Chapter 34 Did you really write this screenplay?

"I’ve sold my soul, so why are the follow-up reads still not enough?"

Yu Wei let out a roar typical of a failing author in front of his computer. Eight hours after the release of the new chapter, his novel had only garnered four hundred follow-up reads, still seventy or eighty short of what he needed to redeem *The Piano Tuner*. It seemed the filming schedule would have to be pushed back another day.

He wasn't in a rush this time, and he had no intention of gaming the system; he would just let the numbers grow naturally. If all went well, he would have enough follow-up reads by tomorrow, and with an all-nighter, he could finish the script—after all, *The Piano Tuner* wasn't a long piece. If he ever started writing a proper television series, that would be true torture; a show spanning dozens of episodes would require at least four hundred thousand words.

Just as Yu Wei was about to arrange a meeting with Qi Luo'an to discuss the script, her message arrived first.

"You really deserved the scolding you got today."

Clearly, Qi Luo'an had seen the chaos in the comments section of his new chapter. Her assessment was one word: deserved! She understood that Yu Wei didn't want to spoil the script early since it was an original work, but using chapter titles to bait his readers was a bit low.

Deceiving readers' emotions was indeed worth a scolding; Yu Wei knew that full well. But for a failing author, if he wanted to boost his follow-up numbers, he had to play the villain for once. *Just wait for them... forgive me...*

"Are you free the day after tomorrow afternoon? Let’s set a time for you to look at the script."

After pulling an all-nighter to finish it tomorrow, he’d probably sleep until noon; a "ghostly" schedule was normal for web novelists.

"I have a class on Classical Chinese at two, anytime after four works."

Once bitten, twice shy—or rather, familiar with the drill—Yu Wei suggested the same café as before. When it came to work, convenience was key; it wasn't a date where he had to keep changing things up. He had originally planned to send the script to Qi Luo'an online, but she had refused. She had insisted, quite sensibly, that one must always be on guard—even against her. What if it got plagiarized if sent online?

Yu Wei had weighed the risks; a young lady of the entertainment industry wouldn't be eyeing his little script, but Qi Luo'an was decent enough to prioritize his concerns.

The next day, the follow-up reads for chapter thirty-six finally crawled to five hundred. Yu Wei successfully redeemed *The Piano Tuner*, and his head began to buzz with information. Mastering a film was quite different from a song; a film had far more detail, with every shot and composition clearly laid out. The most terrifying part was the information regarding acting; he could learn the performance styles of not just the lead, but nearly every major character.

Yu Wei felt terrifyingly powerful; he could practically play both male and female leads in a scene, acting out the dialogue all by himself.

It seemed, however, useless. What star could take on every single role in a production? He wouldn't have the time. Unless he were the director, he could personally demonstrate how to play each role, overseeing the entire project.

By comparison, the script for *The Piano Tuner* took up the least amount of brainpower. Less than ten thousand words—he could crank that out in a single night. At the peak of his failures, he used to hit twenty thousand words a day; while he couldn't compete with those "ultimate octopuses," it was just enough.

He finished the script at four in the morning, slept until eleven-thirty, and woke up with his hair in a state of total disarray.

"To meet you, I even made the effort to wash my hair."

As everyone knows, washing one's hair is the highest form of etiquette for a man going out. Qi Luo'an glanced at Yu Wei’s soft hair, looking somewhat unimpressed. It wasn't as if he didn't wash his hair when meeting others...

Qi Luo'an’s outfit today was as rebellious as ever. She wore a dark blue off-the-shoulder knitted short-sleeve top; the cross-over neckline was quite stylish, perfectly revealing her snow-white, square shoulders. Yet, she paired it with cargo shorts—the kind with many pockets. It was a mix of elegance and carelessness, but it suited her perfectly.

Yu Wei noticed her fair calves below the shorts; delicate, well-proportioned, and full of vitality, they looked like something out of a manga.

"Looks good, right?"

"You'll know once you take a look." Yu Wei was a master of playing dumb, smoothly handing over the script he had printed out hours ago. *I’m talking about the script—what are you talking about?*

Qi Luo'an couldn't be bothered to banter with him; she was desperate to know what this mysterious script was about. Accompanied by the scent of fresh ink, she opened the printed manuscript. She already knew the title of the short film, but seeing the large characters "The Piano Tuner" centered on the cover, she felt a moment of daze.

He had actually written it...

The works that were only briefly mentioned in his novels had actually been brought into reality. Rather than feeling shocked, Qi Luo'an felt a touch of emotion. It was hard to describe, as if the dreams she had as a child, the fantasies from those stories, had truly descended into her world.

After a long silence, Qi Luo'an solemnly began to read the script. It was the story of a piano tuner pretending to be blind. The male lead, a piano prodigy, loses a competition and poses as a blind tuner to gain sympathy and work, also using it to peer into the lives and secrets of others. One day, while tuning a piano, he accidentally stumbles into a crime scene: an elderly woman has just murdered her husband, and the body is on the sofa. To save his life, the lead can only continue pretending to be blind, playing the piano with trembling hands. However, the woman sees through his ruse and stands behind him with a nail gun. The film ends on the suspense of the music abruptly stopping, his life hanging in the balance.

"So, does the male lead die in the end?"

That was the first thing Qi Luo'an asked after finishing the script. Instead of offering an analysis or critique, her first reaction was to ask what happened next. That alone was the best praise a story could receive.

"Why do you think an open ending is called an open ending?" Yu Wei replied, effectively saying nothing at all.

Qi Luo'an didn't respond, instead staring blankly at the script, then looking at Yu Wei with a hint of confusion.

Was this really a story he could write? Song lyrics were fragmented, but a script was a whole, reflecting a screenwriter's ability to tell a story. She had read the stories Yu Wei wrote—typical, classic, low-brow web fiction, with writing style stuck at "looked, paused, smiled, froze, rubbed."

This script, whether in style, depth, or prose, was completely beyond what his novels were capable of. Only by seeing both could one feel the sheer dissonance.

"Did you really write this script?"

Qi Luo'an stared straight at him, her watery eyes solemn, as if she had already seen through the truth.

"Why is there such a huge gap between the script and your novels?"

"Why would a star like you write web fiction?"

"Why do you write your works into your novels ahead of time?"

"Why are you willing to take the heat just to trick readers into reading your book?"

Yu Wei was stunned by her rapid-fire barrage of questions. Life wasn't a novel; the difference in style was obvious to anyone with eyes. Had his "cheat" been discovered?

"There is only one logical explanation."

"You're lying."

Qi Luo'an’s gaze was sharp. Yu Wei didn't even dare to meet her eyes for a moment; she had read so many web novels, she must have figured it out.

"I..."

"Are you writing novels simply to take revenge on society?"

"?"

Qi Luo'an laughed, a clear and pleasant sound, and explained, "Look, the style of your novel and your script are completely different. Clearly, you are doing this on purpose."

"Writing your finished works into your novels is just to tease your readers, so you can trick them into repeatedly savoring your 'crap'."

"Are you willing to get scolded just to make your readers eat this hot 'crap'? You guy!"

Yu Wei stood dumbfounded. *Ah, am I that evil? How come I didn't know?*

"You know those video bloggers who don't livestream, don't sell goods, don't chase money, and don't take ads, just strictly produce abstract content to torture netizens?"

"Are you writing books just to torture your readers? Speak!"