Chapter 219: Actors Undecided, Script Temporarily Non-Existent

Zhuo Wei desperately wanted to poke a hole in that face to vent his hatred, but considering the consequences of doing so would likely not only cost him his job again but also require him to pay compensation...

He could only endure it.

A true man can bend and stretch.

He planned to calm his mind at work, review past failed cases, integrate human resources to find a differentiated track suitable for himself, thereby helping himself touch the precise ignition point in the red-ocean industry of paparazzi and leap forward.

For this, he needed money, specifically his salary.

The New Year was approaching; he couldn't possibly return home with just a few trifles in his pocket, losing face like that.

For this, while working, his mind kept pondering whether there was a star who could help him make a comeback.

Zhou Yi was temporarily impossible to touch again; the lesson this time was miserable enough, as he was on the verge of a promotion and raise at the Daily New News, only to be fired.

He felt he should temporarily be unable to outplay this man younger than himself.

So, among those currently popular stars, who else was worth digging up news on?

After much thought, a name gradually surfaced in Zhuo Wei's mind—Jiang Wen.

First, because Jiang Wen was very famous domestically, and even somewhat famous internationally;

Second, because it was currently rumored that Jiang Wen was banned from directing for five years due to last year's "Devils on the Doorstep," and was currently in a difficult position. He also had frequent conflicts with director Lu Chuan over filming "Finding the Gun," causing the shooting schedule to be postponed again and again.

Third, because Liu Xiaoqing had been imprisoned, and given the relationship between Jiang Wen and Liu Xiaoqing, his mood was very likely to be very bad.

Digging into his affairs should yield unexpectedly good material, thereby helping himself make a comeback.

Since he was operating alone, Zhuo Wei, unwilling to waste time after setting his target, quickly began investigating places Jiang Wen frequented after getting off work, and then staked him out for several days in a row.

On November 8, Journalists' Day, the hard-luck Zhuo Wei, hearing "Yellow Race" playing all over the streets, squatted outside a teahouse Jiang Wen often visited, sipping hot water from a thermos, and clumsily adjusted his lens.

Until—

"Huh? Zhou Yi? When did he get involved with Jiang Wen?"

When Zhuo Wei, who had been staking out in the dead of winter for nearly three hours with the intention of digging up Jiang Wen's gossip, saw that the person appearing here with Jiang Wen today was not the beautiful woman mentioned in the informant's tip, but Zhou Yi, he was completely stunned.

No, bro, can I call you bro, okay?

Why are you everywhere?

Does Jiang Wen have any relationship with you at all?!

And that informant who took his money, you call Zhou Yi a beautiful woman?

What kind of beautiful woman is this?!

"Zhou Yi, I heard in the circle that you met Charles Heung?"

"Don't mention it, Brother Jiang; I was also set up. If it weren't for a friend being on the set of 'The Lion Roars' at the time, I would have turned and left long ago."

Recalling the scene a few days ago where Fan Bingbin had stubbornly dared him to check her academic credentials, Zhou Yi, after pushing open the private room door, immediately wore a playful smile, took off his wine-red coat and hung it on the rack, pulled out a chair to sit by the tea table, and watched as Jiang Wen skillfully began brewing tea.

Unhurried, Zhou Yi sat on the wooden chair, his gaze sweeping around the surroundings filled with Chinese classical luxury, making appreciative sounds with his tongue.

This place was indeed his first time visiting; when it came to enjoyment, it truly had to be these people who enjoyed it.

To be honest, he was quite surprised by Jiang Wen suddenly inviting him to meet.

After Chen Hao acted as the intermediary and notified him of Jiang Wen's request to see him, his first reaction was to wonder if someone was running a scam.

In the capital's November, with such cold weather, it was somewhat irrational to not stay home warming up in bed but instead come out to freeze.

He was too lazy to go out far to promote the DVD album of the China-Korea Song Festival anyway; whether it sold well or not wasn't very important to him.

As long as the matter was done, it was fine.

"Come, Zhou Yi, taste this; this tea is quite good."

"Brother Jiang, asking me to taste this is like a cow chewing on a peony; my mouth can't articulate where it's good."

