Chapter 459

For Li Luo, although Yuan Wanqing was now a major star, he himself felt little about it.

On one hand, she was Yan Zhusheng's mother; on the other, the songs that made Yuan Wanqing famous were provided by Li Luo.

So when viewing Yuan Wanqing, Li Luo rarely saw her through the eyes of a stranger toward a celebrity.

But Li Xiang and Chen Lu were different.

Although they both knew Yan Zhusheng and knew she was Yuan Wanqing's daughter,

they had only met during last year's Lunar New Year and weren't particularly familiar with her.

As for Yuan Wanqing, they had only seen her on television.

So when they suddenly encountered Yuan Wanqing in person, the impact on Chen Lu and Li Xiang was clearly much greater.

Yuan Wanqing herself had no airs; after Chen Lu asked for her autograph, Li Xiang nervously went over too, and Yuan Wanqing signed for both, even taking a group photo with them.

Watching the delighted Chen Lu and Li Xiang, Li Luo smiled.

After asking Li Xiang to help carry his luggage upstairs to the third floor, Li Luo followed Ying Chanxi and the others to the neighboring house of Ying Zhicheng.

Ying Chanxi took Yan Zhusheng upstairs, but this time didn't assign her a separate bedroom—instead, she pulled Yan Zhusheng straight into her own room.

"Zhusheng, you'll sleep with me these few days of the New Year," Ying Chanxi warmly invited, dragging Yan Zhusheng's suitcase inside.

Yan Zhusheng froze for a moment, unable to react; by the time Ying Chanxi had already dragged the suitcase in, it was already awkward to refuse.

So she nodded in agreement.

Ying Chanxi was naturally very satisfied.

The whole point was sleeping together—no one was allowed to sneak away.

…

In the afternoon, Li Luo's cousin Chen Sijia returned with his aunt.

After seeing the autograph of Yuan Wanqing on Chen Lu's shirt, Chen Sijia blushed slightly and ran over to the neighbor's house to get her own autograph, then returned beaming.

At dinner, Yuan Wanqing accompanied Ying Zhicheng and sat down on the second floor at Li Luo's home.

Everyone felt a bit tense the moment they saw Yuan Wanqing.

But once they saw she was just like an ordinary person, after a few rounds of drinks, they all relaxed.

During dinner, Li Xiang kept glancing over at Li Luo.

He saw Li Luo serving dishes to Yan Zhusheng, and Ying Chanxi serving dishes to Li Luo.

Then he looked at Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing—the parents of Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng—who, whenever conversation turned to Li Luo, never failed to praise him.

This treatment left Li Xiang quietly startled, wondering if his little uncle might actually turn a novel into reality.

Leaving Xu Youyu aside for now, just looking at Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng, it seemed neither the two girls nor their parents showed any strong resistance.

Watching these small details, Li Xiang couldn't help shaking his head in awe.

Previously, when he read I Am Really Not a Star, he had thought it would be great if the book were ever adapted into a TV drama.

But now, why bother adapting it into a TV drama at all?

Isn't watching the real-life reality show better?

This was far more exciting and thrilling than what was written in the book!

I wonder if Uncle and Aunt even know that their little uncle is already sharing beds with several girls?

Li Xiang recalled the scene he had witnessed during last year's Lunar New Year and fell into deep thought.

…

After dinner, the families gathered on the living room sofa chatting.

Lin Xiuhong pulled Yuan Wanqing aside, called Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng over, and had Li Luo and the others bring out the mahjong table from the storage room to start playing.

When Li Luo returned to the sofa, Ying Zhicheng had just taken the cigarette offered by Li Guohong, lit it, inhaled, and said to Li Luo: "Have you heard any news about the film and television rights for Little Joy?"

"I've received it," Li Luo nodded. "Wenxue Group has been in touch with me; I've had my lawyer follow up on the progress, but the main negotiations are still being handled by them."

"I previously met with a director who thinks your novel is very easy to adapt and is eager to take it on," Ying Zhicheng said. "He said he's already met you."

"Oh, Director Wang Jun?" Li Luo recalled. "I met him once at the annual meeting."

"Yes," Ying Zhicheng nodded. "His storytelling skills are average, but his control over filming is excellent—I think he'd suit you well."

That was true.

