215: Chapter 214 I traded my body for this role

Two hours later, the red candle had burned more than halfway down, and the flame finally stopped flickering.

Xu Qingya lay prone on the bed, and Jiang Fan pulled the quilt over her.

In the corner of his vision, the system panel popped up.

[Deep Compatibility ×3, Lifespan Value +9000]

[Current Lifespan Value: 104800 points]

[Remaining Lifespan: 323 days]

SS-rank Xu Qingya was always a generous source.

Xu Qingya turned over and lay on her back, her hair sticking to her face, drenched in sweat.

She looked at Jiang Fan and cleared her throat.

"Director Jiang, how was my… performance as the Queen?"

Jiang Fan reached out to brush the hair from her face and used a tissue to wipe away her sweat.

"Your lines were average. I can give you full marks for the action scenes."

Xu Qingya snorted. Lacking the strength to hit him, she could only kick him.

"Regardless, the role is mine. And I want to add more scenes."

"Add what scenes?"

"The romantic subplot between the Queen of Womens Kingdom and Tang Monk; you wrote too little, just a few strokes to gloss over it. I want a complete romantic subplot. At least three episodes."

Jiang Fan looked at her.

This woman had just been completely exhausted, yet she was clear-headed now.

However, what she said made sense.

The original text of the journey to the west regarding the Womens Kingdom was short. Expanding it into three episodes, given Xu Qingya's traffic and popularity, this segment would be the most discussed part of the entire series.

The struggle Tang Monk faced between love and his pilgrimage was inherently the most dramatic part.

"I can consider it," Jiang Fan replied.

Xu Qingya's lips curved up slightly.

"Write it well. I don't want that kind of naive, sweet Queen. She needs to have schemes, deep affection, and the ability to make sacrifices. I also want to choose the costumes myself."

"You have quite a lot of demands."

"Duh. I earned this role with my body," Xu Qingya rolled her eyes.

"You have to make it worth the price. The Womens Kingdom is the only romantic trial in Tang Monk's eighty-one tribulations. Other demons want to eat his flesh, but only I want his person."

Xu Qingya was quiet for a few seconds, then continued: "When you wrote journey to the west, did Tang Monk ever actually feel anything?"

"What do you think?"

"I think he did," Xu Qingya pulled Jiang Fan's arm over to use as a pillow. "He just couldn't turn back."

"Also, you have to show me the script for these three episodes first. If I'm not satisfied, you'll rewrite it."

Jiang Fan pinched her cheek.

"You are the actor now, and I am the director."

Xu Qingya slapped his hand away.

"If you were the director, this show would never be able to air."

A few minutes later, Xu Qingya's breathing became even, and she fell asleep.

Jiang Fan stared at the ceiling, still calculating in his mind.

As for the journey to the west TV series, Su Yuyan had already started preparations.

The people at Times Media could handle the team, promotion, and funding.

But the core script had to be done by him personally.

Jiang Fan closed his eyes; he would take care of it tomorrow.

—

The next morning, at the Qitian Culture office.

Song Siyi sat at the conference table, with a thick stack of printed submissions spread out in front of her.

Jiang Fan pushed the door open and entered. Song Siyi was circling things with a red pen.

The red pen stopped on a drawing for a few seconds, then she shook her head and crossed it out.

"How is the drawing submission project going?" Jiang Fan pulled out a chair and sat down.

Song Siyi looked up, put down her pen, and took a sip of the coffee beside her.

"The number of submissions has exceeded twenty thousand. The quality is uneven. A few dozen are genuinely good. I've already had people frame the drawing of The Monkey King by Mo Jiu and hang it in the hallway outside. People who come to discuss collaborations always take an extra look."

"What's the publishing schedule for the picture books?"

"The first one selects the segment about the Havoc in Heaven. I wrote the first draft of the accompanying text myself. Take a look."

Song Siyi pushed a document over.

Jiang Fan picked it up and flipped through two pages.

The text was light and rhythmic, easy to understand, and suitable for children to read.

