Chapter 197: Half Black, Half White

Liu Xiaoli chatted outside with friends for a while; when she returned indoors, she saw the two of them facing off over money.

It looked like they were just playing around.

She now had a general sense of this "son-in-law's" character—he wasn't fake, he was simply himself.

"Xiao Fang, come eat something," she called out.

Hearing her call, Fang Hong glanced at Liu Tianxian, who wore a pouty expression, clutching the money tightly.

There was nothing he could do—he had to put the fifty yuan away; after all, it was money.

Liu Tianxian watched his back and smiled.

She didn't actually want the money; seeing how much Fang Hong loved it, she'd snatched it all from him.

And the man hadn't argued with her.

Loved her? Loved money? Loved her more.

"Auntie!"

Fang Hong walked over to the sofa area and sat facing Liu Xiaoli.

"Eat some fruit."

Liu Xiaoli pushed the fruit platter on the coffee table toward him.

This left Fang Hong slightly taken aback; he said, "Thank you, Auntie."

"Your Yutu Company seems to be doing well."

Liu Xiaoli initiated casual conversation, asking him about his career for the first time.

She'd heard of the company before, and some of Fang Hong's exploits, but didn't know exactly how it had developed.

Her daughter rarely told her about it.

"It's still just a small company; everything is in the startup phase, many structures aren't mature yet, and still need improvement," Fang Hong said.

Liu Xiaoli nodded: "Take steady steps, don't rush—haste makes waste."

Fang Hong wasn't sure if she meant he shouldn't rush his relationship with Liu Tianxian, or if she was genuinely concerned about his company.

In truth, he was overthinking—Liu Xiaoli was genuinely talking about his company.

Their dynamic had been clear to her all along.

Good feelings were one thing, but a man must have a career, must have ability; otherwise, the status isn't equal.

A strong woman and a weak man? Unacceptable!

Since Liu Xiaoli wanted to hear, Fang Hong told her some things about his career.

He only spoke about Yutu's current film production business; he didn't mention games, special effects, or animation.

Those hadn't yet gotten on track—film production was the most profitable business.

He also didn't mention Yutu's operations in the United States.

Liu Tianxian watched them chat without interrupting; instead, she quietly counted her money—after subtracting what her mother had lost, she'd won over a million yuan.

This wasn't a small sum; the people she'd beaten had even had to dig out their fifty-yuan notes.

The New Year passed in a quiet, noisy, ordinary way.

On the second day of the New Year, Liu Tianxian went to visit relatives; unlike Fang Hong's family, hers still had some relatives to visit.

She visited aunts, her grandmother, and even went to Wuhan.

That day, Yu Xian called—he was offering New Year greetings, to both Fang Hong and Xu Liyun.

Last year's New Year, he'd eaten and drunk for free at their place, and was deeply grateful to Xu Liyun.

They chatted for a while, then Fang Hong turned to discussing work—specifically, the release of The Conjuring.

The film was scheduled for February 10, right during a U. S. public holiday—Presidents' Day—perfect timing.

It couldn't be delayed; if pushed to March or April, big films like The Hunger Games and The Avengers would be released, creating too much competition.

Overseas release schedules differed from domestic ones.

He also mentioned the progress of Split—this film was being directed by someone else; he was only serving as Producer.

Low budget, no need to overcomplicate it!

They were also preparing to shoot The Purge Part Two, again hiring someone else to direct, with Yu Xian as Producer; the investment was slightly higher than the first film—nine million dollars.

This film's concept could be endlessly rebooted—one movie per year, for eternity!

As for production costs, funds would be drawn from The Conjuring's box office earnings once it was released.

There was already enough money for initial preparations—the copyright fees for The Purge and Annabelle had been generating steady small income.

These copyright fees weren't one-time payments; they were ongoing, and each payout was never large.

In short, Yu Xian had been working himself to exhaustion, even vomiting from fatigue.

Fang Hong knew how hard he'd been working: "Did you get the English Rose sorted out?"

"No time for that—I'm busy every day," Yu Xian said.

"Keep going, keep pushing—you're at the age to strive hard. I just remembered a famous saying to tell you: If you don't work hard as a youth, you'll regret it when you're old." Fang Hong made it up.

"It's 'If you don't strive in your prime, you'll only grieve in old age.' Do you even have any culture?" Yu Xian retorted.

"Ah, that's your only good quality."

Fang Hong sighed, but he was actually belittling himself to praise Yu Xian.

The praise made Yu Xian feel good: "Though I'm worse than you in business, my technical skills are stronger—you have to admit it."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Fang Hong nodded.

Indeed, Yu Xian's progress in cinematography and directing had far surpassed his own.

He was either chasing girls or at work.

They chatted for hours; Yu Xian felt satisfied and threw himself even harder into his work.

This year is also a crucial one for Fang Hong; everything is just being set up, and money is urgently needed—without Yu Xian's support, the situation couldn't be opened up.

And without Yu Xian, Jade Rabbit would collapse, simply because it stretched too far.

Yu Xian loves to talk big, but when you ask him to work, he takes it seriously and never brings up money—he takes whatever you give him.

But Fang Hong never shortchanged him. The Fifty Shades of Grey novel series has remained globally popular, and Universal originally wanted the film adaptation rights—but the rights ended up in the hands of Jade Rabbit in the United States.

Thus, on the third day of the new year, Universal's Chairman Donna called Fang Hong again—this was their second phone call.

