Chapter 35: Eggs Blocking the Path

Xiao Qian truly lived up to his reputation as an art student. After listening, he began to summarize, “You want to highlight the changes in an intern to showcase how the materialistic world of fashion corrupts a person, displaying both the cruelty of the professional world and the conflict between reality and one’s original intentions.”

“In doing so, you want to provoke the audience to reflect on whether we should continue to move forward by sacrificing parts of ourselves, or pause to stay true to who we are?”

Mo Fei’s mind blanked for a couple of seconds, then he nodded decisively. “Yes, exactly as you said.”

Xiao Qian nodded slowly as well. “Interesting.”

“As you mentioned, if the subsequent plot is sharp enough and the visuals are beautiful, it could indeed become a film with both depth and commercial success.”

A hint of delight appeared on Lü Chunqiu’s face.

“But haven’t you forgotten something?” Xiao Qian added leisurely, “I want to shoot a web series, not a film.”

“But before we came, you didn’t even have a script,” Mo Fei offered another suggestion. “Why not just make it a web movie?”

Xiao Qian thought for a moment. “That could work.”

Mainly because, at the moment, he really didn’t have a clear direction.

Apart from the male lead that Ji Xingjian had foisted on him and some money, he had nothing at all.

He took out his phone and started sending messages.

Lü Chunqiu asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

“Calling in reinforcements,” Xiao Qian replied seriously. “I have some senior classmates—none of them are film majors, but it should be enough to cobble together a temporary crew.”

“None of them are film professionals?” Mo Fei, who had never seen such a casual approach, couldn’t help but ask, “Can you give an example?”

“For instance, this classmate studied painting. People in the fine arts are very sensitive to light and shadow, so he’d probably be great at lighting.” Xiao Qian opened another chat. “And this senior studied product design. If she can package products, she can probably dress people too, so she can handle costumes.”

“Lighting by an art major, costumes by a product designer, and a director who studied sculpture.” Mo Fei counted on his fingers. “Why do I feel like Brother Ji is digging me a pit?”

“That’s not the right way to look at it,” Xiao Qian corrected him. “At least I won’t withhold your pay.”

He paused, then added, “If you can finish the script for this story, I’ll pay you as a screenwriter, and your name will be prominently credited.”

“Deal!” Mo Fei clapped his hands. “You have my word!”

Although he wasn’t a professional screenwriter, in this information age, screenplay formats weren’t hard to find. As long as his ideas were clear, all he had to do was fill in the content.

Not to brag, but Mo Fei remembered those dreams vividly—he could recite them from beginning to end.

Writing a script was child’s play.

Seeing his confidence, Xiao Qian smiled benevolently. “Excellent, then we have our screenwriter.”

Lü Chunqiu had worked in the industry for years and thought she’d seen her share of production teams, but she’d never encountered one as bizarre as this.

From director to actor, not a single one seemed normal.

Was this some new avant-garde performance art?

Even after leaving that forward-thinking space, Lü Chunqiu still couldn’t figure out how those two’s minds were so in sync.

Could it be that oddballs have their own way of communicating?

She couldn’t understand it. Mo Fei had no intention of explaining. As soon as he got in the car, he happily started gnawing on a dental chew.

Lü Chunqiu had bought him those grain-based dental chews specifically; usually, dieters used them to satisfy cravings, and one could last half an hour. It was pretty effective at controlling Mo Fei’s snack intake.

“Xiao Fei, how many actors does your script need?” Lü Chunqiu asked as she drove.

Mo Fei, with the chew in his mouth, mumbled, “A lot of extras, but seven or eight key roles.”

“What do you think of the others under me?” Lü Chunqiu hadn’t given up on the idea of lifting all her people up together.

Mo Fei recalled the appearance of the other young actors, internet celebrities, and that magician under her, and answered tactfully, “They’re fine as background characters, but not for main roles.”

“After all, it’s a fashion film. Looks really do matter.”

Lü Chunqiu felt that both her own taste and the looks of her actors had just been insulted, so she shut her mouth and said nothing more.

This guy really had a mouth that could infuriate anyone.

As the car traveled down a small road, a woman carrying a basket appeared by the roadside.

Seeing a pedestrian, Lü Chunqiu instinctively slowed down.

When the car drew alongside the woman and was about to pass, she suddenly raised her hand and hurled several eggs at the vehicle.

Eggs smashed against the windshield, yolk and white splattering everywhere along with bits of shell, blocking part of the view.

Lü Chunqiu barely kept her hands on the wheel, and cursed loudly, “Is this woman crazy?”

She finished cursing and went to turn on the wipers to clean the windshield.

Mo Fei nearly jumped out of his seat when he saw this. “Don’t!”

But his warning came too late—Lü Chunqiu had already started the wipers.

The egg whites spread and turned white under the friction, mingling with the yolks into a sticky mess.

What was originally only a partially blocked view was now a completely opaque windshield.

Lü Chunqiu, unable to see, slammed on the brakes in panic.

The sudden stop threw Mo Fei forward, the seatbelt pinning him tightly to his seat.

When the car finally stopped, Mo Fei clutched his chest, a trickle of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Lü Chunqiu gripped the steering wheel in a daze for a few seconds, then remembered to shift to park and pull the handbrake. Only then did she turn to check on Mo Fei. “Are you alright?”

Mo Fei grabbed a tissue, spat out the broken half of the chew and blood, and managed a weak smile. “Bit my mouth.”

He spoke while still spitting blood.

Judging by the amount of blood, it was clearly a deep bite.

Lü Chunqiu pointed to his hand pressing against his chest. “And there?”

Mo Fei leaned back, unfastened his seatbelt, chin tilted upward. “Thanks for driving slow. If this happened on the highway, my ribs would be broken.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed another mouthful of blood. When he looked at Lü Chunqiu again, all expression was gone from his face. “Stay here and call the police.”

“Call the police?” Lü Chunqiu repeated blankly.

Immediately after, she saw Mo Fei pull a very familiar U-lock from under the seat, open the door, and step out.

Instinctively, Lü Chunqiu unfastened her seatbelt to follow, but then she saw several burly men rush out from both sides of the road. They did not look like they were here for a friendly chat.

She froze, instantly understanding what Mo Fei meant. She hurried to pull out her phone and call the police.

Getting out now would only hold Mo Fei back. Calling the police was the best help she could offer.

Once outside, Mo Fei spat another mouthful of bloody saliva, his gaze chilling as he stared down the menacing group approaching.