Chapter 17 Who are you?
After sending a friend request to Jian Zhen, Xu Weisheng waited for several minutes without receiving a reply, so he had no choice but to put away his phone and go to his appointment.
The brown paper bag was tucked under his arm, containing all of Daoke Tema's experiences over the past thirty years. If there were a condensed version of a resume, this one would undoubtedly be the original, unprocessed version, frankly recounting the ups and downs of the other party over the past thirty years. So much so that when Dr. Ma faced with this information, he couldn't even deny the fact that he was in charge of producing the animated version of "Billiard Boys" and that it was a complete flop.
"You went to all that trouble to get me to come out, just to humiliate me like this?" Dr. Ma's beard was all crooked with anger, his face turning pale and then red as he said, "Lin Sheng, how can you be so petty?"
"I didn't." Xu Weisheng widened his eyes and asked in a smug way, "Why would you think that?"
"You, you—" Just as Dr. Ma was about to blurt out the classic line "Get out of here," Xu Weisheng broke down, smiled, picked up a cup of tea and held it to his lips, silencing his anger: "Calm down, I really have something important to ask you for help with."
Dr. Ma, whose full name is Ma Qiyue, was born in the 1950s or 60s and grew up during the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. He was among the first batch of college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination. In that era when everything was in ruins and the whole society was working hard to build the economy, Mr. Ma went against the grain and chose to devote himself to the field of art, working in a television station.
He didn't stay at the television station for long before discovering his true passion: filmmaking. At that time, the seventh art industry in China was still in its infancy, and Dr. Ma had all the advantages of timing, location, and connections. Seeing a great opportunity to make a name for himself, he decisively resigned and switched jobs to the famous Shanghai Film Studio.
That was truly a place teeming with talent. With Mr. Ma's abilities, he was fully qualified to make a decent short film. Unfortunately, there were too many monks and not enough porridge, and at that time there were no art forms like short videos or micro-dramas for him to showcase his talents. So, he had to step aside and pave the way for one talented artist after another.
He was already ambitious, and he couldn't stand this kind of torment. He could laugh at himself for being underappreciated if he didn't make it in a year or two, but if it took ten or twenty years... Just thinking about it made Ma Qiyue feel like he was going to lose all his hair. Just then, a benefactor gave him an idea - animation.
At that time, this profession was a niche one in China. Ma Qiyue's qualifications were enough to impress people, so he reluctantly entered the field, claiming to be passionate about painting and concerned about children, but in reality, he had no other options. But who can say that getting on the wrong horse won't lead to marrying the right one? After entering this profession, he first got promoted, then passed the exams, making a fortune in both money and fame, much more comfortable than his old colleagues who stayed at the original factory.
Having amassed enough fame and fortune, Dr. Ma (that's what everyone calls him nowadays) began to pursue freedom. He left the powerful tree that had been firmly planted above him and started to build his own team to make animated films. After a few attempts that were somewhat successful, they set their sights on the then-popular "Billiard Boys".
Dr. Ma still remembers how much effort they put into acquiring the animation adaptation rights to this work. Everyone was full of confidence and said they were determined to create a masterpiece.
As a result, halfway through the film's production, the investors discovered that the production progress was far behind schedule and that it might not even be able to be submitted for review by the scheduled date. In a fit of anger, they withdrew most of the funds to speculate on real estate, leaving only enough money to barely keep the film going. Dr. Ma had to help lay off many employees, which resulted in even slower progress and a serious decline in quality. No wonder the audience criticized the final product; even he himself was furious.
Fortunately, after that, he completely retired from the animation industry.
During the process of making "Billiard Boys", he met Lin Sheng, who was behind Lin Sheng, a few times. At that time, Xu Weisheng was still a greenhorn. When he heard that the publishing house was going to sell the copyright, he vaguely felt that it was not a good thing, but he could not stop it. So every time he saw Dr. Ma, he would have a long face, as if Ma Qiyue had borrowed two million from him and had not paid it back.
So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Dr. Ma has been living in seclusion in London, occasionally keeping up with interesting industry news around the world. Through this, he gradually learned about Lin Sheng's life trajectory. To be honest, without the conflict of interest, he felt a little sorry for the young man.
However, now that the boy has become a young man, his naivety and ignorance have been transformed into shrewdness and sophistication. For twenty-five-year-old Xu Weisheng to sit so dashingly across from him and immediately bring up old grievances to expose his shameful past is utterly despicable. From the moment Dr. Ma first saw him, he was determined that no matter what conditions this guy offered, he would resolutely say no.
Xu Weisheng watched him take a sip of tea and, before he could immediately say no, immediately asked, "When can I have the rights to adapt the animated series 'Little Billiards'?"
Dr. Ma was caught off guard and a stream of water gushed out of his mouth.
"Ouch, look!" Xu Weisheng reacted quickly, but still got some tea splashed on his clothes. While wiping it off with the help of the waiter, he deliberately said to Dr. Ma in English that the waiter could understand, "This coat of mine is Loro Piana cashmere. Your saliva is not cheap."
Dr. Ma had wanted to get angry and scold him for his wishful thinking, but now he could only stand there, his face flushed, begging Xu Weisheng not to ask him to pay for the clothes.
