Depressive Screenwriter

"Akasaka Yoshitoki?" Su Yan's eyes narrowed upon hearing the name.

Not far from him, Shinozaki Ikumi became alert upon hearing this name.

What's going on?

"I don't have time recently. I'm busy with the filming of 'Gu Xiang Si Qu', so I can't spare time to meet him."

Su Yan knew that his master, Sawai Teruhiro, was only passing on a message on behalf of someone else, so his reply was quite polite.

"Su Yan, you've been at the TV station for a year or two, including your internship. You understand many things. Have you really thought about giving Akasaka Yoshitoki this kind of reply?" Sawai Teruhiro reminded him appropriately.

Anyone with half a brain would know that Akasaka Yoshitoki was looking for Su Yan at this time because he saw Su Yan's potential and wanted to win him over.

In Sawai Teruhiro's opinion, Su Yan's reply was undoubtedly passing up an opportunity.

"It's okay," Su Yan said with a smile.

"Master, you can just reply with 'I don't have time recently'."

Sawai Teruhiro took a deep breath and remained silent for a moment, admiring Su Yan somewhat.

People in the Sakura Island region, whether in his previous life or in Xia Country, actually admired people who valued loyalty.

The Sakura Island people themselves might not be loyal, but they generally liked it when others were loyal.

It would certainly be wise for Su Yan to follow Akasaka Yoshitoki as soon as he beckoned.

Because Section Chief Yoshizaki Shigeo was old and in poor health, anyone could see that Akasaka Yoshitoki would become a major figure in the production department of Sakura TV in the next few years. At this time, there were plenty of people in the TV station who wanted to curry favor with Akasaka Yoshitoki.

However, Su Yan's reply had made his attitude clear.

The people who really helped Su Yan get his two dramas approved at the TV station were Shinozaki Ikumi and the Ogata Aya faction. Su Yan's current achievements were mainly due to his own ability, but these people also helped him get the opportunity to demonstrate his ability, which was also indispensable.

Who would switch camps as soon as they gained a little fame?

Su Yan wasn't going to lick Akasaka Yoshitoki's boots.

In terms of interests, Su Yan's choice was foolish. But emotionally, Sawai Teruhiro admired Su Yan's approach.

"Understood, Su Yan."

"Work hard. I have a feeling that it won't be long before your achievements in the screenwriting industry surpass your master's. Remember to treat me to drinks then," Sawai Teruhiro said with a smile.

"Thank you for your kind words, Master. As for drinks, I will definitely invite you when I have time, and we won't go home until we're drunk," Su Yan said with a smile.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he hung up the phone.

"How was it?" Shinozaki Ikumi walked over nervously and asked.

"Who was looking for you?"

"Akasaka Yoshitoki," Su Yan said.

"He asked me to meet him."

"What did you reply?"

Shinozaki Ikumi instantly understood what Akasaka Yoshitoki was up to.

"How could I have time to meet him!" Su Yan said jokingly.

"I told him to get lost."

Although she knew that Su Yan wouldn't lower himself to such uncivilized language and that his original words would be more tactful,

Su Yan's attitude was conveyed through this joke.

Shinozaki Ikumi looked at Su Yan's confident and smiling face, and was inexplicably touched.

"Are you saying this because you're considering my feelings? You won't even meet him, aren't you curious about what conditions he would offer?"

"Shinozaki, the great producer, don't be so narcissistic," Su Yan continued to joke.

"I'm not the kind of person who will forgive someone just because they slap me and then give me ten dates. He slapped me twice by preventing my two dramas from being approved. I'm not petty either. If he wants me to join him, unless he lets me slap him twice too. If he really offers his face for me to slap twice, then I might consider talking to him."

"Have you not considered your future?" Shinozaki Ikumi's eyes widened upon hearing this.

She didn't want Su Yan to really join Akasaka Yoshitoki's camp, but she really admitted that Akasaka Yoshitoki could give Su Yan more.

