14. I am showcasing my greatest strength.

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At half past seven in the morning, Zhang Tan arrived at the company. Luo Ming had not yet come in. The office windows were shut tight, and the air felt stuffy.

He put down his backpack, walked over to the window, and pushed it open to let in some fresh air. The streets of Yong’an were teeming with traffic, and the noise poured in along with the breeze.

Luo Ming preferred quiet, so he always kept the windows closed and the air conditioner running. Since he had not arrived yet, Zhang Tan decided to air out the room first.

In a corner, Zhang Tan found an electric kettle. When he touched it, a layer of dust came away on his hand. It clearly had not been used in a long time. He washed it inside and out, filled it with water at the dispenser, plugged it in, and took out the Lushan Cloud Mist tea, a thermos, and a teapot from his backpack.

Once the water boiled, he brewed a pot of tea. It was a few minutes past eight, and judging that Luo Ming would soon arrive, Zhang Tan closed the window, turned on the air conditioner, and set it to ventilation mode.

The office was decorated in monotonous shades. He thought that tomorrow he would bring two pots of flowers or plants to add a touch of green and make the place more pleasing to the eye.

Before long, Luo Ming pushed open the door. Looking somewhat puzzled, he said, “The office looks a little different. Did you clean it?”

Zhang Tan smiled. “I brewed a pot of tea. Have a taste.”

“How thoughtful.” Luo Ming cheerfully poured himself a cup. After drinking it, he said to Zhang Tan, “Let’s add a Zouyu, just as you wrote.”

Zhang Tan was not particularly surprised. He nodded and said, “All right.”

Luo Ming continued, “I’ve already finished writing the plots for the first five episodes. Today, you’re responsible for working the Zouyu’s scenes into them. The principle is that they must not affect the main storyline.”

“No problem.”

Zhang Tan set down his teacup, filled his thermos, and placed it within reach. Then he turned on his computer and immersed himself in his work.

Luo Ming was rather reserved and did not much care for conversation.

Neither did Zhang Tan.

Once the two of them began working, neither spoke. The office grew exceptionally quiet, with only the tapping of computer keyboards and the occasional gurgle of water from the dispenser.

The Zouyu had to be added without affecting the progress of the main plot, so its role was essentially to provide comic relief and ease the atmosphere. Zhang Tan held firmly to this principle, and within the available space, he did his best to establish the Zouyu’s character as quickly as possible.

He finished writing in the afternoon. Luo Ming took the script to discuss it with the chief director. Whether it would ultimately be approved was up to the chief director.

Not long afterward, Luo Ming returned and said that the chief director had agreed. Zhang Tan breathed a small sigh of relief. The Zouyu’s role had finally been confirmed.

After offering a few words of encouragement, Luo Ming continued, “That’s the good news. There’s also bad news. The chief director wants us to produce the scripts for the next five episodes within three days. The schedule is very tight. I’ll write the first two episodes, and you can try your hand at the remaining three. What do you think?”

Animated series were produced in groups. One team handled the first five episodes, while another team would begin work on the next five a few days later. This arrangement kept production moving in an orderly fashion.

Luo Ming had to discuss the storyboards with the first team the following day and had no time to write the scripts. Seeing that Zhang Tan was steady and capable, he wanted to bring him in and give him a try.

Zhang Tan, of course, had no objections. He could not have wished for anything better.

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“Then let’s go over the main storyline again,” Luo Ming said.

Over the next three days, Zhang Tan devoted himself wholeheartedly to writing the scripts. While maintaining the same style as the first five episodes, he built around the main plot and introduced a few minor innovations. The process went fairly smoothly, though he always felt as if his hands were tied.

Luo Ming read the three episodes Zhang Tan had written and made only a few revisions, preserving most of the original. He combined them with the two episodes he had written himself, printed out all five, and submitted them to the chief director for review.

“The new recruit you brought in wrote these?” The chief director’s surname was Fu. After reading all five episodes, he turned to the final three and read them again before asking Luo Ming curiously.

Luo Ming’s eyebrows lifted slightly of their own accord. “His name is Zhang Tan. He wrote them.”

Director Fu smiled, placed the scripts neatly beside him, and rested his palm on top of them. “They’re quite good. No wonder you took a liking to him so quickly. I have no objections to the scripts. They’re very good.”

