Chapter 717
A Deceitful Man in Emotions, a Fool in Love
Forgive Xi Mengze, this honest man, he never thought he could do something like this.
She hesitated and said, "That's not right. I don't want to be a con artist in matters of the heart. I would feel guilty if I wielded the scythe against the truly innocent to avoid others."
Jinli raised an eyebrow. "I was just saying it casually, but from what you're saying, do you already have someone in mind who you want to choose?"
Xi Mengze: ...
She then realized she had been tricked into revealing information!
Xi Mengze: "I just feel, cough cough, I, no, I have no one to choose me!"
Jinli: "Yes, yes, you have no one to choose from. You don't want innocent people to get hurt, so darling, can you tell me who the innocent people are?"
Xi Mengze denied it three times: "There is no such person, there is nothing at all, you must have misheard!"
Jinli sighed deeply: "You got along well with Yan Xingdong before, so I thought this person would be Yan Xingdong."
I even thought he would be the first person to pursue you, but unexpectedly, all sorts of celebrities have appeared, and he hasn't made any move yet.
It seems my initial assessment was wrong; I thought he had feelings for you!
Xi Mengze's eyes flickered slightly, and he hesitated before saying, "You, you... how did you figure out that Yan Xingdong has feelings for me?"
Jinli bluntly said, "Is it hard to see? You're trying to learn about areas you've never even known before in order to pursue me."
I've never heard that Yan Xingdong likes reading comics. He's been in the industry for quite a while now, and he's never mentioned it to the media.
And he's a boy, so why is he reading shoujo manga? Don't you find that strange?
Xi Mengze paused for a moment.
Jinli: "Also, don't you think you two chat quite frequently? Have you been chatting recently? Does he know you're being pursued by someone?"
Xi Mengze said softly, "We chat every day. He tells me his schedule and says good morning and good night to me."
Sometimes they'll video call, just wanting to talk to me. I think our friendship is pretty pure.
Jinli said meaningfully, "Oh, pure friendship."
Xi Mengze whispered again, "He probably knows, because he's been contacting me a lot lately."
Not long after he finished speaking, Xi Mengze's phone rang.
She glanced at it; it was a WeChat video call from Yan Xingdong.
Seeing this scene, Jinli understood immediately: Yan Xingdong had come to check up on her.
She patted Mengmeng on the shoulder and said, "You should think carefully about the suggestion I gave you. Besides, I feel that you are not completely indifferent to Yan Xingdong, otherwise you wouldn't be so hesitant."
"Also, if you really don't want to be in a relationship, then don't give everyone a chance. Talk to Sister Fang and find a time to go public with it to eliminate any potential problems."
Xi Mengze nodded.
She went into the room and didn't answer the phone outside.
Jinli opened her phone and saw a WeChat message from Qi Guanmingzhu, announcing the release of "Return to Youth".
Upon entering the blog, Jinli found that Qi Guanmingzhu's account had already reposted it. Jinli copied her text, changed a few words, and posted it.
Netizens immediately responded.
This short drama is amazing! It got Jinli and Qiguan Mingzhu to do advertising together.
[Horizontal screen short drama, this is a high-quality short drama, I thought it was a vertical screen short drama.]
[Hey, I really liked this director's debut film, *Illusory Face*! Turns out she's made a new film!]
Am I the only one curious about the relationship between this production team and Jinli?
[Actually, a simple search will tell you that everyone in the short drama circle knows that this director received investment from Jinli and her team...]
[Jinli has such a great eye for investment! Could you please take a look at my business plan?]
The release of "Back to Youth" was quite quiet because it used relatively unknown actors, so there was no promotion at all.
After all, relatively unknown actors don't have many fans, and some are complete newcomers.
But after Jinli and Qiguan Mingzhu promoted it, everyone flocked to watch.
It's fine if you don't watch it, but once you do, you'll find that this film is quite interesting.
Although it uses the trope of rebirth, it's different from the typical rebirth-themed wish-fulfillment novel.
This drama exposes the shortcomings of several main characters' limited life experience, and the story revolves around their flaws.
