The next day.

Top-notch villa park in the suburbs of Beijing.

Douzi grunted as he squeezed into Song Yecheng's mansion carrying a huge pile of information. He stood on one leg to close the door, then leaned forward and trotted to the coffee table, dropped the information in his arms, and then slumped down on the sofa, panting heavily.

It was almost dawn when he sent Song Yecheng back in the early morning, and it was daybreak when he returned home and lay down.

Unexpectedly, his brother Cheng didn't know whether he was asleep or not, but he received a call before noon, asking him to go to the company to get some information. He had no choice but to get out of bed again and went all the way to the company to find what his brother Cheng wanted. In the middle of the process, he was caught by Liang Heming, who had been up all night and was very angry, and was scolded.

Douzi lay sprawled on the sofa for a while before he sat up with renewed vigor and shouted upstairs, "Brother Cheng? Brother Cheng! I'm coming!"

After a while, footsteps were heard on the stairs. Song Yecheng, wearing a bathrobe and with steam all over his body, just came out of the bathroom. He walked downstairs while wiping his hair.

"Have you got them all?" Song Yecheng walked around to the refrigerator and took two bottles of water. He turned around and walked to the sofa and threw one bottle to Douzi. He unscrewed the other bottle and took a few sips.

"Here I am." Douzi took the water but didn't drink it in a hurry. He pushed the thick documents on the coffee table forward. "All the notebooks I received recently are here. Brother Ming said he would send the electronic version to your email."

Song Yecheng responded and sat down, throwing away the towel, turning on the laptop on the coffee table, pushing the computer aside, and pulling over the pile of scripts.

"Brother Cheng, why do you suddenly want to read the script again?" Douzi asked curiously, "Didn't you say before that you wanted to take a few months off?"

Before the filming of "Heaven Will Snow" began, Song Yecheng informed Liang Heming in advance and asked him not to take other films for him for the time being. He planned to take a long vacation after finishing this film.

Later, when the filming was about to be completed, Liang Heming contacted him again to confirm, and he still said the same thing, saying that he had been working non-stop in the past few years, with more output than input, and he needed to take a break for some time to adjust.

Liang Heming did not try to persuade him much. He knew that Song Yecheng always had a clear idea of ​​his career plan, so he did not bother to play the role of persuading him to cherish his youth. He just said that he would talk about it after he had enough rest.

However, not long after filming was finished, Song Yecheng suddenly said he wanted to read the script. The drifting and tail-swinging energy caught Liang Heming off guard. Unable to catch Song Yecheng, he could only pull beans and spit: "Tell him to come up with less tricks for me! Can't you be more reliable?!"

Douzi felt very aggrieved that he had his forehead sprayed with saliva, but he was actually very puzzled. He couldn't understand what his brother Cheng was up to by acting like a tyrant who changed his mind every day.

Song Yecheng flipped through the script in his hand and answered perfunctorily: "I'm just taking a look. I didn't say I'd accept it."

Of course, he was not just wandering around for fun. Although he did not believe what Jiang Que said last night, the last sentence still drilled into his ears firmly, and kept lingering in his mind like a suona calling for his death. After he got home, he tossed and turned for several hours and could not fall asleep. Then he called Douzi and asked him to send over all the scripts he had received recently.

Even if it was just to verify his own judgment, he wanted to see whether the movie this person was talking about actually existed.

When Douzi heard him say this, he muttered to himself: "Why are you still looking at it if you're not going to answer it? Isn't this like sitting in a restaurant and just looking at the menu without ordering?"

Despite his inner complaints, he managed to hold back his complaints. He tactfully reached out and pulled the computer towards him, "Then I'll help you organize the electronic version as well?"

Song Yecheng responded casually.

In fact, most of the electronic versions are supplementary revisions sent because the original versions have been changed, and the content is basically the same as the paper version. Song Yecheng just wants to see the title of the film, and it is very likely that he will not use the electronic version.

The two of them sat opposite each other and performed their respective duties.

Song Yecheng originally wanted to just look at the names, but as he read, he was led astray by the professional habits he had developed over the years. When he saw an interesting name, he couldn't help but flip through to read the synopsis. After reading the synopsis and thinking it was good, he continued to read the character biographies and outlines. He accidentally read through most of these books and found that there were actually a few pretty good stories in them.

Just when he had almost forgotten his original intention of flipping through these scripts, suddenly, a large and eye-catching title caught his eye unexpectedly -

"Searching for the Light".

Two large characters were neatly printed vertically on the simple cover, with no other unnecessary words.

Song Yecheng quickly put the other scripts aside and impatiently turned to the title page of this one. He saw two names that were very familiar to him printed on the paper.

