TFS Chapter 2

In the year 2020, on New Year’s Day, the city lights were dazzling, filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

Dim light cast long shadows, filled with floating mist, and a figure immersed in this smoky haze appeared particularly eerie in the silent room. The person in the room took a deep drag from a newly lit cigarette, lightly flicking the ash into a disposable water cup serving as a makeshift ashtray, already overflowing with cigarette butts. After finishing the cigarette, the man skillfully inserted the butt into the cup once more, then paused over the keyboard, ready to type. On the screen were the words, “Invisible Intentions, Scene Thirteen.”

He hesitated, then continued to write, “Qin Man stood at the stairwell entrance, anxiously pacing. She wanted countless times to reveal the truth to Xie Wenhao, clutching the note in her hand. But Rui Yichen’s warning echoed in her mind like a demon’s curse. Any rash action could bring eternal damnation.”

A sudden ringing phone disrupted his thoughts. He glanced at his phone; it was Yan Dongcheng.

He answered, remaining silent.

Yan Dongcheng’s muffled voice came from the other end, “Teacher, will the script be completed on schedule? The buyout contract and payment, I have everything ready.”

He glanced at the time in the upper right corner of the computer screen, “Finishing on time shouldn’t be a problem. However, Mr. Yan, I have an additional request this time.” The “Painter” thought for a moment, then replied.

“That puts my mind at ease. What is it? Just name it.” The man’s voice on the phone sounded slightly hesitant.

“I want to specify a few of the leading actors. I have a list of actors whose external qualities and personalities closely align with each character. If they play the roles, it will enhance the theme of the series. I need a perfect restoration.” The Painter’s tone was firm, as if he had given it careful consideration.

The other end of the line went silent for a moment. “Teacher, I cannot immediately answer you on this matter. I will send you the information of the actor candidates first, and you can have the director arrange auditions. However… I need to sign the copyright transfer agreement first.”

“If you can agree to my condition, in addition to the one-time buyout, I can also completely transfer the attribution rights,” he insisted, not yielding an inch. In this mundane world, everyone has their own desires.

After a few seconds of silence, Yan Dongcheng pondered, “You can arrange that.”

He looked somewhat displeased, but he didn’t want to miss out on a rare good script for the sake of momentary satisfaction. He thought of Yan Haoyu, his only son. If Haoyu could become the screenwriter of this series, and if the series became a hit, Yan Haoyu would become a rising star in the domestic suspense genre, having a representative work to start his career with, his momentum would be formidable. In the film and television industry, there are many organizations and investors who lack good scripts. With this in mind, Yan Dongcheng still politely hung up the phone.

The Painter held his phone, looking again at the photo of a girl under the writing desk. In the photo, she was wearing a black linen dress, her eyebrows curved, her smile bright, her eyes pure, as if the world’s complexities and troubles had nothing to do with her.

*

April 2020, just before Qingming season, Shengshi Film Academy was filled with cherry blossoms, and the campus exuded the vitality of youth. As one of the leading cradles for talent in the domestic film and television industry, the handsome men and beautiful women were dazzling.

On a campus path lined with blooming cherry trees, two particularly eye-catching young people walked shoulder to shoulder towards a distant building, attracting the attention of many passersby and causing whispers.

The boy tossed his hair back, his hair already a striking color, now with a smile on his lips and shattered light twinkling in his peach blossom eyes, revealing an extraordinary and refined temperament. The girl wore a light purple off-the-shoulder dress, her shoulder and neck lines as beautiful as a swan’s. She was a prominent figure at Shengshi Film Academy—Guan Linger, the campus belle and student president.

Having debuted as a child star, she had more audition opportunities than other students. And now, her phone had just received a message that had made her happy all day long: “Linger, the director has announced the cast! Congratulations, you’ll be playing Qin Man, the female lead in ‘Invisible Intentions’!” It was a message from Sister Fu, her agent.

Fu Qingqing was a well-known agent in the industry, known for polishing rough gems with her strength. Over the years, Guan Linger’s family had quietly spent a lot of money on various resources, seeking many connections, to get Guan Linger transferred to Fu Qingqing’s side. And Fu Qingqing had not disappointed the Guan family. Since looking at Guan Linger’s schedule, she quickly canceled several variety shows with considerable fan-base discussion, and required her to hone her acting skills, constantly improving her grade point average, to build the image of a campus belle and academic in the coming two years, highlighting her pure and intellectual professional image, creating a sense of a first love goddess, to fight for more high-quality drama works.

Guan Linger looked at the text message, her eyes filled with ambition. She immediately replied, “Has the male lead been decided?”

