Sheng Tang finished filming "Unbeatable Life" and planned to rest for two weeks before considering new auditions.

"I’m so tired," she said to Ke Fei.

In "Unbeatable Life," she acted alongside highly skilled performers. She couldn’t control others’ pace and had to follow Ding Ruifan’s rhythm without being overshadowed by him.

When Ding Ruifan nailed a shot in one take, she had to nail it in one take too.

She felt immense pressure, and sometimes, being too involved made it difficult for her to snap out of character, unlike when filming "The Road to Ascend."

Her mind and spirit were exhausted; she needed a two-week recovery period.

Ke Fei understood her: "Sure, you can even rest for a month."

He genuinely understood Sheng Tang. Due to her performance on set, the director, the producer, and even Ding Ruifan couldn’t stop praising her.

If her audition was a breakthrough, then a month of filming was enough to prove her capability.

To be at your best every day, one must be highly experienced. After all, Sheng Tang was still a newcomer, having graduated just over a year ago.

"Two weeks is enough; I don’t dare to rest too long," Sheng Tang smiled.

However, Sheng Tang didn’t rest for long.

Gu Jiahui informed her: "The post-production of ’The Road to Ascend’ is complete. We’re planning to release it on January 10th."

Sheng Tang responded, "That’s pretty quick."

"The Road to Ascend" had to avoid all peak periods, such as the New Year’s holiday, the upcoming New Year’s period, and Valentine’s Day, or it would be a total loss.

Therefore, Gu Jiahui chose to release it during an off-peak period.

"Do we need to do promotions?" Sheng Tang asked.

Gu Jiahui nodded: "Our company will handle the promotions. I’ve added some promotional funds to do a few campaigns. The promotions will be on university campuses; you’ll be busy."

"The Road to Ascend" chose to have limited screenings at universities, with a total of ten events, and not even at well-known universities.

There were 12 days left until January 10th. Sheng Tang had to cover ten promotional points in these 12 days, meaning she likely wouldn’t get any sleep and would have to sleep on the plane.

She joked with Gu Jiahui: "Isn’t this a losing deal? Why invest more in promotion?"

Gu Jiahui replied nonchalantly: "Gambler’s mentality."

A gambler who has already lost five million won’t stop but will invest a bit more in hopes of a turnaround.

Sheng Tang knew this wasn’t Gu Jiahui’s real intention.

He had taken over the company in his second year of high school and had made numerous decisions, often facing losses. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

A five-million loss wasn’t enough to make him desperate and gamble everything on one shot.

He wanted to give Sheng Tang a chance to shine, to see if the film she fought so hard for had any hope of success.

He gave Sheng Tang this starting point of hope.

"Thank you, Mr. Gambler," Sheng Tang smiled.

Gu Jiahui chuckled.

The two of them also signed a supplementary agreement. If the box office profits, Gu Jiahui would give Sheng Tang 10% of the box office share.

Sheng Tang enthusiastically threw herself into the promotions.

The promotional locations were in ten first- and second-tier cities. Indeed, Sheng Tang had no time to sleep, barely finishing one event before having to catch a flight to the next.

The initial screenings received very positive feedback.

The students loved the movie.

"I’m definitely going to see it again in theaters to support the box office!"

"This is a high-quality film, with laughs, tears, and even a bit of suspense."

The promotion period ended, and the movie was released as scheduled.

January 10th, three weeks before the New Year period, was considered a cold period in the film market. Thus, under Gu Jiahui’s operations, "The Road to Ascend," an unknown film, secured a 12.3% screen rate in theaters nationwide.