Drawing the Joker

In the room, Ren was playing a game of Old Maid with Yueyue and Jada. Jada had already played all her cards, leaving Ren and Yueyue to continue.

"Aha! You're done for!" Ren said, watching Yueyue draw the Joker from his hand, his face showing gleeful satisfaction.

Yueyue scrunched her little nose in frustration, then glanced at Ren and hid her cards behind her back, shuffling them around.

"Come on, pick a card!" Yueyue boldly held her cards out to Ren, indicating she wasn't afraid of him.

"Alright, let's see. My turn! Draw a card!" Ren smiled confidently, extending his hand. He glanced at Jada behind Yueyue and gave her a signal with his eyes.

???

At first, Jada didn't understand why Ren was winking at her. After a while, when Yueyue had only two cards left, Jada finally realized Ren's intention and felt a bit speechless. He wanted her to team up with him to trick their daughter. Couldn't they let Yueyue win for once?

Jada rolled her eyes at Ren, then pointed to a specific card. Seeing Jada finally got his signal, Ren grinned. However, he had to maintain his mature demeanor as an adult. He cleared his throat and reached out confidently, saying, "The rules of victory have been decided!"

Ren drew the card Jada had indicated, only to stare in shock. It was the Joker! His wife had tricked him!

Ren glared at Jada, who turned her head away, not meeting his eyes. Meanwhile, Yueyue's face lit up with joy and triumph. "Haha! The winner is me, Yueyue!"

"Wife, you betrayed me!" Ren complained, looking at Jada. He still had the Joker while Yueyue had paired all her cards.

"I didn't have a choice before, but now I just want to be a good person," Jada shrugged. "Besides, you tried to cheat against a child. I was just doing the right thing."

Ren was speechless.

As for Yueyue, she initially didn't understand her parents' conversation, but upon hearing Jada's words, her little face puffed up in anger. "Daddy, you cheated against Yueyue! Shame on you! I'm not playing with you anymore!"

With that, Yueyue ran out of the room, her little feet pattering on the floor.

Ren, unfazed, thick-skinned as ever, turned to Jada and asked, "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"

Earlier, Jada had rushed in with something urgent but got dragged into playing cards by Ren.

"Oh, right. The major cinema chains gave us two choices. One is to buy out our movie, and the other is to take 72% of the box office revenue," Jada said, frowning in anger.

"That's outrageous!" Ren exclaimed, eyes wide. Buying out the movie was out of the question since this was their first major Type-Moon production. As for the box office split, the demand was far higher than other cinemas, clearly an attempt to make things difficult for Picca.

"Yes, it seems the success of 'Your Name' alerted the big five companies. Recently, our company's momentum is almost on par with Jiarong. One Jiarong is already giving them a headache, adding us to the mix is too much for them," Jada said, rubbing her temples.

"If that's the case, we'll have to let the big five go," Ren sighed. Despite his words, he was dissatisfied. The five major companies controlled about 50% of the cinemas nationwide. Not screening there would significantly impact their box office revenue. However, agreeing to the demands would set a bad precedent, potentially leading other cinemas to raise their demands too. They couldn't give in.

Jada decided to stop negotiating with the big five cinemas. It was pointless since they were clearly hostile. Even if they agreed verbally, they could later impose stricter demands. They would have to rely on other cinemas' screening rates and high attendance to achieve good profits.

Thus, Picca Comics began heavily promoting "The Garden of Sinners." They advertised everywhere within their budget—high-speed trains, subways, and large plaza screens. They also added ads in their magazine issues. Additionally, moviegoers could exchange their tickets for a copy of the Porter's character sketches, with 5,000 limited hand-drawn sketches up for grabs, featuring characters from "Fullmetal Alchemist," "Your Name," and "Madoka Magica."

Ren even posted some of these sketches online, which quickly garnered many comments.

"Wow, Picca Comics is making an animated movie? I have to see it! It's definitely not just for the limited 5,000 hand-drawn sketches!"

"'The Garden of Sinners: Overlooking View'? Sounds like a series. I hope it's good."

"Why only 5,000 hand-drawn sketches? Can't they all be originals?"

"Do you want the Porter to die from exhaustion?"

"I checked the ticket website. Why aren't cinemas like Blue Ling and Dragon Soar showing it? Those are major cinemas."

"Remember, the big five companies also have comic subsidiaries. With Picca doing so well, they must be trying to suppress them."

…

December arrived, marking the last month of the year. The movie market entered its busiest season, the New Year's holiday.

On December 11th, Dragon Soar's "I'm Really Not a Hero" kicked off the holiday battle. Jiarong Real Estate's "Because of Bad Luck, All I Get is Good Fortune" followed.

The big five companies also released their films. Ren's "The Garden of Sinners" premiered and received positive reviews, awaiting its public release.

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