A widower's entertainment

Chapter 332 [The Pursuit in the World of Capital] (Please Subscribe)
Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

Time flies like water. Yang Xiao and his group, who traveled by train to the Netherlands, not only brought back the Hugo Award trophy from abroad, but also the good news that the World Science Fiction Convention would be held in China in 1991. Clearly, the long journey of Yang Xiao and his group impressed the science fiction writers abroad. The eight-day and eight-night train journey allowed them to witness the amazing science fiction happening in the real world.

In the view of Yang Xiao and others, the successful bid must have been due to Lin Youcheng winning the Hugo Award. But only Lin Youcheng knew that even without the Hugo Award, science fiction writers from abroad would still gather in Chengdu, Sichuan Province next year. In different times and spaces, some historical waves will eventually move forward along their original trajectory. The flapping of Lin Youcheng's butterfly wings may change some things, but more things will remain the same.

Just like Lin Youcai's factory in Decheng, which will also close down, the workers there are all looking for other ways to make a living. These are all unchangeable trends of the times.

Before they knew it, it was the end of 1990. It was late autumn, and winter was about to begin in Beijing. But for some workers laid off due to the reform of state-owned enterprises, the real winter was yet to come.

The pomegranate tree in the courtyard was laden with fruit, and Lin Zhaoqing was busy picking fruit for his younger siblings so they could eat pomegranates. The courtyard was filled with laughter and joy.

Inside the main room, Lin Youcheng sat at his desk, hunched over, writing the script for "Every Day."

"Everyone is a possibility. The most desperate romantics tend to feel this more acutely, while for others, the only way to continue living is to see everyone as a possibility. The more I peer into the world reflected in the mind of this strange body, the more I feel that his life has more possibilities. His possibilities are rooted in those qualities that are most important to me—kindness, creativity, engagement with the world, and the possibility of engaging with those around him."

"What does it feel like when a person falls in love? How can such a brief moment contain such intense emotions? I suddenly understand why people believe in the recurrence of the past, why people believe in past lives and reincarnation, because the feelings I have at this moment cannot be encompassed by the years I have lived in this world."

"The moment you fall in love seems to have been preordained centuries ago, all for this precise and significant encounter. In your heart, in your bones, no matter how obtuse you may be, you will feel that everything is leading here, all the secret arrows are pointing here, endless time and space have already been arranged, and you have only just realized that you have only just arrived at the place you were destined to be..."

……

Xie Shuhua walked up to Lin Youcheng, took a bowl of peeled pomegranate pulp, and went to the desk. Seeing that Lin Youcheng was writing a manuscript, she didn't intend to disturb him and was about to put it down and leave.

As Lin Youcheng was writing his manuscript, he looked up and saw Xie Shuhua.

Their eyes met, and Lin Youcheng smiled, looking at the bowl of pomegranates in Xie Shuhua's hand, and said with a smile, "How are the pomegranates this year?"

"It's very sweet, try some."

As she spoke, Xie Shuhua handed the pomegranate to Lin Youcheng.

Lin Youcheng tasted some, smiled, nodded, and said, "It's very sweet."

Xie Shuhua's gaze fell on the grid paper Lin Youcheng was writing on, and she saw those few sentences: "What does a person feel the moment they fall in love? How can such a brief moment contain such intense emotions?... The moment you fall in love seems to have been destined centuries ago, all for this precise and meaningful encounter." In that instant, Xie Shuhua seemed to be strongly moved; those words were like a vibrant hand plucking at her heartstrings.

Xie Shuhua looked at the manuscript and asked, "Is this story still about love?"

When Lin Youcheng heard Xie Shuhua ask this question, he smiled and nodded, saying, "It shouldn't just be about love."

Seeing that Xie Shuhua's gaze was fixed on the manuscript, Lin Youcheng handed the manuscript directly to Xie Shuhua, took the pomegranate from Xie Shuhua's hand, and said with a smile: "This time I'm writing a screenplay. Editor-in-chief Yang of Science Fiction World wants me to write this story as a novel, but I still plan to write it as a movie screenplay."

