Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

Xia Mo and Qin Leilei: “…”

No, is this person sick?

They knew better than anyone that their view counts were trash; did he have to specifically point it out?

As for social responsibility, Silken Tresses and A Lifetime of Peace… indeed had none.

No, seriously, what’s wrong with him? Why must he look for social responsibility in historical idol dramas? Wouldn’t it be better to look for it in serious dramas?

“I’m about to die of laughter because of Lin Ji.”

“Berserker Little Lin fighting the scholars with his tongue alone. Come at me, I’m not afraid.”

“@Screenwriter Qin Leilei @Screenwriter Xia Mo, did you hear that? Our Brother Lin is calling you two to speak up!”

Qin Leilei and Xia Mo knew perfectly well that Lin Ji was squeezing them, but they couldn’t do a thing about it.

Don’t look at how they kept mouthing off about social responsibility; as long as a drama had heat, they would guarantee to be even more rampant than Lin Ji.

Unfortunately, Silken Tresses and A Lifetime of Peace were both projects the platforms were optimistic about, yet they lost to the worthless God of War Returns Home.

At the end of the day, screenwriters had to speak through their works. If the data of the works wasn’t good, their backs couldn’t straighten up.

Qin Leilei smartly chose to stay silent, but the two of them seemingly forgot that Lin Ji was a true repeater machine—starting from the next day, besides @Xiao Cheng and the screenwriters of Snow in Early May, Lin Ji also started @Qin Leilei and Xia Mo every day.

“Added to the Little Lin Grudge Combo Meal.”

“The number of times Little Lin @Xiao Cheng is more than the number of times I’ve read ‘abandon’ in my vocab list.”

“Hahahaha, Fun-Guy Screenwriter Lin, the drama outside the show is livelier than inside.”

Lin Ji’s response made that famous screenwriter furious. He wrote three articles criticizing Lin Ji in his column in a row, the wording countless times harsher than the first.

“This week is the National Film Academy’s 90th Anniversary Celebration. I have no intention of starting a war of words. Just as an alumnus, I only wish for the younger generation of screenwriters to have self-respect and self-love, keep the school motto in mind, and not lose themselves in the field of fame and fortune.”

This person showed no mercy when scolding Lin Ji, but by adding this sentence at the end, he raised the tone significantly. In the eyes of some netizens, the insults became “earnest teachings” to a junior, making Lin Ji look somewhat unforgiving in contrast.

“That’s why he could be invited by the National Film Academy.”

“Personally, I feel Lin Ji is indeed a bit inflated. The view count for God of War Returns Home is good, but it has nothing to do with the word ‘classic.'”

Regarding the other party’s “teachings,” Lin Ji didn’t respond for a long time.

His Weibo was silent for a whole day. During this time, the trending search list was full of news about the National Film Academy celebration.

In the ninety years since its founding, the National Film Academy had supplied a large number of A-list actors and screenwriters to the film and television industry. There were so many stars on the trending list that netizens couldn’t keep up. Several well-known screenwriters also made headlines, including Xiao Cheng.

That famous screenwriter specifically took a photo with Xiao Cheng and praised him in an interview for being “neither arrogant nor impetuous”: “Screenwriters coming out of our National Film Academy should have such bearing and quality.”

Regardless of anything else, being invited to participate in the National Film Academy celebration was a symbol of status within the circle. Xiao Cheng could appear on this occasion, but Lin Ji couldn’t. This was enough to prove the gap in status between the two.

During a break in filming Secretly in Love with You that day, Tian Yao and Wen Qing glanced at Lin Ji’s face. Lin Ji had just been lectured (online), yet his expression was calm and flat, showing not a trace of anger.

Netizens hadn’t come into contact with Lin Ji and thought he was the type of character who would fly into a rage when provoked. Lin Ji indeed acted quite arrogantly online, but the reality was that Lin Ji’s personality was calmer than that of the average person. This made Tian Yao feel a strong sense of disconnect.

At least with God of War Returns Home exploding in popularity, Lin Ji himself wasn’t smug.

The heat of God of War Returns Home grew day by day. As the screenwriter, Lin Ji also received quite a few invitations. Compared to his current popularity, the screenwriting fee Secretly in Love with You gave him wasn’t high, but Lin Ji never mentioned raising the price.

