November 17th.

Pei Qian received a call from Huang Sibo, asking him to come to Fei Huang Studio to finalize the script and confirm some other matters regarding the film production.

It had been over two weeks since Pei Qian had written his script outline.

During these two weeks, Zhu Xiaocai and the screenwriters at Fei Huang Studio had been continuously refining the script that Mr. Pei had provided, while also conducting preliminary preparations.

Now that the script was being finalized, Pei Qian, as the film’s investor, definitely needed to go and give his approval—it was a matter of showing proper attitude.

Of course, if Pei Qian discovered that Zhu Xiaocai had made too many changes to the script and severely weakened its toxicity, he would certainly have something to say about it.

Regarding providing creative input and giving final approval, Boss Pei had become increasingly detached.

Because he had discovered that no matter what he chose, the backstabbing would arrive as scheduled!

When making “Sea Fortress,” Pei Qian had only provided the general direction and let the employees freely develop the details, and then the game became a hit.

When making “Game Producer,” Pei Qian had meticulously scrutinized every word, reducing Lü Mingliang to a mere tool, yet the game still became a hit.

When investing in Ma Yang, Pei Qian had hardly placed any requirements on the investment direction, completely allowing Old Ma free rein, and yet…

In short, it was all tears.

Pei Qian had discovered that regardless of whether he managed the project or to what extent he managed it, the result was pretty much the same.

Since that was the case, why bother putting in that effort?

If Boss Pei had to scrutinize every word like he did with “Game Producer,” it would be too exhausting.

So Pei Qian planned to just go to Fei Huang Studio for a casual look, go through the motions, try to offer some of his “opinions” if possible, make a symbolic resistance, and be done with it.

As they say, man proposes, God disposes; such matters cannot be forced.

Pei Qian arrived at Fei Huang Studio’s office location, where Huang Sibo and Zhu Xiaocai welcomed him to the reception room.

After such a long period of development, Fei Huang Studio now had a fairly complete staff lineup, including directors, screenwriters, on-set staff, post-production teams, editors, special effects technicians, and so on. The entire office area looked quite lively, with everyone enthusiastically preparing for the new production.

Arriving at the reception room, Pei Qian took a sip of tea, and the first thing he did was to remind Huang Sibo.

“Although Fei Huang Studio is currently thriving, never forget the Tenda spirit. It’s certainly good that everyone has high work enthusiasm, but you absolutely cannot turn a blind eye to overtime issues, understand?”

Huang Sibo hurriedly nodded: “Rest assured, Mr. Pei, all of Fei Huang Studio’s regulations and welfare benefits are aligned with Tenda’s standards. How could we do such an outrageous thing?”

Pei Qian nodded, very satisfied with Huang Sibo’s response.

Zhu Xiaocai handed over a thick stack of script pages: “Mr. Pei, this is the completed script for your review. If there’s anything in it that doesn’t align with your intentions, please point it out, and we’ll revise it repeatedly.”

Pei Qian took the thick script, and the first thing he saw was the film’s title.

Previously, Pei Qian had only written a simple story outline and hadn’t given the film a name.

However, Zhu Xiaocai and the screenwriting team at Fei Huang Studio had not only filled in the detailed content of the script but had also given the film a name.

“Beautiful Tomorrow.”

It also had an English name, “Tomorrow is Beautiful.”

Seeing this name, Pei Qian couldn’t help but give a mental thumbs up.

Good!

Well done!

This was a supremely toxic script that would depress anyone who watched it.

Yet the film’s title didn’t reflect its toxicity at all; instead, it was highly misleading.

“Beautiful Tomorrow”—this name sounded like a warm, artistic film that would trick many unsuspecting audiences into watching it, possibly even couples in the honeymoon phase of their relationship.

Wouldn’t this lead to getting criticized terribly? The reputation would tank!

Pei Qian nodded slightly and continued reading.

Seeing Boss Pei nod, Zhu Xiaocai, sitting across from him, couldn’t help but feel encouraged.

My script has received Boss Pei’s approval!

My interpretation of this script is completely correct!

Boss Pei also understood the deep meaning behind this film title. Indeed, this is how geniuses recognize each other!

Pei Qian was unaware of Zhu Xiaocai’s excited mood at this moment. He casually flipped through the thick script, picking out several key plot points to examine.

The originally simple story outline had been expanded with great detail, including settings, dialogues, actions, and so on, allowing one to roughly visualize the film’s scenes.

Pei Qian had only one feeling: poison on top of poison!

Although the previous script outline was toxic, it was, after all, just an outline with very brief storylines. But now, the female protagonist’s and male protagonist’s dialogues, expressions, and so on were all written out in detail. If one were to imagine the background music at that moment, the toxicity level…

It was simply off the charts.

Pei Qian could hardly bear to read it—too tragic!

After a quick browse, Pei Qian confirmed that Zhu Xiaocai and the screenwriting team hadn’t made any changes to the story outline but had simply and honestly expanded it into a script.

The toxicity hadn’t been reduced at all; rather, due to the increase in details, the toxicity had greatly intensified!

Seeing this, Pei Qian felt reassured.

If they filmed it honestly, it would be a supremely toxic script!

“This script is perfect!”

“I’m very satisfied.”

Pei Qian highly praised Zhu Xiaocai and the screenwriting team’s work.

