pleading with the drivers to rush them to the hospital, as they felt chest tightness, anxiety, and a sense of suffocation.
After a large number of mainland Chinese viewers experienced various discomforts after watching the movie, mainland reporters who had been staking out outside the cinemas immediately began snapping photos. Photos of the emergency treatment and audience members fainting on site were taken. After the photographs were taken, the gossip reporters immediately transmitted them back to mainland China.
Their colleagues, who were waiting to publish the news, were stunned upon seeing these photos. People were actually being sent to the hospital after watching a movie! Without further ado, the colleagues compiled the articles, selected the photos, and published them immediately on the three major social media platforms.
"Shocking: Our mainland fans, in their quest to meet idols and goddesses, entered with smiles and left in tears."
Because the headline was so evocative, it immediately garnered the attention of tens of millions of netizens. Upon clicking into the news, netizens were instantly agitated.
At the same time, viewing groups composed of mainland Chinese horror enthusiasts were preparing to travel to Hong Kong to watch the movie. The first viewing group alone numbered over a million people.