After a few brief pleasantries, the meeting officially began.
After having his assistant distribute the scripts to everyone, Feng Yuan said to Wen Yuhan, "I think it would be better if the screenwriter could give a brief explanation of this version of the story."
"good."
Wen Yuhan nodded, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, poured some into a disposable paper cup, then reached into his pocket, took out a cigarette, tapped it against the rim of the cup, and lit it.
"The story revolves around a horrific murder in City A, the modus operandi and various clues of which closely resemble a cold case from years ago. Since the previous perpetrator has already been apprehended, the police suspect it's a copycat crime, and that the current killer harbors complex feelings of admiration, affection, and hatred towards the past killer..."
"Weren't these already reflected in the previous outline?"
A somewhat hoarse voice interrupted Wen Yuhan; it was Wu Wenchang, the literary consultant Pei Shaocheng had brought earlier.
Pei Shaocheng's eyes darkened slightly, and he glanced at Wu Wenchang without making a sound.
Wu Wenchang felt a little intimidated by Pei Shaocheng's gaze, but he still mustered his courage and continued, "Why don't you just tell us what enhancements and improvements have been made to the script compared to the outline?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Yuhan calmly flicked off some cigarette ash, smiled, and said, "Okay."
He paused, then began to explain: "In the original story outline, the killer was simply an admirer of the old killer, and the victim was the long-term bully. Now, we've changed the killer's identity to the old killer's adopted son, and the victim to the old killer's 'missing' biological son. The killer was adopted by the old killer from a young age, idolizing and obsessively relying on his painter father, hoping to one day gain his approval. But the old killer never truly respected him; the initial reason for adopting him was simply because he resembled his own son. Until one day, the old killer finally found his missing son and officially abandoned him… The double lost his purpose, and he felt betrayed. Therefore, he chose to hand over evidence directly pointing to the old killer's crimes to the police, leading to the old killer's arrest. He then found the old killer's biological son, killed him, and imitated the old killer's methods of murder."
"This definitely makes the relationships between the characters much richer!" Cheng Liang patted Wen Yuhan on the shoulder, expressing his approval of the arrangement.
Wu Wenchang shook his head repeatedly and said, "I don't think so."
He stroked his mustache with feigned profundity, looked down at Wen Yuhan, and said in a cold voice, "You've made a rather presumptuous mistake. You've made the character's personality so complex. Have you considered the specific difficulties in presenting it? This isn't a novel. How are the actors supposed to portray this character's psychology of loving, hating, and being eager to prove himself? Do you think everyone can experience everything like the creator?"
At this point, Wen Yuhan was certain that Wu Wenchang was just looking for trouble.
Xiao Yang was so angry that her face turned red and she couldn't help but retort, "The director hasn't even said anything yet, how do you know it can't be presented, right, director?"
"This..." Cheng Liang was of course 100% in agreement, but as a newcomer, he was afraid of offending people if he was not careful in such a situation, so he did not dare to agree immediately.
Seeing this, Feng Yuan once again smoothed things over, saying with a smile, "Oh, that's great! It's a creative meeting, and the fact that everyone can express their opinions like this is the purpose!"
"Not only that, to be honest, I think this version of the script is pretty bad." Wu Wenchang cleared his throat. "I read the script all night and made a list of dozens of points to share with the screenwriter and everyone else... cough, the first point is..."
As Wu Wenchang spoke, Xiao Yang's expression grew increasingly grim. This wasn't a suggestion for revision; it was clearly nitpicking, sophistry, and utter nonsense.
Wen Yuhan took another cigarette from the pack and put it in her mouth. Compared to Xiao Yang's anger, she seemed calm and composed.
He glanced up at Pei Shaocheng sitting opposite him, a mocking smile playing on his lips.
Pei Shaocheng received Wen Yuhan's gaze, tapped the table lightly with his index finger, lit a cigarette, and smoked it silently.
After Wu Wenchang finished reading through the several pages of opinions, his mouth was dry.
He tapped his leg smugly, and secretly pressed the send button on his phone with his hand under the table.
"These are just my humble opinions," Wu Wenchang said, taking a sip of mineral water. "They are all experiences I've accumulated over many years in this industry."