Luo Ming had extensive experience managing projects and could be said to have weathered countless battles, but even so, he felt greatly relieved at those words. For a screenwriter, the hardest part was not conceiving a script but discussing it with superiors. It was especially maddening when an outsider tried to direct an expert. He had once seen a female screenwriter become so angry that she burst into tears.

“Why don’t we have dinner together after work? Are you free?”

When he returned, Luo Ming saw Zhang Tan bent over his desk, writing and sketching, and asked him.

From Luo Ming’s expression, Zhang Tan could tell that the conversation with the chief director had gone smoothly. In other words, the five episodes they had just submitted had passed inspection. Without asking for details, he smiled and said, “I know a good restaurant.”

“Then I’ll follow you there. Are you driving, or are you riding with me?”

Zhang Tan did not own a car.

“I’ll ride with you.”

There was still half an hour before the end of the workday, but Luo Ming said they might as well leave now; it was not as if that half hour mattered.

As they packed up, Luo Ming noticed the sheets of paper on Zhang Tan’s desk. They were covered in sketches. He glanced at them casually, then suddenly turned back to stare. Picking up the papers and bringing them close to his eyes, he asked Zhang Tan curiously, “You drew this?”

Zhang Tan finished packing his backpack. “I don’t know whether it fits the style of the story.”

Luo Ming clicked his tongue in admiration. He had not expected Zhang Tan to possess such a talent. The drawing depicted the protagonist and the Zouyu standing beside a great river, facing a river demon in the water. If he remembered correctly, it was a scene from Episode Six. With the Zouyu’s help, the protagonist would struggle fiercely to defeat the river demon, obtain its demon core, and experience his first major surge in power.

It was a crucial dramatic climax.

Although Zhang Tan had drawn only a single still image, the characters were remarkably expressive. One could sense the taut, explosive tension hanging in the air, as though a clash were about to erupt at any moment. The image had considerable force.

“Very good. It’s exactly like what I imagined. Tomorrow, you can take this and discuss it with the storyboard artists. They can use it as a reference,” Luo Ming said.

Once an animated script had been finalized, the next step was to draw the storyboards—to transform the written words into images. This required the screenwriter and the storyboard artists to communicate fully and understand each other’s intentions.

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The two men closed the office door and left the building. Following Zhang Tan’s directions, they drove for a little over ten minutes and arrived at a rather inconspicuous restaurant.

The setting was nothing luxurious, but the food was excellent, and Luo Ming praised every dish.

After dinner, Luo Ming received a call from his wife. Zhang Tan could tell from the content and tone of the conversation. It was not difficult to guess.

Luo Ming was in his forties and had been married for years. He wore a wedding ring, and sometimes he brought his own lunch to work. The containers were arranged in bright, colorful layers, exquisitely presented and pleasing to the eye—in a glance, it was obvious that a woman had prepared them.

After Luo Ming hung up, Zhang Tan smiled. “Was that Sister-in-law?”

Luo Ming put away his phone. “She wants me to go home and help our daughter with her homework.”

Then, with a helpless air, he added, “The child is in her final year of middle school now. There are assignments even I can’t solve. I have to put my head together with my wife’s, and it’s exhausting.”

Zhang Tan smiled. “Then you’d better hurry home.”

“No rush. I’ll drive you home first.”

“No need to trouble yourself. I can take the subway from here. I’ll be there in a little over ten minutes.”

In the end, Luo Ming drove away alone, while Zhang Tan took the subway back to West Chang’an Avenue. Just as he reached Little Red Horse Academy, he saw two little girls standing beneath the mulberry tree.

It was already nine at night. All the children were playing in the activity room, except for these two.

Zhang Tan knew them. One was Xiaomi, and the other was Meng Chengcheng. When the two children suddenly saw him, they were clearly startled. Their eyes darted around like those of a pair of little thieves.

Am I really that frightening?

Zhang Tan said, “What are you doing outside? Go back to the classroom and play. There are mosquitoes out here.”

Meng Chengcheng nodded blankly and turned to leave, but she looked back every few steps.

As for Xiaomi, she did not leave. She tilted up her little head and gazed furtively into the tree.

Zhang Tan followed her gaze toward the mulberry tree—and this time, he was the one who received a shock.

A little girl in red was hugging the trunk, perched on a branch. When she saw him looking over, she waved with a bright grin and declared proudly in a Sichuan accent, “I’m Apple! I’m showing off what I’m best at!”

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