Chapter 0624: Joining the Team

"For the lead roles, I'm thinking of Ge You and Liu Bei, and the genre will naturally be a comedy," Zhao Fusheng said slowly. "Old Jiang, have you ever thought about what it would be like if one day all your wishes came true for you?"

Jiang Wen was taken aback. Zhao Fusheng's words immediately sparked a flood of associations in his mind.

As a filmmaker and an actor with rich performance experience, Jiang Wen's mind was undoubtedly more active than most people's.

Although Zhao Fusheng had only said one sentence, it made him realize that the script Zhao Fusheng was about to write might be a genre no one had ever explored before.

"So, are you interested?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Jiang Wen and asked with a smile.

Jiang Wen nodded. "Though I'm reluctant to admit it, I have to say your idea is quite intriguing. Let's find some time to meet and hash out the script as soon as possible."

The two agreed to meet at Jiang Wen's place the next day, and then Zhao Fusheng went home.

The next day was the weekend.

The autumn sky was clear and the sun was bright.

Fan Baobao had the day off. Zhao Fusheng got up early, went out for breakfast, and brought a portion back for that girl Fan Baobao.

When he pushed open the door and heard the sound of running water from the bathroom, Zhao Fusheng knew she was already up.

He set down the breakfast in the living room and walked over to take a look. He found Fan Baobao wearing his pajamas, brushing her teeth in a daze, her face full of confusion—clearly not fully awake yet.

Zhao Fusheng found it amusing and shook his head helplessly.

Just then, his phone vibrated. Glancing at the caller ID, he pressed the answer button.

"When are you coming? What time is it?" Jiang Wen's voice rang out, clearly a bit anxious.

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Bro, it's not even nine in the morning. What's the rush?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Fan Baobao's ears perked up. She slightly opened her eyes and looked at Zhao Fusheng, clearly wanting to say something.

Zhao Fusheng blinked. Before he could speak, Fan Baobao started rinsing her mouth. After finishing, she said, "You should go see Teacher Jiang Wen right away. Don't waste time."

Last night, Zhao Fusheng had told her that he was meeting Jiang Wen today to work on the script.

To get a role in Jiang Wen's movie, Fan Baobao decisively chose to sell out her boyfriend. In her words, collaborating with Teacher Jiang Wen was a rare opportunity not to be missed.

To this, Zhao Fusheng remarked that Jiang Wen was nothing but a jerk...

Sighing inwardly, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but lament: if heaven does evil, you can still live; if you do evil yourself, you cannot live. If he hadn't lied to Fan Baobao in the first place, he wouldn't have to make this damn movie now.

That's right—from start to finish, he had never been keen on making movies or writing scripts. It didn't earn much money and required a lot of effort.

Most importantly, Zhao Fusheng felt that the entertainment industry, a gray area, wasn't suitable for his development.

He wasn't surnamed Xiang, needing to whitewash himself to survive.

This wasn't Hong Kong either; some rules didn't need to be observed.

Kicked out of the house by his fierce and domineering girlfriend, Zhao Fusheng took the bus alone to Jiang Wen's neighborhood.

After calling Jiang Wen, Zhao Fusheng was let in.

As soon as he entered, he saw Yu Feihong and Ye Jing both there.

"Fusheng, you're writing a script?" Yu Feihong asked directly as Zhao Fusheng came in.

She genuinely regarded Zhao Fusheng as a younger brother. Hearing from Jiang Wen that Zhao Fusheng planned to gather a few people to work on a script, she rushed over.

As for Ye Jing, he was just there to join in the fun.

"Yeah, sis, I'm planning to put together a comedy," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile, explaining to Yu Feihong.

A comedy?

Although she had already heard about it from Jiang Wen, Yu Feihong still furrowed her brows slightly, her expression not relaxed. Clearly, she had little confidence in Zhao Fusheng's idea. After all, Zhao Fusheng wasn't a professional in this field. Even if he had written a script or two before, they were mostly for fun. Comedy was different from drama; making the audience laugh was no easy task.

This wasn't a joke. Many people thought that writing a script just required clearly presenting the characters and plot. But the problem was, if the content was largely similar and the plots were alike, wouldn't it become a mass-produced product?

In that case, how could anyone enjoy watching it?

Especially movie audiences—if anyone treated the audience as fools, the audience would truly make that person a fool.

The most obvious example was a decade or so later, when many investors thought that gathering a bunch of big-name stars and popular idols would attract audiences, calling it a New Year's film. Yet the films had empty content and no appeal, ultimately losing everything.

It was the same now, even more difficult than a decade later. At least back then, there were more theaters and audiences had better financial means.

Nowadays, those who could afford to watch movies were already considered to have decent spending power. If the quality of the film wasn't up to par, it was really hard to recoup costs.

"Fusheng, I'm not one to criticize, but you'd better be cautious about this," Ye Jing said slowly. "If you don't mind, let's all brainstorm together."

Zhao Fusheng was momentarily stunned, then laughed. "Sure, Brother Ye, feel free to give me your suggestions. To be honest, I only have an idea for this script, and I haven't even found an investor yet."

Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong exchanged a glance, neither saying a word.

When perceiving someone's deceit, do not reveal it in words.

Often, it's not that one can't see through right and wrong, but that one thinks oneself clever and puts everything on the table.

They say fools have good fortune, but are fools really that foolish?

I think not. Most of the time, they're just pretending to be fools.

Zhao Fusheng seemed naive by actively inviting Ye Jing, but in reality, pulling Ye Jing in was itself a strategy. As long as Ye Jing participated in the script, he would also become a beneficiary.

What Zhao Fusheng lacked now was time and foundation, the latter being more important.

And what Ye Jing didn't lack was precisely that.

Thinking of this, Yu Feihong's gaze toward Zhao Fusheng shifted slightly. Her younger brother, who seemed unassuming, always managed to surprise people.

He was as shrewd as a fox, always leaving others guessing his thoughts.

Even Jiang Wen looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise. No wonder he always felt that Zhao Fusheng had hidden meanings in his words. Earlier, when discussing the script, he had worried that Zhao Fusheng wouldn't do well. Now it seemed he was simply worrying unnecessarily.