Chapter 24 Xu Zecheng and Sun Ziyi are in love!
Most screenwriters working in the industry have read a reference book - "Save the Cat". In "Save the Cat", there is a description of a certain type of person called half-human.
The so-called half-man is someone who has already experienced the hardships and dangers before the protagonist reaches the end, and has seen the "devil." After seeing the devil, they often gain a broken body with an unyielding will, or a broken body with a retreating will.
This type of half-human is a benchmark figure that determines the protagonist's attitude towards the unknown.
Sun Ziyi had always wondered who was that half-person in her life? One of those senior screenwriters who got replaced mid-writing? Or one of those head writers who, after reaching the top, started hiring ghostwriters? It definitely wasn't herself, stuck in a project with no end in sight.
After the meeting with CEO Li, Sun Ziyi felt she hadn't gained nothing. At least now she was certain she was a "half-human" who had lost her will. Bad Mouth had already fired her, and she wanted severance pay, but they said, "Why don't you give us some compensation for the loss of our reputation?"
Chen Qingqing and her husband argued and made up, and she only needed to occasionally play mediator over her phone. Sasa's work schedule had increased, and she was away on business trips to Shanghai for two weeks. They weren't close friends to begin with, so a week or two without contact was normal. After losing her bad-mouthed job, there was no need to go out anymore.
At the end of the year, thinking about going back to her hometown to face her fellow villagers, she felt completely exhausted for a month. She even felt like she was at the end of her rope. When she was stressed, she couldn't sleep well. Sometimes she woke up very late. In her dreams, there were either monstrous monsters, cannibalistic clients, or kindergarten classmates she had quarreled with when she was a child. In short, anyone could appear in her dreams. Sometimes she was still awake at seven o'clock, sometimes she woke up at six o'clock, and sometimes she woke up at twelve o'clock. If she woke up at seven o'clock, Sun Ziyi would take a jump rope and go downstairs to dance for a few songs. If she woke up at twelve o'clock, she only had to lower her head and Xu Zecheng would be standing downstairs, waving at her stupidly.
During this month, Sun Ziyi's only contact with the outside world was Xu Zecheng. He came often, two or three times a week. When he arrived downstairs, he would send Sun Ziyi a WeChat message. She would then go with him to a nearby restaurant to eat something and chat. Sometimes he would come up to help her fill the refrigerator, and then accompany her to build an island in Animal Crossing.
He seemed to have figured out Sun Ziyi's lazy pattern in this world. She had been used to talking to herself at home during the past few years when she was not working. She sometimes had to restrain some of her behaviors to avoid letting Xu Zecheng know about her little quirks. One day, she suddenly said to the refrigerator at home, "Why can't you cook rice in your refrigerator?" After she realized it, she immediately got scared, afraid that Xu Zecheng would think she was a lunatic talking to herself. But Xu Zecheng helped her close the refrigerator door and said, "Let the refrigerator cook rice. Even Yang Bailao is not as good at giving orders as you."
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At six o'clock in the evening, Sun Ziyi cooked a bowl of instant noodles in a copper pot at home, and pretended to blow the noodles with the pot lid like the characters in Korean dramas. Because there was no kimchi, he felt something was missing, so he ordered Ding Dong to buy vegetables.
While waiting, she posted her daily life with Xu Zecheng to the three-person group. Shen Qingqing thought that Xu Zecheng was really concerned about Sun Ziyi. From Shunyi to the East Fifth Ring Road, it was the distance between two small cities in the Northeast.
“Panjin to Yingkou.” Shen Qingqing said.
"Oh, really?" Sun Ziyi replied to Shen Qingqing.
"But when people encounter a warm hand in adversity, it is difficult to control themselves from treating this hand as a life-saving straw, especially when it comes to someone like Xu Zecheng, who is good-looking, owns a high-end industry, drives a McLaren, and has small hands with distinct joints." Sun Ziyi couldn't help but take a breath after typing this string of words.
"Why can't you choose a life-saving straw with good conditions? What are you afraid of?" Thirty minutes later, Sasa came back and explained that she had just gone to an interview.
