Chapter 453

Su Meng also found it a bit funny.

Judging by this, Yangshi must have tasted the sweetness of "Bright Sword."

But this isn't surprising at all—after all, this drama had the right orientation, exploded in reputation, and exploded in viewership.

Yangshi naturally took a new look at Su Meng.

For Su Meng, this wasn't a bad thing at all.

Isn't it better for such a drama to explode than to let those traffic-based pretty boys flood the screen?

Huh? It seems I'm also a traffic-based pretty boy myself.

After thinking for a moment, Su Meng chuckled.

"It's not that there isn't any."

"But the boundaries are a bit too wide—even if I dared to shoot it, Yangshi might not dare to broadcast it."

What? Boundaries too wide?

Xiang Zhiming's face twisted into a strange expression.

"That… you don't mean the kind of boundary-pushing I'm thinking of, do you?"

"What do you think?"

"Director Su!" Xiang Zhiming leapt to his feet.

"You're in the prime of your youth, and your career is booming—don't even think about doing something reckless."

"Though personally I'm very interested, right now the anti-porn and anti-illegal campaigns are at their peak…"

??? Suddenly, several question marks floated above Su Meng's head.

Why do I feel like I'm talking to a deaf man?

…

"Hehehe." A middle-aged man beside Xiang Zhiming suddenly laughed.

"Director Xiang, you really know how to joke."

"Director Su's 'too wide boundaries' probably refers to political sensitivity, right?"

Su Meng glared at Xiang Zhiming and said irritably.

"Look at him, then look at you—what's going on in your head?"

"Hello, may I ask your name?"

The man extended his right hand.

"Hello, Director Su—I'm from the Guojiashuiwuzong Bureau; just call me Director He."

"Hello, Director He." Su Meng shook his hand and smiled wryly.

"Director He, you coming here has given me no small amount of trouble."

"Do you know why you're here?"

Director He smiled, then spoke seriously.

"Director Su, I've come here primarily to thank you in person!"

Thank him? Su Meng froze.

Duan Duan Jiangping and Qin Jie were equally stunned.

They'd received the news yesterday and had been puzzled ever since.

They'd thought something had gone wrong with Xinghai.

But now, hearing this… thank him? Thank him for what?

Director He explained.

"The specific details aren't convenient for me to disclose."

"Simply put, the auction of your masterpiece the day before yesterday triggered intense bidding."

"Based on their bid amounts and financial profiles, we ran some model calculations and uncovered some issues."

"Our superiors said we used you as a tool in this, and we feel a bit guilty—so I've come to thank you in person."

What the hell? Everyone in the room was dumbfounded.

What the fuck is going on here?

What does "uncovered some issues" mean?

Su Meng didn't understand either, so he asked outright.

Director He hesitated, then said:

"Let me give you two already settled examples."

"For instance, Shan Shui Group placed a bid—but their bid amount clearly didn't match their assets."

"After digging deeper, we discovered this group was actually someone's front company."

"Using this as a breakthrough, we've already taken action against that person."

"Another example: Qiangsheng Group also bid far beyond their documented financial capacity."

"Through technical means, we confirmed this company had other hidden activities."

"Such as loan-sharking, running casinos, and so on."

"Several departments have now launched a joint operation and taken coercive measures against them."

"These two cases are basically settled, so I can tell you about them."

"There are others that are more complex and still ongoing—those I can't disclose."

Holy shit!

Everyone sat there, stunned into silence.

Come on, aren't your efficiency levels a bit too high?

The incident happened just two days ago, and you've already produced results today?

Su Meng was also a bit stunned.

ShanShui Group, QiangSheng Group… such familiar names!

Damn it, the atmosphere has already been built up this far—aren't those two dramas supposed to come out now?

…

Su Meng lowered his head, thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Guide, when you mention mainstream films… do anti-corruption dramas and anti-gang dramas count?"

Ah? Xiang Zhiming froze, then burst into joy, nodding rapidly.

"They count! They definitely count!"

"Director Su, which theme are you planning to tackle?"

Su Meng smiled, then turned to Director He.

"Director He, the two incidents you mentioned just now have sparked quite a few ideas for me."

"I'll spend the next couple of days working on it—I'll draft two screenplays based on these cases."

"Would this be acceptable? Not in violation of any rules, right?"

Ah? Everyone in the room was startled.

No way—you just brought up these two cases and you already have screenplays?

Director He paused, then immediately raised his thumb.

"Director Su, your creativity is truly swift—no wonder you wrote 'Village Teacher' and 'The Wandering Earth' in such a short time."

"No problem. If you need it, I can organize the details of these two cases and give you access to any publicly available material."

"That won't be necessary," Su Meng waved his hand.

"After all, it's fictional drama—no need to copy things verbatim."

"Oh, by the way, Xiang—these two scripts might be a bit bold; you'll need YanShi…"

"Leave this issue to me," Director He cut him off.

"I'm from the tax bureau, but helping you connect with the public security, procuratorate, and courts isn't hard."

"Of course, the 583 quality of this script…"

"Hehehe…" Su Meng smiled with deep meaning.

"Xiang, 'Sword of Light' probably won't win Annual Drama of the Year…."

…

"Alright, I understand."