Chapter 122: Screening
Guo Yingyu had spent an entire day scrolling through the audience’s criticisms of Song of Tears. By the end, she didn’t even want to continue.
She was just a viewer who had paid money only to suffer, but some of the commenters online might have shared experiences similar to those of the protagonist in Song of Tears. Perhaps even now, they hadn’t fully moved on.
They had believed that Song of Tears would play the role of a savior, but instead, it turned into a betrayer.
Recalling past painful experiences was never a pleasant ordeal.
“It could only be for the sake of chasing awards,” Guo Yingyu sighed. “Even if the production team noticed this group of wounded people, so what? The purpose of making this film wasn’t to save them.”
Sure enough, Song of Tears suffered a total box office collapse afterward. However, for the production team, the 150 million yuan they earned on opening day was already a significant profit. The only ones left hurt were the audiences who had trusted the film.
[I shouldn’t have supported his film the moment Qi Di was exposed online.]
[I never learn my lesson! Aaaaaah, give me back my ticket money!]
[I’m never watching another movie starring Qi Di again. So much regret.]
[Instead of watching Song of Tears, I should’ve waited for Feather of Youth, coming out in late October. That’s the movie Lu Xu took on after turning down Song of Tears. The trailer’s already out, and the story looks super heartwarming and adorable!]
[Is Lu Xu going head-to-head with Qi Di again this time?]
Regarding the renewed battle between Lu Xu and Qi Di, fans of Qi Di voiced their disapproval. After all, Song of Tears had secured prime National Day holiday screenings, while Feather of Youth had failed to get favorable slots and had been relegated to the cold, icy box office market of late October.
Everyone knew the late October release window was notoriously lifeless for films.
When Feather of Youth released its trailer, it coincided perfectly with the period when Song of Tears was being criticized online.
Feiyang Entertainment, which was promoting Feather of Youth, seized the opportunity with gusto. The first trending topic for the film was: #Sincerely Welcoming the ‘Song of Tears’ Survivors#.
Netizens: “…”
[If you are close to vermilion, you will be red. If you are close to Lu Xu, you will be black.]
Feiyang Entertainment even came up with a cheeky idea: offering a 30% discount on Feather of Youth tickets to viewers who presented their Song of Tears stubs. Unfortunately, this strategy didn’t comply with the rules of fair competition in the film market, so they had to abandon it.
In truth, although Feather of Youth hadn’t managed to secure a National Day holiday release slot, its situation wasn’t as dire as outsiders assumed.
Lu Xu had undeniable box office appeal, and his draw was at least stronger than Qi Di’s.
After all, Lu Xu was one of the leads in Deception, a hugely popular series that had previously broken numerous records in viewership and buzz. He lacked neither popularity nor accolades.
While Feather of Youth might not boast as star-studded a cast as Song of Tears, that didn’t mean Lu Xu couldn’t pull in audiences.
In fact, even though Hu Yan and Guo Yingyu were newcomers, the audience’s distrust of them wasn’t nearly as strong as their distrust of Zhang Che from Song of Tears.
…
On the day the official trailer for Feather of Youth was posted, it achieved over 100,000 views.
Unlike the suspense-filled Deception, Feather of Youth appeared to be a purely simple youth drama. The trailer featured blue skies, white clouds, a school campus, and boys sweating it out on the training field.
One particular scene showed a boy with empty, dazed eyes after being told he could no longer join the national team.
This was the only melancholic moment in the trailer.
In the very next scene, the boy told his friends, “Badminton is everything to me.”
The trailer condensed the process of rehabilitation, hard work, and skill recovery into a fast-forward sequence. Even so, the boy’s struggles and his burning desire to return to the court were palpable to all who watched.
The title Feather of Youth was simple and direct, telling the story of a boy who loved badminton.
After enduring a long period of rehabilitation, the boy finally stood on the court again. The arena lights gleamed brightly, and although there weren’t many people in the audience, he tightly gripped his racket. The sharp sound of the shuttlecock striking the racket echoed through the air. His forehead dripped with sweat, and his arms and chest were soaked, but the joy in his eyes and the smile on his face were infectious.
The trailer’s final shot featured the boy tossing the shuttlecock into the air. In his pure, dark, and clear eyes, the reflection of the shuttlecock was visible. The next moment, with a crisp “smack,” the shuttlecock soared into the air, transforming into the title Feather of Youth in bold characters.
The trailer was straightforward and honest, clearly conveying the essence of the story without any pretense or ambiguity.
Naturally, the film didn’t have the potential to mislead or scam audiences—it wasn’t trying to.
There was no need for the screenwriter to create dramatic obstacles like parents disapproving of Yin Pei’s passion for badminton. In fact, the trailer showed Yin Pei’s parents supporting him through rehabilitation. As for any psychological trauma Yin Pei might have suffered after his injury, the trailer had already provided the answer: Yin Pei made it back to the court.
This was a story with a proper beginning, a low point, a climax, and an ending.
…
In the days leading up to Feather of Youth’s release, Guo Yingyu and Hu Yan were particularly nervous. Once ticket presales opened, Guo Yingyu couldn’t resist checking the numbers constantly—almost obsessively—but she was also afraid to check too often, worried that audiences might not buy into the film.
To her astonishment, Feather of Youth broke 30 million yuan in presales on its first day.
The moment she saw the data, she could hardly believe her eyes.
Although Feather of Youth had little competition during its release period, surpassing 30 million yuan in presales was far beyond her expectations. With presales over 30 million, unless the plot completely fell apart, it was almost guaranteed to break 100 million.
