Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

"They don't know anything!" Lin Yi, a scholar, was so angry that he swore. "It's a mess! A complete disaster! Xia Lu loves adding scenes so much, why doesn't she run for the lead role? She's a villain, a supporting actress, she should know her place. If every supporting actress adds scenes like her, how can this show be performed? The main characters are confused, and the logic is all over the place!"

Lin Yi treats each character in the drama like a game of chess; each has their own position and role, all meticulously planned and strung together to form a complete story. Disrupting this plan would throw the entire game into chaos.

Although the romantic scenes between Zhao Zhenchuan and Xie Weihua are few, they are like salt. When cooking, you can add less salt, but you can't do without it.

Every plot point he arranged was essential; the short romantic subplot for Zhao Zhenchuan was specifically designed to emphasize the tragic nature of his character.

Lin Yi also scolded Qi Weiming, "That Qi Weiming is such a softie! He changed the script without even telling me. He just changed it without warning. I trusted him so much to give him the script, and this is how he treats me? He can forget about getting my script next time!"

When asking for his script, I said all the nice things, but once I got the script, I just messed it up.

Lin Yi wanted nothing more than to fight Qi Weiming right away. He stood up, ready to call and yell at Qi Weiming.

Hu Xiaoxiao hurriedly advised him, "Lin Sheng, Director Qi didn't mean to do this either. Please don't hurt your friendship. You've been friends with Director Qi for so many years, don't you know him well? Director Qi is wholeheartedly focused on making this drama a success and trying his best to make it perfect. He's willing to do anything for the sake of the drama."

"Wouldn't I prioritize the quality of my script? A script is a whole; it needs to have varying paces, light and heavy parts, with a clear rhythm. How can every scene be thrilling and exciting? Do they even know what foreshadowing or setup is?"

"The mayor's banquet scene, seemingly calm on the surface, is actually meant to depict the calm before the storm and create a stark contrast with the intense conflict that follows." Lin Yi was somewhat heartbroken, both by the script being arbitrarily altered and by the betrayal of a friend. "He's not satisfied with this plot, couldn't he discuss it with me? He wants something more exciting? Can't I write it myself? Why does he need to find someone outside to write it?"

Hu Xiaoxiao reminded him, "It wasn't Director Qi who commissioned it; Xia Lu got it for Director Qi. Maybe Xia Lu wrote it? I didn't expect her to be so talented."

"She can't write anything! The scripts I wrote for her back then didn't even have slightly obscure characters that she could recognize, let alone write scripts!"

"Huh? Is that so? I thought Xia Lu was so cultured, capable of acting and writing, maybe even directing. Turns out she found an editor outside, I wonder which editor wrote it so appealing to Director Qi. But no matter how well it's written, it's not an original script. To me, it looks like someone stole another person's child, it feels so out of place. It's clear that even if you want to revise a script, you have to find the original author. As for others, they can only draw the skin of a tiger, not its bones."

Hu Xiaoxiao said many kind words to Lin Yi, and finally managed to calm him down.

Lin Yi, a scholar, possessed his own pride. After calming down, his competitive spirit flared up again. He refused to believe that his script was less brilliant than others'!

"Ms. Hu, thank you for telling me this. You can go back now. I need to rewrite the mayor's banquet scene." Lin Yi had to get his revenge.

"Lin Sheng wants to rewrite it? That's perfect! This script is the result of your painstaking efforts; no one can write it better than you." Hu Xiaoxiao, far from leaving, sat even more firmly and said:

"Mr. Lin, the reason Xia Lu was able to persuade Director Qi to revise the script is because she filmed for a period of time, understood the film, and found the discrepancies between the script and the actual filming. Mr. Lin wants to revise the mayor's banquet scene, and I must help you. This scene is my main focus, and I have already studied it thoroughly."

Moreover, I know the actor who plays the lead role very well, and I've acted with him in many productions. If Mr. Lin has any questions while writing the script, feel free to ask me; I know everything.

Lin Yi thought it made sense. Writing a script is one thing, but acting it out is another. The characters in the play were conceived by him first, and Zhao Zhenchuan and Xie Weihua were not set up based on the images of Song Yan'an and Hu Xiaoxiao.

Therefore, there will be some discrepancies during the actual filming. Qi Weiming is also a very thoughtful director, and he will make some changes during filming to make the shots look better.

If he had actors in front of him to provide feedback, Lin Yi could refine the storyline to make it even more perfect.

"You have a point."

"Lin Sheng, keep it up! Once you've written a brilliant script, I'll throw it in Xia Lu's face and show her what professionalism is!"

Lin Yi refused Hu Xiaoxiao's help, saying, "I'm not going to throw it in Xia Lu's face, I'm going to throw it in Qi Weiming's face."

Therefore, when Lin Yi was writing the outline, Hu Xiaoxiao gave him a lot of suggestions...

On set, after Qi Weiming decided to change the scene of the mayor's banquet, he had the staff rebuild the dance floor, which also pushed the scene back a few days.

The filming was finally about to begin. Xia Lu arrived at the set early and smiled happily as she looked at the dance floor that had been built to her liking.

"Huh? Xia Lu?" Hu Xiaoxiao also arrived at the set and looked at Xia Lu, who was dressed in costume and had her hair done, with surprise. "Why are you here? Are you sure you're not mistaken? You're not in today's scenes."

While wondering, I flipped through the original script, only to find that Masako Yamamoto was not in the original script at all.

Xia Lu turned around and saw that Hu Xiaoxiao was completely unaware that the script had been changed. She was still carefully flipping through the original, rejected script, a look of anticipation on her face. "Hu Xiaoxiao, didn't you receive any notification?"

"What notification? There wasn't one." Hu Xiaoxiao indeed hadn't received any notification, including the script being changed; no one had informed her of that.

"Your scenes at the mayor's banquet have been cut." Xia Lu looked at Hu Xiaoxiao expectantly, hoping to see shock, sadness, and disbelief on Hu Xiaoxiao's face.

“Impossible, the director never mentioned this to me,” Hu Xiaoxiao said.

When Xia Lu saw Qi Weiming arrive, she immediately waved to him and said, "Director Qi, didn't you tell Hu Xiaoxiao that her scenes were cut? Hu Xiaoxiao doesn't need to come to today's scene at all."

Xia Lu's voice was very loud, and many staff members on set heard what she said.

Many people looked at Hu Xiaoxiao with pity.

When Qi Weiming arrived and saw Hu Xiaoxiao, he slapped his forehead. He had been so busy these past few days that he had forgotten to inform Hu Xiaoxiao.