"I'm afraid it's all a dream. After living alone for so long, I'm afraid the perfect childhood sweetheart image of Xu Zecheng is just a figment of my imagination," Xiao Sun said sadly.
"...You are so hypocritical, you are so fucking hypocritical, please mind your language." Chen Qingqing finally couldn't help but retorted to Sun Ziyi.
Sasa only posted half a page hahahahahahahahahahaha.
Sun Ziyi sent a crying emoji and said aggrievedly, "Really? Sometimes I'm afraid you're all just a figment of my imagination. How could I possibly deserve to have a wealthy lady as a friend and a friend who's both good at making money and stunningly beautiful?"
"Don't worry, a beauty like me is not something you can imagine," Sasa added.
Sun Ziyi sent an emoticon of covering his mouth.
Sasa added, "You always back down, that's why you have no practical experience in script writing."
Sasa's words hit the nail on the head, and made Sun Ziyi's heart ache like a sieve. She wailed and stuffed her cell phone under the sofa cushion.
At night, Sun Ziyi tossed and turned in bed. She didn't understand the relationship between herself and Xu Zecheng, and she didn't know how to go about her life.
When people are at their wit's end, they will rely on the power of metaphysics. At three o'clock in the middle of the night, Sun Ziyi found a fortune teller on Douyin to calculate what path he would take after the horoscope opened. The fortune teller said, "Looking at the horoscope, you are quite stupid, it is not easy for you to get rich, your husband is also mediocre, you are not destined to get rich in this life, and you will have a disaster when you are 37 years old."
Sun Ziyi took a deep breath and wondered how he could be so miserable. Then he asked, why is the disk you showed me different from the one others showed me? The other party asked, then why did you come to me?
Sun Ziyi did not argue, but paid a high price of 588 and blocked the other party.
After being blocked, the other party added Sun Ziyi to the friend list and said, "Miss Sun, I have a piece of advice for you. As a screenwriter of a sweet pet drama, you should at least have a relationship first, right? What's the point of complaining?"
Sun Zi angrily reported the other party again, then went to the tobacco shop downstairs and bought some vodka, Sprite, and Yakult. She mixed the three together and drank them on the rocks, and accidentally drank too much. She cried as she drank, wondering how it had come to this. She and Sasa graduated at the same time. They met in a chat group called "Backup Youth," a campus backup group for a top-tier self-media outlet.
So at that time, Sun Ziyi had two choices: one was to work in the media, and the other was to become a screenwriter.
She chose the latter. Those who chose the former, like Sasa, had more than a dozen fellow enthusiasts earning millions a year, and several outstanding academics pursuing doctorates abroad. Even those who chose the latter had stable jobs, unlike her, struggling aimlessly without a base salary.
"Maybe I'm the worst?" Sun Ziyi thought.
-
She slept until noon, when she was woken up by Xu Zecheng's phone call.
Xu Zecheng asked Sun Ziyi if he wanted to go to the alley with him to drink soy milk, as he was just downstairs.
Sun Ziyi opened her mouth, but found that she could not make any sound. She jumped up and looked in the mirror, and found that one side of her face was swollen.
Xu Zecheng asked her, what’s wrong with you?
She opened her mouth and wanted to make a sound, but no one came out. Finally, she had to hang up the phone and sent him a WeChat message, saying that her wisdom teeth were swollen and her voice was hoarse.
Ten minutes later, Xu Zecheng came knocking on the door.
She opened the door with half of her face swollen and let Xu Zecheng in. Xu Zecheng brought a bag of Rosen ice cups, took out one and put it on the table, and put the rest in the refrigerator.
Sun Ziyi sat on the sofa and tried to speak, but the words that came out were as hoarse as if she had swallowed three ducks raw. She glanced at the ice cup and immediately walked over, poked it open with her fingernails, took out an ice cube and put it in her mouth. She half tilted her head back to let the ice cube slide closer to her throat.
When Xu Zecheng came out, he saw her holding the ice cup and immediately went over to grab it: "Girl, don't just take the ice." After her throat was moistened by the ice, she felt much more comfortable and could speak again. "You bought me so much ice, didn't you buy it for me to drink Coke?"
