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Chapter 153 - Chapter 151: Big Cousin and Brother-in-Law Bro [4000]

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Some of the hardcore book fans weren't sold on the trailer.

They'd lived with the novels for years and had ironclad head-canons about how everything should look and feel. To them the teaser came off shallow—Hollywood turning a raw, layered story into glossy action beats and simplified romance. The movie might pop on screen, but it had ditched the book's soul.

The once-tight book fandom split fast.

Movie stans spammed trailer GIFs, raving about the visuals and the chemistry.

Book purists quoted chapter and verse, calling the adaptation lazy.

Sprinkled between them were the pure thirst posts: "Cassius is so damn fine!"

"Jennifer looks straight-up fire!"

And every now and then a troll would slide in: "Still can't accept Asian Peeta!"

The whole internet was on fire.

Cassius scrolled the live comments on his tablet, face blank.

Every time a "Cassius is hot" popped up, he quietly switched to his burner account and smashed the like button.

No deep reason.

His alt hadn't been logged in for months and he'd straight-up forgotten the password.

Jennifer sat right beside him, phone in both hands, eyebrows bouncing between frown and grin.

"Someone just called me a total love-brain!"

Cassius pointed at a comment trashing Peeta's lines.

"And this one says I've got nothing but muscle and zero soul."

Jennifer huffed, then immediately flipped to a post praising her archery. "At least the good ones are coming in too!"

"Differing opinions are good," Cassius said, setting the tablet down. "Means the trailer actually hit different groups. Worst thing is zero reaction. Controversy keeps the heat on."

The first official Hunger Games trailer detonated across North America.

A few hours later the posts in Cassius's Baidu Tieba were already pinned at the top.

The translation crew and resource sharers were lightning-fast. The HD -subbed version hit every major video site and download link in China basically the same day.

For the fans who'd been tracking Cassius since Green Lantern, it felt like Christmas.

He'd vanished for months to shoot this teen death-game movie, and the leaks and variety-show clips had only teased them. Now the real thing was here.

They hit play.

That thick, expensive Hollywood polish slammed them immediately.

In this era, Hollywood still knew how to deliver.

Domestic fans and casual viewers went almost unanimous: the trailer looked sick.

Most of them hadn't even read the books, so there was zero baggage.

The newly created Hunger Games bar and Cassius bar exploded:

[Holy shit! This trailer quality! Lionsgate went all in?]

[Brother Cass killed it! That deep loving stare is lethal! His English lines sound smooth as hell!]

[Blonde lead is badass—archery form is crisp. Oscar-nom energy for real!]

[Plot looks intense—teens in a kill-or-be-killed game? I'm in! Any word on China release?]

[Cassius stacking franchises—DC superhero to this huge YA lead. Dude's about to launch.]

Praise kept rolling.

Especially the Cassius-Jennifer chemistry.

Every eye-lock, every quiet moment, and that final suicide-pact beat got clipped into GIFs that flooded Tieba, forums, and the exploding Weibo.

"These two look perfect together!"

"The way Cassius stares at Jennifer? Pure heat. Off-screen vibes have to be real."

"Anybody got private pics? We need the sugar!"

In the middle of all the shipping, one low-key thread dropped:

[Rational take: Does Jennifer Lawrence's acting here put her back in Oscar contention next year?]

Normal-looking ID, but the post smelled like inside info.

"OP's cousin is Jennifer. A couple of critics already whispered privately that my cousin is a strong Best Actress contender. Lionsgate is pushing hard for awards."

2L: "Cousin? Pics or it didn't happen."

3L: "If OP's cousin is Jennifer, then Jennifer Lawrence is my cousin too! [dog-head emoji]"

4L: "Haha, I'm claiming family. From today forward Jennifer Lawrence is my Big Cousin!"

5L: "Big Cousin +1! That nickname feels so down-to-earth—way better than the English name!"

6L: "Big Cousin for the Oscar! That killer energy in the trailer? She's got a shot!"

7L: If you want to watch the movie, come find me. DM me (link censored)

8L: "Wait—am I the only one who just realized? If Jennifer's Big Cousin, then Cassius playing her love interest is basically our Brother-in-Law Bro?"

9L: "Brother-in-Law Bro??? Genius nickname!"

10L: "Big Cousin and Brother-in-Law Bro! We even have a ship name now!"

11L: "Supporting Brother-in-Law Bro! Cassius has the looks and the skills—he's worthy of our Big Cousin!"

The playful, super-relatable family nicknames exploded out of that thread.

"Big Cousin" became Jennifer's first big affectionate tag in online spaces.

"Brother-in-Law Bro" became Cassius's new fan handle.

The nicknames were so grounded and funny they spread like crazy.

Jokes multiplied: "Big Cousin's arms in the trailer look like she could fight a bear—Brother-in-Law Bro is eating good!"

"How long did Brother-in-Law Bro practice those English lines? Sounds legit. He put in work for Big Cousin!"

"Need more joint promo shots of Big Cousin and Brother-in-Law Bro—please and thank you!"

The wave of distinctly internet energy leaked overseas through reposts and hit Twitter and Tumblr in bits.

Foreign fans were confused but charmed: "Big Cousin? Brother-in-Law Bro? What even is that?"

Once someone explained, plenty of them thought it was adorable and started using the pinyin tags themselves.

