Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

When the phone rang for the first time, Lin Ji saw it was an unknown number and didn’t pick up. When it rang again, he finally looked up from his pile of books and reached for the device.

The spy novel in his hands was exceptionally interesting. The author was a master at setting hooks, making it impossible for Lin Ji to stop reading. He had originally planned to finish just one chapter before getting back to scriptwriting.

Lin Ji didn’t like being disturbed while he was in the creative zone. Both Tian Yao and Guo Rui knew this habit of his and usually only contacted him once he was finished with his work.

He answered the call. A voice he didn’t recognize sounded from the other end, “Is this Lin Ji? This is Zong Xin.”

Lin Ji thought for a good while before recalling that this person was their class monitor. If he remembered correctly, Zong Xin had been recommended for a direct postgrad degree at their school and was currently working as a counselor for another department.

During their student days, Zong Xin was the social type who knew everyone. He got along well with both teachers and students. Lin Ji, by contrast, had been the type of student with almost zero presence. However, Zong Xin was a smooth character who maintained good relations with everyone in the class without showing favoritism. Back when everyone else was defending Xiao Cheng, he had even spoken a few fair words for Lin Ji.

Zong Xin explained his purpose: the National Film Academy recently organized an academic event and invited alumni back to campus to give lectures. The school wanted to invite Lin Ji back this time.

Normally, such a task wouldn’t fall to a minor counselor like Zong Xin. But after the disaster of Snow in Early May, many teachers in the screenwriting department had “suggested” that Lin Ji take the fall. It wasn’t appropriate for any of them to invite him now. After thinking it over, they sent Zong Xin since there was no bad blood between him and Lin Ji.

Recently, the Academy’s reputation had suffered quite a bit because of Xiao Cheng. Whenever netizens mentioned the school, they associated it with the mess Xiao Cheng had made. Many netizens also felt Lin Ji had been wronged. Given that Lin Ji was currently a red-hot screenwriter, his appearance at the Academy would at least signal that he stood on the school’s side.

In other words, the National Film Academy needed Lin Ji’s public support.

After listening to Zong Xin, Lin Ji’s attitude was firm. “I’m not interested.”

Zong Xin tried to persuade him further, but Lin Ji showed no signs of wavering. Zong Xin understood that, given how Lin Ji had treated Xiao Cheng and Gu Lenian, the fact that he was even willing to talk was already a courtesy.

He could only report back the truth.

* * *

“Is Lin Ji coming this time?”

“Probably not, right? Things ended so poorly back then, and he never even mentions the school normally.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Some people say one thing and do another. I’ve watched that short drama of Lin Ji’s. It’s fine to be a flash in the pan, but does he really expect to stay popular? If I were him, after writing so many trash shows, I’d be too embarrassed to even apply for an award.”

“I think he’ll come. This is the school actively inviting him back; think of the prestige.”

As soon as Zong Xin logged online, he saw a foul atmosphere in the group chat. The one being most vocal was still Lou Yangyang. Ever since God of War Returns Home became a hit, Lou Yangyang had acted like he was possessed, stepping on Lin Ji dozens of times a day in the chat. He called the work low-class, said it couldn’t be shown in polite company, and claimed it would never win awards. Zong Xin couldn’t understand where all this hatred for Lin Ji came from.

Speaking of awards, Zong Xin wanted to laugh. Lou Yangyang had actually “won” quite a few: district-level, city-level, and provincial-level. But those awards were all “pheasant awards” that no one had ever heard of. Nobody even watched the films Lou Yangyang made; out of two hundred views, half were probably from people he hired himself.

Many people in the group tagged Zong Xin, asking if Lin Ji was coming.

Just as Zong Xin was about to reply, Lou Yangyang jumped out again, “Lin Ji’s success is pure luck. Even if he comes back, what could he possibly talk about? We should thank the heavens if he doesn’t embarrass himself.”

