Chapter 724: A liar in emotions, a fool in love

Forgive Xi Mengze, this honest person, for never thinking she could do this.

She hesitated and said: "This isn't good, right? I don't want to be a liar in emotions. If I swing the sickle at the truly innocent just to avoid others, I will have a sense of guilt."

Jin Li raised an eyebrow, "I was just saying it casually, but listening to your tone, do you already have a candidate in mind?"

Xi Mengze: ...

Only then did she react; she had been tricked!

Xi Mengze: "I just feel, cough cough, I, no, I, I have no candidate!"

Jin Li: "Right, right, you have no candidate. You don't want innocent people to be hurt, so dear, can you tell me who the innocent person is?"

Xi Mengze denied three times: "There is no such person, nothing at all, you heard wrong!"

Jin Li sighed long: "Before, you and Yan Xingdong got along well. I thought this person would be Yan Xingdong."

"I even thought he would be the first person to chase you, but I didn't expect all kinds of stars to pop up, and he hasn't taken any action."

"It seems my previous judgment was inaccurate; I thought he had a good impression of you!"

Xi Mengze’s eyes flashed, and she said hesitantly: "You, you... how did you see that Yan Xingdong had a good impression of me?"

Jin Li said bluntly: "Is this hard to see? To understand a field he has never understood, he chased after you."

"I have never heard that Yan Xingdong likes to read manga. He has debuted for a long time, and he has never revealed it to the media."

"And he is a boy, yet he reads girls' manga. Don't you think it’s strange?"

Xi Mengze’s words stalled.

Jin Li: "Also, don't you think you chat quite frequently? Are you still chatting recently? Does he know you are being chased?"

Xi Mengze said in a low voice: "We chat every day. He reports his schedule to me, and he also says good morning and good night."

"Sometimes we even video chat, just purely wanting to talk to me. I think our friendship is quite pure."

Jin Li said meaningfully: "Oh, pure friendship."

Xi Mengze said in a low voice again: "He should know; the frequency of him chatting with me recently is very high."

Not long after this was said, Xi Mengze’s phone rang.

She looked at it; it was a WeChat video call from Yan Xingdong.

Seeing this scene, Jin Li understood everything; Yan Xingdong was here to check on her.

She patted Mengmeng’s shoulder, "You should consider the suggestion I made carefully, and I feel that you are not without feelings for Yan Xingdong, otherwise you wouldn't be so hesitant."

"Also, if you really don't want to fall in love, then don't give everyone a chance. Talk to Sister Fang, find a time to make it public, and eliminate all hidden dangers."

Xi Mengze nodded.

She walked into the room and didn't answer the phone outside.

Jin Li opened her phone and saw a WeChat message from Qiguan Mingzhu, which was the news that *Return to Youth* had gone online.

Entering the blog, Qiguan Mingzhu’s account had already reposted it. Jin Li copied her copy, changed a few words, and sent it up.

Netizens immediately came to reply.

【This short drama is a bit awesome, able to let Jin Li and Qiguan Mingzhu advertise together】

【Horizontal screen short drama, this is a high-quality short drama, I thought it was a vertical screen small short drama】

【Eh, this director’s first work *False Face*, I like it very much! So she released a new work again!】

【Am I the only one curious about the relationship between this crew and the two of them?】

【Actually, you just need to check it. People in the short drama circle all know that this director got the investment from Jin Li and them...】

【Jin Li’s investment eye is too good, can you look at my business plan?】

The online release of *Return to Youth* was originally quite obscure because it used unknown actors, so there was no promotion at all.

After all, small transparent actors don't have many fans, and some are pure newcomers.

But after being promoted by Jin Li and Qiguan Mingzhu, everyone flocked to watch it.

It didn't matter if they didn't watch it, but once they did, they found that this film was interesting.

Although it used the rebirth trope, it was different from the rebirth cool text that people understood.

This drama exposed the shortcomings of several protagonists with limited experience, and it was filmed around their shortcomings.

Even if they lived a second life, relying on foresight to embark on a different path, this path was based on the information learned from the previous life.