Cassius was dead asleep when Rob's call blasted through the room.

"Bro! You're trending again—this time you dragged Jennifer with you!"

It took Cassius thirty full seconds to catch up on the whole Big Cousin / Brother-in-Law Bro saga.

He hung up, walked into the living room, and found Jennifer in the kitchen with bedhead, wrestling the toaster.

He leaned in the doorway, tone teasing. "Your fans gave you a new nickname."

"Huh?"

Jennifer glanced back, still annoyed at the toaster. "What nickname? Is it cute?"

"They're calling you Big Cousin."

Jennifer blinked twice, totally lost. "What does that even mean?"

She had zero clue about the family joke or the online culture.

Cassius explained the Tieba thread and how the netizens' brains had connected the dots.

When he finished, Jennifer's face went from blank to cracking up. "So because of one imaginary relative I'm now Big Cousin to the entire internet?"

She shrugged, half-laughing. "What are they calling you? Can't be Big Cousin Bro, right?"

Cassius paused, then dropped the three words: "Brother-in-Law Bro."

Jennifer froze for two seconds, then exploded into full-volume laughter, nearly launching the burnt toast across the room. "Pfft—hahaha! Brother-in-Law Bro?"

"Because we're playing love interests?"

"Oh my God! netizens are creative as hell! This ship has full family-drama flavor!"

She laughed until tears leaked, wiped her eyes, and looked at Cassius. "Big Cousin and Brother-in-Law Bro… sounds like a family soap. Guess I've got relatives in China now?"

"Pretty much."

Cassius grinned too.

They spent the next half-hour on his magically-loaded phone scrolling the domestic forums. Jennifer kept cracking up at the photoshopped pics of the two of them and completely ignored the charred toast.

Lionsgate smelled the heat and fast-tracked the global promo tour.

First stop—obviously—Los Angeles.

Home turf, industry heart.

World premiere.

Rob called again, voice wired: "Lionsgate went huge, bro—they literally built an arena!"

Premiere day, afternoon.

Inside Lionsgate's temporary rented offices.

Jennifer's glam squad had taken over an entire makeup suite; hair dryers and chatter poured out the door.

Liam showed up early, looking way more chill than either of them.

"Today the stars are Katniss and Peeta," he shrugged. "Gale's just the guy who stayed home."

Jennifer chucked a pillow at him from the makeup room.

Cassius kept it simple and sharp: custom dark satin tux with peak lapels, cut to show off the physique he'd built in training. White dress shirt underneath, no tie, top button open—just enough edge.

The stylist had called it "victor returning from the arena—power, mystery, slight untouchable nobility."

Cassius checked the mirror. Aura stat still not at Level 5, but he wore the look like it was made for him.

Tonight, though, the spotlight belonged to the female lead.

When Jennifer stepped out of the dressing room, both Cassius and Liam went quiet for a beat.

One-shoulder dark floor-length gown in matte satin that caught the light just enough. Clean lines, perfect fit—showed every curve without trying too hard.

The real star was the intricate golden Mockingjay pin on her left chest: wings spread, arrow through the body, tiny crystals and metal flashing like fire.

Her blonde hair was swept up, neck and shoulders on full display. Smoky eyes, classic red lips.

"How do I look?"

Jennifer did a quick spin, a flicker of nerves in her voice.

"Insane," Liam whistled. "Tomorrow's fashion headlines are yours."

Cassius nodded, serious. "You look like Katniss stole that battle armor straight from a Capitol designer."

Jennifer laughed, tension melting off her shoulders.

Liam just stood there feeling like the third wheel again. Great, I'm part of the bit.

They climbed into the stretch limo.

Even before the car stopped, the roar outside punched through the thick windows.

The famous theater square had been transformed.

The red carpet was now a literal sea of fire—holographic flames rolling and flickering across the ground, turning the whole walkway into arena scorched earth.

Metal Cornucopia and Roman-chariot props lined both sides.

Security in dark uniforms stood at attention, adding to the immersion.

Hardcore fans had been camping for a week, grouped by "district," waving posters and signs.

Cassius spotted several fans holding "Big Cousin" and "Brother-in-Law Bro" banners.

When the limo rolled up the screams hit hurricane level.

#HungerGamesPremiere was climbing the global trends at warp speed.

Door opened.

Liam stepped out first, smiling and waving—solid cheers.

Cassius followed, stepping onto the moving flames. He scanned the crowd and flashing cameras, gave a small nod.

Then he turned, extended one hand back into the car like a gentleman.

Jennifer hadn't expected it. Her cheeks flushed, but she slid her hand into his without hesitation.

Her long leg emerged, dark gown and golden pin blazing in the firelight.

The second Jennifer appeared, the screams peaked.

"Jennifer!"

"Katniss!"

"Big Cousin!"

The three of them walked the flaming red carpet together.

Every step made the holographic fire ripple under their feet.

Cameras flashed nonstop.

Cassius and Jennifer hit every pose the studio and press wanted—shoulder to shoulder, Jennifer tilting her head just enough, Cassius gazing forward with quiet strength.

They turned together toward one bank of lenses—Jennifer stubborn and fierce like Katniss, Cassius warm and steady like Peeta.

Liam hung back a polite step, keeping the friendly triangle intact.

The crowd ate it up.

Big Cousin and Brother-in-Law Bro had officially arrived.

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