บท 2: Autumn's Concerto

Bang! Pain and dizziness!

Numerous questions swirled in his brain, familiar and strange faces swept past one by one in his mind and inexplicable memories constantly tumbled through his head but he couldn't quite catch them; they were like glimmers of light.

Jiang Cheng suddenly opened his eyes but was hit with the feeling of vertigo and he instinctively closed his eyes and settled in, letting the dizzy spell gradually pass before he opened his eyes again.

Where am I?

With this thought, one by one, the scattered memories in his head joined together like puzzle pieces. He suddenly remembered everything, well perhaps remembered wasn't the best word, as the memories already existed in his head.

He sat up subconsciously, his mind still a mess as he walked to the bathroom.

From Jiang Cheng to Jiang Cheng.

The boy standing in the bathroom looking back at him in the mirror, looked both strange and familiar to him at the same time.

His memories and logic told him that he should be dead but he wasn't.

Instead it felt like he had just dreamt and woken up as the boy in the mirror. Two very different memories intertwined in his mind confusing him.

Who was he?

Splash!

The cold water made Jiang Cheng's mind a lot clearer. The pointer of the bedside alarm clock clearly told him that it was 2001 and he was in Shanghai, China.

Was he dreaming or had he really returned back to the past in a new body. Common sense told him that the latter was impossible but...

"No! I am Jiang Cheng, my past life was real."

"I don't know how I was reincarnated but I am Jiang Cheng!"

Jiang Cheng chanted as he walked back and forth across the room.

In his past life, he had lived a life of regret. He didn't expect God to make such a joke out of him but now he was reborn maybe this was his recompense, another chance.

A chance to live the life he wanted, a chance to reach heights he couldn't in his past life.

The owner of the body occupied by Jiang Cheng was also called Jiang Cheng. After fusing their memories, Jiang Cheng finally understood his situation.

Jiang Cheng was born into a wealthy Chinese family. His father, Jiang Dejun, was the editor-in-chief of a publishing house. His mother, Gao Linlan was a reporter from Taiwan. His mother had come to the mainland to travel when she met his father and charmed by his talent and charisma, the two soon fell in love and married despite obstructions from his family.

Even Jiang Cheng was remarkable. He had been a good student with both academic and social merits since childhood. He obtained top grades and had just graduated high school.

Probably because every child dreamt of becoming a star, Jiang Cheng, who had always been a good kid, went against the expectations of his school, teachers and relatives and made his own decision to apply for Shanghai Drama Academy and with his grades and charisma he was soon accepted into the Acting department. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng's parents were very open-minded, and allowed him to do as he wished.

Shanghai Drama Academy, was one of the best art schools in China, it had trained a large number of film and television talents for the domestic entertainment industry. Entering such a university meant that he would inevitably come into contact with many future big figures in the domestic entertainment industry.

Such a lucky occurrence helped reduce the confused look in Jiang Cheng's eyes, his attachment to his previous life gradually faded.

With a kind of unprecedented firmness. He said to himself in the bathroom mirror: "From today onwards, I am Jiang Cheng!"

It was currently late June and with high school over Jiang Cheng had a long summer holiday ahead of him.

Jiang Cheng's parents didn't seem to spot any anomalies in their son's behavior. Perhaps because of the fusion of memories, Jiang Cheng didn't display any strangeness before his parents.

Instead, he just received the usual motherly nagging. Seeing such a caring side from someone was such a harsh contrast to the indifferent affection of his previous life.

Since Jiang Cheng was admitted into Shanghai Drama Academy, his parents decided this holiday period was a rare opportunity to visit Hainan as a family. But he rejected the proposal, he gave a bunch of reasons and finally persuaded his parents to let him stay at home.

After waving goodbye to his parents at the airport, Jiang Cheng headed back into his study. His idea was simple. He could recite the scripts for nearly every major film or TV series in China and the United States for years to come, so all he had to do was write those scripts before their original authors and absorb the wealth for himself in order to grow his empire.

He first set his target on the Taiwan idol drama "Autumn's Concerto." The reason for choosing the teen idol drama was because he had to consider his current age. After all, he was now just a 17-year-old who just graduated from high school. If he wrote something with profound meaning it would just attract doubt and suspicion.

Moreover, Autumn's Concerto was the second-highest rated Taiwanese idol drama, second only to Fated to Love You.

What was even more commendable was that the TV series, though it followed the traditional route of past idol dramas where men and women were constantly in a loop of love and heartbreak, it felt realistic and plausible not just another plot contrivance to create drama.

From the beginning introduction of Liang Mu Cheng's tragic life, the story was carefully constructed.

From the perspective of a simple, kind and strong girl, the show delivered a touching story.

Perhaps it was because the director was also a woman but she was able to delicately grasp the perfect lens for the show and put each perspective into full play. The screenwriting was also excellent, the plot intriguing, the details were also subtle enough and though the overall concept was cliché, the show turned out to be heart-wrenching and touching at the same time.

Whenever the familiar sad melody sounded: "I love him zealously and madly My dreams have been cruelly shattered yet I cannot forget..." It moved the audience's hearts like a drizzle of rain.

It was the perfect series for a debuting screenwriter to make a name for himself.

Because the Jiang family was rich, despite computers still being considered expensive, they owned one at home and because of his parents job it was equipped with a printer. Such conditions made Jiang Cheng cry out in joy.

Switching on the computer skillfully and seeing the long-lost Windows XP system, Jiang Cheng smiled.

Opening up Microsoft Word 2001, his smile became even wider though the current program was kind of lacking, it was sufficient.

Jiang Cheng's ten fingers quickly danced across the keyboard. As an excellent screenwriter in his previous life, speed typing was a vital skill. His record in his previous life was 110 words per minute, which could be regarded as first-class.

It took five days for Jiang Cheng to complete the creation of "Autumn's Concerto", and then he sent the script for the first eight episodes of the TV series to Shanghai Tangren Film & Television.

Just like in America there was a bad phenomenon in the Chinese entertainment industry, where most film and television resources were monopolized by several large firms. Everyone had to do things according to their rules, otherwise they would be blocked and crushed.

But in such a situation, Shanghai Tangren Film & Television could still develop rapidly and stably, a lot of which boiled down to its president, Cai Yinong, who was a very smart man.

Shanghai Tangren didn't take the path of independent production but instead it played a huge role in outsourcing and providing freelance jobs.

They provided the scripts, funds, film and television bases and contacted excellent actors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and other places. By taking the road of joint production and dividing profits, it meant they were able to resist the major firms.

No one was willing to offend so many people at the same time. The companies they outsourced to supported them and the agencies behind the actors became natural allies for Shanghai Tangren.

Although relatively less profitable, such development made them extremely stable. Because Shanghai Tangren themselves started late and had a weak foundation, they had to resort to this method to gradually grow.

Appreciative of the company, Jiang Cheng chose to send them the script. Of course, there were other reasons as well but the main one was that he wanted to build a relationship with them.

After sending the script, Jiang Cheng didn't relax, but intended to write another manuscript.