In other words, they actually never broke through themselves.

For example, Male Lead A heard in his previous life that doing clothing would make a lot of money, so he went to do clothing, wrote down all the buying points he could think of, and then practiced them one by one.

He eventually became a large clothing distributor.

But this path was also based on the life experience he thought of in his previous life; he didn't transcend the limitations of experience he received in his previous life.

Clearly, he had already lived a second life and had more possibilities, and could live a more generous life.

Besides doing clothing, he could also try other professions.

But because he was afraid of failure, he only walked the path he thought was successful in his previous life, cutting off other possibilities.

And the other characters were the same; the achievements they obtained were all related to the experience of their previous lives.

Actually, for a rebirth drama, this filming method is completely fine.

Many people stumbled and took many detours in their previous lives; living a second life, they only need to walk toward the most correct path.

No need to try things they have never tried before.

But this drama was filmed very ironically; it is not a cool drama in the sense, but magnified the limitations, giving people a certain space for thinking.

Living a second life, is it to follow the successful experience heard in the previous life, or to try possibilities never thought of before?

This drama has several protagonists, and the one with the highest achievement was instead an ordinary person in the previous life who became an elite after hard work.

This time living a second life, because she came into contact with more opportunities in the previous life and understood more information channels than others, she was more successful.

Many netizens felt it was a pity that it wasn't filmed as a movie after watching this drama.

【It’s a pity that such script quality is in a short drama. There are strong emotional conflicts, and the logical depth required is also there.】

【The ending is clearly very cool, but it gives people a feeling of regret and abrupt ending】

【I think it should be filmed as a comedy】

【1, a comedy can maximize the black humor in the script】

【Can you release a movie version, even if it’s an online big movie?】

The call to film it as a movie online is quite high.

Plus, the popularity of this high-quality horizontal screen short drama is indeed very large, and after the promotion of two first-line stars, it has shown a trend of breaking out of the circle.

So the director really thought about whether it could be filmed as a movie.

But after thinking twice, she gave up.

Inspiration is fleeting.

When filming this drama, the crew encountered many problems, and the script was revised several times; it can be said that it was filmed very tortuously.

At that time, she was doing her best, using all she had learned in her life, holding the mentality of filming it as the last drama.

In that state, she had already expressed the thoughts, composition, and pictures she wanted to express in her mind.

For this story, she had already done everything she could do.

So if it were to be filmed as a movie, the director couldn't guarantee it could be filmed more wonderfully than the short drama.

Since she had no confidence, why bother remaking it as a movie?

It’s just reheating leftovers.

She considered herself not having the fan base that could support her reheating leftovers without being abandoned.

This is an era where as long as you haven't appeared in front of people for a period of time, you will be forgotten, or if you fail once, it is very difficult to turn over again.

Every step she takes must be very cautious.

The popularity of *Return to Youth* online was quite good, and Jin Li and Qiguan Mingzhu both paid attention after promoting it.

In their spare time, they also asked the director what her plans were.

As investors, they were giving the director peace of mind.

Both expressed that if she really wanted to film it as a movie, they were willing to support it.

But soon, they received the news of the director’s refusal.

When the director video-called the two, she looked very hesitant.

"I don't know if doing this is right, but I feel that I have used all my life’s learning to film this story. Using a short drama as a carrier to present this story is the best I can do within my ability."

"If it were changed to a movie, I wouldn't necessarily be able to find the previous state. I’m worried it will be filmed below expectations, worried that netizens’ expectations will fall through."

Jin Li said very decisively: "Then don't film it."

The director was stunned and asked in a low voice: "But if you don't film it, won't you feel it’s a pity? It clearly has such great popularity, but I didn't grasp it."

"If I could film it better, maybe I could enter the film circle in one fell swoop, rank as a new director, and you could also earn more money."

Jin Li smiled: "If you want to rank in the film circle, then directly film a movie that can be released in theaters, instead of filming an online big movie."

"Although I don't have very mature channels, I can introduce some connections for you."

"The film circle has never been far from you; it just depends on whether you can make up your mind and whether you want to try to rush in this direction."

