"Now that you’ve rejected him, I’m just so incredibly relieved." Tang Li chuckled, her eyes crinkling with mirth.

"From now on, we’ll have a purely professional partnership. Nothing more."

Tan You smiled. "That’s good. So, shall we switch back?"

"Sure!" Tang Li said. "I can probably still handle my old job, right?"

For all the confidence in her voice, Tang Li was floored after reviewing what Tan You had accomplished in the past year. "Wait, no, Youzi! Are you for real? You’re *this* amazing? I can’t possibly manage all this!"

"I can’t write scripts, and even though I was a creative director, I could never come up with so many concepts... Ms. Tan, you’ve set the bar way too high."

Tan You saw right through her. "So... what’s your plan?"

Tang Li rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Hehe, Ms. Tan, how about I become your exclusive producer? For any creative idea you come up with, I’ll personally oversee the entire process. I won’t delegate a single thing."

Tan You looked up. "How would we split the profits?"

"I’ll continue all the charitable donations you’ve been making," Tang Li said without a moment’s hesitation. "On top of that, I’ll donate half of my own share of the profits."

Tan You asked, "So you’d do all that work and only end up with a quarter of the total profits? You wouldn’t feel that’s unfair?"

"Of course not," Tang Li said with a smile. "A quarter is already a lot, and this is such meaningful work. If what we do can bring even a small, positive change to someone’s life, I believe it’s all worth it."

Tan You smiled. "Alright. Then you can handle that side of things from now on. You’ve always been good at dealing with people. You’ll have to handle those old foxes by yourself. Think you can manage?"

Tang Li clenched a fist. "Absolutely. I’d like to think I’m a pretty smooth operator."

As they spoke in low voices, they settled the course for the rest of Tang Li’s life. Tan You would continue to provide the scripts and various creative ideas, and Tang Li would be the one to bring them all to life.

"But at the end of the day, you need to have your own understanding of the material," Tan You added. "Take this script I’m working on, for instance. When Ye Qian discusses the characters with you later, you can’t be completely clueless."

"I get it. I’ll start studying today," Tang Li said, full of ambition. "’Getting a second chance at life is already a huge win for me. Plus, Ms. Tan, you’ve already built such an incredible foundation. I have to protect it."

"What incredible foundation?" Tan You laughed, amused by Tang Li’s effusive praise.

"How could it not be? You’re incredible! You’re already one of the top screenwriters in the industry." Tang Li’s gaze fell on the glittering gold trophy. "It’s wonderful. Our Ms. Tan is so talented."

Tan You changed the subject. "Okay, okay, go hit the books. By the way, Fang Xiang and the organization behind him have all been locked up. Do you want to go see them?"

"No. There’s nothing to see," Tang Li flatly refused. "I wish I could flay Fang Xiang and Li Wanjun alive. If it weren’t for them, I never would have ended up in such a miserable state."

"As for Li Wanjun, him just losing his job... it’s not enough. I’m still furious. But if I try to get more revenge, I’ll just look like a bully. It’s not fair. I went through so much hardship, and no one even knew."

Tang Li gritted her teeth. "Why did I have to endure all that? And what do they get? One of them is only locked up for a few years, and the other is still living a perfectly fine life? This is just too unfair!"

Tan You sighed. "Then what do you want to do? They’ve both been taught a lesson, and Fang Xiang is serving his sentence. There’s nothing more you can do to him, even if you wanted to."

"And as for Li Wanjun, like you said, if you go after him again, you’ll be the one who ends up looking bad."

Tang Li clutched at her chest. "As long as they stay out of my sight, I’ll just pretend those two don’t exist. My biggest wish right now is just to see my grandparents doing well. They were the ones I was most worried about before I died. I’m so glad they’re still okay."

"As for the Li family, I’ll just pretend they’re not my relatives anymore. Besides, Li Lanzhen is remarried now. She has nothing to do with me, and she’s someone else’s problem to worry about."

Tan You said, "Speaking of which, the man she remarried seems decent. He looks fierce, but he treats Li Lanzhen well enough. It’s just that there’s no way he’ll let her go running back to the Li family for help."

"That Sun Zhicai knows how to keep people in check. He rarely gives Li Lanzhen any money. He buys all her food and clothes for her, so she has basically no cash on hand."

Tang Li found the thought strangely satisfying. "Good. She deserves it. Someone needs to keep her in line."

Tan You smiled. "I’m glad you’re okay with it. I was worried you might still feel some obligation toward Li Lanzhen."

"I’m not that much of a saint. As long as she’s alive and has food and clothes, I couldn’t care less about the rest." Tang Li’s voice was cold. "She never showed me much affection anyway. She always sided with the Li family."

"Let’s not talk about her anymore. Ms. Tan, I promise I’ll study that script of yours carefully. I can’t have Ye Qian talking about it and me not knowing a thing. That would totally give me away, wouldn’t it?"

Tan You always appreciated it when a client was career-focused. "Sounds good. I’ll send you a reading list I think you’ll find useful."

She didn’t bring up Chairman Wang again. ’Since Tang Li wants to move on, I won’t press it. Besides, talking about men is so boring.’

After seeing the first draft of the script at Tan You’s place, Ye Qian and the others returned to the set to continue filming. But news travels fast in the entertainment industry. The moment word got out that the first draft was finished—and that it was a Director Liu production—countless people started getting ideas.

Of course, most of them contacted Director Liu, Ye Qian, or other company insiders. Almost no one reached out to Tang Li—who could blame them, when Tan You had been so low-key?

Tang Li was glad for the peace and quiet. She rarely went to the company these days. For one, she was now the creative director in name only; the deputy director had taken over all her actual duties.

For another, she was busy studying at home. After all, she had to devour professional books on directing, cinematography, scriptwriting, and more. Tang Li wished she could split every minute in two.

Her absence from the company, however, looked to Chairman Wang like she was avoiding him. He called her a few times, and Tang Li told him frankly that she was in "seclusion" to study and wouldn’t emerge until the script was finalized.

What could Chairman Wang do? She was working hard on her career, contributing to the company’s growth and profits. He couldn’t very well let his personal feelings get in the way of that, could he? So, in a way, they had cleared the air, but in another, nothing was resolved at all.

While Tang Li was busy with her studies, Old Hu’s production finally began filming. Ye Qian had already finished her "apprenticeship" with Director Liu, and as soon as Old Hu’s crew was assembled, she arrived with her bags packed.

Having promised to be the producer for Tan You’s program, Tang Li couldn’t go back on her word. So, she took the opportunity to oversee the production in person, using it as a chance to get a change of scenery.