Chapter 703

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

The online commotion lasted only a few days; new gossip would soon replace this hot search. Apart from a few fans and bored people keen on digging up hidden secrets, there was no need to worry too much.

Shen Yao didn't take it to heart, Jiang Hanzhou didn't care, and those with ulterior motives were willing but unable. As for the online trolls and melon-eaters, wherever there was fun and gossip, they would be there. It wasn't as if they were simply eating this melon, so it had no effect at all.

The new book being updated grew increasingly popular. Shen Yao updated a fixed amount of words every day, and spent her other time communicating with the novel adaptation personnel. The progress of "Gong Mo" had new changes, and the related crew had been mostly assembled (mainly the core members, other aspects would need to be filled in slowly). As the novel author, Shen Yao had absolute authority over the work's content, and when it came to things others couldn't agree on, Shen Yao had to step in to resolve them.

Fortunately, although the adaptation team had many people, they had no arrogance at all, and their attitude in speaking and doing things was decent. At least Shen Yao felt comfortable getting along with them.

"Really? But they're being yin-yang behind your back," the system felt these people were not honest at all, saying one thing to your face and another behind your back.

Shen Yao:...

"I ask you, has the discussion content all been changed?" Shen Yao showed a smiling expression, pointing at her phone that had already gone black.

System:...

"Although but, they" said bad things behind your back, they're bad eggs!

Shen Yao helplessly, "They're all adults, just maintain politeness outwardly. As for other times, they can say whatever they want, it's personal freedom. As long as no one hears it," who cares?

Does it mean these people aren't even allowed to complain? Everyone is an independent individual, Shen Yao herself isn't RMB, so it's impossible to be liked by everyone. Just getting along on the surface is enough.

The system suddenly felt the host had a decent temper. Its previous hosts each had their own problems, and eventually they all chose to dissipate.

The system suddenly became happy. With its own host behaving like this, didn't that exactly prove the host could accompany it for a long time? Suddenly excited!

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao didn't know what the system was getting excited about, but fortunately the system was cheerfully alone and didn't disturb her. She turned her head and got busy with her own affairs.

In a flash, it came to late spring and early summer. The weather gradually warmed, and people changed the clothes on their bodies into light short sleeves.

The "Gong Mo" production team officially announced, at an incredible speed, becoming a regular on the online hot searches.

As the novel author of "Gong Mo," Shen Yao was naturally invited to join. She wasn't a formal screenwriter, but she also served as guidance for the related scripts, counting as extra income on the side.

"Author Shen"

"Hello"

"Author Shen"

"..."

Newly arrived, Shen Yao saw Jiang Hanzhou here. After all, this person served as the producer and investor of "Gong Mo," and was the object everyone tried to please.

The two shook hands upon meeting to show friendliness. Shen Yao handed over the character biographies of "Gong Mo" that she had organized. Jiang Hanzhou didn't wear a mask this time, and wore a relatively casual outfit. Unlike those successful people who were impeccably dressed, he instead looked like a student who had just graduated not long ago, still carrying a bit of scholarly air.

Mm

Shen Yao thought to herself, this person looked more cultured than herself. That is, now that he had already achieved fame and success, otherwise it would be easy to suffer a loss when discussing cooperation.

Shen Yao didn't know that when Jiang Hanzhou first started out, he relied on this youthful face of his to trick quite a few people. It could be called the highest realm of pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, and it also allowed him, after leaving the clan, to smoothly accumulate the original capital used for investment, successfully establish a foothold in this circle, and thus walk all the way to his current status.

"Is Author Shen going to see the director?" Jiang Hanzhou had just left the director's place. The two simply discussed the matter of the cast, especially several relatively important roles, which were the key to whether this drama could stand out.

Shen Yao made an "en" sound, indicating that the director had previously told her that, as the original author of the novel, she understood the characters inside better. The people Tian Yu chose definitely needed the original author's approval. This wasn't because the original author was so important, but entirely because if the character didn't match the person, it would affect the entire plot's direction and even the drama's popularity. It was not easy to get a decent project, so Tian Yu naturally wanted to add a new brilliant stroke to his resume. Any factor that could affect this drama would be excluded by him.

"Then we'll talk later."

"Okay."

The two brushed past each other and walked toward two completely opposite directions.

