Chapter 446 - 269: So You’re This Proactive When You Meet a Handsome Guy (Part 2)

Fang Jie acted very calm and found a pair of slippers for Lin Jiang.

"I think your phone is ringing."

Fang Jie had heard the phone buzzing for a while now.

’She didn’t even have to guess who it was. It had to be Wei Xue!’

"Don’t worry about it. Let’s eat first, or the food will get cold."

"Okay."

The two of them went to the dining room.

Fang Jie had prepared a very traditional Chinese breakfast: soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, tea eggs, and more...

"You made all of this?" Lin Jiang was a little surprised.

"Of course. Try my cooking and give me your review," Fang Jie said confidently.

"You’re so busy with work. How do you have time to make all this?"

"Well, I have to make it for my child anyway."

Fang Jie sat down across from Lin Jiang and said,

"Actually, I’m not as busy as you might think. The competition in this industry is getting more and more intense. The company is just barely hanging on. I might just quit someday, who knows."

"Have you made enough money and decided it’s time to start enjoying life?"

"That was the original plan, but now that I’ve taken this job from President Lin, I’m thinking of switching tracks."

"President Lin, boss, teacher... I seem to have quite a few titles in your eyes."

"Different situations call for different roles."

Lin Jiang took a bite of a steamed bun. "This is really good."

"Of course it is. I’m a pretty good cook."

Soon, they finished eating, and Fang Jie went to her bedroom to change.

She came out wearing a dark, floral patchwork maxi dress. The two of them left together and went to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Fang Jie’s phone was flooded with messages from Wei Xue. There were more than ten in total.

Wei Xue: "Tsk tsk, I was wondering why you were dressed so provocatively underneath. So you had a man coming over."

Wei Xue: "So you’re this forward when you meet a handsome guy. My dear sister, I’m seeing a whole new side of you today."

Wei Xue: "So? Was he wild? Is he good at ’drilling wells’?"

Wei Xue: "Don’t just ignore my texts. Tell me everything."

Wei Xue: "Did you use protection?"

Wei Xue: "Who made the first move..."

Reading these blush-inducing messages, Fang Jie gripped her phone tightly.

After her long drought, she was already getting a little wet...

Soon, Lin Jiang pulled up to the Ritz-Carlton.

In the hotel’s coffee shop, they met the director, Li Wenzhong.

He was dressed plainly in simple casual wear, with light stubble on his chin. At first glance, he just looked like an ordinary middle-aged man.

He wasn’t like those older directors who use long hair or a big beard to display their artistic attribute.

"President Lin, a pleasure."

Upon seeing Lin Jiang, Li Wenzhong extended his hand.

"Director Li, a pleasure."

The three of them sat down. Lin Jiang was the first to speak. "You’ve read the script, I assume? What are your thoughts on it?"

"The script is excellent. It’s clear the screenwriter is very experienced. The overall plot, including the part where the theme is elevated at the end, is also very well done. There’s almost nothing that needs to be changed."

Li Wenzhong’s assessment convinced Lin Jiang that he was a true professional.

’If he had blathered on about something else, saying the script had problems, it would have meant he was the one with the problem.’

’This script has already been tested by the market; there’s nothing wrong with it.’

’If he claimed there was a problem, then the problem would be with him.’

Afterward, Lin Jiang brought up a few specific scenes and discussed them with Li Wenzhong.

Although he didn’t know how to direct, as someone who had seen it twice, the classic scenes were still fresh in his mind.

And the visuals and scenes Li Wenzhong described were a near-perfect match for the original film.

To better illustrate his ideas, Li Wenzhong even drew some storyboards on the spot. In terms of professionalism, he was truly impeccable.

Lin Jiang’s evaluation of him was also very high; he had all but decided on Li Wenzhong for the job.

By the time they finished discussing the script, it was already noon.

The three of them had lunch together and discussed the movie further, which made Lin Jiang even more certain about Li Wenzhong.

They didn’t discuss the director’s fee in detail.

Fang Jie and Li Wenzhong had already discussed that privately and settled on a price of 3 million, so there was no need to go into detail now.

For a director of Li Wenzhong’s caliber, it wasn’t a huge amount, but it wasn’t small either. It was a very appropriate price.

During the meal, Fang Jie called a few of the key female actors and told them to come for an audition.

Around one in the afternoon, the three of them arrived at the presidential suite to prepare for the upcoming auditions.

"This Tang Wan, has she acted before?" Lin Jiang asked.

Among the three newcomers, Lin Jiang had the highest expectations for Tang Wan.

’An acting talent of 95... she gives off a feeling of limitless potential.’

"Just some guest roles, some without even a single line. Nobody knows her online; she’s basically a newcomer."

Fang Jie said, holding up the files for several people:

"She also posts skits on short-video platforms. She definitely has the foundational skills, especially since she graduated from the Central Academy of Drama."

"Let me see."

In the entertainment industry, there were too many cases of hidden gems gathering dust.

And this sort of thing was practically metaphysics.

Even if you were gorgeous, had a top-tier figure, and had outstanding acting skills, if you weren’t meant to be famous, you just wouldn’t be. There was no rhyme or reason to it.

This directly led to many people in the industry believing in metaphysics. Many of them would even have altars in their homes to ensure they would become wildly famous.

Fang Jie handed him the phone, and Lin Jiang sat beside her, watching silently.

Meanwhile, Fang Jie and Li Wenzhong were sitting together, and the latter whispered:

"President Fang, let me ask you something. Who wrote this script?"

"What’s wrong? Is there a problem?"

"No problem at all. I just think the script is fantastic and wanted to ask who wrote it, to see if there’s a chance to collaborate in the future."

"I don’t know either. President Lin just said a friend of his wrote it."

"I see..." Li Wenzhong said thoughtfully.

"Director Li, do you have another idea?"

"I can’t shake the feeling that President Lin wrote this script himself."

"That can’t be right, can it?"

"It really feels like it. When he was discussing the film with me, I could clearly tell how incredibly familiar he is with the script. He’s considered every little detail. You could even say he already has the prototype of the film in his head, and it has to be shot exactly the way he envisions it."

Fang Jie had noticed this as well.

When she discussed the script with him before, Lin Jiang had shown a surprising level of familiarity with it, even having ideas on how to shoot it.

Even though she had read the script countless times herself, she hadn’t reached that level of understanding.

"President Lin hasn’t admitted to it, so it’s not my place to say."

"I’ve been in this industry for almost ten years," Li Wenzhong said. "Normally, besides the screenwriter, it’s unlikely for anyone else to know a script inside and out like this."

"It’s certainly possible. But since President Lin doesn’t want to talk about it, we shouldn’t press the issue. Let’s just let it be. It won’t affect the filming anyway."

Fang Jie’s thoughts were similar to Li Wenzhong’s.

’She also thought Lin Jiang wrote the script; he just hadn’t admitted it.’

’The question was, if he had this kind of talent on top of everything else, wasn’t he a little too incredible?’

’Fitness, Swimming, Diving, business...’

’And he could write scripts on top of all that...’

’Does this guy have any weaknesses at all?’

’People talk about being a ’hexagon warrior,’ maxed out in every stat. This guy must be a ’circle warrior’—a perfect sphere.’