Restart life

Chapter 583 0571 [The Richest Man Wants to Attend a Class Reunion]

What was China like in 2013?
Shenzhou-10 docked with Tiangong-1, and Chang'e-3 explored the moon. China's GDP remained the world's second largest, its total import and export volume of goods jumped to the world's first, and people's wages and disposable income continued to rise.

However, high housing prices, smog, the gap between the rich and the poor, social injustice... all these topics are accompanied by a large number of rumors, which are amplified infinitely with the popularization of smartphones and 3G networks.

People are optimistic yet anxious, confident yet confused, looking forward to the future yet feeling immense pressure from reality.

Contradictory, confused, yet full of vitality.

Because life is generally getting better little by little.

Social upward trend!
At that time, Chinese people were generally still keen on grand narratives, and any international achievements would attract the attention and admiration of the whole society.

The fact that someone won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year is proof of this. Although it was met with a lot of doubt and criticism, people still ignored those "flaws" and generally believed that winning the Nobel Prize was worthy of praise.

Even now, with "The Three-Body Problem" winning the Hugo Award, it still receives the same treatment.

It even rose to the level of national and ethnic pride, and CCTV's "News Broadcast" devoted more than 20 seconds to reporting on it.

The stock of "The Three-Body Problem" in major bookstores sold out in just two weeks. The number of uploads, downloads, and views of the electronic version of "The Three-Body Problem" skyrocketed.

Pirate booksellers rejoiced, finally encountering another blockbuster, and secretly started their printing presses to frantically pirate books.

Especially among white-collar workers and students, many people consider reading and discussing "The Three-Body Problem" fashionable, and terms like "dimensional reduction attack" and "Swordholder" have gradually become popular.

People have even started discussing the film and television adaptation of "The Three-Body Problem," and some talented online artists have even drawn concept art for the "Red Coast" base.

The discussion then turned to the director and actors for "The Three-Body Problem," with Cameron receiving the most votes. Countless netizens flooded Chen Guiliang with comments, hoping he could spend money to bring Cameron to direct the film.

Zhang Jingchu was chosen by netizens as the best candidate to play the commander-in-chief, and "The Three-Body Problem movie" and "Zhang Jingchu of The Three-Body Problem" even became trending topics on Weibo.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhang Jingchu posted two Weibo posts, stating that she was currently reading "The Three-Body Problem," expressing humility and apprehension about not being able to portray the character well, while also stating her willingness to give her all. These two Weibo posts quickly garnered thousands of comments, with many celebrities coming to view and like them.

Longtime fans of "The Three-Body Problem" were especially excited. Previously, their recommendations were often ignored, but now they finally had the opportunity to promote the book everywhere.

Just then, Liu Cixin announced on Weibo the reprint and signing of "The Three-Body Problem," followed by other plans: "The Wandering Earth will be adapted into both a movie and a game. Stay tuned. @GameScience @ByteDance Pictures"

The official Weibo accounts of Game Science and ByteDance Pictures have also successively announced that games and movies are in the process of being approved.

These Weibo posts quickly sparked heated discussions.

"Isn't it 'The Three-Body Problem'? How did it become 'The Wandering Earth'?"

"@Old Master Chen, come out and explain yourself!"

"Is 'The Wandering Earth' also a novel by Liu Cixin? Is it as good as 'The Three-Body Problem'?"

"Holy crap, I just searched for 'The Wandering Earth,' and it's just a short story."

"@Chen Laozu @Liu Cixin, we want 'The Three-Body Problem,' not 'The Wandering Earth'!"

"..."

Chen Guiliang's Weibo account was flooded with mentions from netizens, especially die-hard fans of "The Three-Body Problem," who directly started cursing him in the comments section.

Chen Guiliang had no choice but to explain on Weibo: "The adaptation and production of the film 'The Three-Body Problem' is still quite difficult, so I chose 'The Wandering Earth' instead. As for 'The Three-Body Problem,' I plan to make a TV series first, and I am still looking for a director and producer."

Fans are thrilled. Even though "The Three-Body Problem" can't be made into a movie, a TV series would be great too.

Moreover, given its length, it seems more suitable to adapt it into a TV series.

