Chapter 65: Sister Qianzi Tears Into Zhang Yu
As expected.
After a short while, Chi Ye and Empress Dowager walked over leisurely.
“Heh heh heh.”
Yang Zi chuckled with a strange look in his eyes, tilting his mouth.
Chi Ye: “?”
“What’s up? Did you get a face makeover too?”
Yang Zi: “…”
For some reason, hearing this “familiar” way of speaking, he suddenly felt a sense of comfort in his heart—it wasn’t anything else, it was just that after Chi Ye left, no one would retort to him when he was filming with others, but he also lost his popularity…
“How have you been recently?”
Director Li also sized up Chi Ye with a sigh.
It had been such a long time since they last met in the third episode.
He also hadn’t expected that such things would happen afterward.
But now, it seemed everything was fine.
“Pretty good.”
Chi Ye nodded, and seeing his former PD teacher, with the camera pointed at him, he asked in surprise, “Is this a live broadcast?”
“Mhm…” Director Li felt guilty.
“Alright, let’s have my assistant discuss the filming fee with you later. This time, I’ll be receiving the money myself.”
Chi Ye happily teased Director Li; in fact, he also missed the audience of “Jian Ni” quite a bit.
He waved at the camera and greeted, “Hello everyone, long time no see.”
「Teacher Chi, Teacher Chi!」
「《Jian Ni》 program team is sensible!」
「Hu Ye is still alive… hahaha.」
「Hu Ye, where’s the new album? Release it quickly, I’m preparing to use it for warding off evil.」
「Hu Ye spent seven days in the toilet and managed to come up with two words: Album!」
「Teacher Chi, when you’re not here, Xia Xia’s emotions during filming aren’t high. Come back quickly.」
Chi Ye couldn’t see the bullet comments, but at this moment, Yang Zi was equally “impatient,” “Why would I go back? The show is almost over, where would I go back to?”
“Why go back? The show is almost over, where would I go back to?”
Chi Ye was speechless, then looked at Director Li again, “You guys are the ones giving me screen time, can I take the opportunity to advertise something?”
Director Li was startled but happily agreed, “Of course, no problem.”
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he regretted it.
Because Chi Ye actually unzipped his down jacket, revealing a matching jacket inside printed with the name “Xun Huan.”
Everyone: “?!”
—Respected Teacher Ji Zhua Zhang!
Jin Xia also looked slightly taken aback, blinked her peach blossom eyes, and suddenly asked Chi Ye in a low voice, “Teacher Chi, are there any new clothes in the film crew?”
Chi Ye saw what she was trying to do at a glance and shook his head, “You don’t need to wear one.”
Jin Xia glanced at the camera, sneakily pulled Chi Ye aside, and said aggrievedly, “Didn’t you say that when we create a CP, we should try to wear matching outfits?”
Chi Ye: “…”
“The film crew didn’t pay us, don’t help them promote!”
Empress Dowager glanced at him, “I want to wear it.”
“It’s too cold, be good.”
“…Alright then.”
“…”
“Oh my god, what sin did I commit to have to witness such a scene.”
Yang Zi was a bit overwhelmed, but he knew he was on camera and couldn’t express too much. He just secretly made a note of this to extort a meal from Chi Ye later!
“Alright then, shall we go check out Jiang Cheng and the others? The “Shen Hai” film crew, I heard it’s quite lively over there.”
Director Li saw Chi Ye and Jin Xia walk back and suggested.
“Sure.”
Chi Ye had no objections.
He knew from the first day he joined the crew that next door to them was another large production—the spy war epic “Shen Hai.” It was said that the screenwriter for this drama was Director Zhang’s respected teacher and a specialist in spy dramas.
The project also had an investment of over a hundred million, featuring dual top streamers, veteran actors from the “Uncle Circle,” and a Green Robe lead. Yue Na was one of the investors.
The lineup was powerful, the cast unbeatable, and the channels were complete.
Many extras and crew members from “Xun Huan” couldn’t resist going over to take a look every day after work.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Director Li waved, leading everyone towards the adjacent film crew.
……
Meanwhile.
Next door.
“Shen Hai” film crew.
At this moment, the film crew was indeed “lively,” but perhaps a little too much.
The “Jian Ni” photographer, who was following Jiang Cheng and Wen Tiaotiao, was asked to stop recording before entering the film set.
This came as a surprise to the “Jian Ni” program team.
—Because such a thing would definitely have been communicated beforehand.
Since “Shen Hai” had agreed to let them come over, they must have been prepared to be filmed—as long as the filming content itself wasn’t shown, and it was just a visit to the set, it should have been fine.
But now…
Why were they not allowed to film upon entering the set?
“Alas, it’s not that we’re not letting you film, it’s just that this content can’t be broadcast.”
The person in charge of the film crew saw that the camera had been turned off, sighed, and gestured towards the office inside, “You can see for yourselves.”
Everyone was stunned. As they walked over and before they even entered the room, they could already hear the argument from inside.
“I don’t think the scene where he gets shot by enemy bullets is good.”
A man’s voice said, “This doesn’t highlight Brother Chu’s character’s resilience and makes him seem too weak.”
