Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu

*Clap Clap*

Director Murong clapped slowly and meaningfully, his gaze glassy with emotions. "I was right in making you stay, Gu Yating. You just proved why you are the Chief Editor."

Yating turned, his brows raised in surprise. "You liked it?"

"I loved it! I wanted to express Chyou's character as a strong and relentless woman living in the Song Dynasty amidst the oppression and cruel rituals of the patriarchal society then. But it didn't occur to me that I could relate her story with the golden age of the Tang Dynasty and her striving to want that era to return."

He wiped his eyes and said, "I feel the script is so much more interesting now."

"Thanks. But you don't have to cry."

"I am crying thinking of the box office records this movie will break. Chyou's character will have so much more depth now."

Chyou complained. "Director Murong. I never saw you cry because of my flawless acting, but now I see the stone-faced director shedding tears because of a new face here?"

Yating glanced at her, arching his brow. "Is that jealousy I smell?"

"Don't you start flying too high," she frowned.

Director Murong rolled his eyes. "I am always moved by your flawless acting, Zhu Chyou. But this is about the story, which your friend has given a new dimension to. Of course I will cry."

"Isn't this partiality, Director? I had to work very hard for your approval," Chyou stubbornly insisted, dramatically dissatisfied.

"Every actor and actress should," he replied without qualms.

Chyou released a dramatic sigh. "It's hardly been some time since Yating joined us but I feel he has already become the apple of your eye. I am being sidelined. I feel lonely."

"Go hug your boyfriend then," he grimaced.

"So harsh!"

Yating shook his head and laughed. "You two continue with your work. I suggested what I felt could enhance the script. So good luck. I will take my leave."

He just partially lifted himself off the couch when Director Murong pressed his palm on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

Hm?

"Don't be in such a hurry, Chief Editor. I am very glad and grateful that you helped me out. Obviously, you will get the due credits for your ideas and inputs in the movie. Your name will be specially displayed as a token of thanks."

"There is really no need."

"There is," he refused to listen to that and continued. "So now that you have given us your suggestion, it means that somewhere, you have envisioned that scene in your mind, right? Chyou's struggle in the Song Dynasty, her fight and her looking back to the Tang Dynasty to bring back the glory?"

Yating paused and nodded. "Yes. I imagined it. That's why I genuinely felt that Chyou's character will resonate with the audience even more, especially for those women who are still oppressed in one way or the other. Her motivations will have a solid background."

He beamed. "Exactly! And that's why I want you to stay in the set until the shooting wraps up."

"Huh?" He looked dumbfounded. "Why?"

"Because I want to make your imagination a reality, hahaha! I am sure that whatever you have envisioned is solid and if Zhu Chyou could bring your imagination to her acting, then nothing can stop the movie from becoming a hit. But to do that, I need you here with me so that we know if your vision and her acting syncs up. I want the movie to be perfect. That's why I want Zhu Chyou to be like what she looks like in your mind as a Queen."

Chyou gasped and her face brightened by several shades. "Director, I was unhappy with you right now, but now I suddenly adore you so much! It's such a perfect idea!"

Director Murong smirked in pride. "I always decide the best."

"Hey, hey, hey hold your horses, you two! Time up," Yating intervened, raising his palm and bringing a pause to their beaming expressions.

He said, baffled. "Director, I understand your sentiments and where you are coming from. But I cannot do this. I mean, I won't be able to help or judge Chyou with her acting. I can help with the script, but acting is out of my area of expertise. You are the director. You are the one who knows the best how Chyou should look in front of the camera, not me."

"Of course you will know! Don't underestimate yourself. You are the chief editor. You work with books and stories but that means you constantly keep thinking about the characters in it, right? They are not real people you meet in life, but they are alive in that story. When you read one, you know how they will act, how they smile, how they will walk, how they will talk. It's like a whole movie goes in that brain of yours just by reading a book. Movies are not really anything different."

"Yes, yes!" Chyou chimed in. "You just have to tell me if I am looking, expressing and acting the way you imagine my character in your mind. If I am not up to the mark, you will just know it. You don't specifically need a director's experience for that. You are Dream High's Chief Editor for a reason. We know we can trust your judgment. How you work with the books is how you will work with the movie. It's just the medium has changed~"

"..."

"You all are making this sound very easy."

"Because it is~" Both said unanimously.

"You are just nervous because it will be your first time on set but you will feel comfortable and in your skin in no time," Director Murong assured. "Trust me Gu Yating, we are the same. We love stories damn too much. In the end, it's the stories connecting us, no matter if it's in the form of books or movies. You have honed your instincts and experience as an editor. That alone is more than enough and what I need."

"Yes, yes," Chyou chirped and raised her arm. "Two votes against one. We win anyway, ahahaha!"

Yating threw her a judgmental look to which Chyou only innocently blinked and said, "A queen always rules, you know?"

"And I am your subject?"

"You caught the meaning so quickly~"

He rolled his eyes. Director Murong expectantly asked, "So, so you agree, right?"

Chyou reminded them. "It's two votes against one."

Yating smiled. "Like she said, it's two votes against one and I am her subject so overall I don't have a say."

Chyou nodded. His brow twitched.

It was sarcasm but she is ignoring it.

He spread his hands to the side, giving up on his fate. "Fine. I will do it."

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