I was in my final year of high school, and my deskmate found out I was writing a novel!

Ye Feng ignored Miaomiao's typing and grabbed his car keys to head out. He'd been quite busy lately; adapting a novel wasn't as simple as he'd thought, and there were many things to do.

He could have simply ignored it, but this was his first adapted novel, and he didn't want to mess it up, so he took it very seriously.

Sure enough, someone asked him to take a look at the script again. They wanted to make some major changes, so Tangta had to go and discuss it with them.

The air conditioning in the conference room was a bit chilly. Ye Feng held the printed copy of the script between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the page about the "Assassination on Niulan Street".

The screenwriting team marked the direction of the revision with red annotations: Teng Zijing died on the spot after taking a knife for Fan Xian, instead of being seriously injured and unconscious as in the original work.

"Teacher Ye, please don't worry. We discussed this plan repeatedly for a week before coming up with it."

Old Zhou, the head of the scriptwriting team, pushed a cup of hot coffee over and circled key sentences on the script with his fingertips.

"You see, in the original novel, after Teng Zijing was seriously injured, Fan Xian was angry, but his motivation for investigating the case was more about 'seeking justice for his friend'."

"But if he were to die in front of Fan Xian, the impact of this 'loss' would be completely different."

Ye Feng took a sip of coffee and remained silent.

His mind was filled with scenes from the original novel: the initial idea of ​​setting Teng Zijing as seriously injured was to keep this character in the "Secrets of the Detective Academy" storyline, and he even wrote in his drafts the plot of him going to Northern Qi with Fan Xian after recovering from his injuries.

"But he died, and many of the foreshadowing elements couldn't be connected."

He pointed to the annotations in the script, his tone carrying a hint of insistence.

"For example, the 'list of former members of the Forensic Science Institute' that he knew, as well as his past with Chen Pingping, were key to solving Ye Qingmei's old case later."

Suddenly, Xiao Su, the young screenwriter in charge of the character development, spoke up.

"Teacher Ye, we have actually considered the issue of foreshadowing. What do you think, could we have Teng Zijing write the list on Fan Xian's sleeve before he dies? Or have him say 'find the shadow' as his last words? This would preserve a clue and make his death a 'key' to Fan Xian's investigation, which would have much stronger dramatic tension than having him slowly confess while lying in a hospital bed after being seriously injured."

Old Zhou added.

"We also looked at the reader comments in your book, and nearly 60% of the readers said, 'While it was heartbreaking to see Teng Zijing seriously injured, it felt like it lacked a certain do-or-die spirit.' Some readers even commented that if Teng Zijing had really died, they would have been more empathetic to Fan Xian's later 'madness'—the Fan Xian you wrote was never the kind of person who would risk everything for a 'friend's injury,' but the 'friend's death in battle' would completely shatter his facade of 'Buddhism.'"

Ye Feng unconsciously ran his fingertips along the edge of the script, suddenly remembering what Miaomiao had said before handing over the car.

That day, while going through her drafts, she stared at the passage depicting Teng Zijing's serious injury and whispered, "Even though I know he'll recover, seeing him lying in a pool of blood still leaves me feeling empty. If he were really gone, I might remember this character even more."

"And look at what happens next in the story."

Old Zhou then flipped to the "Poetry Contest in the Palace" section at the back of the script.

"If Teng Zijing were alive, when Fan Xian confronted Emperor Qing in the Golden Palace, he would always think, 'I still have friends to protect, I can't be too impulsive.' But if he were dead, Fan Xian's ruthlessness of 'I have nothing to lose anyway' would be more in line with your description of 'having Ye Qingmei's spirit hidden in his bones.'"

Ye Feng remained silent for a full five minutes, his gaze shifting from the annotations on the script to the view outside the window.

The magnolias on the conference table were in full bloom, much like the scene he described when Teng Zijing made her entrance.

"How do you want him to die?"

Ye Feng looked up at Lao Zhou, his tone less insistent and more serious.

Old Zhou's eyes lit up, and he quickly flipped to the details page of the script.

"We wanted him to throw himself on Fan Xian, blocking the knife aimed at his heart, then look up at Fan Xian and say with a smile, 'My lord, next time we drink, it's on me'—echoing his first conversation with Fan Xian, and making the character's ending more complete."

Xiao Su added: "Moreover, the camera could give a close-up shot, showing his bleeding hand tightly gripping Fan Xian's clothes, with half a rice husk he brought from his hometown still stuck under his fingernails—you wrote in your book that he wanted to go back to his hometown to grow rice after this battle, and this detail can touch the audience's heartstrings."

Ye Feng tapped the two characters "rice husk" lightly with his finger.

He recalled that in the draft, after Teng Zijing was seriously injured, he did mention to Fan Xian, "Once he recovers, I'll take him to my hometown to eat new rice."

If you put this detail into a death scene, it seems to have more "lingering charm" than letting him live.

"OK."

He suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, pushed the script back, and said with a hint of relief in his voice.

"But there's a condition—when he dies, Fan Xian's reaction can't be 'breaking down and crying.' He has to hold it in until everyone leaves, and then he'll face the empty alley, stab the knife into the wall, and his knuckles will turn white."

Old Zhou nodded immediately.

"No problem! That's exactly what we wanted to write—Fan Xian's tears are more powerful than just crying out loud!"

Ye Feng watched as the scriptwriting team immediately surrounded him to revise and annotate, their fingertips still warm from the script paper.

He suddenly realized that adaptation might not be about "blindly adhering to the original work," but rather about preserving the core essence of the characters while allowing them to remain in the audience's hearts in a more vivid way.

Just like Teng Zijing, although he died, his death will forever be a "thorn" in Fan Xian's heart, pushing the character step by step to a broader stage - this seems to be more worthy of the character than his initial idea of ​​"surviving with serious injuries".

As he walked out of the conference room, Lao Zhou caught up with him and handed him a new storyboard.

"Teacher Ye, this is the storyboard we drew based on the 'holding back tears' scene you mentioned. Please take a look at it and let us know if you need any adjustments."

Ye Feng couldn't help but sigh, this company really values ​​him!

However, when Lao Bai contacted him and he mentioned this matter, the other party gave a disdainful sneer.

"What do you mean by 'value'? They value money. You don't actually think they value you because of your talent, do you?"

"What else? They were very nice."

"That's because your book is a hit. Haven't you seen how much discussion there is about your novel adaptations? After all, you became a legend with just one book. Everyone is saying you're a genius. Your second book broke many records on our website."

"What's wrong now?"

"What else? They want to use you for publicity, Feng. Don't let them corrupt you with their sweet talk. Make sure you have a lawyer review everything before signing anything. This is no joke. They're all smiles to you now, but who knows what they might do when it comes to their interests."

Old Bai's words made him realize that Hua Ce's attitude these days had indeed made him a little complacent!

As for the changes to the plot, well, in the end he compromised on them all.

Although he also felt that "compromise" might make the novel better.