Chapter 436: Ouroboros (Requesting Monthly Tickets!)

It seemed Li Mama was long accustomed to this living environment; she pressed down on her two daughters’ heads, especially Li Jiaxin’s, forcing them to bow low as they walked through the hallway into her home.

But before entering the house, Li Jiaxin looked up toward Wei Ming’s direction—she’d seen plenty of men come here, but never one so handsome without being lewd.

Downstairs, Wei Ming spotted an Indian man selling snakes, his skin dark, wearing glasses.

Wei Ming immediately stopped to watch: “Are these snakes venomous?”

“These aren’t,” the Indian man pushed his glasses up. “If you want venomous ones, I can get you a cobra.”

“No need, no need,” Wei Ming asked again, “Are they controllable? I’m a director—I need a snake that obeys commands for a scene.”

The Indian man said, “Aren’t you a writer?”

Wei Ming internally muttered, “Fuck.”

“You know me?”

“I read books and read newspapers,” the Indian man pulled out a copy of District 9 from beneath his butt, then asked Wei Ming, “How do you want them to obey?”

Wei Ming: “The snake coils around itself, opens its mouth, and bites its own tail.”

The Indian man shook his head: “I’ve seen this happen, but I don’t know why they do it—or how to make them do it.”

“Alright.” Wei Ming stood up. He’d have to ask Old Ghost instead.

It was getting late; he’d visit Xi Tie Street tomorrow. He still needed to rent two apartments and set them up—he doubted he could start shooting these next two days.

Wei Ming dropped off the three men at their homes and gave Zhang Yimou and the others some cash, telling them to watch movies in their spare time, just to remember the locations so they wouldn’t get lost.

Back at Old Ghost’s place, Wei Ming found A Min there—she was still waiting for him.

“Why are you back so late?”

Wei Ming: “I was scouting locations. This afternoon I also visited the hospital to see the injured Cheng…”

As he spoke, Wei Ming spotted a slender-legged girl in a short skirt.

“Xiao Hong?”

Zhou Hui smiled proudly: “Don’t you even recognize me anymore!”

Wei Hong awkwardly tugged at her skirt—it wasn’t even short, just above the knees—but it was garish, nothing like the plain blue-and-green styles common on the mainland.

Plus, A Min had completely transformed her from head to toe, even did her hair—Xiao Hong barely recognized herself and felt deeply uncomfortable.

Wei Ming thought it looked great.

“Now you finally look like a girl! Big praise to A Min—she’s learned how to dress people up.”

Lin Ni immediately jumped in: “I taught A Min how to dress! She didn’t know anything before.”

Wei Ming realized: “Ah, that explains it.”

So A Min and Xiao Hong’s style must be Taiwanese indie-chic.

Wei Hong: “Then take a picture of me, brother.”

Zhou Hui immediately wrapped her arm around Wei Hong: “Take a picture of us both.”

After taking the photo, A Min prepared to leave, and Wei Ming walked her downstairs to her home.

But A Min didn’t press the eighth floor—she pressed the first: “Let’s walk a bit before going back. It’s still early.”

“Early? It’s already past nine.”

A Min: “You know it’s late—I waited for you three hours. If I’d known you’d be this late today, I should’ve come with you.”

“Good thing you didn’t come with us—we scouted a nightclub tonight. It was a mess. Girls should avoid places like that.”

“Huh? You’re going to film in a place like that?” A Min looked skeptical—was this even a serious project?

“Filmmaking takes you anywhere. We’re only making a short film—if we had a bigger budget, we could just build a nightclub.”

“Hmm, fair enough.” A Min accepted this logic quickly. She’d stick with Hong Jie and stock trading instead. She was already looking forward to Monday—though tomorrow was Sunday.

“Will you still be busy tomorrow?” she asked.

Wei Ming: “Tomorrow I need to scout more locations, finalize the female lead, rent equipment, hire crew—it’ll be busy. Don’t wait up for me tonight.”

“Then tomorrow Hong Jie and I will go record a song—‘Pink Memories.’”

“A Min, sing me another one.”

Zhou Hui glanced around—no one passed by—then slowly swayed in front of him, singing softly. Her voice was far more natural than the first time, delightfully playful and cute.

The next day, Wei Ming went to Kuangren Comics, where Xu Jinjiang and Zhang Yimou had already gathered.

Wei Ming thought for a moment: “Come with me.”

Today they were visiting Ms. Xia Meng. After meeting, they explained their purpose.

“I didn’t expect you’d adapt this novel yourself—brave of you. I loved the original work and look forward to your version. Is there anything I can help with?”

Wei Ming smiled: “I need a female lead for this short film. Could you tell me Ye Tong’s current rate?”

“You asked the right person,” Xia Meng said. “Earlier this year we collaborated on another film—Ye Tong was the lead again, and it was her first after winning the Golden Horse. I paid her 150,000. The male lead, Zhang Guorong, got 200,000.”

“150,000?” Wei Ming rubbed his chin. For his short film, five ten thousand would be reasonable—slightly expensive.

“But don’t worry about the fee—Ye Tong is very grateful to you. She’ll likely give you a friend’s discount.”

“What movie is this?” Wei Ming asked curiously—he remembered Ye Tong had only made three films in his past life.

Xia Meng said: “It’s Tan Jiaming’s new film, ‘Passionate Youth.’ You’re lucky—it just wrapped. I’ll connect you with her agent.”

Wei Ming nodded. Qingniao was clearly different from his past life—making money, possibly growing.

But after making the call, Xia Meng sadly told Wei Ming: “She left for Europe right after filming. Even if we find her, it’ll take time and luck.”

Wei Ming: “Alright. Are there any other suitable actresses in your ‘Passionate Youth’ cast?”

“Funny,” Xia Meng told him, “The other female lead is about Ye Tong’s age and build—her name is Xia Wenxi. Let me show you her photo.”

Wei Ming thought: Of course—it’s her. He’d seen this Zhang Guorong film before—it was Ye Tong’s original-world debut.

Though Xia Wenxi was also slender, her figure was far more alluring than Ye Tong’s.

‘The Bold Woman of the Tang Dynasty’—eternal god!

This time they reached her. Xia Wenxi was available, and when she heard it was Wei Ming—the legendary Wei Ming—she expressed strong interest in collaborating.

So Wei Ming arranged a meeting time and place with her.

Xia Wenxi is 19, currently working as a model, with a cool, detached aura.

‘Passionate Youth’ is her first film. She truly owed thanks to Ye Tong’s trip to Europe—otherwise, this opportunity would never have fallen to her. After all, she’s the female lead in the debut film of a legendary writer-director.