Chapter 18: "A Desperate Gamble" Approved

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“Getting points every day really makes me so happy.”

Watching his points steadily rise, Cheng Cheng felt delighted:

The netizens weren’t really insulting him; they clearly loved him and nurtured him!

Without the points provided by the netizens, where would he have gotten so many entertainment works?

After going crazy for so long, he had already planted a “stereotype” in the public’s mind: whenever he spoke nonsense, people would think his mental illness was acting up again, rather than suspecting “ugly people making trouble,” “having ulterior motives,” or “conspiracies.”

Of course, such possibilities couldn’t be completely ruled out, but they were rare.

The first time Cheng Cheng lost his mind, he had done the math: for every crazy post, the ratio of views to points gained was 1000:1, and the ratio of comments to points was 10:1.

Now, the ratio of views to points had improved to 300:1, and the ratio of comments to points had narrowed to between 6:1 and 5:1.

This meant it was much easier for him to earn points!

He posted another lawsuit on Weibo, swiped through his phone for a while, then went to sleep.

The next morning, after eating, Cheng Cheng went to the Labor Security Bureau and filled out the “Professional Chef Qualification Assessment Application Form.” After completing it, he uploaded it to Weibo with the caption:

“Good morning! An actor who can’t cook is not a good chef. National Food God Competition, here I come! /fist/ /fist/ /fist/ /fist/”

Netizens quickly swarmed:

“Oh no, he’s serious!”

“This is just the basic chef qualification exam, not the National Food God Competition. Look carefully!”

“You actually went to take the exam!!!?”

—

After effortlessly securing the points, Cheng Cheng returned home and resumed his daily routine.

As usual, he opened the National Film Administration’s website and found that “All In” had finally passed the review!

Filing Approval Number: Film-Drama Approval [2021] No. 2113

Title: “All In”

Filing Unit: Myth Entertainment Cultural Media Co., Ltd.

Screenwriter: Cheng Cheng

Filing Result: Approved for filming

Location: Imperial Capital.

Cheng Cheng sprang up from his chair in an instant!

Finally, work has come!

Now that the script had passed the review, the next step was preparing for shooting.

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Cheng Cheng, who had all the creative memories of “All In” in his mind, knew the film’s total budget was 68 million yuan, which included the salaries of several first- and second-tier stars like Wang Chuanjun, Jin Chen, and Zhang Yixing, with their pay accounting for the majority.

In this life, making “All In” his debut work, Cheng Cheng understood he definitely couldn’t hire first- or second-tier stars. At this stage, just getting competent actors was a win—he had no room to be picky.

Therefore, he could compress the budget to 30 million yuan, which was barely enough with the money he had.

However, there would be no money left for promotion afterward. Generally, a film with a production cost of 100 million yuan would spend 200 million yuan on marketing—this was very common.

What to do?

Cheng Cheng took out his phone, opened a chat with Jiang Nan, and made a voice call.

Jiang Nan, like the original self, was a regular guest on “Chasing Stars, Youth!” Since they were close in age, they got along well. The original self even secretly liked this lively and cute girl, but since he was already in a relationship and Jiang Nan came from a well-off family, he felt unworthy and never expressed his feelings.

After the incident, Jiang Nan had been comforting the original self and was his only true friend, but her faint light hadn’t pulled him out.

In the past month, Jiang Nan often called Cheng Cheng, encouraging him to move on.

It took a long time for the call to be answered—no telling if Jiang Nan was on a show.

“Hey, Cheng Cheng, you’re calling me! What’s up?”

“Jiang Jiang, I want to ask you for a favor,” Cheng Cheng said shyly.

Jiang Nan eagerly replied, “I told you before, whatever you need, just ask me. What kind of relationship do we have? Just speak up!”

Though he couldn’t see her face, Cheng Cheng guessed Jiang Nan must have been pouting, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Cheng Cheng: “Then I won’t be polite?”

Jiang Nan: “Who are we kidding! You shouldn’t be polite! I’m giving you three seconds to say it!”

“All right!” Cheng Cheng said. “I want to make a movie. Can your dad help with distribution?”

Jiang Nan was silent for a while, then said:

“Wait, Cheng Cheng, you’re really going to make a movie?”

