The movie was called ‘Confession’, and the plot revolved around a boy confessing his love for ten years straight.
Ten years ago, he fell for a girl. Every time he tried to confess his feelings, some sort of misunderstanding or coincidence would always get in the way, causing him to go through a whole series of twists and turns. It takes him a decade, but eventually, he manages to confess, and everything ends happily.
Though the main character seems a bit pitiful, the movie carries a light-hearted vibe, with several amusing moments scattered throughout.
But after reading the synopsis, Ji Ling couldn’t help but doubt—did people still watch movies like this nowadays?
The storyline felt old-fashioned, nothing particularly fresh. The only thing keeping it somewhat interesting was the variety of ways his confessions kept failing, each more bizarre than the last.
But with this type of movie, the ending is pretty predictable. Ji Ling even thought maybe it would be better if he didn’t confess at the end — that might at least bring a bit of originality.
But, given that the movie was meant to be a light comedy, it obviously needed a happy ending.
Regardless, Ji Ling called a meeting with his team to discuss the plan, breaking down the target audience, finalizing the theme and key points for promotion, and creating a detailed roadmap for the marketing campaign.
It sounded simple, but Ji Ling wasn’t exactly thrilled with the current direction of the movie’s promotion.
In today’s market, artsy and indie films were no longer in trend. Relying too much on emotional appeal wasn’t going to win the audience over. Though the film was targeted at young people in their teens and twenties, today’s youth had already been bombarded with big-budget domestic and international blockbusters. This kind of romantic comedy would have a hard time standing out without something to grab attention.
With the film ready to begin production, the work for product placement had to get underway immediately.
Ji Ling personally approached a few product placement companies. The prices they offered weren’t too high, but the website that serialized the original novel gave a particularly good deal. Ji Ling understood that small-budget films were like this; he had to perfect his promotional plan to convince clients to spend a bit more.
In truth, things were going smoothly. The product placement contracts were practically finalized, and the production company had already reviewed the promotional plan without raising any issues.
The movie started filming without a hitch, and Ji Ling made sure his team stayed on top of things, always watching for any promotional opportunities. If something worth hyping came up, they’d take the chance to push it in the news.
If everything continued like this, Ji Ling would be able to successfully secure the promotion fees by the end.
But Ji Ling wasn’t happy with this barely passing result.
Whenever he could score a nine, he wouldn’t settle for an eight, let alone only a six.
If you’re selling something and you can’t even feel its worth, how can you sell it to others?
So, Ji Ling called in He Xiaoguang to get his thoughts on the movie’s plot from a young person’s perspective.
“But Brother Ji, you’re young too, right?” He Xiaoguang was confused.
Ji Ling paused for a moment before replying, “Just tell me your thoughts.”
“The plot is definitely a bit bland, but you can’t judge this kind of movie just by the plot. It really depends on how the director handles it,” He Xiaoguang said.
Ji Ling asked, “If it were you, and you saw this movie on the schedule, would you buy a ticket to see it?”
He Xiaoguang hesitated and said, “Uh, probably not. Unless I’m with my girlfriend, and even then, I’d probably go for a blockbuster instead.”
“That’s our weakness,” Ji Ling said. “We have to figure out how to get people to buy tickets. They trust us to promote this movie, and it’s our job to make the audience want to buy tickets.”
Ji Ling paused, then suddenly realized something. “Wait, you have a girlfriend?”
He Xiaoguang answered confidently, “Nope. But I can imagine, can’t I?”
“…” Ji Ling laughed. “You’re really good at comforting yourself. But if we’re taking money for this job, we better make sure we sell those tickets. I feel like the key is to find something in the movie that resonates with the audience—grab onto that and use it to spark their interest.”
He looked at He Xiaoguang’s youthful face and asked, “So, what about this movie speaks to you?”
He Xiaoguang thought for a moment and said, “Maybe the confession part. Just seeing the title makes me think of my own confession.” He chuckled. “Looking back, I was pretty stupid, but at the time, I thought I was pretty cool.”
Once He Xiaoguang started talking, he couldn’t stop. He went on and on about his brave confession, puffing himself up as if he were some kind of hero.
Ji Ling pretended to listen, but his mind was elsewhere.
For He Xiaoguang, the movie brought back memories of his own confession, but what had stood out to Ji Ling when he first saw the plot was the ‘ten years.’
Ten years of love—it represented loyalty, and that really surprised him.
Ji Ling had seen many people and experienced a lot in his life, but the idea of sticking with something for ten years was rare, almost unheard of.
A confession that took ten years to finally be spoken—that, to Ji Ling, was something admirable.
Ji Ling’s view of the movie was very different from He Xiaoguang’s, but he didn’t say anything. He just quietly listened as He Xiaoguang excitedly went on about his own experiences.
He was really that excited, huh…
A thought suddenly struck Ji Ling. Maybe he had been heading in the wrong direction from the very beginning.
He interrupted He Xiaoguang, ruffling his hair, and said, “Thanks for giving me some ideas. I’ll treat you to a big meal.”
