Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 148 Appearance Anxiety
Actually, Zhang Yimou's appearance really ruined the atmosphere on set.

After he left, Yu Hua was clearly distracted, constantly thinking about the novel adaptation—of course, what he cared about most was how much money he could get.

The majority of the writers were actually introverted, especially those who weren't very famous, so although quite a few guests came, the event wasn't very lively.

Especially at night when the temperature drops sharply, the 9-square-meter rented room can't hold many people, and in the freezing cold, many people disperse.

Only the young and resilient ones remained, along with those who had come from out of town and had nowhere to stay, gathering around the large pot of boiling dumplings to warm themselves and chat.

However, this also has its advantages. With fewer social engagements, Yu Hua can finally sit down and rest.

main entrance.

"I always said we should move to a bigger yard."

Zhang Yan, wrapped in his coat, said while arranging his cards, "Let's make a bonfire in the yard, roast something simple, it'll create a nice atmosphere and keep us warm—it's my turn, a pair of 7s."

"No matter how beautiful the road is, you still have to face reality when you get home." Yu Hua said, then suddenly slapped his thigh and said in frustration, "That's what I was thinking, but who knew Zhang Yimou would come knocking on my door? If I had known earlier... 5 of Clubs."

As he spoke, he looked at Mo Yan hopefully: "How much do you think he can offer?"

“It’s going to be at least five figures, right?” Mo Yan said, shrinking his neck. “Besides, your book is too tragic and has a lot of content. I estimate that a lot of parts need to be revised. We can’t do this for free; we have to get the production team to pay us more.”

"Little Mao~"

Su Tong tossed out a small joker and said, "Actually, even after we finish revising it, they still need to find a professional screenwriter to revise it—writing novels and screenwriting are not the same thing. You haven't been exposed to the ins and outs, and sometimes what you write just doesn't feel right no matter how they film it."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Yan across from him: "Zhang Yan should have no problem with this. You've worked as a producer before, so you must be familiar with the ins and outs of the business."

"Sigh, I'm just a hands-off manager."

Seeing that no one else was playing their cards, Zhang Yan quickly picked up 15 points and said to Yu Hua, "Actually, adapting a script is simple. Just reduce the amount of psychological activity and increase sensory stimulation—preferably from a third-party perspective."

Then there's the dialogue. It needs to be revised to be more conversational. Those classic lines of dialogue should ideally be translated into spoken lines as well. If that's not possible, at least amplify the emotional fluctuations. Otherwise, if you make it too detailed and complicated, the actors won't be able to act it out..."

His real experience comes from shooting music videos recently. Although music videos are very different from real films and TV dramas, the general framework can still be used as a reference.

After listening to his long-winded explanation, Yu Hua said with a headache, "According to you, then my book will have to undergo a major revision? I've been working on these 70,000 words for a whole year, and now you want me to revise them again... wait, make sure it's three 8s!"

"It makes money, it's not shabby."

As they were talking, a few more people staggered out of the alley. Leading them was Wang Shuo, next to him was Ma Weidu, and there were two others Zhang Yan didn't recognize. Judging from their appearance, they had obviously come after drinking heavily.

"Hey guys, you're pretty late today."

Yu Hua hurriedly got up to greet him. Because of Mo Yan, he knew Wang Shuo, but he had not joined Wang Shuo's inner circle.

Wang Shuo and Ma Wei came yesterday. They had agreed to come again this afternoon, but they were delayed until so late.

"Sigh, he was tripped up by a bunch of bastards during the day. Our Master Ma almost had his face blown off with a brick because he picked up an old object."

"Say something nice!"

Ma Weidu said indignantly, "This has always been the rule in the antique trade. How can you expect to be held accountable after being fooled on the spot?"

At this moment, Wang Shuo saw Zhang Yan behind Yu Hua, and immediately exclaimed "Oh my!" He leaned closer to Zhang Yan and examined him carefully for a moment. He then turned to Ma Weidu and winked, saying, "I was so damn handsome when I was young!"

The people present were all intelligent and immediately realized that he was making fun of Zhang Yan's nickname "Little Wang Shuo".

