Chapter 38 Chapter 38
◎Is Teacher Si Lan a human being? (Part 2)◎
Lian Jiu came back to his senses from his surprise and suddenly laughed: "Snow White conquers the world? What a novel idea."
"It's really novel." Thanks to this friend, Wei Jingxuan feels like she's watched two stories every time she finishes a movie. "If he were to develop the fairy tale market, who knows, he might become a hit, like Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf going on adventures together, or the little match girl becoming the Match King."
Lian Jiu found it more and more interesting the more he listened: "It's actually quite interesting."
Wei Jingxuan's eyes widened. "Director, are you serious? You should know that he's unemployed."
"We've already made an appointment, so let's go and have a look."
-
Out of courtesy, Lian Jiu and Si Lan arrived at the agreed location in advance. Now she seemed to have a little follower. Whenever she went out, Si Lan would follow her, especially when there was a dinner party.
Unless necessary, he never spoke and just focused on eating.
He fully demonstrated his identity as a glutton.
Before the guests arrived, the restaurant served some snacks, which Si Lan had almost finished in a short while. Lian Jiu asked, "Si Lan, what if our idea doesn't gain market acceptance?"
Si Lan asked back: "Are you trying to cater to the market?"
"Of course we want to make money," Lian Jiu said. "If the market likes it, we might have a lot of money, and then we can build a community. And it will also give Mr. Wei an explanation."
Si Lan: "What if it doesn't make money?"
Lian Jiu was silent for a moment. "If I have the chance, I'd like to take a photo too."
"Why?"
"Maybe I'm being selfish," Lian Jiu said softly. "I hope everyone in the mountains can have their own stories, just like we watched movies during the Mid-Autumn Festival. There's something to record our stories."
Si Lan pinched a small biscuit and ate it: "You want to shoot it regardless of whether it makes money or not. How can there be such a problem?"
"I'm afraid this is just my opinion." Lian Jiu also took a piece and took a bite, at least to resist the anxiety that was a little bit relieved. "Everyone doesn't understand, so they follow my advice. But these things are all considered from my own perspective. I don't really have much confidence in them."
After all, he was just a man in his early twenties, without much experience, and was suddenly expected by so many monsters. Although Lian Jiu didn't say it, he was actually under a lot of pressure.
Si Lan put down the biscuit and turned his head to look at her.
Lian Jiu: "Hmm?"
Si Lan said slowly: "You can't decide what other people think."
Lian Jiu couldn't understand.
"No one can influence other people's opinions." Si Lan curled his lips, "Whether it's good or bad, just do what you want to do."
"So what if something goes wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Si Lan said lazily, "Is it wrong for you to do this for their own good? Or is it wrong for you to sacrifice so much? You beg for benefits but don't want to take risks. Where in the world can such a good thing happen?"
Lian Jiu was stunned for a moment: "What if they blame me?"
"Strange?" Si Lan's dark eyes reflected her bewildered face, and he chuckled softly, "Then just leave them there and let them fend for themselves."
He picked up a biscuit and handed it over: "No one has to be responsible for anyone else, especially those who don't know what's good for them."
After taking the biscuit, Lian Jiu's uneasy heart was reluctantly relieved.
In fact, after hearing Si Lan's words, she wanted to ask, if he really thought so, then why was he always unhappy? Why did he still guard a place he didn't want to guard?
But if you think about it carefully, these should be his secrets, so don't ask.
The door of the box was pushed open, and a young man wearing a baseball cap and colorful clothes walked in. He recognized Lian Jiu at a glance, and his eyes suddenly brightened: "Director Lian Jiu!"
"Hello."
Lian Jiu heard from Wei Jingxuan that this person was called Ke Yuansi.
"I've finally succeeded in chasing my idol!" After shaking hands with Lian Jiu, Ke Yuansi saw Si Lan sitting behind him and said with even greater surprise, "Teacher Si Lan!"
Si Lan nodded slightly.
"I didn't expect you two to come together." Ke Yuansi sat down excitedly. "Seeing you in person is even more attractive than I thought."
It turns out that this is really a star-chasing event.
Lian Jiu also sat down and poured him some water: "You're too kind. We are just ordinary people."
