Chapter 109

After this matter is settled, Liu Tianxian will drag her luggage away again.

Still the same clean bedroom, Fang Hong still sat on the edge of the white bed, watching Liu Tianxian beside him, still wanting to slap her ass, still dare not.

"Just stay two more days!"

"What are you up to again? I really have to go now, I can't delay any longer," Liu Tianxian said seriously.

Domestically, the creators of A Chinese Ghost Story had flooded her phone.

Fang Hong took her hand, pulled her to stand in front of him: "The previous copyright conflict has been resolved—New Line Cinema wants to negotiate with us, and you need to help me handle it."

New Line Cinema is the company that bought The Warren Files screenplay—that's The Conjuring!

But now The Conjuring's final screenplay is in Fang Hong's hands, and theirs is too similar, hence the conflict.

Now they're demanding an in-person settlement negotiation, likely because they think they have no chance in court—they've already checked the content and admitted it's their own similarity.

They just registered earlier; the court will only rule that both copyrights are separate, rendering The Warren Files' subsequent screenplay content invalid.

New Line Cinema's parent company is Warner, but it enjoys autonomous operation—this matter won't reach Warner's senior leadership.

The Conjuring doesn't have that much value yet.

"I don't know how to negotiate!" Liu Tianxian said.

"It's fine, I do—I'll teach you," Fang Hong said.

"Oh, alright."

Liu Tianxian really couldn't refuse; she feared this man couldn't handle it, couldn't speak English and would be taken advantage of.

But those people back home were pressing hard!

"It won't take long—just two days," Fang Hong said seriously.

"Fine then, I'll stay two more days," Liu Tianxian still softened.

"You really care for me."

Fang Hong lifted her hand and kissed it, sickeningly sweet.

Liu Tianxian snatched her hand back: "Don't you dare. I'm only worried you'll get sold off—when you get back home and your mom asks me where you went, what am I supposed to say?"

"Yes yes yes, you're right," Fang Hong didn't argue.

"Exactly."

Liu Tianxian raised her voice slightly, as if slightly guilty.

Of course her original intent was to help this man.

Fang Hong smiled, saying nothing—just getting her to stay was enough; exposing her inner thoughts wouldn't be fun.

"But it's agreed—these are the final two days, no more delays," Liu Tianxian said sternly.

"Alright, I agree," Fang Hong nodded.

Two days is two days—what happens after that, we'll deal with then.

The next day, Fang Hong brought Liu Tianxian and the lawyer to negotiate with New Line Cinema's representatives.

They were five white men, including their chief Consultant—powerful, as expected from a big company.

In contrast, our side had only three people: the lawyer's competence was questionable, Fang Hong didn't understand English, and Liu Tianxian didn't know law or negotiation—effectively three novices.

A long conference table separated both sides.

The other side was aggressive from the start, pointing: "We registered the copyright first—you merely wrote your plot based on ours, which is plagiarism. We demand you cease immediately."

"Whether it's plagiarism isn't up to you to decide—it's the court's call. If you're here to convict us, then we decline to participate," Liu Tianxian said sternly, unyielding.

Fang Hong treated the lawyer as a translator—he whispered softly to Liu Tianxian's ear, and she relayed it.

With this man as her backing, she showed no fear.

After all, it wasn't her speaking—it was him. She only played the strong woman.

Still, inside she was nervous, especially since they'd launched a full frontal assault on her.

"We can keep this lawsuit going indefinitely—if we don't settle, neither will you. Who wins or loses isn't certain yet," the opposing representative slammed the table in threat.

They were bullying them for being weak and poor!

Liu Tianxian slammed the table—"Bang!"—almost rising to her feet.

"Calm down, calm down, stay composed," Fang Hong pressed her shoulder—why is she acting like a female bandit?

Liu Tianxian glanced at the man beside her and calmed herself.

Mainly because the other side was too dominant—she didn't want to be crushed, so she needed to appear even more dominant with body language to mask her inner unease.

After hearing Fang Hong's translation, Liu Tianxian's face turned cold: "If you truly had confidence, you wouldn't say 'keep going'—that's exactly your insecurity showing."

If you truly had confidence, you wouldn't keep going—keeping going means you lack confidence.