"I was just joking with you. Actually, it's a discounted item I bought online." Xu Weisheng thanked the waiter, sat down again, and said to Dr. Ma with a smile.
Ma Qiyue hadn't quite caught her breath when she heard him say, "Don't worry, even if it were me, I wouldn't make you lose money. Clothes can get dirty, wet, or snagged when you wear them out. The environment is unpredictable, so you have to go through all that. That's what shows the value of clothes. Besides, I'm not a wax figure that can stay still. If you're that concerned, then it's the clothes wearing the person instead of the person wearing the clothes. Isn't that the same principle as making animation? Good works are better left untouched than mediocre ones circulating in the market."
Dr. Ma vaguely felt that this guy had confused the concepts of luxury goods and clothing. He was full of twisted logic and eloquence, but his mind was so outdated that he couldn't keep up with his train of thought and couldn't find a way to refute him. He could only watch him with a serious expression.
Xu Weisheng smiled and then said sincerely, "Teacher Ma, why is animation called animation? It has to move. It only has charm when it moves. Besides, look at the world's top animation works now, and then look at the ones in China. Don't you feel heartbroken? As the saying goes, if you don't seize the high ground of cultural territory, someone else will. You don't want to see this mountain covered with foreign flags in the future, do you?"
Dr. Ma's eyes flickered; this angle truly struck a chord with him. Having lived abroad for so many years, he had personally experienced the power dynamics and Western arrogance in cultural exchange.
"You want copyright? I don't approve. If everyone were like you, wanting to take back what's already been paid for, what kind of chaos would this industry become?" Dr. Ma glared at him, first criticizing and then praising, "However, I'm now an outsider, and I can see the big picture when it comes to the rise and fall of an industry. At this critical juncture, the country needs people like you. Fine, I'll point you in the right direction; whether you succeed or not is up to you."
"Thank you so much, Teacher Ma."
After finishing his meeting, Xu Weisheng couldn't suppress the smile on his face. He remembered that Jian Zhen's friend request hadn't been accepted yet, so he quickly took out his phone to check. He discovered that Jian Zhen had already rejected him when he was chatting with Lao Matou.
The option to refuse a message is: Who are you?
What is Junior Sister doing? Xu Weisheng clicked his tongue as if he had a toothache, accidentally swallowing a mouthful of cold air. He turned around and replied to the message with his back to the wind: I am your defeated opponent in the sketching competition.
Jian Zhen stared blankly at the new notification that popped up on her phone screen. She had originally thought he would reply in a boring and dull way, saying that he was so-and-so, or arrogantly reply that he was the most handsome person on the 55.5 degrees North Latitude Grand Loop. She didn't expect him to be able to coax people... Jian Zhen's soft heart felt like it had been gently poked.
She pouted, put her phone aside, and continued to apply a hot towel to her eyes.
Being good at coaxing people is useless; it's not like you can only coax one person.
That being said, even if all she could do was coax her, did Jian Zhen really need someone like that? No! What she lacked was the superpower to finish drawing the next cut of "Mystery Valley" in the blink of an eye.
Thinking of "Mystery Valley," Jian Zhen couldn't help but think of Yang Damei. This middle-aged woman seemed like a lump of dough to be beaten, without any temper. Despite directing her own work, she almost completely lost her voice to outsiders. If she had low aesthetic standards and was just going through the motions, that would be one thing. But she clearly had extremely high aesthetic talent and leadership skills when it came to her work.
Jian Zhen still has a copy of the layout for "Mystery Valley" on her desk. It was a manuscript she noticed when the group was watching the first version of the animation layout and storyboard design not long after she joined the crew. The picture depicts a bewildered little rabbit peeking out of a hole on a rolling grassy slope, looking towards the direction from which the wind is coming.
The little rabbit's eyes were so expressive that when Jian Zhen saw the painting, she felt a shiver run through her body, as if she had entered a vast, boundless green field. The wind blew from behind her, billowing her wide clothes and whistling in her ears. Instead of the musty smell of the office, she smelled the pleasant scent of grass.
She immediately had the idea of asking the "seemingly kind" Director Yang for this layout to keep as a memento. Little did she know how out of line this idea was. But when Yang Damei heard this, she didn't scold her. She just shook her head and apologized, saying that it involved a confidentiality agreement and she couldn't give it to her for the time being.
Jian Zhen was a little disappointed, but she still expressed her understanding immediately.
Three days later, Yang Damei came to find her and handed her this masterpiece in a brown paper bag. She smiled helplessly and said, "Because the total number of episodes was cut, the entire rabbit storyline was deleted, and this layout was also scrapped. It wasn't drawn very well and was originally going to be shredded. Since you like it, take it home and play with it."
He single-handedly designed the layout of the entire work, and almost every piece is a masterpiece. Faced with such an emotionally rich masterpiece, he still said, "It's not very well drawn." If he's not being overly modest, then this person is simply unfathomable!
Jian Zhen removed the now-cooled towel, turned her head and glanced at the drawing on the table, pressed under the glass. The warm light of the desk lamp illuminated it, making it look like a lonely exhibit.
The precious sword is sheathed, revealing its clumsiness to the world. How many more Yang Dameis are there in all their splendor?
I come here every day
I hereby crown you the King of Cheers!
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