Recommending a script to him while he was in a rush to find his wife—if it weren’t for the upbringing he had received since childhood teaching him not to take his anger out on others, his true instinct would be to raise his leg and kick the man, sending everyone who blocked his path off to dig coal in Africa.
Gu Zhan endured it again and again, barely keeping the fiery anger in his chest from bursting out. His tone was freezing cold. “Go away.”
Producer Zhang’s face stiffened. He belatedly realized that he might have outsmarted himself and shouldn’t have been so hasty.
But to just leave like this, he was unwilling.
Shi Yi wasn’t in the hotel.
Gu Zhan turned and sat down in the lobby instead. After thinking for a moment, he asked for a face mask and let the potted plants conceal his figure, waiting for Shi Yi to throw herself right into his net.
“…”
As night gradually fell, Gu Zhan realized he had miscalculated.
Shi Yi was very timid and didn’t dare to walk outside at night, claiming beautifully that as a little fairy, she had to pay attention to protecting her own safety. Moreover, during a guest’s stay, the hotel provided transportation services. The front desk had asked Shi Yi if she needed a car, and Shi Yi had refused. The place she was going to must be nearby.
And she still hadn’t returned…
Heh. Gu Zhan let out a cold sneer.
She had seen him, so she didn’t dare to come in! She might have even just run away.
The man sat in the hotel lobby, his figure tall, slender, and cold in a black overcoat. His sturdy chest heaved twice, and his normally aloof aura became oppressive and intimidating.
I’d like to see how long you can stay out there.
In the spacious and luxurious hotel lobby, the atmosphere inexplicably became stagnant. The man sitting in the corner was like a giant black hole. The oppressive aura radiating from him slowly infected the entire space. Passing guests inexplicably lowered their voices, as if subconsciously sensing danger.
Five minutes later, Gu Zhan stood up.
Shi Yi was a person who was very timid, yet incredibly stubborn. He still remembered during their second year of high school, Shi Yi used tutoring as an excuse to loiter at his house. She wouldn’t leave no matter what he said. When he pushed her out the door, she just sat on the front steps hugging her knees, slipping notes into the house through the crack in the door one by one.
The little crying faces drawn on them were incredibly lifelike.
“Wu wu wu, it’s so dark outside! I’m scared.”
“Could there be ghosts QAQ”
“Brother Gu, Male God Gu, hurry and save Little Fairy Xixi.”
“The little fairy’s jiojio1 hurt, she can’t return to heaven anymore, hurry and take her in.”
“Ahhhhhh a dark shadow suddenly appeared by the lake, could it be the crazy slasher from the school rumors!”
“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, he’s coming over!!!”
Gu Zhan’s heart skipped a beat. He opened the door, and she instantly rubbed past him, ducking under his arm and into the house.
In the end, he discovered it was just a billboard being blown by the wind. All that nonsense about it getting closer and closer was just Shi Yi scaring herself.
Gu Zhan was both angry and amused.
He later asked Shi Yi what she would have done if he hadn’t opened the door that day. Shi Yi said she would have just kept writing; if she was scared, then she was scared. She didn’t believe he could bear to let her stay scared forever.
“…”
Gu Zhan massaged the space between his eyebrows, his voice a bit hoarse. “Give me Shi Yi’s phone number.”
He could have easily gotten Shi Yi’s phone number a long time ago; he just hadn’t taken action.
The receptionist was stunned for a moment, then answered awkwardly, “Ah, okay.”
“Don’t want your things anymore?”
The ding-dong notification sound of a phone rang out in the cafe. The familiar number made Shi Yi’s hand tremble. She reflexively looked around, almost thinking the wolf had come.
Gu Zhan actually sent her a message!! He actually exposed it? He hadn’t changed his phone number?? What should she reply??
Shi Yi thought about it and replied, “Stranger, blacklisted.”
After sending it, she backhanded herself with a slap, her face scrunching up. Her brain had truly short-circuited. Who emphasizes blacklisting a stranger? Wasn’t this clearly doing something unnecessary!
The crisp sound of the slap attracted the waiter’s attention, and a couple at the next table looked over in curiosity. Shi Yi put her hand down and calmly gave them a smile.
The couple nodded back in embarrassment.
The phone paused for two seconds, then beeped. “Stranger?”
Whether her hand speed was fast or not depended on this single second. Shi Yi threw caution to the wind and rapidly blocked the phone number.
…It was actually quite satisfying.
When he tried sending another message and it didn’t show as delivered, Gu Zhan laughed out of anger.
He looked left and right, then suddenly waved at the producer.
This person had been following him around, so he probably wanted something.
“Me?” The producer was stunned for a moment, but then pleasant surprise burst from his eyes. Suppressing the weariness around his brow and eyes, he realized his chance had come! He straightened his clothes and took wide strides forward. “Mr. Gu.”
“What do you need?”
“I have a script, it’s by Mr. Wenquan. Are you interested in investing?”
“Mn.” Gu Zhan nodded faintly, indicating he understood and would deal with it later. “Lend me your phone for a second.”
“Okay.”
“Thanks.”
Gu Zhan lowered his head to text Shi Yi. After entering a few numbers, he paused, his gaze freezing on the contact that popped up. “You know Shi Yi?”
“Shi Yi?” The producer was bewildered.
He had never heard this name before, but the surname was Shi… The author of this script was also surnamed Shi; he just didn’t know her full name.
Gu Zhan showed him the contact that popped up.
