Chapter 18 Undercooked Rice
One due date after another, Jian Zhen recalled that she had never been this busy when she was in school. Not only that, she also had to spare time to have a verbal battle with Xu Weisheng online in the gaps between her busy schedule. She was simply too busy to handle.
That day, she was getting coffee at the break room. While waiting for the coffee machine to hum, she took a moment to habitually open the new friend request section, and sure enough, a familiar red dot from someone was there.
Jian Zhen chuckled and casually replied with two words. Then, feeling bored, she quickly flipped through their chat history from the past few days. Ever since Xu Weisheng replied that he was her defeated opponent, Jian Zhen had ignored him all night. When she got up the next morning, she picked up her phone and saw that he had sent another message.
Hsu Wei-sheng: "Silent treatment is not a good habit."
Before Jian Zhen had even fully opened her eyes, she retorted, "I didn't know there was a more serious form of emotional abuse than leaving without saying goodbye."
A few hours later, Xu Weisheng's complaint traveled across the ocean back: "I was also helpless at that time. You are so understanding, you can't possibly not distinguish between subjective intent and objective constraints, can you?"
Jian Zhen's reply hit the nail on the head: "Stop pretending. Do you think I'm stupid? You've actually been prepared to disappear suddenly for a long time."
Xu Weisheng was taken aback. He had no idea that his junior sister was so worldly-wise that she could see through any pretense. He could only smile wryly and apologize honestly: "I'm sorry. I didn't think of leaving my contact information because I always felt that I would disappoint you in the future."
Rather than letting her gradually look down on me, I should play the Cinderella role and leave when the clock strikes midnight, at least leaving behind a serene and beautiful ending.
Jian Zhen stared at her phone for a while, then her expression changed, and she typed: "What disappoints me? To be the Crown Prince's groom or to be a princess sent for a political marriage?"
Before Xu Weisheng could reply, she added another question: "Which one are you now?"
After two beeping notification sounds, Jian Zhen looked down at the screen. Xu Weisheng teased, "Usurping the throne, yet still waiting to be married."
Does this even have to rhyme? She couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly suppressed her smile and continued sarcastically, "No wonder you're wearing Loro Piana now. I'm no longer worthy to be your friend. Let's keep our distance from each other in the future."
Xu Weisheng was taken aback. You Yulong had only met with him once, how could he have betrayed him so quickly? Good lad, he's really got the makings of a double agent! However, Xu Weisheng didn't have time to question this KGB doctor right now. Winning over Jian Zhen was the priority: "If you like it, I'll give you one."
Jian Zhen, fearing she was being too slow to refuse, said, "No, I can't accept such a generous gift."
When Xu Weisheng asked again later, it was this very question that was already in her phone's contact list this morning: "Nowhere to hang it?"
He was joking, and Jian Zhen responded with a joke: "Yes."
Although the apartment Jian Zhen rented wasn't large, it had a great location and convenient transportation. Even in the cold and damp winter, it still enjoyed at least five hours of good natural light every day. Besides, she lived alone, so no matter how much stuff she had, she could still fit a single piece of clothing. But more than clothes, she hoped that Xu Weisheng could apologize to her in a different way, such as taking her to see a hundred movies, so that she could follow the old ways and turn their relationship back to what it was before, instead of the current awkward situation, like a half-cooked bowl of rice.
The coffee machine in front of her stopped humming. Jian Zhen put her phone back in her pocket and was about to pick up her cup and return to her workstation when she heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching. She turned her head and saw Bubble, who was making coffee, clinging to the door frame of the break room, barely managing to stop the car. She craned her neck towards her and said, "Sis, it's over, episode 2 is going to end."
Jian Zhen subconsciously turned to the side and hid behind her, frowning as she looked at her and said, "Didn't we already have the script written?" Even Lao Le, the most difficult executive director in episode 2, nodded in approval, so who else is dissatisfied?
"The review committee rejected the footage."
"What!" Jian Zhen was completely taken aback.
"Mystery Valley" is an online animated series, not broadcast on traditional media. It underwent repeated revisions during the filing process. The team is experienced and very cautious. Although recently, a mentally ill parent reported a satellite animated series, sparking a wave of industry-wide spot checks, the censorship system shouldn't be so strict. And upon careful recollection, there were no suggestive scenes in episode 2!
She left the coffee she hadn't had time to take away and followed Bubble to the conference room. Within minutes, the main cast members came in one after another, and everyone's face looked full of disbelief.
The last person to enter was the executive director, Laure. As the most important gatekeeper for the second episode, she looked serious and didn't want to say a word of nonsense. She got straight to the point: "I asked a friend to inquire this morning, and the controversial scenes have now been edited out. Let's all take a look."
The lights in the conference room went out, the screen lit up, and everyone was seated in the same order as when they watched the final version of episode 2 last time. However, the atmosphere was completely different. Back then, it was relaxed and joyful, but now everyone was frowning and staring at the screen, feeling indignant but only able to endure it.
