Chapter 52: The Answer of the Patch Remains a Comedy

After finishing a meal of local fish hotpot, Geng Geer and Guo Fan expressed their gratitude and bid farewell.

Contrary to Geng Geer’s expectations, Guo Fan did not show the excitement one would expect after securing investment. Instead, he remained deep in thought, as if pondering something heavy.

"Old Guo, what's wrong? You look unhappy. Don't worry, since Zhang Qianjun gave his word, he will definitely invest in you."

Seeing that Guo Fan acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, Geng Geer patted him on the shoulder.

"Old Guo!"

Guo Fan finally snapped out of his trance, blinking like someone waking from a dream.

"Old Geng, what is it?"

Realizing his confusion a second later, he asked again,

"Geer, what's up?"

Geng Geer couldn't help but chuckle at his absent-minded state.

"Just what on earth were you daydreaming about so intensely?"

"I was thinking about Zhang Qianjun."

A chill ran down Geng Geer's spine.

"Speak properly!"

Guo Fan replied with a serious expression,

"I really was thinking about Zhang Qianjun. This guy is very interesting."

Geng Geer looked slightly perplexed.

"Zhang Qianjun is interesting? The man is notoriously stubborn, to put it mildly! I asked around with the *Unbeatable* crew; not only did he insist on rewriting scenes, but he also demanded changes to the background setting and overall planning. He drove the director crazy for over a month. Haven't you noticed the assistant director is running the show here? The actual director got so fed up he fled to Hong Kong to shoot the second male lead's sequences."

Guo Fan shook his head.

"No, no, this guy is actually quite easy to deal with. You and I have run all over the place together—did you ever meet anyone as easy to talk to as him, or anyone who hands over money so decisively?"

Guo Fan paused in contemplation for a few more seconds.

"That girl named Ye Qing who was with us just now—when did she start following him around?"

Geng Geer shook his head.

"Not entirely sure, but the probability is high that it started sometime this year."

"Meaning, in three months at most—less than three months—he has already arranged two female lead roles in films for her. Even if *Unbeatable* was a favor done for Bona, this time it's a solid twenty million yuan out of his own pocket."

Guo Fan looked back at Geng Geer.

"Didn't his previous girlfriend manage to secure the female lead in *So Young* after being with him for just a short while?"

Geng Geer nodded.

"Pretty much, also less than a year. I heard last month he even hooked his ex-girlfriend up with a female lead in a Hunan TV drama. Early last month, when Ye Qing was cast in *Unbeatable*, rumors started circulating within China Film Group that she had climbed up by playing the mistress."

Guo Fan slammed his hand heavily onto Geng Geer's thigh.

"That's it! Zhang Qianjun is extremely emotional, and he treats spending money with a kind of nonchalant detachment. As long as *My Old Classmate* doesn't bomb too terribly at the box office, there will be no more problems if we want to make movies in the future—whether we ask him to invest directly or use his influence to pull in investments. I already know how to communicate with him!"

In the evening, after the crew wrapped up for the day, Zhang Qianjun sat at the desk in his hotel room, scribbling and revising notes in a notebook. His gaze was entirely focused, as if he were mapping out an intricate storyline.

At times, his brows knitted together in a deep frown; at other times, a smile touched his lips. Occasionally, he would pause to sink into thought for a moment before taking up his pen again to write rapidly across the paper.

As he wrote, seemingly in a cheerful mood, he hummed a couple of lines of lyrics under his breath:

"The love you gave me~ is a sweet~ injury~"

Although Ye Qing had a stomach full of things she wanted to say, seeing that he was busy, she simply half-reclined on the bed and waited for him.

Before long, she heard him repeating the same snippet of the song again.

Ye Qing found it rather strange.

"Are you in a great mood? Why don't you keep singing the rest?"

Zhang Qianjun lifted his pen, seemingly quite pleased with his handiwork, and clicked his tongue twice.

"I only know these two lines."

With that, he closed his notebook.

"I've had a script concept in mind for a long time, and I've finally managed to straighten out the main plot."

Curiosity piqued, Ye Qing nevertheless refrained from touching the notebook.

"Go ahead, have a look."

