Chapter 23: Leaving Just Like That? At Least Finish Your Story!

“That’s it?” A wave of murmurs rose from the audience. Many faces twitched in disbelief. “Big brother, is he dead or alive? How can you just end the story and walk away? Leaving my poor little heart hanging mid-air like that!”

“That’s too much!” Guo Miao pouted in protest. “So, did the old lady kill him or not?”

“This is called an open ending,” Mao Yi, standing nearby, explained. “It means whether he’s dead or not—you have to guess for yourself!”

“Wow,” Fang Kuan said, “isn’t that a bit lazy as a conclusion?”

“No, it’s clever,” Chen Xuanzuo said, tilting his head and revealing a knowing smile.

“Oh?” Sima looked puzzled.

“The length of a microfilm is too short. If you want to fully engage the audience, nothing works better than an ending full of suspense… Microfilms are streamed online—you can only watch it once. When a film is mysterious and leaves the ending uncertain, what do people do?”

“Replay it?”

“Exactly. People watch it over and over, searching for hints left by the creator. That’s how the view count goes up!”

Turning back, Chen Xuanzuo’s expression suddenly became serious. “This guy is good! I misjudged him earlier. This isn’t a case of nepotism—he’s a master disguised as a fool… Suspense is planted from start to finish, and he manipulates the structure skillfully. And you guys said this guy just graduated from college?”

“He probably came up with it by chance,” Sima hurriedly added. “That’s not his true skill level, it doesn’t count.”

“Sima, that’s too modest,” Chen Xuanzuo smiled. “A structure this rigorous isn’t a spur-of-the-moment idea. Compared to his script, the previous five, including Gu Chen’s, look like children’s work…”

“You flatter him…” Sima said with a forced smile, but inside he felt like a thousand wild horses were stampeding through his brain. I was hoping you’d put him in his place, not elevate him to the heavens!

“This film still has many flaws,” Huang Liang said, unwilling to concede. Scratching his head, he argued, “For example, the protagonist is clearly a young man. Why wouldn’t he resist an old lady? He’s not actually blind, right? Why not just get up and hit her?”

“Exactly!” Sheng Jiong suddenly realized. “He could have just fought back! That’s illogical!”

“That’s precisely the brilliance of his design,” Chen Xuanzuo rolled his eyes at them. “It was already established—the protagonist is no hero. Remember his reaction after losing the competition? He didn’t get motivated to compete again; he became a sound engineer, pretended to be blind to make money, and spied on others… Would such a person react with bravery when facing danger? Impossible. He would choose to avoid confrontation. So, when facing the old lady, all he thinks about is maintaining his disguise… Logically, he could hit her, but after hearing the story, no one suspects it because you’ve already accepted the author’s setup!”

“Why did Shen Baizhou design the murderer as an old lady with no fighting ability? Why not a burly man with a gun? The answer was given earlier: the protagonist is no hero; he’s just a con artist. He wouldn’t dare confront anyone, even a frail old lady!”

“I see now!” Partner #3, Li Shuqing, sighed in admiration. “So meticulous! Shen Baizhou even thought of this!”

Looking toward Shen Baizhou among the contestants, Chen Xuanzuo couldn’t help but say, “This is structure, this is planning. That’s why I call Shen Baizhou a rigorous master! Coming here today wasn’t in vain… For someone his age to have this level of skill, the future is limitless!”

The front row fell silent. Everyone’s mouths dropped open in shock. Who would have thought that someone like Chen Xuanzuo would give such high praise to a complete newcomer? Limitless potential!

“I just remembered something,” Li Shuqing, dressed in a black trench coat, narrowed her eyes mischievously at Huang Liang.

“Huang director said if Shen Baizhou could grab everyone’s attention in five minutes, your name would be written backwards?”

The remark hit Huang Liang like a whip. He shuddered. “I… I was just joking… It was just to lighten the mood, yes, lighten the mood.”

Li Shuqing exaggerated an “Oh,” clearly enjoying teasing him. Their traditional media and internet departments were always in competition. Today, because Chen Xuanzuo was invited by Sima, she had barely spoken. Now she had a chance to poke fun at Huang Liang.

“I think Huang director is joking. How would your name sound backwards? ‘Green’? Director Green?”

“Pfft!” A manager behind them couldn’t help but laugh. Huang Liang’s face turned a dark reddish hue. Hastily, he said, “Since we’ve all watched, let’s start voting!”