Xu Zecheng ran to the bathroom, took out one of Sun Ziyi's small towels, wrapped it with ice cubes, and then held her head to apply it to her swollen wisdom tooth. "You only know how to drink Coke. No wonder your wisdom tooth is so serious."
They sat cross-legged facing each other. Sun Ziyi was embarrassed to look him in the eye, and her throat didn't seem to be able to speak much, so she closed her eyes and let Xu Zecheng do it.
Xu Zecheng looked at the mess in the living room and asked, "Did you drink yesterday?"
Sun Ziyi nodded.
With whom? Xu Zecheng asked.
Sun Ziyi pointed at himself and then answered the question irrelevantly, Chengcheng, I went to read the horoscope yesterday.
They are all lies, Xu Zecheng said.
Sun Ziyi pouted and said in a hoarse voice, "The astrologer said that I am very stupid and a waste who can't live a good life."
"Those are not true. Everything depends on human effort. You must remember that your destiny is in your own hands, not in the hands of God!" Xu Zecheng said with a smile, not realizing the change in Sun Ziyi.
Sun Ziyi opened his eyes and looked at Xu Zecheng, his expression dim and dull. "But I've been abandoned by all my clients. I don't know what to do next. I think all my good luck was used up in the past few years."
Seeing her serious attitude, Xu Zecheng put down the ice.
Sun Ziyi continued, "When I was little, if I won a first prize for my essay, I felt like a contemporary literary giant, the successor to Lu Xun. Later, as an adult, even one rejection of my manuscript was enough to leave me speechless and in tears. Now, I really don't know how to face this situation."
Sun Ziyi's eyes drooped, tears streaming down her face. She'd been crying more easily lately than yawning. Yawning required opening her mouth, but tears only required thinking about her dreams.
Xu Zecheng reapplied her wisdom teeth and coaxed her: "Your parents have praised you since you were little because you always won first prize in national essays. Your mother's face is always beaming every time she visits my mother."
Sun Ziyi whispered, "That was all when I was little. What's so good about talking about childhood?"
Sun Ziyi held up three fingers, looked at Xu Zecheng and said, "I haven't been in love since the 27th day of the Lunar New Year. My works are either not credited when they are broadcast, or they are cancelled halfway through. I finally found a work two years ago that was guaranteed to be credited after it was completed, but the director sexually assaulted an actress, and the work was banned as a result."
Xu Zecheng was stunned.
"Doesn't that sound incredible? Life doesn't depend on hard work, it depends on luck. People like you who have always been so lucky may not understand what I'm saying."
Xu Zecheng said, "I understand."
Sun Ziyi added, "Maybe God wants me to return to Tianjin, get a civil service exam, and then live a nine-to-five life. A few days ago, Tianjin's early leaving get off work schedule was trending on the Internet."
Sun Ziyi laughed as he spoke, and tears fell as he laughed.
Xu Zecheng reached out to wipe her face and said, "Ever since I was little, I've felt you would become a great writer. Our whole family would read about you in the newspapers and on TV."
"I was browsing Douyin a few days ago and saw a line: 'Not all the good things in life have to be enjoyed by you alone.'" Sun Ziyi said, "I used up all my luck to get into this circle. Am I just unlucky, so I can't make a name for myself?"
"Nonsense." Xu Zecheng tapped her head with his hand.
"So you have to think that not all bad things in life have to be borne on your shoulders." It is rare for Xu Zecheng to say something so profound.
Sun Ziyi murmured "oh" softly, took another piece of ice and put it in his mouth, then leaned back.
The sunlight came in, and the two of them sat quietly on the sofa. Sun Ziyi looked up at the ceiling. It was snowing outside. It was the first snow in Beijing in 2021.
She worked day and night here and never expected that it would snow in Beijing in early November. The temperature in Beijing was not that high, so the snow would not be able to accumulate on the ground.
Xu Zecheng's grandfather had a villa in Tianjin. They often went there for barbecues when they were young. One year, when she returned to Tianjin, she discovered the villa had been rented out to a cafe. It had just snowed overnight, and the sycamore trees outside were covered in snow, looking like Tom and Jerry's butter, bleached white.
