Young Bao Qingtian

After Dai Ying returned to the office, Li Xun also went back to his workstation. Wang Hai, seated nearby, hurriedly asked him,

"Did you really say all that?"

Li Xun replied helplessly,

"I'm not an idiot. Didn't you see the way everyone was looking at me? If my emotional intelligence were really that low, do you think I'd have made it this far?"

Wang Hai nodded.

"I didn't think you were that kind of person, either. So President Dai was deliberately targeting you?"

Li Xun spread his hands.

"Who knows? Women are impossible to read!"

Wang Hai nodded in agreement.

Li Xun sat down at his computer and opened Word. The scenes he had seen in his previous life rose vividly in his mind.

Everything he had seen, heard, or learned in his previous life was stored in his brain like files on a computer.

Perhaps that was the golden finger he had gained from crossing over!

Costume suspense dramas?

He'd watched plenty of them in that parallel world called Earth in his previous life: Detective Dee, The Song Official, Young Bao Qingtian, and others. Which one should he choose?

First, he ruled out Detective Dee. For one thing, it had too many episodes. He had, at most, half a month. Next month, the other two video giants would also be airing their own new suspense dramas, and he wanted to give the production and filming teams as much time as possible. Besides, Detective Dee seemed to have some pretty grand scenes, which would surely require a hefty investment. For his first script, he'd better avoid anything too ambitious.

The Song Judicial Department wasn't quite right, either. Its atmosphere was a little oppressive. He still wasn't well known, so he should choose something ordinary viewers would enjoy—ideally a suspense story with a touch of comedy, serious but also a little playful. By that measure, Young Bao Qingtian seemed like a good fit.

Young Bao Qingtian was a TV series that blended suspense, wuxia, comedy, and romance, among other elements, and its plot was quite well put together.

As he recalled, Young Bao Qingtian had been the most-watched series in the country in 2000, achieving phenomenal ratings surpassed only by My Fair Princess.

In his previous life, in 2006, at a TV ratings awards gala hosted by Su Province Television, Young Bao Qingtian (Parts One and Two) had won the title of Su Province Satellite TV's top drama after claiming the weekly ratings crown across 36 satellite TV channels nationwide. Chen Yong, the series' veteran producer, had also won the Top Ten Producers award.

As the opening work of his entertainment career, this series would carry plenty of weight.

As scenes played through Li Xun's mind, he began typing.

The words Young Bao Qingtian: Famous Throughout the World appeared in his document.

"I wonder if the film and TV companies that turned down my scripts will regret it once my Young Bao Qingtian finally airs," Li Xun couldn't help thinking.

After learning that he had crossed over, Li Xun had actually written several scripts. He just hadn't expected that the classic scripts he'd written—already proven by the market in his previous life—would mean nothing to those lofty film and TV companies.

That was when he realized the screenwriting world was a highly insular, relationship-driven circle.

Without fame or connections, why would anyone invest in your script?

Since the circle was so closed off, he'd just have to find a way to get inside.

As it happened, he'd seen a recruitment ad from Penguin Video. After weighing his options, he'd applied.

The entrance exam had gone smoothly, and now he could just about consider himself part of the industry.

But he still hadn't truly become part of the circle.

When would he finally be accepted into it?

Perhaps when Young Bao Qingtian aired.

Li Xun shook his head, banishing those stray thoughts, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his script-plundering enterprise.

1. Fade in.

Exterior, Luzhou City, daytime.

The bustling streets teemed with life: street performers showing off their tricks, an old man hawking candied hawthorn skewers, and children laughing and playing.

2. Exterior, second floor of Spring Breeze Full Moon Tower, daytime.

Gongsun Ce, son of the Luzhou Prefect, was renowned for his talent. Many people in Luzhou City, confident in their own abilities, had come to challenge him.

Scholar 1: I've long heard that Young Master Gongsun is a master at chess. Today, I'd like to challenge you with the exquisite chess puzzle from Plum Blossom Divination.

Scholar 2: I'd like to test Young Master Gongsun's skill at couplets.

Scholar 3: I'd like to ask Young Master Gongsun to solve a few riddles.

Gongsun Ce: Since you three gentlemen have honored me with your visit, I'd be rude to refuse. Let's begin.

The crowd cheered.

Scholar 1 placed his first piece: White moves first.

Gongsun Ce picked up a black piece.

Scholar 2: A fake deer runs on a real hill.

Gongsun Ce placed his piece: A live fish swims in dead water.