In the screenwriting industry, examples of demanding a price increase halfway through filming were not uncommon.

For the whole day, Lin Ji quietly typed away. Tian Yao scrolled through Weibo; Xiao Cheng had taken photos with many celebrities at the celebration, and many National Film Academy graduates specifically sought him out for photos. Tian Yao roughly scrolled through a few and saw several comments saying that quite a few of those graduates were Lin Ji’s classmates.

“What kind of character Lin Ji and Xiao Cheng have, you can tell just by looking at this.”

“Not all lack of manners can be called straightforwardness, thank you.”

“Is Lin Ji deserted by his friends and family?”

Let alone Lin Ji, the party involved—even Tian Yao, who hadn’t personally experienced the scene of Xiao Cheng dumping the blame on Lin Ji, was angered by these sarcastic remarks.

He had been a screenwriter, so he understood the operating rules of this circle very well.

This circle didn’t have so-called good people or bad people, only the most naked interests.

However, Tian Yao was also clear that too many big shots went to the National Film Academy celebration. Even if just to let the celebration pass smoothly, the Academy wouldn’t allow Xiao Cheng’s dark history to spread freely.

The other party was, after all, an invited guest.

Just as he was about to say a few words for Lin Ji, Tian Yao was suddenly kicked by Wen Qing.

After a day’s filming wrapped up, Tian Yao silently counted down in his heart—given Lin Ji’s super high efficiency and script quality, the filming progress of Secretly in Love with You was much faster than Tian Yao had planned.

This saved not only time but also, more importantly, money.

Wen Qing’s kick made the words Tian Yao had brewed burst like bubbles. He couldn’t help but glance at Wen Qing resentfully, but the other party took his phone and switched the interface. Tian Yao looked—it was Lin Ji’s Weibo homepage.

Lin Ji had just updated a post. It was very long, but the title caught Tian Yao’s attention immediately—What is the Creative Direction of a Screenwriter.

Wen Qing remarked, “It’s written very well.”

The two were walking on the road at this moment. Tian Yao squatted by the roadside with zero image and started reading Lin Ji’s article.

Just reading the first paragraph, Tian Yao couldn’t help slapping his thigh.

That famous screenwriter had sprayed Lin Ji indiscriminately, but in Tian Yao’s view, the other party’s four whole long articles weren’t as shocking as this single article from Lin Ji.

Throughout the entire article, Lin Ji never strayed from the word “audience.”

“Just because what the audience likes isn’t high art in the eyes of some industry insiders, do they not deserve to like it?

“Why not excavate the subjects the audience likes instead of putting the criticism of the audience’s taste in the first place?

“Art is not just Spring Snow; being able to enrich the audience’s spiritual world is in itself fulfilling a social responsibility.”

Lin Ji took stock of outstanding works of various genres, from the era of black and white silent films to works loved by people of all countries and eras. Sci-fi, comedy, absurdist, horror, romance… These works might have been attacked or might have exploded overnight; their existence itself had reasons for longevity.

Lin Ji had watched countless films and had sufficient screenwriting experience himself. In theory, he considered himself second to none. Combining his own experience with his understanding of the works, he unknowingly wrote more and more.

This was almost a summary of “good works” from his entire screenwriting career.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept the criticism from that senior screenwriter. But in Lin Ji’s view, since it was a call to arms, it should be written with an impassioned spirit that makes one’s blood boil, not a piece of text with insufficient logic, padded with self-righteous delusions detached from the front lines of screenwriting.

In this article, Lin Ji added the reality he had experienced and seen as a screenwriter.

“Five thousand yuan per episode can buy out a screenwriter’s heart and blood.

“We entered this industry with dreams, fantasizing about turning our flat text into three-dimensional images. No one is willing to manufacture trash that deserves to be mocked.”

Lin Ji had already broken away from the scope of five thousand yuan per episode. God of War Returns Home had gained him sufficient benefits. After the number of episodes increased, Rice Grains Video was even more generous. But when typing out this article, Lin Ji thought of the original host’s experience, thought of the high-and-mighty attitude of those not on the front lines of creation.

* * *

Lin Ji’s daily routine wasn’t spraying people. His Weibo didn’t have a single long article, nor was there any so-called column. He chose such a big title as What is the Creative Direction of a Screenwriter; netizens who just clicked in had thoughts of mocking him. But after finishing his article, netizens couldn’t utter a single mocking word.

