Especially on lonely nights.

After everyone had finished their excitement, Zhang Pa asked, “Who’s writing the script?”

“You are.” The group answered in unison.

“And who’s directing?”

“You are.” Again, all together.

Zhang Pa abandoned the rest of his questions and moved on to the most crucial matter—money. “We’ll need an office, and registered capital. Otherwise, they won’t process the paperwork.”

“Money isn’t a problem. We can raise it bit by bit,” said Fatty.

Zhang Pa nodded. “Alright, let’s get to the point—how do we make money? We could look for sponsorships, but I doubt that’ll work. Our street’s nickname as the ‘Locust Swarm’ didn’t come from nowhere.”

“What’s the ‘Locust Swarm’?” the music girl asked.

Zhang Pa turned to Fatty. “Should I explain?”

Fatty said, “Stick to business.”

Zhang Pa let the question slide and continued, “Assuming we finish filming and edit it into an episode, the most important thing is how do we promote it, how do we negotiate with streaming sites… Actually, these aren’t the real issues. The real problem is, what if our acting is terrible and nobody wants to watch?”

Ultimately, it all comes down to quality. If the web series is good enough, advertisers will be more eager than you are.

The flamboyant one asked, “Do you have any ideas?”

“We need professionals,” Zhang Pa said. “We don’t need a big-name director, but at least someone trained. And for actors, you can’t just pick them yourselves, there has to be an audition.”

“But we still think it’s best for you to handle it,” Fatty said.

The flamboyant one agreed.

Zhang Pa asked, “Have I brainwashed you all? If you want to do it well, you have to be serious and professional.”

The music girl suddenly interjected, “Actually, I think you’re overthinking it. You only know if something is possible after you try. Sure, you need a mature idea before you start, but action matters more than ideas. My suggestion is you don’t even need to raise money. Just grab a small DV camera, or even a phone, and start shooting. Film on the street, film indoors—just film. Edit it and upload it, it’ll only cost you time and a bit of creativity, not much money at all. If it’s good, the websites will come to you. You can set up a company later if need be.”

Fatty clapped. “Well said, that’s just what I was thinking.”

Zhang Pa glanced at the music girl. “What’s your name, again?”

“I’m Lu Yiyi,” she replied. “Why?”

“Let’s start with you—audition.” Zhang Pa asked, “Is that alright?”

Lu Yiyi said, “Is this for real? I can audition, but you need to give me a scene and a character. I can’t just act randomly, right?”

Zhang Pa thought for a moment. Actually, there was no need for an audition. If they really did shoot a web series, the only roles these people could play were themselves, and that’s all the web series could be, too—just them, being themselves. So it made no difference whether they auditioned or not. Some people would be more natural on camera, more relaxed, and therefore more suitable.

He thought it over and said, “Why don’t you all discuss it and decide on a cast list. We’ll meet again when that’s settled.”

That was another tricky matter—there were six girls present. Who would be the leading lady?

When it came to web series, Zhang Pa had his own ideas. He didn’t want to do those joke compilations where every episode was a few seconds or a minute long. Since it was a drama, it needed a beginning and an end—a complete story.

He tried to leave, but Fatty stopped him. “What do you mean, meet again? Let’s decide now.” He turned to the six girls. “Are you all in?” Then he added, “I think Lu Yiyi’s suggestion is great, so let’s not bother with the company for now. Who’s willing to act for free?”

The flamboyant one chimed in, “We can film two episodes first and see how it goes. If it takes off, we can talk pay. We’re not going to make anyone work for nothing.”

Lu Yiyi said, “I can act for free, but I have to go to school. Can we wait until the holidays?”

The girl with the ponytail next to her said, “If it only takes a day or two, I can film one episode.”

With the two of them speaking up, the other girls followed suit, all agreeing to join in for free.

And so, the decision to film the web series was made. At noon, they went out to a small restaurant to celebrate, taking a group photo for posterity.

The flamboyant one paid for the meal, and not just that. In the afternoon, he and Fatty went to the electronics market and bought a high-spec computer, bringing it straight to Zhang Pa’s room.

The computer cost twelve thousand yuan, and the flamboyant one and Fatty said, “It’s yours.”

Zhang Pa said, “Twelve thousand to buy me off?”

Fatty said, “Aren’t you lucky? That’s our nest egg, mine and his.”

Fatty’s group had one virtue—though not rich, they were decisive and efficient when it came to getting things done. Whether it was buying bananas, fireworks, or investing in doomed ventures, as long as everyone agreed, they acted immediately.

After the computer was set up in Zhang Pa’s room, Tiger brought over a DV camera, possibly stolen. It was a big brand, very expensive, about the same price as the computer. Compared to others filming with smartphones, they were already a step ahead in equipment.

Zhang Pa said, “Now that you’ve left all this stuff with me, I can’t go out and sell books anymore.” Then he added, “Fatty knows his way around computers. Give it to him.”

Fatty said, “I don’t know how to use editing software. You learn it, I’m too dumb.”

Zhang Pa considered. “So now I’m suddenly rich?”

