Chapter 31: Signing Fees and a Chance Encounter

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Cao Sheng asked.

He truly did not know why Pang Yunhai, Wei Dongming, and the others were looking at him this way; he did not recognize the short-haired woman sitting beside the desk.

Likewise, the short-haired woman did not recognize Cao Sheng.

She only knew Cao Sheng's real name and his pen name.

At this moment, Song Chao spoke up, pointing his finger at the short-haired woman, "Cao Sheng! This beauty is here to see you. She says she is a copyright editor from Banyan Tree, here to talk to you about publishing agency rights."

Pang Yunhai nodded in agreement: "Right! Cao Sheng, you're finally back. This beauty has been waiting for you in our dorm for quite a while."

Wei Dongming looked at Cao Sheng, wanting to speak but hesitating; the look in his eyes as he watched Cao Sheng was particularly complex.

He had always felt both jealousy and disdain toward Cao Sheng.

He was jealous that Cao Sheng was clearly taller, more handsome, and more popular with girls than he was.

He felt disdain because Cao Sheng was a country bumpkin from a rural area; in terms of family background, he was inferior to Wei Dongming.

But today, someone had actually come to find Cao Sheng to sign some kind of novel publishing agency contract, which shocked him. He had never dreamed that Cao Sheng had quietly written some kind of novel. Listening to what the short-haired woman said just now, the popularity of Cao Sheng's novel seemed exceptionally high; it was the most popular novel on that Banyan Tree site.

Cao Sheng had such talent?

How could he possibly have such talent?

This was unscientific!

But the facts were right before his eyes; even if Wei Dongming didn't want to admit it in his heart, he could only feel envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"Oh?"

Cao Sheng looked at the short-haired woman, a bit surprised, "Hello! Are you an editor from Banyan Tree?"

The short-haired woman stood up, walked quickly toward Cao Sheng with a surprised expression, and while sizing him up, she extended both hands and said with a face full of smiles: "Hello, hello! Are you Mr. Cao Sheng, the 'Grey Point in the Central Plains'? Hello, hello! Yes! I am a copyright editor from Banyan Tree. My surname is Wang, Wang Jing! I am very happy to meet you in person. I didn't expect that not only do you write novels well, but you are also so handsome! A pleasure to meet you!"

She was very enthusiastic.

She gripped Cao Sheng's extended right hand tightly, and as she spoke, her eyes were full of surprise while she sized him up.

Cao Sheng's handsomeness was indeed very much beyond her expectations.

Before coming here today, she had assumed that a college student who liked to write would likely be slovenly, taciturn, and unattractive.

In her impression, people who liked to write all seemed to be like that.

After all, those who were handsome and had outgoing personalities were always popular with girls in life; even if they didn't actively pursue anyone, girls would pursue them, and it was inevitable they would get caught up in romance, so where would they find the time and energy to write any novels?

Therefore, when she saw Cao Sheng's imposing and dignified image, she simply couldn't believe her eyes.

Her heartbeat even quickened by several beats, and while holding Cao Sheng's right hand with both of hers, some fanciful images even flashed through her mind.

Fortunately, she was already over thirty, and her reason could keep her mind clear.

Cao Sheng felt a bit uncomfortable because this Wang Jing wouldn't let go of his hand for a long time, and Pang Yunhai, Wei Dongming, and the others were watching!

"A pleasure! Miss Wang, right? Have you eaten lunch yet? If not, shall I accompany you to get something to eat?"

Cao Sheng wanted to take her away from the dormitory.

For one, he had never let his roommates know about his writing, and he still didn't want them to know too much now.

Secondly, with this Wang Jing being so enthusiastic in front of his roommates, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

Thirdly, it was lunchtime, and since Wang Jing was representing Banyan Tree to find him, it was only right and proper for him to play the host.

A dozen minutes later, the school cafeteria.

At a stainless steel table in a corner, Cao Sheng and Wang Jing sat opposite each other.

Wang Jing indeed hadn't eaten lunch yet.

But Cao Sheng had.

Cao Sheng had originally wanted to take her to a small restaurant outside the school, but Wang Jing said she wanted to try the food in their school cafeteria and insisted on coming here.

So, he brought her here and ordered a meal.

The food was quite hearty, with twice-cooked pork, braised crucian carp, and mapo tofu, along with a bowl of free seaweed and egg soup.

