After Defying the System, I Became a Genius Director

Three hours later.

Shao Yichen sat in the restaurant nominally managed by the brothers Nan Rongyu and Nan Rongzhou, idly stirring the ice cubes in her glass with a straw. Across from her, Nan Rongzhou was intently focused on the test footage playing on the laptop in front of him, though his unconsciously hunched posture betrayed his slight fear of horror films.

Shao Yichen wasn’t surprised that she had successfully attracted Nan Rongzhou’s attention—after all, she had been targeting the younger of the twins from the beginning.

Though these two were twin brothers, their personalities differed significantly. Nan Rongyu, as the elder brother, might be somewhat hot-tempered, but that didn’t mean he was easier to deceive. If she had directly told him, “I have a film sound effects and distribution task I want to give you,” his cautious nature would have led to an immediate refusal.

Therefore, two days ago, when Nan Rongyu asked what she wanted, she didn’t directly reveal her intentions, but instead said she simply wanted to team up with him, and whether he believed her or not was his problem.

When he inquired about her identity, Shao Yichen didn’t expose the fact that in this life, she and Nan Rongyu didn’t know each other yet—let him guess among his circle of friends; no matter how much he guessed, he would never figure out that she knew him in her previous life.

But the younger twin was different from his brother. In terms of personality, this brother had a better temper and was more inclined to go with the flow, basically following wherever his brother pointed. Shao Yichen believed that without Nan Rongyu as a mischievous brother, he would likely have become a homebody slacker like herself, naturally having more in common with her in her previous life.

Because of this, once deprived of his brother as a compass, this younger brother would become… extremely gullible.

Shao Yichen had profound experience with this in her previous life—whether it was expensive health products that were essentially intelligence tax, utterly useless brain-dead creative home furnishings, or promotional activities that were clearly consumption traps, Nan Rongzhou was always among the eager victims. He was practically the savior of the scamming industry, the epitome of a sucker.

Due to being too close to the situation, neither Nan Rongzhou himself nor his brother had noticed this. And when Nan Rongzhou tried to reverse-promote things to his brother, the originally cautious Nan Rongyu’s intelligence would plummet by 100%, instantly becoming the same kind of sucker as Nan Rongzhou.

To succeed with deception, she couldn’t start with the older brother; she had to begin with this inconspicuous younger brother!

Therefore, Shao Yichen had meticulously planned to connect with the younger of the twins, but after three days of hesitation, she still hadn’t found an opportunity.

Unexpectedly, just as she was worrying about how to take the first step in closing the distance, the prey came to her door!

How could she miss such an opportunity!

Energized, Shao Yichen maneuvered successfully to deceive this younger brother and, after a selective self-introduction that emphasized certain points while downplaying others, handed the test footage to him.

While sipping her drink, she watched Nan Rongzhou’s reaction from the corner of her eye.

Then she was horrified to discover that as Nan Rongzhou watched, he began to sob and grabbed a tissue to wipe his tears.

—Wait?! What happened?!

Shao Yichen was deeply alarmed.

She secretly glanced at the screen of Nan Rongzhou’s computer.

Everything looked normal; wasn’t it just her carefully crafted money-losing terrible film? It hadn’t turned into a melodrama, had it?

Shao Yichen grew increasingly anxious. Could it be that he had finally discovered she was deceiving him, and his musical dreams were shattered, making him cry? That shouldn’t be possible; where had she given herself away?

So she cautiously asked: “What… what’s wrong?”

“I’m not, sniff, not crying,” Nan Rongzhou blew his nose forcefully. “It’s just that, sniff, to think I have the honor of participating in such a heartfelt film, sniff sniff, it’s very moving, sob sob sob.”

Shao Yichen: …

Just that? A heartfelt film?

For a moment, she wasn’t even sure if Nan Rongzhou was being sarcastic—but based on her understanding of him from her previous life, he shouldn’t have been that clever, right?

After observing for a few more minutes, she finally confirmed that he truly wasn’t being sarcastic; he genuinely felt that way.

And so, her understanding of Nan Rongzhou reached a new level.

—I knew you were gullible, but I didn’t know you were THIS gullible.

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Nan Rongzhou pulled another tissue to wipe his tears, belatedly feeling a bit embarrassed.

Actually, his tears weren’t solely because he was moved by the recognition of his and his brother’s band—though that was a significant part of it. The other reason was simply that he was moved by the plot.

Indeed, when he first began watching the test footage, he tried to analyze it from a professional perspective, such as what sound effects would suit this scene, or what drum beat would complement that one.

But soon, he was drawn in by the twisting plot.

What? The female lead was already dead!

What? The metaphysical master said they needed to fulfill the wishes of the deceased to resolve the issue!

What? The girlfriend’s wish wasn’t a date!

What? The one who had actually died was the male protagonist!

…And so, the film presented one mystery after another. Though not complex, the plot was very tight, with occasional humorous segments that, while somewhat disrupting the atmosphere, also relieved the oppressive storyline, giving a sense of hope.

Nan Rongzhou completely forgot that his original purpose was to decide whether to add background music to this test footage, and instead became truly immersed in appreciating the film. Soon, he reached the film’s conclusion.

In the ending, the male and female leads sat around the dining table, turned off the lights, lit birthday candles that hadn’t been lit a year ago due to the accident, and sang a birthday song that was a year late. The male lead made a wish he didn’t share with the audience, smiled at the female lead through tears, and gradually faded away…

Nan Rongzhou, a rich second-generation who had never been in love and led a monotonous life, was thus moved by this genuine human emotion.