Even if one is given a second chance at life and takes a different path due to foresight, this path is based on the information learned in the previous life.
In other words, they have never actually broken through their own limits.
For example, in his previous life, the male protagonist A heard that making clothes could make a lot of money, so he went to make clothes, wrote down all the buying points he could think of, and then put them into practice one by one.
He eventually became a large clothing distributor.
However, this path was based on his life experiences in his previous life, and he had not transcended the limitations of his previous life's experiences.
Even though she has been reborn and has more possibilities, she can live a more comfortable life.
Besides clothing, you can also try other professions.
But because he was afraid of failure, he only followed the path that he believed to be successful in his previous life, eliminating all other possibilities.
The same applies to the other characters; their achievements are all related to their experiences in their previous lives.
Actually, this kind of filming is perfectly fine for a rebirth drama.
In their previous lives, many people stumbled and took many detours. In this second life, they only need to keep walking on the right path.
You don't need to try things you've never tried before.
But this drama is ironic; it's not a typical feel-good show, but rather it amplifies limitations and gives people room for reflection.
If you were given a second chance at life, would you follow the path of success you heard about in your previous life, or would you try possibilities you never even considered?
This drama has several main characters, but the one who achieves the most is actually someone who was an ordinary person in his previous life and became an elite after hard work.
In this second life, because she had more opportunities and access to more information than others in her previous life, she was even more successful.
Many netizens felt it was a real pity that the series wasn't made into a movie.
It's a shame to put a script of this quality in a short drama; it has strong emotional conflicts and the necessary logical depth.
The ending was definitely satisfying, but it left a feeling of regret and abruptness.
I think it should be made into a comedy.
+1, Comedy films can maximize the dark humor in the script.
Could you release a movie version, or even just a web movie?
There's a strong demand online for it to be made into a movie.
In addition, this high-quality horizontal-screen short drama is indeed very popular, and after being promoted by two A-list celebrities, it has shown a trend of becoming a mainstream phenomenon.
So the director actually considered whether it could be made into a movie.
But after much deliberation, she gave up.
Inspiration is fleeting. The crew encountered many problems while filming this movie, and the script was revised several times, making the filming process quite tortuous.
During that filming period, she gave it her all, using all the knowledge she had acquired, and approached it with the mindset that it was her last film.
In that state, she had already expressed all the thoughts, compositions, and images she wanted to convey in her mind.
She has done everything she could for this story.
Therefore, if it were to be made into a movie, the director couldn't guarantee that it would be more exciting than the short film.
If you're not confident in your abilities, why bother making a movie out of it?
It's just reheating leftovers.
She believes she doesn't have enough fans to support her rehashing old material without being disliked.
This is an era where people are forgotten if they don't appear in front of others for a period of time, or where it's difficult to make a comeback after a single failure.
She had to be extremely careful with every step she took.
"Back to Youth" has been quite popular online, and Jinli and Qiguan Mingzhu have both gained attention after the promotion.
During my free time, I also asked the director what my plans were.
As investors, they were giving the director peace of mind.
Both of them said they would support her if she really wanted to make it into a movie.
But soon, they received news that the director had rejected them.
The director seemed hesitant during the video call with the two.
"I don't know if this is the right thing to do, but I feel that I have used all my knowledge to make this story. Using a short drama as a medium to present this story is the best I can do within my capabilities."
If it were a movie, I'm not sure I could recapture my previous form. I'm worried it won't live up to expectations, and I'm concerned that viewers' hopes will be dashed.
Jinli said decisively, "Then we won't take any more pictures."
The director was taken aback and asked in a low voice, "But wouldn't you feel it's a pity if we didn't film it? It clearly had such a lot of buzz, but I didn't capitalize on it."
"If I could make a better film, maybe I could break into the film industry and become a rising director, and you guys could make even more money."
Jinli smiled and said, "If you want to break into the film industry, then just make a movie that can be released in theaters, instead of making a web movie."
Although I don't have very established channels, I can introduce you to some connections.
