The plot of Hide and Seek went something like this. It was a suspense film, with many nerve-wracking twists and turns. For example, the confrontation between the male protagonist and his classmate, with reversal after reversal. The girl's death was also not smooth sailing, and was only accomplished in the end through the male protagonist's improvisation.
When watching, the audience felt conflicted - afraid that he would not succeed, yet also hoping that he would not. Extremely contradictory.
Yet throughout the process, the director and actors were very restrained, and did not try to explore or dig into issues like domestic violence, morality, or the psychology of teenagers.
The male protagonist's monologue was direct and simple, without lengthy agonizing over himself. But beyond that, Director Ding used the gloomy, bright, murky skies to silently narrate the male protagonist's state of mind.
In early 2010, when it all began, the sky was clear, with blue skies and white clouds, as if nothing had happened. After his classmate disappeared, it was overcast and gloomy.
And when he murdered the girl he had a crush on, the setting sun was blood red, with the silent surging of the sea's surface. Within the extremely beautiful scenes lurked murderous intent and sin.
This unintentionally complemented the original simple text.
When she wrote this story, she herself was still in high school, without deep experiences of life and death, good and evil, and without any intention to explore or analyze.
She simply wrote from the perspective of a teenager, calmly and straightforwardly shaping the character of the male protagonist.
Some critics believed that it was too superficial and lacking in depth for her to write this kind of story at her age, even slightly dismissive, and gave negative reviews.
But Director Ding chose this story precisely because of this. There were too many adults over-analyzing teenagers, so many that it became boring, and anyone could spout off four or five points about teenagers' mental health.
Jian Jing was right in the middle of it, not thinking much of it, which made her different from the others.
Because it was so close, it became commonplace and matter-of-fact. Because it was real, it was stark and revealing.
In the end, this collaboration was very successful.
Jian Jing's writing was straightforward and lacked aesthetic sense, while the plot twists were also somewhat lacking. Director Ding made up for all of this, while her indifference and purity also gave the film a kind of restrained, calm charm.
Of course, Jiang Baiyan's acting skills also mattered.
There was a meme online - values follow looks. Villains who were ugly didn't stand a chance with the protagonist, but if the villain was good-looking... Not only was Jiang Baiyan the protagonist in Hide and Seek, he was also the villain, and he just so happened to have an extremely memorable face.
Back then, he was only 16 or 17 years old, slender in build, with some lingering baby fat in his cheeks, but his handsome brows and eyes alone were enough to stand out.
This was the kind of face that could withstand close-ups on the big screen.
When he pushed the girl off the cliff, he hesitated, wavered, worried, but lacked any sense of guilt. So people suddenly realized that this boy had no reverence for life, no real feeling about killing someone.
The audience pitied him, struggled for him, hoped that he would regret it, but he himself did not know or care.
The one writing the story was a teenager, and the one acting it out was also a teenager. Director Ding brought out the most exciting moment in the story and the protagonist, gazing at them with a lifetime's worth of experience through the camera lens.
At this point, the feeling of teenagers tottering on the edge of a cliff finally emerged, perfectly naturally.
Jian Jing was deeply shocked.
The novel was incisive but thin, while the movie was gentle but substantial.
She was more able than anyone to appreciate the gap between herself and Director Ding, the gap of decades of life experience, the huge chasm in artistic creation.
No wonder the original work was controversial while the movie could win awards.
She sincerely admired them, and when the lights came on, she stood and clapped with everyone else, applauding the creators.
The leading actors came on stage one by one, with Director Ding standing in the middle, and started his acceptance speech.
Liu Bao Feng turned back and said to Jian Jing, "What a great story."
Jian Jing reacted quickly: "Yes, I think so too. Those who do wrong will eventually pay the price, even if they get away with it for a while."
"Some prices are worth paying. If the younger brother had not died, perhaps the older brother would have died instead. At least he bought himself ten more years," Liu Bao Feng said calmly with a smile. "Why?" Jian Jing asked. She knew Liu Bao Feng understood what she meant.
