Chapter 84

Su Meng let out a sigh.

Fortunately, I have the god-level directing skill—cooking up a little story should be a piece of cake, right?

His professional-grade acting kicked in instantly, and a hint of solemnity appeared on his face.

"Ever since I chatted with Teacher Hu about folk music last time, I've been mulling over how to revitalize folk music."

"These past few days, I haven't been able to think, eat, or sleep—my mind has been completely occupied with this."

A trace of contempt simultaneously appeared on several faces.

You? Unable to think or eat?

Don't think we don't know—you ate two boxed lunches today!

"Just now, the instant I saw Bai Xiao Ling, inspiration suddenly exploded in me, and I came up with a great idea on the spot."

"Let's just shoot a movie about folk music, and do our part to revitalize it!"

"Boss, how about we team up?"

"Oh?" Duan Jiangping's face still showed disbelief.

"Then what's this movie called? What's the story about?"

In Su Meng's mind, the entire script had already taken shape.

"The name of this script is... 'Our Shining Days'!"

Our Shining Days?

Bai Xiao Ling felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of panic.

He saw me and came up with this script, which means...

In his mind, I'm a sparkling, twinkling, shining girl?

"As for the story, it's about youth, puppy love, dreams, the two-dimensional world, folk music versus Western music..."

What kind of junk is all this?

The few people were instantly dumbfounded.

I know every one of those words individually, but put them together, why can't I understand a thing?

And 'Our Shining Days'... how does that lousy name sound like a box-office flop the moment you hear it?

Su Meng thought for a moment, then suddenly said excitedly.

"Boss, do you want to invest? I'll be the screenwriter and director—this movie will definitely make a killing!"

Su Meng was also quite confident about this film.

Although in his past life, the movie's box office hadn't performed well, its reputation was still decent.

Especially the instrument battle segment—truly high-octane.

And there were reasons for the low box office.

No famous director, no stars, no big production, plus a tacky title—it was at a disadvantage from the start.

But if he shot it himself in this life, would that even be a problem?

At any rate, he was still a fresh-faced idol, with a batch of fanatical fans.

Besides, his directing skill was god-level—making the movie even more brilliant would be a breeze.

"You, as the director?"

Duan Jiangping's mouth twitched uncontrollably a few times.

You're someone our company trained—don't you think I know exactly what you're capable of?

Are you even cut out for it?

"Um... Su Meng, wanting to expand our business scope is a good thing, but maybe first..."

"Mm, I have a few scripts here—'Domineering CEO, Do You Still Love Me?' and 'Domineering CEO, I Still Love You'—if you're bored, want to take a look?"

Holy crap! What kind of garbage is all this?

This time, it was Su Meng's turn to have a twitching mouth.

Me, a top-tier system big shot, shooting this kind of trashy film? How embarrassing would that be?

His eyes rolled, and Su Meng suddenly perked up.

"Boss, if you don't want to shoot this, how about we try a different approach?"

"I'll put up the money. This film is mine—profits or losses have nothing to do with the company."

"When the time comes, the company can help me distribute it—just act as the distributor, how about it?"

Holy crap! How is this getting more and more outrageous?

Duan Jiangping was nearly numb.

What's gotten into you? Why are you so obsessed with this film?

"Su Meng, I think the domineering CEO angle still has a lot of potential..."

Su Meng sighed and said in a drawn-out voice.

"Boss, do you think a suona master who plays funeral gigs at graves is suited to play a domineering CEO?"

Holy shit! Duan Jiangping and Qin Jie nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

How the hell did I forget about that?

A domineering CEO character needs enough class—you're a suona master...

Su Meng continued.

"Boss, if you're not satisfied with this script, I also have one called 'Falling Leaves Return to the Roots'."

"It's about a story of carrying a corpse a thousand miles. Boss, you're really quite suited to play a corpse..."

"No way!" Duan Jiangping's face turned green.

"Um, how about we talk about that thing where folk music and Western music had a puppy-love thing instead…"

……

"Um… sorry about that… I just misunderstood earlier…"

Walking out of the office, Bai Xiao Ling's little face flushed bright red as she stammered.

Su Meng said nothing, just stared at her blankly.

Bai Xiao Ling grew flustered under his gaze, her heart pounding like a startled fawn, the tips of her ears turning red.

Only then did Su Meng sigh and say quietly.

"If you really feel you've wronged me, how about doing me a favor?"

A favor? Bai Xiao Ling froze for a moment, then immediately nodded hard.

"Tell me, which funeral march do you want me to record for you?"

Su Meng stroked his chin, speaking thoughtfully.

"For this movie I'm filming, I seem to need a bunch of extras who can play instruments…"

……

"Boss, something this outrageous—how could you agree to it?"

Qin Jie watched Su Meng's retreating back and asked, puzzled.

Hm? Duan Jiangping suddenly stiffened.

Damn, how did I just agree to that in a muddled daze?

If people found out I'd been sweet-talked by Su Meng, wouldn't it damage my boss's reputation?

He coughed once and arranged a kindly expression on his face.

"Well, Su Meng is the pillar of our company after all, we still have to spoil him a bit."

"The kid just wants to play, right? Then let him play."

"It's just a small-budget film, no more than a few million at most."

"He's willing to invest himself, so giving him a hand isn't too much, is it?"

Qin Jie nodded in understanding.

"As expected, the boss really has vision!"

"This past week, Su Meng basically monopolized the trending searches, and his commercial value has risen quite a bit."

"The second episode is about to start filming, and the hype might just keep climbing."

"However…"

She stared blankly at Duan Jiangping.