Cheng Cheng calmly replied, “Yeah, everything I said in the interview was true. The script was approved today, the National Film Administration said the script is good to shoot. I can scrape together the shooting budget, but there’s no money for promotion. Since your family is in the cinema business, can you help me out? I won’t let you lose out—your family can take a 30% equity stake. How about that?”

After dropping this big offer, Cheng Cheng broke the silence.

“Jiang Jiang, I’m always asking you for help. It’s not like I’m coming to you with a sad story, or asking to borrow a few hundred yuan for meals, or for you to help me buy tickets or gather likes on social media, right? Haha, right?”

“Of course not!” Jiang Nan was flustered, her voice weak but resolute. “I’m the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, a rising star in entertainment—I’m not just here to help with small stuff!”

Cheng Cheng hurriedly said, “Jiang Jiang! I knew you were the best!!!”

Jiang Nan quickly stopped him: “Wait, wait! Send me the script first. I want to show it to my dad. But I have to make it clear—I can’t guarantee success, but I’ll do my best to persuade him!”

Cheng Cheng said, “That’s enough! Thank you, Miss Jiang—you’re literally my goddess!”

“Hmph!” Jiang Nan snorted, annoyed. “Everyone’s calling you crazy these days, but I don’t buy it. You’re just clever—tricking innocent, kind-hearted girls!”

Cheng Cheng chuckled, “It’s not like the innocent, kind-hearted girl isn’t willing to be tricked. And Jiang Jiang, I promise this script won’t disappoint you—I’m not the kind to use friends!”

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Jiang Nan: “Pfft, who knows! Okay, no more chatting—I have to go on stage. Send me the script quickly when you can; I’ll take a look.”

Cheng Cheng: “Okay!”

After hanging up, Cheng Cheng clenched his fists. Convincing Jiang Nan was already half the battle. Even if she couldn’t persuade her dad, he should be able to borrow 10 to 20 million yuan through her—no loss either way.

Then, Cheng Cheng sent a message in the “Little Blackies” group chat:

“Brothers, is there anyone in the Yuanxing Provincial police force? Preferably someone working in anti-fraud publicity?”

This group had over 4,000 members and was very active, with over 99 unread messages every time he opened it. Just now, they had been discussing the likelihood of Cheng Cheng successfully suing brands like Fanghua Meiji.

Seeing Cheng Cheng enter, the group instantly exploded, with three to four times more people speaking up.

Frog Army No. 101: “Wow, Frog bro suddenly appeared!”

Guardian Best Bro: “Frog bro, how’s your health lately?”

Good Baby Umbilical Cord: “Frog bro, what’s up?”

D Biggest: “Going to Yuanxing Province to catch someone?”

Long Time No Do: “I’m in the police system, but not Yuanxing. I have an old classmate there—need me to ask for you?”

I Will Lead the Charge: “I’ll do it. I’m in Yuanxing and familiar with the publicity department.”

Cheng Cheng was delighted—no wonder the Little Blackies were full of talent. He explained briefly in the group:

“I have a movie script that just got approved. I want to collaborate with the anti-fraud publicity department in Yuanxing.”

After explaining, he responded to some contacts in the group, then privately tagged Long Time No Do:

“@LongTimeNoDo, bro, can we chat in private?”

Long Time No Do: “Sure.”

Before Cheng Cheng could say anything, Long Time No Do messaged first:

“Frog bro, I can’t disclose my position for now, but I guarantee that as long as your script is good, cooperation won’t be a problem.”

He then sent some photos of his work environment, with matching dates and times, although key details were pixelated, proving his authenticity.

Cheng Cheng was thrilled: “That’s great! I’ll send you the script synopsis right away!”

After sending the synopsis, Long Time No Do said: “Okay, Frog bro. I’ll definitely get back to you within three days.”

Cheng Cheng: “Thanks, bro! When we shoot in Yuanxing, dinner’s on me!”

Long Time No Do: “No need to treat me, I’m just happy to help. But dinner is fine—I’ll do my best to host you!”

Cheng Cheng: “See you in Yuanxing!”

Long Time No Do: “See you in Yuanxing!”