More investment, greater publicity resources, and even bring in a luxurious cast for Su Yan's dramas.

Perhaps if Su Yan went to Akasaka Yoshitoki's side and maintained the creative level of 'Rurouni Kenshin' and 'Gu Xiang Si Qu', he could become a top screenwriter in the industry in a year or two.

"My future depends on myself. It doesn't depend on anyone," Su Yan put away his smile and said seriously at this moment.

"No time?"

Akasaka Yoshitoki's expression was stunned after hearing his subordinate's report.

"Young people really become too arrogant when they achieve a little success."

"So be it. Then let's see what this young genius can accomplish."

It was the weekend again.

The sixth week of the autumn season was coming to an end.

Thanks to the increase in viewership of the sixth episode, "Gu Xiang Si Qu" ranked 14th in the viewership ratings of dramas that premiered this week.

Meanwhile, "Yozakura" saw a slight increase in viewership this week, ranking tenth with a 3.16% viewership rating.

The top nine dramas on the entire viewership chart had remained unchanged in rank since two weeks ago.

Although the viewership ratings between them were not very different, the hierarchy was strict.

Or rather, in the top thirty of the entire viewership chart, except for "Gu Xiang Si Qu", the rankings of other dramas had only fluctuated by one or two places since the first week of their premiere.

At nine o'clock, after the sixth episode of "Lonely Doctor" ended,

On Sakura Online, fans of "Gu Xiang Si Qu" became active several hours in advance.

"Okay, as expected, Shen Buyan's third time travel is here."

"I really hope Li Yong is directly stabbed to death by Shen Buyan!"

"Stop fantasizing. We can only say that the protagonist's actions in the previous episode met the expectations of many viewers and showed some courage. But he couldn't even save Lu Shi, so why would assassinating Li Yong succeed?"

"It's a bit like that paradox. That is, there is only one history. If you want to travel to the past to kill someone, there will be many coincidences that make your actions unsuccessful."

"Alas, it's really tangled to watch. Why doesn't the old thief Su Yan write two episodes of the script a week! So annoying. It's so painful to follow the updates."

"Even if he could write it, he couldn't film it. The filming of this kind of historical drama is more troublesome than modern dramas. It's already very strong that 'Gu Xiang Si Qu' has this kind of quality."

"Now the viewership rating of 'Gu Xiang Si Qu' is already 2.6%. Do you think it's possible that 'Gu Xiang Si Qu' will have the opportunity to squeeze into the top 10 in viewership ratings before it ends!"

"It's definitely possible! But the top 10 in viewership ratings is the limit, unless there are more interesting plots in the later episodes."

Yao Xiaoling yawned while browsing the discussions of the drama fans of "Gu Xiang Si Qu" on the webpage of her laptop.

She had only heard her friend's recommendation yesterday, and then spent a day watching the series from the first episode to the sixth episode on Sakura Online.

She was a little unaccustomed to watching midnight dramas for the first time, and began to feel dissatisfied.

Sakura TV is going to be finished. Such a good drama is placed in this garbage time slot.

Shaking her head, Yao Xiaoling's gaze fell on the time.

23:59.

Time passed second by second.

As soon as midnight struck, the seventh episode of "Gu Xiang Si Qu" began.

At the beginning of this episode, it showed the follow-up results of various events in the sixth episode.

Shen Buyan's attempt to seize the knife and assassinate Li Yong failed. He was only seriously injured, and lived for a month while recuperating.

And Lu Yuan learned through her words about Li Yong.

"Five years ago, I knew everything you did."

The plot was introduced to the first year of Yuanqi

That is, when Lu Yuan was 21 years old.

Yao Xiaoling's heart began to feel blocked.

21 years old.

This is 15 years away from the first time Shen Buyan met Lu Yuan!

It was still the familiar Shangsi Festival night.

It was still the gorgeous and lively imperial capital street.

