Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 94 Tian Xiwei Takes Action

Around 8 p.m., Tian Xiwei practiced until her legs ached and trembled.

The training session was originally scheduled from 3 pm to 6 pm, but Fan Changyu's entrance and turning movements just didn't meet expectations. When it was time to leave at 6 pm, she still refused to leave, repeatedly refining her movements. She made some progress, but her footing was still unstable, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue practicing.

Around 8 o'clock, she turned around in front of the mirror and looked down at her legs.

Her calves trembled slightly, not severely, but clearly perceptible. She sat down against the wall, stretched out her legs, and stared up at the ceiling.

The incandescent lights in the rehearsal hall were blinding. She closed her eyes and reviewed the entire day's training. That turn, that foot placement—it was still a little off, not quite solid enough.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a message from Chu Ran: "You haven't returned to your dorm yet?"

She picked up her phone and glanced at it: "They're still rehearsing."

Chu Ran: "What time is it?"

Tian Xiwei checked the time: "8:40."

After a three-minute silence, the other person sent another message: "Have you had dinner yet?"

"I have no appetite, I haven't eaten."

A moment later, Chu Ran said, "Come out, I'll treat you to an extra meal."

Tian Xiwei: "Didn't you have a fever?"

"Much better, nothing serious."

She put down her phone, thought for a moment, and then pushed herself up from the ground. Her legs were still weak, but she could barely walk. She put on her coat, grabbed her script, turned off the lights in the rehearsal room, and pushed open the door to leave.

The corridor was chilly, much colder than the rehearsal hall. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself and headed outside.

Stepping out of the teaching building, Chu Ran stood at the bottom of the steps, his hat pulled low and hands in his pockets. Seeing her come out, he raised his chin and said, "Let's go eat."

Tian Xiwei came downstairs and looked her over: "Your face is still flushed."

"It was blown by the wind."

"The fever hasn't gone down."

Chu Ran stopped arguing. The two walked side by side toward the school gate, and Tian Xiwei said, "Ning An Ru Meng has passed the review smoothly."

"Yes, Xu Wen informed me."

"It's scheduled to premiere in April."

"I know."

The streetlights cast long, slender shadows of the two people, quiet and enduring.

As they walked, Tian Xi asked, "Did you practice your martial arts today?"

"No, I have a fever and am resting."

"My legs were shaking from practicing."

Chu Ran turned to look at her: "Are you stuck on the turning motion?"

"Yes, I can never quite find the right footing."

Chu Ran pondered for a moment: "You thought you were using your waist to exert force earlier?"

"That's right."

"Why don't you consider whether it might be due to strain in your ankle?"

Tian Xi paused slightly, simulating the movement in her mind, then slowly replicated the turn under the streetlights, landing steadily on the spot.

She looked down at her feet and suddenly realized, "So it's the ankles that are the main source of power."

Chu Ran pointed ahead: "Stop standing there, hurry up and eat."

Tian Xiwei quickly caught up: "How did you figure it out at a glance?"

"Just a wild guess."

Tian Xi glanced at her but didn't expose her.

The two walked on, and the streetlights at the school gate lit up one after another, illuminating the road ahead and leading directly to the street.

It was nearly nine o'clock when Zeng Hao returned.

After leaving the girls' dormitory, he sat quietly in his car for a long time, sorting out the tasks for the day: Xu Wen should have finished the publicity and launch meeting, the official contract materials for iQiyi needed to be prepared tomorrow, and Peng Bing had not yet replied to the message about the scene construction for "Chasing Jade" that afternoon.

He opened WeChat and checked Peng Bing's message. The other party mentioned that the scene at the script market lacked realism and asked if he could scout locations in Hengdian.

Zeng Hao replied simply, "Okay, you can set the time."

After sending, start the vehicle and return to the company.

Xu Wen saw the money arrive in his account around 10 a.m.

He was checking accounts on his computer when he swiped the mouse over the balance column and noticed that the number had increased by eight digits, which was quite conspicuous.

He dragged the mouse back, but the number was still the same.