Americans don't observe the Chinese New Year; they didn't know Fang Hong was on break.

But Fang Hong didn't mind—work made him happy.

Donna expressed her desire to acquire the film adaptation rights to Fifty Shades of Grey.

She said the price could be anything, as long as it was reasonable.

Americans speak without preparation—if you ask for $99.9 billion, will you pay it?

Fang Hong didn't say that—he said they should produce it, and Universal should handle distribution, with the profit split remaining at the previous 25%.

Donna said she wanted to invest, just to get a larger share, as she was very confident in Fifty Shades of Grey!

"Fine, but I still want to keep my 25% share," Fang Hong said.

It made little difference whether she invested or not—she'd only gain a bit more say in the second film, but she'd still have to give Universal distribution rights, since they held co-rights.

But no one even knew if the first film would succeed—how could anyone tell if a second would be made?

"You won't budge on this one bit!" Donna said over the phone.

"Sister… no, big sister, you eat the meat, you've got to let me have some broth—I need to grow too, I need to make money, the production costs are all mine, and you bear no risk." Fang Hong spoke earnestly.

Donna laughed heartily at his repeated use of "big sister."

She understood—he was right: production costs were entirely theirs, while distribution depended on the finished film and test screenings; if the reception was good, global release would follow immediately, and risks could be controlled.

"I've got another film, called Split, in post-production—if you want it, I can give it to you," Fang Hong added.

You had to give her something more to quell Universal's ambitions.

"What genre is it?" Donna asked.

"Horror thriller. When post-production is done, you can come watch it—I guarantee you'll be satisfied," Fang Hong said.

"Alright then."

Donna believed Jade Rabbit knew how to handle horror thrillers—at least so far, they'd never lost money.

She was also familiar with Annabelle.

Even The Purge: Anarchy, a piece of trash, made massive profits—what couldn't they do?

As for the Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation rights, she didn't insist—she just wanted them to agree to let Universal handle distribution.

Making money together was better; losing such a producer meant losing a lot of profit—it wasn't worth quarreling over just one film, Fifty Shades of Grey.

"Has your The Purge: Anarchy started production yet?" she asked.

"Yes, around midyear—it should be out."

"OK!"

They settled everything, and Fang Hong also handed Split over to Universal before hanging up.

Fifty Shades of Grey isn't moving forward now because they lack the funds; this film needs tens of millions of dollars to make—it's even more expensive than The Conjuring.

That's hundreds of millions in RMB.

At this stage, Jade Rabbit can't afford such a film; by refusing Universal a larger share, Fang Hong was trying to earn more himself.

On the fourth day of the new year, Wang Zhangtian called again. "Are all bosses not taking holidays? Are you all working this hard?" "Manager Wang, Happy New Year!" Fang Hong answered.

He called about Liu Tianxian—Fang Hong had previously promised him he'd resolve Zeng's issue before The Four Great Constables premiered.

Liu Tianxian was scheduled to go to the Xiangshan film set in Ningbo on the seventh day of the new year to shoot the second and third installments of The Four Great Constables.

Shooting this way saved money—the sets, crew, and equipment could be reused, no need for new preparations, and actors could be hired at discounts.

If The Four Great Constables proceeded as planned, Wang Zhangtian still felt uneasy if Fang Hong didn't resolve the matter, so he called Fang Hong.

He asked how things stood with Zeng.

There had been minor rumors swirling around this issue, not huge, but always dangerous.

He didn't care much about the rumors of her being difficult or acting like a diva—such things didn't violate any core principles.

"Manager Wang, I'm actively resolving it—I won't let it affect your The Four Great Constables," Fang Hong said.

"My The Four Great Constables releases in July—I don't want any scandal before or after. You need to move fast," Wang Zhangtian warned.

That meant only four or five months left, since promotional work needed to begin early.

"Don't worry, Manager Wang—I'll definitely solve it," Fang Hong assured him.

In his past life, Liu Tianxian's later two films of The Four Great Constables were cut, partly due to this incident, and partly because of The Bronze Sparrow Terrace, which drew massive ridicule and dragged down her status.

But Fa Ge was unaffected—he watched Liu Tianxian the whole time and attacked her, picking the softest target.

These past few years in his past life were also Liu Tianxian's hardest.

She was blackened everywhere, and entangled in the same scandal!

This life, Liu Tianxian's situation was far better—she hadn't even taken The Bronze Sparrow Terrace, and had multiple major hits supporting her.

Although the scandal still clung to her and the online criticism never stopped, her situation was much improved.

Fang Hong had asked Liu Tianxian how her communication with Zeng was going. She said she'd spoken with him at length, but Zeng remained hesitant.

When she had time, she'd meet Zeng in person to see if they could post mutual Weibo statements clarifying they were just good friends, and resolve the matter properly.

Liu Tianxian still didn't want to take extreme measures.

In his past life, though she'd grown cold, she'd never taken extreme measures—she'd merely hardened her heart and cut ties, never saying a single bad word about Zeng.

When Zeng insulted her, she didn't respond—she only posted a black-and-white rabbit image.

Now, Fang Hong understood Liu Tianxian better—he understood what that image meant.

That was her attitude toward human nature: half black, half white.

White was purity; black was evil.

It meant she saw herself as good, while others saw her as evil.

Just like a few days ago, Fang Hong was framed by his mother and Liu Tianxian, who twisted right and wrong — he, the wronged one, became the evil party.

(End of Chapter)