Chapter 727

"Stuffed well!"

Regarding this kind of "sucker" (—crossed out) tycoon who rushes to give away money, Sui Lingfang expressed a warm welcome.

Sui Lingfang continued to ask, "Besides that, did he say anything else?"

Jin Li shook her head, "No, he just wanted me to accept the 5% box office share; if I didn't accept it, he wouldn't be at ease."

Sui Lingfang thought for a moment and said, "As expected of an international director, the way he ropes people in is truly high-class."

Jin Li asked with interest, "How so?"

Sui Lingfang: "I haven't seen the script for 'Dawn 2' yet, but you have, and from your attitude, I can tell you must appreciate it quite a bit."

"And the contract they sent you is for the absolute female lead, so starting from the second installment, they have completely replaced the female lead with you."

"And 'Dawn' is a series film; if it can launch a first and second installment, it can certainly launch a third, fourth, or even more."

"So who can be the absolute protagonist of a series film?"

Jin Li couldn't help but be stunned.

She pondered for a while and said uncertainly, "The person you're referring to is me?"

Sui Lingfang said affirmatively, "It's definitely you; only you can bear the weight of a series film. He is betting that your future will always be bright."

"So Director Chu wants to give you a share of the film because he wants you to have a good impression of the 'Dawn' series, so that when talking about the third or fourth installments later, you will also join and participate."

Jin Li said, "Director Chu didn't mention anything about a third installment to me."

Sui Lingfang: "But you've read the script for the second installment; haven't you already discovered that the third installment can be developed based on the story of the second, and the absolute core character will definitely still be played by you?"

Jin Li answered quickly this time: "On the surface, yes, but specifically it depends on how the script is written. As long as the screenwriter's skills are excellent, changing people midway is also fine."

Wasn't she also brought in that way?

Sui Lingfang shook her head: "Perhaps the male lead will change, but you definitely won't."

"Since Director Chu is willing to part with 5% of the box office share for you, he must be playing a very big game; he wants you to always serve as the female lead of the 'Dawn' series."

Jin Li was thoughtful.

"I have a pretty good feeling about the 'Dawn' series. If there's an opportunity, I'd also like to continue being the female lead, but specifically, it depends on the script. If the script isn't good, I won't continue to star in it."

Sui Lingfang smiled, "Look, you've already said this."

"As long as the script is suitable in the future, you will definitely star in it. Didn't Director Chu's efforts to rope you in pay off?"

"And you are different from other stars in the industry. Other stars might quit a series film because of conflicting interests, but you are different."

"Your concept of money is different. As long as the money doesn't deviate too outrageously, Director Chu can keep you."

She thought for a moment and continued: "But now the script for the second installment has only just been finalized, and the venue and props aren't ready yet; even if filming starts, it will be next year's business."

"Mentioning the third installment now is too far off. I estimate that when filming the second installment, Director Chu will bring it up with you."

"You should be mentally prepared in advance; what can be said and what cannot be said, just know it yourself."

Jin Li said "Mm."

Chenxi Entertainment's speed in reviewing the contract was very fast, mainly because the contract terms given by Director Chu were very generous.

Even if Chenxi Entertainment wanted to add something, they felt they had no way to do so.

So they quickly mailed the contract to Jin Li.

After reading it once, Jin Li signed her name.

Thus, her schedule for next year added one more item: filming "Dawn 2: Apocalypse."

On the other hand, He Wuyou's resignation from Yiyi Media finally brought about subsequent effects.

His resignation was without warning, fitting the style of contemporary young people who want a quick resolution.

The manager felt that everything was fine at work yesterday, so why did he receive He Wuyou's resignation letter today?

Because he hadn't even been at the company for a month and his social security hadn't been entered yet, he could just leave directly.

As for his workstation, there was nothing belonging to him at all; it was all company data.

Whether he packed up or not didn't matter; the company would send someone to clean it up anyway.

So He Wuyou just left.

At first, the manager thought he was joking, thinking today was April Fool's Day.

When he received the resignation letter on the second day and had something to communicate with He Wuyou but couldn't find him anywhere, he remembered the resignation letter He Wuyou had sent on WeChat.

He had actually resigned; he ran away without a trace of nostalgia!

Could it be that something happened that He Wuyou couldn't endure, so he ran away?

The manager's heart skipped a beat; he didn't tell the company's senior management immediately, but first found the master who was training He Wuyou to ask what had happened.

