"Calls?"
"Could it be a suspense movie?!"
Without even reading the content, it was not hard to deduce the film's genre just from the title. Yet even so, it came as a slight surprise to Lu Chen.
The entertainment industry in Hua Nation might seem developed, but it was not without its shortcomings.
In earlier years, the biggest vacuum in film and television was the sci-fi genre. To fill this void, the government introduced many favorable policies such as tax reductions. For a time, sci-fi movies and television series blossomed, quickly reaching the world average.
However, this measure also caused capital to pour heavily into sci-fi subjects, leaving the already niche suspense film and television genre with even fewer creators.
Nowadays, a nationwide consensus had formed: whoever produced a suspense film or television project was destined to fail.
Thinking of this, Lu Chen could not help but sigh.
Was this woman genuinely foolish or just pretending? Bringing a suspense-genre script to raise investment—wasn't that like walking into a toilet with a lantern, just asking to die!
Yet judging by her earlier behavior, she didn't seem like a fool.
Clinging to this thought, Lu Chen casually flipped open one of the pages, the header reading [Episode 2].
What on earth was Episode 2?
Lu Chen was instantly struck as if by lightning at the opening.
After giving it a rough scan, he was left even more speechless.
Although he had never been involved in film production, even if he had never eaten pork, he had certainly seen a pig run.
Whether in movies, TV shows, animation, or manga, scripts placed an extreme emphasis on storyboarding. Scene switches and character introductions were used to further advance the plot and pace.
Yet Zhong Lan was different. There were no storyboards to speak of in the script; it was entirely dense lines of character dialogue.
"Looks like I thought too much."
He had expected some kind of surprise, and this was the result?
Still, since he had already read this much and had nothing better to do, Lu Chen decided to take a closer look anyway.
The opening dialogue was not complicated. It was a woman named Li Li making a phone call to her husband, Zhao Qiang.
Judging from the conversation, the two of them had a huge argument over the issue of having children.
The reason for the fight was that they had made an agreement before marriage to be DINK (Double Income, No Kids), and both wanted a life without children.
Yet on this very night, his wife Li Li suddenly told him she wanted a child, sparking a conflict.
An angry Zhao Qiang drove off alone in the middle of the night, intending to drive along National Highway 318 to clear his head.
This phone conversation took place while Zhao Qiang was on his road trip.
"This seems a little interesting."
Lu Chen nodded slightly.
Choosing the "DINK" conflict as the story's entry point was very much in line with some current popular online debates in the country.
Some said that choosing to be DINK meant fewer children, allowing a couple to have more time and money to live their own free lives.
Others said that without children, providing for old age would leave one lonely and bitterly tragic.
Which side was right? Lu Chen didn't know.
But he was indeed captivated by the opening story of the script, even though it consisted entirely of phone conversations.
Following the dialogue, the first phone call ended quickly.
The outcome went without saying: the two of them had not reached an agreement.
Yet before long, a second phone call came in, still from his wife Li Li—except this time, judging from the lines, her tone was significantly more tense.
Lu Chen had assumed it would be a continuation of the argument revolving around the "DINK" topic.
Instead, a few words from Li Li made his hair stand on end.
[Li Li: Please, Qiangzi, let's stop arguing. You... you need to get back home right now.]
[Zhao Qiang: I said, once I finish driving this stretch of National Highway 318 to clear my head, I'll go back. You called the police just over something like this?]
[Li Li: Sob, sob... b-but you've been missing for three days already!]
"Three days?!"
Lu Chen hurriedly flipped back up to check their previous dialogue. Confirming that Zhao Qiang had left just that very night, he suddenly understood.
This script... seemed to have some real substance to it.
Lu Chen flipped the script back to the first page, then began reading every single line of dialogue step by step.
Before he knew it, two hours had passed, and he finally slowly lowered the script in his hand.
The look of shock in his eyes was unmistakable.
He turned his head toward the door, as if trying to pierce through the wall to see Zhong Lan in the next room.
...
Early the next morning.
A commotion of clattering sounds rang out from the bathroom.
Zhong Lan breezed through washing up, fixing her hair, and putting on makeup in one smooth flow.
It took a total of 5 minutes.
Why? Simply because she wanted to grab a good spot at the film studio in advance and continue raising investment.
Besides, in her past life, she was no delicate lady.
She had always advocated simplicity and disliked trouble.
Simple outfits, no manicures, no dyed hair. As for makeup, casually swiping on a bit of tone-up cream was already her absolute baseline.
"Oh, morning. Lu... Lu... whatever, can't remember."
"Are you... did you have insomnia last night?"
Just as she picked up her bag and prepared to leave, Zhong Lan noticed that Lu Chen was already sitting on the living room sofa even earlier than her.
Not only that, his entire state seemed somewhat off.
His complexion was dull, and his eyes were somewhat swollen and bloodshot.
Hearing Zhong Lan's inquiry, Lu Chen inwardly cursed.
Aren't you the one who caused this?!
After finishing the script last night, he couldn't help himself and had re-read the nine episode segments several times over.
Yes, this script was somewhat similar to an anthology series, where each phone conversation segment was an individual short story. Yet when all the stories were strung together, they formed a complete narrative that connected seamlessly from beginning to end.
Honestly, this was the first time he had ever seen a genre like this, and his mind was full of doubts.
If not for the social boundary between men and women, he really would have gone over to knock on her door and ask questions last night.
Seeing Zhong Lan appear, Lu Chen didn't waste any breath. He pulled out the script and tossed it onto the table: "I want to invest in your movie."
"Oh, you want to invest... wait, what did you say?"
Zhong Lan was momentarily stunned, but she quickly reacted, dropped the bag in her hand, and dashed straight toward him.
Lu Chen instinctively leaned back.
Thud—
Plop down onto the seat, Zhong Lan grabbed Lu Chen's arm once again with a face full of smiles.
Radiant was an understatement.
Happiness came too suddenly not to be excited.
Zhong Lan blinked with eyes full of anticipation: "Brother Lu Chen, how much are you willing to invest?"
"..."
When I wasn't investing, I was "can't remember," but now that I want to invest, I'm "Brother Lu Chen," is that it?
The corners of Lu Chen's mouth twitched slightly as he took a deep breath.
Endure it!
To make money, there was no shame in this.
He had a hunch that if this script was filmed, it might actually blow up.
"Before we talk about the investment, I want to ask three questions first." Lu Chen pushed Zhong Lan away again and asked out of irrepressible curiosity.
Zhong Lan immediately chimed in: "No problem, as long as you're willing to invest. Forget three questions, I'll agree to thirty."
"Fine."
Lu Chen nodded slightly, his eyes full of suspicion as he asked: "First question... did you really write this script?"
This question was critical.
Not only because Hua Nation placed extreme importance on copyright protection, but moreover, he simply could not reconcile the woman before him with the creator of such a brilliant script.
It was... it was just too unbelievable.
...