Shang Yechu gave a dry laugh but did not reply.

"I not only submitted my resume, but also my script. I didn't expect to get a response about my resume before even receiving a reply to my script." Lin Guihua shook her head. "I was planning to amaze everyone with my script."

Shang Yechu was genuinely surprised in two ways. First, she was surprised that Lin Guihua actually followed the procedures to participate in the screenwriting competition without using any connections. Such a rule-abiding person is extremely rare in the entertainment industry. Second, she was surprised that after producing a film with a score of 2.7, Lin Guihua could so casually use the script to make fun of herself, showing remarkable mental fortitude.

"Actually, it's no big deal to tell you. This matter is also related to you." Before she could finish speaking, Lin Guihua's stomach growled loudly.

Shang Yechu was surprised for the third time: "What does this have to do with me? -- Can we talk while we eat? Actually, I'm not full. I just wanted to act like a lady in front of you. Now my stomach is almost empty."

Lin Guihua chuckled: "You should have said so earlier! Come on, eat, eat, I'll ask the waiter to bring another plate of steamed buns."

Lin Guihua is thirty-five or thirty-six years old this year, a little younger than Yang Huanyi. She is strong and rugged, and her bronze square face makes her look resolute and stubborn. Such people age well. Shang Yechu has seen her photos online. She looked almost the same when she was twenty-five, only she lacked some muscle and composure.

Actually, she looked quite pretty when she smiled, Shang Yechu thought. Yang Huanyi didn't smile often, because her face would break out in fine lines when she did. Several times, Shang Yechu deliberately tickled her armpits and lower back, and Yang Huanyi would hold back her laughter until her face turned red, even grabbing Shang Yechu by the scruff of her neck and dragging her away. She found herself surprisingly calm when she thought about all of this, with much less of the bitterness and resentment she had felt before.

Perhaps it was because she learned that Yang Huanyi would always love her, even though he might love others. The restlessness and unease in her heart gradually subsided as a result.

Lin Guihua picked up her chopsticks again, and Shang Yechu also picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of meat, and slowly said, "Why do you say this has anything to do with me?"

Lin Guihua swallowed a large mouthful of soup before saying, "I've watched your movie, 'Happy Street,' three times, and I'm more and more moved each time I watch it!"

Lin Guihua must have seen some online commentary and gotten excited. Shang Yechu had already prepared a prepared explanation: "You mean that movie..."

"There's hope for horror movies in China!" Lin Guihua slammed her hand on the table, causing the oily soup to slosh around and spill a few drops onto the table.

"..." Shang Yechu said, "Ah, really? Haha, you've made me feel a little ashamed. Actually, it's mainly thanks to the director and screenwriter."

Lin Guihua exclaimed excitedly, "The special effects, the plot logic, the suspense—it was all fantastic! This is a completely successful Chinese-style horror film!"

Shang Yechu stuffed a large piece of lettuce into her mouth to avoid spitting it out.

She now understands what it means for "a scholar to see the Book of Changes, a moralist to see lewdness, and a romantic to see entanglement..."

"And not only is the plot good, but it's also a box office success!" Lin Guihua covered her cheek, tears welling in her eyes. "Our domestic horror films can also achieve box office success like foreign horror films, earning billions, two billion, three billion yuan. There's hope on this path; our horror films will only get better and better..."

Shang Yechu panicked for a moment, not expecting Lin Guihua to be so sentimental and actually show her true feelings. She quickly put down her chopsticks and said, "Be careful not to choke."

Lin Guihua put down her chopsticks, tears welling up in her eyes: "I used to think that our horror films, at best, would only make a few hundred million or four hundred million yuan, and a few thousand or tens of thousands of angry comments. Nobody would watch them, nobody would care. You could see the end of this road ahead. The more we made them, the more anxious we became, the worse they got, and the more anxious we were to make new ones."

"Later on, I got discouraged and thought I'd just make some random film to fool the audience and make a little money to support my family."

Lin Guihua wiped away her tears and said, "After watching 'Happy Street,' I realized that audiences don't reject horror movies; they just reject bad ones. As long as we do a good job, millions of viewers will support us..."

When Shang Yechu thought about the difference between Sheng Wenzhi's original novel and the movie "Happiness Street, Please Come In!", and then recalled what Gu Wenhua had said, she felt as if a balloon was stuck in her heart.

"Happiness Street, Please Come In!" pushed Lin Guihua's expectations for the box office potential of domestic horror films. However, this film is actually a completely different comedy.

