Chapter 201: Making a Sci-Fi Movie

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

More than two years had passed.

The last atomic watch that had been lost and wandering out in the world had been found.

It was currently the timepiece worn by Wang Zeyu, a young master from a rich and powerful family. He had now become Chen Jin’s “Brother Ze.”

With this watch, Wang Zeyu was also monitored 24 hours a day. Chen Jin would not act rationally if Wang Zeyu ever realized that there was something suspicious about it. He simply wanted to continue monitoring Wang Zeyu.

If Wang Zeyu noticed that there was something out of the ordinary about it and made a shocking discovery, Chen Jin would have no choice but to take action. He would send the robots to steal it. In any case, he had to get the watch back.

After all, that was a high-tech product that was ahead of Earth’s technology by at least 20 years!

Hence, it was said that to compensate for a wrong move made at the beginning, a certain amount of energy and cost would have to be incurred to eliminate a hidden pitfall.

Was this too silly?

Ah!

Actually, Chen Jin had not realized this either, that such great significance was hidden in an ordinary mechanical watch.

In addition, he needed funds for his business. Opening a jewelry shop required some tens of millions, and starting a company required even more. How would he acquire those funds? And at such a rapid speed?

He could not think of a better way than to start reselling jewelry at a profit.

Now that the last hidden threat had been discovered and was placed under monitoring, Chen Jin could finally put his worries to rest.

Moreover, with Brother Ze’s brainless behavior, which was led by his d*ck, it would be surprising if he ever realized that something was off about that atomic watch on his wrist, thus he was not too worried.

Of course, disaster could strike even with the best preparations. To ensure that things did not get out of hand, he had to get that atomic watch back as soon as possible. He must thoroughly eliminate the hidden threat.

A certain technique and patience were needed for this. He could not be too impatient. The more impulsively he might act, the greater his lack of finesse. The target might even notice some kind of problem; he couldn’t just treat anyone like an idiot.

Chen Jin muttered, “I’m aiming for that watch. Brother Ze, I’m going to become your best friend.”

…

The next day.

After a sumptuous breakfast.

In the east wing, Chen Jin and Shi Xiaotao sat in a living room with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. They were having an in-depth discussion about Shi Xiaotao not having returned to Hanghu City immediately; instead, she had slept in one of the villa’s guestrooms.

A cup of coffee sat in front of Chen Jin. He crossed his legs and asked, “Xiaotao, what genre will your next movie be? Do you have any plans?”

“Not yet.”

Shi Xiaotao shook her head. “My brain is blank after completing the production of Wa-wah 2. I don’t want to do anything. I just want to have a good rest and go on a vacation with my parents.”

The production process of Wa-wah 2 had been grueling. She had become physically and emotionally exhausted. Besides her parents, nobody else knew the price that she had paid, including sleeping only four or five hours a night for several months in a row.

She didn’t want to tell others of her harrowing experience, though, as she was “the director with two 10-billion-dollar movies,” making her the youngest and most successful director in the country. She was now highly respected and considered the best in her industry.

Even when her difficulties seemed intolerable, she would never articulate them. Too many people were worse off than her.

Chen Jin nodded. “You really do need a good rest. Take half a year off to recuperate.”

“It’s impossible to take six months off. I have a few hundred employees at the studio waiting for me to give them work. If I took off for six months, they’d all find other work. At most, I can take three months off to rest, and I’ll have to start working again after that.”

“What about your next work? What do you have in mind? Do you want to continue making animation—you’re certainly good at it—or do you want to branch out into other genres?”

“Um…” After some thought, Shi Xiaotao said, “President Chen, if I continue to produce animation, can I be the director and producer for Wa-wah 3? I’m so familiar with this series now.”

She asked for the production rights for the movie in a straightforward manner. The Wa-wah IP had unimaginable value. At least another tens of billions in box office sales were waiting to be earned. Of course, she definitely wanted to possess the IP rights; she would never give up on trying to get them just because she was tired. Tons of other directors were fighting to get their hands on this IP, as well. She would have to be an idiot to say that she wasn’t working anymore.

She had been considering experimenting with a different genre for her next movie just to do something challenging. She wanted to avoid being restricted by the storyline of a particular series and end up stereotyped by others. Such labels were almost impossible to get rid of, and she never wanted anyone to think that she doesn’t have the ability to tackle other movie types. That would drastically narrow her career as a director and be a terrible career end.