"Wow..." Feng Yuan glanced at Pei Shaocheng, his eyes darting around, and quickly clapped his hands, saying, "Old ginger is spicier! I've learned a lot, learned a lot! Yuhan, did you understand? Go back and revise it carefully, taking into account Old Wu's opinions!"
At this moment, Xiao Yang had "I'll fix your damn thing!" on the tip of his tongue.
Pei Shaocheng exhaled a puff of smoke and stubbed it out in the ashtray. Then, he dusted off his clothes, stood up, and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, walked around the table and slowly approached Wen Yuhan.
Wen Yuhan looked up, staring at Pei Shaocheng with some confusion.
The next second, the other person's tall figure loomed over him, clamping his neck while tracing his earlobe with his other hand.
"Teacher... couldn't you just say 'You drew pretty well'?" Pei Shaocheng's gaze was cold and menacing, yet his tone was incredibly gentle. "Just one sentence... just one sentence."
Wen Yuhan narrowed his eyes; this was a line from scene 40 of the script.
Pei Shaocheng brushed aside the stray hairs on Wen Yuhan's forehead, rested his head on Wen Yuhan's forehead, and laughed in a hoarse voice, his expression becoming increasingly neurotic.
"Are you trembling...? Tsk, you're afraid of me... So there are things in this world that teachers are afraid of..."
The scene was completely silent; everyone was so shocked by Pei Shaocheng's appearance that they didn't dare to breathe.
Wen Yuhan stared into Pei Shaocheng's eyes, and the light in his pupils flickered slightly.
In an instant, everything felt like they were back in college, when he had dragged Pei Shaocheng into a late-night rehearsal to ensure a scene was well-written. Back then, he told Pei Shaocheng that this was probably the most direct way to test a script.
"Tell me, what do I need to do to get you to look at me more? Hmm? Oh right, I just finished a new painting yesterday, take a look at it..." Pei Shaocheng said softly, somewhat coaxingly.
“There’s no need for that.” Wen Yuhan naturally picked up the line, then laughed with utter contempt. “No matter how hard you try, you can’t become me. But my biological son can…”
Pei Shaocheng tilted his head slightly, his breathing becoming heavier and heavier.
Wen Yuhan continued the dramatic flow: "He has the same blood as me flowing through his veins, he inherited all my talents, he will become me... no, he will eventually surpass me. And you, you're nothing but a stubborn, little bastard..."
"Shut up!"
Pei Shaocheng's eyes were bloodshot, and he exuded a strong sense of despair.
The original script had arranged for the assassin to slap the painter hard across the face at this point. But Pei Shaocheng paused, then clenched his fist and slammed it onto the table beside him.
With a muffled "thud," a lot of water in the cup splashed out, and everyone present shivered.
Pei Shaocheng slowly released his hand from Wen Yuhan's neck, his shoulders slumping like a puppet with its strings cut.
“I will prove it to you.”
With his back to Wen Yuhan, his expression was one of piety and madness, and he repeated softly:
"I will prove it to you..."
...
The meeting room was so quiet that you could clearly hear the wind whistling against the glass outside.
Wen Yuhan flicked the half-burnt cigarette butt and tossed it into a disposable water cup. Pei Shaocheng had been applying even pressure when he choked him, so he didn't feel any discomfort.
Just now, he confirmed two things.
Firstly, Wu Wenchang's deliberate challenge today should have nothing to do with Pei Shaocheng, otherwise he wouldn't have stepped forward to speak out in time.
Secondly, Pei Shaocheng is no longer the cold, wooden man with only a handsome face and no acting skills he once was.
With focused immersion and masterful control, he is a truly excellent actor.
Pei Shaocheng returned to his chair, leaned back, and closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself. Then he slowly opened his eyes, looked at Wu Wenchang, and said calmly:
"I don't think it's a big problem, what do you think?"
...
A note from the author:
My dearest little darlings, I should probably follow the rankings from now on T33T and temporarily switch to updating every other day (bows).
Chapter 7
Silence, stillness, utter silence...
