thefictionvixens Chapter 2 Recognition and Submission
Chapter 2 Recognition and Submission
Liu Yibing's office is located on the far east side of the third floor of the Literature Department teaching building, room number 301.
When Lin Ruiyang arrived, the office door was ajar, and the sound of turning pages could be heard from inside. He knocked on the door and heard a deep, firm "Come in."
Liu Yibing's office is small, with bookshelves on two walls, crammed with various scripts, theoretical books, and journals. Several stacks of student assignments are piled on the desk, and a freshly brewed cup of tea sits beside it.
Liu Yibing, with gray hair and wearing reading glasses, was sitting in a chair looking at the materials in his hands.
He looked up at Lin Ruiyang and took off his glasses.
"You're here, Ruiyang."
"Director Liu."
"Please come in and have a seat."
Lin Ruiyang walked into the office, sat down in the chair opposite the desk, and placed the folder in his hand flat on his lap.
Liu Yibing glanced at him, his tone neither stern nor gentle:
"You dare skip class on the first day of school? What urgent matter do you have to attend to?"
"No," Lin Ruiyang answered honestly. "I was writing in my dorm, and I got so engrossed in it that I forgot."
"Write what?"
Lin Ruiyang paused for a moment, then took out the script outline from the folder, placed it on the table, and handed it to Liu Yibing.
"A script."
Liu Yibing looked down at the cover, then looked up at Lin Ruiyang, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"You're a student who hasn't even finished your first year of university, and you're skipping class on the first day of school to hide in your dorm writing a script?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how many screenplays written by first-year college students I've seen since I started teaching?"
"have no idea."
"Then let me tell you, there are so many that you could fill this entire corridor with their scripts."
Liu Yibing leaned back in his chair. "Ninety-five percent of them can't even clearly write the basic three-act structure of a script."
Lin Ruiyang didn't try to explain, but simply said, "Teacher, please take a look first."
Liu Yibing didn't say anything more, but picked up the unbound manuscript and began to examine it.
The first page contains the title and type description:
"Three Battles with the White Bone Demon", Wuju Opera - Experimental Adaptation
He frowned. "A stage play?"
"A stage play." Lin Ruiyang nodded.
Liu Yibing didn't ask any further questions and continued scrolling down.
The biographical sketches of characters such as Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, and the White Bone Demon are not simple character descriptions, but rather in-depth deconstructions that unfold from multiple dimensions, including the characters' backstories, motivations, conflicts, and arcs of development.
Liu Yibing's gaze lingered briefly on the biographical sketch of "Tang Sanzang".
"...He clearly couldn't see clearly, yet he firmly believed that he could."
He silently repeated the sentence to himself, without looking up, and continued reading.
Next is the page with the core theme:
When loyalty is misunderstood and trust is eroded, who will be responsible for the collapse of the relationship?
Liu Yibing tapped his fingers lightly twice on the paper, a habitual gesture of his. Those who know him well know that this means the current content has prompted him to think.
The office was quiet for about two minutes.
Lin Ruiyang didn't say anything, just sat there in that position, waiting. He just couldn't help but smile when he thought about how Fatty would probably suffocate if he were there.
Finally, Liu Yibing finished browsing through all the content and looked at Lin Ruiyang.
"How long have you been writing in this notebook?"
"I started brainstorming during winter break, reading through some novels and scripts on similar themes, and only started writing after returning to school. It's not finished yet; I've only written the scene outline."
Liu Yibing nodded, without commenting on whether it was good or bad, and instead asked a seemingly unrelated question:
Why did you choose the "Three Battles with the White Bone Demon" segment?
"Because it is the most misunderstood story," Lin Ruiyang replied. "If you take it out of the eighty-one tribulations and look at it separately, it is a tragedy about the collapse of trust."
"Go on."
"Tang Sanzang represents 'authority,' but he lacks the ability to discern the truth. Sun Wukong represents 'loyalty,' but his loyalty is not trusted. The White Bone Demon represents 'lies,' but her lies succeed not because they are cleverly crafted, but because Tang Sanzang inherently lacks trust in Sun Wukong."
Lin Ruiyang paused for a moment, then continued, "What I want to write is not a traditional mythological drama full of fighting and killing, but a story that is more in line with the present era, a story where the truth is right in front of you, but you choose not to believe it, and in the end you lose everything, but it's too late for you to regret it."
After he finished speaking, the office was quiet for a few seconds.
Liu Yibing looked at him, his eyes filled with a more intense sense of amusement and scrutiny.
"Your script," Liu Yibing said slowly, "doesn't seem like something a freshman could write."
Lin Ruiyang felt a pang of anxiety, but he didn't show it on his face.
"But," Liu Yibing changed the subject, "it's not enough to judge whether something is good or not just by looking at the current content."
He tidied up the manuscript and pushed it back in front of Lin Ruiyang.
"Bring me the whole script when it's finished."
Lin Ruiyang took the script, feeling a sense of relief, but outwardly remained calm: "Okay, Teacher Liu."
"And one more thing." Liu Yibing put his reading glasses back on, picked up the cup of cold tea on the table and took a sip, "Next time you skip class to write a script, remember to ask for leave in advance, otherwise I'll read your script aloud in front of the whole class."
Lin Ruiyang's lips trembled slightly: "Understood, Teacher Liu."
He stood up, turned, and walked out. As he reached the door, he heard Liu Yibing's voice behind him:
"Your topic about the collapse of trust... is quite interesting."
Lin Ruiyang didn't turn around, but the smile on his lips widened a little more.
After leaving the teaching building, Lin Ruiyang didn't rush back to his dormitory. He stood in the garden next door for a while, his mind replaying the phrase "That's interesting" from earlier.
Liu Yibing wasn't one to praise people easily, but those four words carried more weight than a hundred "awesome" remarks from his former colleague, the fat man. It was a good start for him.
But being interesting isn't enough; the script still needs to be polished.
Back in the dorm, Fatty wasn't there, nor were his other two roommates. Lin Ruiyang sat down at his desk, spread out his manuscript paper, and began outlining the main text.
Just now in Liu Yibing's office, he noticed that when the old man turned to the scene of the White Bone Demon's third transformation, his finger paused for a moment. In that scene, he wrote that the White Bone Demon split into three incarnations in the light and shadow—a young girl, an old woman, and an old man appeared simultaneously, each speaking in three different tones.
This approach was considered bold on the opera stage in 2004, but Liu Yibing didn't question it; he simply remained silent for a while before moving on. This indicates that the direction was correct.
Lin Ruiyang picked up his pen and added a note next to this paragraph:
It is recommended that the three incarnations of the White Bone Demon be performed by three actors on stage together, so as to achieve rapid switching of costumes and masks, and combine with zoned lighting to create the visual effect of one person with three faces.
After finishing this, he took out a new sheet of paper and began writing all the content according to the planned structure.
For an entire afternoon, Lin Ruiyang tirelessly polished the content, the outline section densely covered with subsequent annotations and modification symbols.
By evening, Lin Ruiyang finally put down his pen and reviewed the current content. According to the schedule, with a little more effort in the next few days, the script's framework and details would be complete.
The remaining issue is submitting the manuscript.