Post-production

That afternoon, Li Xun unexpectedly received a call from Dai Ying's mother.

"Xiao Li, I actually managed to find a place for you. It's in the same building as Yingying's apartment, though hers is on the ninth floor and this one is on the fifth. When do you have time to come take a look? Places around here are in high demand, so don't let someone else snatch it up first."

"Thank you, Aunt Liu. Sorry for the trouble. How about I head over right now?"

"All right, I'll send you the agent's number."

After hanging up, Li Xun set off on the same bike he used for food deliveries. He hadn't ridden far when he got a call from Dai Ying.

"Director Kong is editing at Liehuo Film and Television Post-production Company. Go over there and give him a hand."

Li Xun asked, "What use would I be in post-production? I've never had anything to do with that!"

Dai Ying replied, "We're really pressed for time. Young Bao Qingtian has to go online before the New Year. Ideally, we'd finish all the post-production within three days and launch it then. Director Kong thought that having you there to discuss things with might speed things up."

Meanwhile, in an editing room at Liehuo Film and Television Post-production Company in the capital, editor Chen Yuanli was hard at work. Director Kong Teng sat beside him, and the two occasionally exchanged a few words.

Chen Yuanli stretched languidly, then turned to Kong Teng. "Director Kong, you should take a break. There's no point getting worked up over post-production. The amount of work is right there in front of us. Even if you stayed awake for three days straight, we might not finish everything. If you really want to get it done in three days, there is one way: outsource the whole thing and set a firm deadline. But we might not be able to guarantee the final result."

Kong Teng picked up a bottle of Coke and took a couple of long gulps to clear his head. Then he said, "There's no choice. The higher-ups are set on this deadline. Oh, and someone's coming to give us a hand. Maybe we can pick up the pace when he gets here."

Chen Yuanli asked curiously, "You found an outside expert, Director Kong? Which editing genius did you bring in? I'll have to learn from him!"

Kong Teng laughed. "What editing genius? I asked the screenwriter of this show. I thought he might be able to help."

Chen Yuanli asked, "The screenwriter? Has he ever worked in editing?"

Kong Teng shook his head. "Not that I've heard."

Chen Yuanli laughed. "So he's a complete novice. What help could he be? As long as he doesn't get in the way, that's something!"

Kong Teng shook his head with a laugh. "I don't know what I was thinking. I just somehow felt that having him here might help us work faster. Then I somehow asked President Dai to send him over. Looking back, I must have been so frazzled I wasn't thinking straight!"

"Why are you frazzled, Director Kong?" Li Xun asked with a laugh as he walked in. He had just heard the words "wasn't thinking straight."

Kong Teng stood up and introduced them. "Editor Chen, this is the screenwriter I just told you about, Li Xun. This is editor Chen Yuanli."

"Hello, Editor Chen!"

"Hello, Screenwriter Li!"

After a short break, they resumed editing.

It was Li Xun's first time working with editing, and everything here fascinated him. At first, he didn't say much, mainly focusing on getting familiar with how they worked.

Kong Teng would discuss things with Li Xun for a while, then with Chen Yuanli. Before they knew it, time had passed.

An hour later, they all stood up to stretch their legs. Some went to the restroom, and when they came back, they continued working.

At one point, Chen Yuanli remarked, "It does seem a little faster, but finishing all the post-production in three days? I still think that'll be really difficult."

Kong Teng nodded. "If we have to, we'll edit two episodes and release two episodes at a time."

"Could we cut about fifteen frames from this part and move them to..."

Li Xun suddenly cut in.

After watching for a while, he had more or less figured out how Director Kong and the editor communicated. Now, a few ideas were taking shape in his mind, so he imitated their approach and offered suggestions to the editor, guided by the scenes he could picture in his head.

The editor glanced at Director Kong, who nodded.

The editor immediately made the changes Li Xun had suggested.

The result seemed pretty good.

"Try cutting two seconds from before the part where Bao Zheng crawls under the table. Remove the entire shot of him looking toward Gongsun Ce!"

Kong Teng nodded to himself.

As soon as Li Xun finished speaking, he understood why Li Xun wanted the scene cut that way and what effect he was going for. But if he'd had to come up with the same suggestion himself, it might have taken him several minutes of thought.

"Cut about ten seconds from both the beginning and the end of this part. There are too many shots here!"

Chen Yuanli no longer bothered asking the director what he thought. As soon as Li Xun made a suggestion, he got to work.

Experienced editors could tell when someone else's suggestion was good and whether it made sense.

Chen Yuanli had years of experience. Often, the moment Li Xun made a suggestion, he immediately understood what Li Xun was really aiming for and the effect he wanted.

Gradually, the two worked together more and more smoothly, and their editing speed picked up along with it.

Two hours later, around a dozen employees from Liehuo's post-production team had gathered outside the editing room.

They'd heard Chen Yuanli was in incredible form that day, and they'd come to see it for themselves.

To avoid disturbing the people inside, they kept their voices as low as they could.

"Holy crap, he's on fire! Is this what they mean by a million-dollar editor?"

"Smooth as silk. A real pleasure to watch!"

"He's amazing!"

"Yeah! How come we never knew Old Chen had it in him? This is the first time I've seen him like this! He was hiding his talent!"

"I wasn't talking about Old Chen!"

"Not Old Chen? Then who are you talking about?"

"Look who's directing Old Chen!"

"Him? Isn't he a screenwriter? I heard this is his first time editing!"

"Why does he seem even better than Director Kong?"

"No way this is his first time editing. Just look at how he gives directions. He's so practiced!"

"Exactly! It's like he's got the whole finished show in his head. This isn't editing—it's so smooth, it's like he's copying a completed version!"

Director Kong Teng, standing nearby, was dumbfounded too.

He'd asked President Dai to send Li Xun over to offer suggestions.

He'd always believed Li Xun was the person in the entire crew who knew Young Bao Qingtian best apart from himself. He had every reason to think he knew it best: every piece of footage and every shot had been filmed under his direction.

But now, he had to admit that when it came to knowing the web series, perhaps he, the director, really did come in second.

"Editing can be done like this?"

After more than twenty years in the film and television industry, Kong Teng's whole understanding of editing had been turned upside down.

"How does this kid's brain even work?"

"It's like he already has the finished show in his head and can call up any scene whenever he wants. Incredible!"

And Chen Yuanli, who was carrying out Li Xun's instructions, seemed to have entered some kind of wondrous state.

He'd never enjoyed work this much before.

Everything flowed so smoothly.

The exhilarating work that day gave him a deeper understanding of what his job really was.

He felt as if he could see the direction his career would take from then on.

Two days later, Li Xun and Kong Teng appeared in Dai Ying's office.

Dai Ying looked up at them. "If you really can't finish it all, could we release two episodes at a time? Can we finish tomorrow's two episodes on schedule?"

Kong Teng and Li Xun exchanged a glance and answered together with a smile, "We can!"

Dai Ying nodded. "We'll release two more episodes the day after tomorrow. Everyone, make sure you don't slack off!"

Li Xun and Kong Teng stood there smiling, neither of them saying a word.

Dai Ying asked curiously, "Why are you two smiling?"

Kong Teng replied, "The post-production for the second arc is already completely finished."

Dai Ying froze for a moment, then asked, "It's done? How did you finish so quickly?!"

Kong Teng glanced at Li Xun. "Who told you to send me a monster?"