Chapter 102: Return to Jingcheng and Chinese Paladin 1

From a future perspective, the New Year was really just another occasion.

Visiting relatives and paying New Year calls, adults talked while children bowed their heads playing with their phones.

For many people, the festive flavor of the New Year was fading further each year.

As a child, one eagerly looked forward to the New Year—for piles of delicious food and drinks, and beautiful new clothes.

Most importantly, there were countless fireworks to play with; children, wearing thick padded shoes, ran joyfully through the snow without a care.

Cheng Chen accompanied his family visiting relatives and paying New Year calls, listening to the adults chatter about daily life.

He sat on a small stool, savoring the rare moments of leisure.

Of course, it wasn't all enjoyment—people from miles around had heard that the Lao Cheng family had produced a celebrity, and they loitered outside his house for no reason at all.

Cheng Chen mostly met the villagers' enthusiasm with calmness, bringing out peanuts and candy to greet them.

During this time, he also didn't forget to chat with Gao Yuanyuan and Yan Danchen, nurturing their relationship.

Cheng Chen stayed at home for seven days total, during which he took his grandparents to the hospital for a full-body checkup.

The elderly couple had spent their youth scrimping and saving to raise five children, leaving their bodies with numerous hidden ailments.

Although Cheng Chen had sent his family a good deal of money, beyond basic expenses, the rest was hoarded and not spent.

They saved it, saying it was for Cheng Chen's future wife.

He also bought new household items and appliances for the family; for Cheng Chen's current wealth, these were but a drop in the ocean.

But when his parents heard the prices, they nearly fainted on the spot.

Additionally, Cheng Chen suggested that his grandparents and parents move to Jingcheng, where he could more easily care for them.

But his grandparents refused without a second thought—they simply couldn't bear to leave their few mu of land.

Working the fields in the village and chatting with neighbors, the elderly lived contentedly enough.

If they truly moved to Jingcheng, they'd be stifled to death.

Cheng Chen could do nothing about it, so he left money for his father and younger uncle to consider together.

See if they could start a small business in the county town, so they could still easily care for the two elders…

On the seventh day of the New Year, after settling all family matters, Cheng Chen departed under the tearful, reluctant gazes of his family.

Carrying two large bags of local specialties, he set off on his return journey to Jingcheng.

…

After returning to Jingcheng, Cheng Chen first appeared at Tianhai Records, then visited Xinghuo Entertainment to distribute Lunar New Year red envelopes to the staff.

During this time, Li Zhenyu from Huaxia Blog called Cheng Chen again, inviting him to an industry internet conference.

Cheng Chen, bored, said:

"Lao Li, from now on, just handle these things yourself—I'll stay behind the scenes and not get involved. Huaxia Blog is still officially yours to run and control."

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Li Zhenyu was moved to near tears—how much trust Cheng Chen placed in him!

He was instantly ready to give his life for Cheng Chen!

"Alright, then I'll just decline Yao Zhuangxian outright. Though we're all internet companies, he's into game development—nothing to do with our portal site."

"Wait…"

Hearing that name, Cheng Chen asked directly:

"Yao Zhuangxian from Dayu?"

"Yeah, Dayu founded Softstar Technology in Jingcheng, and Yao Zhuangxian is the general manager. You know Yao Zhuangxian too, Cheng Zong?"

At this, Cheng Chen rolled his eyes—wasn't that obvious?

Who doesn't know the father of Xianjian Qixia Zhuan?

In a certain sense, Yao Zhuangxian pioneered the 1990s gaming trend in China.

He was a "godfather" of single-player games, nicknamed "Yao Xian."

The Xianjian Qixia Zhuan and Richman series he created remain bestsellers across the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong.

His achievements were undeniable, but if you carefully examined the producer credits of every Xianjian installment, you'd understand.

Yao Zhuangxian was credited as producer only for the first and fifth installments; for most others, he was merely a supervisor.

A supervisor, as it were… often just a name on the credits.