Shi Xiaotao had a variety of stories that she wanted to produce, and she couldn’t only specialize in animation.

Chen Jin said, “I can give you the production rights to Wa-wah 3, but can you come up with a better storyline?”

“That would be difficult.” Shi Xiaotao shook her head.

“It gets harder to produce a movie toward the end of a series; it’s more challenging to create conflicts to drive the progression of the story, but the Wa-wah series is an exception. We can continue to add new characters into the story. For example, if Xing Hai Technologies were to produce a new robot again, we could add it into the movie as a new character. The movie helps to publicize the product and, in return, the product, as a new character, can help to produce more stories. The audience will eagerly anticipate the product features and the narrative.”

She looked at Chen Jin and asked, “President Chen, is your company developing a new robot because, if that’s happening, I can start the production of Wa-wah 3.”

A new character would mean new conflicts and, above all, a sense of novelty to an ongoing series. With Wa-wah 2 as a success, audiences would be sufficiently interested in buying tickets to Wa-wah 3, even if its plot was somewhat cliche. The film-making circles had dubbed this model of success “the Wa-wah Model.”

“No.” Chen Jin spread his hands. “In regard to the household robots, Xing Hai Technologies will stop at the Bang Bang robot for now. Currently, there’s only Wa-wah and Bang Bang. The consumers will not be able to afford any more new household robots. My company will only continue to upgrade and perfect these two products.”

The focus of his new product development had turned toward industrial robots, and audiences weren’t too interested in those, hence it was impossible to add them as new characters in Wa-wah 3.

Shi Xiaotao would have to continue mining for hidden gems and finding new inspiration on the foundations of Wa-wah 2.

“Then, I will have to come up with an excellent script. It will take a long time for me to polish the story. President Chen, I need at least two years to finish the production for Wa-wah 3.”

“Take your time. Just give me the script to look over when the time comes.”

Chen Jin still wanted to address the limitations that Shi Xiaotao was facing in her career. “Xiaotao, I wonder if you would like to produce movies of other genres? Your talents will bottleneck if you keep on producing the Wa-wah series. You can’t limit yourself to that for your entire life—you should experiment with more genres.”

Shi Xiaotao nodded in gratitude. “President Chen, you understand me too well. I do want to produce movies of other genres. I still have a long road ahead as a director.”

“Xiaotao, I can’t provide much assistance for other genres of movies but, if it’s a sci-fi movie, I can provide technical support. For example, professional rendering engines for special effects, overall optimization in post-production, et cetera. I can help with all of these. For urban and comedy movies, you’re on your own.”

“Really, President Chen?”

Shi Xiaotao was overjoyed. “President Chen, actually I do really want to make a sci-fi movie. It’s great that you’re willing to help!”

Any technical assistance provided by Xing Hai Technologies would be very impressive, and with that offer she decided to make a sci-fi movie for her next production.

With this, they agreed on their collaboration.

Shi Xiaotao left Shang Hai on a happy note, but a twist soon developed.

A paparazzo had sneakily photographed her leaving Junting Grand Court with a flushed face.

That same day, the scandalous news hit. “Two-Time Billion-Dollar Director Stayed Overnight at a Company President’s Villa” broke out on all the online entertainment news sites. It topped the search engines and led to countless rumors and speculation.

In an instant, Shi Xiaotao was swallowed into the vortex of public opinion, and her reputation was heavily damaged. She posted an explanation. “I was only having a serious discussion with President Chen on further collaboration in filmmaking.” But her comment backfired, and the netizens’ shared even wilder stories and countless scenarios. Shi Xiaotao was so angry that she cried.

Chen Jin’s response toward this matter was straightforward and simple. “This has been reposted far more than 500 times. The police have been informed.”

That particular paparazzo was sitting in jail a few days later, but the malicious conjectures had damaged reputations that would never be fully repaired.

…

In a pink bedroom.

After refreshing the Weibo page on her mobile.

Although they separated less than two days ago, the woman on the bed still could not help but to closely follow the news on the person that she cared the most about.

Despite their breakup, her expression became uglier as her mood worsened.

“Chen Jin, you bastard!”

Yuan Lin threw her mobile against the wall. Grabbing a pillow, she began to sob.

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