"Don't say that," Shang Yechu tried to forget the plot of the "Tianjing" series and comforted her, "Your movies are still very interesting. When we watched 'The Strange Case of No. 93 Tianjing' before, my whole family was terrified. For horror movies, being scared means you like them. So, it's clear that the audience loves you. If they don't support you, who else will they support? They just criticize you verbally, but they still hope you make good movies. Criticism is a sign of affection, and the worst thing is when the audience doesn't criticize or care."

Lin Guihua blew her nose and wiped her hands with a wet tissue: "I'm so happy. You don't know, the day 'Happiness Street' broke 2 billion at the box office, I treated the entire company to dinner. At that time, 'The Strange Case of No. 96 Tianjing' was a box office and critical failure, and everyone was in a bad mood. So I used 'Happiness Street' to encourage everyone, and told them that we are on a broad road to success, and we should set a small goal first, to return to the original level of the 'Tianjing' series. Then, using 'Happiness Street' as an example, we can make horror films that gross 1 billion, 2 billion, 3 billion... and finally, we will surpass it!"

Lin Guihua, holding her lunchbox, declared with great enthusiasm amidst the crowd, "When that time comes, our entire company will take a vacation and go on a trip to the South Island! Does everyone have confidence?!"

The people from Little Monster Pictures exclaimed excitedly, "Yes!"

Among this group were her long-time subordinates who had worked alongside her from the very beginning, as well as newcomers who had just joined the company. They were so convinced that Chairman Lin, Director Lin, and Screenwriter Lin would lead them to surpass "Happy Street, Please Come In!"

Many people have approached Lin Guihua. They asked her: "Since you have such talent, why do you keep sticking to such lousy subjects? Why don't you film something better?"

Her parents and relatives also blamed her: "Aren't you afraid of getting bad luck by filming these things?"

But what could she do? She loved her little monster so deeply that she was destined to spend her life with it. From an unknown nobody, personally moving equipment and carrying cameras, to now being the CEO of a cutting-edge film and television company, this one thing has never changed.

"If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening." Perhaps this collection of bizarre, fantastical, and terrifying stories is her Way.

Shang Yechu's eyes also welled up with tears. The woman's life of struggle and hard work were vividly before her eyes, moving her deeply. She turned her head away and looked out the window at the setting sun for a while. After a while, she turned back and said softly with a smile, "Wipe your tears."

While wiping her face, Lin Guihua said, "Our Little Monster Pictures used to be an integrated investment and production company. But we've encountered a bottleneck in the last two years. I was thinking of cooperating with Qingping Entertainment to learn from your advanced experience, introduce some fresh ideas, and help the company improve as well."

At this point, Lin Guihua smiled and said, "I know I'm the queen of bad movies, I have a bad reputation, and people look down on online movie directors. It's nothing. I'll just submit my resume and scripts myself. I told everyone before that even if the 'Tianjing' series loses everything, I'll just start over."

Shang Yechu took a deep breath, looked at her across the table, and smiled, "Director Lin said he didn't like me flattering you, so I changed my ways. Why is it that when I advised Director Lin not to underestimate himself, you stubbornly refused to change your ways?"

Lin Guihua was slightly taken aback.

Shang Yechu said slowly and deliberately, "You are a good leader and a partner that Qingping Entertainment has been dreaming of."

"Most importantly—"

Shang Yechu smiled brightly: "You are a good director too, always have been."

-------

It was already evening when the meal ended. Before parting, Shang Yechu finally couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "Sister Lin, smoking is bad for your health, and so is drinking."

Shang Yechu never cared about other people's hobbies, and she would never have said that unless they really clicked.

Lin Guihua burped, picking her teeth with dental floss. She was slightly taken aback when she heard this, then laughed and said, "You're just like my group of old-fashioned friends."

Shang Yechu covered her nose and said, "I'm thinking about my own health." They've gotten to know each other better now and have started joking around.

Lin Guihua shrugged and said, "I didn't smoke or drink before. But later, when I was trying to attract investment, grab film screenings, and negotiate this and that, many people in those situations smoked and drank. I couldn't fit in if I didn't participate in these activities. Later, I gradually got used to it and couldn't quit."

Shang Yechu's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a pang of sadness. After a long pause, she slowly said, "That's true. I'll go back and look into it, to see if there are any better, less harmful cigarettes and alcohol. I'll recommend them to you then."

Lin Guihua paused slightly.

"Look at you!" Lin Guihua laughed loudly. "You have to worry about such trivial matters? You're going to work yourself to death! You should just focus on making your movies. Once our Little Monster and Qingping Entertainment team up, and the films get better and better, and the box office keeps rising, maybe by then I'll quit smoking and drinking—"