Lin Ji’s long article didn’t mention the school motto, didn’t have earnest teachings for peers, but it was full of the simplest words of a frontline screenwriter.

This wasn’t an article that made people float in the air after reading; it was heavy and down-to-earth, rekindling enthusiasm for creation.

The readership of that famous screenwriter’s column wasn’t low, and the articles written seemed to have substance—provided there was no comparison.

As fellow screenwriters, in terms of logical consistency of creation, understanding of the screenwriting industry, and even fluency in writing, Lin Ji was superior.

Even without looking at the author’s name, Lin Ji’s piece looked more like it came from the hand of an experienced old screenwriter; every word and sentence struck the hearts of screenwriters.

When Lin Ji posted this long article, many netizens thought he was looking for fun again. But after this article was released, netizens fell silent.

This article was simply too heavy and too steady. It didn’t mention so-called “social responsibility,” yet every word screamed the responsibility of a screenwriter.

It was hard to imagine it came from the screenwriter of God of War Returns Home.

In the previous episode of God of War Returns Home, the protagonist’s enemies were still carrying pigs to pay off debts.

“This peer is tearing up. Laughing and crying out loud at the same time.”

“Actually, I’m very grateful to Lin Ji. After he opened up the new world of short dramas, I finally got a new job, hahaha! The money still isn’t much, but I can persist a little longer.”

“This is the best gift for the National Film Academy anniversary in my heart, though no one cares.”

“It doesn’t matter. The audience cares.”

* * *

National Film Academy Grand Auditorium.

The anniversary celebration was the most solemn event held by the National Film Academy in the last ten years. After the long song and dance performances ended, on the rostrum, the big shots took their seats one by one.

Seeing the figures that could usually only be seen on the news, Xiao Cheng was exceptionally excited.

The slight unhappiness caused by Lin Ji had long been thrown to the nine heavens. He was at the National Film Academy’s anniversary celebration, holding a seat in the guest section. Although it was a very back-row seat, this was a place Lin Ji might never reach in his lifetime.

Moreover, he had just met many outstanding alumni through this platform. As long as he operated well, his career could still reach the peak again.

He silently calculated in his heart: by then, he would still focus on long dramas, but he would also take a slice of the pie from short dramas. Even if Lin Ji only deserved to write that trash, Lin Ji shouldn’t be so smug.

Thinking of this, Xiao Cheng’s attention was inevitably somewhat scattered. Just then, he noticed that the expression of the person next to him was more serious than before, sitting even straighter. He looked ahead—sure enough, the big shot in the middle of the rostrum was speaking.

The person was a famous figure in the cultural circle, frequently appearing on news channels in recent years.

This was the closest Xiao Cheng had ever been to a big shot.

Xiao Cheng concentrated. That big shot spoke into the microphone, “Originally, I prepared a speech, but I saw an article better than my speech draft. This article comes from Lin Ji, a graduate of the Class of XX from the National Film Academy. Now, I will share it with everyone.”

A low murmur of discussion arose in the auditorium.

The moment he heard the name Lin Ji, Xiao Cheng only felt a buzzing in his ears. He could no longer hear clearly what the article was about.

When he finally sobered up, thinking the other party had only encountered this article by chance, he heard the big shot ask, “Among everyone present, there shouldn’t be anyone who makes someone write an episode of a script for five thousand yuan, right?”

The moment the voice fell, Xiao Cheng only felt that the auditorium, which originally had good air circulation, became incredibly stifling in an instant, so stuffy it made one breathless.

Whether it was his illusion or not, at this moment, gazes from all directions seemed to be locked on him, mocking him.

“I hope everyone present isn’t like this. Back then, even I wrote an episode for more than this price, and that was decades ago.”

The big shot’s words triggered a burst of laughter, but Xiao Cheng listened with his whole body burning, wanting nothing more than to flee this auditorium as soon as possible.

NOTES

Abandon: A joke about vocabulary books starting with the letter “A” and the first word being “abandon,” leading many students to give up (abandon) right at the start.

Spring Snow / Yangchun Baixue: Metaphor for highbrow, elite art or literature.

Carrying pigs: A specific, absurd punishment/humiliation trope often found in slapstick comedy or light novels.

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