Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Two hours later, the red candle had burned down to more than half its original size, and the flame finally stopped flickering.

Xu Qingya lay on the bed, and Jiang Fan pulled the blanket over her.

A system panel pops up in the corner of the field of vision.

[Deep Compatibility x3, Lifespan +9000]

Current lifespan: 104800 points

[Remaining lifespan: 323 days]

Xu Qingya, who is SS-level, is always a big spender.

Xu Qingya turned over and lay on her back, her hair plastered to her face, covered in sweat.

She looked at Jiang Fan and cleared her throat.

"Director Jiang, how was my performance as the queen?"

Jiang Fan reached out and brushed the hair away from her face, then took a tissue and wiped away her sweat.

"The dialogue is so-so. The action scenes, on the other hand, deserve full marks."

Xu Qingya snorted, too weak to hit him with her hands, so she could only kick him.

"Anyway, the role is mine. And I'm getting more scenes."

"What kind of scene are you adding?"

"You wrote too little about the romantic subplot between the Queen of the Women's Kingdom and Tang Sanzang; you just glossed over it in a few strokes. I need a complete subplot. At least three episodes."

Jiang Fan looked at her.

The woman had been feeling weak just moments before, but now she was wide awake.

However, what she said makes sense.

The original novel's "Daughter Kingdom" chapter is short, so it's been expanded into three episodes. Given Xu Qingya's popularity and media attention, this part will likely be the most discussed in the entire series.

The most dramatic part is when Tang Sanzang faces the choice between love and his pilgrimage.

"I can consider it," Jiang Fan replied.

Xu Qingya's lips curled up slightly.

"Make it compelling. I don't want the naive and innocent queen type. She needs to be shrewd, affectionate, and capable of making choices. I also want to design her own costumes."

"You have quite a lot of demands."

"Nonsense. I got this role by trading my body for it." Xu Qingya rolled her eyes.

"You have to be worth the price. The Women's Kingdom is the only love tribulation among Tang Sanzang's eighty-one tribulations. Other demons want to eat his flesh, but I only want his body."

Xu Qingya paused for a few seconds, then continued, "When you were writing Journey to the West, did Tang Sanzang ever have any romantic feelings for you?"

What do you think?

"I think so." Xu Qingya pulled Jiang Fan's arm over to rest his head. "He just can't turn back."

"Also, you need to show me the scripts for these three episodes first. If I'm not satisfied, you can rewrite them."

Jiang Fan pinched her cheek.

"You are the actor now, and I am the director."

Xu Qingya slapped his hand away.

"If you were the director, this show would never be able to air."

A few minutes later, Xu Qingya's breathing became even, and she fell asleep.

Jiang Fan stared at the ceiling, still calculating in his mind.

Su Yuyan's team has already begun preparations for the TV series "Journey to the West".

The people at Times Media can handle the team, publicity, and funding.

But he still had to write the core script himself.

Jiang Fan closed his eyes. He would take care of it tomorrow.

-

The following morning, at the Qitian Culture office.

Song Siyi sat at the conference table, with a thick stack of printed submissions spread out in front of her.

Jiang Fan pushed open the door and went in. Song Siyi was circling something with a red pen.

He circled a picture with a red pen, paused for a few seconds, then shook his head and crossed it out.

"How's the painting contest going?" Jiang Fan pulled out a chair and sat down.

Song Siyi looked up, put down her pen, and took a sip of her coffee.

"We've received over 20,000 submissions. The quality varies, but a few dozen are truly excellent. I've already had Mo Jiu's Sun Wukong picture framed and hung in the hallway outside. People who come to discuss collaborations always take a second look."

What about the publication schedule for picture books?

"The first book I chose is a passage from 'Havoc in Heaven.' I wrote the first draft of the caption myself. Take a look."

Song Siyi pushed a document over.

Jiang Fan picked it up and flipped through two pages.

The text is fast-paced, easy to understand, and suitable for children to read.

