Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 60 Zhang 3's Easter Egg

"Let's talk about the script."

Xu Wen put the pen cap on, then stopped halfway, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't. He finished putting the cap on completely, stood up, and said, "Okay, I'll go arrange it."

Around 5 p.m., Dilireba came to the company to discuss the promotional matters for the upcoming launch of "Diamond Lover".

She changed out of her outfit from the set and put on a deep forest green fitted suit with matching straight-leg trousers. The belt was tied neatly, and her hair was all combed back into a low ponytail. She wore a pair of slender gold earrings that swayed gently with her steps.

She came in with no extra expression on her face, put her bag on the back of the chair, took out a printed promotional plan from it, and placed it on the table.

"I've compiled a schedule for the publicity period," she said, pushing the document towards Zeng Hao. "Take a look and see if there are any problems."

Zeng Hao took the document and flipped through it from beginning to end. When he got to the third page, he said, "Remove these two variety shows. The timing isn't right. Save this slot for later."

"What's next?"

"It's not decided yet," he said. "Leaving it is more valuable than filling it in."

She thought about it in her mind, folded the corner of the page, and said, "Okay."

She took the document again and marked the two crossed-out lines with practiced ease. Her head was down, and stray hairs fell across her face. Light streamed in from the window, illuminating her profile and highlighting the curve of her cheekbones.

She looked up and met Zeng Hao's gaze.

The conversation was brief; she looked away and continued reading the documents. "Any other questions?"

"That's all," Zeng Hao said. "Execute the modified version."

She folded the documents, put them back in her bag, stood up, straightened the hem of her suit jacket, and walked towards the door. Halfway there, without turning back, she said, "Did you see that message from last night?"

"I saw it."

She didn't say another word, pushed the door open, and went out.

The sound of high heels hitting the floor echoed in the hallway, clear and distinct, one click at a time, before disappearing around the corner.

"Buzz—"

My phone vibrated; it was the second email from iQiyi Business.

The subject line reads: "Renegotiation of the terms of cooperation between Diamond Lovers. We look forward to your reply."

Zeng Hao opened the email, read it through, put his phone down, and called out, "Xu Wen."

Xu Wen poked his finger in from outside. "What is it?"

"Set the time for iQiyi," he said. "This Friday, tell them I only have one hour."

Xu Wen noted this down, looked up, and asked with a hint of eagerness on his face, "So, what percentage of the profits do you plan to negotiate this time?"

Zeng Hao picked up the script for "Three Lives Three Worlds" again, turned to the page he had just looked at, and said, "It's more than they wanted to give."

Xu Wen clicked his tongue over the note, seemingly not understanding anything specific, but he didn't ask any further questions. He tucked the notebook under his arm and left.

...

Upon receiving the message, Chu Ran immediately skipped class and ran away.

The script outline was printed out and had seventeen pages. Chu Ran spread it out on the conference room table and turned to the scene "that guy".

He drew a bracket in the margin with a ballpoint pen, and wrote three words inside the bracket. The words were very small and written very carefully.

She didn't hear Zeng Hao come in; by the time she looked up, he was already sitting down opposite her.

She capped her pen, tried to turn the page, but didn't. Instead, she pushed the script over and said, "[You] have a question for this scene."

Zeng Hao took the page and glanced at the three words she had written: "Test her."

"You think he said it on purpose, as a test, not out of habit," he said. This wasn't a question.

"Yes, sixteen years. Zhang San has long since been assimilated," Chu Ran said. "I think he should be more like an emperor at this point, so... there needs to be some foreshadowing beforehand. Only after that foreshadowing can he say—'that person.'"

Zeng Hao put the page back on the table. "So what do you think we should do?"

She leaned forward a little in her chair and flipped the script back two scenes. "Have Eunuch An report on Yu Wanyin's unusual behavior, but His Majesty should act as if he doesn't understand."

"So Eunuch An told him that His Majesty had instructed him long ago that if any concubine in the harem showed any abnormality, it should be reported immediately."

"But tonight, Yu Wanyin acted unusually, dressed in an exceptionally seductive manner."

"This matter has been over a decade old, and even His Majesty himself had long forgotten about it, but Eunuch An has always kept it in mind."

"After Eunuch An's reminder, the Emperor remembered that there was indeed such a thing."

He remembered himself, and his identity as a modern person: Zhang San. He was a time traveler.

"At that moment, a slight relaxation appeared on his deathly face."

"It was only when Yu Wanyin was serving him in bed that he deliberately uttered those three words—'that person!'"

"Actually, it was just his test, and he didn't have much hope for it."

"Then came Yu Wanyin's English greeting scene."

"The choice we have is whether to integrate this consideration naturally or as an Easter egg..."

Zeng Hao flipped to that page, looked at it for about forty seconds, then folded a corner of the page. "Tell Fang Qing about this."

Chu Ran opened her notebook, wrote this down, lowered her head, her hair hanging forward, her bangs covering half of her forehead.

She was wearing a light blue sweatshirt today, with her hair tied in a low ponytail. She was 17 years old and sat there like a student taking notes diligently in class, but the brackets and three words she wrote made the paper look less like homework.

"In the scene in the library," she put down her notebook and turned to that scene, "the direction of the dialogue, after Xu Yao died, Yu Wanyin's lines were written too much like an observer. Every word she said was from an external perspective of pity, but the character's guilt towards Xu Yao was real. She knew that he died because of her. These two things should be true at the same time—she was mourning him, but she was also judging herself."

Zeng Hao pulled out that scene and watched it for a longer time this time, about a minute and a half, without saying a word.

Chu Ran waited on the other side without urging her. She flipped back to the scene in the English version of the script and reread the part where she had written the parentheses.

"Fang Qing can't handle this," Zeng Hao said. "You'll have to handle this scene yourself in the end."

She looked up. "Shall I write the lines?"

"You suggest the direction," he said. "What you just said—to grieve for him while judging yourself—is the right judgment. Have Fang Qing revise it in this direction, and show it to you after it's done. If you think it's wrong, then suggest it again."

She thought about it for a moment, nodded, and wrote a few words in her notebook.

"In the final scene," she closed her notebook, looked up, "I want to ask, when Yu Wanyin said 'I'm willing both in and out of the book,' was she truly at peace, or just accepting it?"

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

"Is there a difference?" Zeng Hao asked.

"Yes," she said. "She came to terms with it herself. She knew the relationship was worthwhile. She accepted it because she had no other choice. These two states are portrayed differently. The way the fireworks were lit also affected the audience's feelings. I need to know which one you want."