Fatty replied, “Stop talking nonsense. I have over ten thousand friends, but my mom only likes you. Normally she wouldn’t let me splurge, but when she heard you were in charge, she agreed right away—said if we lose a bit of money, so what?”

Zhang Pa said gloomily, “Who’s in charge? How did I end up leading this?”

“What’s the point of worrying about that?” the flamboyant one said. “My mom’s the same. She chewed me out this morning, but as soon as she heard you were leading and Fatty was putting up the money, she agreed.”

Zhang Pa was speechless. “What have I done to earn such trust from your mothers?”

Fatty said, “Whatever the case, we’re counting on you. Let’s chase a dream for once.”

When it comes to dreams, at the starting stage, parents and friends never think it’s reliable. What? You want to do art? Are you out of your mind?

But as soon as you achieve even a little, you become their pride, their honor. To put it plainly, money is the standard—the only criterion for judging whether you’re crazy or chasing a dream.

If you make money, good for you! Chasing dreams is the right thing to do—you’re a success!

If you don’t, what nonsense! You’re wasting your time. Can’t you be more practical? If you’re not going to work, then get lost—the farther away, the better.

As long as you don’t have a regular job, no matter if you sing, write stories, paint, run a small business, invent things, or code—none of it is “reliable.” All just pointless messing around.

But actually, all dreams begin as “unreliable,” start off being blocked and looked down upon. Along the way, there are obstacles of every kind. Only those who persist stand a chance at success.

So if someone treats your dream kindly, you must be grateful. If your parents support you, congratulations—you’re already halfway to success.

In youth, who doesn’t have a dream?

The real winner is the one who keeps dreaming.

Zhang Pa is such a dreamer, wanting to write truly engaging stories. Now, hearing Fatty talk about chasing dreams, he couldn’t help but sigh. “If the flamboyant one didn’t say it, I’d think you didn’t have a dream either.”

“Is that not allowed?” Fatty shot back.

Zhang Pa let it go and asked the flamboyant one, “What’s the story with those six girls?”

The flamboyant one said, “Some I’ve slept with, some I haven’t.”

Zhang Pa put his hands together in mock admiration. “Impressive.”

The flamboyant one gave a rough explanation. Of the six girls, he’d slept with three. The three he hadn’t slept with were music students, one of whom he’d met for the first time, brought by Lu Yiyi.

At first, he’d thought about sleeping with Lu Yiyi and the other girl, but since he wanted to join a singing competition, he upgraded them to “teachers.”

The three he’d been more than friends with were among the prettiest of the women he knew, and also the ones who cared least about relationships, so he dared invite them all.

Still, no matter how little they cared, the three women were at each other’s throats, competing with drinks at lunch—whoever passed out first lost.

After hearing the explanation, Zhang Pa said, “I was asking who you want as the leading lady.”

“That’s up to you,” the flamboyant one dodged.

Alright, up to me. Zhang Pa thought for a moment. “Let’s talk about it later. I’ll write the script first.”

“Hurry up,” Fatty urged.

“Alright,” Zhang Pa replied. “You all should buy some acting books and practice your lines, too.”

With that, he shooed them out and went back to writing stories.

As it turned out, he had underestimated this group’s enthusiasm for making a web series. At six that evening, Fatty called and said they were going for barbecue.

So he went. When he got there, several of the guys from work showed up too. The one nicknamed Bandit, with a face to match, said, “Give me a role, I want to play myself.”

Zhang Pa told them they were all crazy.

Crazy or not, the web series project was officially on the agenda. After discussing with the flamboyant one, Fatty decided that filming would start next Monday.

It was Thursday. That meant three days to finish the script… Zhang Pa was exasperated. “That’s too little time. I can’t think of a story.”

“We believe in you,” Fatty said, not caring what excuses he made—he just set the date.

You can’t reason with these people, Zhang Pa thought. He gave in, ate, and went home.

Fatty and the others didn’t try to keep him. That was always how it was—he was used to it.

Zhang Pa walked down the unlit street… There had been streetlights once, four of them. All smashed. They’d been replaced twice, smashed again. No one bothered anymore.

As he walked, headlights flared behind him, flooding the road with light.

A sports car passed him. Zhang Pa thought, Could it be Long Xiaole again?

It wasn’t.

The car stopped ahead. As Zhang Pa walked by, a young woman leaned out the window. “Excuse me, can I ask you something—”

Zhang Pa glanced at her. “I’m not from around here.” He didn’t stop, just hurried on.

“Hey—” the woman wanted to say more, but he’d already gone.

Zhang Pa quickly climbed the stairs and went home to brainstorm for those ancestors.

Writing a web series was hard—very hard. If you just pieced together jokes, that was easy. There were plenty online, and most web series just borrowed them. You knew the punchline before it arrived—never really funny, sometimes just boring.

Zhang Pa wanted to write a complete story. But a real story needed many characters to drive the plot, and many scenes and props. Each one cost money. To write a web series that was both cheap and good—one word: difficult.

No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with a good idea.

He hurried to write his daily update, uploaded it, and finished another day’s work.

He spent the rest of the time pondering the web series, until he grew sleepy and still had nothing.