"Of course. The script for the short-form drama is well-written. See? You’re doing a great job with it." Tan You made a point of mentioning the script at the end of the proposal. "Compared to those old-school melodramas, this script of Lu Wen’s is genuinely good."

"Right? I can’t write anything too profound, so you have to let me make a fluffy romance drama like this, right?" Lu Wen instantly puffed up with pride. "I’m a seasoned fan of short-form dramas. They might be a little cheesy, but the more you watch, the more hooked you get." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"It’s just that... some of the lines, I really can’t bring myself to write them. It’s embarrassing just thinking about it. I want something that’s really sweet, but not in a forced or cringey way."

Tan You smiled. "It’s a good idea. Not all short-form dramas are cheesy and terrible; some are actually shot quite well. But the script and the actors are crucial. Even for a short-form drama, they need to bring their A-game."

Lu Wen said, "Don’t you worry. I already have my eye on a few newcomers. They’re just trainees right now anyway. If they’re willing, they can definitely use the short-form drama to test the waters."

"Actually, a well-made short-form drama can be just as profitable. I heard about a company that specialized in them and ended up making a killing, with an annual income in the hundreds of millions."

The mention of making money immediately sparked Lu Wen’s interest. She was no longer sleepy or complaining of fatigue; all she could think about was raking cash into her own wallet.

Tan You closed the proposal file. "It’s good. Tweak a few things, and aim to get it approved at the morning meeting tomorrow."

Lu Wen stomped her feet in excitement. "You’ve approved it? You’re really going to let me spearhead this project?"

"Mhm. Short-form dramas are a blue ocean, a completely untapped market. Even if the barrier to entry is low, if we’re going to do it, we have to be the best. We need to produce high-quality work."

"I know your philosophy: either don’t do it at all, or be the best." Lu Wen understood Tan You’s nature. "Tell me, what else needs to be changed? I’ll pull an all-nighter if I have to, just to get this proposal perfect."

Tan You was naturally pleased to see Lu Wen so driven about her career. ’Building a career is so much more rewarding than chasing romance.’ On this topic, at least, Tan You had something in common with Lu Wen. As for relationships, that was a subject where Tan You truly had no advice to offer.

With Tan You dangling the carrot in front of her, Lu Wen was like a donkey on a treadmill. She burned the midnight oil, finally finishing the revised proposal at three in the morning.

Tan You, of course, stayed up with her. Freed from the shackles of a physical body, Tan You required pitifully little sleep. She spent the vast majority of her time studying.

"This is good to go. You can still get four hours of sleep. I’ll wake you up on the dot."

Lu Wen showed no signs of fatigue from the all-nighter. "Okay, I’ll get a few hours of sleep. This is my first project. I have to be at my absolute best for it."

At nine in the morning, all the department heads, executives, and managers of Dream Building Entertainment were gathered in the main conference room. Each of them held a copy of the proposal, which Lu Wen’s secretary had emailed to them half an hour earlier.

By the time Lu Wen entered the conference room, everyone had already finished their first read-through of the proposal and were discussing it amongst themselves. As she walked in, she mostly heard murmurs of approval, with very few objections.

’Looks like there are plenty of people who can recognize a good thing when they see it.’

Sister Li was the first to speak. "You wrote this proposal? You haven’t written one in years."

Lu Wen pursed her lips. "I just feel the market for short-form dramas has a lot of potential. And if we’re going to enter it, we have to be the best."

Sister Li said, "It definitely has potential. After you emailed me last night, I actually went and watched some of the short-form dramas currently on the market. To be honest, I feel like they’re all incredibly formulaic."

Lu Wen asked, "Super melodramatic and dated, right? The kind with physical abuse, emotional torment, maybe they even get a kidney carved out, and somehow it’s still a HE?"

The conference room filled with laughter. Sister Li mused, "That’s a pretty thorough summary. I never thought you’d be the one to write a fluffy romance drama. I always thought you weren’t skilled with all that lovey-dovey stuff."

Lu Wen’s gaze flickered away for a second. "Well... it’s just that I’ve been so brain-rotted by those other shows, you know? I just figured I could do it too, and definitely do a better job than them."

The new head of the Finance Department smiled. "The company has sufficient funds to support filming a short-form drama. I’ve also read the script. The shooting locations should be easy to find, and if all else fails, we can just use our own company building and save on the location fee."

"I’ve already thought of a few other shooting locations," the director of artist management chimed in. "We can borrow some places from our contacts. I guarantee they’ll be high-class." He was the most pleased of all; it didn’t matter what the artists under his management were doing, as long as they were filming, the company stood to profit.

’Besides, this is a proposal from Sister Wen. How could it possibly be bad?’

Ji Mingxi raised his hand. "We have a few very talented trainees who could give it a shot."

"For costumes, the company already has good relationships with several clothing brands..."

"And we’re certainly not lacking for directors. Little Chen’s skills are pretty solid..."

Lu Wen had merely kicked things off, and now her executives were divvying up the remaining tasks, chiming in one after another. Meanwhile, she, the big boss, could only sit at the head of the table and watch.

’The feeling is a little strange,’ she thought, ’but I have to admit, it’s also pretty awesome.’

"Youzi, these executives you picked out really make things easy," Lu Wen said, leaning back in her executive chair with a delighted expression.

"They are all mature executives with extensive experience leading teams. If you want to learn, you’d do well to observe them," Tan You said coolly. "But you also need to understand how to do things yourself. I’ll repeat what I said before: if the leader is a pushover, the employees will walk all over them."

"I get it. I’ll work hard to learn. I’m not saying I’ll learn half of what you know, but I can at least aim for a third, right?"

Lu Wen didn’t set the bar too high for herself. She had no intention of pushing everything onto Tan You; ultimately, she had to be the one in charge. She would much rather suffer through the hardship of learning than go out and waste time putting on a false front for people.

"Aren’t you all busy?" Lu Wen asked curiously, seeing that the discussion was winding down. "Doesn’t the company have other new productions to film? This is just a small proposal, but it seems like every single one of you is dying to get involved."

Sister Li cleared her throat. "There aren’t any major crises at the company, and things are running smoothly. But none of us has ever touched this short-form drama sector before. Pioneering a new market is always exciting."

The other executives nodded in agreement. Lu Wen waved her hand in resignation. "I know you’re all ambitious. As for this project..."

Lu Wen’s gaze swept around the room before finally landing on a sharp, capable-looking woman. "In that case, let’s have Sister Lin take the lead."

Sister Lin didn’t miss a beat. "Alright. I’ll assemble the project team immediately and report back to you regularly, Sister Wen."

Lu Wen smiled. "Good."

At that moment, it clicked for her. She didn’t need to micromanage everything. As long as she understood the overall process, that was enough. Otherwise, what was the point of having all these executives Tan You had gathered?

As long as she steered the company in the right general direction, that was all that mattered.