In this era, no matter how much a movie is backed by a world-class director, and protected by award-winning actors, trying to achieve high box office without spending a single penny on promotion is a pipe dream.

“The Zeroth Law” was directed by Lance Holt, with Clemens Holt as associate director, making it a powerful production. Moreover, among the two male leads, Rong Xu was in his prime in recent years, with soaring popularity; Qin Cheng himself was a box office guarantee, with his worst film earning over 3 billion yuan in over a decade of his career. Yet, even with all this, it only gave “The Zeroth Law” a higher starting line than other films released at the same time.

Starting in June, Clemens Holt launched a large-scale global promotional campaign. Collaborating with top luxury brands, round-the-clock big-screen trailers in Times Square, and spending heavily on online marketing for “The Zeroth Law”—these public relations measures alone kept “The Zeroth Law” in the spotlight for movie fans every day.

Because of the kissing incident, “The Zeroth Law” had to release its first trailer, but after that, Sr. Holt was stingy and refused to release any more news about the film. 

However, this didn’t stump Clemens. The young director started to aggressively promote the film’s special effects technology to the world, focusing on its post-production and VFX techniques.

“Groundbreaking Special Effects: Can ‘The Zeroth Law’ Lead a Film Technology Craze?”

“A Pinnacle of World-Class Special Effects, the True Mega-Production Film ‘The Zeroth Law’!”

Such reports were countless, subtly creating a perception among movie fans: “The special effects technology in ‘The Zeroth Law’ must be amazing, I’m so excited! Hollywood is already good at special effects, but not as strong in humanistic aspects as China. But this time, the leads are Qin Cheng and Rong Xu, their acting skills combined with Hollywood’s special effects… When will this movie finally be released!!!”

The first step of the promotion was to use the film’s special effects as a marketing point. Once Clemens was sure that movie fans had completely forgotten about the kissing video, he began promoting the “good bromance” between Rong Xu and Qin Cheng. 

Since everyone had forgotten about the video incident and the relationship between Rong Xu and Qin Cheng, the second wave of promotion focused on the bromance between the two male leads. This wave of promotion surprisingly had a far greater effect than the previous one. Worldwide, the attention on “The Zeroth Law” surged at a visible rate, and even before the film’s release, many fan-made works appeared.

“The Zeroth Law” had not released a single official costume photo or poster, and it was stingy enough to only provide a short fifteen-second trailer video (which included the beginning and end). But that was enough.

“My Rong looks so hot in that white outfit at the end of the trailer! I couldn’t help but draw another picture today, but no matter how I look at it, my drawing is uglier than Rongrong’s screenshot. So… when will the movie be released already!!!”

“I’ve watched that trailer a hundred times, a hundred times! Should I even say I watched the secretly filmed video over ten times?! Rongrong and God Qin are a perfect match. After watching the trailer, I unconditionally became a CP fan. More treats, please, sweet, sweet, just smother me with dog food!”

“The Zeroth Law” indeed hasn’t been released yet, but my Rong and Qin God have given us enough treats over the years. I just caught up on last year’s Golden Bear Awards ceremony today; Qin God giving Rongrong the award was simply adorable.”

“Today’s mission: ‘Black Clouds’ finished 11th rewatch; ‘Zhuang Hua Luo’ finished 13th rewatch. Daily plea for ‘The Zeroth Law’!”

In this state of widespread anticipation, Clemens deliberately built up moviegoers’ appetites, finally releasing stills from “The Zeroth Law.” 

Similar to the character perceptions of every fan, these stills depicted a handsome, aloof scientist in a white robe and an innocent, beautiful little robot. 

The last still, in particular, vividly displayed the starkly different personalities of the two characters: Qin Cheng leaned over, pressing Rong Xu onto the bed, yet his expression remained utterly cold, creating a sharp contrast with Rong Xu’s clear, hazy eyes.

The ambiguous gaze in the stills excited fans, and in fact, these two didn’t need to speak, or even act as they did in the stills; simply being in the same frame was enough to make people scream.