"Oh, thank you. I can do it myself. Don't be polite to me." Ke Yuansi took it with both hands. "If she is Jingxuan's friend, she is also my friend."
"Jingxuan is one aspect, but our affairs are separate."
"Yes, yes, you guys are going to make a movie, right?" Ke Yuansi was particularly excited when he mentioned this. "It's rare for someone to talk to me about movies. You're definitely someone I admire."
Chatting with him was quite relaxing. Lian Jiu smiled and asked, "I heard that you have your own unique perspective. Actually, I'm curious, why did you want Snow White to conquer the world and Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf to venture into the underworld?"
Ke Yuansi was a little embarrassed: "Why did that person tell you everything?"
In fact, before coming here, Ke Yuansi received a message from Wei Jingxuan, saying that the movie that Director Lian Jiu wanted to shoot was very important, so she asked him to be more restrained and not be too outrageous. She probably wanted him to look at it from a normal person's perspective.
Ke Yuansi could only say that he tried his best. He was also prepared to act normal in front of these two people he admired, but he didn't expect that Lian Jiu would be interested in his previous thoughts from the beginning. What could he do?
He took off his baseball cap and placed it on the table, then said seriously, "Maybe I subconsciously think about it from the perspective of contradiction."
"How is it contradictory?"
"I don't really like tragedies. Although these stories may seem happy to outsiders, to me they are tragedies, a tragedy of fixed thinking."
Ke Yuansi said, "For example, Snow White fought back against the Queen with the help of the dwarfs and the prince, but in reality, this was just luck. She is still weak and will continue to be envied and bullied by others. No one will always protect her. Will she eat the poisoned apple again without any defense, and then be lucky enough to hit the tree and meet the seven dwarfs and the prince again?"
"She's a princess, after all. I hope she can grow up on her own and have the strength and vision to fight against others, instead of being foolishly kind. Of course, I don't mean to criticize kindness."
Lian Jiu was slightly surprised: "And then?"
"Little Red Riding Hood is even simpler. Fairy tales are meant to give children a beautiful medium for fantasy, but Little Red Riding Hood is often used to describe naive, childish, and easily deceived children." Ke Yuansi took a sip of water. "She's the protagonist, and this is a fairy tale. Why not make the story even more beautiful and imaginative? Little Red Riding Hood travels the world with the Big Bad Wolf and becomes a brave and intelligent child. Isn't that right?"
Lian Jiu nodded: "That makes sense."
"Right!" Ke Yuansi, having received recognition, became even more excited. "What about the little match girl? Doesn't she want to see illusions? Then she can become a match king. She can see everything she wants to see and even sell these hopeful matches to everyone. Of course, the ideological backgrounds are different. I am only expressing my own thoughts."
After listening to Ke Yuansi's words, Lian Jiu felt that his fairy tales were all very good and should not be called XXX. She said sincerely, "They are very good. Do you say the same thing to others?"
"Not really." Ke Yuansi said nonchalantly, "I wanted to say something, but everyone thought I was talking nonsense after hearing my opening words and didn't want to listen any further."
"Jingxuan said the same thing?"
"She didn't." Ke Yuansi shook his head. "She and I are friends. She would actually be willing to listen to me, but she hasn't studied art. And later I didn't want to talk about it anymore. She couldn't give me a professional opinion."
The reason why Ke Yuansi wanted to tell Lian Jiu was probably because he felt an extra calming power from this person.
And Si Lan beside him.
Ke Yuansi felt that this man was dangerous, it was just a hunch.
The auras of these two people originally conflicted, but when they were together they created a different kind of harmony, just like his own ideas were different from those of ordinary people, but he always accepted himself.
After listening to it for a long time, Lian Jiu also understood that different fields are like different worlds, and this is indeed true.
But she felt that Ke Yuansi had many of the same ideas as hers.
For example, wanting to break through an inherent mindset and bring about a more satisfactory result, even if it seems a bit unrealistic to outsiders.
Just like she wanted the monsters in the mountains to get along with humans again and again, and wanted to bring the monsters to the big screen in a fair and honest way.
Lian Jiu smiled gently and said gently, "I would like you to use your own point of view to see if one of my ideas is feasible."