“Then what are your ideas?” another woman’s voice asked.
“I suggest we try to dodge the bullet…”
“Are you crazy? Are you Chu Han Zhou’s screenwriter or his senior blackmailer? It’s 2025, and you’re still playing the ‘tear the devil apart with your bare hands’ game?”
The woman couldn’t hold back, “Our Sister Shi has already made the biggest compromise. You guys thought the female lead was too beautiful and stealing the spotlight, so you asked us to tone down our makeup, and we did. Now you’re saying the script makes the male lead too weak… wanting to dodge bullets, why don’t you dodge a nuclear bomb? Are you Superman?!”
“Is “Shen Hai” a spy drama or a sci-fi drama?!”
“……!”
Listening to the heated argument inside, the “Jian Ni” program team exchanged glances.
Jiang Cheng paused and looked at the person in charge, “What’s going on?”
“…Chu Han Zhou brought his own screenwriter when he joined the crew. He’s not satisfied with our script and wants to change it.”
The person in charge sighed, “So they’re arguing.”
“Brought a screenwriter when joining the crew…”
Jiang Cheng was confused, “Is that woman the screenwriter Teacher You for “Shen Hai”? No, I heard Teacher You is a man…”
“No, that’s the screenwriter Shi Jinwei brought with her. She brought two, more than Chu Han Zhou.”
Everyone: “…”
Wen Tiaotiao sneered, “Good heavens, don’t tell me your film crew has four screenwriters.”
“No,” the person in charge shook his head, “our film crew currently has eight screenwriters!”
Everyone: “?!”
“They are one brought by the male lead, Teacher Chu Han Zhou; two by the female lead, Teacher Shi Jinwei; one by the second male lead, Teacher Zhang; and two by the second female lead, Juan Jie… Including the official screenwriter Teacher You and the original author, that makes eight in total.”
The person in charge explained, “They are all big stars, so it’s unavoidable…”
“How many?!”
“Eight?!”
Chi Ye, who had already walked over with Director Li and the others, heard this and couldn’t help but say, “That’s enough to form two tables for mahjong.”
“Huh?!”
Everyone turned around and was surprised to see Chi Ye and his group.
The person in charge was about to get angry, but glimpsing Jin Xia, who was beside Chi Ye and nodding in agreement, he swallowed his words and said sheepishly, “Alas, it’s a big production, there’s nothing we can do, there are just many things to handle.”
Chi Ye: “?”
What was there to be proud of about this?
“Well… looking at it that way, Chu Han Zhou is doing alright, only bringing one.”
Director Li tried to save face.
The person in charge shook his head, “I heard Chu Han Zhou now thinks he brought too few and can’t win the arguments, so he’s planning to have his team bring two more.”
Everyone: “…”
“Tsk, what kind of movie are they even filming.”
Chi Ye commented sharply, “Why not just create it on the spot? With over ten screenwriters brainstorming, they could rewrite a whole script in a day.”
Everyone was silent.
Just then, the voices from inside the room sounded again.
“Everyone stop arguing. Personally, I agree with Teacher Shi’s screenwriter’s opinion. Of course, “Shen Hai” is a spy romance drama, and I personally think the romantic subplots between the second male lead and the second female lead need to be increased. I’ve read the original script, the CP line is too shallow, how can that work!”
“In today’s dramas, if there’s no romance, who would want to watch it?”
The second male lead’s screenwriter said, “I suggest we amplify the ‘romance’ aspect and reduce the ‘spy’ element.”
The second female lead’s screenwriter agreed, “Right, speaking of which, I think we should not only add romantic scenes but also create another CP line, for example, the second female lead should be liked by the third male lead…”
“Hey, no, no!”
Shi Jinwei’s screenwriter was in a panic, “The third male lead originally liked the female lead, why would he like the second female lead? Aren’t you just adding scenes for the sake of it?!”
“Stop, stop! Don’t discuss the issue of CP-adding scenes first, we’re currently discussing whether the male lead’s scenes are good or not? The male lead is the soul of this drama, and our Teacher Chu is the top billed actor in “Shen Hai”!”
Chu Han Zhou’s screenwriter stopped everyone from arguing further, “I still think the bullet problem needs to be resolved. He can’t dodge it by reaction, so can we create an accident?”
“Also, there’s an explosion scene. The original script has her hair disheveled and clothes torn… This is absolutely not allowed. Our Teacher Chu has many girlfriend fans, this is too revealing and cannot be filmed!”
“I think the hairstyle shouldn’t be messy either. Teacher Chu recently had a hair transplant; if it’s too messy, it’ll be obvious!”
“No, have some shame.”
Shi Jinwei’s screenwriter was furious, “Do you have to cater to your Teacher Chu for everything? Just because your Teacher Chu misspelled the word ‘You’ (tour), everyone in the crew can’t call the screenwriter ‘Teacher You’ anymore and can only call him ‘Teacher’, even his surname is removed. What kind of feudal dynasty is this entertainment industry? Why are you making so much trouble?!”
“You’re bringing this up unfairly, you…!”
The argument continued.
