AITFYMIBP Chapter 92

TL: Hua

The director and producers of The Best Screenwriter have been very worried lately.

They didn’t know if their luck was just cursed, but not long ago they had just seen off a law-breaking case involving soliciting prostitution, and then they encountered a straight man who went on strike and ran away overnight because of homophobia.

While they were still racking their brains over this matter, news came from the other side: in Wang Zhen’s group, which had drawn a criminal investigation script, his partner had been arrested for drug use.

Looking at the overwhelming reports of the drug arrest, the director was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, his eyes turning red from staying up all night.

In a fit of rage, he slammed the table several times. “Am I in a fucking nest of criminals?”

What was with this series of events?

Among the dozen or so people in the room, not one dared to speak.

None of them were working on a project for the first time, but no matter how good or impressive the project was, none of them had ever encountered anything so bizarre.

It was as if they had gathered every scandalous person in the entertainment industry.

The meeting room was silent for several minutes before the director finally calmed down and spoke again. “The day we started filming was an auspicious day, right?”

The director’s assistant spoke up cautiously, “Yes, a master calculated it; it was an auspicious day.”

“An auspicious day?”

The director swept a sharp gaze over. “Which master calculated it? How much did he charge you?”

The person opposite the director signaled a number with their fingers.

The director gasped, threw the script in his hand, and shouted, “F*ck his mother! Get a refund!”

After speaking, he stood up and strode toward the door.

The assistant hurriedly grabbed his arm. “Don’t, don’t, don’t! Don’t do it, Director! If you go there, they definitely won’t give the money back.”

The director shook off the assistant’s hand. “I’m answering a phone call!”

Realizing he had misunderstood, the assistant quickly let go.

While the director was on the phone, the people in the room began to whisper, brainstorming how to turn this wave of negative influence into a positive gain.

Just as everyone thought about using these incidents to “sell misery” and create a gimmick for The Best Screenwriter as the “unluckiest show in history” for reverse marketing, the director pushed the door open with a clack.

Everyone in the room silenced themselves immediately.

The director looked at everyone with a look of shock. “Why is everyone so serious? Relax, everyone relax.”

“By the way, who was that master you mentioned earlier?”

The assistant was speechless. “You’re not really going to make him give the money back, are you…”

The director glared at him. “What nonsense! Am I that kind of person?”

“I’m going to give him a red envelope.”

The room full of people was faintly worried.

Could it be that the director has suffered a mental breakdown due to the stress?

The production team gave the screenwriters three days to create their scripts. The filmed content had to be under 30 minutes and could not be a mere fragment; it had to be a complete story.

Sun Hangyi was clearly very unskilled at writing romantic scripts. He stalled until the very last minute before the deadline to submit the script to the crew.

Because of Gu Siye’s participation, the production team was extremely attentive and cautious. As soon as they got the script, they sent it to him and Lin Yanran immediately.

After all, any sane person knew that if Gu Siye were to be invited to The Best Screenwriter, the seat he deserved most was that of a mentor.

Now that he had humbled himself to be a guest performer, the crew practically held him in their hands like a fragile treasure, terrified of upsetting him. They even entrusted the most talented director, Guo Fang, to film the scenes for this specific group.

Filming was set for two days later, and the crew was currently building the sets for the drama.

After Lin Yanran received the script, he was so eager to learn the content that he endured his sleepiness to read through it once.

Sun Hangyi’s script was very much in line with the theme. Both the setting and the plot were as dog-blood as they could get.

The background was set in an ancient imperial court. The protagonists were two brothers: the Third Prince, Sheng Yi, and the Seventh Prince, Sheng Zhao.

Although they were brothers, their fate was entirely different.

The younger brother grew up receiving thousands of favors and was admired by everyone.

The older brother, however, was called an ominous person from birth and suffered through bullying and contempt his whole life.

The role Lin Yanran was to play was the younger brother, Sheng Zhao.

This character was simple, innocent, kind, and compassionate—one of the emperor’s most beloved sons—but he was a sickly, beautiful porcelain doll.

Because Sheng Zhao had been weak since childhood, both his parents and his brothers doted on him.

Once, he accidentally entered a deserted, quiet palace and met his older brother, Sheng Yi, who had been raised there since he was a child.

He took a great liking to this older brother, who was mature beyond his years and somewhat cold, so he often came to pester him to play.

At first, the older brother ignored him, but Sheng Zhao didn’t give up.

Over time, the older brother eventually couldn’t resist him. The two became both brothers and best friends.

After Lin Yanran finished reading the character biographies, he had a preliminary understanding of the bond between the protagonists.

Since the theme was love, the two naturally developed feelings for each other during their time together.

Due to the length constraints, Sun Hangyi did not write out the process of how they fell in love.

It was simply glossed over in the character summaries.

The official story began after Sheng Zhao and Sheng Yi reached adulthood, when the old emperor fell seriously ill and the various princes began plotting to seize the throne.

Although the emperor was gravely ill, he had not appointed a crown prince. Therefore, except for the Third Prince, who had no one to rely on, the other princes were each in their own camps, eyeing the throne like tigers watching their prey.

The former brotherly love and respect proved fragile in the face of imperial power.

