Our Own Daughters, the Twelve Beauties of Jinling

Someone started the trend.

Gradually, a portion of people began joining in on the meme.

Comments like "You can always trust a chaebol's taste" and "Welcome to Cao Thief's Premium Selection" started popping up.

Others joked, "We knew Cao Thief ate well, but this well? Damn him."

In short,

The tone of these remarks made those who were earnestly criticizing Cao Cheng seem overly serious, even nitpicky—like, was it really worth getting so worked up over such trivial matters?

This was the power of well-orchestrated hype.

In everyone's minds, this was just the kind of life Cao Cheng should be living.

After all, Cao Cheng wasn’t a celebrity, an entertainer, or a government official—he was just the richest man, a boss.

His usual banter with fans, even outright roasting, had led some to mistakenly think of him as just another performer.

If this had happened to a male actor, he would’ve been torn apart by now.

But with Cao Cheng?

The first reaction was: "Isn’t this totally normal?"

Some even thought: "If I had his looks, his background, and his money, I’d go even crazier."

It was this subconscious sentiment that fueled the memes.

Especially once someone took the lead,

openly flaunting their "envy and jealousy" in a way that seemed hilarious, inspiring others to follow suit.

Of course,

there was another reason: Cao Cheng had long made a habit of posting photos of beautiful women to stir up reactions.

After so many posts, everyone had already accepted the fact that Cao Cheng was surrounded by stunning women.

......

The buzz lasted two days.

Everything stayed under control.

The movie Goodbye Mr. Loser was frequently mentioned in conversations.

Finally, Miracle Media broke their silence with a high-definition group photo—

The Twelve Golden Flowers.

Accompanying it was a detailed write-up introducing them as one-in-a-million talents, skilled in both arts and martial arts.

These were homegrown talents, not just adept at singing and dancing but also excelling in acting.

The profiles of Wang Yue, An Ya, and Jiang Mengqi were particularly thorough: they’d spent a year training and performing in a theater troupe before landing roles in this film—one as the second female lead, the other two as supporting characters, contrary to rumors that they were the leads.

Mary was the actual female lead.

This was the understated version.

In any case,

the introduction was clear, covering their backgrounds, origins, and experiences.

It even mentioned the wrap party, where Cao Cheng got so drunk with the director and crew that he had to be carried back to his hotel.

Lastly, if these three women weren’t familiar faces, the leader of the Twelve Golden Flowers certainly was—Lin Zhi!

Everyone knew Lin Zhi.

Knew her all too well.

Over the years, she’d only grown more beautiful, her fame lending her an almost luminous glow.

Of course,

Miracle Media didn’t forget to promote Goodbye Mr. Loser.

There were ads on other platforms, collaborations with various apps, and cinema promotions—all part of the investment.

......

Speaking of promotional costs,

Cao Cheng himself couldn’t help but reflect.

A few years ago, he’d criticized the entertainment industry for spending exorbitantly on marketing while churning out subpar productions.

Bad money driving out good.

Yet here he was, the dragon slayer turned dragon.

Now, his promotional budget wasn’t exactly modest either.

But...

when he thought about it, there was a difference between him and the capital behind those idol-driven projects.

They allocated 40% of their budget to marketing,

another 40% to actor fees,

leaving a mere 20% for equipment, locations, and actual production...

A surefire recipe for garbage.

Cao Cheng, on the other hand, knew his film’s quality was solid—not necessarily groundbreaking, but undeniably well-crafted.

And with a box office potential starting at a billion,

ramping up promotions was just about getting more people into theaters, turning millions in marketing into billions in returns.

A tenfold profit.

A no-brainer.

......

Fans flocked to Lin Zhi’s Weibo,

digging up old photos she’d posted—sweating through dance practice, relaxing, goofing around with her sisters.

Sure enough, they found shots of the Twelve Golden Flowers.

Comparing them to Miracle Media’s official release,

fans were thrilled:

"These really are homegrown talents! They’ve been with Miracle Media for years, grinding away at dance, vocals, and acting... I’m genuinely looking forward to their debut film."

"Same here, especially since they trained in a theater troupe—that’s real experience."

Soon,

someone unearthed photos of the three women performing on stage with the troupe.

Though their roles were minor, they’d had their moments.

Their journey was traceable, every step accounted for.

Fans loved this sense of authenticity.

And the fact that they were "homegrown" made them feel all the more relatable.

Lin Zhi posted a photo of the four of them at a barbecue joint, making silly gestures at the camera.

Her caption read: "Meet my sisters! Next to me is Wang Yue, across is An Ya, and diagonally opposite is Jiang Mengqi. Why only four of us? Because the boss man says the other Golden Flowers are still in training—top secret. Gotta maintain the mystique."

Before fans could react,

Cao Cheng chimed in seconds later: "Are you stupid? Was that supposed to be a secret?"

Lin Zhi: "Huh? Was I not supposed to say that?"

Cao Cheng: "What do you think? You just ruined the whole ‘mystique’ thing. I swear, all that detective logic you showed on Great Detective—was that just scripted?"

Lin Zhi: "No way! I don’t follow scripts."

Cao Cheng: "Yeah, sure. Believe you? Not a chance."

Lin Zhi: "Fine, I’ll delete it."

Cao Cheng: "Too late. You think people won’t screenshot it?"

Lin Zhi: "Then... what do I do?"