He stood up, walked to the door, then turned back, paused in front of the chair for three seconds, sat down, and glanced at it again.

Then he clapped his hands together crisply, not the kind of empty clapping you get in a meeting room, but a real, solid clap that could be heard clearly in the spacious finance office.

His colleague across from him glanced up, thinking something had gone wrong.

Xu Wen took a deep breath, took a screenshot of the payment notification, grabbed his phone, and ran to Zeng Hao's office.

Zeng Hao was in a meeting, a routine meeting with two marketing outsourcing companies, the door was half closed.

Xu Wen stood in the corridor for a while, looking at the screenshot three more times to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

The copyright payment for "What Kind of Conduct" has finally arrived!

14,973,600, 300,000 less than estimated.

The platform held the final payment for two days, and the exchange rate was adjusted accordingly. Zeng Hao had mentioned this before, but Xu Wen thought he was just trying to comfort him. Now he believed him.

After the meeting ended, the publicity team filed out. Xu Wen stepped aside to let them pass, went inside, and pushed his phone in front of Zeng Hao.

Zeng Hao glanced down at it, pushed it back, and then flipped through the first draft of the script for "Chasing Jade" on the table.

"What's the current balance in the books?"

"With this addition, it's 152.31 million, breaking 150 million!"

Zeng Hao flipped to episode eleven, circled the dialogue with a pen, and then bolded it: "When will iQiyi's first payment arrive?"

"The contract is for ten days, and today is the seventh day."

"Um."

Zeng Hao put the script back on the left side of the table. Xu Wen stood for a while, and seeing that there were no other instructions, he closed the door and left.

He glanced at the screenshot again in the hallway, put his phone away, and went to get a cup of hot water.

The first draft of the script for "Chasing Jade" was submitted by Peng Bing three weeks ago.

Zeng Hao first held back for four days, and on the fifth day, he watched from the first episode to the twentieth episode, marked three locations, and called Peng Bing in.

Peng Binggan has been a director for almost ten years. What kind of producer hasn't he seen?

Some slammed their fists on the table, some threw their drafts on the ground, some shouted that it wouldn't work but couldn't explain why, and some smiled and said "it's good" before the project fell through.

He had never seen anyone like Zeng Hao before. Pointing to three places, he said in twenty-three words: "From episodes ten to twenty-four, Xie Zheng's identity is vague, Fan Changyu's motives are unconvincing, and the scenes of everyday life lack realism."

Peng Bing remained silent, flipping back to episode ten and reviewing it in his mind. He had to admit that Zeng Hao was right.

In the original framework, this was the first scene between Fan Changyu and Xie Zheng (who was seriously injured and used the alias "Yan Zheng"). Their contractual marriage was meant to help them escape from being hunted down, and their relationship should have been filled with a sense of tacit understanding amidst the everyday moments. However, it was written like an overhead shot, lacking even the warmth of a tofu pudding, and Fan Changyu's desire to protect her family was nowhere to be seen.

"I'll revise it again." Peng Bing put down the script.

"To make it realistic, we need details to support it." Zeng Hao nodded. "The pseudonym 'Yan Zheng' was planted beforehand, and Fan Changyu's identity as a butcher was established through details. The way he held the knife, the strength he used to chop meat. When scouting locations, if we can go to Hengdian, we'll go there; if not, we'll think of something else."

He knew it very well.

This show was heavily criticized in his previous life, so he needs to carefully review it and re-examine the logic and details of the entire series.

Peng Bing stopped at the door and turned back: "The platform has been decided?"

"I love strange things."

Peng Bing didn't ask any more questions, nodded, and left.

The second draft of the script was submitted eleven days later.

Zeng Hao flipped to episode ten and watched for forty minutes without making a sound.

The street scenes have been rewritten, with stalls and vendors' shouts, and Fan Changyu's knife skills have also been brought to the forefront.

A butcher by trade, he gripped the knife and pressed it down; Xie Zheng, dressed as a scholar, gripped it weakly and without strength.

The two stood in front of the same meat stall. Xie Zheng took half a pound of pork, but even though his hands didn't touch it, the probing and wariness between them was immediately apparent.