But even the old screenwriter who was training He Wuyou didn't know what was going on.

He was about to retire and wouldn't be overly dedicated to teaching people.

But the script held by this young man was the company's key task for next year, so the old screenwriter wouldn't be too slack either.

Simply put, he taught what should be taught and didn't teach what shouldn't be.

The old screenwriter heard the manager's intent and guessed: "Ultimately, he's still very young; could it be that he couldn't bear the pressure, so he ran away?"

The manager was stunned, "Ran away?"

The old screenwriter said with calm composure: "Yes, ran away; isn't that very normal?"

"The script he holds is the company's key project for next year, with an investment of up to tens of millions. If the script he writes isn't good, it will cause the company to lose money."

"How many years would it take to pay back tens of millions?"

"Young people can't bear the pressure, so they just run."

The old screenwriter also said: "Putting such a big project on the shoulders of a young man was wrong to begin with."

"The company values newcomers too much, thinking how outstanding this newcomer's talent is, but when I was training him, I didn't feel it."

"The script he adapted was just so-so; it didn't have a central theme, nor did it follow the currently popular template, always wanting to change things to be innovative."

"But is innovation something a newcomer screenwriter can touch?"

"I'm afraid that once it's released, this innovation will actually turn out to be a cliché plot, and he'll be scolded by netizens instead."

The manager understood, "So you think he ran away because he couldn't bear the pressure?"

Old screenwriter: "Nine times out of ten, that's it."

The manager asked again: "Could it be that some dispute arose when you were training him, and he ran away because he wasn't convinced?"

The old screenwriter glared at the manager, "You're wrong to say that; I'm at retirement age, why would I argue with him? Harmony brings wealth!"

The manager said sheepishly, "That's true; I thought wrong."

Because He Wuyou ran away, the project "Invisible Secret" could not be pushed forward for the time being.

The manager racked his brains thinking about how to remedy the situation, made preparations for both scenarios, and then reported the matter to senior management.

The first preparation was to continue digging for newcomer screenwriters with potential, starting from those past bought-out scripts.

As a newcomer screenwriter's first practice work, being valued by that group of "wine-and-meat" people in the company before meant there was at least some skill.

Being a "wine-and-meat" person isn't something you can just be if you want to.

You need a bright resume, work experience, to have worked in big companies, and to be able to bluff people.

So their eye for things was still there.

The scripts screened out by those "wine-and-meat" people also had outstanding points; otherwise, the company wouldn't have started filming them, right?

The other preparation was to shift the blame.

Take the initiative to report to senior leadership, saying that the new screenwriter He Wuyou was unruly and stubborn.

He wouldn't listen to the old screenwriter's teachings, was incompatible with the company's philosophy, and left the company directly.

The manager made preparations before reporting He Wuyou's resignation to senior leadership.

His direct superior was Yang Zong.

Yang Zong didn't care when he heard the manager say a newcomer screenwriter had resigned.

They had found nearly ten newcomer screenwriters to train this time; one leaving wasn't a big deal.

It wasn't until he heard the manager say this newcomer screenwriter was the one for "Invisible Secret" that Yang Zong's expression changed slightly and his brows furrowed.

"Ran away? How did he run? Why did he run?"

The manager said: "A newcomer, couldn't endure hardship, stubborn, thought the old screenwriter's concepts were too outdated, didn't fit our style, so he just sent a resignation letter and left."

Yang Zong asked: "When did he resign?"

Manager: "Three days ago."

He paused and added: "After he resigned, I tried to contact him, but couldn't reach him; he blocked my number."

This was true, not made up.

The manager also used this incident to conclude that He Wuyou's personality was too arrogant.

Yang Zong's brows were locked tight: "He's gone, so how is the script going to be pushed forward?"

The manager asked tentatively: "Should we find another screenwriter to write it? If this script needs to be written by a newcomer screenwriter to have inspiration, then we'll find some talented newcomer screenwriters to adapt it."

Yang Zong reached out to rub his brows and sighed deeply.

"It's not as simple as you think. Jin Li is set on this screenwriter. But if He Wuyou resigned, the responsibility isn't ours, and there's nothing we can do."

Seeing that He Wuyou couldn't be saved, Yang Zong didn't want an arrogant newcomer screenwriter either, so he didn't plan to continue trying to keep him.