Ke Yuansi was surprised: "Do you agree with my point of view?"
"I don't think it's a big deal." Lian Jiu nodded. "If you're willing to tell others about these ideas, perhaps they will agree with you."
Ke Yuansi found it funny and waved his hand: "But many people only stop at the beginning."
"Director, what are your thoughts?"
Lian Jiu said directly: "I want to make a movie for the children in the mountains."
Hearing this, Ke Yuansi was stunned for a long time.
In fact, in this line of work, I have seen many people in the circle who bring money into the group and want to be the protagonist themselves, or let the people they support be the protagonist, so it is not a difficult thing.
But it was the first time that Ke Yuansi heard someone want a mountain child to be the protagonist.
Although he was a little confused, he still chose to listen to the end and said: "What is the specific shooting method? What is the subject matter?"
"A fairy tale." Lian Jiu handed him a video he had taken on his phone about the Mid-Autumn Festival and said, "Such a fairy tale."
Ke Yuansi was not unfamiliar with the content of the video, because he became a fan of Lian Jiu because of this incident.
No matter how much speculation the outside world had about Lian Jiu at the time, from his point of view, he felt that Lian Jiu was very similar to himself, always wanting to create fairy tales in places that others could not understand, perfect fairy tales with various meanings.
"There's some fantasy in the harmonious coexistence of humans and animals." But based on his own professional theory, Ke Yuansi still offered a suggestion, "But such an image alone is meaningless, even if it's beautiful."
"In a short video, it's just a fleeting moment of shock and yearning, but in a movie, it lasts over an hour. This perfection can't be sustained. Perhaps this can only be the film's ending." After Ke Yuansi finished speaking, he felt something was wrong and asked doubtfully, "But didn't you say this was a fairy tale? Aren't the only fantasy elements humans and animals?"
"Hmm." Lian Jiu pointed at the animals on the screen. "What if these are monsters?"
Ke Yuansi raised an eyebrow in surprise. He watched the video again and suddenly found it more interesting. "And then?"
Lian Jiu pointed at those people again: "What if these are also monsters?"
At this point, Ke Yuansi was confused: "Like Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, a world full of monsters? But in that case, other events would have to be arranged to create conflicts, and yours is a live-action version."
"That's right." Lian Jiu tapped the table with his fingertips and drew a circle on it. "This isn't a world entirely of monsters. This is the human world, but no one knows that many monsters live in this small world. These monsters suddenly appeared in the world, and they worked hard to learn and adapt to society. In this big human world, they created a paradise just for monsters."
Ke Yuansi followed this line of thought, and after connecting the story told by Lian Jiu together, he suddenly woke up as if from a dream.
This story does not entirely anthropomorphize animals, nor does it entirely virtualize them, but rather creates a virtual world within reality.
Even things that many ordinary people want to do but can never do.
"I think this is a great idea." Ke Yuansi was very surprised. "It's great! This really coincides with your Mid-Autumn Festival video. Even the netizens watching the video are one of the characters."
It seemed that he understood what he meant. With Ke Yuansi's approval, Lian Jiu felt relieved: "So you think this idea is feasible?"
"It's feasible, but there are still many problems." Ke Yuan thought carefully and said, "If this script is filmed, it will involve a complete world view, including why the monsters suddenly appeared and why this corner of the world belongs only to them."
"But that's all up to the screenwriter." He was curious. "Have you already prepared the script?"
"Not yet." Lian Jiu said truthfully, "In fact, you are just the first stop in the process of starting this idea. The background you mentioned..."
Lian Jiu glanced in Si Lan's direction, and seeing that he didn't react, he said, "Maybe."
"What do you mean by maybe?" Ke Yuansi was left in a state of confusion by this statement. "That's all secondary. We can all make it up, but if you ask people from your mountain village to act it out, that might not work."
Lian Jiu: "Why?"
"This is a live-action film. Even if there are some exaggerated elements in the fairy tale, we can't completely ignore the acting." Ke Yuansi said, "The people in the mountains have never been exposed to this industry, and have never even seen a camera. How can they stage this? It will be impossible to do it in post-production. No one will spend money to buy a movie ticket that is full of exaggerated acting, no matter what the subject matter is."
