2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 50 Finishing

With "With You" having aired for a month, this youth campus drama has completely captured the viewership market in cities below the prefecture level.

Lu Mingze proved with just eight episodes of a campus drama that he is not only capable of making Qing Dynasty dramas, and that he can still produce good works even after leaving Tiandu.

Yu Huai is even more popular than director Lu Mingze.

The quirky songs and meme-filled scenes that Chu An designed for Yu Huai completely captivated the younger generation of viewers.

"What I'm looking for isn't money, but an endless supply of money."

Phrases like "Don't be obsessed with me, I'm just a legend" became wildly popular internet buzzwords.

It's the weekend again, and the residents of the small town habitually turn on the TV to watch Geng Geng and Yu Huai's vibrant youth.

Just when viewers had gotten used to Yu Huai's goofy personality and were slowly becoming immune to his witty remarks, the tenth episode ended...

Five disheveled young people bumped into that stunningly beautiful figure...

When the camera focused on Lin Wanxing in a close-up, and when two actresses who seemed like destined rivals were framed in the same shot, everyone was pleasantly surprised.

"What's going on? Lin Wanxing is actually appearing in Xu Shu's drama??"

"As expected of Director Lu Mingze, only Director Lu could manage to get two leading ladies to act together on the same stage, right?"

Amidst the heated discussions, there's an even greater sense of anticipation, with everyone eagerly awaiting the next weekend to find out how Lin Wanxing's character will perform.

Meanwhile, at the Ningyuan Guesthouse.

After watching the tenth episode in her room, Lin Wanxing pursed her lips and remained silent.

After a long while, he finally couldn't suppress his primal power any longer and burst out, kicking open Chu An's door.

"Chu An! You big liar! Wasn't this just a cameo?! How come I, a girl with a terminal illness, am still alive and well!"

Chu An was revising the script when Lin Wanxing questioned him, and he looked completely bewildered. "It's a cameo role. It's normal for a cameo to last a little longer!"

"Normal?" Lin Wanxing stared wide-eyed, almost exasperated. She swallowed hard. "I'm asking you, how many episodes have I had a cameo role?"

Chu was dumbfounded, "Only six episodes!"

Not counting the tenth episode as just an appearance, starting from the 11th episode, the production team has already filmed 16 episodes.

"Only six episodes?" Lin Wanxing's worldview was shattered. Mimicking Yu Huai's tone from the show, she exclaimed, "Is this something a human being should say?"

However, Lin Wanxing decided not to stoop to the level of someone with thick skin. Six episodes it is!
But the problem is...

Holding the script for episodes 17 to 19 in his hand, he wondered, "Why is Lin Xiaoxiao still alive and well? Will she die from this terminal illness?"

Chu An said in a serious tone, "The audience needs you to be alive!"

Lin Wanxing: "..."

She finally understood who Yu Huai was referring to when he said in the drama, "When a person is shameless, he is invincible."

"Then why do I have the same number of appearances as Xu Shu? Is this what you call a cameo role!?"

"Uh..." Chu An couldn't continue making up a story.

We didn't initially plan to give her so many roles, but her own brother said that scheduling wasn't a problem, so we gradually turned it into a dual female lead series.

In the drama, Lin Xiaoxiao suffers from leukemia, but she doesn't wallow in self-pity because her life is about to end. On the contrary, when she gets involved in the stories of the five main characters, she becomes the most optimistic and cheerful one.

To be honest, Chu An didn't expect that joining this role would create such a great chemistry in the whole show.

Putting down his work, he gently helped Lin Wanxing towards the door, saying, "Focus on your work and act conscientiously. The organization still recognizes your abilities."

Believe that success is reserved for those who are prepared, and that hard work will surely be rewarded with applause!

"Besides, the payment is settled per episode, so you're not losing out, right?"

Bangdang...

By the time Lin Wanxing realized what was happening, Chu An had already locked all the doors, leaving her outside in a frenzy.

