My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 126

When Lai Jingming started playing coy, how could Situ Hongwei not catch on? He nodded and began reading the script.

Just from the title, A Little Thing Called First Love, Situ Hongwei could tell it was a romance film.

Using “first love” as a theme was indeed quite refreshing. After all, it’s an era dominated by the youth, if the content was attractive enough, drawing in ticket sales wouldn’t be a problem.

But after just a few pages, Situ Hongwei frowned. Was this really a youth romance?

Youth-themed stories were tricky. You couldn’t cross any moral lines, but you still had to include compelling elements, which often led to too many problematic tropes.

In China, youth-themed films had long struggled to make breakthroughs, mostly because of strict content boundaries. And yet Lai Jingming was diving straight into this? Situ Hongwei wasn’t optimistic. He looked up with disbelief in his eyes.

“You sure you want to tackle this theme?”

“Just read the whole thing first,” Lai replied, still exuding confidence.

Was there something special about it?

Situ Hongwei continued reading and his eyes began to light up. Wait, this was a story about a secret crush?

Even more interesting, it focused on the female lead’s perspective. That was a refreshing angle!

Situ Hongwei couldn’t help but get serious. Though he now ran a wedding dress shop, he was once a seasoned member of film crews and knew how to judge a script.

This one was thick. While most scripts capped at ten or so pages, A Little Thing Called First Love had over forty.

Situ flipped through the detailed annotations, suggested filming methods, camera angles, costume ideas, it was all there!

Who the hell wrote this genius script? Did one person take care of the writing, directing, and cinematography?

As Lai Jingming and Gu Zhinan waited for Situ to finish reading, Gu’s phone rang. It was a call from Du Guangyu.

Elder Du? What did he want now? Another poem commission for 10,000 yuan?

Not that Gu Zhinan dared overpromise. Even with his excellent memory, he couldn’t guarantee inspiration on demand.

“Good evening, Mr. Du,” he answered before the old man could speak, ever the polite one.

“Hahaha, good evening, Zhinan! Got any good poems lately? Share a few with this old man?”

What, do I look like a poetry vending machine?

“Not really, I’ve been busy writing my book. Once I have time, I’ll definitely dive back into it.”

Gu Zhinan found a polite excuse. Truth was, he didn’t want to keep pumping out poems. Some big-shot in his past life had casually recited a few while drunk, who’d have guessed people in this world would end up worshipping them?

“Can’t you set the book aside for now? Little Yan says you’re always missing updates anyway.”

“???” Gu Zhinan didn’t expect Du Guangyu to call him out like that. That ponytailed Du Xiaoyan must have some serious complaints about him.

“Here’s the thing. China Central Television is putting together a show to promote national treasures, this one’s about blue-and-white porcelain. I’m sure you know how valuable that stuff is, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve looked into it.” Apparently, blue-and-white porcelain was legendary in both his original and current world.

“Great, then I don’t need to explain further. They wanted a poem to promote it and came to our poetry association for help. Naturally, I thought of you. If you can come up with something, you might be selected. This is a state-sponsored program, it’ll be good for your reputation.”

Only after the long explanation did Gu Zhinan understand.

The national broadcaster wanted to promote blue-and-white porcelain and figured a poetic touch would help the audience connect more deeply with it.

Off the top of his head, Gu Zhinan said, “Wouldn’t a song be even better?”

“Huh?” The elder paused in surprise, then chuckled.

“Well, they already contacted that guy… Lin Xi, I think? The famous musician in the capital. But so far, no luck.”

Creating a song about blue-and-white porcelain that resonated with modern youth while preserving traditional Chinese elements was no easy task. Lin Xi had reportedly pulled out clumps of hair and still hadn’t found inspiration.

“It’s that hard?” Right then, a song popped into Gu Zhinan’s head. He could hum it right now.

Blue and White Porcelain.

Wasn’t that the perfect match?

“Mr. Du, what if I told you I already have a song for it?”

“You do?” The old man pulled the phone away in shock, thinking he misheard. Then he brought it back to his ear.

“You don’t have a poem, but you have a song?”

“Uh, well, poetry requires inspiration. I just happen to have it, for a song.” Gu Zhinan felt a little guilty.

A sigh came through the line. The old man knew Gu Zhinan was also a musician. That song he wrote, Something Wind? his granddaughter Du Xiaoyan had been blasting it for weeks. Even he had started humming along.

“Does it fit the theme of blue-and-white porcelain?”

