Chu An's decision to choose The Best of Us was made after much careful consideration.
Once Tiandu Culture made its move, and Lu Mingze got his hands on the script, he would be able to quickly recruit the original team and start filming right away.
The original cast contracts and preparations made by the crew could be used.
This was the crew's lifeline.
In the following days, Chu An helped out during the day on set, fostering good relationships with the extras. At night, he buried himself in writing, producing a solid batch of new material.
As filming progressed, Director Lu finally began to sense something was off.
This damn script had major issues!
Previously, Tiandu had strongly recommended the script to him, praising it to the skies, claiming it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as though if Lu didn't take it, another director would swoop in and steal it.
But as always, there's a gap between written words and visual storytelling.
It wasn't entirely Lu Mingze's fault for being misled. After all, he was an expert in palace dramas, and the intrigue among the students, the despair and struggle of Liu Xia's pregnancy and abortion, were exactly the kind of elements he excelled at.
At first, he even felt some scenes were more intense than the palace drama plots he had worked on.
For example, Liu Xia's clever way of handling the malicious second female lead was brilliantly designed—something that made you want to clap in admiration.
But he'd neglected one crucial detail: this was supposed to be a campus drama.
Those dramatic conflicts, while thrilling in a historical drama, felt completely out of place in a campus setting. As filming continued, it became more and more obvious something was wrong.
The one-dimensional character of Liu Xia's mother, Liu Xia herself who was filled with contradictions, the evil second female lead, and the ridiculously naive supporting male characters—what on earth was this?!
Lu Mingze grew increasingly irritable and felt an overwhelming desire to change the script and the female lead's character.
But unfortunately, Jia Chenglin kept blocking him, nipping any attempt to modify the story in the bud.
Finally, one afternoon, the two of them exploded in a heated argument on set.
"Jia Chenglin!! What the hell do you want to do?!"
Old Jia, however, replied slowly, "Director Lu, calm down. Everything is according to the contract. This matter is not up for discussion."
Lu Mingze had heard these words so many times that he was on the verge of snapping. He shouted hysterically, "You're going to ruin this entire project! You're going to destroy everyone's hard work!"
Jia Chenglin smiled, a smile that sent a chill through Lu Mingze. "No one is forcing you to shoot it. You're the one who insisted on doing it."
Lu Mingze, speechless, stared at Jia Chenglin with a look that could kill. "I'll call the company and get you replaced!"
Jia Chenglin laughed it off. "Go ahead!"
In the end, Lu Mingze did report the issue to Tiandu. Naturally, things did not go the way he had hoped. Tiandu played the waiting game.
They even rejected Lu Mingze's request for the producer to come to the set and see for themselves what was wrong with the script.
It was clear: Tiandu didn't want the money anymore, they just wanted to make sure the project fell apart.
At this point, Lu Mingze finally sensed something was wrong. He had finally woken up to reality.
He stopped arguing with Jia Chenglin, stopped obsessing over rewriting the script, and quietly filmed for two days.
Until he could no longer stand the ridiculous plot and dialogue.
Slowly, he began to slack off, passing the filming work off to the cameraman and the production assistant, while he hid in his hotel room and avoided contact.
The entire crew started to feel uneasy. Everyone was wondering what had happened to their usually passionate director. Was he going to quit? Would they be stuck in this mess?
On this particular day, Lu Mingze didn't show up at the set again, and his monitoring station behind the camera was completely empty.
The atmosphere on set was heavy and oppressive, with almost no one speaking. Everyone silently carried out their duties as if they were machines. Even Tong Meng, usually carefree, started to feel nervous and whispered to Chu An in the kitchen.
"Little brother, what do we do? At this rate, we won't even finish the drama before we break up!"
Chu An silently sneered to himself. "Breaking up would actually be the best outcome."
After all, it hadn't been long since they started filming. If they stopped now, they could limit the damage and at least get some of the money Lu Mingze invested back.
Unfortunately, Tiandu Culture wouldn't let Lu Mingze escape that easily. Did they think Tiandu's tactics were done? Not by a long shot!
Out of the blue, Chu An muttered, "Tiandu is sending people over."
Tong Meng, still complaining, froze at his words. "What? Didn't they say they wouldn't come?"
Everyone knew about Lu Mingze's request for the producer to come discuss the issues with the script.
Chu An replied, "Before, they didn't come because they didn't want to communicate. Now they're coming because they don't need to talk anymore."
"Huh?" Tong Meng didn't understand.
Before she could ask, they heard Jia Chenglin's voice from outside the kitchen.
"These past few days, Director Lu has been dealing with some health issues, which has caused delays in filming. Please, everyone, don't slack off."
"I've also reported the situation to the company, and to give everyone confidence, Tiandu has decided to send a representative, Producer Li, to Ningyuan this afternoon."
"The first thing they'll do when they arrive is distribute everyone's pay and wages in full, according to the contract!"