The old emperor of Sheng Kingdom died.

The new emperor Yuanqi ascended the throne.

The opening scene was the familiar Jinghua Building, and the 21-year-old Lu Yuan appeared.

Here, Yao Xiaoling noticed a detail.

Every time Shen Buyan time-traveled, the clothes of Lu Yuan and himself would change.

Lu Yuan wore bright red when she first appeared at 36 years old, pink when she appeared at 26 years old, and when she appeared at 21 years old... plain white.

Shen Buyan wore plain white for the first time he traveled, the color deepened a bit the second time, and the third time he traveled...

He hasn't appeared yet.

In the first year of Yuanqi, the new emperor of Sheng Kingdom ascended the throne and carried out drastic reforms, while Li Yong, the former prime minister of the main peace faction, was suspected by the emperor.

?

Yao Xiaoling looked puzzled. Then why would this emperor become an idiot later?

The following plot introduced the background of various parties in this era.

For example, the Jinghua Building was an industry under Li Yong, and Lu Yuan helped manage it and helped him collect information from all parties.

At this time, Lu Yuan was sincerely helping Li Yong, and also sincerely felt that Li Yong was a prime minister who worked for the country and the people.

For example, the emperor actually liked Lu Yuan very much. Of course, Li Yong must have put in some effort for Lu Yuan and Emperor Yuanqi to know each other.

"So the token representing the empress's keepsake on Lu Yuan at the age of 26 was obtained at this time?" Yao Xiaoling wondered.

Li Yong, the former prime minister, angered the emperor because of his pro-peace remarks that he did not want to start a war, so he was sent by the emperor to search for him, and in a hurry, he fled to the Jinghua Building where Lu Yuan was located, and then was hidden by Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan was brought by Li Yong to the imperial capital to meet Emperor Yuanqi.

Lu Shi was Li Yong's adopted son, and he recommended him to enter the army. Now he has achieved fruitful results on the border.

But

"Where's the male lead?"

Yao Xiaoling realized at this time that this episode had been broadcast for almost twenty minutes, and had been revolving around various characters.

Where's the male lead?

Shen Buyan, why hasn't he appeared yet?

Just when Yao Xiaoling was wondering, a man wearing a mask came in holding a basin of water.

Then, while Li Yong was still wondering why he was wearing a mask, the masked man instantly took out a dagger from the bottom of the basin and stabbed Li Yong directly.

Yao Xiaoling's breathing stagnated as she looked at the masked man.

This mask.

Wasn't it the one that 36-year-old Lu Yuan asked him to wear in the first episode?

Before Yao Xiaoling could think about it, the plot quickly advanced.

Li Yong's combat power was weak, and Shen Buyan's combat power was even weaker.

The assassination of Li Yong failed, and Li Yong even lifted his mask and saw his face.

It matched.

No wonder Li Yong recognized Shen Buyan in the first and second time travels.

Shen Buyan's flashback plot appeared.

The third time he traveled to Sheng Kingdom, he immediately came to the Jinghua Building and saw Lu Yuan here, but he didn't dare to go forward to recognize her.

He was afraid that this was his first meeting with Lu Yuan, afraid that Lu Yuan would not recognize him.

He saw Lu Yuan even cut her arm with a piece of porcelain to cover Li Yong's hiding and attract the attention of the searching guards.

He saw Li Yong hiding in Lu Yuan's room in the Jinghua Building, so he put on a mask, held a basin of water, pretended to be someone who delivered washing water, approached Li Yong, and prepared to assassinate him for the second time.

As long as he could kill him and change Lu Yuan's fate, Shen Buyan was willing to do anything.

Yao Xiaoling also became scared.

She understood through Shen Buyan's inner monologue.

She realized where the biggest tragedy and depressing point of this drama was.

The time when Lu Yuan loved Shen Buyan the most was when she was 36 years old.

But at this time, Shen Buyan didn't know her at all when they first met.