“Perfectly!”

“What’s the title?”

“Blue and White Porcelain.”

“Can you come to the capital tomorrow? I don’t know much about songwriting, but Lin Xi will be there. You two can discuss it. If it’s a good fit, I promise China Central TV will treat you well.”

Without hesitation, Du Guangyu made the offer. If Gu Zhinan really had a matching song, of course he’d give him the chance, even if he would’ve preferred a poem.

Go to the capital, huh? Gu Zhinan hesitated, then nodded.

“Alright. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

“Great.”

After hanging up, Gu Zhinan sighed. Another trip, this time to Beijing.

But it was worth it. China Central Television was a major national network. Helping them promote blue-and-white porcelain was meaningful. Besides, they wouldn’t shortchange him if they used his song.

They get the promotion. He gets paid. Fair trade.

“Zhinan!” Lai Jingming’s shout pulled him back to reality. Standing at the doorway of the private room, Lai was looking right at him.

I guess Situ Hongwei had finished reading the script. And the conversation in here wasn’t done yet. Why did life suddenly get so busy?

Inside the room, Situ Hongwei held the script, his gaze toward Gu Zhinan a little complicated. The script was unbelievably detailed. The story was refreshing and elegant. He’d never seen a youth romance built on unspoken affection like this.

Throughout the entire story, the male and female leads never once showed affection, not even hand-holding or a kiss and yet the essence of youth was captured so vividly.

He’d already learned from Lai that Gu Zhinan was the scriptwriter and the project’s producer. And also a musician. And a bestselling author. And a poet.

So many identities, each accomplished, not just average, but outstanding. This was a truly gifted individual.

“So, what do you say? Want to work with us?” Lai Jingming asked directly. He already knew Situ’s film skills, undeniably professional.

“A film made by a studio?” Situ didn’t answer, just raised an eyebrow.

“Is Gu one of your studio’s partners?”

Gu Zhinan shook his head. “Fatty’s studio has already disbanded. We don’t even have a company yet.”

What a joke, where would he get a company from? Lai had mentioned registering one in the next few days, but it hadn’t happened yet.

“Disbanded?” Situ Hongwei couldn’t believe it. He looked to Lai, who nodded and casually slung an arm over his shoulder, laughing.

“Old Situ, I had bad luck with people. But now? Now you’re lucky, you’ve met us. Didn’t you always dream of creating something that would shock the world? This is it, your first shot!” He pointed to the script in Situ’s hands.

“I never said that!” Situ dodged his eyes and shoved Lai’s hand away.

Lai just laughed louder. “Back when we filmed In the Clouds, you won Best Cinematography at the Hundred Flowers Awards! Don’t think I’ve forgotten your contribution. I don’t know why you left the film industry at your peak to open a wedding dress shop, but you named that shop Dreams!”

Situ froze. He hadn’t expected Lai to know so much. The truth was, he had fallen ill and needed years of treatment. That time away from film had been long and difficult. Opening the shop had been a hard-won victory.

Gu Zhinan was also surprised. This square-jawed uncle… had a solid past?

“That was a long time ago,” Situ said, clearly disheartened. He was 35 now, just another middle-aged guy. “You two have a great script. You can find another team, no need to involve me.”

He was being cautious. Every decision he made affected the dozen employees depending on his shop.

“Brother Situ,” Lai started again, but Gu Zhinan gave him a look, signaling him to stop. Then he spoke. “I get it. We’re just two hotheads. I don’t know a thing about directing. We only have a script, and Fatty here just talks big. Honestly, I’ve never seen what he can actually do. But I still choose to believe in him.”

He smiled. “I also saw the sample photos from Dreams Wedding Studio. Beautiful work.”

Situ wasn’t sure where this was going. But Gu Zhinan stood up.

“If you’re interested in the script, feel free to contact Fatty. Until we find another team, you’re always welcome. I’ll even cover the shop’s expenses during filming.”

Then he turned to leave, but paused at the door, smiling gently back at Situ. “I once heard this line, ‘Remember the soaring ambitions of youth, and vow to be the best under heaven.’ I hope you understand what that means, brother.”

With that, he pushed the door open and left, quietly taking his glory with him. Lai patted Situ’s shoulder. “We’ll be waiting for you. Waiting!”

Situ didn’t respond. He just silently repeated that final line to himself. After a few minutes, he let out a bitter laugh.

That kid, Gu Zhinan… every word went straight to the heart.