Dong dong dong—

Hearing the words "please come in" from inside, Shen Yao raised a smile, pushed open the tightly closed door, walked to the chair opposite the director and sat down, looking calmly at the busy director.

On a perfectly good long rectangular table were scattered A4 papers all around, printed with various contents related to "Gong Mo."

Tian Yu was currently tilting his head while on the phone. I don't know who the person on the other end was, but whoever could make Tian Yu speak without restraint and involuntarily curse must be a very serious matter.

Shen Yao thought about the "Gong Mo" production team. With a God of Wealth like Jiang Hanzhou there, they didn't lack initial funding. So besides money, there were the cast actors. Did the person the director had in mind refuse this script?

If that were really the case, then

Before Shen Yao could continue thinking, Tian Yu, who had just hung up the phone, apologized to Shen Yao, saying he was a bit annoyed and asked Shen Yao to be understanding.

"Director, you're being too courteous. Everyone has times when they're troubled. Besides, you're responsible for the subsequent filming and initial casting tasks of the entire production team. It's inevitable that one's temper would become irritable. After all, in this circle that's extremely good at sucking up to the powerful and stepping on the weak, being easy to talk to means anyone can step on you."

Being too kind and easy to talk to is not an advantage for surviving in the entertainment industry.

Hearing this, Tian Yu sighed. His somewhat greasy hair was grabbed again and again, but still couldn't relieve the annoyance and urgency in his heart.

Without needing to deliberately hide it in front of Shen Yao, Tian Yu mentioned that the two male and female leads he had in mind both refused the "Gong Mo" script he offered because of other projects.

Shen Yao:...

Yo, who exactly is so short-sighted? Her novel is quite popular, okay? Besides, there was such huge exposure in the past few months. Plus, with the director before her and the basic crew composed of other capable people, ordinary actors wouldn't have the guts to tear up this script.

Next, Shen Yao heard the names of these two male and female leads from Tian Yu's mouth.

The male lead is Jiang Xiangxu. He came from idol dramas but relied on a few movies to transition, with the result being neither here nor there. He is currently in a stage where he can't go up or down.

This person seems not very suitable for Emperor Minghui, because his appearance is too outstanding. Actually, for an emperor, looks are not the key. The aura around him and the noble bearing when speaking are what determine this role.

The female lead is Bai Jinxin. She graduated from a professional film and television school. Her first time acting was as the female lead in a famous director's big movie. Her starting point could be said to be more Roman than Rome. As a result, on one hand she herself wasn't very promising, and on top of that, falling out with the famous director caused her career to stagnate.

However, this person indeed fits the female lead image in "Gong Mo." Shen Zhuo was written completely according to Shen Yao's personality traits from her past life: deep scheming, good at pretending to be foolish, and yet she is that kind of lovely and bright beauty.

Bai Jinxin later acted in quite a few TV dramas and movies one after another. Some were purely flower vase images, directly bringing her face to the extreme.

This could also be called losing at the eastern corner and gaining at the western mulberry. After all, Bai Jinxin's requirements for herself have always been those of an acting school in others' eyes. She could make people think of the roles she has interpreted whenever she is mentioned.

As a result, what people mention most about her now is that pretty face that is pleasing to the eye. Although it's not beneficial and actually harmful to her acting, it also allowed her to harvest quite a bit of compensation from money. After all, as a spokesperson for various brands, her fans are indeed powerful in buying buying buying.

Silently saying a pity for the female lead Tian Yu chose, Shen Yao asked if the person couldn't be won back?

Tian Yu shook his head, "The male lead is recommended by the investor. We could use him or not. Now that he's not coming, it won't limit our casting instead.

"The female lead, she took on a supposedly internationally award-contending realistic film, planning to throw herself into it wholeheartedly, not taking outside projects for a year — we simply can't wait that long."

"The production's basic daily expenses alone run into tens of thousands; a drama takes at least two or three months minimum. Even if Tian Yu could afford the delay, the other investors wouldn't agree for one person's sake — Bai Jinxin isn't some descended Film Empress, and in these investors' eyes she simply doesn't have that much value."

"I see. Then indeed we can't wait. The production pressure is huge, and it concerns the livelihoods of so many ordinary people — it absolutely cannot stall, unless this project falls through."

"Director, there are so many actors in the circle; I believe you can find a more suitable choice."

