Chapter 203 Old Buddy

"Xiaoxiao, about the script..." Qi Weiming said apologetically, "The script has just been changed. We need to use the new script for the mayor's dinner."

"A new script? Was it also written by screenwriter Lin Yi?"

"No." Qi Weiming shook his head.

"Who wrote that?" Hu Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

She was really curious about which talented screenwriter wrote the script that impressed Qi Weiming, and she wanted to meet him.

"Well..." Qi Weiming realized that he had overlooked a major omission. He immediately asked Xia Lu, "Who wrote the script?"

Xia Lu said nonchalantly, "Director Qi, don't worry about who wrote it, as long as it works."

"How can you use a script without knowing whose it is?" Hu Xiaoxiao expressed shock. "Don't you have any copyright awareness? What if the screenwriter sues the crew? If he knew earlier and sued us, we could just reshoot it. But if it's broadcast on TV, wouldn't he sue the TV station too?"

"How is that possible?" Xia Lu thought, as if she had heard something out of the blue. While the screenwriter she hired wasn't from the TV station, he was from the film company under the parent company. They were all family. Unless she didn't want the job anymore, she wouldn't sue him, and she wouldn't dare. She had already paid him. "You can use this script. There's no copyright issue."

"Miss Xia, you're so sure. Did you write this script?" Hu Xiaoxiao looked at Xia Lu with admiration and praised her, "Miss Xia Lu is beautiful and talented. You're amazing! I'm starting to admire you."

Then, Hu Xiaoxiao gave Qi Weiming some advice: "Although Ms. Xia Lu is generous, we should be cautious when it comes to the company's reputation. Why not add Xia Lu's name to the screenwriter column after the TV series is finished? That way, there will be no worries."

Qi Weiming's face turned ugly. How could he not know Xia Lu's level?

Because of Xiu, Qi Weiming treated Xia Lu as his own, without any precautions or overthinking. Furthermore, his full attention was on filming, and he was exhausted from working day after day, feeling mentally drained. Who knew that Xia Lu would almost fall prey to one of his own people?

"Who did you ask to write this script? Tell the truth!" Qi Weiming looked at Xia Lu with a cold and stern look. It was strange that he could be happy after nearly losing his reputation in his later years.

Xia Lu saw that something serious was going on and immediately said, "It's the screenwriter from the film company. I asked a few people to help, but the main writer is Liang Jiafeng. Director Qi, I'm not someone who doesn't know the importance of this matter. Xiu is also aware of this matter. There's absolutely no problem with the script. Don't listen to Hu Xiaoxiao's nonsense."

Hu Xiaoxiao secretly memorized the name Liang Jiafeng, and seeing that Qi Weiming looked unhappy, he tactfully shut his mouth.

Qi Weiming looked at the script in his hands, feeling it was like chicken ribs. He had been filming TV series for years, but he had never seen anything so outrageous. Xia Lu had gone to the film industry, but instead of learning anything good, she had brought back all the bad habits of the film industry.

Just as Qi Weiming was hesitating whether to use the script, a voice suddenly rang out: "Qi Weiming, you loser, if you think my script is not good, why don't you just tell me directly? What's the point of hiring a screenwriter? Do you look down on me, or are you deliberately humiliating me?"

Lin Yi strode in with a script.

"Why are you here?" Qi Weiming was also surprised to see Lin Yi coming to the set.

"If I hadn't come, you would have ruined my script." Lin Yi's face was full of anger.

Qi Weiming frowned and said, "Why are you so angry? It's normal to change the script according to the actual situation during filming. It's not uncommon to do so before."

"You used to say hello to me."

"You used to be able to follow the group and communicate easily. Now you're old and can't walk anymore. I can't drive to find you, right?"

"So, you think I'm old?" Lin Yi looked sad.

Qi Weiming quickly said, "How dare I dislike you? I'm three years older than you."

"Have you finally realized that your old eyesight is blurry?" Lin Yi sneered, "You've been taken advantage of and you don't even know what's going on. You should go back home and take care of your grandchildren sooner rather than embarrass yourself."

The two old friends started arguing in person without giving each other face.

Finally, Qi Weiming had no choice but to admit defeat and said, "Okay, okay, I'll change back to the previous script, okay?"

Lin Yi rolled his eyes at him. After more than twenty years of friendship, he still didn't know what he was thinking? He was just worried that the new script would be controversial, so he didn't trust the script from outside. He was even more worried that Xia Lu would cheat him again, so he was just using him as a ladder to escape.

Lin Yi saw through it, but didn't say anything, giving his old friend some face. However, he was still harsh in his words. "Forget it, your new script is brilliant and exciting. Just use the new script."

Now it’s almost going to explode, isn’t it exciting enough?

Qi Weiming knew his old friend saw through him, but he still said stubbornly, "You're old now. The scripts you write are tepid and dull, without any youthful energy. Young people nowadays don't like your stuff anymore."

"Do you think you are eighteen this year? Are you a flower?" Lin Yi became angry and started arguing with Qi Weiming again. The two became more and more excited and almost started fighting.

Hu Xiaoxiao was a little frightened watching from the side and wanted to step forward to persuade them, but was stopped by Song Yanan who came to the set.

Song Yan'an whispered to Hu Xiaoxiao, "Don't worry about them. They're old partners. They always argue when they work together. They argued even more when they were young."

Lin Yi felt his script was flawless and should be filmed as it was. Qi Weiming, however, felt the film wasn't working and wanted to make changes. He argued that he was a general fighting on the front lines and that he wasn't subject to the emperor's orders. Neither of them could convince the other, and so a heated argument ensued.

Song Yanan added, "But, they were arguing and fighting on the set, and then after work they all went out drinking together. Whoever lost the drinking game got to do what the other one did. The veteran employees at the TV station basically know their tempers."

It was also because they found fault with each other and competed with each other that the script was polished to perfection and the filmed work exceeded expectations.

Hu Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "I was really worried that they would quarrel and cause trouble."

Song Yanan said with a smile, "You'll know once you spend more time with them. They're quite interesting. Director Qi, don't be fooled by his always serious face. He's actually a nice guy. He's not scheming, he just focuses on filming."

Hu Xiaoxiao nodded, realizing that Qi Weiming was a single-minded person. But people like him tend to focus more on one thing.

Over there, Lin Yi threw the script in his hand at Qi Weiming's face and said, "Don't you think I can't write exciting scenes? If you have the ability, don't use it!"

Qi Weiming hurriedly took the script, opened it and found that it was the script for the mayor's dinner party written by Lin Yixin.

He took a closer look, and the more he looked, the happier he became. His previous anger vanished. "Did you just write this?"

Lin Yi chuckled twice and said sarcastically, "No match for the screenwriters out there."