The producer leaned in and suddenly realized. “This is the original author of the script I was talking about.”
“What script?” Gu Zhan put down the phone after sending the message.
The producer looked at the director. The director had kept the script Shi Yi handed over earlier. “Look, it’s this one.”
Director Chen felt something was wrong. Zhang Wenyuan had no interest in surfing the internet and didn’t know what the name Shi Yi meant, but Director Chen had heard his young daughter screaming about it. The name Shi Yi… seemed to belong to Gu Zhan’s ex-girlfriend! He hastily pulled at Zhang Wenyuan, signaling him to calm down.
Having finally seen a ray of dawn, it was useless for anyone to pull him. The producer turned a deaf ear and smiled as he recommended, “Stop Making Trouble is excellent. Its original IP is very popular online, has a solid reader base, and was even voted by the website’s readers as the best school romance.”
“I’ve investigated the market beforehand. The online school dramas these past two years have all been cut from the same cloth. Many viewers are experiencing aesthetic fatigue, and quite a few netizens have commented hoping for a good school drama to air.
“The male and female leads in Stop Making Trouble have distinct personalities. It’s different from the school dramas currently on the market and can give people a breath of fresh air.”
The producer was amazed to find that Gu Zhan’s expression softened. The corners of his lips curled up, and a light seemed to surge in the depths of his pitch-black eyes.
Zhang Wenyuan hurriedly redoubled his efforts. “Of course, this drama also has its own flaws. The character relationships in this drama are a bit weak, and the emotional development between the male and female leads is too smooth… However, I’ve already invited Mr. Wenquan out of retirement to properly polish and adapt the script.”
“Why invite Mr. Wenquan? Isn’t Cun Xin the screenwriter?”
Director Chen wasn’t sure if he was just overthinking things because he knew too much, but he couldn’t help but feel that when Gu Zhan said the words “Cun Xin,” it carried a strange, lingering tenderness.
Zhang Wenyuan, fearless in his ignorance, said tactfully, “Cun Xin is still young and a bit stubborn. She places too much importance on the purity of the male and female leads’ romance and doesn’t quite understand the TV drama industry… As a veteran screenwriter, Mr. Wenquan blends these two aspects very well.”
As everyone knew, Gu Zhan highly valued Mr. Wenquan, so Zhang Wenyuan couldn’t help but praise Mr. Wenquan a bit more while speaking.
Hurry up and shut your mouth!
Director Chen wished he could go up and cover his mouth.
The man leaned against the counter, laughing out of extreme anger. “My viewpoint is actually different from yours.”
He flipped through the script page by page, looking at the familiar scenes and dialogue within, before turning cold. “Stop Making Trouble is a matter between two people. Whether they break up or stay together, it doesn’t need anyone else to interfere.”
Zhang Wenyuan was stunned.
His reaction was completely different from what he had expected.
Gu Zhan didn’t know the producer and Shi Yi had made a bet, but that didn’t stop him from making the same decision.
He tapped his finger on the counter, his tone light but unquestionable. “You should film a different IP.”
He didn’t truly appreciate Stop Making Trouble; Shi Yi working with this producer would be very unpleasant.
“What did you say?”
The producer couldn’t believe it, and then anger rushed to his head. These past few years, he had faced plenty of cold shoulders while trying to pull in investments. After all, the world was very realistic; without capital, one had to lower their status. He understood that. But he had never seen Gu Zhan be so domineering. “I traded my shares for this. You inexplicably tell me to change it, and I just have to change it?”
Gu Zhan wouldn’t repeat it a second time, nor would he argue with him about whether he could do it or not. Coincidentally, he received a reply on the phone at this moment. He merely gave a slight nod. “I’ll contact President Fei.”
The man’s posture was straight and upright. Once his face turned cold, his oppressive aura could no longer be hidden—aloof, noble, and aggressively imposing. It made people too afraid to refute him.
The producer unconsciously took a step back. By the time he recovered, all that was left of the man was his back.
His blood pressure spiked from anger. “He’s just leaving?! Did he not take a single word I said seriously? Ah? He says I’m replaced and I’m replaced? Who does he think he is?!”
Director Chen hurriedly grabbed him and covered his mouth. “Quiet down a bit!”
Zhang Wenyuan, “He—mmph, mmph, mmph!”
Director Chen pressed down firmly. “That’s enough. Quit while you’re ahead!”
He had just been terrified that the producer would blurt out the bet he made with Shi Yi. Without knowing about the bet, Gu Zhan asked him to switch to a different IP just for his girlfriend’s mood. If he found out Zhang Wenyuan had actively made things difficult for her, there was no telling what Gu Zhan might do. Now they just needed to change the IP—shouldn’t he quit while he was ahead?
Come to think of it, it was karma. He stubbornly insisted on making Shi Yi step down, and now it was his turn to be stepped down.
Zhang Wenyuan pulled his hand away. “What do you mean quit while I’m ahead! I traded my shares for this opportunity, why should I take it back!”
Everyone said Gu Zhan was noble and polite. Bullshit! In his eyes, he was even more arrogant than that XX who played big shot!
Before Zhang Wenyuan could finish speaking, his phone rang.
The company boss called personally to notify him that the company would return his 1% shares to him, and the producer for Stop Making Trouble was being changed to Qin Liyuan, effective immediately.
Zhang Wenyuan couldn’t catch his breath, and his vision went black.
Translator’s note:
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