At 9:55 a.m., the announcement echoed through the cinema.
"The 10:00 a.m. showing of 'Spirited Away' is now open for ticket checks. Please proceed to enter in an orderly fashion."
As soon as the announcement played, Tang Yilin immediately stood up.
And along with her, nearly a third of the people in the theater also got up.
"So many people! Didn't 'Spirited Away' only get 25% of the screens? It feels like at least 40% of this whole theater is here for that movie."
"Totally normal, right? After all, this is Jing Yu's first on-screen appearance in two years!"
"Honestly, I think 25% screen share is too low. Look at the online ticketing apps — almost all other films still have half-empty seats, but 'Spirited Away' only has one or two empty seats per screening — and they're the corner-edge ones nobody wants."
"A good film gets no screen time, and some obvious cash-grabs are still holding on to 10%? No justice."
Listening to these conversations around her, Tang Yilin wanted to chime in too.
Come on — first day and already 25% screen share. Old Thief's fans are seriously greedy. If the producers of the competing movies heard this, they'd be fuming.
But her attention was quickly drawn away — ahead in the line stood a 200-pound man wearing Asuka's iconic red plugsuit from 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'.
Old Thief fans were seriously... next level. Liking Asuka was one thing, but for a big guy like that to actually wear her suit to the theater? Zero fear of public shame.
She sneakily snapped a picture and posted it to her Moments feed with the caption:
"Ran into a god-tier cosplayer at the theater. Guys, is this the Asuka in your hearts?"
Amused, she continued waiting in the long queue. When it was finally her turn, she easily found her seat — Row 11, Seat 12 — and sat down.
Glancing around, the theater was nearly full. What's more, a lot of people had come alone. That made her feel a strange sense of belonging.
Soon after, the overhead speakers kicked in again. She thought the movie was about to start, but—
What appeared on screen was a CG character.
Blue school uniform, exaggerated golden hair, a goofy and cute expression, and a handful of cards held like a poker deck.
"What's this? Who's that...?"
"Wait… is that Yugi Mutou? Four-character protagonist name? Oh snap! That's from Old Thief's upcoming game — Yu-Gi-Oh!"
"Ohhh, right, I saw the trailer for that one. Honestly, didn't get it. Card games aren't really my thing. If I wanted to play cards, I'd just use real ones."
"Hold up… It's a card game?"
On the giant theater screen, the character drew cards and placed them onto some device in front of him. Then, in the dueling arena, one after another, terrifying, weird, majestic monsters emerged.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Exodia the Forbidden One, Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, The Winged Dragon of Ra...
These iconic monsters from Jing Yu's past life debuted on-screen for the first time in this world.
The promo video focused on scenes of iconic duels from the game's story. Accompanied by an epic violin and piano duet titled "Fierce Duelist", performed by Jing Yu himself.
Only fifteen seconds, and the entire theater was shocked into silence.
"Wait—this is a card game?!"
"You're telling me those monsters were summoned with cards?"
"Damn. Old Thief's really showing off."
"I'm actually getting hyped. This dude really knows how to market — waited till his fans were back in the theaters just to hit them with a sneak ad!"
"Insane. This looks legit good. Gonna keep an eye on this — if it drops mid-year, I'm buying."
Pretty much everyone in the early showing of 'Spirited Away' was a Jing Yu fan. Though strangers, a shared topic broke the ice, and low murmurs of discussion spread throughout the seats.
But before the chatter could die down—
Another CG trailer began.
A shot from above: the sky diving downward. A massive, monstrous bird swooped toward a character on the ground. At the last moment, a golden flash exploded — followed by an adorable "Pikachu!" squeal. The bird monster spasmed and dropped, completely paralyzed.
What followed on screen was a golden-furred creature, with huge sparkling eyes and innocent charm — something between a raccoon and a squirrel.
While the last promo stunned Tang Yilin with its visual flair, this one — this creature — made her heart melt.
"What IS that? It's so CUTE!"
"Oh my god, what is this?!"
"Wait... could this be Old Thief's most mysterious project? A 'Pokémon' game ad?!"
"'Pokémon'?? He's doing that too??"
"Bro, with those graphics and those pets, this is gonna be every girl's weakness."
Compared to Yu-Gi-Oh!, this adorable force from his past life — Pikachu — packed even more power.
Within a minute, many fans forgot they even came to watch a movie.
But of course, as a pre-show ad, the video only ran for around ten seconds.
It was all part of Jing Yu's global strategy — even though it was only the start of the year, the marketing campaigns for Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! had already begun. Advertising in Great Zhou cinemas was just one front. After Spring Festival, Jing Yu would invest heavily in international promotions.
When the 'Pokémon' video ended, and people were still buzzing, the lights dimmed.
The movie began.
Tang Yilin straightened up, brushing away her scattered thoughts.
'Spirited Away', in Jing Yu's past life, had held Japan's box office record for over a decade — its quality was unquestionable.
Beyond its refined story, the music was equally phenomenal.
Just the first notes of the opening theme quieted the entire audience.
A young girl, Chihiro, is moving to a new town and a new school with her parents. In the car, the adults' self-centered chatter, the subtle hurt and resignation on Chihiro's face.
