Chapter 085: The Disguise

The pen name “Girl in the Box” and the book “Stardust”—these almost made Song Wan jump up right then and there, regardless of the occasion.

Wasn’t this pen name the original owner’s? Wasn’t this book the first online novel she wrote? What on earth was happening?

Song Wan felt something was off. “Are you saying your boss bought this book? Including all film rights?”

Shi Yi’s eyes lit up. “Miss Song, you’ve heard of this book?”

Song Wan quickly waved her hand. “Answer my question first.”

Shi Yi, though baffled, answered earnestly. “Yes, our boss did buy the book, about a year and a half ago. He loved it so much, he acquired all the film rights.” He thought for a moment and added, “Originally, our boss wanted to buy the game rights and all other associated rights, but ‘Girl in the Box’ wasn’t willing.”

Song Wan choked for a moment.

But if the film rights were bought a year and a half ago, the body was still being used by the original owner. Realizing this, Song Wan finally relaxed.

Because she couldn’t write at all, Song Wan had barely managed to finish the original owner’s last book, and after that, she hadn’t touched any of her social media accounts. Hearing that the original owner’s film rights had been sold, she almost thought she’d seen a ghost—it startled her.

Song Wan smiled. “But if it was a year and a half ago, I hadn’t debuted yet, had I? How did the author know about me?”

Shi Yi hesitated and scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. “Well, I... I heard you’re the only artist at Imperial Entertainment, so I thought, I thought...”

Song Wan burst out laughing. “You thought casting me as the female lead would make it easier to get President Jin’s investment?”

Song Wan couldn’t hold back her laughter, glancing teasingly at Jin Youqian.

Jin Youqian treated her as if she were air, ignoring her laughter entirely.

Shi Yi had worried Song Wan would be upset, so he’d been cautious all along, but to his surprise, she found the idea quite amusing. The burden he’d been carrying instantly evaporated, and he grinned. “Because you’re President Jin’s girlfriend, Miss Song.”

Seeing she didn’t mind, Shi Yi relaxed. “But I didn’t just say it to leverage your relationship for investment. Our boss said Director Cai Qi’s current film ‘Jinx’ originally wanted you for the lead, but you were too tall, so they settled for someone else...”

Song Wan quickly interrupted, “Don’t call it ‘settling.’ Sister Hua is my senior, her acting is much better than mine.”

She’d nearly fallen out with Hua Yu over that film, so she still paid close attention to Cai Qi’s movie, and thus learned immediately when Hua Yu beat Yang Qing for the lead in “Jinx.”

Not to mention Hua Yu was her senior—such words could be twisted by others. Just based on their relationship, she would never allow anyone to belittle Hua Yu in that way.

Shi Yi realized his mistake and apologized promptly.

Song Wan knew it was just a slip, so she didn’t dwell on it, merely waving it off. “Just don’t say things like that again.”

But from Shi Yi’s words, she caught the real meaning: his boss had somehow learned about the little incident at the Stardust Charity Gala. Since “Stardust” was about a girl with autism exploring a fantastical world, and since Song Wan’s current asking price wasn’t high, they’d set their sights on her, wanting her as the lead actress.

She thought it over—whether from her perspective or from the original Song Wan’s, taking this role seemed inevitable.

So she nodded straightforwardly. “Is the script ready? Send it directly to my agent’s email. If the script doesn’t stray too far from the original, I’ll take it.”

Shi Yi’s face lit up with joy; he even forgot their real purpose for coming to the theater. “I must tell the boss at once—he’ll be thrilled to hear you’ve accepted the role, Miss Song.”

While the two chatted merrily, Jin Youqian remained silent ever since Song Wan spoke up unexpectedly.

When their business was finally settled, Shi Yi realized he’d neglected Jin Youqian, his face scrunching up in distress. “President Jin, I didn’t mean to...”

“You meant to,” Jin Youqian replied mildly, looking at him.

Uh, was President Jin making a cold joke?

Unsure how to interpret this, Shi Yi was about to cast a pleading look at Song Wan, who was still laughing behind her hand. Miss Song, I neglected President Jin because of you—now you see me in trouble, you can’t just stand by!

But Song Wan only kept laughing, her amusement growing until she was doubled over, and then, suffering from her own joy, her head hit the back of the chair.