"You're the author, only you know why. What do I know?" Liu Bao Feng smiled faintly, unperturbed, serene as the clouds.
Jian Jing suddenly felt a deep chill.
She recalled the system's mission description, to escape the villa before releasing the lethal gas. Did that mean that at that time, everyone in the villa could have accompanied President Qin in death?
"It was an amazing movie," Liu Bao Feng said, using the crowd to conceal herself as she moved to Jian Jing's side and whispered, "See you next time, Miss Jian. You're welcome to visit Yu Hui Villa anytime."
Just then, someone on stage said something that made the whole room erupt into applause. Liu Bao Feng took the opportunity to quietly slip away.
The lights came on brightly and the leading actors came off stage one by one.
Jian Jing hesitated, wondering if she should chase after Liu Bao Feng, when Kang Mu Cheng found her first: "Jing Jing, come with me." He beckoned to her, signaling to go backstage.
There was no point in following Liu Bao Feng now, so Jian Jing simply gave up and followed Kang Mu Cheng.
Passing through a small door, there was a lounge next door where all the main creative team members were. Scriptwriter Xu was the first to see them. He raised his hand to wave them over: "Bai Yan, aren't you..."
Before he could finish speaking, someone flashed over to Jian Jing's side lightning fast, holding out a book and pen, enthusiastically calling out: "Teacher Jing Jing, I'm your fan. Can you give me an autograph?"
Jian Jing: "Oh, okay."
She couldn't be blamed for reacting a beat slow. The enthusiastic fan rushing over was none other than the leading actor of Hide and Seek, the unrealistically handsome Jiang Baiyan.
He looked at her eagerly and ardently with upturned eyes and brow, as if he truly and sincerely liked her works, not just a drama queen who liked to burst into acts on a whim.
Jian Jing signed her name on the opened front page he held out.
"Thank you Teacher Jing Jing." Jiang Baiyan put away the copy of The Child's Hide and Seek wrapped in transparent plastic, and took out a brand new copy of Devil Doctor from under it. He smiled obediently. "One more book."
She couldn't help chuckling. "Thank you."
"I really like the story of Hide and Seek," Jiang Baiyan said, pausing slightly before asking hopefully and shyly, "Um, did Teacher Jing Jing like my acting?"
Jian Jing quickly praised, "Of course, it was amazing."
"Phew," Jiang Baiyan exaggeratedly breathed a sigh of relief, "Then I can relax."
Jian Jing laughed. She wasn't an extroverted person, but found conversing with him to flow easily: "I gave you an autograph, so shouldn't you take a picture with me too?"
"Really?" Jiang Baiyan had a look of pleasant surprise. He eagerly came to stand by her side and crouched down a bit. "Sis Chen, help us take a picture."
His agent hurriedly took out her phone, busily helping them snap pictures from all angles.
Jian Jing had some experience and wasn't too nervous in front of the camera, just smiling a little. But Jiang Baiyan was very experienced. One moment he made a heart with his hands with her, the next he perked up his ears. He was very skilled at striking poses.
Under his lead, over a dozen pictures were quickly taken.
"Teacher Jing Jing, add me on WeChat," Jiang Baiyan handed her his phone. "I'll send the pictures to you. Do you post on Weibo? I'll post one too."
Agent Chen: "Ahem!"
"Don't worry Agent Chen, I'll definitely edit it before posting," Jiang Baiyan said with a smile. Skillfully making a WeChat request through Jian Jing's account, he added in a (not really) soft voice, "Agent Chen is always worried about me posting unedited pictures. Really, looking like this, even no makeup is fine."
Jian Jing looked carefully at the pictures and agreed with what he said.
Agent Chen still wanted to say something, but Jiang Baiyan glanced at her, and she reluctantly kept silent.
