CH 8

Are they talking about work or about a blind date……

Perhaps it was because he had a lot on his mind, but Ruan Song woke up very early the next day. When he blinked open his eyes, the horizon was still a swath of dusky blue, and the sun had just begun to rise while a thick layer of clouds blocked the light.

Ruan Song sat up on the sofa, and stared dazedly at the blanket that had been wrapped around him.

He clearly remembered he fell asleep while laying against the hospital bed yesterday night.

His hand wandered down, and noted a layer of fleece spread on top of the sofa. The texture of the fleece was both soft and cozy, and at a spot not too far from his feet there lay a large paper bag.

Ruan Song saw a pile of folded clothes in the bag, and thought Chen Yan came before.

But just as he prepared to pull out his cell phone to send Chen Yan a message, he noticed that the clothing he had randomly taken out were all ones he had never seen before.

Ruan Song’s half asleep brain was dazed for a few seconds, and just as he planned to pull out a few more pieces of clothing to check, a card suddenly fell out.

On it was written:

[They’re all clothes I’ve bought for you since long ago]

There was no signature, nor was there any character to indicate the sender’s identity.

But Ruan Song immediately understood who this person, who only dared to secretly visit in the dead of night, was.

It was also at this point that he acutely realized—Ren Qinming probably left not too long ago, as there was still some remaining warmth left behind on the sofa.

The nurse doing rounds quietly pushed open the door, and saw Ruan Song alone on the sofa and who was still a bit startled: “That handsome man left so early? Didn’t he come quite late yesterday……”

Ruan Song rubbed his temples and hesitated for a moment, but still asked: “What time did he come yesterday?”

The nurse checked on mother Ruan’s condition, while smiling: “Probably around 1:30am, at that time I was just about to go to the restroom but as soon as my co-worker saw him, she reported it in our slacking off group chat.”

Although every time Ren Qinming came tightly disguised, with just one look at his figure and temperament one knew he was good looking, and he had always been the topic of everyone’s gossip.

“As expected, handsome guys all play with other handsome guys. How about Xiao Song, you also go and debut? Now stars make so much money, then there would be no reason for you to worry about your mother everyday.”

Because Ruan Song was handsome and easy to get along with, all the nurses liked him.

But because all the staff in the hospital only remembered Ruan Song was called ‘Xiao Song’, they all forgot his surname was ‘Ruan’, and were fundamentally unaware that he was the main protagonist of the passionate fight on the internet!

Ruan Song was someone who had already experienced how easy it was to make money upon public exposure, and dully laughed: “Then when that time comes, you can all help cheer me on.”

“For sure! Our hospital has a few sisters who chase stars quite vigorously. I have no idea how they have the time to be station sisters1 in between their shifts at the hospital……”

As soon as the nurse brought up fandom culture, she grew excited and couldn’t stop talking.

Ruan Song’s face smiled along, but actually thought in his heart: How would everyone react once they found out he was dating Ren Qinming after he participated on that variety show……

…

In the paper bag that Ren Qinming gave Ruan Song, other than a change of clothes, there was also skin care and face wash.

Chen Yan had just struggled to wake up after hearing his early morning alarm, when he saw the message that Ruan Song sent.

[Even if you have money I won’t marry you-Song: I have everything I need here, you should just sleep, there’s no need for you to come]

Chen Yan had reasonable doubt that this person didn’t want to bother others, and replied as he rubbed his eyes.

[Little Fatty Weighs Over 1000jin, and His Face Accounts for 800jin: Do you really have everything or are you pretending, don’t fool me]

Ruan Song also didn’t waste time, directly wore the clothes Ren Qinming sent over and stood in front of the mirror to take a photo.

As soon as Chen Yan saw the photo, he immediately grew clear headed.

[Little Fatty Weighs Over 1000jin, and His Face Accounts for 800jin: Fuck, I discovered that you really suit being raised2, the GUCII3 you’re wearing looks as if it was specially tailored for you]

Ruan Song in the photo was wearing high-waisted wide-legged trousers that had white fastened buttons on the side of his calves.

His top was a black T-shirt that was casually stuffed into the waist of his trousers. If the luxury brand logo was removed from the shirt, it would look no different from the clothing that normal people bought off the street, and it had no special design. But the same shirt worn on another person gave off a completely different impression.

With Ruan Song’s face, his figure, combined with those clothes, his entire person had ‘expensive’ written all over it.

[Little Fatty Weighs Over 1000jin, and His Face Accounts for 800jin: If you said you’re immediately off to take photos for a magazine cover, I’d also believe it]

Ruan Song swiftly called the other: “Forget it, you should just bring my clothes over.”