Fortunately, the chair was soft, so her forehead wasn’t hurt.

During this, Jin Youqian watched her coldly. “Are you done laughing?”

Song Wan choked, hurried over to his side, and smiled ingratiatingly. “Well, your cold joke was so icy I couldn’t help but laugh! Didn’t you notice Shi Yi was so scared by your joke he didn’t even sweat?”

Shi Yi: ... What does this have to do with him?

Jin Youqian glanced at Shi Yi and said, “I’ve heard of ‘Stardust,’ but hasn’t the author always refused to sell the film rights?”

In fact, to be precise, all of “Girl in the Box’s” works were perfectly suited for adaptation, and the author herself was a top figure in the web literature world. Because of her unique works, her readership was unusually broad—

Readers from every age and social class, with none of the usual polarization between male or female audiences that other web authors often face.

So countless people coveted this golden opportunity, yet no matter how high their offers, the author always refused.

Shi Yi scratched his head. “Our boss was just lucky. Apparently, the author wanted to use this book to promote someone, so when faced with a sincere boss willing to agree to any condition, she sold the film rights.”

Jin Youqian frowned. “Promote someone? Which role was given away?”

If it was an important role, he would still...

“None,” Shi Yi sighed. “Originally, the author mentioned an unknown bit-part actress—plain looks, mediocre acting. Our boss was hesitant after meeting her. But less than half a year after signing the contract, before our script was even finished, the author told the boss there was no need to use that actress, and we could choose the cast ourselves.”

Song Wan’s heart tightened. She probed, “Did you investigate what happened?”

“What could it be? Friends drift apart, that’s normal. ‘Girl in the Box’ never wanted to meet us; even the contract was mailed by the website. In those circumstances, how could we disturb her life?” Shi Yi shook his head. “But later we did check on that actress, and found she’d vanished from the entertainment world.”

Song Wan let out a breath of relief. “Have any other roles been cast? When will filming start? Who’s the director?”

Shi Yi glanced at Jin Youqian, a bit embarrassed. “The crew is nearly assembled.”

Song Wan looked at him, confused. Shi Yi lowered his head in embarrassment. “Director Zhou Qi was invited. Apart from the female lead, all other roles were left to us. We’ve found some promising newcomers. Director Zhou gave us a shortlist for the lead, and ultimately, we chose you, Miss Song.”

So now, all they needed was funding.

“If the money’s in place, filming can start immediately?” Song Wan was stunned and turned to Jin Youqian.

Jin Youqian clearly understood her implication and looked at Shi Yi. “If the money’s ready, you can start right away? Can you delay by a month or two?”

Song Wan quickly interjected, “A month is enough.”

After months of filming, “Girlfriends” was nearing its end—about two more months until wrap. Since Song Wan had fewer NGs and high efficiency, her character Zhao Ke would finish even earlier, likely by mid-next month.

Shi Yi hesitated, his first instinct was to refuse—every day’s delay in filming costs hundreds of thousands. But he quickly reconsidered, suppressing his thoughts. “Does President Jin have a scheduling issue?”

Well, it was a hundred million in funding—even a billionaire like Jin needed time to arrange it.

But Jin Youqian looked straight at Song Wan.

Song Wan felt a bit embarrassed. “I’m currently filming Director Zhao Qing’s ‘Girlfriends’ and won’t wrap until next month.”

What’s the issue?

“Even if the funding arrives, we’ll need time to gather the cast and bring them to set. Even if the money came in today and filming started tomorrow, we could simply schedule the lead’s scenes later.”

Since most of the series takes place in the lead’s fantastical world, most actors spend their time talking to green screens, so there’s no need to move locations. Delaying the lead’s arrival wouldn’t really affect filming.

Song Wan’s mouth twitched. If filming had been going for a month and the lead arrived late, everyone would be dissatisfied—even Director Zhou Qi, who knew her well, would be unhappy. This wasn’t just diva behavior—it was the worst thing an actor could do:

Unprofessionalism.

If an actor was tagged as unprofessional, many major directors would never hire them again.

Song Wan insisted. Shi Yi thought it over, gritted his teeth, and agreed, “I’ll check with the boss, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The money was in President Jin’s hands—what else could he do?