Zhu Xiaocai’s face also broke into a smile: “Not at all, it’s all because Boss Pei’s script was so well-written. We only did some insignificant work.”

As they were chatting, Pei Qian’s phone rang.

Pei Qian saw it was Chang You calling.

“Hello? Boss Pei, I just wanted to let you know that the preliminary preparations are almost complete. The office space has been settled, and my brothers have all been onboarded.”

“Today we want to confirm the product form of the mobile phone, including some early work task planning. If you have time, could you come over and guide our work?”

Guide their work?

This was a bit unfortunate.

Pei Qian still needed to discuss the script with Zhu Xiaocai and the others at Fei Huang Studio, so he probably wouldn’t have time today.

Should he “guide” Fei Huang Studio with its wealth of successful experience, or “guide” the Dream Team with its wealth of failure experience?

The choice was obvious.

Of course, Pei Qian could also ask Chang You and his team to hold the meeting tomorrow, but upon careful consideration, making everyone wait a whole day for this reason seemed pointless.

Pei Qian felt he shouldn’t interfere too much with OTTO Tech’s affairs. On one hand, it could affect the Dream Team’s performance; on the other hand, if he actively interfered and the phone project failed, it would be like Boss Pei sharing some of Lin Wan’s blame, which wouldn’t help Lin Wan come to her senses and return to inherit her family business.

“You guys discuss it first. I have something to attend to here, so I won’t be coming over.”

“You don’t need to consult me on everything. Just go ahead and do what you need to do.”

Chang You: “Alright, Boss Pei! Rest assured, we will complete the task!”

After hanging up the phone, Pei Qian continued discussing the script with Zhu Xiaocai.

Zhu Xiaocai hesitated: “Boss Pei, there’s still an issue we haven’t decided on.”

“You may have noticed that the character names in the script haven’t been determined yet. This is because we’re undecided about whether the protagonist of this story should be an Eastern person or a Western person.”

“In your story outline, you only vaguely mentioned that this is a future world, but didn’t emphasize any information about nationality.”

Pei Qian nodded; yes, this was indeed a question.

“Since it’s something happening in a future world, we need to blur nationality factors.”

“Besides, this kind of story couldn’t possibly happen in our country.”

“All the characters, settings, and so on in the film should use English, and the dialogue should all be in English.”

“The lead actors should also be foreigners. If we can’t find suitable ones, then we can use Chinese actors who speak good English. Their identity in the film doesn’t need to be explicitly stated; the audience will naturally understand they are of Chinese descent.”

Pei Qian figured that foreign extras would be more expensive than domestic ones!

Since there was an opportunity to spend more money, he certainly couldn’t pass it up.

Zhu Xiaocai hurriedly nodded: “Yes, Boss Pei, that’s what I was thinking too.”

“However, we might encounter a problem, which is… it will be difficult for us to invite big-name foreign actors, or even moderately well-known ones.”

“After all, this is Fei Huang Studio’s first theatrical film, and we have no reputation abroad. Even if we offer money, it might be difficult to get those well-known actors to travel across the ocean to Jingzhou…”

“So, the extras issue is easy to solve, but these leading roles, especially the male lead and this judge… are problematic.”

“Because these two characters have a lot of screen time and require relatively high acting skills.”

“So, do you think we could use domestic actors for these two roles?”

Pei Qian thought for a moment: “Sure.”

“But… if we can’t get well-known foreign actors, can we get domestic ones?”

Zhu Xiaocai smiled somewhat helplessly: “Those are hard to get, too.”

“But with domestic actors, at least the communication is easier, so we have a better chance of securing them.”

Pei Qian initially wanted to say that they could just find some new talents from schools to play the lead roles, but then he thought again—newcomers would ask for too little, making it difficult to spend more on actor salaries.

They had to find at least one or two higher-profile actors; otherwise, the budget for actor compensation would probably not be fully spent.

But how to find? That was another question.

Pei Qian suddenly thought of a candidate.

Among domestic actors, I know one, and we’ve even worked together!

Fried Pork Knuckle!

Since Zhang Zuting’s last endorsement of “Hot Blood Battle Song,” he had been heavily criticized, but being criticized deeply naturally created fans, which had actually brought him quite a bit of traffic. He no longer objected to the nickname “Fried Pork Knuckle.”

Of course, Pei Qian still remembered this old friend.

Old Zhang was a good friend of Tenda, and he couldn’t let him down. As the saying goes, keep the wealth within the family. For such a high-paying opportunity, he should take care of himself first.

If the movie flopped and got criticized, people would blame the screenwriters anyway.

As long as Old Zhang’s acting was good in the film, the audience would not criticize him.

Moreover, there was a character in the script that was very suitable for Old Zhang—that utterly despicable judge.

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more suitable it seemed. He said, “I’ll help with the actors.”

“I’ll contact Zhang Zuting later and ask about his schedule. If we can get him, he can play the judge.”

“As for the lead actor… you look for someone, I’ll look too, and if we find suitable candidates, we can discuss further.”

Zhu Xiaocai was very pleased: “Zhang Zuting? If we could get him, that would be great. He’s a seasoned actor with impeccable acting skills! And his English is quite good, so he can use English throughout the filming process.”

“Boss Pei truly has extensive connections!”