Within just a minute, the audience was already pulled in.
In Jing Yu's past life, Chihiro was meant to be around elementary to early middle school age. But for the Great Zhou version, to avoid unnecessary controversy, he adjusted her age slightly — she was now a third-year middle schooler, age fifteen.
That way, viewers wouldn't read anything inappropriate into the story.
As the prelude ended, the story officially began.
Chihiro's dad took a wrong turn and ended up at an abandoned tunnel entrance. Starving and tempted by the delicious smell wafting from inside, he ignored Chihiro's protests and led the family through.
On the other side was a mysterious, empty food street — stalls filled with mouthwatering dishes, but not a single person in sight.
Starving, her parents dug in without hesitation. Chihiro, uneasy, refused to eat and wandered off.
At first, the story didn't seem particularly remarkable. The audience hadn't yet grasped the central plot thread.
But the movie had already started dropping subtle hints.
The food. The tunnel. The deity statue at the entrance. The red lanterns hang everywhere.
Festive?
No.
Tang Yilin watched, feeling a creeping dread.
From the trailers, 'Spirited Away' looked more fantasy than horror — but was Old Thief about to introduce ghosts and monsters during the New Year holiday? Wasn't he worried about box office backlash?
The sun began to set. Shadows fell over the market. The background music swelled. As night deepened, dark figures emerged, like wraiths.
Chihiro, searching for her parents, stumbled through the increasingly terrifying streets.
And then — the iconic moment.
She found her parents still devouring food. But when they turned around, they snorted like pigs. They had transformed into two massive pigs still wearing their human clothes.
The entire audience gasped.
A live-action film and animation hit differently. Jing Yu spent 300 million yuan just on VFX, and it showed — this wasn't some low-budget mess.
On screen, the pigs' tongues, chewing sounds, and murky eyes — even the hair on their bodies — looked horrifyingly real. Like monsters.
"Damn! This is a horror movie!"
"Chills. Her parents turned into pigs?!"
"Wait a second… didn't her parents eat a ton of food from the stalls? A lot of it was pork… Are you saying they…?"
"Don't. That's terrifying."
"Why would Old Thief release something like this during Spring Festival? Even if the film's good, this theme fits better in a different season."
Some viewers whispered nervously. But the plot moved on. Terrified, Chihiro ran through the ghostly market, chased by twisted spirit creatures.
And her own body began turning translucent.
Then, the key character appeared.
A boy in white robes, short hair, gentle and handsome, arrived at her side.
"Old Thief's on screen!"
"Still that handsome, huh?"
"That's a man in his 30s?! He looks younger than my high school brother!"
"I'm done. I'm in love, Old Thief."
"Seriously, is he a spirit? He looked like this ten years ago, and he still looks the same now."
"Please, Old Thief, just keep playing high schoolers forever. Forget about making games!"
"Am I hallucinating, or is he somehow even better-looking than before?"
The White Dragon in the original 'Spirited Away' was meant to be gentle and beautiful. From Jing Yu's perspective, he had always felt this character shared a lot of visual and vocal similarities with Akira Toya from 'Hikaru no Go'.
Originally, he considered casting the actor who played Akira in 'Hikaru no Go', but the actor lacked star power. So Jing Yu did it himself — and from the crowd reaction, there were zero complaints.
This mysterious boy rescued Chihiro just as she was about to fade away completely. He made her eat a dumpling to regain her presence and urged her to find the bathhouse owner, Yubaba, and beg for a job — the only way to survive in this world.
Thus began the true story of 'Spirited Away'.
White Dragon swiftly led her across the bridge. A massive frog-like spirit lunged at the camera — jump scare. Chihiro barely slipped into the bathhouse, then made her way to the boiler room of the old spider man.
She helped the magical soot creatures move coal, accidentally interfering with their flow and getting scolded — almost thrown into the fire herself.
At first, the movie felt confusing. But once Chihiro fell deeper into this strange world, the audience was completely hooked by the sheer imaginative power of it all.
Before watching, people assumed this would be just another Great Zhou fantasy film — superpowered humans, secret heroes, the usual.
But now — every scene, every twist, blew past expectations.
Her parents are becoming pigs. Spirits taking baths. Yubaba turns lazy workers into food.
And then—
"How does White Dragon know Chihiro?"
When Yubaba took Chihiro's name, worried she'd wake her giant son, and made her sign the contract, Tang Yilin found herself wondering.
The beings in this world — spirits, not humans.
So why did White Dragon know her?
She kept watching, intrigued.
In Jing Yu's past life, Hayao Miyazaki was revered as a master director — his films always carried positive, meaningful themes.
If it were about war, it condemned war and those who caused it.
If it was romance, it promoted mutual respect and dignity — no desperate chasing or obsession.
In works like 'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind', he subtly preached environmentalism.
As for 'Spirited Away', adults admired the fantasy world.
But for teens, there were valuable life lessons too.
For example, Chihiro's early hardship communicated a clear message: you must earn your way in life.
She was scolded for interrupting. Had her mouth magically sewn shut.
The spider grandpa berated her for lacking manners.
These might seem like small moments — but it's precisely those tiny details that leave a lasting impact.