In late August, “The Zeroth Law” confirmed its release date for October 27, 2047. As mentioned before, directors nowadays often choose special dates for movie releases to maximize profits. “Zhuang Hua Luo” chose Rong Xu’s birthday, December 18th, for its release. “The Zeroth Law” did the same, specifically scheduling its premiere on Qin Cheng’s birthday, thereby leveraging Qin Cheng’s fame for a wave of publicity.

Since the release date was set, “The Zeroth Law” crew began its global promotional tour from mid-September. They participated in various shows, held fan meetings and sneak previews in ten countries and twelve cities, successfully generating a wave of publicity.

 It was like the calm before the storm. From June to mid-October, the whole world was madly discussing “The Zeroth Law,” eagerly anticipating its release. But by October 20th, after the crew concluded their final fan meeting in New York, movie fans seemed to no longer hold the same boundless anticipation for the film. “The Zeroth Law” rarely appeared on global trending topics anymore.

Naturally, Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s fans were very anxious about this situation, fearing a sharp drop in their male gods’ box office. However, they certainly didn’t know that Clemens Holt, who was responsible for the film’s promotion, remained completely calm. 

The experienced Hollywood director didn’t take this situation seriously at all and had even privately said: “You have to give them some time to rest, otherwise when the movie is released, they won’t have the energy to rave about it.”

Such arrogant words could only come from Clemens Holt.

However, actions speak louder than words. As the date drew nearer, finally, the premiere of “The Zeroth Law” arrived. This time, Sr. Holt did not choose to hold the premiere at any grand theater in Hollywood. Instead, he took the crew across the Pacific, arriving in City B, China.

As dusk slowly descended, City B welcomed its daily rush hour, with congested vehicles filling the highways. At the City B Grand Theater, beyond the Third Ring Road, crowds flowed like a tide. Reporters from various global media magazines, film critics who specifically flew from all over the world to attend the premiere, a hundred lucky Chinese audience members, and many invited industry peers all gathered there.

The premiere ceremony for “The Zeroth Law” had not yet begun, but the City B Grand Theater was already packed with people. 

No one knew how high the box office would be after the film’s release, whether it would receive overwhelmingly positive reviews or extremely low scores. 

However, at the premiere itself, an unusual element was already stirring.

Gong Zijian, as the ace reporter for “Huaxia Entertainment,” was specifically sent by his editor-in-chief to the premiere of “The Zeroth Law” today, ready to snag first-hand news. He was in his forties this year, having worked as an entertainment reporter for over twenty years, and had attended countless movie premieres—from low-budget indie films to blockbusters grossing tens of billions. But he had never felt anything like this before—

It seemed like something was amiss, as if… something was about to happen. Perhaps it was an intuition born from professional experience, but Gong Zijian seemed to realize that this movie might not be simple.

The premiere of “The Zeroth Law” was no different from other films. 

The director and lead actors stood on stage, interacting with reporters and fans, promoting the movie, sharing their experiences during filming, and discussing the film’s themes. Throughout the premiere, the attention of reporters and audience members was almost entirely focused on Rong Xu and Qin Cheng. During the latter half of the premiere, Sr. Holt even deliberately self-deprecatingly said, “I know what you want. You don’t want to hear this old man rambling about the creative process of the film. You just want to see Rong and Qin do something.”

A chorus of applause erupted from the audience.

Sr. Holt feigned anger: “You really don’t want to hear me talk, you just want to see Rong and Qin interact?”

The response to Sr. Holt was even louder applause, with many fans excitedly shouting Rong Xu and Qin Cheng’s names.

Facing such a situation, everyone assumed Sr. Holt was just joking, trying to liven up the premiere’s atmosphere. However, the world-class director sighed heavily, as if conceding defeat, and said, “Can’t I just give in to you then? My Chinese isn’t very good. How does that saying go… oh right, right…”

 He turned to look at Rong Xu and Qin Cheng beside him and said, “That saying is ‘scene recreation.’ Hey, Qin, Rong, to deal with these damned reporters who only want big news… oh no, I mean, to bribe these lovely reporters so they’ll praise our movie more when they write their reports tomorrow, why don’t you satisfy them? Let’s perform a scene here, the one where you had dozens of NGs.”