Scholar 3: What kind of fish can't be eaten?

Gongsun Ce: A wooden fish.

Scholar 2: The sounds of wind, rain, and reading—all reach my ears.

Gongsun Ce placed his second piece: The affairs of my home, my country, and the world—all concern me.

Scholar 3: What kind of fish can't die?

Gongsun Ce: A live fish. Even after it dies, it's still called a live fish. He placed his third piece. Checkmate.

The crowd: He lost! It only took three moves to solve that exquisite chess puzzle.

3. Exterior, Luzhou street, daytime.

An old man who sold fried dough sticks had lost his money and accused an old man leading a pig of stealing it.

Fried Dough Stick Seller: You stole my money!

Pig Herder: You're making a false accusation! I just walked by here, and I've never seen you before!

Fried Dough Stick Seller: You're the one who stole it!

Pig Herder: My pig walked by here too. What, are you saying the pig stole it?

A voice from behind the crowd: I suspect it really was that pig.

The crowd parted, revealing a dark-skinned man dressed as a scholar.

Bao Zheng: You look like an honorable man, my good sir. How could you be a thief?

The Pig Herder roared with laughter: Of course I'm not!

Bao Zheng: But this old man really did lose his money.

The Fried Dough Stick Seller slapped his hand: Exactly!

Pig Herder: So what should we do?

Bao Zheng turned to the Pig Herder: The laws of the Song are clear. Theft is a crime, and it won't be tolerated. I quite agree with you, my good sir—the pig is the most suspicious.

Pig Herder: You mean...?

Bao Zheng: I'm going to interrogate this enormous breeding boar!

4. Exterior, second floor of Spring Breeze Full Moon Tower, daytime.

Scholar 4 took out a piece of calligraphy passed down in his family and asked Gongsun Ce to explain the hidden meaning of its verses.

Scholar 4: Six classics stored in the heart for years, a sword honed for ten years in my hand. A cross atop the apricot, lest Heaven's secrets escape my lips. A dot, clustered and as large as a bean, obscures half the bed, leaving nothing. Wait to hang up your official hat before claiming a perfect name—do you know what I looked like back then?

Scholar 4: It's no wonder if Young Master can't solve it. My family has 163 people across three generations, and no one but those who've seen the family tree can figure it out.

Gongsun Ce: I've got it. Add a horizontal stroke below the character for six, then a cross, and you get the character for "hardship." Add a horizontal stroke above the character for "apricot" and remove its mouth, and you get the character for "not yet." Half of the character for "bed," plus the character for "big" and a dot, gives you the character for "top scorer." Remove the official's hat from "complete," and you get the character for "first" in the Lantern Festival. So your great-great-grandfather was the top scorer in the Xinwei year. Impressive, impressive!

Scholar 4: Young Master is indeed quick-witted. I'm impressed.

The crowd cheered.

Another spectator rushed upstairs: Come see! Someone's interrogating a pig downstairs! Hurry and look!

The crowd surged toward the railing.

Bao Zheng, downstairs: Don't laugh, everyone. Watch me interrogate this pig.

Gongsun Ce: So it really is that black-faced fellow.

Watching Li Xun typing away furiously, Wang Hai shook his head.

Writing a script wasn't something you could do by opening Word and charging ahead on sheer enthusiasm. A little preparation went a long way. If you skipped all the groundwork just to save time, you'd soon learn your lesson after writing a thousand or two thousand words.

Right now, the story in your head seemed full of highlights, tearjerkers, and touching moments because your brain had automatically filled in the parts you hadn't worked out, blurring them over and rationalizing them for you. But once you wrote the story down, all those hazy, conveniently rationalized parts would have to become concrete. That was when the writer would suddenly realize that all those supposedly moving, funny, brilliant ideas were complete nonsense.

After that, you'd have to throw out everything you'd written in your initial burst of enthusiasm!

Watching Li Xun's fingers fly across the keyboard, Wang Hai thought, Give it no more than two days, and reality will teach this kid a lesson.

But he and Li Xun had only just met the day before, so there was no need to warn him now.

For one thing, Li Xun might not listen. No one liked hearing that they weren't good enough. For another, Wang Hai meant well, but Li Xun could misunderstand and resent him, thinking he looked down on him. That wouldn't be worth it.

Wang Hai wasn't good at suspense, so he hadn't joined the costume suspense project. He was better at writing domestic dramas about family squabbles and mothers-in-law, so he opened his document too and continued hammering away at his modern urban drama.