Chapter 435: That's Just Too Cruel
"So," Steven said, adjusting his posture, "are we going to seriously talk about the movie now? Or are we going to talk about it… not so seriously? You are sure you want to shoot the kind of film we discussed before, right?"
Since Nian had said she wanted to properly discuss the movie she was about to make, Steven naturally had no objections.
Whether the final product turned out to be a masterpiece or a legendary dumpster fire, at the very least he would have left something of his own behind in this world's film history. And honestly—wasn't that kind of interesting in its own way?
"What do you mean 'serious' or 'not serious'?" Nian shot back. "I've always been discussing the script with you seriously, okay? Don't tell me everything you said before was just messing around. I wrote this script with real dedication—you can't just let down my expectations like that."
As she spoke, Nian handed Steven a thick stack of script documents.
The bold title printed across the cover—
[Shark Girl vs. Crocodile Chibi]
—made Steven's pupils contract on instinct.
Just from the name alone, it radiated the aura of a once-in-a-millennium cinematic disaster.
How did she even manage that?
And more importantly—how could Nian maintain such a completely unbothered, even proud expression?
She didn't seriously think she'd written something groundbreaking, did she?
Clinging to the last shred of hope he had left for her, Steven suppressed his urge to complain and flipped open the script.
What he found inside was even more shocking than the title.
If he had to describe it…
Only a word worse than garbage could even begin to summarize it.
After forcing himself to finish reading this steaming pile of… something, Steven looked up at Nian—who stood there with her hands on her hips—with an expression that clearly said are you messing with me right now?
How did she manage to create something so perfectly cursed?
"Well?" Nian asked cheerfully. "Now that you've finished reading it, any suggestions? Personally, I'm not a big fan of happy endings. Ideally, Shark Girl and Crocodile Chibi should both fall into the sea, then we cut to an ambiguous shot where their fates are unknown. That way we leave some suspense and set things up for a sequel, right?"
Nian was actually quite pleased with Steven. After all, he was the only person who had ever read her entire script and remained this calm afterward.
The others on Rhodes Island—those artless philistines—would either roll their eyes back and faint on the spot, or start yelling incoherently before trying to burn the script like it was the source of all evil.
Only Steven managed to read it all with a straight face and stay composed.
As expected of someone she had high hopes for—his artistic sensibilities were clearly on point.
"Wait," Steven said, the corner of his mouth twitching, "you're… planning a sequel too?"
Making even one film like this would already be a catastrophe for the entire movie industry. And she was already thinking about part two?
This wasn't about leaving behind a legendary name in cinema anymore. This was a full-speed sprint toward eternal infamy.
Steven glanced at the script in his hands. If he could, he'd honestly like to burn this monstrosity on the spot.
But then again, he'd already made arrangements with a whole bunch of actors. Backing out now would make him a liar.
After thinking it over, another realization struck him—
Even if they really did film this pile of nonsense, the blame would land squarely on Nian as director and screenwriter. At most, he'd just be handling logistics and production.
No matter how people complained, it wouldn't really be his problem.
Besides, Steven was actually a little curious about what this steaming pile would look like once it was truly brought to life—especially certain scenes. He genuinely wanted to see what kind of effect they'd have when filmed for real.
"Of course," Nian said confidently. "One movie alone isn't nearly enough to showcase my talent in the film industry. I'm telling you, I'm planning a whole series—dominating the Yan New Year slot every single year. By then, just the box office revenue will be enough for us to live off for the rest of our lives."
She completely failed to notice the strange mix of disdain and anticipation on Steven's face. Instead, she slung an arm around his shoulders like a boss chatting up a veteran employee, enthusiastically drawing up pie-in-the-sky promises.
"Can we not traumatize the happy families and young couples who go to the cinema during the holidays?" Steven said, squinting just at the thought of it.
Seriously—who would willingly watch something with a title like that? And during the new year, of all times? If such people existed, Steven would seriously start questioning their mental health.
"Huh?"
"I mean," Steven clarified, "we could avoid the new year slot—that time's basically a battlefield of gods. We could release it during some quieter period instead. Less competition, and honestly, we're kind of short on time too."
Out of the last shred of conscience he had left, Steven tried to talk Nian out of it. Dumping something like this on audiences during the New Year would just be cruel.
"It's totally enough time," Nian replied with a wide grin. "Our shoot doesn't need post-production or special locations. We're all about authenticity. As long as the actors can deliver, the audience will definitely feel our sincerity. If everything goes smoothly, we can go from filming to final cut in under half a week. I've already calculated it all."
Her confident, victory-assured expression left Steven completely at a loss for words.
Everything she said—once combined with 'movie'—somehow felt less like 1 + 1 > 2 and more like adding two negatives together to get an even bigger negative.
"…Alright," Steven sighed, giving up entirely. Strangely enough, his mood relaxed instead. Since the jar was already broken, he might as well smash it properly.
He really wanted to see what kind of chemical reaction would occur when this pile of nonsense collided with the operators of Rhodes Island.
"Fine. Since we're doing this, I'll just follow your lead. Tell me what you need me to do, and let me know what roles we're still missing."
"Nothing extra for now," Nian said after a moment's thought. "But if you want to give your little girlfriend next door more screen time, we'll need to think about where to slot her in. For now, just gather the actors. Once that's done, we'll officially start shooting."
<+>
Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1].
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 521: Is That Something a Normal Person Would Say?[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/152281351?collection=55713[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=condensed[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=condensed
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/152281351?collection=55713
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/152281351?collection=55713
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=condensed