Submitting a script to Rice Grains Video was something he did a long time ago. If they hadn’t called, Lin Ji would have almost forgotten about it.

He had planned to go over after the filming of Secretly in Love with You had reached a stopping point, but Tian Yao and Wen Qing practically kicked him out.

“With you writing so fast, we’re under a lot of pressure, okay?”

“Hurry up and go, chop chop.”

The longer they worked with Lin Ji, the more deeply the two of them appreciated his screenwriting talent. Occasionally, they felt that the plot of Secretly in Love with You was too simple and straightforward, actually somewhat of a waste of Lin Ji’s abilities.

Although they hadn’t been in the industry long, they had heard plenty about the hidden filth in the circle.

If they hadn’t crossed paths with Lin Ji, he would have remained just an unlucky screenwriter who wrote a massive flop. But after getting familiar with him, and even becoming friends, they eagerly wanted to witness Lin Ji’s early comeback.

At the very least, let Secretly in Love with You beat Love in Summer Night.

Tian Yao also had selfish motives for doing this.

The fact that Secretly in Love with You hired Lin Ji as the screenwriter wasn’t kept secret from anyone. The entire crew knew, and Tian Yao never intended to hide it.

But he hadn’t expected that the moment a whisper of Lin Ji being the screenwriter got out, the internet would mock Secretly in Love with You into the ground.

“This drama has already been sentenced to death in my heart. Are the producer and director really not afraid?”

“What kind of backing does Lin Ji have? Snow in Early May flopped like that and he still gets work? I really feel wronged for Chen Weiming; he quit the circle after just one flop.”

“Ahhhh, just change the name of the crew. Don’t call it Secretly in Love with You, call it Scared to Death by You.”

“…Lin Ji, you have work now, so why are you still tagging @Xiao Cheng every day to frame him? If you’re ugly, at least be kind, okay?”

In short, netizens pronounced the death sentence on Secretly in Love with You early on. Drama critics were even more certain that Secretly in Love with You would inevitably be a massive trash drama surpassing Snow in Early May.

A busybody reporter ran to find Xiao Cheng, asking for his opinion on Lin Ji taking a new drama.

Xiao Cheng put on a magnanimous appearance: “My junior brother and I are from the same school. Of course, I hope he can write a work that satisfies himself. Snow in Early May was just an accident. I believe this new drama will let everyone recognize my junior brother’s strength.”

Xiao Cheng was so generous. In contrast, Lin Ji, who tagged him every day, appeared incredibly petty.

Originally, because Xiao Cheng and the other screenwriters hadn’t responded directly, netizens had some doubts about them. But over time, it made Lin Ji seem too aggressive.

“A famous screenwriter is a famous screenwriter; Lin Ji couldn’t catch up even on a horse.”

“The unluckiest thing in Teacher Xiao’s life is having a junior brother like Lin Ji, right? Whose junior brother acts like this?”

“…Don’t you think the name Secretly in Love with You sounds like a flop? Like You, Deeply in Love with You, Falling for the 72° You, can the crew have a little creativity?”

Tian Yao: “…So angry.”

He was furious, but Lin Ji acted as if nothing had happened, still tapping away on his keyboard. Tian Yao couldn’t suppress his curiosity and went over to take a look. Lin Ji was actually writing a scene that would make people blush and their hearts race.

The key question was, how did he manage to write such heart-pounding plot points with a poker face?

Lin Ji didn’t smile much usually, but Tian Yao and Wen Qing liked to tease him into smiling because when Lin Ji smiled, his eyes were exceptionally bright, as if his whole person suddenly brightened up.

When creating, Lin Ji was intensely focused, giving off a “strangers do not disturb” vibe. But once he smiled, it was like a block of ice melting.

With Tian Yao’s same-sex aesthetic judgment, he felt Lin Ji was better looking than Xiao Cheng.

When Xiao Cheng first entered the circle, he took the “idol screenwriter” route. But as everyone knows, in industries related to text, if the author’s face is one of the selling points, then the quality of their work is inevitably average.

In recent years, Xiao Cheng hadn’t produced any work close to the quality of Love in Summer Night, but his idol baggage had become heavier and heavier. Every time he appeared, he was meticulously groomed, occasionally even “outshining” the male lead.

Tian Yao happened to have seen those trending searches about Xiao Cheng. As a producer, he found it hard to comment.

Xiao Cheng’s creations were concentrated in the idol drama field. As everyone knows, the characteristic of idol dramas is handsome men and beautiful women; the actors must create that unique atmosphere.

If the male lead gets “outshined” by the screenwriter, what is the audience supposed to watch? Might as well watch the screenwriter fall in love with the actress.

Secretly in Love with You could be considered Xiao Cheng’s dominant territory, yet Tian Yao never considered inviting him. He just wanted to honestly make a drama and didn’t want any other nonsense.

…

Tian Yao stared at him for too long, and Lin Ji’s fingers on the keyboard slowly stopped: “It’s fine.”

“What?”

“I mean the drama title,” Lin Ji said in a low voice. “No need to care about what others say.”

Tian Yao: “…”

He was feeling indignant for Lin Ji because of Xiao Cheng’s passive-aggressive remarks, but Lin Ji actually thought he was angry about the drama title.

Tian Yao: “…You just write your script well. Don’t mind me.”

Lin Ji stretched his back: “This scene is finished. I’ll think about the plot.”

