"’The Female Assassin’ shouldn’t face such issues. Both of them understand that no matter what, they must prioritize ensuring the film can be completed."

"That’s good." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Zhou Lan suddenly sighed on the other end.

"What’s wrong?" Zhou Yun asked.

"I’m just too tired lately. I managed to negotiate endorsement deals for Xiao Jing and Yuk Chu. It felt like my mouth was worn out," Zhou Lan said. "Those brand agents are incredibly cunning."

"Haha, you’ve worked hard."

"It’s not that hard. Anyway, since you all earn more, I earn more too. With real money filling my pockets, it’s not as exhausting."

"True."

"Xiao Yun, there’s one more thing. I received a screenplay, forwarded to me by a friend," Zhou Lan said. "He heard you were interested in investing in art films, so he passed it on to me. I’ve read it, and I think you might like it. Want to take a look?"

"Sure, send it to my email," Zhou Yun said.

"Okay."

"Do you think it’s a role I could play?"

"No, it’s not suitable. The leading female character is a woman in her early forties, which doesn’t match your age at all," Zhou Lan said.

Zhou Yun realized there wasn’t a role for her in this movie upon hearing that.

She hung up the phone, waited a bit, and indeed received the screenplay from Zhou Lan.

The screenplay was titled "Above the Dust," quite an arty name.

She opened the file and started reading it on her laptop.

It was a film script, around 30,000 words in total, not very long. She spent an hour reading it.

Tears fell several times during her reading.

The screenplay tells the story of a middle-aged man and woman living at the bottom of society, from meeting to supporting each other, and finally parting. There’s no dramatic plot, but it’s narrated at a deep, slow pace, filled with the philosophy of life, life within philosophy.

Zhou Yun called Zhou Lan and said, "Who wrote this screenplay?"

"A young guy named Li Rui," Zhou Lan said. "A friend of mine who works in youth film investment said his project received this script but it didn’t pass their investment review. Not that the script is bad, but it seems to have no box office potential and might lose money, so he passed it on to me to see if you’re interested in investing."

Zhou Yun said, "Could you get me this person’s contact information? I’ll discuss it with Song Chi."

"Why discuss with Song Chi? Are you thinking of asking him to invest?" Zhou Lan asked.

Zhou Yun said, "I want to see if he’s interested in acting. The man in the script isn’t young."

"Him?" Zhou Lan seemed to want to say something but didn’t in the end. "I’ll find out this person’s contact information for you. If you decide to go ahead with this project, let me know."

"Okay."

Zhou Yun sent the screenplay to Song Chi.

After a while, Zhou Lan sent Li Rui’s phone number to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun saved it in her contacts and then called Li Rui.

The voice answering the phone sounded a bit drowsy.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Li Rui?" Zhou Yun asked.

"Yes, who is this?" The person sounded just waking up.

Zhou Yun said, "This is Zhou Yun. I received your screenplay, ’Above the Dust,’ from my agent. You wrote it, right?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by some rustling noise.

"Hello, hello, this is Li Rui. Yes, I wrote it," the voice said nervously.

Zhou Yun smiled understandingly and said, "I’m very interested in your screenplay. I want to ask if you haven’t signed with any other company yet?"

"No, I haven’t."

"That’s good. Let me ask, do you want to direct it yourself, or just sell the script to a film company?" Zhou Yun asked.

Li Rui said, "Of course, I want to direct it myself. If I can’t, I won’t sell the screenplay."

Zhou Yun heard the urgency in Li Rui’s voice and thought, no wonder.

She said, "I see. How about this, let’s arrange a time to have a proper discussion about the script, okay?"

"Sure, just let me know when you’re free," Li Rui said, then remembered, "Do I need to prepare a PPT?"