Director: Zhuang Yan

Screenwriter: Bai Ye Ling

At that moment, Song Yecheng felt that his blood pressure had soared a few points. He quickly turned to the introduction page, and after reading only two lines, his eyes lit up. He threw down the script and stood up to walk towards the stairs.

"Hey? Brother Cheng! What's going on?!"

Douzi was startled by his hasty action and jumped up from the sofa.

Song Yecheng had already run to the second floor. He slipped into the house, picked up his charging phone, unplugged the charging cable, and directly took out a number and dialed it.

The phone rang a few times and was quickly connected. A slightly surprised middle-aged male voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Chengzi?"

"Hey, it's me, Uncle Zhuang." Song Yecheng showed a slight smile on his face, turned around and walked out the door with the phone.

The person on the other end of the phone was the famous director Zhuang Yan. He was not only a long-time friend of Song Yecheng's parents, but also Song Yecheng's mentor and guide.

The first movie that Song Yecheng acted in when he was twelve years old was his film. Although Song Yecheng only played a supporting role at that time, the film won him many awards at home and abroad, and also raised Song Yecheng's starting point to a height that others could hardly reach.

Zhuang Yan has always been optimistic about Song Yecheng. In recent years, whenever there is a suitable role, he always thinks of him first. Song Yecheng has never disappointed him. Every movie he starred in has become a hit. Last year, he won the title of Best Actor again for the movie "Twins" directed by him.

Before the other party could continue speaking, Song Yecheng hurriedly asked, "Uncle Zhuang, did you get the copy of 'Searching for the Lantern'?"

"Of course not." Zhuang Yan's tone was filled with the usual reproach of an elder. "I had it delivered to you right after it was finalized, but Xiao Liang told me you needed to rest for a while. I thought to myself, you—"

"Why don't you just call me?" Song Yecheng quickly interrupted his long speech and asked back as he walked down the stairs.

It would have been fine if he hadn't mentioned it, but Zhuang Yan got angry when he did. "Why didn't I call? I called you for three days straight, but I couldn't get through! I almost thought you had blocked me!"

Song Yecheng was stunned at first, then he understood what was going on. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "How could that be? I went out to sea with my dad a few days ago. I've been drifting on the sea for the past few days. My phone has no signal at all."

"I think so," Zhuang Yan's tone finally softened. "I also think that no matter how bad a jerk you are, you wouldn't do such a thing."

"Of course," Song Yecheng went downstairs and sat back on the sofa, half jokingly and half coaxingly echoing, "I've been looking forward to seeing you every day. I can't wait to curry favor with you, right?"

After finally smoothing out Zhuang Yan's fur, Song Yecheng's true nature finally emerged. His fingers subconsciously pinched the three small moles on his earlobes and he asked tentatively, "Um, Uncle Zhuang, is Teacher Bai... coming with the group this time?"

Zhuang Yan on the other end of the phone was stunned for a few seconds, then burst into laughter. "I'm telling you, kid, is there something wrong with you? People take films based on the director, the script, the investment, the crew, and at the very least, the pay. And you're always staring at whether the screenwriter is following the crew. Are you a crazy fan?"

It's no wonder Zhuang Yan said that. The screenwriter of "Twins", which helped Song Yecheng win the Best Actor award again last year, was also Bai Yeling. During the filming of the movie two years ago, Song Yecheng always talked about him to Zhuang Yan intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes he asked why Teacher Bai didn't join the crew, and sometimes he asked why Teacher Bai didn't come to visit the set. He also asked indirectly where he lived and whether he was free to have dinner. He acted like a crazy star-chasing girl.

If Zhuang Yan hadn't known that they had never even met, he would have even suspected that Song Yecheng had a crush on her.

Song Yecheng ignored his squeeze, relying on his close relationship with him and being his junior, and simply started to act like a rogue: "Tsk, just say whether you will follow or not!"

Zhuang Yan couldn't stand his childish behavior. After a long while, he finally said helplessly, "Follow—follow! Okay? I'm really impressed by you."

However, Song Yecheng still didn't buy it: "But I remember you said the same thing last time, but in the end, didn't you even see a single person?"

"Hey?" Zhuang Yan choked and was about to refute but felt a little guilty.

Song Yecheng was right. Before filming "Twins" two years ago, Song Yecheng had asked him "Will the screenwriter join the crew?" But at that time Zhuang Yan thought he was just asking casually, so he answered casually.

However, the current situation in the domestic film and television industry is that, whether it is a TV series or a movie, during the filming period, the investors and directors have more say in the script than the screenwriters. Therefore, as long as there is no special modification task, the crew will not have any rigid regulations on whether the screenwriter should follow the crew. In addition, Bai Yeling himself is extremely low-key and does not like to show up in public. This means that Song Yecheng did not see Bai Yeling until the filming was completed.