Zong Xin found Lou Yangyang’s words too unpleasant and quickly replied, “I asked. He’s busy lately and doesn’t have time to come.”

“Busy?” Lou Yangyang sent a hideous emoji. “Isn’t it said that he offended too many people and no one in the circle wants him to write scripts anymore?”

“It’s not impossible. We screenwriters should keep a low profile. No one can guarantee they’ll have inspiration for a lifetime. If you offend everyone, what will you do when you can’t even mix in for a meal later?”

“I think he’s just too full of himself. He doesn’t respect the school or us anymore. Some people just inflate once they get famous. I remember Lin Ji wasn’t like this before.”

At this moment, Zong Xin actually understood Lin Ji a bit.

Back when Snow in Early May was a disaster, this group had mocked and ridiculed him, calling him the disgrace of the Academy and complaining that he ruined the class’s reputation. Now that God of War Returns Home and Secretly in Love with You were hits one after another, they wanted to reconnect. When Lin Ji ignored them, they turned their shame into anger, accusing him of being too arrogant.

Zong Xin was usually good at managing people, but even he found this a bit ridiculous.

What did they want Lin Ji to do?

After being mocked and cursed out, was he supposed to act humble before them?

Lin Ji had absolutely no need to ask anything of them.

If they had been willing to show some mercy with their words back then, Lin Ji would still be happily in this group chat now.

Actually, Zong Xin also felt some regret. He hadn’t realized Lin Ji had such creative talent. If he had known earlier, he would have made sure to stay on good terms with him. Now, things were awkward; he couldn’t even find a legitimate reason to ask the guy for a favor.

“Lin Ji is only enjoying a moment of glory. By acting so heartlessly now, he isn’t thinking about his future.”

“Exactly!”

“…”

Zong Xin glanced at the chat. Lou Yangyang was still attacking Lin Ji. After finishing his nasty comments, he started showing off what awards he had won, how much prize money he got, and what car he had bought recently. Zong Xin didn’t know what others thought, but he was reaching his limit.

“Actually…”

Just as he was getting annoyed, Zong Xin saw a classmate, who didn’t usually speak much, chime in.

“Lin Ji has already achieved financial freedom.”

The person didn’t give Lou Yangyang a chance to argue and dropped several images in succession.

One showed that Rice Grains Video had paid Lin Ji an astronomical fee: the script for The Heiress started at 500,000 yuan per episode.

The second was an interview with the CEO of Rice Grains Video. The CEO stated that to attract more excellent creators, the platform was willing to share profits with screenwriters: “For example, Screenwriter Lin Ji from God of War Returns Home received a seven percent cut of the advertisement revenue.”

The third was the advertisement revenue report for God of War Returns Home and The Heiress.

While the daily lives of screenwriters focused on words, when it came to calculating fees, they were so precise that they didn’t even need a calculator. They could calculate after-tax income perfectly.

If what the Rice Grains Video CEO said was true, then based solely on the income from those two short dramas, Lin Ji had already climbed to the very top of the income pyramid in the screenwriting industry.

“…Both shows have long-term value, too. They’re still airing.”

This was the last message in the group. After that, the entire class chat went dead silent. Even Lou Yangyang, who had just shown off his car keys, stopped talking.

Based on Lin Ji’s current income, he could easily buy a hundred cars of the same model as Lou Yangyang’s.

And that was just the income from those two short dramas.

For Secretly in Love with You, Lin Ji might have taken a one-time fee, but usually, a screenwriter would sign a profit-sharing agreement. Recently, Secretly in Love with You had been pushed into overseas markets, and it was said several satellite stations were interested in buying the broadcasting rights. As the screenwriter, Lin Ji would get a piece of that pie too.

Never mind the rumors of various platforms inviting Lin Ji to write; even if he couldn’t survive in the screenwriting circle in the future, his current income was enough for him to live comfortably in retirement.