"Teacher Jing Jing," Jiang Baiyan brought her a glass of champagne and lowered his voice. "That director over there is Director Huang, Xu's friend. He's shot a lot of crime thrillers and wants to try shooting a TV series recently."
Jian Jing immediately realized this was the director Kang Mu Cheng was talking to about Devil Doctor.
"Director Huang did a movie before, also based on a novel," Jiang Baiyan blinked at her meaningfully. "The cooperation between both sides was not very happy, he might be a little worried."
Jian Jing understood. Just as she was about to say something, Kang Mu Cheng on the other side had already waved her over. Next to him stood the tall, thin man Jiang Baiyan had reminded her about, Director Huang.
"Let me go greet Director Huang too," Jiang Baiyan answered before Jian Jing could speak or slip away, directly bringing her over to exchange pleasantries. "Director Huang, long time no see. I've been longing for your films until my eyes turned red. When will it be my lucky turn?"
His flattery brought a faint smile to Director Huang's face. He glanced at Jian Jing and got straight to the point: "I'm negotiating a copyright. If it works out, you may be able to get a role."
Jiang Baiyan made an expression that said "Wow, that would be amazing."
Kang Mu Cheng looked at him, then turned to Jian Jing: "This is Director Huang. He wants to discuss Devil Doctor with you."
"Alright," Jian Jing turned to face Director Huang and asked, "What can I do?"
Director Huang pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Old Xu told me Devil Doctor is suitable to make into a series. I want to know about your plans for future works. This concerns our specific cooperation."
Jian Jing understood what he meant.
If Director Huang's side bought the rights to Devil Doctor, based on what he heard from Scriptwriter Xu, he did not plan to make it into a long TV series with dozens of episodes. Instead, like American dramas, he planned to produce season by season, with about 10 episodes per season.
If she did not plan to write it as a series, they would need original content for later parts. If there were future sequels, how would they cooperate?
And this was exactly the most difficult question for Jian Jing.
The past belonged to "Jian Jing", while the future belonged to her.
White Cat, Hide and Seek, Devil Doctor, all the success and glory belonged to the former, while she herself still had doubts internally over whether she could attain the same recognition.
If she were to continue writing "Demon Doctor", whether she could achieve success again is still unknown, let alone whether she could actually write it.
Jian Jing was silent for a long time, and Director Huang couldn't help frowning.
"Now is not the time to talk about this. I think we should find a quiet place tomorrow and have a slow chat," Kang Mu Cheng timely smoothed things over.
Jiang Baiyan also said, "Yeah, Director Ding said he would treat us to dinner tonight, we can't miss that."
Director Huang probably also felt he had asked too abruptly and didn't press the matter.
Just then, Director Ding said he had booked a spot at the restaurant and invited everyone for a late-night snack, so they dropped the topic and joined the freeloading group.
Kang Mu Cheng didn't pester Director Huang further either. He turned to chat idly with the media. It was inevitable that Jian Jing's name would get a passing mention in tomorrow's coverage.
The restaurant they booked was some distance from the movie theater, so they split up into cars.
Seeing Kang Mu Cheng engrossed in conversation, Jian Jing tactfully prepared to drive herself. But then Jiang Baiyan smiled as he sidled up to her and put his palms together in a request: "Teacher Jingjing, can I ride with you?"
The request was a bit sudden, but no one could turn down his pleading. Jian Jing was no exception: "Sure."
"Great!" Jiang Baiyan told Chen Jie, "Go buy some late-night snacks for the fans. Tell them I can't make it over because I have something to do. Give them a few movie tickets."
Chen Jie hesitated before nodding: "Be careful then, don't let anyone catch you."
"Got it," Jiang Baiyan coolly raised his hand in an OK sign and pulled on a trendy duck bill cap, completely obscuring his handsome face. "Let's go, let's go, or there'll be nothing left to eat!"
Chen Jie had already started leaving, but paused at his words: "Don't eat too much!"
"I'll only have three bites," Jiang Baiyan swore solemnly.