"This is fine. Let's go with this. Set the price for the general public."

"Besides Mo Jiu, several professors from the Fine Arts Academy also submitted work," Song Siyi opened another folder. "The demons they drew are very distinctive. I plan to publish a separate demon encyclopedia."

"The idea is correct. Have the copyright buyout contracts been signed?"

"The legal department is processing them. As you instructed, the derivative rights for all selected works belong entirely to Qitian Culture."

Song Siyi took back the file and handed over a data report.

"The second batch of five million pre-orders sold out completely as of last night. Qitian Printing has arranged the shifts. We expect to ship within a week."

Jiang Fan nodded.

"What about the channels at Huaxin?"

"General Manager Chen has already arranged for their printing plant to run at full capacity. They will ship simultaneously with us. Also, General Manager Chen would like to invite you to dinner to discuss overseas publishing."

"No need to rush on that; we'll talk about it later," Jiang Fan stood up. "Alright. Anything else?"

Song Siyi thought for a moment.

"Not for now. I'm going to visit the Orphanage in a few days. I'll bring a few copies of journey to the west for Huzi and the others while I'm at it. Do you want to come along?"

"Sure. Call me when the time comes. I'm heading back to the Studio to write the script."

"Alright."

Song Siyi watched him leave, looking toward the door frame.

Jiang Fan's operations were expanding more and more.

She had to stabilize the foundation of Qitian Culture and not hold him back.

—

Back at the Studio, Jiang Fan locked the office door and set his phone to silent.

He sat in the swivel chair, closed his eyes, and pulled up the system store.

He typed into the search bar: journey to the west TV series script.

Several versions popped up in the results.

He went straight to the most classic one.

[journey to the west Complete Script (CCTV Version · 41 Episodes)]

[Includes: Full Episode Outlines, Scene-by-Scene Scripts, Character Biographies, Scene Descriptions, Original Soundtrack Scores]

[Redemption Price: 20000 Lifespan Value]

Twenty thousand points; Jiang Fan stared at that number for a few seconds.

It wasn't cheap, but this was the biggest card in his hand.

Su Yuyan had bet her entire fortune on a gamble for 1.5 billion in revenue. If the show flopped, her shares would be swallowed by the board, and she would be finished at Times Media.

Without hesitating for too long, Jiang Fan clicked to redeem it.

[Redemption Successful]

[Current Lifespan Value: 84800 points]

The entire content of forty-one episodes flooded into his mind.

Jiang Fan sat with his eyes closed, motionless for over ten minutes.

The amount of information was too vast; his brain was forcefully stuffed with the production guide for an entire TV series.

The blocking of every scene, the rhythm of every line, the timing of every character's entrance and exit, even the material of the costumes was clearly described.

Scenes played in Jiang Fan's mind.

Camera angles, lighting setups, wire-work trajectories.

In the episode of the Womens Kingdom, the scene between Tang Monk and the Queen in the bedchamber.

Candlelight, gauze curtains, the pauses in the dialogue.

These were all detailed in the script. The scenes Xu Qingya wanted to add had already been perfected in this version of the script.

Even the scores for the theme songs were included.

"Dare to Ask Where the Road Lies." "Cloud Palace Melody."

The value of these two songs was no less than the script itself.

Those twenty thousand Lifespan Value points were well spent.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes, picked up the notebook on the table, and began to organize the characters.

The actors were the key.

The Monkey King. Tang Monk. Zhu Bajie. Sha Seng.

Four protagonists, and not one had been cast yet.

Two female roles had been filled, and they were high-profile enough.

But the male leads were the lifeblood of this show, especially The Monkey King.

Jiang Fan wrote the words "The Monkey King" on the paper.

The requirements for this role were too high.

It required knowledge of Monkey Opera. Physical flexibility. Solid vocal delivery. A background in martial arts or acrobatics. The ability to spin a staff.

If the wrong person was chosen, everything would be lost.

People like that simply couldn't be found among traffic stars.