"These are the character bios I prepared in advance; I've already given a copy to Producer Jiang, and you can also take a look in your spare time — they might be of some help to you."

"Casting is naturally better the closer the fit to the role. The three people Shen Yao provided will all participate in the casting events; preparing a few more options counts as being prepared for any contingency."

Upon hearing this, Tian Yu smiled and thanked Shen Yao for her help, while also inviting Shen Yao to attend the casting auditions a few days later. "Since we're finalizing the main cast, Author Shen understands the characters' personalities better than we do; everyone discussing together is all for the sake of making this drama better and better."

Indeed, if this drama films successfully, Shen Yao as the original author would have a certain possibility of her current novel also being adapted for filming (though the content might need major changes, the overall narrative thread could still be referenced), while for Director Tian and the others in the entertainment industry, the benefits would be even greater.

After the two discussed about enough, Shen Yao left the director's office and turned to find the screenwriter of "Gong Mo," also an elderly person with a glorious resume. Though his attitude toward Shen Yao could be described as neither warm nor cold, their daily interactions including script communication had no issues whatsoever.

Things in the novel unsuited for big-screen presentation would be picked out by the screenwriter and directly optimized; dispensable content would be adjusted through discussion between the two, making the entire script connect more smoothly, and the character logic lines able to withstand scrutiny.

"Screenwriter Zhao, if there's nothing else, then we'll meet again another day."

"Alright. Thanks for the hard work, Author Shen, sorting out the details here. See you in a few days."

After a busy day, Shen Yao returned to her residence and simply went to soak in a hot bath.

The place she rented was long since not that previous two-bedroom apartment; Liu Jing had already followed her parents' arrangements planning to take the civil service exam and stay in her hometown, Shen Yao lived alone, and having earned some money during this period, she simply moved out and changed to a new residence.

Although the rent was several times higher than before, for Shen Yao, living here meant convenient access going out, and there were large landmarks and malls nearby — if possible she'd consider buying it outright.

After all, Shen Yao could live off her parents; as her biological parents, the Landlord Father and Landlady had truly saved up enough money over the years to buy a house in Jing Shi.

Wearing thin pajamas, with water droplets still falling wetly from her hair, Shen Yao sat at her work desk and directly opened the black-screened laptop.

Ding—

Various pushes appeared on the computer's web screen; after Shen Yao closed them one by one, she saw an entertainment news leak: "Bai Jinxin to star in 'Tiny'; the drama will be directed by famous director Xing Kai, and will become a competitive contender for the overseas Jin Guang Award." After all, everyone knew Director Xing Kai was known domestically precisely because he had shone brilliantly at the Jin Guang Award.

Shen Yao closed this news, not optimistic in her heart that Bai Jinxin could gain the honors and recognition she wanted through a year's effort — an overseas award, everyone knows how that works.

Continuing to finish writing her stockpiled chapters and setting the time, Shen Yao used a hair dryer to dry her hair, then lay back on the bed and fell asleep.

Just like that, eating, sleeping, writing every day, staying home for several days, Shen Yao went out again to attend the "Gong Mo" production's casting event.

The location was set at a semi-enclosed building; Tian Yu and the others all arrived, and Shen Yao even spotted an investor representative among them.

Jiang Hanzhou was an investor, but only one of them; this drama had quite a few investors, large and small added up forming a force.

"Force?"

"Able to interfere with some less important casting, or rather, insert people?"

That's the so-called bringing capital into the crew; every production has such people. Even crews not short on money are the same — after all, who would turn away money? Moreover, they only meddle in less important roles, on the premise of not affecting the main plot; selling a favor, what harm can it do? And even if it feels off later, they can just choose to cut the scenes — fundamentally not afraid of anything.

Many productions even specially prepare such dispensable yet highly participatory roles to give to investors as favors; regardless of whether they're used or not, the investors don't lose out.

System:... I see, understood!

But this production also needs to insert people? Those imperial consorts in the harem would indeed work — background boards don't need acting skills, just need to be beautiful, beautiful, beautiful; some don't even have lines, just showing their faces is enough.

Shen Yao:...

Walking in and greeting the others, Shen Yao sat next to Screenwriter Zhao; on the other side was Jiang Hanzhou, looking at the character bios.

"Producer Jiang"

"Author Shen"

The two nodded and smiled, simultaneously turning their heads to look forward.