Chapter Thirty-Three: Let the Readers Endure Hardship; I Will Bear the Blame

The company introduced two music video teams to Yu Wei. The first was highly professional, with a starting quote of 400,000.

Set design and rental would cost 100,000, equipment rental 200,000, and since the post-production editing wasn't technically demanding, a few tens of thousands should suffice. The director had handled music videos for many A-list and even international singers, possessing a refined aesthetic and a shelf full of awards. According to the company, 400,000 was considered a low-budget project for someone of their caliber, offering them essentially no profit; they were only interested in making contact because they saw potential in Yu Wei.

Yu Wei believed this. Many music video budgets nowadays started at several million, with the deep-pocketed ones having no upper limit—money just poured out wherever. In reality, the team was sincere and their professional capabilities were beyond reproach, but for him, it was still too expensive, especially since he also needed to film a short movie.

The only drawback to something expensive is that it is expensive.

"A, 400,000..."
"BBBBB."

In contrast, the second team was somewhat amateurish, with a quote of less than 100,000 and no notable portfolio to speak of. They reportedly came from a background of filming commercials, and the company seemed to imply he shouldn't choose them, clearly holding them in low regard.

"Commercials are good, though."

Yu Wei wasn't just trying to comfort himself. Many commercials have plots, and even if their ultimate goal is to "push products," they can still tell a complete story. Current music videos often suffer from meaningless shots, emphasizing visual flair and impact that simply don't mesh with a narrative-driven short film. This slightly specialized team was the perfect fit; the music video just needed to get the job done, while the short film was the real priority.

When Yu Wei chose the second, amateur team, the head of the film and television department was baffled. Young people really are hopeless, he thought, failing even such a simple multiple-choice question.

Just consider it saving money for the company...

The short film was still in the preparation stage, but the plot of *The Piano Tuner* in Yu Wei's novel was nearing completion; he could wrap it up today. In a show-business novel, the process of making a movie only needs to be glossed over; the key lies in the final presentation of the finished product. Originally, Yu Wei intended to write that it was released directly to the entire web, but that felt too flat and failed to highlight the selling point of the protagonist's scoring system.

The biggest fear in writing show-business fiction is deviating from the core. Many novels he had read started well with a gimmick, only to inexplicably devolve into generic show-business stories later on. If there's a scoring system, we have to use it from beginning to end.

So, Yu Wei arranged a short film creative competition, similar to a show like *Director, Please Guide Us*, where directors would enter with their own works and could evaluate and score each other. The protagonist was just a regular contestant, but his daring "crossover" act caused a massive uproar in the competition's proceedings.

Participating, presenting, and showing off...

This sequence was a classic trope. The readers were seasoned bookworms who had read countless novels; they knew with their eyes closed that the protagonist would win the prize. Yu Wei didn't know if readers would have the patience to stick with such a predictable plot, but he certainly couldn't bring himself to write it.

This plot felt like pre-cooked food—you could taste what it was before it was even served...

So, Yu Wei decided to add some salt. While the protagonist was taking action, the villains were, too. The box office of the film that Wei Yu had given a low score to had crashed, and they decided to strike back. Since he was cutting off their livelihood and blocking their path to wealth, it wouldn't make sense for them to just sit quietly and watch the protagonist show off; action was inevitable.

The investors of the flop didn't want to swallow their losses in silence, so they launched a smear campaign, spreading rumors that Wei Yu had made backroom deals with the competition organizers to secure the championship. It was true that Wei Yu needed the competition to prove himself in his crossover, and the organizers needed the traffic he brought...

Once such rumors spread, even if Wei Yu won the prize, he would be accused of being unworthy of it, and if he didn't win, he would just be considered incompetent. It was a "sunlight conspiracy"—no matter the outcome, he would be attacked.

Was there a solution? Of course. Use absolute strength to silence the gossip. As long as the netizens recognized the film, the so-called "pre-arranged" narrative would cease to exist. If he could win by playing fair, why would he need to throw the match?

It was still the same old routine of entering and winning, but Yu Wei added a new layer of anticipation: the prize must be won, but he wouldn't suffer for it.

"Wei Yu, you've suffered during this time. I am here to clear your name!"

Yu Wei grabbed his keyboard and started typing, preparing to put a period on the plot of *The Piano Tuner*.

[At the end of the competition, Wei Yu appeared last.
The auditorium erupted in enthusiastic applause. This was the work they were most looking forward to, not just because of the gimmick of a singer crossing over, but also because of the external factors.
Just moments ago, Director Deng’s micro-movie had been of a very high standard. If Wei Yu’s film could win despite being inferior, then this competition would indeed be rigged...
Wei Yu knew what the audience was thinking, but he didn't care much, simply proceeding with his introduction.
"My work, *The Piano Tuner*, is about human voyeurism. When facing a blind person, are you vigilant?"
Compared to an introduction, Wei Yu's words were more like a question. People looked at each other, finding the premise interesting.
Then, the big screen began to play his entry. The screen was dark at the start, followed by the sound of a piano piece.
No wonder it's called *The Piano Tuner*; is this a music short related to the piano? If so, then this film should be decent, given that Wei Yu’s musical talent was beyond doubt.
But what followed completely exceeded everyone's expectations. The opening of the short film was quite eerie; the setting was gloomy, and there was even a dead body.
You call this a music film?]

"If I write any further, I'll be spoiling it."

Holding to the principle of not spoiling the readers, Yu Wei briefly described a few key scenes from the short film and then ended the plot with its open ending. Not to mention spoilers, for readers who hadn't seen the film, it might as well have been written in an alien language...

"You will forgive me once you've seen the short film."

Even Yu Wei didn't quite believe this. The guy who listened to *Heart Wall* still hadn't forgiven him and would pop into the comments section every now and then to demand a confrontation. In truth, because of the information gap, readers were used to him writing such cryptic plots, but today, Yu Wei was about to do something even more offensive...

Chapter 36, New Song.

"First time being a clickbaiter, no experience, hope you go easy on the insults."

He didn't want to, but to exchange for new works, he had to lure the readers in and "slaughter" them. Gossip-seekers would definitely click in to join the fun when they saw mention of a new song.

Yu Wei didn't want to be too misleading, so he echoed the sentiment at the end with a question from the audience:
"When is Wei Yu releasing a new song?"

He felt like those people in group chats who post a title like "Beautiful Legs" with a few pictures, only for you to click in and find nothing but fried chicken drumsticks...

They were indeed beautiful legs, no problem there. You can't say there weren't elements of a "new song" in the chapter, so can you really call it lying?

Let the readers suffer a little; he would bear the infamy.

Once they finished watching the short film and heard the new song, they would forgive him... probably.

After posting the new chapter, Yu Wei didn't dare check the backend messages and instead opened the system panel directly.

[Literary Works in the Novel: *Heart Wall*, *Hearing the Sound of Rain*, *The Piano Tuner*]
[Redemption Requirement: Chapter 36 follow-read count greater than 500.]
[Redeemable Works: None]
[Redeemed Works: *Heart Wall*, *Hearing the Sound of Rain*]

The data requirements had gone up again, as expected...

Yu Wei took a deep breath before hesitatingly opening the author's backend, where a glaring comment greeted him: "Author, you poet, get a grip."

"Isn't this a new song? Where is the song?"