After hanging up, Li Xun got up, washed, and ate breakfast. Afterward, he took a walk around the neighborhood, then came back and continued writing the script.
He received a few more congratulatory calls along the way, including one from Wang Qiong, who played Xiao Ai, and another from Li Zhuo, who played Captain Lu. Inevitably, they slowed his writing down.
It wasn't until 6:30 p.m. that he finally finished the script for the third episode of the second arc.
After locating Tian Yue Tower on a map and getting a rough idea of where it was, Li Xun changed into a clean, tidy outfit and headed out when it was almost time.
At the entrance to his neighborhood, he flagged down a taxi and said, "Driver, Tian Yue Tower!"
Taxi drivers in the capital really knew how to talk. Seeing how handsome Li Xun was and how smartly he was dressed, the driver struck up a conversation as if they were old friends. "You're looking sharp, young man. Off to meet your future mother-in-law? I'm not just flattering you—you're the best-looking passenger I've ever had. Your future in-laws are bound to be thrilled when they meet you."
Li Xun smiled.
The driver carried on chatting about all sorts of things, while Li Xun responded now and then.
Before long, they arrived at Tian Yue Tower.
"Hey, young man, look at that woman by the entrance. She looks familiar. Is she a celebrity?"
The driver pointed to a young woman standing to one side of the restaurant entrance.
Li Xun looked where he was pointing. A crowd had gathered by the entrance, with restaurant security guards in uniform keeping order. In the middle stood a woman who looked no older than nineteen. She wore a dark blue coat with white sneakers, giving her a stylish yet playful air. She was also exceptionally beautiful.
"Maybe. I don't know her," Li Xun replied.
The woman did look a little familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen her. She might well be a celebrity. Perhaps his predecessor had seen her in a TV show or movie? That would explain this inexplicable feeling of familiarity.
"I've got it! It's... it's Chen Minghao!" the driver suddenly exclaimed.
Li Xun stared at him in confusion.
Even if his eyesight were terrible, he could tell that was a woman.
The driver pulled over, then slapped his forehead. "What am I saying? Not Chen Minghao—his daughter! What's her name again? It's right on the tip of my tongue... Ah, yes! Chen Jiaqi! My daughter absolutely adores her!"
"Chen Jiaqi? Chen Minghao's daughter? Is she standing outside Tian Yue Tower waiting for me?" Li Xun wondered.
Seeing Li Xun's puzzled expression, the driver said, "Chen Minghao! Don't tell me you don't even know who he is? There's a hugely popular web series out right now, Young Bao Qingtian. Have you seen it? He plays the Eighth Prince, and he's also the emperor in The Great Emperor Shengzu. What, you don't know Chen Minghao?"
"I know him, I know him. I was just wondering what his daughter was doing outside the restaurant," Li Xun quickly replied.
"Maybe she's waiting for someone. Who knows? Oh, right, I'm going to get out and take a photo. My daughter loves her to bits. I'll have something to brag about in front of her tonight. Aren't you going to see if you can get a photo with her, young man? You'll have something to boast about for years." The driver looked excited.
"Me? No, no," Li Xun said, shaking his head.
Li Xun and the driver got out one after the other. As soon as Li Xun stepped out, he received a WeChat message.
Haoran Zhengqi: "Li Xun, are you here yet? I sent my daughter to meet you at the entrance. By the way, do you know her?"
Li Xunhuan: "I see her. Uncle Ming, you're too kind. Chen Jiaqi's a big star, and you've had her wait outside for me. You really didn't have to."
Haoran Zhengqi: "Hahaha. All right, we'll talk when you come up."
Li Xun slipped his phone into his pocket and squeezed into the crowd. The driver was standing next to Chen Jiaqi, flashing a peace sign. When he saw Li Xun come through the crowd, he gave him a smug look.
After taking the photo, the driver turned to leave. Two more passersby were moving in to take pictures with Chen Jiaqi, and Li Xun didn't want to waste time, so he followed them over. He stopped beside Chen Jiaqi and said, "Chen Jiaqi? Uncle Ming said we should go straight upstairs."
Chen Jiaqi looked him over, then nodded.
The two of them pushed their way out of the crowd and entered Tian Yue Tower together.
The driver stared at them walking side by side into the restaurant, dumbstruck.
Private room.
