Chapter 648: Chapter 639: Picking Up a Bargain

"Buddy, buddy, are you okay? Quick, drink some water!"

"Little Su, don’t scare me. If Shen Yi finds out I wore you out, I can’t afford to compensate!"

One poured him water, while the other patted his back to help him breathe.

Earlier, the two were whispering, but then they noticed Su Qing’s breathing getting heavier, his hands even starting to tremble, his expression as if he’d eaten something disgusting, with his temples throbbing.

Even though neither of them were doctors, they could tell he was on the verge of blowing up, fearing he’d faint.

We’re here to discuss projects, we should be happy, sending someone to the hospital would just be a joke, wouldn’t it?

Seeing his odd expression, the two quickly stood up to interrupt him, trying to bring him back to his senses, as he’s their cash cow right now; they can’t let anything go wrong.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

After drinking a glass of water, Su Qing finally felt alive again. After going through a few scripts, his blood pressure had noticeably risen, his face heated.

The term ’anger making one’s hair stand up’ was true, he confirmed it.

Seeing him come around, Wang Fan asked him with a smile:

"What’s the matter, buddy? Are those scripts not to your liking? If not, I’ll just reject them for you, they aren’t worth it, really not worth it. Tell me, how come I never noticed you had such a temper before?"

"Exactly, if you don’t like it, we just won’t invest. I’m scared you’ll get angry to death. Is it necessary? Let me see what scripts they are."

The one behind him, Tang Nan, also chimed in, grabbing the scripts he had read for a quick glance:

"Not bad, youth idol love drama, evergreen popular theme, e-sports web series, creative enough with elements of love, youth pain literature movie, also very popular, just like the movie ’You Are the Apple of My Eye’ from a few years back, it should be a hit too. Oh, and a palace intrigue drama, now that’s a big production."

Flipping through the scripts he had read, just from the creative standpoint, though not stunning, they were commendable, at least they were currently trendy topics, with successful cases.

The only downside might be the classic anti-Japanese drama remake that she found unworthy, not because the theme was bad, but because remakes haven’t been popular in recent years, especially classic remakes.

Now it’s not like 2010, when they’d remake the Eagle Shooting Hero trilogy, and it’d be a hit. Nowadays, apart from original scripts, adaptations of online novels are all the rage.

Like Wang Fan’s ’Wandering Earth’, which also exploded in popularity as an adaptation of the same-titled novel?

"You... you two... know nothing," Su Qing said weakly as he hammered his own chest.

If he only read the scripts, of course he wouldn’t see anything wrong. The scripts are written so fancifully, claiming small investments with big returns, even bigger returns with more investment, along with past successful cases, giving a feeling that even if the project doesn’t explode, it could earn a small profit.

Plus, these directors are all masters of creating illusions. If it weren’t for the hints, he would’ve been almost swayed.

For a script, it didn’t give hints right away when he held it; he needed to check the director and actor lineup, the story outline, and briefly flip through the script for confirmation.

With this set, even if he was focused, it took almost twenty minutes to finish one script.

The reason why he could give hints immediately for Wang Fan’s script back then was because Wang Fan, the director, was right in front of him, and the actor lineup was already set, half of it had been shot, naturally it was simple.

But these scripts were different, some had just started, some didn’t even have a crew yet, which added to the variables. Without enough information, he couldn’t even trigger the hints.

Listening to the evaluations through the hints, after all the hard work, this is the answer I get?

If there were just one or two, it’d be fine, but now, he didn’t even see a single project that wouldn’t lose money after investment.

He’s an investor, not an actor or director. Whether the film becomes a hit or not, they get paid either way; at most they risk their popularity, but his loss is real money.

"How can I not understand? I’ve directed these types of dramas myself," Tang Nan said unconcernedly.

Hearing this, Su Qing recalled Tang Nan’s works, finding that indeed most were lousy films. No wonder she liked variety shows, though there were some outstanding roles, not many, and the overall ratings of her works were certainly not high.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but show some sympathy in his gaze toward Tang Nan.

"Hey, what kind of look is that? What do you mean?"

To which, Su Qing shook his head: "No, you’re great, really great, keep it up!"

After two hours, he had only gone through seven scripts, it seemed he had a lot of work ahead.

Seeing this, Wang Fan was also a bit embarrassed; though Su Qing didn’t say it outright, he couldn’t ignore that Su Qing was quite dissatisfied with these scripts.

But there wasn’t much he could do; even disregarding the director’s capabilities, finding a good script itself is rare, let alone the actor variables affecting them, so creating a good piece is a stroke of luck.

Plus, many directors have to compromise to the market, to investors, some lesser-known directors even get bullied by star actors.

Not every director wields absolute power in the production, fortunately, Wang Fan should be able to reach that level now.

At least, when he films ’Wandering Earth 2’ next, despite the massive investment, he’ll have the absolute say on set, that’s the confidence success brings.

"Is it the scripts I brought over that aren’t good?" Wang Fan said awkwardly.

Hearing his words, Su Qing naturally saw through his emotions, waved his hand and smiled: "It’s my problem. Besides, brother, you’re also a director, you know how rare good scripts are. At least, the ones I’ve seen are indeed not good, there’s an 80% chance of losing money if I invest. If I were a director or actor, of course I wouldn’t care; as long as I make money, it’s fine. But I’m an investor."

"Hmm, that’s true, our perspectives are different," Wang Fan nodded.

"Alright, Tang Nan, is there any good place nearby? Let’s have a meal, brother, I’ll take the scripts back to look over, and can probably give you an update by tomorrow. If there’s something worth it, I’ll let you know tomorrow!" Su Qing rubbed his eyebrows and smiled.

"Sure, no rush, take your time, I’m not busy these days anyway!"

Tang Nan chimed in: "Okay, I’ll arrange a place, let’s have dinner together tonight!"

To this, the two had no objections and both nodded in agreement.

At 8 o’clock in the evening, Su Qing and Tang Nan returned home, Su Qing sitting on the sofa flipping through scripts, searching for a profitable project, while Tang Nan was video calling with Shen Yi.

"Xiao Yi, your man is something now, isn’t he? He’s looking more and more like a capitalist, even starts to disdain the stuff I used to act in."

Hearing this, Shen Yi on the other end covered her mouth and laughed: "Is that so? To be honest, we really are on the same wavelength. I also thought most of your past works were quite brainless, haha!"

"What? You..."

"Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying your roles were bad, but the entire projects you participated in weren’t great!"

Tang Nan: (╬￣皿￣)

Just as they were chatting, Su Qing, who sat on the sofa, suddenly exclaimed:

"Got it!"

The sudden outburst startled the two, Tang Nan was taken aback, then rushed over to ask: "What’s up? What’s up? Found a good script? Show me, which one is it!"

Hearing this, Su Qing smiled and nodded: "Finally found a strong script, at least it’s not a complete loss, we’re in business."

Saying that, Tang Nan snatched the script from his hand, took a close look, and saw four bold characters

"In the Eye of the Beholder"

...

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