Mr. Liu, I've finished the wine. Shall we talk about the investment?"
In the KTV, a very handsome young man sat with a confident grin, leaning casually against the plush sofa.
Around him were two women with carefully applied makeup, laughing and chatting, their attention drawn to him.
A cigar dangled from his mouth, and the faint scent of alcohol lingered in the air.
"Xiao Shen," Mr. Liu said leisurely, his potbelly pressing slightly against the table, "there's no rush.
Let me be honest....your five million? It's like a truckload of coal to me. The wine is good, the mood is better. I have a small request, nothing complicated."
"Go ahead," Shen Tian replied cautiously.
The coal boss leaned closer to Shen Tian, lowering his voice. "Tell me...does your drama have a pretty heroine?"
Shen Tian blinked. "Uh… Mr. Liu, it's a documentary."
Mr. Liu frowned. "Can't documentaries have heroines?"
"Xiao Shen," the boss continued, "I'm not short on money, and I don't tolerate laziness. I just… want to be close to some of the actresses. You help me a little, I'll help you a lot."
Shen Tian hesitated. "But… the protagonist of our play is literally a dog."
"I already read the script for you. You don't have to worry about that."
Shen Tian blinked. Script? What script? The coal boss patted his bald head, as if expecting him to understand.
"Ahem," Mr. Liu said, leaning back in his chair, "be flexible.
You'll learn in life...you can't always be rigid. Find a way."
The next morning, Shen Tian woke with a splitting headache, every memory from last night coming back in fragments.
Damn! he thought. Finally met a coal boss to invest in my career, and I lost five million!
He groaned, feeling the sting of failure. Mistakes, he realized, were part of chasing dreams.
Everyone experienced these highs and lows....moments of excitement, moments of regret.
He sighed, trying to push away the lingering memory of last night's chaos.
Memories, he thought, were like moonlight....beautiful, fleeting, impossible to hold. If you tried to grasp them too tightly, they turned dark. Only when illusions fade does the real sky appear.
The phone rang, cutting through his thoughts. Shen Tian picked it up.
"How are you, my good apprentice?" came the familiar voice.
Shen Tian's lips twisted bitterly. "Teacher… that was… too much. You're asking me to handle actresses in ways I… I can't even think about doing myself."
"Don't talk nonsense," the teacher scolded. "You've always been a mischievous kid.
Flirting with multiple people at once in school, causing chaos… You can't expect early graduation just because of talent.
Out there, your reputation matters even more, especially when you have nothing and no one."
Shen Tian's heart sank.
"But," the teacher continued, softer this time, "I arranged a position for you.
You can work as a screenwriter on the Hengdian Painted Skin crew.
It's a chance to build connections and gain experience."
"Really, Teacher? You still… care this much? Thank you. I honestly didn't know what I'd do next."
"You have no idea the reach I have. I may be a vice-principal, but my students are all over the country.
Nortel is the cradle of entertainers, and my connections… you can't even imagine."
Shen Tian nodded, humbled.
"Don't be reckless," the teacher warned. "Do your best. You are my favorite student, the one I admire most. Make me proud."
"Okay, mentor. I promise.....I'll live a life worth remembering."
After hanging up, Shen Tian sat back for a moment, feeling an unusual warmth in his chest.
The teacher's trust and care touched him deeply.
Goodbye, Mom."
Shen Tian tightened the straps on his backpack and took a deep breath. Today marked the start of his journey. Humming a random tune, he boarded the old green train headed from Beijing to Hengdian.
Why didn't he take a plane?
Simple...he was broke!
He found an empty seat and sat down, pulling out his battered old laptop. As a writer, Shen Tian naturally wasn't going to give up his old ways.
He opened a blank document and began typing.
The story he was working on was Ghost Blows Out the Light.
Inwardly, he gave a silent thanks to Tianxia Bachang for the original work.
Time flew by.