Chapter 104: Watching the Show Together

Chapter 104: Watching the Show Together

On the third day of Tang Fei's stay in Star City, Zhou Weichuan insisted on taking her back to the hospital. Over the past three days, there had been one major incident after another, so Zhou Weichuan simply brought his laptop to work from Tang Fei's hospital room.

Today, the digitally edited first three episodes of "Si Cui's Story" were sent to Zhou Weichuan's email, along with the overall editing plan.

Tang Fei, now pitifully clutching her blanket, had long lost the air of authority she had when scolding the misbehaving children in the car.

But Zhou Weichuan was an incorruptible figure. Despite being thoroughly stirred up by her in the car, he remained firm in the hospital, refusing to let her leave until she had fully recovered.

Now that Tang Fei knew her efforts would be futile, she resigned herself to staying in the hospital for another day. Lying on her side, propping her cheek on her elbow, she watched Zhou Weichuan work in silence.

In this shared space, with him busy and her observing, Tang Fei surprisingly felt no awkwardness. Instead, it felt natural and familiar, as if they had done this many times before.

Her mind was filled with the sound of ocean waves. She imagined herself emerging from a large pool within a seashell castle, resting her chin on a soft carpet while watching someone work.

The person working smiled at her...

A face with a QR code?

Tang Fei rubbed her eyes and shook her head vigorously. Why was she thinking about that silly subplot again? She disliked it!

In Zhou Weichuan's version of the edited Si Cuichuan series, the originally planned 65-episode "Princess of Zhu Xiansheng" had its main storyline demoted to a side plot, with a massive trimming of 32 episodes.

Due to the change in the male lead's ranking from first to second in the opening and closing credits, the production team had to pay a breach of contract fee. This amount was covered by Party Nine, who then invested in the project and became one of the production companies for Si Cuichuan.

From the remaining 33 episodes, after removing the filler content that slowed down the pace, only 17 episodes were left.

As the series was intended for weekly airing, with one episode each on Saturdays and Sundays, forming a double episode per week, there would be a five-day gap in between. Hence, each episode needed to be packed with substance, completing a story arc while leaving room for suspense for the next installment.

Although theoretically, two episodes could climax in a week, TV drama scheduling often got disrupted by holidays and regulations, disrupting the rhythm of the show.

When the planned double-episode climax was disturbed, the pacing would become chaotic, making it less enjoyable for viewers. Therefore, having high-energy content in every episode was the best approach.

For Si Cuichuan, there was no need to aim for artistic or intellectual heights; it was a commercial drama with a clear profit goal. The primary focus of its commercial editing was to maintain a balanced tempo, creating a rhythmic narrative that stirred emotions and built anticipation.

The original series had numerous side plots to elongate the runtime and earn more money. Si Cui had a complete storyline of her own, making it feasible to turn it into the main plot.

After reviewing the overall proposal, Zhou Weichuan looked up from his notebook, meeting Tang Fei's unwavering, bright gaze.

"Want to watch a show together?"

"There's a show on! Great, great! I'm about to die from boredom lying here!" Tang Fei immediately threw off the covers, donning her blue-and-white hospital gown, and slipped into the slippers Zhou Weichuan had bought for her before rushing over to the sofa.

"It's your Si Cui Chronicles. The editing report mentioned that your acting was a bit stiff. Our post-production team had to work extra hard to create the right atmosphere to compensate."

"..." Tang Fei offered an awkward yet polite smile before crawling back onto her bed. "Maybe I shouldn't watch it after all."

"How can you identify your flaws and improve if you don't watch it?"

Tang Fei pulled the blanket over her head. "I'm not watching it if I don't want to. What can you do about it!"

...

{Tang Fei}: Little did she know that she would eventually end up watching it.

Zhou Weichuan had set up a projector on the partition of her hospital bed. Its light illuminated the white wall, with the screen facing Tang Fei's bed.

The fast-paced beats of ancient drums, intertwined with occasional zither melodies, filled Tang Fei's ears through her headphones as the opening theme music blasted. The title sequence appeared on screen, syncing with the rhythm of the music.

Zhou Weichuan fetched a small stool and sat beside her, each of them with an earphone in one ear.

Tang Fei maintained this position, neither daring to approach nor withdraw, creating an awkward atmosphere.

The production company and the producer's credits appeared, followed by the name of the company at nine o'clock and the names of the post-production team.