The Seventh Prince, Sheng Zhao, had a lazy nature and did not like political intrigue, but forced by circumstances, he naturally could not remain uninvolved.

Fortunately, he had a powerful clan and his brother Sheng Yi, who was wholeheartedly devoted to him.

In the midst of the political struggle, the other party went through countless hardships to help him clear all obstacles.

Recruiting advisors, winning people’s hearts, building up an army, manipulating power, even poisoning one’s own brothers…

The other party said he would rather have his own hands covered in blood just to keep a piece of innocence in his younger brother’s heart.

Sheng Yi did all the dirty work just to pave the way for Sheng Zhao, sending him smoothly toward the supreme high position.

Sheng Zhao was incredibly moved and confessed his love to his brother.

However, the plot twist came right here.

On the eve of Sheng Zhao’s ascension to the throne, Sheng Yi, who had sworn an oath of eternal love to him the day before, seized power and became emperor himself.

After becoming the emperor, fearing his younger brother’s former influence, the first thing he did was wipe out all of Sheng Zhao’s supporters and throw his entire family into the imperial prison.

Subsequently, he treated his younger brother as a prisoner, confining him within his own sleeping chambers and forbidding him from stepping outside or having any contact with the outside world.

Sheng Zhao learned that his elder brother had been calculating for all these years, even going so far as to deceive his feelings and put on an act for a decade.

Unable to accept the truth, Sheng Zhao cut ties and broke off all relations with Sheng Yi. From then on, he refused to see him or speak a single word to him ever again.

At this point, having endured a lifetime of bullying and humiliation to finally seize the throne, Sheng Yi discovered he had lost the thing most precious to him.

He had long since fallen in love with his brother, but the other man now hated him to the bone and didn’t want to look at him at all.

The remaining content of the script detailed how Sheng Yi tried to win back Sheng Zhao’s heart, but Sheng Zhao remained unmoved. The story eventually culminated in Sheng Zhao leaping off a building.

Lin Yanran read this script just after nine in the evening.

After finishing it, he felt instantly wide awake.

This script was simply over-the-top dog-blood.

Incestuous undertone, love-hate relationship, crematorium trope, forced love, tragic ending, jumping off a building trope…

It truly had every dog-blood element imaginable; it was impossible for it not to have a bad ending.

But precisely because Sun Hangyi focused too much on these tropes, Lin Yanran found that the character depth and development were actually very superficial.

After finishing the script, he didn’t feel much for the story. Only one thought remained in his head.

Can this really be filmed? Aren’t they worried it won’t pass censorship???

Lin Yanran immediately sent a WeChat message to Gu Siye.

Light: Teacher Gu, have you taken a look at the script? What do you think?

The other person was clearly still awake and replied instantly.

Moon: Not great.

Lin Yanran originally thought he was a layman, so he was a little worried that his perception might not be sensitive enough and he might not be able to “get” the appeal.

But now it seemed it wasn’t a lack of sensitivity on his part—it really was just bad.

He felt there was a lot to explore between the protagonists, but Sun Hangyi had only focused on surface-level melodrama.

This made the characters one-dimensional. At first glance, the plot seemed exciting, but it lacked depth. The bond and entanglement between the two failed to be truly moving.

Lin Yanran suddenly grew worried.

In fact, this was exactly why he hadn’t asked Gu Siye for help in the beginning.

Many of these screenwriters were newcomers, and since the themes were randomly drawn, there was a lot of uncertainty—even if the production team slapped various fancy titles on them.

He didn’t want Gu Siye to help him out and act in a drama only for it to end up tarnishing the excellent reputation the man had built over the years.

But now, facts proved that the hidden landmine he had vaguely sensed earlier had indeed been stepped on.

Just as Lin Yanran was feeling conflicted, his phone rang.

It was Gu Siye calling.

“I saw you were ‘typing’ for a long time, but no message came through. What’s wrong?”

The man’s voice was as deep and gentle as ever. Hearing it by his ear in the dead of night, Lin Yanran felt it was perfect for a lullaby.

However, he was in no position to appreciate it right now.

Because Gu Siye had asked this question, it was obvious he had guessed Lin Yanran’s opinion on this matter.

So, he didn’t beat around the bush and told him directly, “I was wondering if there’s any way to salvage this script. I don’t want it to affect Teacher Gu’s reputation.”

Gu Siye didn’t follow Lin Yanran’s lead. Instead, he asked, “But this is also your screen debut. Aren’t you worried about the impact on yourself?”

“Of course I am.” Lin Yanran paused, then admitted, “But that ranks second.”

Gu Siye’s mood became extremely pleasant. “So, I am first.”

Lin Yanran laughed helplessly. “Is it really necessary to point it out, Teacher Gu?”

Gu Siye stopped teasing him and brought the topic back on track. “It’s almost eleven; go to sleep. Regarding the script issues, we can discuss it with the director and screenwriter tomorrow and make some revisions.”

“Will the production team agree?”

“It’s just some minor adjustments to the performance and plot progression. The main plot remains largely the same. They will agree.”

After hearing Gu Siye’s words, Lin Yanran thought about his character for a moment longer.

Before going to sleep, he glanced at the script lying by his bed and suddenly felt a sense of anticipation for this drama.

He really wanted to see how Gu Siye would interpret Sheng Yi’s character.

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