Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 552 Returns to "Sharing the Stage with Frost"

After watching "Infernal Affairs" with Jiang Xiaoshuang, Cao Sheng took out his phone to check the time when they came out of the cinema. It was already past 12 o'clock.

"Are you hungry? Want to grab some late-night snacks?"

As he walked toward the car, Cao Sheng asked with a smile.

Jiang Xiaoshuang nodded and smiled, "Hmm, I'm actually a little hungry. What would you like to eat?"

Cao Sheng: "Let's go check out the night market!"

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "Okay!"

About half an hour later.

The two sat in a clay pot rice noodle shop in the night market and each ordered a bowl. Just as they passed by the shop, Jiang Xiaoshuang suddenly suggested eating this.

I must say, the clay pot rice noodles are really delicious.

The taste of rice noodles, kelp, lettuce, quail eggs, etc., cooked together is really delicious.

Cao Sheng hadn't eaten this stuff in a long time, and when he suddenly got to eat it again, he found it quite delicious.

While they were eating, Jiang Xiaoshuang suddenly asked, "Do you have any time lately?"

Cao Sheng looked up at her. "Is something the matter?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "I'd like to invite you to be on my show again. Would you consider it?"

Cao Sheng was a little surprised. "What do you want to ask? Just ask directly. Why do I have to go on your show to say it?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang smiled and said, "How can this be the same? Infernal Affairs is so popular right now. Not only do I have a lot of questions to ask you, but I believe many viewers also have questions. If you come on my show again, you can also help boost my show's ratings! How about it? Give me some face?"

Cao Sheng looked up at her again.

Recently, Wang Jing called him several times to convey the intentions of several domestic TV stations and newspapers to conduct exclusive interviews with him.

He didn't agree to any of them.

Firstly, the pressure of updating my two novels recently has been immense.

Only three chapters remain in the manuscript for "Cultivation Chat Group".

Only eight chapters remain of the manuscript for "The Romance of Chinese Martial Arts".

Years of writing experience have taught him that once all the drafts are used up, every update will have to be written from scratch, which will put a lot of pressure on him.

Moreover, the quality of new chapters will fluctuate. When you are in a good writing state, the quality of new chapters can be guaranteed, but no writer can always be in a good state. Just like women have a few days every month, writers also have a few days every month when their writing state is not good.

If you have a stockpile of chapters, you can write less when you're not in a good writing mood, and the quality of the chapters can still be guaranteed.

However, if there are no drafts saved up, or if one is not in good condition, the quality of new chapters will inevitably decline under the pressure of maintaining stable updates.

Therefore, he has refused to be interviewed by any media outlet recently.

I just wanted to preserve the few remaining drafts I had.

I also want to have as many drafts as possible saved up.

but……

Jiang Xiaoshuang's relationship with him was different after all.

She rarely asked him for anything.

And she just spoke.

"Okay! Once you've arranged the date and time for the recording, just call and let me know."

Cao Sheng hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

Jiang Xiaoshuang smiled and took two quail eggs from her own bowl and put them into Cao Sheng's casserole. She had noticed earlier that he seemed to really like quail eggs.

"Okay! Thanks!"

Cao Sheng: "Just thank me verbally?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang glanced sideways, lowered her voice, and said, "What's wrong with thanking me verbally? Don't you want me to thank you verbally?"

Ok?
Cao Sheng looked up at her again, and she winked at him with her left eye, her gaze ambiguous.

Cao Sheng wanted to laugh.

She thought to herself: She's gone bad too.

"Is this what you said?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang chuckled, "Eat quickly! It's getting late."

After finishing their meal, she went with him to his villa.

Perhaps to repay him for being willing to appear on her show again, or perhaps she was simply in the mood, she became very proactive once they entered the bedroom, going to great lengths to fulfill her promise.

……

three days later.

It's around 2 p.m.

Cao Sheng arrived at a studio of Huizhou TV station and sat on the stage with Jiang Xiaoshuang to record a new episode of "On Stage with Frost".

The two seats are arranged in a V-shape, so they can see each other by turning their heads slightly. When they don't turn their heads, they are facing the audience below the stage.

There were over a hundred audience members in the stands, most of whom were young people in their twenties and thirties.

on the stage.

Jiang Xiaoshuang, dressed in simple jeans and a white T-shirt, held a cue card in her left hand and a microphone in her right, smiling as she began the first topic.