Sun Ziyi stood up from the sofa, walked to the window and said, it's snowing.
Xu Zecheng didn't go with her and said that the temperature this year was quite unusual.
Sun Ziyi looked at the heavy snow outside the window and said, "Then I will stay in Beijing and try for another year. This will be the last year."
She turned around and looked at him sitting on the sofa. He lowered his head and was changing the ice cubes. As he changed, he said: "When you have no money, tell me. I am very rich, with a lot of money."
Sun Ziyi suddenly said, "Xu Zecheng, let's have a romantic relationship."
Xu Zecheng jumped up and shouted, "Are you still trying to hook up with a rich man?"
Sun Ziyi looked at him speechlessly and shook his head. "Can you speak? What does it mean to be a sugar daddy? A lot of people have been criticizing me lately, saying that I'm a screenwriter of sweet pet dramas who has never been in a relationship. How can I do well with that?"
Xu Zecheng held a handful of ice cubes and looked at her: "You treat me as a tool? You want to date me just because you want to use me as material and inspiration?"
Sun Ziyi bowed to Xu Zecheng like a puppy and said, "I'm asking this of you because I trust you."
Xu Zecheng looked incredulous: "You mean I'm getting a bargain? I'm a sought-after young man, Sun Ziyi..."
Sun Ziyi patted his shoulder, as if lifting a heavy burden. "Well, what else? If I date someone else, they'll definitely want to be serious with me. Then, wouldn't I... be at a disadvantage?"
Xu Zecheng exclaimed, "Isn't this a real talk?"
Sun Ziyi nodded and said in a hoarse voice: "Just take me to experience what it's like to fall in love..."
While Xu Zecheng was stunned, Sun Ziyi took advantage of the situation and continued, "You are a gentleman, I will give you this opportunity."
Xu Zecheng was puzzled: "But how can we pretend to be in love?"
Sun Ziyi said, "Let's start with a date?"
Xu Zecheng looked at her for a long, long time, so long that it seemed as if the outside world was experiencing the Ice Age all over again.
Xu Zecheng said, okay, then I will tell others that it was you who pursued me.
Outside the window, the road is slippery due to snow, which is not suitable for going out on a date.
Sun Ziyi took out his phone and projected a love letter onto the projector: "Then on the first day of our relationship, let's just stay home and watch a movie."
Her mind was full of thoughts: although her first love was fake, wasn't it a bit too hasty?
Obviously, Xu Zecheng was also in a daze. He found an excuse to buy a cup and ran away.
Sun Ziyi sat on the sofa, trembling with fear. She was afraid that Xu Zecheng would be frightened by her madness and run away. Not only would they be friends, but the legend of a frustrated female screenwriter would also spread throughout Tianjin. She even saw her parents being scolded so hard that they couldn't even raise their heads...
However, half an hour later, the doorbell rang again. She opened the door and saw Xu Zecheng pushing the property management's delivery cart, which was filled with ten pots of off-season roses and a handful of colorful wrapping paper.
Seeing her staring, Xu Zecheng urged her: Stop looking and help me unload the goods quickly.
Sun Ziyi: Did you steal flowers from the flowerbed downstairs?
Xu Zecheng: .....The owner of the flower shop downstairs is going home to celebrate the first snow, so he asked me to wrap the flowers myself.
Sun Ziyi: .....
Xu Zecheng: Move aside, let me in.
Sun Ziyi "let it swing" and gave up his seat in the living room, huddled in a corner, hugging his legs, watching Xu Zecheng diligently cut flowers - and then got bandaged. Finally, three flowers survived, and he took out his phone to watch the video and carefully studied the bandaging.
The love letter in the projector ended, and Fujii Itsuki stood in the snow and shouted, "How are you!" Xu Zecheng even looked up.
Sun Ziyi thought, although it was intentional, the scene of his pretend love was a little too pretty... Rose Chuxue, how are you?
Xu Zecheng handed over the bouquet of three roses and said, Sun Ziyi, happy love. I wish you happiness every day in the future. I will give you 999 roses next time.
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