Volume Two: Shadows of the Past Chapter Sixty-One: Did the Sea King Flop?

In the previous life, the final scene of the movie *SPL: Sha Po Lang*, where Ma Jun is pushed by Wang Bao through a glass wall and falls from a high-rise building, used computer-generated imagery, which made it look somewhat artificial and lacking in realism.

Determined to pursue authenticity, Chen Jing decided to forgo CGI for this sequence. He first filmed the shot of Wang Bao grabbing him and crashing through the glass, then filmed the sequence of himself falling from a great height, and only used computer synthesis for the remaining parts. The final effect of the movie turned out to be much more realistic.

The final shot before the film wrapped was of a blood-stained Wang Bao, who, upon seeing that Ma Jun had landed on his car, sat dejectedly on the ground in tears, filled with deep remorse.

Lin Zitan and Lin Xi stood beside Chen Jing, the three of them watching Wang Zhou’s performance on the monitor.

Suddenly, Lin Zitan frowned and asked, "Ah Jing, why did you have the protagonist crush the villain's wife to death, along with her baby? It just feels so cruel." She had not yet recovered from the scene Chen Jing had just filmed; her mind was still filled with the image of the protagonist, Ma Jun, falling onto the car and killing the mother and child.

Lin Xi also cast a curious glance at Chen Jing, eager to know his reasoning for the plot arrangement.

Chen Jing kept his eyes fixed on the screen and replied without turning his head, "Part of it is for a plot twist, and it echoes the earlier plot point about Wang Bao’s wife suffering repeated miscarriages. But most importantly..." Chen Jing hesitated for a moment before saying calmly, "In a movie, no matter what, it's best for the villain to meet a karmic end. It helps establish a clear sense of retributive justice for the audience."

Hearing this, Lin Zitan nodded, only half-understanding. Lin Xi, however, grasped what Chen Jing was trying to convey. This was essentially what people called political correctness; one could say it was also to ensure the film passed censorship more easily.

"Cut!"

As the final shot was completed, Chen Jing reviewed the playback and, finding no issues, announced loudly, "I hereby announce that the filming of *SPL: Sha Po Lang* has officially wrapped!"

The crew members erupted into loud cheers.

"Yeah!!!"
"The director is mighty!"
"We finally finished, it wasn't easy."
"..."

Seeing everyone so excited, Chen Jing decided to add a little more fuel to the fire: "Hey everyone, don't be in such a hurry to celebrate yet. I promised that when filming wrapped, I'd give out big red envelopes. Here! You can go find the finance department later to collect them—one for each person, and no taking more than your share!" Chen Jing joked.

"Yeah! Director Chen, I love you!" shouted a female staff member.
"Hahaha, Director Chen, we love you too!" the other male crew members immediately chimed in.

Chen Jing laughed and cursed, "Get lost."

As the crew was happily wrapping up, three beautiful figures arrived at the set. Two of them were wearing hats and sunglasses, bundled up tightly. The third was Wang Li, Ling Ruohan’s manager. It went without saying that one of the bundled-up figures was Ling Ruohan, and the other was Xue Yue.

Chen Jing and the others recognized them immediately. Seeing them approach, Lin Zitan waved happily. The three had called Chen Jing before arriving, so they knew they were coming to the set.

Lin Zitan walked over, linked arms with Xue Yue and Ling Ruohan, and asked happily, "Sister Ruohan, Sister Xue Yue, why did you two come together?"

Xue Yue gave Chen Jing a subtle look, smiled, and remained silent. Ling Ruohan, however, said with a smile, "I heard Ah Jing’s movie was wrapping up, so I had to come. Then, I happened to run into Xue Yue at the company, so we decided to come take a look together. Hehe, the company didn't have much going on anyway."

Chen Jing noticed Xue Yue’s gaze and was about to smile back when he saw her shift her eyes away. He had no choice but to turn to Ling Ruohan and ask curiously, "Sister Ruohan, is your Weibo matter settled?"

Hearing Chen Jing bring this up, Ling Ruohan proudly lifted her chin and said, "It’s settled. Li Wen has already backed down. After I posted my declaration of war on Weibo last night, the other side just folded completely. The name-calling battle on Weibo has basically stopped today."

Chen Jing smiled and gave Ling Ruohan a thumbs-up.

Lin Xi, standing to the side, sensed something fishy. She looked at Chen Jing and said with a huff, "That declaration of war on Weibo was your idea, wasn't it?"

"Uh..." Chen Jing dodged the question, saying, "It was quite effective, wasn't it?"

Lin Xi shook her head and said, "It’s effective for now, but will you really be able to make Ruohan keep an eye on Li Wen and release her album at the same time as her?"

Lin Xi thought Chen Jing wouldn't know how to answer, but he responded decisively: "I can. At worst, I’ll just prepare another album for Sister Ruohan, keep it ready, and whenever Li Wen decides to release hers, Sister Ruohan can just release hers at the same time."