In the CEO office, Su Hongdou squinted, her fingers circling her smooth forehead. The sunset painted her lashes gold. Her delicate, soft face was now focused in deep thought.

“The protagonist did die!” A spark of insight flashed in her watery eyes. “Do you remember Shen Baizhou shouting ‘bang’ at the start? That was the sound of the nail gun!”

Liu Susu looked at her in surprise. Honestly, Su Hongdou’s beauty was universally admired. Liu Susu always found her both cold and gentle, pure yet alluring. But she never expected her boss to be so sharp at unraveling suspense. That little detail, the ‘bang’, was something Liu Susu had thought was just for shock value. Su Hongdou revealed that Shen Baizhou had already foreshadowed the protagonist’s fate from the very start.

“You’re very perceptive!”

“I was top of my class in ‘Suspense Film Appreciation’ in my junior year,” Su Hongdou said proudly, her usually aloof face showing a small, cute expression. “I love animation and suspense films. Though short, Baizhou’s film is a superb suspense piece. If done well, it wouldn’t be worse than any classic!”

“Yes, the suspense keeps coming, yet the logic is solid—so precise!” Liu Susu thought back to yesterday. She had laughed at him for overestimating himself. Now… this guy is a genius. Writing such high-level work overnight! She had only entered him to please the boss, not expecting anything, yet he swept the competition aside effortlessly, without even using a PPT.

“Sususu, you did a great job getting Baizhou to participate,” Su Hongdou said solemnly. “You discovered an outstanding talent for the company. Here, increase your own annual salary by 30%!”

“Thank you, boss!” Liu Susu bowed excitedly, thinking, wow, this luck is incredible… I barely did anything, and yet pulled out a century-old ginseng from the weeds…

Meanwhile, executives were voting for the six microfilms, but the employees below were still talking about The Sound Engineer.

“Why did the old lady use a nail gun to kill?” Guo Miao asked.

“Forget that. Right now, it’s more important to figure out how to join Shen Baizhou’s crew,” Mao Yi whispered. “He’s a one-man show, lacking any staff positions!”

“Yeah!” Fang Kuan realized. “I have availability—I want to play the sound engineer!”

Fang Kuan, a newcomer actor, wasn’t particularly handsome, but had a unique, slightly mischievous aura. Everyone looked at him; he really did suit the role. And Fang Kuan had already started thinking about how to elevate the performance after hearing Shen Baizhou’s detailed storytelling.

“I want to join Baizhou’s crew too!” Guo Miao got excited. “I’ll handle the makeup for the old man killed by the nail gun—I’ll make him terrifying!”

“I’ll ask the boss to let me be his cameraman!” Mao Yi rubbed his hands. “I can’t wait to shoot that final reflection in the mirror—it’ll be thrilling!”

Elsewhere, Wang Xiaopang whispered to Zhang Xiaomei, “Join Brother Zhou?”

“Does that mean standing completely against Sheng Jiong and Huang Liang? Will that end well?”

“I don’t care! I love this script. It’s nothing like the junk we usually produce… Besides, I can’t keep following someone like Sheng Jiong.”

“I’m in!” Zhang Xiaomei decided, though she hesitated, “But Baizhou is the writer. Will there be a spot for us?”

“He’s the director, he’ll need assistant writers. We don’t just have to be writers; we can run errands, be assistants—maybe one day, we’ll be co-directors!”

“True!” Zhang Xiaomei’s eyes lit up. “I can be an assistant, serve tea, rub feet, and massage legs for Brother Zhou!”

“Sounds less like an assistant,” Wang Xiaopang chuckled mischievously, “more like a certain type of technician in black stockings.”

“Shut up, you old pervert!” Zhang Xiaomei glared. “Brother Zhou is a gentleman; he wouldn’t do that!”

“Everyone, quiet!” Huang Liang walked to the stage. “Now, let’s announce the results…”

The noise stopped. Everyone looked toward the podium. The results were obvious—6 films, choose 2. The winners would be the best cinematography, Blind Sword, and the best story, The Sound Engineer.

“First place, Blind Sword!” Huang Liang announced. “Congratulations, Gu Chen!”

Amid applause, Gu Chen stood to acknowledge everyone. His championship was expected—his cinematography was outstanding.

“Second place,” Huang Liang looked at the audience, then said loudly, “You and Me, That July! Congratulations, Han Ming!”