From the end of the sixth episode, Shen Buyan died in the arms of 26-year-old Lu Yuan and said to her, "We will meet again."

To the beginning of the first episode, when 36-year-old Lu Yuan met Shen Buyan again, Shen Buyan directly put a knife on her neck.

Lu Yuan waited for ten years.

How desolate and strong was she in her heart at that time to be able to smile and say, "The first time you meet, you want to kill me?"

Yao Xiaoling felt a little uncomfortable. She couldn't recall the previous plot while watching this drama, otherwise it would become more and more desolate as she watched.

As Shen Buyan traveled through time, he fell in love with Lu Yuan more and more, but when his love for Lu Yuan reached its peak

That was his first meeting with Lu Yuan.

And after the first meeting, there would be no chance to meet again.

Or rather, would the screenwriter use Deus Ex Machina and change this fate through some means?

Yao Xiaoling used to hate "Deus Ex Machina" plots the most when watching dramas.

But for "Gu Xiang Si Qu", she looked forward to that kind of thing happening. She really didn't want to watch a tragedy.

The plot continued to advance on the TV.

This episode was full of detail monsters.

Shen Buyan kicked Li Yong down, and also fell to the ground due to the reaction force, and the mask fell to the ground, knocking out a crack.

Yao Xiaoling's mouth grew wide.

So that's why the mask that 36-year-old Lu Yuan gave Shen Buyan in the first episode had a crack.

This mask was treasured by 21-year-old Lu Yuan for 15 years, and then returned to him when she saw Shen Buyan for the last time in her life.

At this time, Lu Yuan, who heard the sound and broke in, changed her expression after seeing Li Yong fall to the ground.

But when she turned her head and saw Shen Buyan on the ground looking up and making eye contact with her with a nervous look.

The BGM sounded.

Lu Yuan's expression changed.

The sharpness in her eyes turned into tenderness.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and a smile appeared on the corner of her lips.

She said to Shen Buyan with a trembling voice.

"You're back!"

Yao Xiaoling's heart skipped a beat.

Not this time

This was not the last time Shen Buyan and Lu Yuan met.

21-year-old Lu Yuan knew Shen Buyan.

Moreover, there was no concealment of her love for him in her eyes.

"Could it be that you also met me in the past when you were 21 years old?" Shen Buyan looked at Lu Yuan blankly.

He didn't know what would happen to him and her in Lu Yuan's past.

He only knew what he should answer at this time.

"I'm back!"

This scene was very sweet.

But this scene was also very abusive.

Yao Xiaoling had watched a lot of romance dramas, but never had she felt such a contradictory feeling.

It turned out that 21-year-old Lu Yuan already loved Shen Buyan so much.

However, Shen Buyan knew nothing about Lu Yuan's past before the age of 21.

When did she first meet him?

When did she fall in love with him?

He knew nothing.

Lu Yuan knew where their relationship began, but she didn't know what the ending would be.

Shen Buyan knew that the end of their relationship was Lu Yuan's death at 36. But he didn't know what the scene was like when he first met Lu Yuan.

The reasons why they fell in love with each other were completely different.

That's the most tragic point.

The past of one was the future of the other.

Yet, at the midpoint of their respective lives, they responded to each other's love without any hesitation.

"Are you back?"

"I'm back!"

These two lines completely broke Yao Xiaoling and a large group of viewers in front of the TV who were deeply immersed in the story.

Yao Xiaoling's eyes were already full of tears.

Some readers said that I wrote too slowly. If everyone feels that way, I will try to write faster later.

Some people said in the chapter reviews that the protagonist should leave the TV station sooner since he is being suppressed. I will also read those comments, and if it really feels unpleasant, I will write less or not write about these scenes later.

Everyone can offer suggestions, and I will listen to them.

Finally, thank you to 'Super Electromagnetic Fireworks Light Music' and 'Stars on the Forest' for the rewards.

Thank you, great patrons.