While inelegantly wiping his tears with tissues, he made a determination.

He absolutely couldn’t miss this opportunity! Even if he had to pay out of his own pocket, he had to do a good job with this soundtrack!

Perhaps this was the only opportunity for his band to gain sudden fame!

With this thought, he hurriedly asked the person named Shao Yichen across from him: “I’ve finished watching! This film is really good! But why did you think of finding my brother and me for our band?”

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Seeing that Nan Rongzhou had been sufficiently deceived, Shao Yichen was inwardly delighted.

She cleared her throat and began to fabricate.

“You probably already guessed that I know your brother?” She looked around, lowered her voice, and said to Nan Rongzhou, “You also know that your brother has always been waiting for an opportunity to make your band known to more people—I mean, I know you feel the same way, but as the leader, your brother must bear even greater pressure.”

This was complete nonsense—what pressure could there be for these two uneducated rich second-generation kids playing in a band? As a former slacker herself, Shao Yichen understood this deeply.

She continued making things up: “So when I finished filming this movie, the first thing I thought of was giving the soundtrack part to you two… no, this film was tailor-made for your band’s music!”

Nan Rongzhou nodded repeatedly, completely believing this and feeling very moved.

“Originally, as your brother’s friend, I should have contacted him directly,” Shao Yichen pretended to be troubled. “But I know that if I told your brother this film was created for your band, he might feel too much pressure and wouldn’t be able to perform at your normal level… that’s why I thought of this method.”

Nan Rongzhou: “What method?”

“Entrusting the major task of communicating with your brother to you,” Shao Yichen patted his shoulder. “Don’t tell him this task was given to your band by me, just say it’s an opportunity from an acquaintance of yours to try your hand, and let your brother do as he pleases! I believe that when you both let yourselves go, you’ll create the best soundtrack!”

“When the film is released and becomes a hit, and everyone knows your band created such an excellent film soundtrack, there will be no problem telling your brother my name then. We’re all friends, and he will surely understand my intentions.”

Nan Rongzhou listened with fervent excitement: “I understand! Okay, I’ll do exactly as you say. I definitely won’t reveal your name!”

Shao Yichen maintained an outwardly calm demeanor with a slight nod, but was wildly jubilant inside.

As expected of the brightest star among suckers, so easy to deceive.

At this point, Nan Rongzhou was already eager to leave with the test footage to discuss this matter with his brother. Just as he was about to stand up, Shao Yichen casually mentioned: “By the way, this film hasn’t contacted a distributor yet, though several companies have expressed interest in signing. I know your South Polar Bear Group also has an affiliated distribution company, but they haven’t sent us an invitation, so if this film signs with another distributor, I hope you won’t mind…”

Nan Rongzhou sat back down with a thud: “Why sign with another company? It’s our film; it should be signed with our company—wait, does our company even do films?” He scratched his head, realizing that apart from knowing his family’s company made toys, he had no idea about its other industries, so he gave up thinking: “Anyway, I’ll handle this! I’ll definitely give you the best treatment—”

“That’s not necessary!” Shao Yichen quickly stopped him. “I don’t want a single cent. Your brother and I are friends, which makes you and I friends too. Since we’re all friends, let’s not talk about money! If you give me money, I’ll immediately take this test footage to someone else!”

Shao Yichen spoke decisively, momentarily stunning Nan Rongzhou. Thinking about it, he figured it made sense—since this was his brother’s friend, they were probably as wealthy as his own family and naturally wouldn’t care about a small amount of money. But he also couldn’t let this newly acquainted friend lose out. After some thought, he made a phone call, then ran back and said: “How about this: I just asked my eldest brother, and the film contract won’t mention money upfront, but after the film’s release, profits will be shared at a 50% ratio. How does that sound?”

Shao Yichen wanted to refuse, but Nan Rongzhou was very insistent: “I may not have dealt with films before, but I know making one takes a lot of effort! If you won’t accept money upfront, at least take a share of the later profits!”

Shao Yichen reluctantly considered—though she was desperate to lose money, being too obvious about it might arouse suspicion, which would be counterproductive if the film couldn’t be released. Besides, even with profit sharing, this film would likely not make money, so there wouldn’t be much to share.

She reluctantly agreed, repeatedly emphasizing: “Just focus on theatrical release! Don’t allocate too many screenings either, 5% would be best! As for promotion, I have my own plans. Just communicate this to the distribution department!”

Nan Rongzhou opened the notes app on his phone and, not really understanding, simply recorded each point, planning to send it to his eldest brother later to pass on to the head of the distribution department.

Shao Yichen knew that when the South family group realized this was their little brother’s pet project, they would certainly approve its distribution but wouldn’t provide extra support. They would likely treat it as a money-burning toy for them to play with, without expecting any profit—which aligned perfectly with her goal of losing money!

She heaved a sigh of relief. Having resolved both the sound effects and distribution issues in one go, Shao Yichen felt unburdened. Now she just needed to wait for the film to be released and for the good news of financial loss!

Author’s Note: Problem solved! Next comes the delightfully anticipated profit-making section.

Everyone will be happy except the female protagonist.

Li Xingyu: I feel like I haven’t appeared for three chapters.

Shao Yichen: Don’t worry, you might not appear in the next chapter either…

Li Xingyu: ? Do you have any room for me, the male lead, in your heart?

Shao Yichen: In my heart, there is only losing money.

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