25. The Script

Zhang Tan was adept at writing scripts. Before he had traveled to this time and place, he had written dozens of scripts of varying sizes, many of which had achieved fame.

For him, adapting the comic *The Lamp Bearer* was not particularly difficult; it was quite effortless. In fact, he spent more time reading the comic itself.

When Luo Ming helped him register, the project team had allotted five days. However, two days later, a sudden notification arrived stating that the deadline had been moved up by a day. This meant Zhang Tan had only two days left, and he had only completed a third of his script.

"Do you have enough time? I don't have much going on these next few days, so you can focus entirely on your script. You don't have to come into the office; just arrange your time as you see fit."

After receiving the news, Luo Ming immediately checked on Zhang Tan’s progress. Upon learning that time was tight, he thoughtfully offered to clear his schedule of any other tasks for Zhang Tan, encouraging him to devote himself fully to the script. He even offered to answer any questions about the writing, at any time of day or night.

Zhang Tan thanked him profusely.

Luo Ming replied, "I’m partly to blame. By the time I told you the news, the project had already been underway for several days, and others had already started writing, leaving you at a disadvantage."

Zhang Tan quickly said, "How could I blame you? I’m only grateful."

To finish the script in time, Zhang Tan concentrated all his efforts, working day and night. He turned down dinner invitations from Jiang Rong and even skipped Xiao Bai’s "soccer tournament." Finally, two days later, he finished the script.

He let out a huge sigh of relief. The next morning at work, he printed the script and prepared to head out to deliver it to *The Lamp Bearer* project team. Just then, Luo Ming returned. Seeing him holding a stack of bound A4 paper, he knew without asking that it was the script. He had been keeping track, knowing that today was the deadline.

"Is it finished?" Luo Ming asked.

Zhang Tan handed the script to him and said, "I finished it last night. If you have time, Teacher Luo, please look it over for me."

"You are capable, and writing an adaptation is well within your reach. But since this is your first time working alone, and this project is very important to you, I will take a look."

Luo Ming set his bag on the table, sat down, and hurriedly opened the script. Usually, he would brew a pot of tea and browse the news online, but he skipped those habits today.

As he read, he said to Zhang Tan without looking up, "You should have shown me last night. We would have had more time, and I could have given it a proper review."

Zhang Tan replied, "I didn't finish until after ten last night; I didn't want to disturb your sleep."

"What disturbance? I was still helping my daughter with her homework after ten. Compared to that, reading a script is much easier."

He then asked, "I remember the deadline is before 10:00 AM today, right? It's 8:30 now, so there's an hour and a half left. Don't rush; let me read it through first. You've spent so much time on this already, there's no need to hurry through these last ninety minutes."

Seeing him engrossed in the script, Zhang Tan took the initiative to brew him a cup of Lushan Cloud Mist tea and placed it gently by his hand. Luo Ming, without looking up, instinctively picked up the cup and took a few sips.

He read quickly. About half an hour later, he let out a deep sigh of relief, put the script down, and rubbed his sore, tired eyes. "It’s very well written. Just a few minor issues—here, here, and here."

Zhang Tan immediately sat down at the computer and made the revisions on the spot. After half an hour of work, the script was fully corrected. After they checked it over together and confirmed there were no issues, they printed a fresh copy.

Zhang Tan let out a sigh of relief. He glanced at the clock on the wall—9:30. "There’s half an hour left, so I’ll go deliver it now."

"Wait," Luo Ming called out. "Give the script to me; I’ll go deliver it. We don't rely on pulling strings, but we shouldn't be at a disadvantage in front of those who do."

He took a few big gulps of tea, picked up the script, and hurried out. He went to the tenth floor and knocked on the office door of the director of *The Lamp Bearer* project.

"Oh? Is Teacher Luo getting involved in this too?" The director asked, smiling as he noticed the script in his hand.

Luo Ming sat down in the chair in front of the desk and pushed the script toward him. "I'm getting on in years and can't juggle two projects at once. Even though the script for *Under Mount Tianyu* is finished, there’s still plenty of work to do. Didn't I tell you about Zhang Tan last time? This is what he wrote."

"Oh?" The director picked up the script, glanced at the cover, and flipped through it casually. "Isn't it enough to submit the script to the review team? Do you really need to give it to me directly?"

Luo Ming smiled. "Don't play dumb. There are so many submissions; if Zhang Tan just hands his in, who knows if it will ever get a second look? I’m not asking you to let him cut the line; I just want you to know who Zhang Tan is and that this script exists. I hope you’ll spend a little time looking at it, or pass it to your review team so they’ll give it some proper attention. I’ve read the script, and objectively speaking, it’s truly excellent. Even if I had written it myself, it wouldn't be any better."

"Isn't that an exaggeration? Teacher Luo, you’re our golden pen. Can any young person really compare to you?"

Luo Ming smiled and said nothing. Having handed the script to the director, he had achieved his goal.

"I won't disturb you further, Director Li. I'll be going now."

After Luo Ming left, Director Li opened Zhang Tan’s script again. After an unknown amount of time, he called someone over to take the script and asked, "How many scripts have we received?"

The staff member replied, "Thirteen. Oh, including this one, that makes fourteen."

"That many?"

"Actually, twenty-one people signed up, but the others couldn't finish in time, so they couldn't submit."

Director Li was somewhat surprised. No wonder Luo Ming had delivered the script personally; so many writers were involved in a single comic adaptation project. He felt a sense of weight—these fourteen scripts were not just pages; they were the dreams of fourteen young people. He did not favor Zhang Tan just because Luo Ming had delivered the script; instead, he had the staff perform an internal screening to narrow it down to five, which he then passed to the script evaluation team for a professional review.

After delivering the script, Luo Ming returned to the office and told Zhang Tan to take the day off—he could stay in the office if he wanted, or go home. He had been too busy lately, so he should relax and balance work with rest.

Zhang Tan thanked him but chose to stay in the office. Near noon, Jiang Rong called, mysteriously asking him to treat her to a meal, as if she had struck gold.

"Did you write a script called *The Lamp Bearer*?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

He immediately realized, "Was the script sent to the evaluation team?"

"Bingo! Isn't it fate? Your script happened to be assigned to me. Hahaha!"

Zhang Tan immediately said, "In that case, I can't treat you to a meal."

"What’s that supposed to mean?! Are you being stingy?" Jiang Rong’s tone turned slightly sharp.

"Don't be angry, it’s not about being stingy. I'm just worried that others might say I’m bribing you, don't you agree?"

Jiang Rong replied decisively, "I don't agree. Let's go; I want to eat the Japanese food downstairs."