Chapter 43: Maybe We Can Make a Masterpiece!

“Need an umbrella?”

“No, Mr. Zhou, I want to find creative inspiration in the rain.”

“Alright! Good luck!”

“Got it!”

July 21st, morning.

Summer weather is like a child’s face—changes on a whim.

The morning had been bright and sunny.

But at 9 a.m., a sudden downpour began.

On Tianqiao, pedestrians hurried, scrambling for shelter.

But…

Shen Hu, guitar on his back, sang an obscure folk song in the rain, oblivious to all, as if he were a fool, utterly ecstatic.

Although he had little artistic sensibility, his pursuit of art was extreme.

A few days ago, Zhou Yang gave him some money, which boosted his confidence considerably.

Hmm, now he could beg with his back straighter.

Zhou Yang, accompanied by Shen Long and Chen Jianfeng—the two dragon-phoenix talents—passed Shen Hu’s stall, chatted with him briefly, then headed straight for the cinema across the street.

Shen Hu stared at Zhou Yang’s back for a long time.

In the rain…

He suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

Mr. Zhou, you’ve already made one movie—when are you releasing my album?

………………………………

Noon.

In the rented apartment.

Cinematographer Zhang Yunyi had locked himself inside for nearly a week.

After finishing the movie “Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2” and collecting his pay, Zhang Yunyi shut himself in the rented apartment, refusing to come out—even declining his share of the profits.

Fuck!

This movie was a disaster beyond belief; now every colleague knows he took this crap job, and they’re all laughing at him behind his back.

The online criticism keeps growing…

Even the magazine “Huaxia Film Weekly” devoted an entire page to tearing this movie apart—and then personally insulted him too.

In recent days, as word of this movie spread through the industry, it seemed the [Tianyu] executives had issued some order—he appeared to be blacklisted; for a week, every job application he submitted ended in rejection.

None of the medium or small film crews in Beijing would hire him…

“Sigh!”

Rarely a smoker, he lit a cigarette, exhaled a long breath, head bowed in utter despair, even wanting to slap himself hard.

He was one wrong step away from total ruin, as if already fallen into a deep abyss.

“Maybe… leave Beijing, try other crews in Hengdian…”

After smoking his fourth cigarette, he crushed the butt, sighed again, and stood up.

Just as he was about to leave, his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

When he saw the number, he froze.

It was Zhou Yang calling…

He hesitated, then hung up.

But not long after, Zhou Yang called again.

Looking at the number, Zhang Yunyi closed his eyes and finally answered.

“Hello, Mr. Zhou?”

“Mr. Zhang, I still have a five-thousand-yuan profit share waiting for you. Come over—I’ll give it to you… and we can discuss the new movie.”

“Mr. Zhou, I don’t want that money. I just have one request: can you remove my name as cinematographer from the film? And I really don’t want to shoot ‘Lin Daiyu vs. Lu Zhishen’…” Zhang Yunyi smiled bitterly.

“You won’t shoot this movie for now. This time, we’re not making a trash film…”

“Mr. Zhou, I—”

“This time, our investment is nearly a million!”

“Mr. Zhou… last movie you said the same thing…” At the word “million,” Zhang Yunyi’s heart jolted, his expression turning bizarre.

Fuck, Mr. Zhou’s pulling the same old trick again—trying to lure him into another trap?

Investment nearly a million!

Damn it!

Two ten thousand yuan investment!

That’s also nearly a million!

“This time it’s real—nearly a million, a big production, Mr. Zhang, come over, we’ll talk in detail…”

“Mr. Zhou, I—”

“Mr. Zhang, trust me one more time. This time, we swear we won’t make trash!”

“Really?”

“Absolutely true. Come over—I’ll write the script myself…”

“Then…”

“Enough. Come to the usual place. Don’t let money slip away, right?”

“…”

Zhang Yunyi fell silent for a long while, glanced at his meager savings, then sighed deeply: “Fine, Mr. Zhou, I’ll come—but don’t bullshit me again!”

