Chapter 79: Setting the Course

At three in the morning, the lights in the top-floor office of Yongsheng Building were still on.

Xiang Fei sat at his desk, the fountain pen gliding swiftly across the paper, ink blooming into line upon line of neat handwriting.

*Titanic*

He set the pen down, gently rubbed his temple, and his gaze fell on the first page of the script—

"April 10, 1912, Southampton Harbor, the Titanic is about to set sail…"

Outside the window, the neon lights of Xiangjiang still flickered, yet his thoughts had already drifted to that legendary giant liner a century ago.

At six in the morning, Xiang Fei finally put down his pen and bound the thick stack of scripts into a single volume.

He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the rising morning sun, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"This time, Yongsheng will shock the whole world."

At ten in the morning, Xiang Fei picked up the phone and dialed the direct line of Xiang Qiang, Xiang Sheng, and Xiang Tai.

"Uncle, Uncle Sheng, Auntie, come to my office now, there's something important."

Half an hour later, the three gathered in Xiang Fei's office.

Xiang Qiang frowned: "What's so urgent?"

Xiang Sheng yawned: "A-Fei, I was out entertaining clients until two last night, you better have good news."

Xiang Tai, however, keenly noticed the thick notebook on Xiang Fei's desk: "A new script?"

Xiang Fei nodded and pushed the script in front of the three: "*Titanic*, just finished writing it."

Xiang Qiang raised an eyebrow: "That fast? You pulled an all-nighter?"

"Mm." Xiang Fei's tone was calm, "Take a look first."

The office fell silent, only the rustle of turning pages.

Xiang Sheng's originally careless expression gradually froze, his gaze growing more and more focused.

Xiang Tai, halfway through reading, suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes slightly red.

Xiang Qiang, on the other hand, read slower and slower, his fingers tightly pinching the edge of the page, his knuckles turning white.

Thirty minutes later, Xiang Sheng was the first to look up, his voice slightly trembling: "A-Fei, this script… are you sure you wrote it?"

Xiang Fei smiled: "Genuine, guaranteed."

Xiang Tai took a deep breath, her voice soft: "The love between Rose and Jack… it's so moving."

Xiang Qiang closed the script, his gaze burning as he stared at Xiang Fei: "Do you know how much this will cost? Three films releasing at once, and now you're starting another one—"

Xiang Fei was well prepared, taking out a budget sheet: "Preliminary estimate, the production cost will be at least HK$200 million."

"HK$200 million?!" Xiang Sheng shot to his feet, "Are you crazy? Yongsheng is currently shooting three films simultaneously, where would we get that much money?"

Xiang Fei said calmly: "We can raise funds, even mortgage some assets."

Xiang Qiang's brow was tightly furrowed: "A-Fei, this is no small sum, if the box office fails…"

"It won't fail." Xiang Fei said with iron resolve, "This will be Yongsheng's trump card to break into the international market."

He stood up, walked to the window, his back to the three: "What I want is not just the Xiangjiang market, but the global box office."

Xiang Tai gently stroked the script, saying softly: "The life-and-death parting when the ship sinks… I cried as I read."

She looked up at Xiang Fei: "A-Fei, since when have you had so much insight into love stories?"

Xiang Fei gave a slight smile: "The core of a story is always human nature; love is merely the vehicle."

Xiang Sheng rubbed his face and sat back down: "You kid… always coming up with something terrifying."

Xiang Qiang was silent for a long moment, then suddenly slammed the table: "Good! We'll make this one!"

Xiang Sheng's eyes went wide: "Bro! HK$200 million!"

Xiang Qiang's gaze was firm: "If Yongsheng wants to become an international giant, it must dare to bet big."

He looked at Xiang Fei: "But there's one condition—we must hire a top Hollywood special effects team to ensure the shipwreck scene shocks the world.

Xiang Sheng scratched his head: "Who do we cast as the leads?"

Xiang Fei had long planned: "For the male lead Jack, I'm planning to cast Qian Xiaohao, a new actor, but he's got spirit."

"What about the female lead Rose?" Xiang Tai asked.

"Cai Shaofen."

Xiang Fei added: "For supporting roles we can use Xiangjiang actors, for example Cheng Long could play the treasure-hunting partner of the elderly Rose."

Xiang Tai flipped through the script: "For a production of this scale, how do we solve the location?"

"The Rosarito studio in Mexico, there's a giant water tank there, perfect for filming the shipwreck scenes." Xiang Fei answered.

Xiang Sheng clicked his tongue: "You kid… you've even researched this?"

Xiang Fei smiled: "If we're going to do it, do it the best."

Xiang Qiang suddenly asked: "A-Fei, tell me honestly, why the sudden urge to make an epic romance like this?"

The office fell quiet.

Xiang Fei gazed out the window and said softly: "Because movies shouldn't only be about fighting and killing… they should also have romance that people remember."

He turned to face the three: "I want the whole world to remember that Yongsheng can not only make commercial films, but also classics that will be passed down for a hundred years."

Xiang Qiang took a deep breath and stood up: "Good! Yongsheng officially launches the *Titanic* project!"

Xiang Sheng shook his head with a wry smile: "Crazy, everyone's crazy… but I love it!"

Xiang Tai wiped the corner of her eye: "I'll go contact the international distribution channels right now."

Xiang Fei looked at the three elders and said solemnly: "Thank you for your trust."

That evening, Xiang Fei returned home; Zhou Huimin was in the kitchen making soup.

"You're back? The soup will be ready soon." She turned her head and smiled.

Xiang Fei walked up behind her, gently wrapped his arms around her waist, rested his chin on her shoulder: "Vivian, I did something big today."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I wrote a screenplay called *Titanic*."

Zhou Huimin turned off the stove and turned to look at him: "A romance film?"

Xiang Fei nodded, pulled her to sit on the sofa, and briefly told the story.

By the time he got to Jack sinking into the icy sea, Zhou Huimin was already in tears.

"It's so cruel… but also so beautiful," she said, choking up.