"A movie script?"

Although Xie Shuhua was somewhat surprised that it wasn't a novel, she didn't think too much about it. After all, Lin Youcheng's ability to write screenplays is widely recognized. He had previously written a screenplay called "My Brothers and Sisters," which was very moving in both the film and television versions.

Xie Shuhua flipped through the script written by Lin Youcheng, while Lin Youcheng sat to the side eating pomegranates, watching the children in the yard who were still moving stools to pick pomegranates, busy and happy.

After a long while, Xie Shuhua was deeply moved. She hadn't expected Lin Youcheng to come up with such a unique story. The protagonist, A, was a particularly strange being, like a soul, but the exact nature of his identity was unclear. Perhaps it was an identity that couldn't be precisely defined. From the moment of his birth, he wandered among bodies of similar ages, experiencing a range of emotions from curiosity to numbness, from fear to indifference, until finally dutifully playing the roles he was meant to play: male, female, ordinary, dazzling, stereotypical, rebellious.
This is truly special!
The crucial point is that this particularly fantastical being gradually learned to restrain its own personality, hide its humanity, and constantly switch lives according to the host's personality and memory patterns...

"Youcheng, your idea for this story is absolutely brilliant! Why don't you write it into a novel?"

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "Novels and screenplays are the same, only the format and style of the written expression are different. Perhaps it's like the protagonist's identity and role are different, but the story is still the same story, and there will be no change in essence."

Xie Shuhua nodded in agreement when she heard Lin Youcheng's words.

Lin Youcheng said with a smile, "Of course, I think this story would be more interesting to make into a movie. Think about it, the main character in a movie keeps changing. You could say there is no fixed role or identity. Every day is a different existence. Wouldn't it be interesting to find different actors to play the same role?"

Listening to Lin Youcheng's description, Xie Shuhua also thought the movie would be very interesting and nodded. However, what she cared about more was the love ending of the protagonist A, and she couldn't help but ask, "So, will he end up with the female lead?"

Upon hearing this question, Lin Youcheng smiled but did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "If it were a different story, 'Inner Beauty,' we might have ended up together."

Lin Youcheng then shared his ideas for the story of "Inner Beauty" with Xie Shuhua. In fact, compared to the protagonist's existence in "Everyday," "Inner Beauty" is undoubtedly easier, because the protagonist has existed as a physical entity since birth, only changing his appearance every day, but his original identity has never changed.

The story of "The Beauty Inside" also has a happy ending, whether in the film or television version. The ending is one of two people falling in love, a very fulfilling conclusion. This is because, as the title suggests, "The Beauty Inside" emphasizes loving the soul, or inner beauty, of someone. However, the unique aspect of "Everyday" lies in the fact that while the soul of the person one loves is singular, their presence is elusive. Such a person makes it impossible for the two to be together forever.

Xie Shuhua listened to Lin Youcheng's narration with great shock. She hadn't expected Lin Youcheng to be able to offer different storylines after such a tale. Of course, people in the domestic literary and film circles had already witnessed this before. Just like when Lin Youcheng wrote the TV series version of "The Message," he could directly transform the identity of the old ghost into different characters and write another shocking story, which truly amazed countless viewers.

Xie Shuhua now feels the same way, and she is truly amazed by Lin Youcheng's idea.

"Youcheng, your two ideas are absolutely brilliant!"

Xie Shuhua looked at Lin Youcheng with deep emotion, her heart filled with thoughts about the two stories. Of course, she felt more moved by "Everyday" than "Everyday," perhaps because of the protagonist's innate loneliness and the somewhat sad ending of their love story.

"Are you planning to have the Beijing Film Studio film the rest?"

Xie Shuhua also knew that Lin Youcheng's previous film, "My Brothers and Sisters," was a collaboration with Yanjing Film Studio.