Chen Yan: “What, aren’t you wearing it perfectly fine!”

Ruan Song awkwardly gazed out of the hospital room, secretly avoiding the inquiring gazes of the nurses looking in: “It’s a bit too showy. I was also just invited by a filmmaker to discuss a project. I have to go out, so you can come help me look after my mother for a bit.”

Chen Yan was dazed: “What the, haven’t you prepared to go on that variety show? How come you’re discussing a project, what kind of project could make more money than going on a variety show?”

Ruan Song: “A variety show is a variety show, and writing a screenplay is writing a screenplay. The show lasts 19 days, but after the 19 days pass I don’t need to live anymore?”

Chen Yan blinked: “No, but that’s 5 million, my ge! Do you have any concept of 5 million?”

Who wouldn’t lay down and live happily for a period of time after earning 5 million yuan!

But Ruan Song’s tone didn’t change: “There will be a day when that 5 million will be completely spent, it’s not like I can stop earning money for the rest of my life.”

Chen Yan: “……”

Chen Yan: “…………”

“Fine, you’re good.” Chen Yan honestly got up and put on his clothes, “I’ve been completely convinced. You’re really worthy of remaining completely calm when someone like Ren Qinming continues to pester you.”

…

But in actuality, the project that he was supposed to discuss later was one where Ruan Song had sent over his resume long ago.

It was a big IP4 show, adapted from a sensational serial murder case.

Even more so because the crime had happened in recent years.

The murderer had started killing when Ruan Song had just entered university, and had travelled around several different provinces. It wasn’t until Ruan Song had finished graduate school, and after the murderer had killed five girls, that the murderer was finally arrested and brought to justice.

During the murders, many news stories were published online, causing panic and much social debate.

In the eyes of the film company, this type of real event will always be the focus of one’s attention, and could be quite lucrative.

So it wasn’t just Ruan Song. The IP production cast a wide net to all screenwriters and received many adaptation ideas and resumes.

There was no need to think about the intense competition, Ruan Song only had the attitude of trying it out.

He hadn’t received any updates for so long, and Ruan Song originally believed it was fruitless, but who would have thought that after an entire year, he had unexpectedly received an update.

Just when Chen Yan had been messaging him, the producer of the project had called him.

On the way to the meeting spot, Ruan Song had suspected that perhaps it was because Ren Qinming had recently caused his name to grow famous.

But when he arrived at the destination, he found that the producer hadn’t looked at him, and didn’t even know Ruan Song’s name.

Ruan Song handed over his business card, and the other merely pressed it under his coffee cup. The condensation on the side of the cup quickly dripped down the side of the cup and onto the business card, leaving behind the imprint of a circle.

That person was unlike the many robust film producers that Ruan Song had seen before. The other was wearing a tailored and form-fitting black suit and had an expensive name brand watch on his wrist. The tie around the other’s neck was stiff, and Ruan Song could barely see the other’s face.

As soon as he opened his mouth, it nearly made others dislike him immediately.

“Everyone’s time is valuable, so I’ll cut it short.”

The man pretended to be experienced and leaned back in the chair, assuming a business-like attitude: “Our project fancies your draft, and feel you found a good starting point for the story of this case. But we don’t need you to write the story yourself, there’s already a screenwriter who is more famous than you to preside over the story. Do you get what I’m saying?”

How could Ruan Song not understand.

While being a screenwriter in these short few years, he had suffered more during this time than in the first half of his life combined. He raised his eyebrow, and hit the nail on the head with his reply: “You mean you want to eat a meal for free5?”

In the film and television industry, if a screenwriter wants to sell a screenplay, or sell an idea, they must constantly explain their ideas to different people, and allow them to buy you, and invest in you.

But it is also the process of this work that fundamentally determines that the screenwriter cannot put an end to plagiarism.

After all, the legal judgment of plagiarism is difficult, and the procedures of  protection of one’s right is cumbersome and complex.

After the other party hears you out, and feels your draft is good, they can completely decide to find someone else to change the outer shell on your product, and add a few edits. Some don’t even hide it, and there are plenty of people who directly take it to use.

“You can’t say it like that. We just like your ideas, and the framework of the story will be modified later.” That man seemed to believe it was equitable, “According to normal procedures, taking this bit of your idea doesn’t require me to call you to arrange a meeting.”

A fire arose in Ruan Song’s heart, and he also wasn’t polite: “And I have to thank you for your kindness and tell you how grateful I am.”

“You don’t have to go that far.”

