Entertainment Era: Starting with Teaching Sister Meng to Sing

The plot reaches a minor climax here.

Zhang Yudan, who was usually timid and submissive, had become firm and made a promise to Miss Lu with tears in his eyes:

"Yes, I will not let you down. Once you leave, I will study hard and pass the imperial examination with flying colors."

"Sixteen years from now, I, Zhang Yudan, will surely come to Hebei in great glory and become a big star to marry you."

Miss Lu's tears flowed uncontrollably: "You must go! Even if I don't remember you by then, you must marry me, even if it means forcing yourself! Do you understand, Fish Ball?"

Nine-petaled golden lotuses rose into the air, their golden light illuminating the two and paving a path to the underworld.

As the sun and moon turned and the stars shifted, Miss Lu, holding Zhang Yudan's hand, leaped off the cliff before her death. It was as if they had passed through a time tunnel. When they opened their eyes again, they were surrounded by numb souls who had no consciousness and only knew how to follow the lights.

A thud was heard, and the two turned around to see that an old woman pulling a cart was blocked by stones.

Having been accustomed to rescuing people for many days, the two instinctively stepped forward and gave the cart a push.

After getting past this hurdle, the old woman turned back and gave the two of them a deep look. The cart was full of soup.

As they walked further and further down the road to the underworld, the two finally reached the gates of hell. Jinlian, who had been guiding Miss Lu, turned into a bowl of seven-colored soup.

Miss Lu picked up her cup, about to drink it all in one gulp, when she was stopped by a cane. Looking up, she saw a very old woman with a stern face staring down at her.

"While we should forget our past lives, it's also worth remembering some of them."

As he spoke, he gently stirred the seven-colored soup with his cane, and a droplet carrying Zhang Yudan's figure was lifted up by the cane and floated in the air.

Miss Lu drank the cup in one gulp and walked straight into the pass.

Zhang Yudan sighed heavily and turned to head home, only to hear the same voice again.

"Sixteen years from now, if you encounter any difficulties, do not forget the well in Lanruo Temple."

......

After the clip of the past life, the comments on the screen became even more numerous, indicating that many more people had clicked on the short film than before.

"This plot is amazing! It's incredibly imaginative. The female lead can be reborn as a human just by the blooming of a nine-petaled golden lotus, and she even drinks half a bowl less of the Meng Po soup. Isn't she guaranteed to have a cheat code start in her next life?"

"The male lead acted so well; he truly brought to life the kind-hearted yet pedantic scholar. Does he have any other dramas worth watching?"

"No, the male lead is a complete newcomer. Otherwise, with such a handsome face, he would have become famous after just one drama. It's impossible for him to remain unknown."

"The female lead is amazing. She plays a young lady from a wealthy family who is always chivalrous. She portrays both her domineering nature and her reserved kindness. Her acting is so much better than when she was in Zhen Huan."

"The other extras were also amazing; they all managed to portray Meng Po's divinity. I wonder how the director of this short film trained them."

"The plot is quite ironic. Miss Lu was always chivalrous and happy to save people, but her death sentence was that she had committed too many killings."

......

Wang Xiaozhou watched as the barrage of comments on the screen began to increase, and nodded to himself in approval.

The strategy of selling outright without discussing revenue sharing proved to be the right one; with profits tied together, the Tencent platform would naturally push traffic.

Otherwise, what's the use of having a high-quality film if the other party doesn't make money? Even if they do make money, they'll have to give you the lion's share. Why should they push the traffic to you?

It's just a short film for practice. Making money isn't the goal. What Wang Xiaozhou wants to achieve is to beat up Xingcan. Besides, the contract with Tencent isn't exclusive. After they've made their first round of money, he can resell it to a few other companies and make all the profit. He won't lose money no matter what.

The story continues, and the screen shifts to sixteen years later.

On a cruise ship, everyone was praising Zhang Yudan for his incorruptibility as an official, and then asking him why he had returned to his hometown.

Zhang Yudan explained that he had a marriage agreement in his hometown, which earned him a lot of praise from his friends and colleagues.