Lin Xi: "..." This was an answer she hadn't expected. Who would have nothing better to do than to specially craft an album just to snipe at someone else!

Ling Ruohan’s eyes lit up. She walked straight to Chen Jing, hugged his arm, and said coquettishly, "Ah Jing, you’re the best. I’ll leave the album matter to you then." She shook his arm happily as she spoke.

Feeling the warmth and softness on his arm, Chen Jing didn't want to appear too intimate with Ling Ruohan in front of everyone. He casually pulled his arm away and said nonchalantly, "It’s the same as always; I’ll just write the songs for you."

Lin Xi rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "Regardless, if two divas release albums at the same time, it will affect both their sales. Is a verbal dispute worth it?"

Chen Jing said indifferently, "It doesn't matter. It's just an album. Besides, they were the ones who started it; blind tolerance isn't the answer."

Now it was Lin Xi’s turn to be speechless. After thinking about it, an album didn't really seem like much to Chen Jing, so she didn't say anything further.

Ling Ruohan felt a bit embarrassed and stuck out her tongue, her face blushing slightly. She had been so excited that she forgot they were in public; otherwise, she wouldn't have been so intimate with Chen Jing.

To change the subject, she remembered the joy of the crew when she arrived and asked Lin Zitan eagerly, "What was everyone so happy about earlier? Tell me so I can share in the joy."

Lin Zitan laughed, "What else could it be? The big boss is giving out red envelopes. Everyone is happy about that."

Ling Ruohan was surprised: "Big boss? Who?"

Lin Zitan gestured toward Chen Jing with her chin: "See, that’s the big boss."

"Alright then, Boss Chen Jing, I want a red envelope too." Ling Ruohan reached out to Chen Jing and joked, "All my money has been invested in your movie, I'm quite poor lately. Hurry up and give me a big red envelope."

Hearing Ling Ruohan say this, Chen Jing cursed inwardly: "It's over!"

Sure enough, the three women present—Lin Xi, Lin Zitan, and Xue Yue—all looked at Ling Ruohan with surprise.

Lin Xi immediately narrowed her eyes and asked, "Ruohan, you invested in Ah Jing’s movie too?"

Ling Ruohan found the question strange and said, "Yes, didn't you know?" She assumed that as Chen Jing’s manager, Lin Xi would certainly know about the investments.

"Uh, that... maybe we should..." Chen Jing wanted to shift the topic, but a glare from Lin Xi silenced him instantly.

Lin Xi glanced at Chen Jing and then turned back to Ling Ruohan: "Ruohan, how much did you invest?"

Ling Ruohan realized something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She stammered, "Uh, it seems to be twenty million..."

"Twenty million!" Lin Zitan exclaimed, and Xue Yue also looked at Ling Ruohan in shock.

But it didn't end there. Lin Xi continued, asking Xue Yue calmly, "Ah Yue, you invested in Ah Jing’s movie too, didn't you?"

Xue Yue stole a glance at Chen Jing. Seeing him offer a bitter smile and a nod, she knew she couldn't hide it from Lin Xi, so she whispered, "Yes."

"Xue Yue, you invested too? How much?" Now it was Ling Ruohan’s turn to pout and ask. She finally understood what the problem was—she wasn't the only one who had "poured her heart into investing" in Chen Jing.

Xue Yue said embarrassedly, "Five hundred... ten million?" She had deliberately understated it by five million, thinking considerately that she should save some "private funds" for Chen Jing.

"Sister Ruohan invested twenty million, and Sister Xue Yue invested ten million. That’s thirty million already." Lin Zitan calculated the numbers and turned to Chen Jing, saying with a hint of grievance, "Ah Jing, and you told us you didn't have money to film the movie?"

At this moment, the four women with deep connections to Chen Jing were all "eyeing" him like predators.

As for Wang Li, she had already sensed something was wrong and fled to the side; this was not something she could get involved in.

Seeing the four of them staring at him in unison, Chen Jing smiled bitterly, not knowing how to explain himself.

If he had known, he would have just been honest with them from the start. Why had he played these unnecessary "sea king" games? It was simply asking for trouble.

Fortunately, Sister Menglan hadn't come; otherwise, it would truly be a showdown.

Just as Chen Jing was fumbling for words, trying to figure out how to answer them, his phone rang. He treated it like a lifeline and said, "Uh... excuse me, I need to take this call." He pulled out his phone, answered it without checking who it was, and started to walk away. But he had only taken a few steps before he stood frozen, caught between laughter and tears.

He heard Wang Youxuan’s voice on the other end: "Brother, Mom and I have arrived at your movie set, but the staff won't let us in. Do you have time to come out and bring us in?"

Heh, this was truly a "killing field" in every sense of the word!