Upon hearing Xie Shuhua's words, Lin Youcheng shook his head and said, "I don't know yet. Maybe other film companies will be interested in these two stories."

Clearly, Lin Youcheng hasn't directly stated that he wants to contact Universal Pictures to see if they are interested in the scripts for "Everyday" and "Inner Praise".

However, Lin Youcheng didn't know that sometimes he didn't need to contact Universal Pictures; in fact—

Other companies will also come to us.

……

In the United States, Time Publishing Company was well aware of Lin Youcheng's influence and had translated and published another of his novels, "The Untouchable Lover."

Undoubtedly, due to the influence of the novel "The Time Traveler's Wife," coupled with winning the Hugo Award and the exciting news of Universal Pictures producing a film of the same name, the name of Lin Youcheng, the Eastern author, has become increasingly well-known. This has naturally been a significant form of publicity for the novel "The Untouchable Lover."

The novel "The Untouchable Lover" has also received a good response. After all, such a unique and novel love story will surely captivate many readers in the United States.

Of course, just like the company that initially had its eye on the film rights to the novel "The Time Traveler's Wife," Universal Pictures wasn't the only one interested. Now, other film companies are also eyeing Lin Youcheng's "The Lake House."

It's a very novel love story, quite stunning and touching, and received a very good response. Moreover, the production cost wouldn't be high, so Hollywood film companies have no reason to miss out on such a story.

Even though Universal Pictures' "The Time Traveler's Wife" hasn't yet shown its final box office results, other film companies can't just wait around, because that would mean another company might snatch the film rights first, just like Universal Pictures did with "The Time Traveler's Wife".

Powers of Time Publishing is very happy. Not only are Lin Youcheng's two novels selling well and receiving a good response overseas, but most importantly, Powers has discovered the special qualities of Lin Youcheng as an Eastern author. After learning more about Lin Youcheng's novels, Powers knows very well that, just like the film adaptation of the novel "The Devotion of Suspect X" won the Palme d'Or, Lin Youcheng's other novels are also very suitable for overseas translation and publication.

Whether it's love stories like "Love Letter" and "The Devotion of Suspect X," or stories like "Atonement" and "The Reader" that explore humanity and love to such an extreme, they are all incredibly captivating.

Bowers will naturally continue to promote Lin Youcheng's other works. This is because if an author's work is successful, the author and his other works will naturally receive more attention.

Just like how Hollywood film companies noticed the film rights to another novel by author Lin Youcheng, "The Untouchable Lover".

Paul, from the Times Publishing Company, made a special trip to Xinghua Hutong to tell Lin Youcheng that a film and television company was interested in his novel, "The Untouchable Lover".

Bowers looked at Lin Youcheng and said, "Lin, this is George from Warner Bros. He came here specifically to adapt and film your movie, 'The Lake House'."

Hearing Bowers' words, Lin Youcheng was somewhat surprised, and his gaze couldn't help but fall on the Warner Bros. people behind Bowers.

Lin Youcheng didn't expect that Warner Bros. would also be interested in this story in this timeline. You should know that the original "Il Mare" has two movie versions, one of which was a remake by Warner Bros. Obviously, if Warner Bros. were to adapt and film this movie first, it wouldn't be considered a remake.

On the other side, Xie Shuhua listened to Bowers' words and was naturally very happy for Lin Youcheng.

She had heard about the astonishing copyright fee for "The Time Traveler's Wife" before, and now a company from the United States was approaching Lin Youcheng. All of this proved how wonderful and moving Lin Youcheng's works were; otherwise, why would they come knocking on his door again?

George looked at Lin Youcheng and said, "Lin, we also wanted to film your movie 'The Time Traveler's Wife,' but unfortunately, Universal beat us to it."

This is the truth from Warner Bros., because Warner Bros. also sees "The Time Traveler's Wife" as a very promising film adaptation.

Clearly, more than one company in the capitalist world is pursuing him, and the key is that this widower author, Lin Youcheng, has more than just this one tempting story in his hands.

(End of this chapter)