"Pooh!"

Ma Wei quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "You should take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror first—Zhang Yan, don't take him seriously, he's just a dog who can't say anything nice."

"Understandable."

Zhang Yan shrugged and said, "People with appearance anxiety are like this; they always fantasize about being reborn and becoming a better version of themselves—but that's usually something women do." Hearing Zhang Yan mock him for having appearance anxiety and say that his behavior was like a woman's, Wang Shuo immediately felt embarrassed.

Just as he was about to argue with Zhang Yan, Ma Weidu and Mo Yan grabbed him from both sides and dragged him into the rented room.

Yu Hua followed to the door but didn't go in. Instead, she turned back and pulled Zhang Yan aside, whispering to comfort him, "This guy has always been a loose tongue, so don't take it to heart."

"It's okay, I didn't suffer any loss."

Zhang Yan shrugged indifferently, but he felt increasingly annoyed by the nickname "Little Wang Shuo"—but there was nothing he could do about it; it was given to him by the media, not something he had willingly put on himself, and he couldn't get rid of it anytime soon.

At this moment, Chen Hong came out of the house, took Zhang Yan's arm, and asked with concern, "Honey, did you have a conflict with Wang Shuo? I saw him..."

"Just kidding, he was the one who started it."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he raised his hand to check the time and saw that it was already past nine o'clock. He then said to Chen Hong, "Let's go. I'll take you to a nearby hotel to get a room first, and then wake you up at five in the morning."

Zhang Yan will definitely stay here all night, but Chen Hong doesn't need to. Besides, with her there, those who are shy won't feel comfortable staying in the room.

We arrived at the hotel.

Zhang Yan thought that if he went back now, he would still have to deal with Wang Shuo. He wasn't afraid of arguing with him, but this was, after all, Yu Hua's big day.

So he simply rolled around in bed with Chen Hong twice, and didn't return to Yu Hua's rented room until 11:30.

As expected, Wang Shuo has already left.

But Ma Wei stayed behind. As soon as he saw Zhang Yan, he laughed and said, "What kind of crap is your 'Mutterings'? It looks a bit like futuristic science fiction, but it's also very mystical—and many parts are incoherent, like a string of riddles."

"You've seen it?"

Zhang Yan said in surprise, "I just had a strange dream and wanted to write it down, but I couldn't remember the specifics, so I just wrote it down haphazardly and then sent it to the magazine."

"I said so."

Ma Wei suddenly realized and sighed, "It's only because you're a pillar of Tianjin literature that this novel could be published. If it were someone else, it definitely wouldn't have been published. But that 'The Growth Story of a Chinese Godfather' that you and Feng Xiaogang promoted is quite interesting. Even if it can't be made into a TV series, it can be written as a novel."

"Let's talk about it when we have a chance."

Zhang Yan gave a perfunctory reply, mainly because he wasn't that interested in selling books anymore. He figured that a year or two of hard work wouldn't earn him as much as a couple of weeks of commercial performances.

Ultimately, he wasn't really someone with artistic aspirations; he wrote books simply to gain fame and fortune.

…………

The next morning, Zhang Yan first arranged for someone to pick up Shi Tiesheng and his wife, and then personally drove Yu Hua to pick up the bride.

When the Crown led the way and six cars parked in front of the rental house, there was indeed a sense of disillusionment, like stepping from a dream into reality.

But the bride didn't care about any of that. When Yu Hua carried her out of the car, her radiant smile pierced through her red veil.

Chen Hong watched this scene with envy. After seeing the bride enter the door, she couldn't help but lean close to Zhang Yan's ear and ask, "When are you going to marry me?"

"Anytime is fine!"

Zhang Yan's answer was unambiguous. He wrapped his arms around her waist and said, "Let's buy that courtyard next to the Second Ring Road, tear it all down, and build a villa as our new house, okay?"

On the surface, they agreed very readily, but in reality, the demolition and construction were delayed for two years.

Chen Hong could tell from his expression, but she was already quite satisfied with Zhang Yan's affirmative answer and didn't mind waiting another year or two.

(End of this chapter)