Chapter 64: The Grudge of Wife-Stealing Is Irreconcilable

For the next half-hour, Zhou Le carried Gulinazha through the game, dominating the battlefield.

They played two matches in that half-hour.

Combined, the two of them died over fifty times.

As soon as Zhou Le entered the game, he sent a message to all players: "I am Zhou Le, and Gulinazha is playing mid-lane. Everyone is welcome to go see our new movie, *缝纫机乐队*."

Naturally, nobody believed him.

Disbelief aside, the moment the opposing team heard the names Zhou Le and Nazha, they hunted the two of them down exclusively.

Their teammates couldn't even rescue them in time.

And every single time the enemies finished them off, they would type out messages in the chat.

Brother Lang: "Remember, we killed you this time because you were impersonating Nazha and my brother Le."

Dawn of Flame: "Remember, I killed you this time because of the grievance of stealing a man's wife."

Don't Run, Watermelon: "Remember, I killed you because this movie looks fantastic. Even if you didn't promote it, I'd still tell my friends to go watch it."

Is Yu Not a Fish: "Remember, I killed you because you built the Blade of the Exile."

Right at the start of the game, the staff had sensibly cleared the desk and started live-streaming the gameplay.

The viewers found it hilarious.

Mostly because both of them maintained remarkably positive attitudes throughout.

Zhou Le simply felt there was no reason to get angry over a video game—lose if you lose, just do your best—while Nazha was completely putting on an act.

In the past, being targeted like this would have driven her to smash her phone.

Finally, just before ending the broadcast, a staff member asked Zhou Le, "Is there anything you'd like to say to everyone before we wrap up?"

Zhou Le thought for a moment. "Ad space is open for sponsorship. Once I eat my way back to my original physique, major brands are welcome to come to me for endorsements."

The staff member: "......"

"Alright, Nazha, do you have anything to say?"

Gulinazha also pondered for a moment. "Please have Le'er cover my work-related injury today. After this meal, I'm going to have to spend at least three days grinding it out in the gym."

Zhou Le chuckled. "Just tell me, was it delicious or not?"

"Delicious," Nazha nodded honestly.

Zhou Le raised his head with satisfaction. "Alright, we're done talking."

The staff member: "......"

"Wait, you two teachers are supposed to be promoting the movie!"

Only then did Zhou Le and Nazha experience a sudden flash of realization. "Everyone is welcome to go see *缝纫机乐队*. We hope you'll give it plenty of..."

Just as the words left their mouths.

The staff member in charge of the live stream room, assuming the broadcast was already concluded, cut the feed before the promotional pitch could even finish.

Leaving behind nothing in the stream chat except a sea of question marks.

Afterward, Zhou Le went onto Weibo and posted a single character meaning support.

Nazha followed suit by posting another character.

From beginning to end, the entire live stream delivered peak entertainment value.

Dapeng felt the urge to hug the two of them and plant a few kisses right then and there.

However, Nazha was a female artist, so kissing her casually was out of the question.

Zhou Le was his good brother, which made random kissing even more out of the question.

As expected, the two of them trended on hot searches afterward.

True to form, by the very next day, *缝纫机乐队* claimed a total of eight trending topics.

Three of them were related to Dapeng.

Five of them belonged to Zhou Le and Nazha.

[Who plays video games during a movie promotional live stream?!]

[Who stuffs their face eating like crazy during a movie promotional live stream?!]

[Nazha's gaming mindset is truly incredible.]

[Can a movie even be promoted in reverse like this?]

[Copper Hot Pot]

Zhou Le: "???"

"You'd rather write 'Copper Hot Pot' than my name, is that it?"

Zhou Le was genuinely annoyed.

Dapeng, however, was beyond thrilled.

Because according to real-time data from last night up to the present moment.

The movie's box office earnings had suddenly started showing a distinct upward trend once again.

This proved the strategy was working, and on those review platforms, five-star ratings praising Zhou Le had multiplied significantly.

Even more directly, his phone hadn't stopped ringing.

Investors, other directors, and talent agencies were all calling, asking if Dapeng could help arrange a gathering so everyone could share a meal and chat.

Some wanted to collaborate, some wanted to poach him, and others simply took a liking to Zhou Le and wanted to spend some money to buy a bit of his time.

Dapeng made a note of the collaboration offers.

The rest he politely declined, knowing Zhou Le's personality.

He simply wasn't the type to entertain wealthy benefactors.

As for the film and television scripts Zhou Le reviewed, he felt none of them were quite right.

When those parties contacted Su Yingxia later on, she turned them all down.

Over the next period, before dissolving its artist management department, Daylight Entertainment managed to secure two more endorsements for Zhou Le: one for a domestic sportswear brand and another for an automobile brand.

Given Zhou Le's current mid-tier status, the sportswear brand was Xtep, limited to print and digital advertising, worth five million yuan a year.

The automobile brand was Wuling, signed for a two-year endorsement at ten million yuan.

Wuling operated on a fifty percent payment structure—half upon signing the contract, and the remainder upon its completion—while Xtep paid out directly.

Though not luxury brands.

Domestic brands were quite respectable as well.

Within five working days of signing the contracts, 1.5 million yuan arrived from each of the two companies.

Zhou Le planned to pay Han Han back first, as he hated owing people money; it made him feel inferior.

Even so, the remaining two-plus million would comfortably sustain him through the rest of the year.

With no work scheduled for the past few days, Zhou Le returned to Beijing and devoted himself to culinary exploration, eating his way through virtually every provincial government liaison office restaurant in the city.

Feasting aside, Su Yingxia secretly used her own earnings to enroll Zhou Le in a gym.

After all, physical management remained crucial for an artist; people would criticize you for losing weight just as easily as they would for gaining it.

Such things could even be dug up later as embarrassing history.

Upon discovering this, Zhou Le loudly accused her of returning kindness with enmity!

While he knew full well that this was the right thing to do, his heart simply refused to accept it right away.

"Brother Le, in a week, you'll need to join the promotional tour for *Wolf Warrior 2*. The premiere and roadshows in several major tier-one cities are mandatory. Half a month from now, you'll also be participating in *Go Fighting!*. I checked with them—there's no script, and you won't find out what the tasks are until you get there. Aside from you, the other guest stars will be Lin Chiling, Wang Luodan, and Jiang Yiyan."

Zhou Le blinked upon hearing this. "All female guests?"

"That's right, they were supposed to all be women, but you're the exception who got squeezed in through connections."

Zhou Le chuckled. "Well, look at that. Even I get to enjoy the perks of being a connected insider now?"

While Zhou Le used to detest nepotism, it was hard to feel any resentment when the privilege landed on him.

The entertainment industry was all about snatching resources; whoever had stronger connections got the prize.

Countless directors had engaged in last-minute casting swaps.

"Where will my episode of *Go Fighting!* be filmed?"

"Sanya, Hainan. The tickets are already booked. It will take three days in total—the first day is for travel and rest, and the remaining two days are for shooting."

"Alright, just remind me when the time comes." Zhou Le wasn't overly concerned. Variety shows were all about generating entertaining content anyway.

And so, Zhou Le continued his routine of eating and drinking over the next few days.

Though he couldn't let himself balloon back to his previous weight just yet.

Because in October, he was slated to star in *Like a Flowing River*, where his character starts off as a state-owned enterprise technician.

A somewhat leaner appearance was required for the role.

Still, as long as he could project a youthful student vibe and the temperament of an engineering geek, it would be vastly simpler than making a movie.

By comparison, he was much more curious to see if the infamous "Go Fighting Brotherhood" lived up to their online reputation.