A gust of lake wind blew Zhang Yudan's scholar's cap to the bottom of the lake. When his attendants helped him retrieve the cap, Zhang Yudan stared at his reflection in the lake.

It turned out that he was already a middle-aged or elderly man with a face full of wrinkles.

At this moment, Meng Po's words rang in his ears again: "Sixteen years later, if you encounter any difficulties, do not forget the ancient well in Lanruo Temple."

The camera then zooms out, revealing that beneath the million-dollar special, the lake has turned into well water, and Zhang Yudan is lying by the well, lamenting.

Sixteen years have passed, but you were born while I have grown old. What can I do? What can I do...?

The ancient bricks at the wellhead had weathered and could not withstand Zhang Yudan's hammering. As the red bricks shattered, Zhang Yudan was also pulled into the well by inertia, just as clumsy as he had been in his youth.

Memories flashed through Zhang Yudan's mind as water droplets splashed at him. When he struggled to climb out of the well, he was completely transformed.

The reflection of the person in the ancient well has become Zhang Yudan in his youth.

Lu Family, Xuanhua Town, Hebei Province.

An elderly couple was admonishing their daughter at the door of her bedroom.

"Ying'er, I know that you've always said since you were little that a scholar surnamed Zhang, with whom you were betrothed in your past life, was going to come and marry you. But now that you've reached marriageable age, he still hasn't come."

Sunlight streamed through the paper window, illuminating the girl. Just as stubborn and headstrong as in her past life, the girl spoke:

"This is a promise he made to me in our past life; he will definitely come to marry me."

The elderly couple at the door sighed again: "This Zhang Sheng, he might not even be alive anymore. Besides, even if he were still alive, he'd be about the same age as me..."

The door to the boudoir was suddenly pushed open, and the young girl appeared. Her face was exactly the same as that of Miss Lu from her previous life, and her tone was just as firm:

"I'm determined to marry him. If he doesn't come, I won't marry anyone else!"

Having made Lu's determination clear, Zhang Yudan finally came to visit.

However, because of the ancient well at Lanruo Temple, Zhang Yudan was turned back to his youth, and Miss Lu did not believe that this person was still the Zhang Yudan from his previous life.

Another setback occurred, and in utter despair, Miss Lu hanged herself in her room.

Upon seeing the golden lotus mark on Miss Lu's hand, Zhang Yudan's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Yellow Springs, Yellow Springs!"

Zhang Yudan suddenly thought of a way to find Miss Lu, and ran wildly to the cliff of self-sacrifice, where he jumped without hesitation.

Having experience in escorting Miss Lu to the underworld, Zhang Yudan arrived at the entrance to the underworld with ease. He searched diligently among the dense crowd for Miss Lu, but to no avail.

Looking up unintentionally, Miss Lu was already holding the Meng Po soup.

Zhang Yudan rushed over and finally stopped her before she could drink the soup.

During their struggle, the Meng Po soup was spilled on the ground, enraging the ghosts. Zhang Yudan sensed something was wrong and immediately grabbed Miss Lu and ran away.

In the end, they still resorted to the tactic of forced marriage.

However, Miss Lu's memory had not been restored, and during their struggle, Miss Lu fell into the water.

Despite not being able to swim, Zhang Yudan bravely pulled the unconscious Miss Lu from the water and carried her on his back.

When Miss Lu opened her eyes, she saw the familiar back and finally remembered the scenes when she was a ghost. She reached out and grasped the love knot she had tied earlier.

"Fishball, you're sweating again. You've turned the dirty fishball into a rotten fishball."

The Yellow Springs surged angrily, chasing after the two.

Zhang Yudan's gaze was resolute: "Even if I have to force you into marriage, I will definitely bring you home!"

The waters of the underworld suddenly poured down, and the two closed their eyes in contentment, having no regrets even in death.

But the waves were raging, and the huge waves gently lifted the two of them up, carrying them all the way to the edge of the cliff.

He risked his life at the cliff's edge but survived; on his way to the underworld, he successfully snatched his wife.

The image gradually dimmed, eventually turning into a black screen.

Background music begins.

The movie ends, but the fuse for the explosives has only just been lit.