Guo Yingyu suddenly understood why, when she had been worried about Feather of Youth’s box office potential, her studio boss, who was also a renowned director, had told her to relax: “Don’t underestimate Lu Xu.”
Lu Xu’s fans weren’t usually loud or flashy, but his shows and films had never performed poorly. That alone proved he had a loyal and stable fanbase. Lu Xu had consistently delivered high-quality projects, never letting his fans down, and naturally, his fans wouldn’t let him down either.
With strong presales and the advantage of a quiet release window, Feather of Youth secured 29% of all screenings on its opening day—a remarkable figure for a film in a less competitive slot.
Compared to the circumstances surrounding the release of Deception, Feather of Youth was in a much better position.
…
Han Xiao dragged her boyfriend Zhong Wei to watch Feather of Youth.
Han Xiao wasn’t interested in badminton, but Zhong Wei had once been a professional badminton player. Unfortunately, after an unexpected accident, Zhong Wei’s career had come to an abrupt end.
Zhong Wei never talked about it, but Han Xiao knew how devastating that reality was for an athlete.
If he hadn’t been pushed to the brink, Zhong Wei would never have given up badminton so easily.
Zhong Wei was the kind of quiet guy who kept his emotions bottled up. He seemed perfectly fine on the surface, but Han Xiao knew he must have carried deep regrets.
The opening scene of Feather of Youth depicted Yin Pei giving up badminton due to an injury.
Yin Pei’s movements as he picked up shuttlecocks and strung his racket, along with the emptiness in his eyes, immediately reminded Han Xiao of Zhong Wei.
Back then, Zhong Wei hadn’t cried either. Instead, it was Han Xiao who had broken down in tears.
To Zhong Wei, that experience must have felt like a nightmare too.
Yin Pei managed to move on, but Zhong Wei hadn’t yet.
Thankfully, the sorrowful part of the storyline didn’t last too long. Soon after, Yin Pei and his friends entered college. By then, he seemed to have recovered somewhat, though he still hadn’t found his purpose.
Once again, badminton became his pillar of support.
The cinematography in Feather of Youth was soft and warm, unlike the dark, somber tones of other films. Yin Pei was saddened by the thought of not being able to join the national team, but he gradually realized that even if he couldn’t make it to the national level, he could still play.
He had close friends by his side, a coach who cared about him, and a flame in his heart that never went out.
Yin Pei’s rehabilitation was arduous and slow. At the rehabilitation center he visited, there was a flowerpot on the windowsill. Before he started his therapy, the pot held only bare soil. Gradually, a sprout emerged, then leaves, and eventually, fluffy yellow flowers bloomed—just as the light in Yin Pei’s eyes grew brighter.
His friends were always there to support him.
Han Xiao noticed that her normally expressionless boyfriend, who had been quietly watching the film, suddenly moved his arm.
Recovery was grueling, and the chance of joining the national team remained zero, but Yin Pei never gave up. If Feather of Youth were real life, perhaps miracles wouldn’t happen. But Feather of Youth was a movie, and Yin Pei finally got the miracle he longed for.
In his first match, he went from trailing behind to winning. Others only saw him play a difficult game, but they didn’t know what he had endured along the way.
Yin Pei’s radiant smile and sparkling eyes reached every audience member through the big screen.
Even though it was just a match in the movie, Han Xiao clearly felt the tension in the theater when Yin Pei fell behind. As Yin Pei fought to turn the tide and transformed adversity into victory, the excited cheers of the audience filled the room, loud and unmistakable.
It was hard not to feel thrilled for Yin Pei. It was even harder not to be moved by the joy and hope radiating from his eyes.
The moment Yin Pei reached out to hug his friends, Han Xiao felt a lump in her throat and a strong urge to cry.
She, too, was infected by Yin Pei’s happiness in that moment.
After this scene, Yin Pei continued to compete in matches, experiencing both wins and losses. Meanwhile, Wang Zixiang and Qin Jinwei were also chasing their own goals—friends always encouraged each other.
Yin Pei was saved by his friends, and his return to the court became an inspiration to them as well.
Then, Feather of Youth reached its final chapter—another one of Yin Pei’s matches.
This time, he challenged an opponent he had never defeated before, achieving a miracle he couldn’t accomplish even before his injury.
But what moved Han Xiao most wasn’t the victory itself—it was the sight of his opponent on the court smiling and welcoming him back.
On the court, which athlete isn’t covered in scars?
Any of them could be forced to leave the game due to an unexpected accident.
What they could do was cherish every match and applaud their opponents and teammates who fought tirelessly to return to the game.
On the screen, Yin Pei smiled, but Han Xiao couldn’t hold back her tears. Even after the movie ended, she was still crying.
Zhong Wei handed her a tissue and said, “Stop crying.”
As the two left the theater, walking down the stairs and out into a quiet alley behind the cinema, Han Xiao noticed water droplets falling to the ground, one after another. They came from Zhong Wei, who was walking slowly beside her.
She slowed her steps, waiting for Zhong Wei to finish crying.
“Actually, I really love playing badminton. I never felt tired,” Zhong Wei muttered after a long pause. “I wish I were Yin Pei.”
But as he thought about Yin Pei’s journey in the movie, Zhong Wei couldn’t help but wonder: if parallel worlds existed, maybe in another reality, he could also step onto the court he loved one more time, just like Yin Pei.
And if he were Yin Pei’s opponent, he would also feel genuinely happy for Yin Pei’s return to the court.
Omg. That last scene with the actual former badminton player actually made me cry. What the hell. 😭