He Xiaoguang, annoyed at being interrupted, shot Ji Ling a glare and asked, “Brother Ji, how come you’re not reacting at all? Have you never confessed before?”
Ji Ling froze for a second at the question.
He Xiaoguang looked at him, stunned. “So, has anyone confessed to you?”
Ji Ling stroked his chin, thinking for a moment, and replied, “I guess so.”
When he was younger, he had been in a serious relationship. The girl was the daughter of a businessman. At the time, it seemed like something that just started naturally and ended just as naturally. He accepted flirtations in all kinds of settings and would occasionally slip a hotel room key into someone’s hand.
The concept of confession was something distant for him, almost like it belonged to another world.
He Xiaoguang stared at him in disbelief. “Brother Ji, you really have no ‘love brain,’ do you?”
Ji Ling patted his head, not wanting to dig deeper into the subject. Instead, he reminded him that the movie hadn’t even started filming yet and warned him not to share any details with others.
Ji Ling decided to change his promotional strategy. That night, he took the materials home to continue working. Normally, he would stay late at the office, but if he didn’t leave, no one else would dare to. Reluctantly, he had to bring his work home.
He still used the old car left behind by his former boss. It wasn’t worth much anyway, so he just kept it.
His place, like Yan Yixuan had mentioned, was an old rental house near the company.
The land prices around the office were too high, and this was the only area left that hadn’t been redeveloped. Everyone living here was hoping for compensation after demolition. Many people had already moved out, leaving vacant homes that were rented out to office workers from the nearby business district, while waiting for notices from the government or developers.
Honestly, this kind of living situation was a real struggle for Ji Ling.
When Ji Ling was a child, he had witnessed his father’s entrepreneurial journey, but he was too young at the time. Later, his father quickly became successful, and Ji Ling started living a life where he never had to worry about food or clothes. Eventually, it turned into a life of luxury and excess.
Suddenly being forced to live in a small, rented place made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
But Ji Ling stuck with it.
It was hard to admit, but he needed to save money.
The place he lived in wasn’t big, and there wasn’t much furniture. He used every available space to stack books and materials.
People outside would say that it was impressive for someone as young as Ji Ling to already have his own company, but he knew it was just a few marketing projects based on the small amount of business experience he had. To him, that was child’s play, like kids playing house in kindergarten.
At least his company was still growing, but to expand further, he needed to learn more about the industry he was in.
He had already started to cross into a new field. He had stepped away from producing products and entered the media and communications industry.
People often say that switching industries is like crossing a mountain, and he was experiencing it firsthand. There was still so much to learn. The confidence and polish he showed during business talks were just for show. In private, he still had so much knowledge to catch up on. His place was filled with research materials, and he tried to read whenever he could, but these were things he couldn’t share with outsiders.
That evening, Ji Ling went online and took a closer look at the original novel of the movie.
The writing was quite delicate, capturing the feeling of a secret crush, the beauty of first love, the regret of missed opportunities, and the excitement of a final confession.
Ji Ling knew that he couldn’t quite connect with the emotions of the work. He clicked on the comment section to see what the readers had to say.
Sure enough, many readers, just like He Xiaoguang, started talking about their own experiences with confessions.
The comments section had turned into a discussion circle, with everyone sharing their own stories.
The power of the internet was all about sharing.
Ji Ling tapped on the desk, deciding that he would have a meeting first thing tomorrow to adjust the plan.
He could change his strategy based on market reactions, but he was still unsure about how to connect with the emotional core of his product.
He didn’t understand why, if you loved someone, you wouldn’t just say it and instead drag it out for ten years. But he did admire the male lead in the movie. To be able to keep a love alive for ten years without ever confessing—it was impressive. If his business partners could show that kind of loyalty for ten years, he’d probably wake up smiling in his dreams.
It seemed a bit off-track, but in the world Ji Ling had grown up in, the kind of lasting love described in the novel felt too far-fetched, too unreal.
He had always measured relationships with money.
Not just him—Yan Yixuan was the same.
Wasn’t that exactly how their relationship worked? Because Ji Ling made the sponsor find him interesting, the sponsor was willing to play along with him.
Ji Ling knew that he was only able to push certain boundaries because of Yan Yixuan’s fleeting interest in him. Yan Yixuan didn’t mind and let him get away with it.
But that kind of relationship was dangerous.
Ji Ling felt a bit frustrated. How did he end up thinking about Yan Yixuan again? Just as his mind wandered, his phone rang, startling him out of his thoughts.
He looked down at the caller ID—Yan Yixuan.
What a coincidence. He had just been thinking about him, and now Yan Yixuan was calling. Ji Ling’s scalp tingled a bit.
He picked up the phone, and Yan Yixuan’s voice came through.
“Boss Ji.”
Ji Ling’s heart sank. Every time Yan Yixuan mockingly called him ‘Boss Ji,’ it was a sign that something was about to go down.
He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of strange idea Yan Yixuan had this time.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
Thanks for the translation!!!