After all, Li Luo's Little Joy wasn't like the original novels that merely provided a framework and main plot—it was fully fleshed out according to TV drama structure.

If a director with strong personal vision took over and drastically altered the plot during filming, Li Luo would find it unacceptable.

On the contrary, a director like Wang Jun suited Li Luo's taste perfectly.

Often, creativity and basic skills are two different things.

For example, someone might have a distinctive writing style and voice, but still fail to craft a good story—only producing a beautiful essay at best.

Similarly, a manga artist with excellent drawing technique might not produce a compelling manga—only beautiful characters and scenery.

The same applies to directors.

Perfect lighting, angles, and set design don't guarantee a good movie.

A good story is what matters most.

Since the topic of directors had come up, Ying Zhicheng's intent was clear: no matter how much Wenxue Group quoted, he was determined to secure it.

Fortunately, Huayue Film and Television wasn't some small player—it had considerable fame in Qianjiang Province and ranked among the second-tier studios nationwide.

Although Huayue had no prior experience adapting male-oriented online novels, it had successfully adapted several female-oriented ones.

When Ying Zhicheng led negotiations with Wenxue Group's rights department, he considered that half the profits would go directly into Li Luo's pocket.

The one actually paying for the rights was Huayue Film and Television, not Ying Zhicheng himself.

So in price negotiation, Ying Zhicheng didn't push too hard—he only brought the initial 15-million quote down to 10 million, and the final price would likely fall within that range.

Li Luo didn't care much about this aspect.

Although the final offer fluctuated, and those fluctuations could easily affect his millions in earnings, that million or so was really just the price of one car for Li Guohong.

According to the previous Platinum-level senior's words, the most important thing about selling the adaptation rights for your first book is simply selling them.

Once you successfully sell the film and television rights once, you will become a higher-priority author within Wenxue Group—or at any other film and television company.

If in the future Li Luo has another book to sell for film and television rights, and the film company's budget only suffices to buy one.

Then the probability they choose Li Luo is far higher than that of authors who have never sold rights before.

"My current plan is that after the New Year, at most by April, I'll close this deal."

After finishing the above topic, Ying Zhicheng continued, "Hua Yue Film and Television has had two minor shareholders exit recently; they're not optimistic about the company's future film and television direction."

"If no significant achievements follow, Hua Yue Film and Television will only get harder to manage."

"I'll immediately hand over to Director Wang Jun and begin casting as soon as the film and television rights contract is signed before April."

"We'll start shooting during summer and aim to finish before National Day."

"Then we'll go through the various procedures, and it should air around next year's college entrance exam."

Hearing this, Li Luo paused: "Next year's college entrance exam… isn't that our cohort's exam?"

"Yes." Ying Zhicheng smiled. "It just happens to coincide with your exam—that's quite fitting."

"True." Li Luo laughed along, finding the timing arrangement rather interesting.

He hadn't expected Ying Zhicheng's efficiency to be this high.

Normally, from selling a novel's film and television rights to filming and then broadcasting, a gap of three to five years is perfectly normal.

Someone like Ying Zhicheng, aiming to complete the entire process within two years, is already rare.

Some film and television productions, even after filming, may never be broadcast due to various reasons.

Some actors, after completing a project, might not see their own work aired until one or two years later.

In short, all kinds of situations are common.

Ying Zhicheng's urgency stems purely from his need for performance results.

Recently, besides preparing "Little Joys," Hua Yue Film and Television also has another female-audience novel, "Bi Luo Huang Quan," in negotiation—it's by the same author as the earlier "Yaochi Xian Yuan."

Although "Yaochi Xian Yuan" received mediocre online reviews, its fanbase held it in high regard, and it previously earned a decent sum.

Now, launching both TV projects simultaneously is Ying Zhicheng's insurance policy for himself.

He has roughly two years left until the deadline set by the board.

If he fails again, his position as general manager will likely need to be moved.

"By the way, Uncle Ying," Li Luo said after listening, suddenly thinking of a possibility and asking curiously, "Does Hua Yue Film and Television accept co-development?"

"What do you mean?" Ying Zhicheng blinked in surprise.

"What's your budget for this drama?"

"Thirty to forty million, not particularly high—it's a modern drama, after all, so costs are low."

"Can I invest a portion?" Li Luo raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Under Chongran Culture's name."