"This is the core plot of episode 2, what's wrong with it?"
“If there are any problems here, everything from the layout and original artwork to the cinematography and voice-over will have to be redone. How could we possibly make it to the broadcast date?”
"Damn it, the contractor that outsourced the in-between frames for this episode just went out of business last month, and we can't find anyone to rework it."
Why is the door closed?
"What else could it be? Bankruptcy!"
...
In the dimly lit conference room, everyone whispered among themselves, expressing their protest. Jian Zhen leaned back in her chair without saying a word. She focused intently on every frame on the screen, trying to find an angle to understand why it was rejected. However, her mind was like chasing a wisp of smoke, finding no answer.
At the same time, her right hand was tingling slightly from her fingertips to her shoulder, her body giving her a warning even before she did – if there was a major rework, the workload that would fall on her would be terrifying.
After the screening ended, Laurer didn't turn on the lights. He stood directly in front of everyone and announced with a stern face, "Let me talk about the revision suggestions we received. The visuals depict an anthropomorphic animal world, with too many fighting scenes, overly direct action sequences, and an abundance of bloody and violent elements. Considering the impact on minors, I suggest revisions."
Someone chuckled inexplicably in the darkness: "Are there really kids watching our movie?"
Jian Zhen chuckled softly. The creative style of *Mystery Valley* was quite unique; it was a rare example of magical realism animation on the internet today, categorized as "mild horror" and "imagination" on its description page. In the trailer, the director prominently warned viewers that this was a story of survival of the fittest, where the dragon slayer ultimately becomes the dragon.
It's clear that the creative team has a knack for selecting their audience, but those in charge are too busy to notice.
“Yes, director.” Someone stood up and looked around for Yang Damei. Looking at her, he said, “Could you do it again and say that our target audience does not include children aged 14 and under?”
Yang Damei didn't speak, but Lao Le in front of her spoke up. She said in a lifeless voice, "Impossible. If we send any more, we'll cut more than just these few scenes."
"Damn it!" The person who raised the protest plopped down and muttered complaints under his breath.
“Jian Zhen.” Lao Le suddenly called her name, and the conference room fell silent instantly, like a defendant in a criminal court waiting for sentencing.
Jian Zhen looked at her warily. The two were not far apart, and even in the dim light, they could clearly see each other's eyes, both of them harboring ill intentions.
Lauler said ruthlessly, "Thank you for your high output. As of episode 2, we haven't had any delays compared to the schedule, so we've achieved our goal of preparing for broadcast 3 weeks ahead of schedule."
Why take credit at a time like this? Jian Zhen wasn't stupid, so she quickly passed the hot potato: "This is the result of teamwork. If you have to find someone to praise, I suggest praising Bubble."
Bubble in the corner exclaimed "Eek!" as if it wanted to immediately pick up a stool and retreat into the crack in the wall.
Unmoved, Lao Le continued, "There are still two weeks left. Let me outline a rough plan for returning to work. If you have any opinions, please wait until I finish speaking."
The conference room was instantly filled with a gloomy and fearful atmosphere. Jian Zhen was completely stunned. She didn't even need to listen to know that the biggest workload here was falling on her shoulders. Those bloody scenes highlighted in red were her proud creations, which she had painstakingly produced. Now, she had to start all over again.
And what's the scariest thing? It's that she no longer has Eryuan!
Jian Zhen sat expressionlessly in the chair, her heart already broken. In Vision, a battle-damaged version of Jian Zhen was clinging to General Zi Xin's leg on the battlefield, crying: "Zi Xin, take me away!"
Lao Le's meeting style was always brief and efficient. After explaining her plan, she answered questions one by one, such as dubbing adjustments and in-between frame processing. Finally, the meeting room fell silent. She looked at Jian Zhen, who hadn't spoken until now, and asked everyone, "Does anyone have any other opinions? If not, let's call it a day—"
"Wait a moment." An unexpected voice appeared.
For the first time in the entire meeting, Lao Le showed emotions other than coldness. Looking at the other party's raised arm, he asked in surprise, "Director Yang, is there anything you want to say?"
“Jian Zhen has been under too much work pressure lately. Your arrangement is not reasonable.” Yang Damei stood up, walked slowly to the front, and said in a soft but firm voice, “Add me to the original art team. I can do the second original art for her.”
The entire conference room froze. After a long silence, Laur finally spoke, breaking the stillness: "Are you sure you're not joking?"
"No." Yang Damei placed one hand on Jian Zhen's right shoulder, touching her thin shoulder blade, and smiled like an elder, saying, "Look what you've done to her?"
Jian Zhen looked up at her. Just now she was shocked and confused, but now she was overwhelmed with emotion and wanted to rush into Da Mei's arms and call her "Mommy".
"Mommy" patted her shoulder and gave her a meaningful smile.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