He casually passed the notebook over to her.

Ye Qing began to read through it carefully:

Wei Ping'an, once a hot-tempered young man who ended up in prison after standing up for a friend out of youthful loyalty, now works as a cemetery salesman following his release. Not yet thirty, he remains utterly decadent due to his prison record. Driven by a promise and a desire to clear the online rumors and vicious smears defaming his deceased client, Han Lu, Wei Ping'an embarks on a rugged and arduous path to clear her name. In the end, he not only fulfills his promise but also achieves redemption for his own wretched life.

"A comedy? You're going to play the male lead? You're twenty-nine and you have a ten-year-old daughter?"

Ye Qing looked utterly bewildered.

Zhang Qianjun nodded.

"Only comedies have a broad audience reach. As for the setting where the male lead has a daughter—only people with children have vulnerabilities. Otherwise, a strapping young ex-con like him wouldn't just swallow his pride, bow his head, and work honestly, would he? So he has to find out he has a daughter after his release, otherwise it wouldn't make logical sense."

Ye Qing was genuinely surprised. The man could actually write a decent script? But remembering that the first draft of *Better Days* had also been written by him, she soon grew accustomed to it.

"How on earth did you come up with the topic of vicious online rumors destroying someone's reputation?"

Zhang Qianjun answered casually,

"Director Chen is releasing a movie in July, and its central theme revolves around cyberbullying. With the internet being so developed nowadays, the cost of spreading rumors is far too low. I imagine a lot of people will be deeply touched by this."

Ye Qing nodded.

"I suppose so. But can you pull off playing such a humble, smiling ordinary citizen? After all, things have always gone far too smoothly for you."

Zhang Qianjun chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself: *Oh, I can play that role brilliantly.*

Then, Ye Qing's expression turned solemn.

"Zhang Qianjun, I have something I need to discuss with you."

Seeing her demeanor, Zhang Qianjun knew she was being entirely serious.

"Go ahead."

Ye Qing looked right at him, her steady and clear voice pronouncing every word with deliberate precision.

"I've said it before, and I'm very grateful for the resources you've given me. Although I don't like it when you interfere with me or try to control me, I'm not ungrateful; I know you mean well. But making me feel this way makes me a little afraid. You're too good to me, and it's happening much too fast. My starting point with you had its own reasons, but ever since you came to Shanghai to meet me, our relationship has developed at breakneck speed. In less than two months, it feels like we've already covered the ground of a normal couple of two to three years. I like you, and I know you like me; I think I love you, but I have no idea whether you love me. I'm terrified. If things continue down this path, perhaps by this summer, you'll have already moved on to the next version of me. If you genuinely intend to love me, I hope you can love me for a longer time—even if you have to love me a little less."

After a long silence, Zhang Qianjun said to Ye Qing,

"I like you, but as for love... it seems I love myself more."

The girl beside him smiled faintly.

"You're always so brutally honest. So, from now on, please don't introduce me to others as your little girlfriend. I don't want to be a girlfriend who gets replaced in a year or even just a few months."

Zhang Qianjun was momentarily stunned. *Why do you always come up with such bizarre thoughts?*

"Then what are you to me?"

Ye Qing raised her head to gaze at the ceiling, as if contemplating the meaning of life.

"Your confidante who belongs to you alone? A scheming starlet desperately trying to marry her financial backer? Or your long-term companion with benefits? No matter what it is, I just hope it lasts a little longer. In short, I don't want to be your girlfriend. That position is far too scorching; it feels like someone just like me could pop up at any moment and snatch you away."

Not knowing what to say in response, Zhang Qianjun simply lay beside her in silence until both of them drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, Zhang Qianjun felt there was still an unresolved issue between them, but seeing that Ye Qing was acting just as she always did, he eventually pushed the matter to the back of his mind.

After wrapping up the filming in Yulong, the entire crew moved to the magic city of Shanghai to shoot the remaining few scenes.

Just as Zhang Qianjun and his entourage were preparing to return to Beijing, a phone call from Cai Haoyu, the head of miHoYo, abruptly interrupted his schedule.

"What! You're saying Jin Zhicheng wants to pull out his shares?!"