Hearing this, the entire audience froze, and the reporters didn’t understand what Sr. Holt meant.

Rong Xu smiled helplessly: “Lance, that’s not quite right, that scene is…”

Sr. Holt retorted, “What’s wrong with that scene? It’s already been secretly filmed by some damned scoundrel, and the content of that scene has been put online. What’s wrong with us reviewing it now and performing a segment live?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire venue fell silent. On the live streaming website, the bullet comments also suddenly stopped. After three seconds, netizens suddenly flooded the screen with comments—

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh! The scene with dozens of NGs! That kiss scene! Ahhhhhhhh!!!”

“I’m standing up for Mrs. Lance Holt! Mrs. Holt is the biggest fan in my circle, no arguments accepted. Please, Mrs., love us for another ten thousand years!!!”

“Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss! I don’t care, the director said to kiss, Rongrong and Qin God, you must kiss! Kiss, kiss, kiss!”

“I’ve fallen, and I won’t get up unless you kiss!!!”

Many movies and TV shows, to create buzz, would have their protagonists hug or even kiss at press conferences. For people in the entertainment industry, money is tangible, so what’s a kiss for box office? Some unscrupulous directors would even use scandals or even old revealing photos of their leads to promote the movie before its release.

After Sr. Holt finished speaking, someone, no one knew who started it, began shouting the same slogan throughout the audience: “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Perhaps the excited anticipation was too infectious, and even many media reporters and film critics joined in, laughing and demanding that the two male leads perform that scene and kiss on stage.

The immense sound waves almost lifted the roof of the City B Grand Theater. Under the cheering of so many people, Rong Xu looked at the manipulative Sr. Holt with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, only to see the latter looking back at him with an innocent expression.

He opened his mouth and said, “Lance, this isn’t the script we agreed upon. You clearly told me before going on stage that we’d just perform a regular scene, didn’t you?”

Sr. Holt spread his hands: “My dear Rong, can you bear to disappoint so many viewers?”

Rong Xu turned to look at the audience, only to hear the movie fans shout in unison: “No, we can’t!”

His handsome brows and eyes couldn’t help but curve into a smile. 

Rong Xu was about to say something more, but just as he opened his mouth, his arm was suddenly pulled. He looked up in surprise, only to see that the man beside him had stood up at some point and pulled him in front of him.

The shouts in the entire theater vanished at this moment. 

Under the gaze of audiences worldwide, Qin Cheng raised his long fingers and gently hooked the young man’s exquisite chin. In his deep, profound eyes, emotions too complex to discern settled, like an entire universe concealing stars within. He watched with serious solemnity, and Rong Xu’s expression gradually calmed.

In the silent theater, Qin Cheng’s voice, like a sigh, slowly resounded: “Do you truly know… what love is?”

The next moment, like the melting of spring snow and the blooming of spring flowers, the young man’s bright eyes reflected clear light. His eyes were full of stars, and boundless love was completely unhidden, fully revealed on the surface. Then, he parted his lips and said in a clear yet firm voice: “I love you.”

The moment the last word fell, Qin Cheng leaned in and kissed the lips that had just declared love to him. A gasp immediately echoed through the venue, and various “ahhhhhh” bullet comments flooded the live video website. The two individuals captured by the camera, however, closed their eyes, solemnly and reverently kissing each other. Qin Cheng’s fingers ran through Rong Xu’s soft hair, tightly gripping the back of his head. Rong Xu almost instinctively wrapped his arms around the other’s waist, gently returning the kiss.

They couldn’t kiss too deeply; they still had to exercise restraint, otherwise malicious reporters might deliberately misrepresent it. 

Rong Xu and Qin Cheng only kissed for a few seconds before breaking apart, but this was enough for the audience and provided great publicity for the reporters.

With the kiss over, Sr. Holt deliberately asked a few more ambiguous questions. For example, “You two kissed very smoothly just now, didn’t you feel awkward?” 

