Chapter 18: In an instant, I felt as if I were reading Dream of the Red Chamber

Although the agreed time was to meet at 2 p. m.

But Jiang Cheng arrived early, at 1:45.

According to the address Li Qinqin provided, he found the café, and then found the seat she had specified.

Seeing a pretty girl in a red dress sitting there, Jiang Cheng knew he was in the right place and sat opposite her.

Li Qinqin went to the restroom.

Ye Qing had been sitting there alone, wrestling with her thoughts.

She kept rehearsing in her mind what questions Mr. Jiang might ask when he arrived later, and how she should answer them.

Just then, he saw a figure flash by, then sit down in front of her; taking a closer look, it was a handsome young man whose looks rivaled a star's.

Ye Qing's heart tightened; her first reaction was that this was Mr. Jiang.

But she quickly realized the boy before her was too young, while Mr. Jiang's lyrics and rhythm carried the weight of years—surely not someone so young.

Having realized this, Ye Qing's face flushed with embarrassment; she smiled and said, "Sorry, sir, this seat is taken."

She instinctively took the young man in front of her for someone trying to hit on her, since this sort of thing often happens.

Actually, at that moment she was very nervous inside, worried the boy would pester her; if Mr. Jiang showed up then, making him unhappy would be terrible.

Jiang Cheng glanced at the table sign and said, "That's right, it's me."

"Mr. Jiang?" Li Qinqin's voice came over.

She had just come out of the restroom and was still wiping water droplets from her hands.

Looking up, she saw a boy sitting opposite Ye Qing!

She had dealt with Jiang Cheng before, so she had seen his ID and knew he was very young.

She hurried over in her high heels, tap-tap-tap-tap.

"Sorry, Mr. Jiang, for keeping you waiting!"

Li Qinqin quickly pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "Mr. Jiang, we've booked a private room inside; shall we go there?"

Jiang Cheng waved a hand, "No need, let's get down to business."

"All right, Mr. Jiang," Li Qinqin replied promptly.

Ye Qing, sitting nearby, stared open-mouthed at Jiang Cheng; she truly hadn't expected Mr. Jiang to be so young! Fortunately, she had known in advance about his talent.

If she had seen Mr. Jiang in person beforehand, she would surely have overlooked his talent.

Because if you dressed Mr. Jiang up and placed him among the agency's trainees, he'd still be top-tier in looks and physique!

"What do you want this time?" Jiang Cheng asked, playing with the USB drive in his hand.

Li Qinqin said, "Mr. Jiang, please wait a moment."

She reached out and pulled over the handbag beside the table—a high-end blue paper box—and took out a sandalwood box from inside.

Opening the lid, inside was a gold bar stamped with a floral pattern logo.

She pushed the box toward Jiang Cheng and, with a friendly smile, said, "Mr. Jiang, this is a commemorative gift from Leisure Entertainment, specially made for you; please accept it."

Jiang Cheng glanced down; the gold bar bore a floral pattern, with a logo in the upper left, a blessing in the center, and the words "Presented to Mr. Jiang" in the lower right.

This gold bar must be at least 500 grams thick, right?

How can I possibly accept this?

Jiang Cheng closed the lid and moved it to his side.

He nodded and said, "Your thoughtfulness is appreciated; you may now state your requests." Such a custom-made gold bar would naturally require some advance time.

Moreover, the person sitting before him was part of the company's staff procedure; delaying would serve no purpose.

Seeing Jiang Cheng accept the gold bar, Li Qinqin felt a weight lift from her chest, and her mouth involuntarily curled upward.

As long as Mr. Jiang is willing to accept their gift, it surely shows this meeting is sincere!

"Mr. Jiang, your talent is plain to see." Li Qinqin gathered her thoughts and continued, "Last time the song you gave us hit the hot-search list, and the IP license you provided has now been fully prepared for formal filming."

"So this time, our request is actually no request—we are willing to take any of your works, Mr. Jiang."

"And we will certainly offer a fair price, so you won't lose out."

After Li Qinqin finished speaking,

Jiang Cheng placed the USB drive he was holding on the table and gently pushed it over.

"You want audiovisual rights, so I'll just give you a script."

"This is a rough version; if it's okay, I'll send you the full detailed set later."

Jiang Cheng actually didn't care what Li Qinqin said, and even now he didn't mind which company she was from; he had so many stories and works in his mind that as long as the deal met his expectations, other details didn't matter to him.

Li Qinqin startled; although she knew this meeting was for a transaction, seeing Jiang Cheng produce that USB drive still made her heart jump.

Because the two works Jiang Cheng had given before were extremely popular, and that song had already been validated by the market and was very well received.

Moreover, he had heard many professionals say privately that the song's quality far surpassed that of singer Zhang Qi'an.

If a more suitable singer performed it, its achievement would be even greater!

Therefore, works flowing from Mr. Jiang's hands are likely to become classics! She grabbed the USB drive, her voice trembling slightly, and asked, "Mr. Jiang, may I ask what movie this is for?"

This was purely her personal curiosity; she blurted it out instinctively.

"God of Gambling."

"God of Gambling." Li Qinqin muttered and then asked, "Mr. Jiang, may I ask what price you have in mind?"

"Just decide for yourselves," Jiang Cheng said indifferently.

He himself knew that if the drama God of Gambling were filmed well, its value would be far beyond that of an ordinary script.

This play, once produced, would almost certainly make money—and big money—so he saw no need to set a price, nor did he want to make an exorbitant demand.

Li Xinxin's heart sank, however; she wasn't afraid of the other side making demands, but afraid of them saying they had none, because then she couldn't gauge what they wanted, and success or failure would hinge on a single thought.

"All right, Mr. Jiang, we will certainly evaluate it seriously!"

Li Qinqin felt this burden had grown heavy.

"Do you have any other requests?" Jiang Cheng asked.

Li Qinqin's gaze flicked toward Ye Qing.

Ye Qing, behaving sensibly, said: "Mr. Jiang, could you write a song for me?"

Jiang Cheng's gaze turned, seeing Ye Qing's big eyes; in an instant he felt dazed, as if looking into Dream of the Red Chamber.

He had also just heard the other's voice; this tone was excellent, and he rather liked it.

A song immediately came to mind.

Without thinking much, he directly said: "No problem, bring pen and paper."

(End of chapter)