Filming had just begun, and yet the money was already being paid out. It was a smart move to boost morale.
Everyone instantly felt energized and cheered.
At the end of the day, the one who hands out money is the boss. Who cares if the film is going to collapse?
Tong Meng, eyes wide, was listening intently, afraid of missing a word.
After Jia Chenglin finished speaking, she turned to Chu An in shock. "Amazing! How did you know Tiandu was sending people over?!"
Chu An smiled. Not only did he know they were coming, but he also knew Tiandu would send money to everyone.
He even knew that not just the cast and crew's wages, but Tiandu was also bringing in professional auditors and finance teams to review every penny Lu Mingze had spent.
This was all to prepare for future disputes and legal battles.
Of course, in most cases, when all the pressure is piled on, and the ironclad contracts are used to their fullest extent, it's rare for the situation to escalate to a lawsuit. The parties involved usually end up compromising.
This was the power of capital.
You have no choice but to shoot, and even if you don't, you still have to spend the money. Don't even think about getting it back.
If Tiandu was more ruthless, they might even make Lu Mingze take responsibility for the breach of contract and pay compensation!
Chu An was familiar with this process. He had been on the receiving end of a similar set of moves before, and it had left him with nothing but scraps.
After listening for a while, Chu An turned seriously to Tong Meng. "Sis, I need a favor."
Tong Meng, still in shock, said, "What is it?"
Chu An looked at her earnestly. "I want to see Director Lu."
Tong Meng blinked. "Huh??"
She looked into Chu An's eyes and saw an almost manic excitement there.
What was he planning to do?
Evening, at the Ningyuan government reception hall, bathed in the golden glow of the summer sunset. The old elm tree in the small square outside the door was said to be over a hundred years old and nearing the end of its life.
Lu Mingze stood exhausted in the sunset, staring blankly at the setting sun, too tired to care about the stinging pain in his eyes.
He felt like the sunset itself, like that old elm tree.
The career he loved, his once-passionate creative spirit, were gradually fading into darkness with the setting sun.
Yes, Director Lu had finally figured it out. The script that Tiandu had pushed so hard, the sharp words that had repeatedly tempted him to invest, and Jia Chenglin's almost blatant mocking gaze—all of it had been a trap.
If Lu Mingze hadn't figured this out by now, then there really was something wrong with his intelligence.
The past few days, while he hadn't gone to the set, he had despaired and then tried to rally himself. He replayed the script in his mind, trying to rearrange it, to transform it into a successful work.
But he had failed.
Last night, a call from the CEO of Tiandu had completely shattered Lu Mingze's resolve.
"Old Lu, I didn't want it to come to this."
...
"But you have to understand, Tiandu is a huge company, with hundreds, maybe even thousands of people relying on us."
...
"Come back. I'll personally find you a better script, and we'll start over."
...
"The future is still bright. I believe this failure will turn into a legendary tale for a palace drama director!"
Even a day later, Lu Mingze couldn't help but laugh.
"I don't understand, how can a person be this shameless?"
"They ruined everything and still want to act all magnanimous. This world shouldn't be like this!"
Meanwhile, Chu An stood quietly by, listening. He thought to himself: this world has both good and evil.
There are pure people like Lu Mingze, and then there are those with malicious intent.
This is how the world is meant to be!
But he didn't say this aloud. Destroying someone's belief in purity may be the greatest evil.
He let Lu Mingze keep that spark of light within himself. Maybe that's enough.
He said softly, "The sunset sets, but it will rise again."
Lu Mingze came back to his senses with a bitter smile. "What does that have to do with me?"
Chu An replied, "Maybe it does. What if we pull off a comeback?"
"Uh?" Lu Mingze looked at him in confusion, clearly not understanding what Chu An meant.
Chu An's sudden appearance, arranged through Tong Meng, had already confused him.
"Little Chu, what exactly are you here for today?"
Chu An turned to face him directly. "Director Lu, I came to ask you something. Do you believe in me?"
Lu Mingze frowned. "Believe in what?"
Chu An said, "Do you believe that I have a way, an opportunity to turn things around?"
Without hesitation, Lu Mingze answered, "No."
What a joke. A seventeen-year-old kid trying to deceive him? He wasn't buying it.
Chu An smiled calmly, not surprised by the answer at all.
"Not believing is the right response. It means you still have some sense left. That gives me hope."
"However..." Chu An's eyes gradually brightened. "It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. Because, you have no other choice."
The bizarre confidence of the seventeen-year-old left Lu Mingze at a loss for words.
But who cares whether this moment was rational or not?
In his current state, Lu Mingze would sell his soul if a devil could help him turn things around. What did it matter if it was a living, breathing person offering help?
Besides, "rationality" was something for onlookers. What mattered to him was aligning his perception with the reality in front of him.
And for him, the only thing that mattered was the outcome.
As Chu An said, he had no other choice.