"Okay. Let's go with this. We'll price it to appeal to the average consumer."

"Besides Mo Jiu, several other art professors also submitted their work." Song Siyi opened another folder. "The fairies they drew are very unique. I plan to publish a separate fairy encyclopedia."

"The approach is correct. Has the copyright buyout agreement been signed?"

"The legal department is currently processing the paperwork. As per your instructions, all derivative copyrights of the selected works will belong to Qitian Culture."

Song Siyi took back the document and handed over a data report.

"The second batch of five million pre-orders sold out completely last night. Qitian Printing has arranged the production schedule. We expect to ship within a week."

Jiang Fan nodded.

"What about Huaxin's distribution channels?"

"Mr. Chen has already arranged for their printing plant to operate at full capacity. They will ship at the same time as us. In addition, Mr. Chen would like to invite you to dinner to discuss overseas publishing."

"No rush, we can talk about it later." Jiang Fan stood up. "Okay. Is there anything else?"

Song Siyi thought about it.

"That's all for now. I'm going to visit the orphanage in a few days. I'll also bring some Journey to the West books for Tiger and the others. Do you want to come with me?"

"Okay. Call me when the time comes. I'm going back to the studio to write the script now."

"it is good."

Song Siyi watched him leave, her gaze fixed on the doorframe.

Jiang Fan's business is expanding rapidly.

She needs to stabilize the foundation of Qitian Culture and not hold it back.

-

Back in his studio, Jiang Fan locked the office door and put his phone on silent.

He sat in the swivel chair, closed his eyes, and brought up the system store.

Enter "Journey to the West TV series script" in the search bar.

Several versions popped up as a result.

He went straight for the most classic one.

[The complete script of "Journey to the West" (CCTV version, 41 episodes)]

[Includes: complete episode outlines, scene scripts, character biographies, scene descriptions, and original soundtrack scores]

[Exchange Price: 20000 Life Points]

Jiang Fan stared at the number 20,000 for a few seconds.

It's not cheap, but it's also his biggest card.

Su Yuyan staked her entire fortune on a 1.5 billion yuan bet. The drama flopped, and her shares were immediately seized by the board of directors, rendering her useless at Times Media.

Without hesitating for too long, Jiang Fan clicked to redeem.

[Redeem successful]

Current lifespan: 84800 points

The entire content of all forty-one episodes flooded my mind.

Jiang Fan sat motionless with his eyes closed for more than ten minutes.

There was so much information; it felt like an entire TV series' filming guide had been crammed into my head.

The staging of each scene, the rhythm of each line of dialogue, the timing of each character's entrance and exit, and even the material of the costumes are all clearly described.

The images played in Jiang Fan's mind.

Camera positions, lighting setup, and wire work.

In the episode about the Kingdom of Women, there's a scene where Tang Sanzang and the Queen have a confrontation in her bedchamber.

Candlelight, gauze curtains, pauses in the dialogue.

These are all detailed annotations in the script. The additional scenes that Xu Qingya wanted were already fully realized in this version of the script.

Even the sheet music for the theme song is included.

"Where is the Road Ahead?" "The Swift Sound of the Cloud Palace".

These two songs are just as valuable as the script itself.

Those 20,000 life points were well spent.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes, picked up the notebook on the table, and began to sort out the characters.

The actors are key.

Sun Wukong. Tang Sanzang. Zhu Bajie. Sha Wujing.

There are four main characters, but none of them have been decided yet.

Two female characters have been added, and that's enough to give them a good impression.

But the male lead is the lifeblood of this show, especially Sun Wukong.

Jiang Fan wrote the three characters "Sun Wukong" on the paper.

This role has too high requirements.

Must understand monkey opera. Must be physically agile. Must have a solid foundation in dialogue delivery. Must have a background in martial arts or acrobatics. Must be able to perform staff tricks.

Choosing the wrong person can lead to total failure.

You simply can't find this kind of person among popular celebrities.