Director of a Suspense Film

Ch10.1 – Dust and Snow

　　Qi Ningzhou paced outside the apartment, anxious. 

　　Zong Qi had already gone in for almost an hour now, the door was sealed shut and there was no sound from within, his heart particularly upset. 

　　Not only was the other his new friend, but he was also his only friend. 

　　The Celestial Master got more nervous as he thought about it and he couldn’t help but want to bring his peach wood sword in and check. But he was scared that he would only make matters worse by going in, remaining indecisive. 

　　Just as he was struggling, the door finally opened. 

　　The black-haired youth walked out, completely unharmed but his expression was somewhat odd. 

　　Qi Ningzhou released a breath, “How was it?” 

　　Zong Qi seemed to find something hard to swallow, “Master Qi’s talisman is very useful, the fierce ghost’s power has been decreased greatly. But it still isn’t completely exorcised. 

　　The Celestial Master wasn’t surprised, “Alas, it seems that my abilities are still lacking.” 

　　The black-haired youth sneaked a glance at Qi Ningzhou, only relaxing when he found out that the other party didn’t suspect him in the slightest. 

　　To be honest, this operation was a bit too successful.

　　When Zong Qi went in, he was thinking of how to exorcise ghosts but when he went out, he had signed an actor, standing on the same side as ghosts. 

　　The system told him that they had the relationship of a worker and a boss, actors signed under him couldn’t harm Zong Qi. 

　　That was amazing!

　　Zong Qi had been worried that he would have to find somewhere else to stay after his recording came to an end if the red-dressed ghost hadn’t been exorcised. But now it was fine, he had signed an actor in addition to finding a house. 

　　How could Zong Qi let go of such a good thing? 

　　Qi Ningzhou was completely clueless about everything, “Indeed, I can feel that the Yin energy has decreased greatly. It’s too bad that fierce ghosts are still fierce ghosts… Right.” 

　　He looked at Zong Qi, “Since the fierce ghost wasn’t exorcised, will you find another haunted house?” 

　　Qi Ningzhou had thought about this just now. 

　　Although Zong Qi had an invincible constitution, this kind of thing had to be decided based on the person’s wishes. Since he was scared of ghosts, this apartment couldn’t be lived in. (t/n: invincible constitution: no ghosts can harm)

　　As friends, Qi Ningzhou conscientiously treated this problem as his own. It’s too bad that his advertisements that he stuck on the walls weren’t doing very well, aside from the accidental high priced apartment, there were no more. 

　　Thus the Celestial Master tried thinking of a solution seriously, worrying for his friend. 

　　“Oh, that.” 

　　Zong Qi spread his left palm, clapping his fisted right hand onto it, “Actually, after I walked around for a bit I noticed that the ghosts really aren’t that scary when you can’t see it hahahahahahahahah…” 

　　After his live performance of saying one thing than saying the opposite, Qi Ningzhou’s doubts were dispelled. 

　　As a Celestial Master who caught ghosts for a living, he never thought the ghosts were anything scary, much less for someone who hasn’t even opened their Third Eye, so he didn’t have any doubts hearing this explanation. 

　　The Celestial master nodded, “This is the best possible outcome. If it was you, after living here for about a month or so, the fierce ghost will get forcefully exorcised anyways.” 

　　Zong Qi laughed, apologising in his heart. 

　　He doesn’t like lying unless completely necessary, especially in front of a friend that genuinely cared about him but… he must never reveal the fact that he possessed a Director System. 

　　Although he wanted to see if he could sign a human after signing the red-dressed ghosts, filming means danger, and Zong Qi could never drag a friend into danger. 

　　That’s why he must never say anything. At least right now he can’t. 

　　“If there’s anything else just call me.” 

　　Qi Ningzhou hung the peach wood sword back onto his back, “Or… you could also visit the temple I’m temporarily staying it. The Elder there is very nice, he won’t reject you.” 

　　Zong Qi was shocked, “That’ll trouble you too much. Don’t worry, I’m really not scared.” 

　　The Celestial Master observed the black-haired youth worriedly, only shuffling away reluctantly when he made sure there was no problem. 

　　Zong Qi watched the Toaist robe disappear into the elevator before returning to the apartment.

　　He also cleared the talismans at the entrance before going in, in case anyone got scared. 

　　“Alright! For the next half a year, this is my home!” 

　　Zong Qi stood in front of the large window in the apartment, spreading out both hands as he admired the sparkling ocean and the faraway sailboats below, suddenly feeling that life was very beautiful. (t/n: yk the kind of windows that r like walls but instead its see-through, goes from ceiling to floor thats the kind 77 is talking about rn)

　　Ignoring everything else, just being able to stay in this apartment for half a year was already a huge profit.

　　The house was big, the transport was convenient, the security was good and most importantly, he could live comfortably. Within the house was high tier furniture, the sofa was large enough to sleep 4 or 5 Zong Qis. Even having to clean the whole place himself didn’t extinguish his feeling of happiness. 

　　“Let’s clean together, Xiao Hong!” (t/n: lowkey just named the ghost little red)

　　Under the continuous streams of happiness, he was feeling, even the red-dressed ghosts floating about couldn’t diminish it.