"We're insecure?" The five representatives laughed: "What right do you have to say we're insecure?"

Liu Tianxian was about to explode—Fang Hong quickly held her down: "Stay calm. Don't act like enemies. Your tone and demeanor must be indifferent. Remember—you're the one with the advantage. They're just bluffing."

"The calmer you are, the more they'll think you're unfathomable—like a master with peerless martial arts. Stay steady. Stay cool."

Fang Hong whispered to Liu Tianxian's ear, teaching her.

This negotiation was initiated by them—not us. That's the fundamental difference.

Only those without confidence call for a meeting—those with confidence wouldn't bother with you; they'd just go straight to court and let the judge decide.

The legal system here is different from China's!

Listening to Fang Hong, Liu Tianxian felt it made sense—she changed her posture, shrugged, and looked indifferent:

"Let me be clear—I came here hoping to negotiate and collaborate on this project. But if you keep this attitude, then I'll follow your lead—we'll meet again in court."

Fine, let's just not make the movie at all!

This remark struck a balance—it left the other side struggling to respond, and they began whispering among themselves.

Fundamentally, they called this meeting only because they were resentful—they registered the copyright first, yet their content kept overlapping.

Hearing the other side say they could cooperate, that wasn't unacceptable either.

Their goal was to make money, just not sure how much, because it hadn't been filmed yet, meaning the value was unknown.

If they could cooperate, it would save a lot of trouble; suing might not necessarily win.

Seeing the five of them whispering among themselves, Liu Tianxian lightly patted her chest and let out a soft breath. She had been holding her breath the whole time just now, nervous to death.

But she was a "professional actress," so she could still handle it.

But then again, this strong-woman feeling felt great!

Actually, the other side hadn't paid any attention to her performance at all, only listening to what she was saying.

"Not bad, you see the other side is won over by your charisma." Fang Hong praised softly.

"Right? Hehe, actually I was pretty nervous too." Liu Tianxian laughed, not putting on an act like last time.

It really was thanks to this man, every word parrying and blocking the other side.

Only now did she realize Fang Hong's true strength — his absolute sharpness and initiative in negotiations.

Although he hadn't personally taken the field to negotiate, he carried an invisible "momentum," and this momentum gave Fang Hong a different kind of charm.

This made her feel a bit of admiration for Fang Hong!

"Calm down, this benefits you too; you might find it useful when acting in the future." Fang Hong said.

"Mm!"

Liu Tianxian nodded and asked softly: "You want to cooperate with them on this film?"

"No, give them distribution. Their distribution makes the most money. Anyway, behind them is Warner, the channels are the same."

"Oh, I see."

Liu Tianxian suddenly understood: "You were planning to give them distribution all along, weren't you?"

"Yes!"

Fang Hong admitted, then said: "As long as they agree, giving up some profit doesn't matter. Once the film is made, the subsequent copyright becomes an established fact, and they can't want it back anymore."

In other words, once the film is made, the copyright is equivalent to New Line Cinema admitting it belongs to Jade Rabbit, and there can be no more disputes.

Then the entire "The Conjuring Universe" series afterward also won't have any disputes.

Liu Tianxian could understand — copyright was what this man wanted. She stared at Fang Hong: "You're too wicked."

"I'm being open and aboveboard, I didn't play any schemes or personal attacks, don't misunderstand." Fang Hong explained.

He had previously promised Liu Tianxian he wouldn't do anything that crossed the bottom line.

"I didn't say you played schemes, that's great!"

Liu Tianxian looked at Fang Hong, her eyes clear and transparent.

She could understand that the business world was just like this — if you don't fight for your interests, others will eat them up.

But she had discovered a different shining point about Fang Hong.

Previously Liu Tianxian hadn't felt Fang Hong had any particular strength, just that he dared to think and act. Feelings-wise she was only trying to get to know him. But now, after all these little experiences, she felt this man had a different radiance.

Whether it was with Warner or with the current New Line Cinema, this man had absolute composure and bearing, always clearly knowing what he wanted.

The negotiation continued. Seeing they couldn't intimidate the other side, the New Line Cinema representatives could only switch to cooperation.

Cooperation was the most beneficial for both sides; fighting back and forth didn't serve their interests.

(End of this chapter)