Still, given that he created both Richman and Xianjian, his skill was unquestionable—he was undoubtedly a star producer.

Cheng Chen had certainly played the Xianjian games, but now he was thinking more about the TV adaptation rights for Chinese Paladin 1.

Chinese Paladin 1 was among the most successful video game-to-TV adaptations ever made.

When Chinese Paladin premiered on E Province Satellite TV in 2005, its 11.3% viewership broke local station records.

Three years later, when it aired in prime time on a national satellite channel, its average viewership reached 3.8%, peaking at 4.9%.

The owner of a video store in Nanjing sold as many as twenty sets of Chinese Paladin DVDs and compressed DVDs in a single day.

At first, Chinese Paladin's success wasn't dazzling—it gained popularity and attention along a slow, steady upward curve.

After 2016, its Douban rating reached 9.0, with 215,000 users giving it reviews.

It directly launched the fame of Hu Ge, Liu Tianxian, and many other stars, becoming an unforgettable memory for the post-90s generation.

As always, this was one of those rare works etched into the DNA.

And its songs—"Sha Po Lang," "Always Very Quiet," "Xiaoyao Sigh"—were like imprints on the very soul of Chinese Paladin.

Later, the visuals of Chinese Paladin and these theme songs became inseparable.

In Cheng Chen's memory, Tangren had only just bought the TV adaptation rights for Chinese Paladin 1 this year.

And the key figure behind this was none other than Yao Zhuangxian.

Rumor had it that back then, a little-known college junior named Hu Ge was discovered by Yao Zhuangxian and cast as Li Xiaoyao.

Now that the New Year had just passed, Tangren probably hadn't moved yet—if Cheng Chen moved quickly to snatch the TV adaptation rights for Chinese Paladin 1…

Last year, Cheng Chen had already considered entering the film and television production circle; with such a great opportunity now, how could Xinghuo Entertainment not get involved!

"Where's the address? I'm going!"

Cheng Chen replied directly to Li Zhenyu.

…

"What are you doing?"

While heading to Yao Zhuangxian's internet conference, Cheng Chen received a call from Yan Danchen.

"There's a meeting to attend; I'm on my way now."

Cheng Chen was puzzled—it was exactly two o'clock in the afternoon, and knowing Yan Danchen as he did, the girl should be napping right now.

"Hmm…"

"Are you hiding something? Why are you speaking so hesitantly?"

Cheng Chen asked, puzzled.

"Hehe, nothing's wrong, I just wanted to give you a surprise."

From the other end of the line came Yan Danchen's sweet, playful voice.

"Is calling me the surprise?"

Cheng Chen asked, amused.

"Of course not just that. Hmm… I won't tell you now, you'll find out in a couple of days. Bye!"

Cheng Chen stared at his phone in confusion—could the surprise she meant be her coming to Jingcheng?

It wouldn't be a problem if she came to Jingcheng; as long as she didn't meet Gao Yuanyuan, Cheng Chen had ways to mediate between them.

Thinking back to the incident on the snack street, Cheng Chen still felt a chill.

…

Just as he neared the conference entrance, his phone rang again.

What was going on? His phone kept ringing all day. He checked—it was Lai Dao.

"Hello, Lai Dao, Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Chengzi. I've got something to tell you: The Legend of the Condor Heroes will be released on the mainland on March 1st—we need to promote it."

"We've just been invited to appear on Xiang Province Satellite TV's Happy Camp; we'll go the day after tomorrow. You're fine with that, right?"

"No problem. How many of us are going?"

"Five people: you, Gao Yuanyuan, Jia Jingwen, Su Youpeng, and me."

"Alright… wait, did you just say Xiang Province?"

Cheng Chen suddenly realized—he remembered Yan Danchen's earlier call—and quickly asked:

"Is Xiang Province Satellite TV inviting any guests?"

"Yes, apparently a local actor from Xiang Province—something like… Yan Danchen?"

What do you mean, surprise?!

…