"Also..." Ke Yuansi offered another suggestion. "Although this is a fairy tale, its audience isn't limited to children. In reality, everyone today needs a little, isolated world of their own, forever beautiful and full of fantasy. Just look at why Disneyland is so successful."
He said seriously, "So in my opinion, this film is very valuable, but if the actors are not good, investors will not invest in it."
Lian Jiu's blood boiled at his analysis, but he still maintained his bottom line: "This film can only be performed by people from our mountain area."
Ke Yuansi was puzzled: "Why do you have to insist so much?"
“Because this is for them.”
Ke Yuansi was helpless: "I don't mean to belittle amateurs, but the actors have no acting skills. There are not even 18th-tier actors in the film. It's like you are starting from scratch. This is worse than anime, because anime is full of paper characters and will not let the audience have expectations of the actors."
After a pause, Ke Yuansi said, "Unless you pay for it all yourself."
He understood the situation in the mountains. What made her have such a bold idea?
The money earned from live streaming isn’t enough to buy meat, right?
Lian Jiu: "We have investors."
"What?"
Such a ridiculous and bold idea actually has investors?!
It turns out that we are not the only ones who are stupid and rich?!
"Mr. Wei Jingchen," Lian Jiu said, "I made an agreement with him that if I could do the preliminary work properly, he would cover the entire investment for this play."
Ke Yuansi knew in the morning that Wei Jingchen's LK had cooperated with the kindergarten, but he didn't know there was such a layer.
Wei Jingchen's company is so big, so he is definitely not an ordinary person. Logically, he would not take such a risk. This is not a small amount of money. Even if he has money, he can't spend it like this, unless there is some inside story.
Ke Yuansi pondered and made a small calculation: "Director Lian Jiu, you know I am your fan. I admire what you are doing. At the same time, I also have my own studio and a little money."
He twisted the sentence in eighteen different ways, and Lian Jiu couldn't help laughing: "And then?"
"If you tell me how you convinced Wei Jingchen, I can also invest in you." Ke Yuansi straightened his clothes and acted like a boss. "Besides, compared to LK, I am more familiar with this industry and know more filmmakers. I can provide not only money, but also connections and resources."
Lian Jiu nodded: "It seems very attractive indeed."
"Right!" Ke Yuansi's bossy demeanor broke down in three seconds, and he asked expectantly, "Then can you tell me how you convinced him?"
Lian Jiu pondered for a moment and said, "Let's do a field investigation."
"What?"
Lian Jiu smiled and said, "So you took him to this place in the story for an inspection?"
"You mean...the filming location?"
"You can understand it that way."
"Isn't that your mountain..." Ke Yuansi's words stopped abruptly.
He tried hard to recall today's conversation, and out of professional habit as a filmmaker, he dug out the hidden foreshadowings that Lian Jiu had mentioned before one by one.
A corner of the world filled with monsters;
The monsters are disconnected from society and work hard to learn;
It is a paradise that is envied by everyone but unknown to anyone;
Those strangely dressed mountain people in the videos before, those children with realistic-looking ears and horns on their heads...
Ke Yuansi, who always liked fantasy, felt that it was a bit magical and even couldn't believe this fact. He looked at the man who didn't say a word from beginning to end but had a strong presence. He always had only one set of clothes and had an air of nobility, which was incompatible with the so-called mountain people.
"Director Lian Jiu..." Ke Yuansi lowered his voice, "Is it not what I thought?"
"Like that?"
The director's cell phone was still on the table. Ke Yuansi clicked on the videos that he had collected and liked, one by one. The more he looked at them, the more uneasy he felt. He didn't feel it before, but now when he connected them together, he always felt that something was strange.
Why do the little monsters have the same ears every day? Even the monsters can act out their habits so realistically.
Even in zoos, there are not so many scenes of humans and animals living in such harmony!
Ke Yuansi: "Is this true?"
Without even asking for a long time what "these" he was talking about, he just said, "It's true."
A double entendre?
Ke Yuansi had to make himself clear. He pointed at Si Lan who kept talking and asked: "Teacher Si Lan, is he a human being?"