“No bullshit, I guarantee it’ll be a blockbuster!”

“…”

…………………………

Afternoon.

In the rented apartment.

The original crew of “Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2” gradually arrived at the apartment.

But their expressions were all complicated…

“Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2” wasn’t just a terrible movie—it was a stain, a blemish on their lives.

Fuck, after finishing “Sun Wukong vs. Superman 2,” though they earned some pitiful cash, all these poor bastards suddenly found no crews would hire them.

This time…

They were pulled back into the apartment by Zhou Yang.

“Today, I, Director Shen, and Mr. Chen Jianfeng watched ‘Superman 2’ at the cinema. Afterward, we were deeply moved…”

“‘Superman 2’—aside from its special effects, the plot has zero appeal. We all predict this movie will suffer a box-office collapse…”

“And we all had the same thought: we could make a movie like this—and we could make it even better!”

“…”

As everyone slowly took their seats, Shen Long straightened his suit, his face wearing an unusually serious expression.

After he finished speaking…

Director Shen Long instantly trembled, eyes wide as he stared at Zhou Yang.

Wait!

I didn’t mean that! I didn’t say that!

I only said the movie was disappointing…

But I never said we, a bunch of misfits, could make something better!

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Zhou Yang looking at him with a serious expression: “We need more confidence. Remember, we’re all talented. We were just poor before, so we took whatever jobs paid fast. Don’t blame yourselves—it’s society’s fault. Now we have money, ample funding—we can start fresh.”

When cinematographer Zhang Yunyi heard this, his lips twitched slightly.

He suddenly had a bad feeling!

Why did he feel the new movie would be even worse, even more insane?

“Mr. Zhou, just tell us—how are we making this new movie?”

“Mr. Zhang, you’re still so impatient… haha.” Zhou Yang smiled warmly at Zhang Yunyi’s grimace, then quietly pulled out the script.

When Zhang Yunyi saw “The Chosen: Hero Reboot,” his ass clenched—he stared at Zhou Yang in shock.

Fuck!

He knew it!

He fucking knew Mr. Zhou had no good intentions!

Shen Long and Chen Jianfeng, seeing this, both lowered their heads simultaneously.

This script…

Was written by Mr. Zhou while watching “Superman 2,” scribbling frantically under dim light!

In less than two hours, he’d produced the script for “The Chosen: Hero Reboot.”

They hadn’t even had time to read it yet.

"The movie 'Superman II' was truly a huge disappointment..."

"Do you think it makes sense that Superman, all-powerful as he is, would willingly give up his powers for no reason other than a criminal holding the female lead hostage?"

"Is that reasonable?"

"Imagine if you had superpowers—what would you do?"

"..."

"I can't speak for others, but if I had Superman's abilities, I'd never be as dumb as he was, slaving away like an idiot..."

"Isn't that just plain stupid?"

"And wearing ordinary glasses, hiding among the crowd—does everyone really not recognize you?"

"Are we all idiots?"

"This doesn't make sense!"

"So, our new movie will fix the illogical parts of 'Superman II'!"

"..."

"I thought about it carefully!"

"What if we reverse the entire plot of 'Superman II'?"

"Maybe..."

"Maybe we could even make a masterpiece..."

"..."

Under dim lighting.

Cinematographer Zhang Yunyi instinctively glanced at the first few pages of the script for 'Tiao Ren: Hero Reboot'.

Halfway through, he stared at Zhou Yang in shock!

This script!

It actually!

Might be interesting?

Then...

He saw Zhou Yang squinting, gazing into the distance.

In the distance, sunlight illuminated his serious profile; his gaze grew deeper, his voice lower and more resonant.

"I'll direct Lu Zhishen myself—'Tiao Ren: Hero Reboot,' you handle..."

"Let's fight once more!"

"From now on, all the dirty, hard work is mine!"

"I know you have dreams—I know you're not content..."

"Trust me!"

"I'll give wings to your dreams!"

"..."