Chapter 215: One Condition

They had never thought about the fact that some situations would require a judgment from the heart rather than actual solid evidence.

It wasn’t as if they were going to court to solve an actual case that required hard evidence.

Director Liu and Professor Zhao didn’t want to use them any longer. Who needed proof anyway?

“Professor Zhao, we…” Shen Jingyi immediately felt that something was off and hurriedly called after Professor Zhao.

“The three of us are going to have a discussion now,” Professor Zhao said. “You two can continue on with your meal.”

Clearly, he didn’t seem to be indicating that he was going to use them any longer.

Luckily, Director Liu’s table wasn’t too far away from theirs. It was right behind them.

If the two of them paid attention, they would be able to eavesdrop on parts of the conversation.

Tan Mo’s breakfast had been spilled all over the table. She had to go get a new one now.

Professor Zhao preferred a Chinese-style breakfast. He filled a bowl with porridge and took few steamed buns, boiled eggs, and some other small dishes.

For the sake of convenience, Director Liu just helped himself to a few slices of bread, some salad, and a cup of coffee.

Neither Director Liu or Professor Zhao had brought their computers, so they accessed their emails from their smartphones to look at Tan Mo’s script.

Professor Zhao took out his reading glasses.

“I’ve also written a synopsis and outline of the story, discussing the general scope of the play and the plot involved,” Tan Mo explained.

She didn’t open the document.

What she had written, she definitely remembered.

In the first episode, Tan Mo had written around 13,000 words.

Director Liu only needed a couple of minutes to finish reading through the entire thing.

“Good! Good!” Director Liu nodded enthusiastically. “This is exactly what I wanted. This is the series I want to shoot.”

“Is there anything I need to change in the first episode?” Tan Mo asked.

“It’s very good. You got straight to the point and didn’t beat around the bush to keep the audience waiting. This is well paced, and it’s also easy for the audience to sink into the actual plot.” Director Liu kept on praising Tan Mo. “Even though it’s a historical drama, many people nowadays are so busy with their daily lives that they can’t stand waiting for things.

“I’ve analyzed many popular dramas over the past few years. Their rhythm is always just right. They are refreshing and don’t extensively delay much of the plot. The dramas that do delay get bad reviews. Even when plots are sophisticated and well thought through, if it’s paced badly, it will often be criticized. Also, the amount of viewers watching them will turn out to be extremely low.

“If the play isn’t well written and the pace is off, the audience will move on very quickly. Nowadays, people don’t have time to waste on dramas like those. People all live busy lives, and it’s very difficult for them to suddenly slow down both their minds and their hearts.

“Even just looking at the first episode, I can tell that this is going to turn out well. I’ve already thought through the filming. The camera will first pull up to the outskirts of these desolate plains, where many are starving to death. Some people are still alive, but they are creatures of skin and bone. Some of them are desperately digging for roots, while others are standing around, simply staring at corpses. Some others…” Director Liu paused, “…are handing over a wailing child in exchange for some money.

“Then the camera will pan forward, and the rumbling of horses’ hooves will enter the shot. As the day turns into night, the horses will all gather at the designated camp…”

Director Liu already has the pictures painted in his head.

“The first episode should always start off with schematics.” Director Liu nodded. “Tan Mo, just follow the current pace you’re writing at and keep going!”

“Professor Zhao, what do you say?” Director Liu turned to him and asked.

Professor Zhao nodded in satisfaction. “Tan Mo’s written works are always reassuring. As long she’s the one who’s doing the writing, I’m sure we’ve got nothing to worry about.

“She handles dialogue really well too. It’s neatly executed. Even though someone is having just a normal day-to-day conversation, it still carries with it a hint of ancient times. Every word in every sentence is worth scrutinizing. If our audience is willing to replay these episodes, they would realize there are many different meanings in each sentence. It’s very interesting.”

Director Liu had only just briefly skimmed over the text just now. Now he picked out a sentence at random to analyze.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!” Director Liu couldn’t contain his laughter. “Good! This is amazing! With my cast performing lines like these with their all…”

Director Liu couldn’t wait to start shooting today.

He just couldn’t wait!

“With a script this good, it is now time to test my directing abilities. I can’t mess up such a well-written script.” Director Liu sighed in awe.

Shen Jingyi and Yuan Qishan’s hearts dropped after hearing what the Professor and the Director were saying.

Initially, Yuan Qishan had been looking forward to Tan Mo scalding her fingers so that she couldn’t type.

Yet in the end, nothing had affected Tan Mo at all.

And if Tan Mo was all right, then Yuan Qishan wasn’t going to be needed at all. Which also meant that neither would Shen Jingyi…

“Have you really never written a script before?” Director Liu asked in a tone of disbelief. “You’ve written this one amazingly well.

“From your handling of the pace to the rigorous structure of the story that guarantees that the plot is intact, you link these all together so well. It seems as if you’re very well mastered in the basics too.” Director Liu looked at Tan Mo in surprise. “You’ve planned this out really well with the foreshadowing also.”

Director Liu could even tell that Tan Mo had already planted a clue in this very first episode that would be set up for a big reveal further on into the series.

As surprised as he was, he still believed that Tan Mo couldn’t have had any prior experience in scriptwriting at all.

At the end of the day, Tan Mo was only 16 years old. Where on earth would she find time to do such things?

“I wouldn’t lie. If I said that I could write the script, then I will write the script. If I can’t do something, then I would just be honest and say so,” Tan Mo said.

Yuan Qishan and Shen Jingyi heard this, and their expressions became twisted with rage and envy.

Tan Mo had said the exact thing to them, hadn’t she?

“Tan Mo,” Director Liu looked at her earnestly and said, “I’ll be leaving this script in your hands.

“Even though this is your first time writing an official script, you seem very familiar with the ways and means of the process. As long as you can keep up this kind of work, I could start rating you as one of the top scriptwriters in recent years.” Director Liu heaped on the praise. He didn’t lessen her efforts for writing a script for the very first time.

Professor Zhao was right there listening.

Director Liu was sure that if he did anything underhanded to Tan Mo, Professor Zhao would have his head.

Right now, Professor Zhao was standing happily watching this whole episode unfold.

Director Liu was very smart.

“Also, I do understand that this task is quite stressful due to the time pressure. This script assignment could be hard for you,” Director Liu said. “If it hadn’t been for you, this entire process would’ve most definitely been delayed. The shooting wouldn’t have started on time.

“If you have any conditions or if you need anything, just let me know. If I can do anything to help, I will!” Director Liu continued earnestly. “As long as you continue to write the script, I’ll do anything you need. This is now in your hands.”

Director Liu stood up and bowed at Tan Mo.

Tan Mo immediately stopped him. “Director Liu, you don’t have to be this kind, please. However, I do have one condition, and maybe it’s a bit selfish of me.

“If you agree to this condition, I’ll even write this script for free.” Tan Mo stood up quickly.