Fu Qingqing sent back a message, “Congratulations to him too! Your junior, Gao Liyang.”

Guan Linger couldn’t help but be overjoyed. Gao Liyang, who was beside her, waved his hand in front of her, “What are you thinking about, senior? We’ll be late if we don’t hurry!”

She looked at Gao Liyang’s handsome profile, the sunlight shining just right on his fair skin, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly, his amber pupils flowing with rich golden light, she revealed her inner joy, “Liyang! We succeeded!”

Gao Liyang tilted his head slightly, looking puzzled.

Guan Linger smiled, with Gao Liyang’s appearance, how could this show lack ratings? These girlish thoughts made her ears flush slightly.

…

Inside the student union office, everyone greeted each other, then bent their heads and continued to work on the end of the semester.

Gao Liyang was still a bit dazed. He, who had always been focused on his studies, actually had the opportunity to appear in a television series. It was indeed too surprising and delightful for him, to the point where he still couldn’t quite believe it was reality, that it was about to happen!

Before long, the secretary, Su Ting, took a stack of letters collected from the complaint box, went to Gao Liyang’s desk, and placed them one by one, saying softly, “The reaction to the student suicide case has been very subtle. I’ll take a look at these letters.”

Hearing this, Gao Liyang raised his eyes and glanced at her, then picked up the letters and began to read them. The letters were all printed, and each letter contained only a few words, “Seek the truth, let the deceased rest in peace.”

His good mood was immediately affected, and he couldn’t help but frown. In recent years, he had devoted himself to his studies and had not looked for audition opportunities like other students. He was also, after Guan Linger, the most likely person to be elected president in the next term. But precisely in this academic year, a female student suicide case occurred at the school, and various media outlets were tightly clinging to the topic. Although the school and the student union had made many efforts to focus on the psychological health of students, they still received these anonymous letters from time to time. If not handled properly, it might not be beneficial to his election in the next academic year.

Thinking of this, Gao Liyang said to Su Ting, “Put these letters here with me for now, I’ll take care of them.”

…

Time flew by. Under the leadership of Fu Qingqing, Guan Linger officially met with Shang Chao, the director of the series, to discuss the details of the character’s biography. She had already read the script of “Invisible Intentions” thoroughly. Although she wasn’t a fan of suspense and reasoning, she could see the multiple plot twists and meticulous character design of the series, especially the character of Qin Man, who, after experiencing life and death several times, was a challenging character with a complex and mysterious inner world.

Having spent many years in the entertainment industry, Guan Linger had long seen through the fickleness of human nature. But she trusted Fu Qingqing’s professionalism. The role of Qin Man was the key point for her to transition from the audience’s impression of a child star to a powerful actress.

Director Shang Chao appeared to be around forty years old, slightly overweight, and spoke extremely quickly. He was known for his volatile temper on set. He had directed quite a few films, but due to bad luck, it was not until the last two years that two of his television series received favorable reviews in the industry, and his position in the industry was valued.

Known as an unpredictable director, he often used scripts with new themes and was willing to try new things. He valued the actors’ ability to carry the drama even more, preferring characters that were a good fit for the original prototypes in the script. This also indirectly led to unstable investors for each of his films, with a higher willingness to invest after the fact. Despite some achievements in the industry, it was difficult to have a sufficient budget to shine brightly in an era dominated by traffic.

Shang Chao sized her up for a moment, not expecting the real person to be even more beautiful than the photos. A flicker flashed in his eyes, but his tone remained cold, “Spend the next two days pondering the character, and then prepare to join the crew.”

Guan Linger gave a sweet and charming smile. She was well aware that in the arena of fame and fortune, beauty and professionalism would be her weapons. “Director Shang, thank you very much for your and the producer’s favor. I am a junior, and in the future, if there are any shortcomings, I may need to ask you for advice.”

These days, Shang Chao had been receiving constant urging from Yan Dongcheng to finalize the actors’ schedules as soon as possible. But he didn’t know if Yan Dongcheng had gone crazy this time, insisting on specifying four key leading actors. Although after reading the script credited to Yan Haoyu, he did not dare to underestimate the Yan family and was extremely attracted to the series, none of these four candidates were traffic-generating actors who could carry the drama, and he was somewhat worried.

When Guan Linger said goodbye, she stood very close to Shang Chao, politely extending her slender hand. Shang Chao shook her soft but firm hand, feeling a bit distracted, and smelling Guan Linger’s strong perfume, a dark look flashed in his eyes, “For an actor as dedicated as Miss Guan, I always hope for a win-win situation.”

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