Uneasy daily life

"I think the script is terrible."

Bai Ying took a deep breath and exclaimed in a booming voice, "There's a kind of 'hot-blooded passion' that transforms into a burst of rottenness from your buttocks! There's a kind of 'singing loudly' that leads to a misstep and a 'fall' that results in a pile of rottenness! There's a kind of 'hero' that diligently trains to become the strongest fighter, battles the Demon King to the point of exhaustion, and is about to kill the Demon King when the Demon King suddenly pulls out a weapon and cuts the hero in half! There's a kind of 'winter is coming, winter is not far away' that results in rottenness!"

Sakurajima Mai asked with some surprise, "Why is the hater so agitated?"

Feng Bin and Hua nodded and said, "Mmm."

Bai Ying asked, "Haven't you seen the DVDs that bad movie directors give you to reference for roles?"

"Not yet, I've been a bit busy lately."

"Once you finish reading this, you'll be just like me."

Mai Sakurajima hesitated and said, "I've seen director Nian's movies before, it can't be that bad, right?"

Bai Ying smiled faintly and said, "In the story you're reading, you'll be playing the role—seeing people eat excrement, taking shocked photos, and then eating excrement yourself?"

Sakurajima Mai: "..."

"Ugh, disgusting!" Feng Bin and Hua exclaimed in disgust, "I was planning to watch this with everyone..."

Bai Ying exclaimed in shock, "You actually want to test friendship, to test people's hearts?!"

Toyohama Kazuka: "?"

"Hey! Young man, aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Nian closed his folding fan, tapped his palm, and said with dissatisfaction, "Isn't it possible that the problem isn't with my movie, but that you haven't watched it carefully enough?"

"I watched it very carefully, like I was locked in a dark room with my mind completely blank." Bai Ying picked up the disc and shook it, saying heavily, "This film, 'The Scholar,' almost shattered my Daoist heart and caused me to go mad. Just thinking about probably playing a similar role next makes me feel an overwhelming urge to kill the director..."

Sakurajima Mai asked curiously, "So what movie did the hater-kun get?"

Bai Ying pondered for a moment and concluded, "One idiot realized the idiocy of a group of idiots."

Mai Sakurajima: "?"

I don't quite understand.

"Oh? Well, that's quite accurate." Xi Youyou, who had been engrossed in revising her painting, looked up. "An idiot made a stupid story, it's stupid on top of stupid, unbelievably stupid—I think you should just go home and work as a blacksmith."

Nian shouted, "Our filming is absolutely perfect! Buddy, what's wrong with it?"

Bai Ying said sincerely, "I couldn't find anything good about it. If I had to say, you still made outstanding contributions to the film industry. By drastically lowering the bar, you gave the film a depth that far surpasses other forms of expression."

Xi Luo, adding insult to injury, nodded in agreement: "That's a brilliant description."

With a flick of his fan and a stiff neck, he declared, "I'm the director!"

Bai Ying smiled slightly: "But I have the right to make suggestions, which should be written into the contract!"

"?"

Nian paused for a moment, then retorted, "This isn't a right to make suggestions; it's clearly a right to point fingers at me!"

Bai Ying revealed his true intentions: "So let's revise the script. I have an idea for the script!"

"Impossible!" Nian said confidently. "Our script is absolutely fine. Of course, we can't argue anything with just words. Let's take the movie 'The Scholar' as an example. If it were you, what kind of story would you adapt it into?"

"If it were me..."

Bai Ying pondered, "The scholar wandered the mortal realm, constantly studying and cultivating, witnessing the suffering of the people. In the end, amidst his turbulent journey, he chose to raise a banner of rebellion, gathering those suffering together. With overwhelming power, he overthrew the dynasty and established a new nation. However, when he returned to the mortal realm, he found that although everything had improved, it was far from fulfilling his wishes—writers shouted 'Long live the emperor!' while officials lined their own pockets, and soldiers had their pay cut under the guise of peace… When the scholar traced the roots of his rebellion, he discovered that his friends who had once followed him in rebellion because of suffering had become enemies who satisfied themselves by inflicting suffering on others. When the scholar tried to correct this, they used the martial arts they had learned to turn around and attack him."

"The scholar is, after all, a man of profound learning and extraordinary talent. He defeated them once again in their predicament. He first told them that they were doomed to die, so they would not waste their breath pleading for mercy. Then he asked them what they were thinking."

