"I’m also here as Little Qi’s family, a good chance to see what the film festival is all about."

Tan You smiled. "You’re too modest. As far as I know, your work was nominated for an award more than twenty years ago."

"But I didn’t win in the end," Old Qi sighed. "Now, all my hopes are on Chairman Lu’s script..."

"Please, just call me Lu Wen," Tan You interrupted Old Qi. After all, these were major directors in the industry; it wasn’t her place to put on airs. She’d expected Old Qi to show up. As for this Old Wang...

Tan You couldn’t help but sigh. ’Looks like I won’t be able to hold onto my other script either.’

Sure enough, after looking over the two scripts Director Qi had "left behind" in the hotel, neither Old Qi nor Old Wang was willing to give them up.

Old Qi asked, "Let me see Little Qi’s script too?"

Little Qi was extremely reluctant, but the person asking was his own father. What could he do? He had no choice but to hand over the script he had barely warmed up.

Old Qi and Old Wang put their heads together and were instantly engrossed. But would Little Qi agree to a swap? Of course not. Even if it was his own father, he wouldn’t trade.

Old Qi sighed. "Tell me, why can’t a script this good be mine?"

Old Wang nudged him aside. "Don’t be so greedy. Lu Wen, I really like this script, and I think Wei Wei’s image is a great fit for it..."

Tan You raised an eyebrow slightly. ’Anyone who becomes a top director is as sharp as a tack,’ she thought. ’By pulling Wei Wei onto his bandwagon, he knows I’ll have to consider Wei Wei, making it hard to refuse.’

Seeing Tan You remain silent, Old Wang started sweetening the deal. "I was already planning to invite Wei Wei to be in one of my movies. His acting has been honed to an exceptional level these past few years. If Wei Wei were to star in this..."

Tan You didn’t deliberately keep them hanging. "No matter how good a script is, it’s all for nothing if it doesn’t find an excellent director. I’m confident that you, Director Wang, will do a fantastic job with this script. Of course, I’ve always admired your directing skills."

"Hehehe, you young ladies really know how to talk." Old Wang grinned, beaming with delight. He pulled Wei Wei over. "Let’s figure this out. If you win the award, the prestige of our movie will shoot right up..."

Wei Wei smiled gently. "The awards haven’t been announced yet. It’s not certain I’ll win."

"In my opinion, your chances are pretty high," Old Wang said, clapping Wei Wei on the shoulder. "With thirteen major award nominations, it would be a joke if the film walked away without a single heavyweight prize."

While Old Wang and Wei Wei were talking things over, Old Qi was muttering to Little Qi, "Are you confident? If it doesn’t work out this time, it’s fine. Just wait for your old man to make his comeback next year..."

Director Qi rolled his eyes. "No need. Sister Wen and I have discussed it, and we’re both very optimistic."

For a moment, Old Qi’s breathing grew heavy. He gave a wry smile. "I’m getting old. I thought I’d be able to stay calm, but I guess I still can’t."

"If it were me standing on that awards stage, I might even be happier."

Director Qi thought to himself, ’He only gets away with saying that because he’s my dad. If anyone else had said it, I would have snapped back at them by now.’

It’s a well-known fact that news travels fast in the entertainment circle. The story of Old Qi and Old Wang getting scripts from Tan You was common knowledge in less than two hours.

The entire industry was shaken, and Old Qi’s and Old Wang’s phones wouldn’t stop ringing.

Old Qi, who had been hoping for a rare chance to bond with his son, sighed. "Ah, I have a feeling life won’t be quiet from now on."

With that, he stepped aside to answer his phone. Director Qi watched his father’s back for a moment, then sat down quietly next to Tan You. "You’re just going to wash your hands of the scripts now that you’ve given them away?"

"I’ll still be involved. At the very least, I can’t let them change my scripts beyond recognition." Tan You raised an eyebrow. "But I’m staying out of the investment side. I’ll let them handle it themselves. I can’t be bothered dealing with all those investors."

Director Qi mulled this over for a long time. "You’re ruthless. If you got involved in the investment, the other investors might team up. But if you don’t touch it, they’ll all be fighting for themselves."

Tan You retorted, "I’m purely just too lazy to deal with it."

"Whatever you say," Director Qi said teasingly. "This is nothing. If we actually win an award tomorrow, just watch and see if they can handle the pressure."

"That’s their problem," Tan You said coolly. "But no matter how much they fight over it, they can’t bring their drama to me."

Director Qi added, "Luckily, they know their limits and haven’t been calling you." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Sister Li said, "That’s because our scripts will only use our own artists. Isn’t that the consensus in the industry? We’re not about to do all the work just for someone else to reap the benefits."

After getting the scripts from Tan You, Old Qi and Old Wang didn’t go back right away. They stayed, wanting to see the final outcome. Tan You paid them no mind. They were adults, and besides, the film festival wasn’t open exclusively to her.

In fact, on the day of the awards ceremony, it wasn’t even five o’clock when Sister Li dragged her out of bed.

Tan You hung off Sister Li’s shoulder like a limp noodle. "Is it really necessary to be up this early? I didn’t get to sleep until one last night."

Sister Li asked, "What were you doing? Why were you up so late?"

Tan You replied, "I’m out of stock. Can’t I build up my reserves a little?"

’Even though I don’t have to create them from scratch, it’s still exhausting just typing them all out, okay?’

Sister Li immediately let go, and Tan You flopped back onto the bed with a THUD. Sister Li put her hands on her hips. "Fine. I’ll have Teacher Zhang do makeup and styling for the others first, and we’ll come get you last. Get some rest."

Tan You rolled over and burrowed her head into the blankets. "Mmm, I’ll be last. I’m going back to sleep."

Sister Li closed the door and went to the suite across the hall, where Zhang Yiyi was already doing Hu Yi’s pre-makeup skincare. Seeing Sister Li come in alone, Zhang Yiyi asked in surprise, "Sister Wen didn’t come?"

"She was up late writing a script last night, so I’m letting her sleep in. You can work on the others first," Sister Li said, glossing over the details, but her words still sent a wave of excitement through the room.

Wan Yi, who had been dozing off, was instantly wide awake. "Our Sister Wen’s talent is a well that never runs dry. Her inspiration is like an open floodgate—it’s just a constant, endless stream."

"We’ll have new shows to film soon."

Hu Yi perked up too. "I need to latch onto Sister Wen’s coattails for dear life! Sister Li, is Sister Wen’s new script a movie?"

"I’m not sure," Sister Li said, feeling a pang of sympathy for Tan You. "She’s so busy normally, managing the company and thinking up scripts. Don’t go and bother her. Let her get some proper rest."

Hu Yi made an "understood" gesture. "No problem, we promise not to disturb Sister Wen. You know, Sister Wen is the kind of person you can’t even get jealous of."

Wei Wei asked, "Because the gap between us and her is just too vast to cross, right?"

"Exactly," Hu Yi admitted freely. "If the gap were just a little bit, I might feel a wave of jealousy and think I could surpass her. But with Sister Wen, I never even have that thought."

"Ultimately, the gap between us is just too huge. All I can do is look up to her from a distance."