If the cooperation with Jin Li this time wasn't so important, he wouldn't want to hand the script over to a newcomer screenwriter for adaptation either.

His eyes were full of confusion; why did Jin Li happen to take a fancy to the play "Invisible Secret"?

He felt other plays were also quite good, such as those fantasy plays, xianxia plays, and modern urban workplace plays; the plots of the newly launched scripts in these categories were all quite good, following the formula for a hit.

But Jin Li just didn't like them.

After the manager left, Yang Zong took the initiative to call Sui Lingfang.

He didn't have Jin Li's private number, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't get through.

Hearing Yang Zong's intent, Sui Lingfang said calmly: "The screenwriter left, huh?"

"If he's gone, he's gone; it's fine. We've already found a screenwriter to adapt 'Invisible Secret' on our end."

Yang Zong originally wanted to say, how about changing to another script, or he could find someone else to continue adapting it, but he didn't expect Sui Lingfang to say she had already found someone.

Yang Zong asked one more question: "Can you reveal which screenwriter it is?"

Sui Lingfang refused, "It's not convenient to reveal that, but you will meet sooner or later."

"After the script is adapted, this screenwriter will be stationed in the crew as an on-set screenwriter."

Yang Zong: "Fine!"

Since Chenxi Entertainment had already found a solution, Yang Zong didn't pester her anymore and said with great sincerity:

"If you need help from Yiyi Media, just speak up; we also have many resources and connections in the industry that can be used."

Sui Lingfang: "Good, I won't be polite."

Time flew by, and it was January.

Jin Li spent a lively New Year's Day on the Qingbei campus. She and Gu Cheng participated in the New Year's gala held by the school together, having a duet program.

On New Year's Day, many TV stations also sent them invitations to participate in local New Year's galas, but they were all rejected by the two of them.

Jin Li and Gu Cheng felt that participating in their alma mater's New Year's gala was more meaningful.

There would be plenty of opportunities to participate in other TV stations' New Year's galas, but participating in their alma mater's was one year less for every year they participated, making it more precious.

Without realizing it, they had already been at school for a year and a half.

Once this summer break passed, they would be juniors.

The two of them singing together at the Qingbei New Year's gala was uploaded to the blog by students and immediately hit a trending search.

【So sweet!】

【This is the love I yearned for in my student days.】

【Strongly recommend the two of them film another university campus drama; film one where a secret crush comes true, it's very easy to ship!】

【I want to see childhood sweethearts (shy).】

【Ah, am I the only one who wants to see forced play? I want to see Jin Li force Gu Cheng, letting the cold academic god fall into the mortal world!】

【The brain hole of the person above is amazing, I vote for it!】

【!】

Neither Jin Li nor Gu Cheng expected the power of this trending search to be so great.

There were actually many crews filming youth-themed dramas sending invitations to the two of them, wanting them to cooperate in filming a university-era romance.

Jin Li was busy studying and didn't have time to look.

Gu Cheng did read all the scripts sent, but he wasn't satisfied with any of them.

When the two were resting at night, Gu Cheng embraced Jin Li, feeling that current youth dramas were still very cliché.

"The plots are always melodramatic, misunderstandings, twists of fate, eventually separating, and meeting again years later, only then are the misunderstandings cleared up."

"But this kind of drama isn't exclusive to youth dramas; it can be established in any workplace drama, so I don't like it very much."

Jin Li asked: "Then what kind of drama do you want to film?"

Gu Cheng thought for a moment: "A fantasy-type rescue drama. Wasn't there a theme before about burning a past photo and then returning to the past to save the male or female lead, which was a huge hit?"

"But because the actors were all new, the drama was a complete hit, but the actors were just average and still had to struggle for a few years to level up."

Jin Li thought for a moment and nodded.

"Rescue plots related to youth themes are quite touching. If people could choose to return to their youth, everyone would definitely want to make up for past regrets."

She smiled: "You can pay more attention to this type of theme, and if you find a good one, tell me."

Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you worried—"

Jin Li asked: "Worried about what?"

Gu Cheng chuckled: "Worried about me being a kept man."

Jin Li touched his clear and handsome face and boasted: "Is that so? Then your service doesn't meet the standard of a kept man yet!"

Gu Cheng: "Then I'll work harder."

He didn't strip Jin Li's, but just slowed down his movements to take off his pajamas one by one.

Jin Li's throat couldn't help but move.

The night was deep.

The moon is truly beautiful tonight.