Chapter 305

After Wu Yuchen finished chatting with Cai Yinong, he hung up the phone, and moments later, his phone rang again.

He glanced at the screen, picked up, and laughed: “Feng Dao, you’ve got to stop this—don’t you have my number? Just call me directly if you need something! Why be so formal?”

From the other end of the line came Feng Xiaogang’s voice:

“Wu Dao, my fault, my fault! There’s a time difference between China and America—we’re on opposite sides of day and night. I was truly afraid of disturbing your rest and affecting your shooting schedule!”

You’re filming two big blockbusters back-to-back in Hollywood, with a budget of $500 million—our side in China hasn’t spent that much on a film in ten years. Your time and energy are priceless!”

If I had any other option, I’d never dare trouble you!”

Wu Yuchen shook his head with a smile—Feng Xiaogang was still the same old Feng Xiaogang, unchanged.

He said directly: “Feng Dao, I heard you’re having trouble with your script. What’s going on? Tell me.”

Feng Xiaogang dropped the pleasantries and got straight to the point:

“Wu Dao, here’s the situation. I was drawn to Zhao Benfu’s novella, ‘No Thieves in the World.’ It’s a story about a reformed rogue, with a theme encouraging goodness—something deeply aligned with our traditional values.

But I’ve rewritten the script dozens of times, and every time it gets rejected by the Censor. You’re the undisputed expert in scriptwriting now, so I thought I’d ask you to take a look, give me some guidance—I need to know where to fix it!”

After listening, Wu Yuchen asked: “How many times has it been rejected? Surely they gave you feedback. What did they say?”

“They listed a few points: First, the thief’s transformation lacks credibility—it lacks positive influence. Second, you overemphasize the thieves’ confrontations with each other; the thief’s death feels too tragic, while the police play too minor a role. Third, they questioned: ‘With thieves everywhere on this train, won’t this send a bad social message?’”

After speaking, Feng Xiaogang suddenly remembered and hurried to add: “Wu Dao, I’m so sorry—I got so excited I forgot you haven’t even read the script yet!”

Wu Yuchen chuckled: “Right, I need to read it before I can comment. Send me the script.”

“Won’t that bother you?” Feng Xiaogang asked.

“Heh, I’m busy, sure—but reading your script? It’s a nice change of pace.”

“Perfect! I’ll mail it to you right away!” Feng Xiaogang said happily.

Wu Yuchen waved his hand: “No need. Give it to Xiao Ran—she’s coming next week. Have her bring it over. Safer that way.”

Feng Xiaogang’s eyes flickered—he caught the implication immediately. “That’s perfect! Wu Dao, funny thing—I was already planning to invite Xiao Ran for the female lead!”

Feng Xiaogang had previously collaborated with Li Xiaoran on ‘Never Ending,’ which earned over 300 million in box office.

Now, hearing Wu Yuchen’s words, he was certain it was a hint. Coincidence? Maybe he was overthinking. But Feng Xiaogang had gotten this far precisely because he thought more than others, read between the lines, and knew how to flatter the powerful.

Even if he was overthinking—so what? If Li Xiaoran plays the lead, Wu Yuchen will care more about the script. A woman’s whisper in bed beats a distant man’s begging any day.

Besides, if the script still gets rejected, he loses nothing. But if Wu Dao throws his weight behind it, Feng Xiaogang had full confidence the Censor would give in.

“Oh? That’s convenient! Then give the script to Xiao Ran first—have her read it. Also, send her all the rejection feedback. I want to see it all.”

“Got it!” Feng Xiaogang hung up, delighted.

On the other end, Wu Yuchen smiled. Feng Xiaogang was truly Feng Xiaogang—he’d understood the intent the moment the words were spoken.

He did want Li Xiaoran to land the female lead—the female thief. In his past life, that role went to Liu Ruoying—how did she get it? Through her man, Chen Guofu.

Chen Guofu was currently Columbia’s Asia Director. In that role, he’d brought massive funding into China’s film industry, primarily by investing in wuxia films, then taking the North American and European rights. The brothers’ ‘Hero’ was handled exactly this way, and Chen Guofu had built strong ties through it.

In his past life, Chen Guofu was the executive producer of ‘No Thieves in the World’—so naturally, his mistress Liu Ruoying got the lead.

But now, Wu Yuchen intended to secure that role for Li Xiaoran first. Even if Chen Guofu had power, could he compare to Wu Yuchen?

Once Wu Yuchen spoke, even if Chen Guofu was executive producer, he wouldn’t dare touch that role. It’s all about who you’re sleeping with—Liu Ruoying can’t compete with Li Xiaoran. No complaints allowed.

As for investment? Since Feng Xiaogang didn’t mention it, Wu Yuchen had no intention of investing. Feng Xiaogang was still under contract with Huayi Brothers—‘No Thieves in the World’ was theirs too. Wu Yuchen didn’t want to get too close to the Wang brothers.

‘No Thieves in the World’ had decent box office, but Wu Yuchen didn’t need the money. Helping Feng Xiaogang fix his script in exchange for one female lead—was that too much to ask?

As for whether fixing the script would waste his energy? In his past life, Wang Shuo had solved it with one sentence—no brain cells wasted.

Night fell. The bed fell silent after hours of movement; the room grew still.

Jiang Qinqin lay atop Wu Yuchen’s chest, inhaling his scent, reluctant to let go.

“Husband, when I’m gone, take care of yourself. Don’t stay up till 1 or 2 a.m. every night—it’s bad for your health. Watch what you eat—less cold food. Avoid those local specialties; I saw Ning Hao get food poisoning last time—he was so weak he couldn’t even walk…”

Wu Yuchen laughed. Back on that island shoot, the locals had been overly enthusiastic, offering their specialties to the crew.