In fact, after discovering that Song Yecheng was interested in Bai Yeling, Zhuang Yan had privately suggested to Bai Yeling that he come to the crew to visit, but Bai Yeling declined his invitation on the grounds that he did not want to affect the filming progress, and only said that he could come to join in the fun during the wrap-up party.

Zhuang Yan originally thought that this was not a bad idea, maybe he could even give Song Yecheng a surprise. However, on the day of the wrap-up party, Bai Yeling said that he had something urgent to do and could not attend. Zhuang Yan had no choice but to let this little episode rot in his stomach.

Now that Song Yecheng brought up the old story, Zhuang Yan's slight sense of guilt, similar to not being able to let his child have candy, suddenly surfaced again.

However, when he thought about Bai Yeling's obviously different attitude when they discussed joining the group this time, Zhuang Yan suddenly felt emboldened. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, last time, I was unkind and didn't put my heart into it after I agreed to join you. This time, I guarantee that he will definitely join you. Even if he doesn't join me, he will join you! Okay?"

Hearing his bold words, Song Yecheng suddenly wanted to laugh, and quickly followed suit and said, "Okay, as long as you say this, my uncle Zhuang is really reliable."

"Come on," Zhuang Yan ignored his flattery and said unhappily, "I finally understand. You're still looking forward to seeing me, but are you really looking forward to seeing me? You're just looking forward to Teacher Bai!"

The sour taste in these words made Song Yecheng laugh uncontrollably. He laughed heartily and said, "Didn't you also say that Mr. Bai's script is well written? Then no matter how well he writes, it takes someone as good as you to shoot it to its best, right? The two of you working together is a perfect match, complementing each other like a tiger with wings, and neither of you can be missing -"

Zhuang Yan snorted twice, stopped talking nonsense, and got back to the point: "What's going on now? Can you decide this on your own? Do you need to discuss it with Xiao Liang?"

Talking about business, Song Yecheng also put away his nonchalant look: "No, don't worry about him, I'll go talk to him."

"Okay," Zhuang Yan was also a straightforward person. "I've almost finished preparing everything. If nothing goes wrong, we should be able to start filming next month. If you're free, come over earlier."

Song Yecheng smiled and said, "No problem."

After hanging up the phone, Song Yecheng happily turned the phone around in his hand twice, while Douzi, who had listened to the entire call with his ears perked up, was already dumbfounded: "Cheng, Brother Cheng, aren't you too decisive? Didn't you say you were just looking at the script and not answering it?"

Song Yecheng paused abruptly, then he suddenly remembered his original intention of reading these scripts, and then remembered Jiang Que's firm "prophecy", and hurriedly opened his phone again and called back.

"Hello, Uncle Zhuang?"

Zhuang Yan was obviously confused: "What happened again?"

Song Yecheng asked, "Who else knows that I took on this film?"

Zhuang Yan was a little confused by his question: "Didn't you just decide this? I haven't even had time to tell anyone yet."

Song Yecheng thought about it and agreed. Even if Jiang Que knew about the existence of this script, and even knew that Zhuang Yan wanted him to play the role, how could he be sure that he would agree before he made the decision?

Asking Zhuang Yan about this probably wouldn't reveal anything, so Song Yecheng simply stopped asking and said, "Then let's not tell anyone about it for now. We'll make an official announcement once the process is completed and finalized."

Song Yecheng actually doesn't need to remind this point. There are many cases in the industry where casting news is released in advance and then slapped in the face. Although some crews are just trying to hype up the popularity, there are indeed many jokes caused by "thinking that it can be finalized but the negotiations broke down in the end."

Zhuang Yan would not bother to engage in the former kind of hype, and it is impossible for a veteran like Zhuang Yan, who has been in the circle for decades, to make the latter kind of mistake. As long as the contract is not signed, he will never release the news easily.

After discussing with Zhuang Yan, Song Yecheng hung up the phone. He was not in a hurry to find Liang Heming right away. Instead, he asked Douzi to go back and rest first and made an appointment to pick him up to go to the company tomorrow.

After Douzi left, Song Yecheng sat on the sofa and stared at the cover of "Searching for the Light" for a while, but did not open it again. Instead, he took it upstairs to the bedroom.

Walking to the bed, he leaned over and took out a book from under the pillow, then turned around and sat against the headboard.

It was a book with a brown cover. Judging from the wear and tear on the edges and color, it was quite old. In the middle of the cover was the title "Dust" written in gray handwriting, and in the lower right corner was a line of small regular script:

Listen to the white night, write.