The film industry is never far from you; it just depends on whether you can make the decision and whether you want to try to move in that direction.
As for making money, the investment was just a spur-of-the-moment idea of Mingzhu and me, and we just casually put some money into it. We don't make money through investment.
The profits from the movie are less than what Mingzhu and I could earn from a casual appearance.
We simply enjoy the sense of accomplishment from making money effortlessly, rather than actually making money for the sake of making money.
Qi Guanmingzhu chimed in, "If it's purely about making money, wouldn't it be better to invest in those lower-budget, more melodramatic short dramas that can evoke strong emotional conflicts?"
Jinli pondered for a moment and said, "And I actually understand why you don't want to make a sequel and turn it into a movie."
Let the story remain at its most beautiful stage.
Some regrets and flaws, on the contrary, make this story what it is, and people will always remember it.
If we were to actually fix that last flaw, people would feel that the classic would no longer be a classic.
Water overflows when it's full, and the moon wanes after it's full; staying at the short drama stage is fine too.
The director didn't expect that the probing question would lead to an unexpected surprise.
A sudden surge of excitement made her forget her nervousness for a moment, and she couldn't help but ask, "Jinli, can you really invest in my movie?"
Jinli said confidently, "Sure, if you want to."
The director asked hesitantly, "Do you think I'm capable of making movies?"
Jinli: "This doesn't depend on me, it depends on you. Whether you have the ability and whether you want to try is a question you have to ask yourself."
The director hung up the video call with a conflicted expression, leaving only Qi Guanmingzhu and Jinli in the group chat.
Qi Guan Mingzhu was packing clothes when she said with a smile:
“I was hoping she would film a few more short dramas to make money, but now that you mention it, I think her next project is probably a movie.”
Jinli said, "Her aesthetic sense is good. If she keeps making short dramas, I think it would be a waste of her talent."
Trying filmmaking is a good idea; maybe you can develop your own unique style. And if you could personally mentor a director, it would be even more fulfilling.
She changed the subject, asking curiously, "What about you? I heard from Sister Fang that you've stopped all your gigs recently and won't start working again until after the New Year. Where are you planning to go now that you're packing your clothes?"
Qi Guanmingzhu paused, then said in a low voice, "I'm planning to go abroad, and I might go home for a visit."
Jinli knew that Qi Guanmingzhu's family lived abroad year-round and spent the Lunar New Year there.
"Why so suddenly? You changed your plans at the last minute and even had to pay a large penalty for breach of contract."
Qi Guanmingzhu hesitated for a moment and said, "After talking with you, I feel that rather than being afraid of the potential losses in the future, the unprecedented start will make me regretful even more."
Once the words were out, she had no reservations whatsoever and spoke frankly:
"I want to give it a try with Chen Lin. If I miss him, I think I'll probably never meet a boy who is so devoted to me again."
He's warm and cheerful, like a clingy puppy; I love being with him.
Jinli raised an eyebrow. "Even so, you don't need to go abroad, do you?"
Qi Guanmingzhu: "I still want to. It's too easy to be recognized in China. I want to live with him for a while."
If I can't find any flaws in him, or if I can tolerate his flaws, then we'll be together.
Jinli: "...Are you dating? This is moving too fast."
Who moves in together right away when they start dating?
This isn't just about dating; it's practically about marriage.
Rounding up or down, this is for a lifetime.
Qi Guanmingzhu smiled, her expression somewhat arrogant: "I don't care anymore, I'm giving up, that's what I want."
"I want to see if love is as brilliant as fireworks, but also as fleeting as firework."
I can still cherish that beautiful moment forever in my heart, remembering it again and again.
-
The scene shifts back to the previous point.
After leaving Jinli's house, Qi Guanmingzhu went back to her residence first.
On her way back, she thought about many things, and her emotions rose and fell with the thoughts in her mind.
At night, I toss and turn and can't fall asleep.
The next day, she woke up with dark circles under her eyes, having barely slept all night.
Qi Guanmingzhu felt that things couldn't continue like this.
She has to take action.
So she called Chen Lin. (End of Chapter)