　　There was no boss that couldn’t see their workers in the world. So after signing his first actor, the Director System kindly opened the first level of the Third Eye for him. 

　　Now Zong Qi could clearly see Xiao Hong’s appearance. 

　　Xiao Hong.

　　The red-dressed ghost’s new name, that Zong Qi had given very one-sidedly. 

　　Zong Qi suggested very honestly, “Xiao Hong, can you pull your hair in front? Don’t reveal your entire face, you’ll scare someone.” 

　　The ghost floating in the air stared at him with white eyes, the rotten flesh on her face rolled around, making one’s hair rise up. 

　　The blacked haired youth repeated it multiple times and thought Xiao Hong didn’t understand words. It was only when he pulled his hair and covered his face, gesturing for her to do the same did she reveal a look of contempt. 

　　Zong Qi “…? I was played…”

　　What happened to her being stupid?!

　　Yes, after signing his first actor, the Actors section in his Profile was completely released to Zong Qi.

　　But the system warned him that the authority Directors possessed was far more than he believed. Because he currently didn’t sign enough actors, he couldn’t completely take charge to film a movie just yet. He could only intern and learn, then look for suitable actors until he has enough. Then he can find a location and start filming.

　　Zong Qi was all too familiar with this kind of procedure. People who graduate as Directors have to intern for a few years before they’re allowed to work alone, for this, Zong Qi wasn’t in a rush at all. 

　　After signing Xiao Hong, the director system told him that his D rank actor did not possess the Horror Film Actor and underwent another signing, the contract as [Horror Film Actor ver2.0 Actor Version] 

　　“Turns out there’s a Horror Film Actor?” 

　　Zong Qi was a little suspicious whether actors really existed back when he saw the first Director Right, but he didn’t expect to coincidentally get a clue today. 

　　He originally wanted to talk to Xiao Hong about the Actor System and understand the differences between the two systems, but it seems that his new worker didn’t really respect him. She made a growling noise from her throat, sweeping her dress and disappearing into the air. 

　　At the same time, the recording time on Zong Qi’s pupil turned to 0. 

　　[Improvisational Theatre has come to an end, number of tries left: 0]

　　[Your final results— Scream value: 1050, ‘Mental Hospital plot exploration: 85%, current actors alive: 1]

　　[Currently calculating your rank, please wait…]

　　[Notice: There are 6 ranks: S, A, B, C, D, E and is calculated by the 3 main values and the difficulty of the plot. E rank means the filming failed, S rank will receive an extra reward]

　　[Recording Rank: B]

　　[You have received 500 points]

　　“500, jackpot.” 

　　Zong Qi’s eyes lit up.

　　500 points are 5 thousand dollars.

　　But now that he’s seen the horrors of the Horror Film Director, Zong Qi didn’t dare to exchange all his points for money anymore. After all, the next pull from the shop required 500 points, if he carelessly spent all his money, if he was in danger next time, the consequences won’t be good. 

　　That being said, today was Wednesday. He could only get his money from the streaming platform on Friday.

　　He currently only had around 20 dollars currently and even couldn’t afford the water and electric fees this apartment owes. 

　　After some hesitation, Zong Qi could only bite his lips and exchange 100 points. 

　　[Your exchange has been completed]

　　As expected, a message from the bank was sent to his phone the next second. 

　　Soon, the lights of the whole apartment came on. After experiencing Xiao Hong’s protesting, Zong Qi could only touch his nose and angrily turn off the lights on the second floor before going back to sweeping. 

　　As he was cleaning the table, an ear-piercing ring broke the silence in the air. 

　　Zong Qi took off his gloves, deciding that if it was a scam he’d hang up immediately. However, the moment he saw the Caller ID on his phone, he immediately stood up straight. 

　　Shit, the one calling was Jiang Zhou University’s Office. 

　　If Zong Qi still wanted his graduation certificate, he had to take the call. 

　　“Hello? Is this Mr Zong Qi? Remember to come to the office to pay for your tuition fees tomorrow.” 

　　“Okay, thak you teacher.” 

　　Zong Qi hung up, screaming ‘shit shit shit’ in his mind. 

　　He recalled his time at Aesthetic Appreciation class. (t/n: it’s a made up class author3 said it in her notes)

　　Firstly, he was never absent, second, he never played games, third, his attitude was enthusiastic, all he could say was his appreciation for art was naturally born terrible. But his relationship with the teacher wasn’t bad. 

　　Usually, students who couldn’t graduate due to lack of credits only needed to attend the exam. But Zong Qi needed credits for a practical course, so he still needed to maintain contact with the teacher. 

　　　　Though according to Jiang Zhou University’s tradition, things like practical courses only required him to bring out his attitude, write reports, and the teacher will close their eyes and pass them. 

　　“I hope it’s not too hard, getting my graduation postponed a year is already exhausting enough.” 

t/n: i got myself an editor!!!! hopefully i make less mistakes this time and thank u my editor for agreeing to edit all the damn projects i do theyre my saviour

anyways… i made a kofi and for the cheap price of selling ur soul to the devil (paying 3 dollars) and join my discord, you’ll get advanced chapters! Just a few, we’ll have to see how many I can translate in time