The official screenwriter, Teacher You, sat on a chair with a dead expression.
What kind of romance drama is this? Isn’t this a pure spy drama?!
I really want to punch you two! Damn it!
He looked at the director, whose head was buzzing and gave a helpless wry smile.
—This drama was producer-centered, and he had very little say; he was just there to be a tool.
And the producer had close personal relationships with these big stars and other collaborations…
“…What a mess. This drama’s screenwriter must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes.”
Chi Ye’s scalp tingled from listening outside the door.
He had originally thought that most film crews would be like “Kai Duan,” but seeing Empress Dowager’s surprised but unsurprised expression, it was clear that this kind of situation was the majority.
“Shall we… shall we go find Teacher Shi and Teacher Chu to film first… and not just watch here.”
Director Li also felt it wasn’t good to continue listening.
It was all gossip, better not to listen.
The person in charge nodded and pointed nearby, “They are over there.”
Together?!
Everyone was stunned and looked over.
They saw that Chu Han Zhou and Shi Jinwei were indeed “together” at that moment.
One was smoking a thin ladies’ cigarette, while the other was boredly scrolling on her phone, neither of them speaking.
From the surface, it was impossible to imagine that their “screenwriting teams” were currently engaged in a verbal battle to “fight for their interests.”
“Hm?”
Shi Jinwei, who was not far away, seemed to sense their gaze and looked back, startled.
Especially after seeing Jin Xia, her eyes widened in surprise, and she stood up.
“Why have you come over?”
She nodded to Jiang Cheng and Wen Tiaotiao. She knew Jiang Cheng and Wen Tiaotiao would be visiting today, but Jin Xia was truly an unexpected guest.
“Oh, I’m not here to see you, I’m here to see Teacher Chi.”
Empress Dowager stated bluntly.
Shi Jinwei: “…”
She glanced at Chi Ye indifferently, and her rough, slightly androgynous voice let out a sneer, “It seems you are indeed truly hungry.”
Jin Xia: “?”
Chi Ye also looked at her, then at Empress Dowager, and said, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m really not quite used to it.”
Shi Jinwei was taken aback, “Not used to what?”
“I’ve heard clips so many times, but pliers is a first.”
Shi Jinwei: “?!”
“Hey, hey, don’t mess around, we’re all friends, just kidding, he’s just kidding.”
Director Li came over to smooth things over.
Shi Jinwei had a bad temper. “Little Sheng Ning” coldly glared at Chi Ye, then turned to leave with her mobile phone and made a call, venting: “Hello? Where is the other screenwriter teacher?”
“Are they here to drink coffee? There are two of us, and we still can’t deal with them?!”
Chu Han Zhou, who was chatting with Jiang Cheng: “?”
He also picked up his mobile phone: “Hello? Where are you? Three isn’t enough, bring two more, bring the entire studio’s screenwriter team.”
“…What is this, are we going to have a brawl?”
Chi Ye was dumbfounded.
This is the Deep Sea film crew?
It’s clearly a base for screenwriters to find new employment!
The others were also speechless.
To be honest, it’s not unheard of for a crew in the industry to have ten screenwriters, but a whole team after team like this… is rare, that really means they’ve reached a breaking point.
“Teacher Chi, it’s not strange, they are both famous for being ‘character addition seekers’ in the industry.”
Jin Xia enlightened Chi Ye: “This is just the beginning, later on, they will even compete on wrap-up times. Whoever wraps up later has lower star power and will be mocked.”
Chi Ye: “…”
This gave him a little taste of the internal entertainment circle’s shock!
“Oh no, it’s bad! It’s bad!”
Just then, the person in charge who had left earlier rushed over, looking very anxious: “Teacher Chu, Teacher Shi, they are about to start fighting inside, hurry and go persuade them. We can discuss it another day, no more discussing today!”
Chu Han Zhou and Shi Jinwei were stunned, but neither moved. Shi Jinwei frowned and retorted, “Why did you call his name first?”
Person in Charge: “…”
Damn it!
If they don’t go now, it’s really going to get physical inside!
…
At this moment.
Indoors.
Eight screenwriters argued back and forth for a long time. The reason is unclear, but it seems a screenwriter with less seniority, in a moment of desperation, made an impolite remark, retorting at Chu Han Zhou’s screenwriter.
Chu Han Zhou’s screenwriter was furious – he was a senior figure in the industry!
The situation began to get chaotic. It started as an argument, but now it had escalated to shoving.
“Don’t fight, don’t fight, we’re all educated people, let’s talk it through!”
Teacher You, the official screenwriter sitting to the side who hadn’t been able to interject, saw this and stood up to “break up the fight.” However, amidst the chaos, he landed two solid punches on the screenwriters who had been the most vocal.
You were the ones talking the most earlier, damn it!
“Ouch, who hit me?!”
“Who touched me?! I’m over fifty!”
“Don’t touch me, I just got my brace on!”
“Call the police! Director, I want to call the police!”
Two updates today.
Note: Works like Mirror Twin Cities and The Promise of Chang’an have over 10 screenwriters, with Mirror Twin Cities having as many as 16. The characters are all a messy mix of split personalities.