Lin Ji’s way of thinking was, wandering from east to west like an old man, then wandering back, taking a stroll around the school playground. After returning, he could sit down and continue writing.

If he had any entertainment personally, it was nothing more than eating snacks and watching dramas, and not the stress-relieving comedies or funny movies. Tian Yao saw once that Lin Ji was catching up on dramas while eating banana chips. Even then, he carried a pen with him, taking notes every so often.

Tian Yao occasionally visited the screenwriting forum and could still see “Big Rooster” replying in different posts.

He really suspected: where did Lin Ji get so much energy?

…

Rice Grains Video was eagerly looking forward to the arrival of Teacher “Big Rooster.”

As everyone knows, in the hierarchy of the entertainment industry: Movies > TV Dramas > Short Dramas. TV Stations > Normal Video Sites > Rice Grains Video. It wasn’t that Rice Grains Video didn’t want to produce long dramas; the platform had already tried several times. Money invested, dramas filmed, not only did they fail to gain more VIP members for the video site, but they also earned Rice Grains Video the title of “Only Produces Trash.”

In an era where resources belonged to TV stations, if Rice Grains Video had absolutely no ambition, there would have been no need to join this mature industry.

Since the long drama route was blocked, Rice Grains Video decided to try short dramas.

But after really starting to execute this plan, Rice Grains Video shockingly discovered that even with money and facilities, there were temporarily no suitable scripts to achieve their ambitions.

The duration of short dramas dictated that the pace must be fast, ideally attracting the audience’s attention immediately. Rice Grains Video originally thought they could receive suitable scripts through open submission, but the event had been running for over a month, and there were very few submitting screenwriters. The quality of the scripts was even more…

The platform had already forgotten the psychological state they were in the moment they received “Big Rooster’s” script.

The pen name “Big Rooster” was truly laughable, and the avatar was also a somewhat goofy-looking rooster. But the moment the reviewer opened the script, it was as if they had opened the door to a new world.

Short dramas can be written like this?

Just reading the dry script made the plot feel interesting. Once filmed, audiences would probably be unable to resist taking a few peeks.

“Coming, coming…”

Rice Grains Video strongly invited “Big Rooster” to meet. Of course, not to see what the Big Rooster looked like, but to sign a long-term contract with him.

Among video sites, Chaoxing TV and Qike Video fought for first and second place. Rice Grains Video ranked third (self-proclaimed). But Chaoxing TV and Qike Video always had good cooperative relationships with TV stations. Rice Grains Video fought alone, year-round being beaten up by the other two together.

Because Rice Grains Video found it hard to access those stunning scripts. Scripts for TV stations were carefully selected, yet they still stumbled occasionally. How much more so for a video site like them with no connections?

Guo Rui was one of the promoters of the Rice Grains Video short drama project. On the day the creators met “Big Rooster,” his car broke down, and he arrived at the company almost two hours late.

After arriving, he couldn’t wait to ask: “How did the talk with the teacher go?”

His colleagues all had expressions like they wanted to speak but stopped.

“Talks collapsed?”

Colleagues shook their heads again.

Seeing everyone like this, Guo Rui was confused: “If it didn’t collapse, then we can cooperate, right?”

“It’s not that we can’t cooperate, but, Big Rooster is Lin Ji.”

Even with Guo Rui’s steady mentality, hearing this news, he couldn’t help but reveal a look of astonishment.

To be honest, Lin Ji’s script was simply too interesting. So much so that before Rice Grains Video had even settled the contract with him, they had already envisioned the future promotion plan.

“So what does the company plan to do?”

Guo Rui didn’t wait too long, because compared to Lin Ji’s personal reputation, the temptation of the script was greater.

Rice Grains Video didn’t even require Lin Ji to follow the crew because Lin Ji had written the scene transitions in great detail. The remaining work just needed the director to complete it.

Lin Ji completely didn’t expect Rice Grains Video to be in such a hurry. Just after he finished discussing the cooperation with them, their short drama project actually started filming.

So Lin Ji allocated a bit of energy from the Secretly in Love with You crew to the God of War Returns Home crew every day. Rice Grains Video’s attitude was that if the reaction to the short drama was good, they could even film 100 episodes.

Lin Ji: “…Badass.”

In fact, Lin Ji didn’t understand the current status of Rice Grains Video.

Since the website was established, not a single original project of Rice Grains Video had achieved the platform’s expectations. Even if the platform imitated Chaoxing TV and Qike Video by buying copyrights from TV stations, the TV stations usually only sold worthless programs to Rice Grains Video.

Rice Grains Video was desperate to produce a project recognized by the audience, even if it was the last project before the platform went bankrupt.

Actually, it wasn’t that Rice Grains Video hadn’t considered closing down. But even if they closed, the platform hoped to leave a tiny bit of hope for the audience.

Although the start of the God of War Returns Home crew was rushed, the crew completed everything on Lin Ji’s script meticulously. Although it was just a short drama project, the crew filmed it with the mindset of making a long drama.

The first episode of the short drama was finished very quickly and went online on Rice Grains Video at maximum speed.

Translator’s Note: The “God of War” trope is finally entering the chat! For context, these are usually hyper-melodramatic shorts where a supreme general returns to find his family abused, leading to instant face-slapping. It’s the junk food of Chinese webnovels, and Lin Ji is about to serve it Michelin-star style. 

Enjoy, and drop feedback, it sharpens my translations.