Zhou Yi smiled, instinctively tapping his knuckles on the tea table to express his gratitude for the tea brewing.

"Since you've said so, I won't hide it anymore; let's speak plainly between us."

Jiang Wen rolled up his sleeves, pointed at himself with a smile: "Me, due to some special reasons, am temporarily banned from directing, so I have been conceiving a new film, preparing to officially start filming after five years."

Zhou Yi took a sip of tea with a noncommittal look, lowering his head.

"I know you have no interest in making films; I'm not here to ask you to make a film this time. When I returned to school last time, Chen Hao's teacher told me about you."

Jiang Wen rested his elbows on the table, his expression serious: "Here's the thing; the emotion I want to express in this film is quite special, so I want to invite you, this talented creator, to try and see if you can create a set of pure music for my film that fits its emotional expression."

Honestly, when Jiang Wen first had the idea for the new film in his mind, his immediate thought was not to find a domestic musician, but to look towards Japan.

After all, the strength of the Japanese music scene was indeed visible to all.

Then he saw the scene where the pop song "The Lazy Song" was dominating in Japan. A song written, sung, and arranged by a Chinese person himself actually rose to tenth place on the year-end chart of the Oricon Singles Chart, which was nothing short of a miracle.

Jiang Wen asked his Japanese acquaintances, especially those involved in music, and their unified response was that it was incredible, that Zhou Yi was simply a musical genius, and so on.

It was just that the domestic media industry was not yet developed; Warner had changed from releasing Zhou Yi's achievements weekly to once every half month or once a month, resulting in very few people in the country knowing about Zhou Yi's current achievements.

As one of the few people in the entertainment industry who stood looking at the world, a thought sprang up in Jiang Wen's mind: since Zhou Yi was currently unwilling to act in films, why not ask him to help with the soundtrack?

He really wanted to see if this man, whom many Japanese musicians had evaluated as a musical genius, could write music that satisfied him, pure music.

"Film soundtrack?"

Putting down his teacup, Zhou Yi rubbed the cup body with his index finger, then as if thinking of something, raised his eyes with a light smile to meet his gaze: "Sure, do you have a script?"

"No."

"Characters? Decided?"

"No either."

"Then the plot summary?"

"Still no; currently only a vague concept."

Jiang Wen paused in his tone, raised his hand and pointed to his head: "In here."

Unsurprisingly, it's you.

Zhou Yi smiled directly, raised his hand, and gave him a thumbs-up: "Brother Jiang, if you do this, my fee will be very high, and there will be a bunch of additional conditions; otherwise, I really wouldn't dare to agree."

"Money isn't an issue."

Seeing that Zhou Yi showed no fear but instead turned the tables on him, Jiang Wen's rugged face broke into a genuine smile; he waved his large hand with bold, generous spirit and said, "What's your condition?"

He had already prepared himself for Zhou Yi to silently curse him as an idiot.

But recently, a burst of inspiration for a story had indeed surged in his mind—inspiration that came suddenly after his last meeting with Zhou Yi.

"While slacking off at home lately, I've also been thinking about next year's album. I've got an idea for an Italian mafia godfather—would you be interested in making a cameo?"

"……Music video? You're serious?"

Even with Jiang Wen's erratic thinking, he was momentarily stunned by Zhou Yi's offhand condition.

Him? Jiang Wen? Act in a music video?

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

Zhou Yi, leaning back against the wooden chair's backrest in a tactical recline, propped his cheek with one hand and smirked: "Don't worry, Brother Jiang—money isn't an issue. Warner's got plenty."

"……"

Why did that sound so familiar?

Jiang Wen, catching a faint whiff of something familiar, quickly reacted and asked tentatively: "Music video role?"

"Not decided yet."

"What about the script?"

"Not written yet."

"What's the plot summary?"

"Right now, I only have a rough concept—right here." Zhou Yi raised his hand and pointed to his own forehead.

Jiang Wen laughed.

In their mutual gaze, Zhou Yi also laughed.

ps: Holy shit, slept until past two in the morning…

I wasted too much sleep time locked in the dark room yesterday; only went to sleep after seeing the second unban. Ximen Mama.

(End of Chapter)