The original drama had high contrast colors, but the post-production added a grayscale effect, toning down the flashy costumes and props, making them much more pleasing to the eye.

With the rhythm of the drumbeat, captivating scenes switched rapidly - assassinations, chases, anger, tears, slaps, madness, screams, injuries, kneeling, and battles.

A dramatic outpouring of emotion seemed to drench the viewers head-on.

As the final drumbeat concluded, the music gradually softened and the volume decreased. Each character's smiling scene appeared, followed by the title "Si Cuichuan."

Then, the names of the actors started to roll one by one.

First to appear, filling the entire screen alone, was "Leading Actress: Tang Fei."

The opening sequence was fast-paced, visually stimulating, and highly engaging.

Zhou Weichuan nods, acknowledging that the work, though hastily done, meets the standard.

In the opening sequence, Si Cui's original portrayal as an evil antagonist—numerous high-angle and close-up shots that typically emphasize villainy—has been skillfully edited to portray her as a capable ancient female powerhouse.

The edits for the gentle princess remain largely untouched, serving as a contrasting foil to heighten the dramatic impact. The spark between these two captivating beauties adds depth to the narrative.

The screen goes dark, and in the center, white text appears: Episode 1.

The first scene opens with a fast-paced score, evoking a sense of urgency. A wide-angle shot of the palace segues into rapid cuts of arrests and imprisonments, followed by torture, confinement, soldiers surrounding the area, and mass deportations. Forced into exile, women are sent to nunneries to shave their heads.

Flames engulf a palace annex, trapping countless people inside. Masked bandits raid the monastery, slaughtering anyone they encounter, drenching the scene in blood.

An infant is bound with straw and concealed within the haystacks of a stable.

A deep, authoritative male voiceover begins, dovetailing with the fading sounds of clashing weapons and cries in the background.

As the visuals shift, the voiceover continues: "In the nineteenth year of Baoan, in March, the former Crown Prince was falsely accused of treason by the father-in-law of the Han King and imprisoned. He died in jail the following April. The direct male descendants of the former Crown Prince were confined in the annex, while female relatives were sent to Nianci Temple to shave their heads and take up religious life. All officials, guards, and servants, regardless of gender, were exiled.

In May of the same year, the annex was consumed by fire, with no survivors. In July, Nianci Temple fell victim to bandits, resulting in countless casualties. All of the former Crown Prince's female relatives perished."

Only an infant girl, swaddled in straw by her mother and hidden in the stable, was spared. Rescued by righteous knights of the land, she was named Si Cui, the sole surviving descendant of the former prince.

The following year, the late emperor passed, and the Han King ascended the throne, marking the beginning of the Wan Kang era."

This part of the story was not originally depicted; it was an addition by the production team at Nine Points, fleshing out the background through unused footage and voiceovers.

Then, the scene shifted, showing the same wide-angle shot of the palace, but this time with upbeat music, bright lighting, and the scent of flowers accompanied by birdsong, portraying a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

Subtitle: Eighteen years later, Wan Kang's seventeenth year, the imperial garden.

A close-up of Tang Fei as Si Cui graced the screen, her delicate features captivating the audience.

She gently lowered her head, her nose brushing against the dew on a petal – her lotus-like face was the perfect complement to the flower's moisture!

A vertical line of text appeared beside the image: Si Cui, the young daughter of the former prince.

Zhou Weichuan discreetly turned his gaze to watch Tang Fei engrossed in the show. The scene transitioned from a close-up to a full-body shot and then to the entire garden, where Si Cui led a group of young maidens in collecting flower dew.

Tang Fei displayed a natural acting talent; her character was vastly different from her real self. If one overlooked some stiffness, he would rate her performance at eighty out of a hundred.

In the drama, Si Cui declares, "Pay attention, all of you. The princess adores rosewater, not any other flowers!"

The palace maids giggle and chorus, "As you wish, Miss Si Cui."

In the first episode's initial three minutes, Si Cui's background is revealed. From minutes three to ten, her authority among the princess's attendants is displayed, along with her meticulous care for the princess and her favored status.

At the tenth minute, the first conflict arises. A concubine's maid, beaten and disheveled, escapes from the concubine's private torture and blocks the princess's daily flower-viewing path, prostrating herself in desperate plea.

"Princess, please save this servant's life! Lady Concubine intends to kill me!"