Zong Xin couldn’t help but think: right now, they were complaining that Lin Ji was heartless. Once Lin Ji took another step forward, they would likely start blaming each other for not maintaining a good relationship with him back then.

The National Film Academy had quite a reputation in the industry, which gave outsiders the illusion that its screenwriters had an easy time breaking out. But the truth was, it was impressive if a single class produced one writer like Lin Ji. Zong Xin had always been responsible for alumni statistics; he knew better than anyone else. Not just in their class, but among all recent graduating years, no one had developed more smoothly than Lin Ji.

Zong Xin didn’t want to completely cut ties with Lin Ji. He sent another friend request, but unfortunately, Lin Ji never accepted it.

* * *

Lin Ji finished the spy novel before he noticed Zong Xin’s friend request.

Zong Xin wasn’t the first person trying to add him back. In fact, since God of War Returns Home aired, he had received friend requests from over twenty former classmates. But since he had deleted them all, it was impossible to add them back.

As for the conditions the Academy promised him, Lin Ji didn’t take them to heart. Was he not just the Xiao Cheng of the past to them? The Academy had been far more proactive in promoting Xiao Cheng than they were now.

And now, the Academy had also abandoned Xiao Cheng faster than anyone else.

Lin Ji had no intention of slapping his classmates’ faces and even less desire to show off his current achievements. He’d rather use that time to write a good drama.

Lin Ji knew clearly what his foundation was. He would swear by his professional career across two lifetimes that no screenwriter ever built a lasting career by clinging to someone’s thighs.

A screenwriter could certainly use connections to get their name on a show’s credits, but they would know in their heart who the real creative force was. Even if an unknowing crew invited them to write a script, they would be exposed the moment the show aired.

* * *

After finishing the novel, Lin Ji continued to ponder his script.

He had written a complete story arc for the character of Lou Zhi, emphasizing the role the man played in the intelligence war. He wrote the key plot points in detail and added extra nuances to make the character more multi-dimensional and vivid.

He was creating a television drama, not a documentary. He needed to show the softer side of the character, making him more relatable to the audience’s emotions.

“In the summer and autumn of 1937, the flames of the war of resistance spread across the divine land. On November 20, Yuzhou became the wartime capital…”

Lin Ji filled an entire page by hand before slowly moving the text to his laptop. The new drama involved too many details, and the protagonist was a real historical figure. It was much harder to write than Secretly in Love with You. For the latter, the quality depended entirely on his imagination, but for the new drama, he couldn’t just mess with the timeline or the character’s experiences.

Lin Ji would write for a while and then stop to think. Besides Lou Zhi, the script also described other real historical figures. The personalities and actions of these people needed careful research.

He had written God of War Returns Home, Secretly in Love with You, and The Heiress at lightning speed. He originally thought the new drama wouldn’t be slow either, but he wrote and revised, then rewrote and revised again. The time invested had long exceeded his expectations.

Fortunately, the deadline Sunrise TV gave him was the second half of this year. Lin Ji had plenty of preparation time.

As he wrote, he cross-referenced historical materials. He even visited the house where Lou Zhi had lived and the hideouts he used during his undercover days. During the writing process, the face of Lou Zhi often appeared in Lin Ji’s mind. In linking the man to his mission, Lin Ji found himself pouring more emotion into his pen.

In the first episode’s script, Lin Ji spent a massive amount of energy making the image of Lou Zhi three-dimensional. He wanted the audience to capture the character’s essence in the very first moment. From the man to the story, the structure of the entire drama was slowly beginning to stand tall.

NOTES

Financial freedom (财富自由): A common term in China used to describe the point where one’s passive income or savings allow them to live without needing to work.

Counselor (辅导员): In Chinese universities, this role is a mix of an academic advisor, moral guide, and administrative manager for a specific group of students.

Pheasant award (野鸡奖): Slang for illegitimate or low-prestige awards with no industry recognition.

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