To this, Qin Cheng raised an eyebrow and retorted, “Lance, didn’t you pressure us to perform live?” 

Rong Xu, giving Sr. Holt more face, smiled and replied, “If it’s Qin Cheng, then there’s no problem. But if it were any other male actor… I probably wouldn’t be able to kiss them, it would probably feel a bit awkward.”

The host quickly asked: “Rong Xu, why do you only feel very smooth with Qin? I remember at the ‘The Zeroth Law’ launch event, Director Holt once revealed that Qin Cheng also said the same thing, that he would only act in same-sex films with you, and he absolutely couldn’t shoot kiss scenes with other male actors. Is there… any special reason for this?”

This question garnered the attention of everyone present and the live audience. However, Rong Xu smiled slightly and answered easily, “Is there any special reason? If I had to say, it’s that when I was filming, I already kissed this guy many times. To be honest with you, his lips are very soft, not at all like they appear on the outside. At first, it might have felt like something, but after kissing a lot… pardon my frankness, it’s like drinking water, no feeling at all.”

Qin Cheng calmly raised his hand. The host looked at him: “Is Qin Cheng trying to say something?”

Qin Cheng picked up the microphone, gazing resentfully at Rong Xu, and said in a low voice, “I’m very hurt. I didn’t expect Rong Xu to think kissing me is like drinking water; that’s too disrespectful. But I’d like to ask one thing, Rong Xu, are you thirsty now?”

No one had reacted yet when he finished speaking, only fans on the live streaming website quickly understood Qin Cheng’s meaning. After a few seconds, Rong Xu’s ears suddenly turned red. He coughed twice and punched Qin Cheng’s shoulder: “Not thirsty! Not thirsty at all!”

Qin Cheng subtly curved his lips: “But I am thirsty.”

Rong Xu: “…”

Audience: “Ahhhhhhhh!!!”

Global movie fans watching the live stream: “Let the dog food come harder!!!”

The premiere ended in this ambiguous, bromantic atmosphere. In the end, Sr. Holt even used Qin Cheng’s birthday as a topic, having staff wheel out a cake. Qin Cheng closed his eyes and made a wish. After blowing out the candles, Sr. Holt asked, “Qin, what did you wish for?”

Qin Cheng picked up the microphone, his thin lips curving: “Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?”

Sr. Holt chuckled: “There’s a truth and a lie for this?”

The audience loudly shouted: “Lie, lie, lie, lie!”

Qin Cheng calmly said: “I wish ‘The Zeroth Law’ box office breaks ten billion.”

Sr. Holt was furious: “That’s a lie?! What’s your truth?”

The man slowly raised his eyes to look at the young man beside him and chuckled softly: “I hope my dear friend Rong Xu is thirsty every day.”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…” Rong Xu, who was dutifully cutting the cake, almost choked on his saliva this time.

At this point, the premiere ceremony truly concluded. All the main creators returned backstage, and the audience and reporters could rest for fifteen minutes, waiting for the midnight movie premiere.

After leaving the stage, Rong Xu immediately punched the man, angrily refusing to look at him. Unexpectedly, the shameless man followed him, one walking ahead, one following behind. They quickly entered the lounge, and Qin Cheng casually locked the door.

After the door clicked shut, Rong Xu was heading for the water cooler, but just as he reached the sofa, his wrist was grabbed, and he was pressed onto the sofa. Not at all surprised, the handsome youth provocatively looked at the man on top of him, asking with a half-smile, “Mr. Qin, I am indeed thirsty now. Could you please get off me and let me get a good drink of water?”

Qin Cheng lowered his gaze, elegantly raising an eyebrow: “Is it really like drinking water?”

Rong Xu replied nonchalantly: “After kissing for so many years, what feeling could there be?”

Qin Cheng: “Really?”

Rong Xu raised his eyes, deliberately saying: “Really, kissing you is like kissing the back of my hand, there’s no—mngh…”

Hot lips suddenly pressed down, silencing the words about to leave the young man’s mouth. 