Cao Cheng: "Just focus on your damn barbecue. And tell Wang Yue to ease up—she’s getting chubby."

Lin Zhi: "..."

Their back-and-forth had fans in stitches.

A few sharp-eyed observers suspected it was staged,

a scripted bit for engagement.

But...

it felt so natural, so effortless, that it was hard to call it acting.

What they didn’t realize was that while there was a hint of performance—after all, real-life banter differed from online exchanges—

Lin Zhi would talk back online,

but in person, she’d be the one getting roasted.

That was the difference.

So no,

No script. Just tacit understanding.

Pure tacit understanding.

Fans ate it up.

"Dealing with a girl like this must be exhausting for Cao Thief."

"Wang Yue isn’t fat at all... Cao Thief’s just talking nonsense."

"Okay, but compared to the others, Wang Yue’s face is a tad rounder."

"Wang Yue’s crying in the bathroom—she didn’t even say anything, and now she’s getting dragged. Three seconds of silence for her."

"Gotta admit, Cao Thief’s taste is impeccable. Rumor has it these girls were handpicked by him, one in a thousand."

"And it’s not just looks—they’re all crazy talented."

"Ugh. Another day, another reason to envy Cao Thief."

"..."

This was just the first shot.

The hype would keep burning for a week.

Although there will still be some popularity in the later stage, it will gradually decline.

Under normal circumstances, this round of publicity is enough. Then it's time to invest in various advertisements, like those from Tencent, Meituan and so on.

Pour real money into it.

The goal is to make everyone aware of it.

However,

Cao Cheng didn't want to rely solely on advertising.

After all, this wave was related to the birth of a billion-dollar movie star and the Twelve Beauties.

Shen Teng was worth more investment.

No matter how much was invested, it could be earned back tenfold or even a hundredfold.

It was a never-losing deal.

Coupled with the emotional value, it was a win-win situation all around.

Naturally, he had to put in some more effort.

...

While the outside hype remained high,

Cao Cheng had achieved a breakthrough on his end.

He had made a breakthrough in his cultivation technique.

It was not clear what level he had reached. Anyway, when he made the breakthrough, he felt that he could punch out a burst of qi, and this qi could level a mountain.

Of course,

This was just an illusion, a momentary illusion after the improvement.

It would be okay once he stabilized.

His attributes had also changed.

Previously, all his attributes were stuck at 100 points!

It seemed that he had reached the limit of the human body.

But now,

With two breakthroughs, the limit of his body was shattered.

In an instant, his attributes were transformed into cultivation.

In addition,

Every time he made a breakthrough, Cao Cheng could hear a voice from the heavens and the earth. Vaguely, it seemed that his lifespan had increased by quite a bit.

Not much.

It was not enough for eternal life.

Nor was it enough for thousands of years.

But it had indeed increased by several decades.

This was just the beginning of his rest... and cultivation!

He had only made two breakthroughs in total, and there was still a long way to go.

Now he had to consider getting his family members to practice as well.

There was no problem with Tang Xin and his second sister as they were already on the family register.

But for the others, although their data was high, they were not on the family register after all.

Forget it.

He wouldn't think about it for now.

He would go back and discuss it with Tang Xin or his second sister to see how to handle this matter.

In any case, it must not be spread out.

...

First, he thought about the publicity.

Cao Cheng quickly had someone bring him the movies scheduled to be released during this National Day holiday.

Without any surprises, after "Goodbye Mr. Loser" was edited, reviewed, and filmed, it could be released right in time for the National Day holiday, which was at the end of September.

The National Day holiday was a time of fierce competition in the movie market.

Cao Cheng found the relevant materials and wanted to see who else was in the running for this National Day holiday... Soon he saw some familiar titles.

There was "Saving Mr. Wu", "Lost in Hong Kong", and "The Ghouls"...

"Wow!"

Cao Cheng raised his eyebrows. "Formidable opponents."

"Saving Mr. Wu" had a good reputation but poor box office results.

"The Ghouls" had a bad reputation but good box office performance!

Well...

This was quite awkward.

Moreover, "Lost in Hong Kong" also had a very poor reputation, but its box office was strong, reaching about 1.5 to 1.6 billion yuan, it seemed.

Formidable opponents!

To be honest, the only movie that had both good reputation and high box office was "Goodbye Mr. Loser". Although its reputation was not at the top, it was still very good and worthy of its box office.

At least compared with the others, "Goodbye Mr. Loser" was the dark horse that stood out in this National Day holiday.

It was definitely better than watching those two bald guys in "Lost in Hong Kong".

Don't be fooled by the 1.5 to 1.6 billion yuan box office of "Lost in Hong Kong. It was money earned at the cost of being cursed by the whole nation.

Cao Cheng started to think.

The previous "Lost in" series was indeed good, after all, it had Bao Qiang and Huang Bo.

But this time, it was bound to be a fiasco. It might earn the most money, but it would also ruin its reputation.

Once a reputation was ruined, it was gone.

So,

This was a good opportunity, a chance to step on their failures and rise to the top.

He had to crush the opponents in terms of both reputation and box office.

This was not too difficult.

But how could he start a feud in a natural way?

It wasn't appropriate for him to make the first move. He had suppressed their box office before, and if he did it again, it would seem like he was bullying them.

This would also affect his popularity among the general public.

He had to think of a way!