The man’s pupils were black, and he stared at Ruan Song with no fluctuation in his mood, as if casually staring at an ant on the road: “Is 20,000 yuan enough? I’ll give you 20,000 yuan and you sell this opening to us.”

But the man seemed to have predicted the current situation, and in the face of Ruan Song’s provocation, he directly declared the end of the negotiation.

“Since we can’t come to an agreement, then forget about it. The law only protects expression, not thought. So many screenwriters have sent us ideas, and it’s normal for someone else’s ideas to overlap with yours.”

Meaning they relied on the reputation of their company to cheat customers, and wanted to cheat a meal from Ruan Song.

After he finished speaking, the man got up and planned to leave.

But he had just walked two steps, when the sound of the words he had just said could suddenly be heard behind him.

[“Everyone’s time is valuable, so I’ll cut it short. Our project fancies your draft, and feel you found a good starting point for the story of this case. But we don’t need you to write the story yourself, there’s already a screenwriter who is more famous than you to preside over the story. Do you get what I’m saying?”]

The man’s steps stopped as expected, and for the first time, the look in his eyes as he looked at Ruan Song contained a change in his mood.

Ruan Song generously lit up the screen of his cell phone that had just been broadcasting the recording, and pressed the pause button: “One look and you can tell that Director Li is from a well-to-do family, you just came out to play around as a film producer, right? I’m also very surprised that people at this age don’t even know about the basic operation of recording a conversation during a discussion.”

“The big IP supported by the state is backed by famous directors and big platforms, but it cheats screenwriters’ creativity in the name of recruiting screenwriters, and doesn’t intend to provide jobs for screenwriters at all. It also wants to just send people away with a mere 20,000 yuan, isn’t this scheme too good?” Ruan Song had always been unkind to people who were impolite.

The man coldly gazed at the recording in the other’s hand: “Are you trying to blackmail me right now?”

Ruan Song heard this and was completely pleased, and called out while standing up: “I don’t really want to blackmail you. It just so happens I came across a windfall these past few days, and I’m not lacking this bit of money.”

The man still believed he had a chokehold on Ruan Song’s weak spot: “Even if we really did allow you to write, we also can’t have you sign your name.”

What screenwriter didn’t want their signature on a big project.

But Ruan Song only smiled and walked up to the other step by step: “Didi6, you should understand the situation. Now, even if you beg me to write the script, I also am not willing to write it. If you dare use my opening scene, then you can try and see what will happen.”

Actually, Ruan Song didn’t know how old this man was, and only felt this person was younger than him.

He tossed down these harsh words, and prepared to leave. But before he left, still remembered to grab his business card that had been pushed underneath the coffee cup, and began tearing it in front of the other’s face before tossing it in the trash can.

At that time, that man was directly angered by Ruan Song, and laozi was unwilling to deal with the other’s attitude. He stared in the direction of Ruan Song’s disappearing silhouette and paused for a few seconds, then picked up his phone to call the person in charge of the project.

But when the person who picked up greeted the man, what he called out wasn’t the title of filmmaker Li that Ruan Song had thought, but the chief investor of the entire IP film, Chief Gu.

“Chief Gu, did you finish your discussion that quickly? Aiyah, didn’t we say that this kind of small matter should be left to someone else, how could we inconvenience you to run around for this……”

Gu Yuzhou completely ignored the flattery, and nimbly issued a command: “What’s the name of the screenwriter I met today, what school did he graduate from, what did he major in, what has he written before. Send me all the information you can get on him.”

The other person on the phone was clueless as to why: “Ah?”

“I said to send it all over to me, do you not understand?” Gu Yuzhou’s ears were slightly red, and with a deadpan expression, tugged at his tie, “Also how old is he, is he really older than me?”

The other person on the phone: “???”

Are they talking about work, or about a blind date, how could you also be concerned about his age……

.

The author has something to say:

A certain dog hook’s vigilance is at its max: This is my wife, damie7

TN: the show starts in the next chapter!!!

1. Station sister – refers to fans who use high end cameras to photograph idols and/or the organizational manager of idol support websites

2. Raised as in having a sugar daddy lol

3. It was really written like this in the raws

4. IP means ‘intellectual property’ and refers to some pre-existing story that a producer is hiring a screenwriter to adapt into a movie

5. The author uses baipiao here, lit. white prostitution, which refers to the behavior of soliciting other people’s resources for free

6. Didi = 弟弟 = younger brother, one doesn’t necessarily have to be blood related to use this term. RS is being demeaning by saying GYZ is younger than him.

7. damie is a translation from japanese (だめ, dame) which means no more/no good