"Cao Sheng! What made you return to the program 'Sharing the Stage with Frost'?"

In full view.

Cao Sheng smiled and asked in return, "Didn't you invite me here?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang was stunned. After a brief silence of two or three seconds, the audience burst into laughter.

Jiang Xiaoshuang snapped out of her daze, glanced at Cao Sheng, and wiped her forehead, looking somewhat embarrassed. "You... how could you betray me? We're old classmates! How can you do this... where do I put my face?"

The laughter that had just subsided from the audience started again.

Once the laughter subsided a bit, Cao Sheng said, "My mistake? I didn't follow the script, did I? Then ask me again! I'll answer again!"

Snickers came from the audience.

With a broad smile, Jiang Xiaoshuang actually repeated the question she had just asked.

Then, everyone looked at Cao Sheng, waiting for his answer.

Cao Sheng cooperated, his expression turning serious as he smiled and said, "Of course it's because your show is so special, I really like it! I've been looking forward to being on your show again for ages..."

Before he finished speaking, laughter erupted in the studio.

Jiang Xiaoshuang tried several times to hold back her laughter, but she couldn't help it. She subconsciously lowered her head and raised her hand to her forehead, but she still laughed so hard that her shoulders shrugged.

Just laugh.

Her eyes flickered, and she glanced sideways at Cao Sheng. "Alright! I believe you. So, the next question is, under what circumstances did you get the inspiration to write the script for 'Infernal Affairs'?"

Everyone fell silent, waiting for Cao Sheng's answer.

Cao Sheng: "What if you're short of money?"

"Ha ha……"

The studio, which had just quieted down for a few seconds, erupted in laughter again.

Jiang Xiaoshuang's lips curled up repeatedly as she glared at Cao Sheng. Once the laughter in the studio subsided a bit, she spoke up: "Can't you be serious for once? This is a very serious interview program! Not a comedy show, so please tone it down!"

Everyone laughed again.

Cao Sheng: "Okay! Then I'll give you a different answer. One late night, I suddenly remembered the movie 'Face/Off' directed by John Woo that I had seen before. When I watched that movie, I was amazed by its creativity. In the movie, the protagonist and the villain swapped faces. After the swap, the protagonist lived with the villain's face, while the villain committed evil deeds with the protagonist's face. The protagonist had to stop the villain while wearing the villain's face and also find a way to expose the villain's identity!"

I think this setting is very interesting.

But while watching this movie, I always felt there were some problems. For example, although the male lead and the main villain had their faces swapped, their height, build, voice, eyes, and other characteristics would still be different even after the face swap. How could the villain possibly convince everyone that he was the male lead just because he had a different face?

When Cao Sheng said these words, Jiang Xiaoshuang and the audience were very quiet, and everyone listened with great interest.

However, upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoshuang couldn't help but ask, "And then you thought of the inspiration for 'Infernal Affairs'?"

Cao Sheng smiled and nodded, "Yes! I think it's theoretically impossible to replace someone's identity just by changing their face, and it's also impossible to do in reality. But what if we directly swap identities? For example, the male protagonist goes to live in the gang where the villain lives? And the villain sends someone to infiltrate the police force where the protagonist works? If the identities of the police and criminals are switched, wouldn't it be much more covert? The success rate in actual operation would also be much higher?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang nodded and pressed, "And then you thought of the story of 'Infernal Affairs'?"

Cao Sheng shook his head, "It's not that simple! What I just said was just an idea. There's still a lot of work to be done to turn an idea into a good story."

"for example?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang asked curiously.

The audience members also looked on with curiosity.

Most people have never written a screenplay or a novel, but as long as they have gone to school, they can all write essays and have more or less fantasized about becoming a writer.

Cao Sheng is not only the highest-paid screenwriter in the Chinese film industry, but also the best-selling online novelist. How does he usually write stories?

This is something many people want to know.

Cao Sheng: "Everyone has their own personal habits when writing stories. My habit is to first outline a main storyline in my mind, and then, based on this main storyline, I will conceive of what kind of supporting characters I need to arrange. Then, I will gradually enrich the details of the whole story. Just like when a painter paints bamboo, does he usually start by painting the main trunk of the bamboo?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang nodded repeatedly, "I see. So you think writing novels and screenplays is similar to a painter creating a painting?"