Chen Er had been cautious and refused to eat. But Ning Hao, that reckless fool, gobbled it all down—and paid for it. He’d been diarrhea-stricken for days. No hospital on the island—he’d only survived on pills. The diarrhea wouldn’t stop. His dark skin turned pale, he lost weight, and only when the doctor arrived with special medicine and IVs did he recover—but he’d been utterly wrecked.

Wu Yuchen gently patted Jiang Qinqin’s back and smiled: “Don’t worry. Our crew’s food is shipped all the way from America. I swear I’ll only eat crew meals.”

Such a large crew meant huge catering costs—a department of dozens, preparing three meals daily for 800 to 1,000 people. Breakfast alone required 1,100 to 1,500 eggs, 100 to 160 pounds of bacon, 80 loaves of bread, 50 pounds of sausage, and over a dozen boxes of fruit.

“Good! And…”

Jiang Qinqin kept chattering, but Wu Yuchen felt no irritation—her words were warm with love, filling his heart.

When she finished, he told her: “I can’t see you off this time. I’ve assigned Karl, your agent, to accompany you the entire way. Whatever you need, tell him—he’ll handle it. Call me every time you reach a new place.”

Returning from this shoot to China wasn’t easy—they’d first need to travel by multiple transports back to America, then fly to Los Angeles before getting a direct flight to China.

They talked back and forth, the room filled with quiet warmth.

…

One week later.

“Hey, Haozi, wanna try this?” A blond foreigner held up a fruit and grinned at Ning Hao.

“Get lost, Chris! If you tease me again, I’ll shove it up your ass!” Ning Hao snapped back.

He still remembered his lesson—he’d been so badly messed up he still wouldn’t dare touch his own backside.

Ning Hao didn’t know how much his directorial skills had improved tagging along with Wu Dao on the ‘Pirate King’ series—but his English? Damn, it was fluent now. He spoke naturally, cursing without thinking.

After half a year on set, he’d blended in with the crew. Since his food poisoning incident, they’d been teasing him constantly.

Ning Hao raised his glass and clinked it with Chris. He wouldn’t touch food anymore, but a drink? Fine—as long as it didn’t interfere with work.

Another foreigner beside him asked: “Hey, Haozi, didn’t you say the director’s girlfriend left last week? I think I saw her come back today.”

Before Ning Hao could answer, Chris waved his hand: “No, no, man—you’re mistaken!”

The other countered: “No, I’m not. A young woman with black hair and yellow skin—our crew doesn’t have one!”

Chris insisted: “No, no—I swear it’s not the same one! I saw today’s girl too—she’s way prettier! Her figure? Perfect. I finally agree with the director’s taste!”

“Really? Maybe I misread her. She’s that good-looking?”

“Mmm! Her skin’s flawless, and her figure? S-shaped…” Chris gestured.

To these foreigners, Wu Yuchen swapping women was nothing unusual—it happened all the time in Hollywood.

Ning Hao raised his glass and interrupted: “Drink up. Don’t gossip about the director’s personal life—especially his women.”

Chris raised his glass: “Oh, Haozi, you won’t snitch, right?”

“Of course I will! I’m the director’s assistant!”

“Oh my god!”

…

At this moment, the woman these foreigners thought more beautiful than Jiang Qinqin lay on Wu Yuchen’s lap, enjoying his massage: “I’m exhausted! This place is so remote! Plane, car, boat, then car again—it’s brutal!”

“Xiao Ran, you’ve come such a long way—I’m truly touched,” Wu Yuchen said, kneading her shoulders.

Li Xiaoran giggled: “See? I’m the one who really cares about you. One call, and I’m here to keep you company.”

“Mmm, Xiao Ran’s the best,” Wu Yuchen said, then leaned down and kissed her cheek.

Li Xiaoran nuzzled his thigh: “But honestly, the more remote the place, the prettier it is. You’ve got great taste in locations.”

“Of course—I wouldn’t have chosen you otherwise,” Wu Yuchen laughed.

Li Xiaoran smiled at that.

After a while, she sat up, stretched: “Mmm~ Perfect!”

Then she pulled a script and accompanying materials from her bag and handed them to Wu Yuchen: “Here—Feng Dao asked me to bring you this.”

Wu Yuchen looked at the title: ‘No Thieves in the World.’ He smiled at Li Xiaoran and asked: “Xiao Ran, have you read it? What do you think?”

“I have. It’s interesting. Feels like an ancient wuxia tale—a reformed rogue, gold can’t change his heart. ‘Three Heroes and Five Gallants’—yeah, like Bai Yutang. A thief, but one who upholds justice…”

Wu Yuchen flipped through the script as he spoke: “You’re talking about the original novel, right?”

Li Xiaoran blinked: “Huh? You’ve read the original novel?”

Wu Yuchen nodded: “Yes. It’s from years ago.”

The original ‘No Thieves in the World’ was short—under ten thousand characters. The protagonists were clearly rogue-heroes—not stealing for money, but traveling, stealing from the wicked when broke, and redistributing wealth to charity. The novel repeatedly emphasized they weren’t evil, which is why, upon meeting the innocent Shaogen, they felt compelled to protect him.

But in Feng Xiaogang’s script, for dramatic tension, he changed the characters: this couple were now professional thieves, targeting money alone.

But that created a logical flaw: why would a pair of thieves, driven purely by greed, suddenly change their ways to protect a naive child’s dream of a thief-free world?

As Wu Yuchen flipped through the script and then picked up the rejection feedback, Li Xiaoran asked: “All this feedback—can it even be fixed?”

Wu Yuchen smiled: “Of course not—follow their suggestions line by line, and the script becomes something completely different.”