"Chu An! If I ever cooperate with you again, I'm a dog!"

Chu An's voice came from inside the door, "Then I'll give Qiao Jingjing to Xu Shu."

Lin Wanxing immediately objected, "You dare! I'll kill you, you believe me!"

What Lin Wanxing didn't expect was that this shameless guy had absolutely no bottom line.

Whether Qiao Jingjing let her act or not is unknown, but it is true that until the end of the series, her terminally ill girl was still alive and well!
Even...he recovered.

……

2001 12 Month 10 Day.

Like fairies, snowflakes fell softly, and the first snow of winter turned the northern town of Ningyuan into a silvery white.

Before dawn, the crew was already busy. Ji Yinglai was running around to different rooms, waking up the actors and getting them ready for makeup along with the assistant director.

To Lai Ge's surprise, when he knocked on the door, everyone had already been up for a while.

Chu An sat by the window, staring intently as the frozen Ma Yan'er River was slowly turned white by the heavy snow.

At that moment, Lu Mingze rushed in, "Xiao Chu, let's go over the storyboard again, I feel like it's not quite right!"

Chu An snapped out of her daze, glanced at him, and replied with two words, "Illusion!"

There's only one scene today, and Lu Mingze and he have been working on it on and off for over half a month.

With at least two people's abilities, they can't do any better.

"Let's leave it at that!" Chu An said helplessly. "I think it's fine."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingze deflated and slumped onto the bed. "Actually... I just feel a little empty inside."

"After all, it's the last scene."

It has been 2 months and 7 days since filming began.

This is the fastest film Lu Mingze has ever made, and also the longest.

Only he and Chu An know best how many twists and turns they went through.

For Lu Mingze, this drama is far more than just a transitional work.

He opened his mouth, wanting to express some intellectual sentiments, but then swallowed his words.

"Forget it, let's talk about it after we finish filming!"

After saying that, he turned around and went out to make final preparations.

In the original story's ending, Geng Geng and Yu Huai, after growing up, resolved all their misunderstandings and came together.

The final scene is a flashback of memories from the high school days of many of the main characters.

The flashback at the end was excellent.

However, Chu An has already changed the version of "The Best of Us" in this timeline into something else entirely, so he might as well change the ending as well.

And so, we have today's final scene.

At the end of the new film, Geng Geng and Yu Huai get together, and the two of them, along with Lu Xinghe, Xu Yanliang, Jiang Niannian, and Lin Xiaoxiao, who have grown up, return to the classroom of Ningyuan No.1 Middle School once again.

Six close friends, now adults, sat around each other in the classroom.

Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly started singing, and the others joined in.

Amidst the songs and sunshine, the six of them, once young, now adults, sing side by side.

"I don't have any big wishes, and I don't have anything urgent to rush..."

"I saw the red light flashing at the intersection; it looked like a little sun blinking."

"The dark clouds are quite bold, hanging overhead and impossible to blow away. I grab them in my hand and knead them into cotton candy, so I can forget all my troubles."

……

"Look, the puppy is barking, the leaves are laughing, the wind is whispering. Why not savor this hazy romance for a second?"

"As long as I wake up to the warm sunlight streaming through the sheets, I won't think about it, I don't need to think about it, I don't need to rush to give an answer..."

That song was the normal version of the offbeat song that Yu Huai sang at the beginning of the first episode.

Previously, Lu Mingze had wanted to use it as the theme song, but Chu An had always refused.

I wanted to use it in the last shot to create a connection between the beginning and the end.

Moreover, Chu An believes that some songs don't need to be sung repeatedly to be remembered by the audience. Singing them once in the right place and in the right environment is enough to make them classics.

"Click!!"

Lu Mingze's slightly hoarse voice echoed in the classroom.

"I hereby announce... filming for 'With You' has officially wrapped!"

silence……

There were no cheers, no applause in the classroom...

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with reluctance.

……

.

(End of this chapter)