Lian Jiu smiled and said, "It's God."
“!!!”
Ke Yuansi stopped talking. He felt his head was in a mess, but deep down he couldn't suppress his excitement.
He was the kind of person he described as needing his own paradise, and he felt his soul trembling.
"Can you tell me this too?" Ke Yuansi finally asked the last question, "If this place is truly a place that humans cannot know."
"I don't want humans to disturb their lives," Lian Jiu said sincerely, "but I also don't want them to be like the people in the Peach Blossom Spring, unaware of the current day."
"Humans are not allowed to enter, but trusted friends are allowed."
"A trusted... friend?"
Lian Jiu took a piece of pastry from the plate of snacks that was about to be finished in front of Si Lan and handed it to Ke Yuansi. "I think that someone who can change the protagonists of fairy tales into brave and strong people, and who hopes that fairy tales can always satisfy all children's fantasies of beauty, is worthy of trust. What do you think?"
The trembling feeling in his heart came again. Ke Yuansi had never received such recognition from anyone in real life.
Perhaps it is because Principal Lian Jiu’s own experience itself has a fairy-tale color, so her insights are consistent with her own.
Ke Yuansi's palms were sweating, and his fingertips were a little stiff, but he finally took the biscuits handed to him by Director Lian Jiu: "Thank you, thank you for your trust."
Lian Jiu withdrew his hand and said with a gentle smile: "Welcome to be our guest."
Ke Yuansi took a deep breath, stood up and said solemnly: "Principal, don't worry, I will do what I say. I will be fully responsible for this movie from now on."
"Thank you." Lian Jiu also stood up. "From now on, I'll trouble you."
Only after the matter was settled did they sit down and have their meal together.
Ke Yuansi kept staring at Si Lan while he was eating, and finally, when he was about to leave after finishing his meal, he couldn't help but ask, "Is Teacher Si Lan really a god?"
"Yeah." Lian Jiu nodded. "Aren't you asking why that world exists? Because of him."
Ke Yuansi was even more respectful. Fearing that he might offend someone later, he lowered his voice to confirm with the headmaster: "So, is he, unable to speak?"
Lien Jiu: "..."
Si Lan heard it clearly: "..."
He turned his head, his expression was indifferent, and his tone was slightly cold: "Yes."
"!!!" Ke Yuansi immediately became as cowardly as a quail, "Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
Lian Jiu suppressed his laughter and said, "He really doesn't like to talk much, especially when he's eating. He can't keep his mouth shut."
Si Lan was helpless: "Lian Jiu."
Ke Yuansi was not the headmaster, but he was still very respectful of God. He felt that he had offended someone even more, so he quickly said, "Then I'll go back first. I'll contact you in a couple of days to visit you in the mountains. Don't worry, I'm very secretive and won't tell anyone else!"
"Okay, be careful on the road."
"Goodbye, Director. Goodbye, God, God-Lord."
After Ke Yuansi ran away, Lian Jiu went with Si Lan to look for the painted horse. She smiled and joked, "You are a quiet god. Look how scared others are of you."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"That's because I know what you really are like."
Si Lan raised an eyebrow: "What's the real look?"
Lian Jiu thought for a moment and said, "You can sell yourself to me as a bodyguard just for a box of self-heating hot pot."
Si Lan was stunned for a moment, then recalled the scene of their meeting on Fuyu Mountain, and chuckled softly, "That's right."
"Why don't you like talking to them?"
Si Lan said, "I'm used to it. It's always been like this. Just listen to it."
"listen?"
"Hmm." Si Lan pointed to his ear, "Listen with this."
So this is a special habit?
Lian Jiu was about to withdraw his gaze from his ears when he suddenly noticed something: "Si Lan, you are wearing that red hairband today."
Si Lan paused for a moment, then returned to normal and turned his head: "Yeah."
He walked in front, his red hairband particularly eye-catching against his black hair. His voice was carried by the wind to Lian Jiu's ears behind him: "Didn't I say I would wear it when I want to?"
The author has something to say:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2023-06-26 23:47:40 and 2023-06-27 04:54:32~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 4 bottles of Miao's homegirl;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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