In this day and age, there weren't many students willing to order so many dishes at once in the cafeteria.

But in reality, it didn't cost much money at all.

"Miss Wang, this meal is a poor reception. You aren't leaving tonight, are you? If you aren't, shall I take you out for a better meal tonight? Our Huizhou has quite a lot of delicacies; shall I take you to try some?"

Cao Sheng looked at Wang Jing, who was eating with her head down, and made the suggestion.

Wang Jing looked up at him and nodded with a smile, "That's fine! I'm indeed not leaving today. However, dinner should be arranged by me! What good food do you have here? After I got off the plane today, I asked the taxi driver about it on the way here, and I also asked about a few good restaurants nearby. I'll go book a table later, and after you finish school this afternoon, we'll go over, okay?"

Cao Sheng laughed and shook his head, "No, no! You are a guest from afar; I should be the one hosting you."

Wang Jing also shook her head, "No! You are still a student. Although your work is written very well and is very popular on our website, you haven't earned any royalties yet, and you are still a student, so you definitely don't have much money. As for me, my superiors approved a public relations budget for this trip. Hehe, it's the company's money anyway; if we don't spend it, it's a waste, and if we don't spend it, it has to be turned back into the company when I go back, don't you think?"

As she spoke, she even winked at Cao Sheng.

This...

It immediately made Cao Sheng laugh.

He instantly felt a bit more favorably toward her, feeling that this woman was quite interesting, actually encouraging him to help fleece their company together.

"Alright, since that's the case, then I won't stand on ceremony."

"That's how it should be! Anyway, it's not my personal money. Let's not be polite tonight; order whatever you want to eat. The most important thing is that we both have a good time!"

Evening.

The two went together to the Old Street First Floor.

Old Street First Floor was a very famous restaurant nearby.

The environment inside was decorated in an antique style; the cashiers and waiters were all dressed in ancient costumes, and every dish served there was exquisite.

Cao Sheng and Wang Jing took a table by the window on the second floor, ordered a few dishes and a soup, and asked for a pot of yellow rice wine.

The two chatted while they ate.

They had actually already negotiated the specific publishing agency contract at noon today, and the contract had already been signed.

After Wang Jing finished reading the draft of *Days Living with a Flight Attendant*, her eyes were shining. When negotiating the contract, she was very proactive and took the initiative to make concessions several times.

The contract they settled on mainly consisted of a few points.

For example: 1. Banyan Tree would have the exclusive agency for the simplified Chinese publishing rights and film/television adaptation rights for *Days Living with a Flight Attendant* for five years; within these five years, Cao Sheng himself would have no right to sell these rights to others.

2. If the rights were successfully sold, Banyan Tree would take a 20% agency commission from the proceeds, and 80% would belong to Cao Sheng.

3. A signing fee of 30,000; if Banyan Tree failed to sell the above rights within five years, the signing fee would not be returned.

A signing fee was something Cao Sheng had never received before his rebirth.

At that time, every time he signed a contract with Qidian, there was no signing fee.

Even when Qidian asked him to sign a long-term contract, there wasn't a single cent of a signing fee.

Furthermore, when he signed a contract with Xinchang Publishing House before, there was no signing fee either.

But this time, he had managed to fleece 30,000 in signing fees from Banyan Tree.

This might be related to him being the first author to sign with Banyan Tree.

Previously, Banyan Tree had no relevant experience, so everything was negotiable.

And Banyan Tree wanted to secure the five-year exclusive agency rights for this book of his this time, although these agency rights did not include traditional Chinese publishing.

But within these five years, he, Cao Sheng, had no right to sell the simplified Chinese and film/television adaptation rights himself. Cao Sheng had originally been unwilling to agree to this clause.

But Wang Jing had taken the initiative to mention the signing fee.

She had persuaded Cao Sheng with the signing fee.

After 8 o'clock that night, when Cao Sheng and Wang Jing came out of the Old Street First Floor, they unexpectedly ran into his roommate Guan Zhi and Guan Zhi's girlfriend, Xu Ling.

Guan Zhi and Xu Ling were walking hand in hand past the entrance of the Old Street First Floor, and Cao Sheng and Wang Jing happened to be coming out after paying the bill.

Guan Zhi and Xu Ling looked at Cao Sheng in surprise, then looked at Wang Jing beside him, their suspicious gazes darting back and forth between their faces.