The white-clad figure seemed to be fully immersed in the role, his tone fiercely mimicking the voice of a man in a movie: "I have fought bravely for His Majesty, enduring countless battles until now. Now the world is at peace, and the evil dynasty has been eliminated. Do I not deserve even the slightest credit? If I don't hold a high position, how can I be worthy of having survived such a perilous journey? If I don't cultivate relationships with my colleagues, how can I pave the way for my child? If I don't open doors of convenience for others, how can I afford food, clothing, and shelter? Is the meager sum His Majesty gives me commensurate with my contributions?!"

Bai Ying's expression changed. He put one hand behind his back, his calm demeanor remained unchanged, but he revealed a hint of inexplicable realization and vicissitude.

Xi looked up at him, her expression slightly strange.

He spoke slowly.

“During the drought, grain prices soared, and you had to sell your land to the government. Later, to make a living, you became a servant of a local tyrant. Despite your best efforts, you still couldn't prevent your parents from starving to death, your wife from falling into the river from exhaustion, and your child from being bitten to death by the guard dogs while trying to learn to call you ‘Master.’ You were even unable to kill a dog yourself. You had hatred in your heart, fire in your eyes, and a grudge on your back, which is why you dared to follow me in rebellion.”

"Now, you feel that the hatred has subsided, the fire has died down, the enmity has been extinguished, and you have reached the pinnacle of life and can enjoy it—you have mastered the art of profiting from others’ misfortunes without a teacher, and you are smug and self-satisfied with others’ support. You have mastered the art of raising vicious dogs for your own amusement without a teacher, and now it is your turn to plunder the people’s wealth, glare at others and make them call you master, and drive vicious dogs to tear apart your servants."

"If I were to praise you for not being greedy enough and not having many servants, wouldn't that kill people? Today you love simple vegetables and rice, tomorrow you love fine wine and delicacies; today you love a bite of rice, tomorrow you love a lifetime's worth of rice; today you love money, tomorrow you love even more money; today you love your children and grandchildren, tomorrow you love your descendants' endless wealth and power... The only difference is that some people can only think about it, while others can actually do it."

"I have finally learned that human love is boundless."

"But I am not human, I have no love in my eyes."

Bai Ying slammed his hand on the table and said in a deep voice, "The scholar sent strangers to the Yellow Springs, just as he once buried the evil dynasty, but this time he didn't go forward, but turned around and left. He seemed to be able to foresee the future and think about many things that would happen next - because he had seen it countless times before... Human love is endless, and hatred will accompany them endlessly like a curse."

"He learned for the first time that there are things in the world that he cannot win and things that he cannot learn."

"Yesterday I was homeless and saddened by my fate, today I feast with my guests. The blood of heroes still burns hot beneath their tombs, staining the mountains and rivers with their old colors."

Bai Ying clenched her fist, bringing her rewritten script to a close.

"Hmm, one idiot realizes the idiocy of a bunch of idiots. Your previous summary was quite interesting," Nian shrugged and asked, "So, how is this different from my original script?"

Bai Ying succinctly replied: "You're even more of an idiot."

"No, no, no, I'm a director who can create, after all," Nian said with a smile. "Creative work always involves some artistic processing, right? Just putting a story on the screen verbatim, can that still be called creative work?"

Original model and original appearance?

Mai Sakurajima sensed a hidden meaning in the words and her expression turned strange.

Bai Ying said discontentedly, "So I have to do the artistic processing; your artistic processing is no good!"

Nian said with a grin, "I won't listen!"

Bai Ying declared in a booming voice, "I am the screenwriter!"

Nian Zhensheng declared, "I'm the director!"

Just as Bai Ying was about to use her right to make suggestions, her phone suddenly rang.

[Sorry, you're a bad person: Sir, sir, your parents invited you to their home!]

[I think you like me: I'm almost done with my work here, would you like me to pick up a gift on my way?]

[Sorry, you're mistaken: No! Use it!]

[I'm sorry you're not like her: Don't mention it, I'll bring a gift over.]

[I heard that scumbags can fall from great heights: Don't do anything weird!]

Honestly, it's not strange to bring a gift when you visit. But what kind of gift would be best?

Bai Ying put away her phone, deciding to give up on arguing with the director of this terrible film, and prepared to return to Chiba.

"Take it, take it!" Xi finally finished the minor revisions and handed over a stack of drawing papers. "I've finished the illustrations for the first volume of the light novel I promised you!"