Peng Bing added more than a dozen details.

The most ingenious part is the foreshadowing with candied tangerine peel.

Zeng Hao read this scene twice, wrote "Keep" next to the lines, and added a line to the tangerine peel candy: "This detail runs throughout the whole thing."

Then he called Xu Wen in: "The project 'Chasing Jade' has been officially approved."

"Platform iQiyi, startup node—"

"We'll decide on the second half of the year, once the production team is fully assembled."

"Lead actor?"

"Tian Xiwei will play Fan Changyu, and Zhang Linghe will play Xie Zheng." Zeng Hao paused for a moment. "The contract will be drafted today and sent out this week. It should be specifically noted that Tian Xiwei needs to practice butchering techniques and knife grip."

Xu Wen wrote it down, then turned back at the door: "She's still practicing. What if she finds out...?"

"Send the contract." Zeng Hao interrupted him, "Let her figure out Fan Changyu's tough exterior but soft interior, and the emotional changes within the contractual marriage."

Xu Wen closed the notebook and replied with a "Okay".

Tian Xiwei received the message around 4 PM.

She was practicing the meat-chopping turn in the rehearsal hall. On her thirteenth repetition, her left ankle was always a beat behind. Sweat streamed down her forehead. She wiped it with her upper arm. Just as she picked up her water bottle, her phone lit up.

Xu Wen simply said: "The contract will be sent to your email this week. It confirms that she will play Fan Changyu in 'Chasing Jade.' Filming will start in the second half of the year. The focus will be on training her butcher's knife skills, knife grip strength, and meat-chopping rhythm."

She put down the water bottle, looked at the message again, turned around and went back to her original position.

She took a deep breath and got up—this time, she turned around half a beat faster while chopping meat. She didn't stop and ran the whole distance smoothly. When she stopped, she was panting and supporting herself on her knees with her hands.

My reflection in the mirror showed sweat-drenched hair plastered to my forehead, sweat stains on the shoulders of my practice clothes, and an ankle brace on my left ankle. I sprained it last week but didn't tell the teacher.

She locked her phone, put it in her pocket, and stood back in her spot: "Let's do it again!"

On the afternoon the final payment arrived, Chu Ran was memorizing her lines on the third floor of the Shanghai Theatre Academy library.

Few people stayed on campus during winter break, so she occupied the small table behind the bookshelf and read modern drama scripts in a low voice.

Her mentor said that her emotions were written all over her face and that she needed to control them so that they wouldn't be easily read.

After reading it three times, she closed the book, looked at the cover, and wondered what it really felt like to "tuck it in."

Turning to Act Two, Scene Three, the female lead encounters an old friend, brushes past him, stands with her back to him for two seconds, adjusts her bag strap, and walks forward.

Chu Ran mentally reviewed the action, then opened her notebook and wrote two words: "Carry bag".

I stared at it for a while, then flipped back to the first act and reread it.

The library was very quiet; occasionally someone would walk past the bookshelves, their footsteps fading into the distance.

The first payment from iQiyi arrived on the ninth day, one day earlier than the contract.

Xu Wen checked his email more than twenty times in the morning, and finally saw the payment notification at 3:30. He opened it, checked the amount three times, and then added it up with a calculator.

One hundred and seventy-two million eight hundred and forty thousand.

After saving the screenshot, he knocked on Zeng Hao's office door.

Inside, Zeng Hao and Peng Bing were discussing location scouting. A map of Hengdian World Studios was spread out on the table, and Peng Bing circled two blocks: "These two will require the least amount of alteration."

Xu Wen handed over his phone: "The money for iQiyi has arrived, a day early."

Zeng Hao glanced at the numbers and pushed the phone back: "Go and see the section between these two blocks in person. You can't see the slope on the map." He pointed to the map, "Fan Changyu's butcher shop is on the corner, which is convenient for filming the scene where Xie Zheng is seriously injured and hides inside."

Peng Bing circled it again: "Okay, next week."

