The movie's release and its excellent word-of-mouth propelled screenwriter Nine, also known as Quan Jiu, to new heights of fame.
Previously, people were only aware of Nine's brilliant achievements abroad. Domestically, however, opinions were divided. Many who were unwilling to acknowledge her success believed her international fame was inflated.
But seeing the results Nine had now delivered, the entire internet was satisfied. The movie and Nine's trending topics remained in the top five of the overall rankings for several consecutive days. Especially the movie's box office performance, with gossip and entertainment accounts constantly reporting its breakthroughs – surpassing 500 million, then 1 billion, then 1.3 billion... This made many who were previously unwilling to believe her seethe with frustration, unable to eat or sleep well, like Zhao Zhen.
After her collaboration with Wang Can fell through, Zhao Zhen harbored a deep resentment towards Nine. Later, when scandals erupted about her plagiarizing Nine's script and having an affair with director Kang Li, she was further abandoned by her family and became blacklisted in the industry.
Zhao Zhen thought her life was over. The affair meant she didn't receive any property in the divorce, and she still had to pay child support to her ex-husband. She didn't get to keep her car or house. At over forty years old, she had to rent a place to live.
Fortunately, fate offered a glimmer of hope. She contacted Yang Shuo. Yang Shuo was interested in her script, and Kang Li, also abandoned by the director circle, latched onto Zhao Zhen, insisting she take responsibility for his life. With no other options, Zhao Zhen recommended Kang Li to Yang Shuo, and the three of them ended up bound together.
Currently, the television series had finished filming and was in post-production editing. Yang Shuo had also pulled some strings, and as long as it passed review, it would be broadcast during the Spring Festival.
Zhao Zhen was still fantasizing about becoming a top screenwriter with this TV series when she saw news about her old nemesis, Nine, dominating the headlines.
"Nine, Nine, Nine, always Nine. These entertainment accounts are filled with nothing but junk. Don't they have any other news to write about?"
In her cramped, nine-square-meter rental, Zhao Zhen angrily threw her phone onto the bed, then hugged a pillow and smashed it a few times. Still not satisfied, she said, "Do you still have any money? Go buy some internet trolls to attack her."
Kang Li, lying on the bed scrolling through his phone, actually didn't harbor much hatred towards Nine. He attributed his current predicament to Zhao Zhen, so he sternly replied, "I left with nothing, and you want me to buy trolls? If you have money, you go do it."
Zhao Zhen was so filled with hatred that she couldn't sleep. She sat up, picked up her phone again, opened Weibo, edited some text, copied it, and then commented on every related news article.
She mechanically copied and pasted: "Nine is nothing but crap, afraid to show her face, probably keeping countless ghostwriters behind the scenes. If she has the guts, she should come out and speak."
One comment every few seconds, Zhao Zhen commented for a full half hour until the system prompted her about a violation. She snapped back to reality and then looked at her comments, only to discover that because they were repetitive and mechanical, they had all been deleted.
After all that effort, she had spent half an hour doing useless work. Zhao Zhen became even more annoyed. Unable to bear it, she directly opened Nine's Weibo private messages and, like a madwoman, copied and pasted the same text.
The next day, Quan Jiu woke up to see over 99+ unread Weibo private messages.
She opened them and smiled. Zhao Zhen, truly a persistent nuisance. It seemed she hadn't learned her lesson last time.
Quan Jiu opened the long-untouched chat box with Song Ren. "Zhao Zhen, the screenwriter for 'Campus,' I need all information about her assistants. Can you handle it?"
Song Ren quickly replied, as concise and direct as ever: "Up to five people, three thousand. Up to ten people, five thousand. More than ten and less than twenty people, ten thousand."
Quan Jiu thought for a moment. Given Zhao Zhen's status, she likely had at most two or three assistant screenwriters. She transferred three thousand yuan, "I'll pay more if it's not enough."
"By 5 PM today."
Simple, direct, and fast. By 5 PM that day, Quan Jiu received the information. There were two people: Huang Juan and Yang Ting.
Song Ren was very thorough, even compiling information about their daily lives and relationships with friends and family.
After reviewing their profiles, Quan Jiu focused on a young woman named Yang Ting. She immediately had the human resources department at Chuxin Culture call Yang Ting, using the reason of recruiting an in-house screenwriter.
After leaving Zhao Zhen's studio, Yang Ting had been looking for a job. However, as a recent graduate, and with the impact of Zhao Zhen's scandals, she hadn't found an ideal position.
Therefore, upon learning that Chuxin Culture was interested in her, she didn't hesitate and took a taxi to the company.
It was nearing the end of the workday. Yang Ting nervously entered the company and was eventually led by Guo Xiao into Quan Jiu's office.
Upon seeing Quan Jiu, Yang Ting was stunned. Covering her mouth, she sincerely blurted out, "You're so beautiful."
Quan Jiu smiled slightly, invited Yang Ting to sit down, and got straight to the point. "Do you have any completed script creations? I see you interned at Zhao Zhen's studio. What were your main responsibilities during that time?"
Yang Ting opened her mouth. Perhaps it was the kind and approachable smile of the person opposite her, or perhaps her grievances had reached a breaking point. In any case, she sighed with a bitter smile and revealed the truth.
"I interned for three months and created an original work of 400,000 characters. But the studio, using the excuse that I was an intern, claimed my creation belonged to the company and prohibited me from using it. They forcibly took my script, and I don't know what happened to that work now."
She paused, then couldn't help but feel wronged. "After I joined Zhao Zhen's studio, she never taught me anything. I did all the running errands and chores in the studio. When she lacked ideas, she would even ask me for suggestions.
I created in my spare time and submitted it to her for review. She criticized it as worthless, calling it garbage. But later, I discovered she actually used my script to discuss collaboration with Director Wang Can.
I know that as an intern at the studio, my creations technically belong to the company's property, but I should at least have attribution. Moreover, Zhao Zhen never paid me any salary during my internship.
I truly feel wronged. She monopolized my script and claimed it as her own. But I was powerless. As an intern, how could I contend with her?
Later, when she fell from grace, I considered suing her. But I consulted a lawyer, and the legal fees alone were over a hundred thousand. My parents are farmers, and the family's savings were only tens of thousands. How could I possibly afford such an amount, and without evidence, the lawsuit would be difficult to win."
Quan Jiu recalled what He Nian had told her earlier: Zhao Zhen was currently involved with Kang Li and Yang Shuo, and the three of them were filming a historical political drama.
"Is your script a historical political drama?" Quan Jiu asked.
Yang Ting was surprised. "Yes, President Quan, how did you know?"
Quan Jiu smiled faintly. "There are only so many people in this circle. I heard from others. As far as I know, Zhao Zhen has already collaborated with Yang Shuo and Kang Li to finish filming your script."
"She stole my script," Yang Ting said, her eyes reddening with anger. "Even if I didn't have the right to use that script, I still had attribution. I wrote it."
"For someone like Zhao Zhen, she wouldn't reason with you. She preys on interns like you, those without power or influence who suffer in silence. What she did was the despicable act of monopolizing your script," Quan Jiu stated calmly.
Tears streamed down Yang Ting's face. "That was my first complete script. I truly poured a lot of effort and thought into completing it."
Quan Jiu handed Yang Ting two tissues and comforted her. "Crying is useless. Since we have this connection, I will help you handle this matter. I am currently recruiting in-house screenwriters. If you are interested, you are welcome to join Chuxin Culture."
Yang Ting's crying stopped abruptly. She couldn't believe it. "Really? I... I can join now?"
"The human resources department probably hasn't gotten off work yet. You can go sign the contract now," Quan Jiu said with a smile.