Cao Sheng nodded, "Art is basically all interconnected, at least that's what I think."

Jiang Xiaoshuang nodded with a smile, glanced at the cue card in her hand, and asked, "The third question: Did you choose the two main actors of 'Infernal Affairs'—Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau?"

Cao Sheng shook his head. "No! I'm just a screenwriter. I write the script, but the movie... in my opinion, is the director's work and should be created by the director. So, I generally don't interfere with the director's casting. It's like painting; can you tell the painter what kind of brush, ink, or paint to use?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "So... are you satisfied with the final product of the movie 'Infernal Affairs'? By the way, have you seen the movie?"

Cao Sheng looked at her and thought: You don't know whether I've seen this movie or not? Didn't we go see it together?
"Yes, I've read it once."

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "Are you satisfied?"

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "I'm very satisfied! I believe the audience is also satisfied, otherwise the box office figures in both mainland China and Hong Kong wouldn't be as high as they are now."

Jiang Xiaoshuang nodded. "Yes! That makes sense. Next question: Why did you give the script for 'Infernal Affairs' to a Hong Kong company, director, and actors? Why didn't you let mainland directors and actors direct it?"

Cao Sheng looked at her.

I was speechless for a moment.

The audience was waiting for Cao Sheng's answer, but when they saw him staring at Jiang Xiaoshuang speechlessly for a long time without replying, they gradually realized what was going on and began to chuckle.

Jiang Xiaoshuang glanced at the audience, then looked at Cao Sheng, "You don't want to answer this question?"

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "Look, the audience is laughing. Can you guess why they're laughing?"

Before he finished speaking, the audience burst into laughter. Some audience members who hadn't quite grasped the joke at first also caught the punchline amidst the laughter, and almost everyone in the audience was laughing out loud.

Jiang Xiaoshuang looked embarrassed.

He raised his hand to wipe his forehead, glanced awkwardly at the audience, then at Cao Sheng, until the laughter finally subsided.

She persisted, asking, "Why don't you answer my question from earlier? Answer it however you like, okay, old classmate?"

Laughter erupted from the audience again.

Cao Sheng felt both helpless and somewhat amused.

Looking at Jiang Xiaoshuang, he gave his answer after a moment, "Police and gangster films are something that Hong Kong directors and actors excel at. As for the mainland? In my memory, we have some good police and gangster dramas, but it seems we don't have any directors who are very good at making police and gangster films. Are you satisfied with this answer?"

There are some things he cannot say on this stage.

For example, some film themes can be made in Hong Kong but not in mainland China. "Infernal Affairs" is one such example. Mainland films generally do not allow police officers with less-than-positive images. How could they allow a villain to infiltrate the police force? And how could they allow the male protagonist, who is a police officer, to die at the hands of the villain at the end of the film?
As a writer, Cao Sheng is actually quite satisfied with the current creative environment.

because……

As a reborn individual, he was well aware that similar rules to those in the original timeline would become increasingly common.

Not only should police officers not be depicted negatively in works of art.

At the strictest level, officials at the county level and above were not allowed to have a negative image.

There are also many professions where a negative image is unacceptable.

If you write about a heartless doctor, readers who are doctors themselves will target your book and report you.

If you write about a morally corrupt teacher, readers who are teachers themselves will report your book.

……

Later, they couldn't even write down the real place names anymore.

If you write the real place name, someone will report you for smearing this place.

and many more.

There are more and more things I can't write about.

Therefore, by comparison, Cao Sheng is quite satisfied with the current creative environment.

……

a few days later.

Saturday night at 9:30 pm.

The latest episode of "Sharing the Stage with Frost" aired on Huizhou TV.

Many people in Huizhou, and even throughout Anhui Province, are watching this program, most of whom are long-time viewers.

Some new viewers, while changing channels, inadvertently caught a glimpse of Cao Sheng on stage, which piqued their curiosity, and they subconsciously stared at the conversation between Jiang Xiaoshuang and Cao Sheng on the TV.

Especially at the beginning of the program, Cao Sheng's answers made many viewers in front of the TV laugh.

I find Cao Sheng very interesting.

The county town where Cao Sheng is from.

At this very moment, some of Cao Sheng's acquaintances are also watching this episode.

(End of this chapter)