These lips, as Rong Xu had said, were unexpectedly soft and gentle, completely unlike their outward appearance. 

The moment their lips met, a slight tingling sensation traveled along the nerves to his brain. How could it be like drinking water? This was the man he loved; even if he kissed a hundred times, a lifetime, he would drown in it, unable to pull himself away.

The nimble tongue quickly pried open the youth’s teeth. 

This kiss was no longer a mere peck like on stage. Qin Cheng forcefully sucked the sweet saliva from his lover’s mouth, roughly licking the already sensitive inner lining of the youth’s oral cavity with his rough tongue. 

The taste of kissing his beloved was already intoxicating. Now, hearing the sounds of staff moving outside the lounge added an extra thrill of illicit pleasure. Just kissing made Rong Xu feel hot all over, and he was getting hard below.

However, with only fifteen minutes of break time, all Qin Cheng could do was press this outwardly reluctant youth onto the sofa and kiss him wantonly. At most, he could sneak his hand into the other’s clothes and grope him while he was dazed, but he couldn’t go any further. 

The kiss finally ended when Luo Xi knocked on the door, telling them to get ready to leave.

Rong Xu’s eyes were teary, and he gasped for air. After finally catching his breath, he gently punched the handsome face, clearly scolding him in annoyance, but accompanied by his panting, it was exceptionally alluring: “What’s with all the kissing… Alright, now how do we fix this?”

Qin Cheng sighed heavily, took Rong Xu’s hand, and placed it on a certain part of himself, also saying very aggrievedly, “Me too.”

Rong Xu immediately pulled his hand away: “I don’t care about you, you handle yours, I’ll handle mine.”

With only a few minutes left, it was impossible to truly resolve the situation. 

Rong Xu’s desire in this regard was ultimately a bit milder. 

He took a few deep breaths, slowly calmed down, and forcefully suppressed his urges. 

As for the man’s state, it wasn’t so good. Even when the crew returned to the theater and he sat in his seat, a certain part of him still hadn’t completely subsided. 

Fortunately, Qin Cheng was wearing a long coat today, which could slightly cover it, otherwise it would definitely have been discovered.

However, while waiting for the movie to start, this shameless man secretly tried to pull his beloved youth’s hand towards a certain place, but Rong Xu directly gave him a side-eye and sneered, “There are reporters behind us. If you move any more, I don’t mind switching seats with Lance.”

Qin Cheng: “…”

Currently, Rong Xu’s left side was Qin Cheng, his right side was Sr. Holt, and Sr. Holt’s right side was Clemens. If Rong Xu switched seats with Sr. Holt, it would mean sitting next to Clemens. Could he tolerate that?!

Reluctantly, he withdrew his wandering hand. Qin Cheng looked calmly ahead, his eyes serene, so no one could tell the strangeness hidden beneath his coat. It wasn’t until all the investor’s opening credits had finished that Qin Cheng finally calmed down completely. He very aggrievedly reached out and hooked Rong Xu’s palm, to which he was met with the youth’s innocent smile: “Move again, and we switch seats. ^_^”

Qin Cheng: “…”

Baby is aggrieved! My baby… who can I tell!!!

What happened in the front row of the theater went unnoticed by anyone. The premiere ceremony was over, and whether it was media reporters, professional film critics, industry peers, or lucky audience members, their focus was now on the content of “The Zeroth Law.”

Gong Yijian also put away his camera and began to honestly prepare to watch the movie. 

To be honest, for entertainment reporters like them, attending movie premieres was mainly for digging up news, not for watching movies. 

Their newspapers and magazines had specially commissioned film critics, so the movie reviews didn’t need to be written by their reporters. What they needed to write about was the news that happened at the premiere ceremony.

Gong Yijian was quite satisfied with today’s premiere. He took many good photos and had even thought about what headline to publish on tomorrow’s front page. As for “The Zeroth Law,” he would just watch it casually. He wasn’t a big movie lover himself; he watched many movies for work, but most of the time he dozed off in the cinema.