"In addition, for making money, investment was just a whim for Mingzhu and me; we just invested a sum of money casually, we don't rely on investment to make money."

"The profit share of the movie doesn't even compare to an announcement I and Mingzhu participate in casually."

"We just enjoy the sense of achievement of making money by investing money casually, not really for the sake of making money."

Qiguan Mingzhu echoed: "If it were purely for making money, wouldn't it be better to invest in those smaller-cost, more melodramatic short dramas that can cause strong emotional conflicts?"

Jin Li pondered for a while and said: "And you don't want to film a sequel and change it into a movie; I actually understand it quite well."

"Let the story stop at the most beautiful stage, and that’s enough."

"Some regrets and defects instead achieved this story, and people will think about it."

"If the last trace of defect is really filled, people will instead feel that the classic is no longer a classic."

"Water full overflows, the moon full wanes; stopping at the short drama stage is also quite good."

The director didn't expect that the question asked tentatively would instead get an unexpected surprise.

The sudden excitement made her forget her nervousness for a moment, and she couldn't help but ask: "Jin Li, can you really invest in me to film a movie?"

Jin Li said affirmatively: "Yes, as long as you want."

The director asked hesitantly: "Do you think I can film a movie?"

Jin Li: "This doesn't depend on me, but on you. Whether you have the ability and whether you want to try, you have to ask yourself."

The director hung up the video call with a tangled face, leaving only Qiguan Mingzhu and Jin Li in the group chat.

Qiguan Mingzhu was packing her clothes and said amusedly:

"I still wanted her to film a few more short dramas to make money, but after what you said, I think her next one is probably wanting to film a movie."

Jin Li said: "Her aesthetics are okay. If she keeps filming short dramas, I instead feel it’s a waste of talent."

"Trying a movie is quite good. Maybe she can walk out of her own style and characteristics. If she can personally cultivate a director, it will also be more fulfilling."

She changed the subject and asked curiously: "What about you? I heard from Sister Fang that you stopped all announcements recently and will only start working after the New Year. Now you are packing clothes, where do you plan to go?"

Qiguan Mingzhu paused and said in a low voice: "I’m preparing to go abroad, um, I might go home."

Jin Li knew that Qiguan Mingzhu’s family lived abroad all year round, and they also spent the New Year abroad.

"Why so suddenly? You temporarily changed your itinerary and also paid a large penalty fee."

Qiguan Mingzhu hesitated and said: "After chatting with you, I feel that compared to the loss I might face in the future, a beginning that has never happened would instead make me feel more regretful."

Once the words were spoken, she had no psychological barriers and said bluntly:

"I want to try with Chen Lin. Missing him, I feel that I probably won't meet such a boy who guards me wholeheartedly again."

"He is enthusiastic and cheerful, just like a clingy dog; I like the feeling of being with him."

Jin Li raised an eyebrow, "Even so, you don't have to run abroad, right?"

Qiguan Mingzhu: "Still have to. It’s too easy to be recognized in China. I want to live with him for a period of time."

"If I don't find his shortcomings, or if I can endure his shortcomings, then we will be together."

Jin Li: "...Are you falling in love? The progress is too fast."

Who falls in love and starts living together?

This is not going for love; this is simply going for marriage.

Rounding up, this is going for a lifetime.

Qiguan Mingzhu smiled, her expression a bit arrogant: "I don't care anymore, I’m slacking off, I just want to be like this."

"I want to see if love is as brilliant as fireworks, but fleeting."

"Or if it can treasure that moment of beauty in the bottom of the heart forever, thinking about it repeatedly."

The scene turned back to before.

After Qiguan Mingzhu came out of Jin Li’s house, she first returned to her residence.

In the process of going back, she thought of a lot, and her mood also rose and fell with the content in her mind.

When sleeping at night, she tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.

The next day, she got up with a pair of panda eyes, almost sleepless all night.

Qiguan Mingzhu felt that she couldn't go on like this.

She had to take action.

So she called Chen Lin.

??Screenshot at 11:55 sharp, everyone vote for monthly tickets early!