As director Cheng Liang suddenly stood up, the noise of his chair scraping against the floor instantly became boisterous.
"That's fantastic!" Cheng Liang's voice trembled with excitement as he clapped his hands repeatedly, his eyes shining. "As expected of Shao Cheng! I was so scared I broke out in a cold sweat!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, what did I tell you! This movie was tailor-made for Shao Cheng!" Feng Yuan exclaimed, "It's absolutely a shoo-in for the top three at the box office this year!"
Pei Shaocheng had not yet fully detached himself from the role, and the already taciturn man became even more silent at this moment.
He ignored everyone else and only looked up at Wen Yuhan sitting opposite him.
Wen Yuhan met his gaze, nodded slightly to Pei Shaocheng, and mouthed "Thank you."
Xiao Yang finally felt relieved and was delighted to see Wu Wenchang's guilty look. She straightened up and asked, "Teacher Wu, do you still think there's a problem?"
"Ahem, this..." Wu Wenchang choked up, unsure how to answer.
“Teacher Wu was also considering the project itself.” Wen Yuhan gave the other party a way out at the right time, and then added, “But now it seems that we don’t need to worry too much.”
"Ah...yes, I just said it's just some experience." Wu Wenchang knew he could only follow Wen Yuhan's lead and said with a forced smile, "Since Shao Cheng can handle the emotions of such a character, there shouldn't be any major problems."
"Great, that's wonderful!" Feng Yuan slapped his thigh. "Now the project can move forward. Yu Han, go back and finalize the details as soon as possible. I'll be coding it on my hard drive."
Wen Yuhan nodded and smiled: "No problem. Shao Cheng's performance just now gave me some new ideas. I will revise it and show it to everyone again."
"Alright!" Feng Yuan slammed the script onto the table. "Anyone free tonight? I'll treat you to dinner!"
"Sorry, Brother Yuan, I made plans with someone tonight." Wen Yuhan smiled apologetically at Feng Yuan, "I'll definitely not miss it next time."
“I also have some things to take care of,” Pei Shaocheng said, glancing at Wen Yuhan indifferently.
"Oh, what bad luck!" Feng Yuan shrugged helplessly and asked Wu Wenchang, "And you?"
Wu Wenchang actually wanted to stay, but he didn't want to appear too idle, so he had to lie and say, "I also have a script to write."
"Alright, so it's going to be just the two of us, Director Cheng and me again?" Feng Yuan sighed. "Let's do it next time! Next time I'll pick a nice place, and we can all relax together. How about a hot spring?"
"I'll listen to Brother Yuan," Wen Yuhan said with a smile.
Wu Wenchang's phone vibrated. He glanced at it under the table, then stood up and said, "Everyone, please continue. I'm going to the restroom."
After saying that, he quickly left the conference room.
...
From the restroom stall at the end of the corridor, Wu Wenchang's low voice could be heard.
"Oh dear, I've told you so many times, I don't know why Pei sided with that Wen kid! They were clearly at loggerheads just a moment ago... Sigh, it looked like we could kick him out in a couple more rounds, but now things have changed. Alright, don't worry, I'll think of something else..."
Wu Wenchang hung up the phone, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and was about to open the door when a tall figure blocked his way.
Wu Wenchang's face instantly paled again, his lips trembled a few times, and he gave a stiff smile: "Pei, cough, Shao Cheng..."
“Teacher Wu.” Pei Shaocheng curled his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes.
He slammed the bathroom door shut from the back and locked it from the inside with a "click".
Wu Wenchang was intimidated by the other party's imposing aura and subconsciously took a step back, almost falling onto the toilet.
Pei Shaocheng turned on the tap, calmly washing his hands, and said slowly with his back to Wu Wenchang, "You haven't forgotten who introduced you to this consulting job, have you?"
"Of course I wouldn't dare forget!" Wu Wenchang quickly replied.
He had been staying at home for more than half a year, and he was overjoyed when he finally got this big job. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep for several days.
"Oh, so the compensation offered to you was too low?" Pei Shaocheng then asked.
"No, no!" Wu Wenchang waved his hand vigorously. "It's precisely because I was invited by you that I have to pay extra attention to the script."