"Uncle Ming, Jiaqi's a celebrity, after all. Having her wait for me at the entrance was far too kind of you. You really didn't need to make such a fuss," Li Xun said before he'd even had a chance to sit down.
Chen Minghao laughed. "What celebrity? She can go out without a mask and barely anyone recognizes her. She's still got a long way to go!"
Chen Jiaqi immediately protested, calling out to her father.
They took their seats, and the servers began bringing out the dishes. Chen Minghao took a sip of tea and said, "I still have some clout in the industry, so she doesn't have to worry about getting acting offers. But her taste in scripts is terrible. Every role she's chosen for herself has been in a flop. If I hadn't picked a few roles that helped her regain some popularity, she'd already have been branded a box-office poison."
"Dad, why are you bringing that up?" Chen Jiaqi protested again.
Chen Minghao glanced at his daughter, then continued speaking to Li Xun. "A good role needs a good script, and a good script needs a good screenwriter. You're a good screenwriter—I knew that the first time I saw the script for Young Bao Qingtian. She can't take another flop. If she does, she'll be finished for good. I invited you here today mainly to ask if you could see whether there are any roles for her in the later episodes of Young Bao Qingtian."
Li Xun thought for a moment, then said, "There's a role in the second arc called Chang Yu. She has a little more screen time than Xiao Ai in the first arc. She has an emotional connection with Bao Zheng, but she dies at the end of the second arc, so she doesn't have a lot of screen time overall."
Then Li Xun gave them a general rundown of Chang Yu's part in The Blood Altar.
Chen Minghao nodded slightly after hearing him out. "That role has plenty of room for a good performance. If it's done well, it could really stand out."
Chen Minghao looked at his daughter. Chen Jiaqi furrowed her brow and thought it over. A romantic entanglement with Bao Zheng—the role did sound pretty good, but she didn't have much screen time and died after just one arc. But her father was right: she couldn't afford to be so willful about choosing roles anymore. All the roles she'd picked herself had flopped, which had really shaken her. Now she no longer trusted her own judgment, and she didn't dare make decisions on her own. Since her father thought it was good, she'd go with it.
Chen Jiaqi nodded, accepting the role.
Li Xun thought for a moment, then added, "There's actually another role I think might suit Chen Jiaqi, but we'd have to wait. She doesn't appear until the third arc."
"Could you tell me a little about it?" Chen Minghao asked.
Chen Minghao was already quite pleased with Chang Yu's role. Though it wasn't a large part, it offered plenty of room for a good performance. She had an unrequited love for the male lead, a personality completely different from the female lead, and was gentle and sweet, yet didn't hold as important a place in the male lead's heart. Roles like that often won people's sympathy and affection.
Young Bao Qingtian was an episodic series, with only a handful of regular characters, and each role was already taken. There probably wouldn't be many later roles better than Chang Yu's.
Chen Jiaqi thought much the same as her father. She wasn't especially excited about the role since it was small, but she understood that for an episodic series, Chang Yu was already an impressive part for someone outside the regular cast.
"The character who appears in the third arc is called Pang Feiyan. She's Grand Tutor Pang's daughter, a young lady from a respectable family. She's spoiled and headstrong, but also loyal and kindhearted. She first appears in the third arc, Mystery of the Secluded Village..."
As Li Xun slowly described the character, Chen Minghao and his daughter's eyes lit up.
"Pang Feiyan... From the sound of it, is she actually a regular character?"
"Li Xun, I feel like we really hit it off. If you ever run into any trouble, at work or in your personal life, don't hesitate to come to me!" Chen Minghao said.
They ate and chatted late into the evening. By the time Li Xun got home, it was already past eleven. As usual, before going to bed, he took out his phone and browsed the news.
"Top-Ranked Web Series: Why Has Young Bao Qingtian Surpassed the Phenomenon-Level Costume Suspense Drama The Coroner in Daily Views After Just Three Days?"
That was the headline of an article published by Entertainment Weekly half an hour earlier.
Li Xun skimmed the article. It credited the success of Young Bao Qingtian to three things—the director, the talented cast, and the script. It focused particularly on the actors and gave the director plenty of coverage, but mentioned the screenwriter only in passing.
Li Xun refreshed the page, and a new notification appeared before him.
"Unprecedented! Young Bao Qingtian Surpasses 60 Million Views in a Single Day! Bao Heitan Has Won This One by a Landslide!"
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