Xu Wen gripped his phone, stepped outside, glanced at the numbers again in the corridor, locked the screen, put it in his pocket, and made himself a coffee.

When Peng Bing submitted the third draft, he brought along photos of the Hengdian location scouting.

It was a scene of preparing goods at the early morning market. The light wasn't fully up, and the pork vendor was carrying meat onto the cutting board. The meat was hung on a wooden rack with iron hooks, and the grain of the meat was clearly visible.

"This lighting was used in the market scene of the first episode." Peng Bing placed the photo on the table. "Fan Changyu needed this kind of cold, hard touch to chop meat."

Zeng Hao picked up the photo, glanced at it, and put it back: "Third draft?"

"I brought it."

Zeng Hao flipped to episode 10, then to episode 20, watched for a while, and put it down: "Xie Zheng's identity line is established, but the logic of the separation scene is wrong."

Peng Bing looked up: "Where did I go wrong?"

"You wrote that Xie Zheng left voluntarily, but in the original story he was captured and forced into military service!" Zeng Hao circled episode twenty-four with his pen. "Fan Changyu has to take up arms in her husband's place to investigate her parents' deaths. It wasn't the bandits who caused it; it was Wei Yan's doing. This core point cannot be changed." He paused. "The way she looked at Xie Zheng as he was being taken away wasn't out of reluctance, but out of a burning desire to save him and uncover the truth!"

Peng Bing paused for a few seconds, then said, "I understand."

"Keep the details of the candied orange peel; we'll need it for our reunion." Zeng Hao placed the photo of the pork stall on the corner of the table, "for the art team to reference."

Peng Bing stood up and walked to the door without turning back: "That girl Tian Xiwei, I saw in the training records that she's practicing her legwork. We need to make her work on her arm strength and the stability of her grip on the knife. A butcher's grip strength is different from a military general's."

Zeng Hao didn't respond and turned to the next document.

On the day the pre-production for "Chasing Jade" began, Tian Xiwei had just finished practicing her last set of meat-chopping and turning exercises.

After taking off my ankle brace and sitting down to drink water, I received a message from Xu Wen on my phone: "Preparations for filming have begun. Filming will start in the second half of the year. Next week, I will release the training schedule for knife skills, arm strength, and physical fitness."

She glanced at the message, then looked at the ankle brace in her hand. It had been used for almost three months, and the edges were frayed, but the Velcro was still sturdy.

After folding and putting it in her bag, she walked back to the mirror and stood up again to finish the chopping meat turning motion: landing steadily.

As she left, she bumped into Chu Ran at the stairwell.

Chu Ran carried two bags, one containing instant noodles and ham, and the other wrapped in brown paper and bulging with spicy strips: "Finished practicing? Want to grab something to eat at your dorm?"

"What?"

"Spicy strips, three flavors, I bought two packs of the spiciest one!"

Tian Xiwei walked towards the dormitory: "Let's go."

The two walked side by side, and Chu Ran noticed her walking posture: "What's wrong with your foot? Something's not right."

"You sprained your ankle, but it's nothing serious, you're almost fully recovered."

"How long have you twisted your ankle?"

"Three weeks."

"Didn't you go to the infirmary?"

"I don't have time." Tian Xiwei didn't even turn her head. "I need to do extra arm strength training next week, so I need to get better quickly."

As Chu Ran reached the corner of the stairwell, she stopped: "Did Xu Wengang send you a message?"

"Um."

"Regarding the 'Chasing Jade' project, I saw your training records at the company before." Chu Ran switched the bag in her other hand. "President Zeng flipped through them at the time, didn't say anything, but circled the 'arm strength training' section, meaning you need to work harder."

Tian Xiwei took out her key and unlocked the door with a click: "His silence is already too much, but he wants me to do better."

How did you know?

"I can't let all this practice go to waste." She threw her bag on the bed. "Fan Changyu's strength can't be developed in a day."

Chu Ran unwrapped a spicy snack and handed it to him: "That makes sense."

The dormitory wasn't very warm, and there was a bit of draft by the window. The two of them sat on the edge of the bed eating spicy snacks.