Bai Ying took it casually, flipped through it, and was quite satisfied: "I'll look for you for the second volume too."

"I don't take orders!" Xi waved her away impatiently. "Get out of here!"

"Hmm? Isn't this drawing a bit too many pages?"

"I'm a little interested. I tried out some different drawing techniques. Use whichever looks best to you. Don't ask me about after-sales service; I don't offer after-sales support."

"I didn't realize you were such a 'king of currying'..."

……

……

"Okay, okay! He'll be there in about an hour!"

Angelina peeked out of the bedroom and called out, then quickly retreated back inside.

Angelina's parents sat in the living room, exchanging glances.

"Honey, why don't you go inside and stay there, or just stay in the kitchen?"

Anxinyuan's father pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go and talk to them."

Anxin's mother glanced in the direction of her daughter's bedroom and asked worriedly, "Do you think he can solve An'an's problem?"

"Let's ask around. We can't keep moving and changing schools."

Anxin's father comforted her, saying, "It could just be a normal earthquake. Earthquakes are quite common in Japan."

"Ugh……"

Anxinyuan's mother sighed, looking quite worried.

The two discussed it for a while, much like two children arguing about the sun, but they didn't come to a conclusion about how the sun actually revolves around the earth.

Ding Dong!

The doorbell rang, and Anxinyuan's mother walked into the kitchen, cautiously peeking out half her head. Anxinyuan's father straightened the suit he had taken out of the closet. Although he had absolutely no confidence in any 'superpower organization,' it was still a man's armor.

To protect your daughter's safety, you must summon the courage of a protagonist!

Anxinyuan's father solemnly opened the door and looked at the handsome young man in casual clothes with a stack of papers tucked under his arm.

Hmm? Why does this look so familiar?

"A toxic screenwriter?!"

"Hmm? Who are you, you hater? State your name!"

Chapter Thirteen: A Small Gift, Nothing More Than a Respectful Gift

Why is this the case?

The white shadow came to visit... Hmm, I'm already rolling around restlessly on the bed.

Angelina was absentmindedly playing with her phone.

Why are Mom and Dad suddenly so eager to see Bai Ying? Didn't we make it clear yesterday? The world of superpowered beings isn't that scary... Well, in some ways it is quite scary.

Why are you rushing me like this? It's only the first day of the holiday.

It's really weird.

Could it be that Mom and Dad have misunderstood something strange?

Angelina sat up abruptly, closed her eyes, and pondered, trying hard to recall what she had said.

[I discovered other people with superpowers and joined a superpowered organization. Everyone there is a good person, and superpowers are a normal thing. Mom and Dad don't need to worry about me having superpowers...]

That's roughly what I wanted to say, mainly to put my parents at ease.

After all, during the summer vacation after my third year of junior high, I inexplicably gained superpowers. In a panic, I told my parents about it and gave them a demonstration, which shattered their worldview...

As a result, he transferred schools just a few days after high school started!

Oh, it's not even a simple transfer school; she came directly to Japan, where her mother was born. Does that mean she changed her nationality?

To avoid an unexpected move, I need to let my parents know about the situation, that there are other people with superpowers in the world, and that it's not a serious problem. But I've always felt it's troublesome to talk about it, since the world of people with superpowers is indeed quite scary...

Angelina pondered for a moment, unable to quite recall exactly what she had said before, but she must have conveyed that meaning, right?

It was not mentioned that the visitor would be a boy.

It wasn't said that the person was Bai Ying.

I hope Mom and Dad didn't misunderstand and think it was something strange.

However, it's normal for them to be anxious and urge me. It was the same before. I was transferred to a school in Japan before I even realized what was happening.

Hmm... nothing strange should happen, although a white shadow coming to my house will definitely bring all sorts of strange things.

Angelina reached into the bag and groped around, but couldn't find any large potato chips; all she could feel were crumbs.

clap clap...

I picked up the bag, pinched both ends and tugged at it, shaking the potato chip crumbs inside into a pile. I tilted my head slightly towards the slanted opening of the bag and poured the last of the potato chips into my mouth in one go.

"Ah... click click..."

Why is there still a potato chip stuck inside?

This is the most annoying situation ever!

I'm shaking!

A few potato chips escaped from his grasp, falling down his neck and into his collar.

Ugh! This is even more annoying! Why are there crumbs in the potato chips?!

Angelina quickly stood up on the bed, shaking her clothes by the collar, and a few potato chips that had completed their task fell onto the sheets.