Netizens enthusiastically responded to Chen Guiliang, recommending their favorite directors and actors. Some producers, directors, and actors even volunteered themselves, hoping to be selected.

ByteDance's phone lines were ringing off the hook with inquiries from industry insiders about the production of "The Three-Body Problem".

Is the TV series adaptation of "The Three-Body Problem" being produced now?
It's time to start preparations!
In another timeline, the production of the "Three-Body Problem" TV series took seven years. The initial scriptwriting alone took four years, resulting in over 20 adaptation drafts. The producers and directors were under immense pressure, even hesitant to release information beforehand, fearing they would ruin the series.

Based solely on this dedicated creative attitude, Chen Guiliang will not replace the producer and director of the "Three-Body Problem" TV series.

He quickly had ByteDance contact Bai Yicong and Yang Lei—both of whom were already well-known and seasoned industry professionals.

The former is currently writing a script for a drama about fighting Japanese pirates, while the latter is directing an anti-Japanese war TV series. When they received the call from ByteDance Pictures, they were first stunned, then overjoyed, and finally apprehensive.

Everyone knows how popular "The Three-Body Problem" is right now, and they were even hesitant to accept the role immediately. Both of them are ambitious and responsible, and they were afraid of being criticized by netizens if they messed up the TV series.

……

How popular is "The Three-Body Problem"?
Even during her pregnancy, Bian Guanyue stayed at home reading the novel "The Three-Body Problem" because it was inconvenient for her to go out and travel around.

"Is Ye Wenjie a positive or negative character?" Bian Guanyue was puzzled after watching the first part.

Chen Guiliang said: "A complex and controversial role."

Bian Guanyue complained: "What you said is as good as saying nothing."

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "The first part is just an appetizer. You should watch all three parts before you give your opinion."

Bian Guanyue stopped discussing the novel: "How many days will you be going back to your hometown this time?"

“Three days,” Chen Guiliang said.

Bian Guanyue said, "Please give my regards to my old classmates."

“Okay,” Chen Guiliang said.

Soon it will be the 110th anniversary of my high school, and almost ten years since Chen Guiliang was reborn! Bian Guanyue is heavily pregnant and it is inconvenient for her to travel by plane or car, so she stays in the capital and doesn't go anywhere.

The two were talking about the school anniversary and alumni reunion when Chen Guiliang received a call from his secretary.

The secretary spoke with great excitement, saying that a very high-ranking leader had sent someone to inquire about the adaptation of "The Three-Body Problem." ByteDance and Game Science were also instructed to make preparations, and this leader might be coming to inspect the project soon.

The specific time for the inspection has not yet been determined.

Chen Guiliang immediately instructed Ao Yanzhen to arrange the reception work and set up a special reception team to be on standby at any time.

This is the highest-ranking leader Chen Guiliang will receive since starting his company.

The Three-Body Problem is truly amazing; it's almost heaven-reaching.

The next day.

Chen Guiliang, accompanied by several attendants, picked up Tao Xue along the way and headed to the airport. Xie Yang and Qin Shanshan were also to meet at the airport.

The temperature had already risen early in the morning.

Wearing sunglasses, Tao Xue followed Chen Guiliang. As soon as they entered the airport hall, they were recognized, and many passengers quickly took out their phones to take pictures of them.

By the time they passed through the VIP security checkpoint and arrived at the VIP lounge, discussions had already begun on Weibo.

"Who is this woman? Mr. Chen's girlfriend?"

"No, Chen Laozu's girlfriend is Bian Guanyue. They attended ByteDance Night together before. Longtime fans of 'Three Kingdoms Kill' and longtime users of Renren.com all know this."

"Haha, this is Shubing Zhuoxue, the author of 'Silk Road Smoke and Dust'. She appears in the behind-the-scenes footage of the TV series. Last year, I even got her autograph at the novel signing and fan meeting. We fans all call her Aunt Xue."

"She's definitely Old Master Chen's mistress!!!"

"Big brother, Aunt Xue is Mr. Chen's junior from high school, and she's also Tao Chenggang's younger sister. Her brother is incredibly rich, why would she need to be someone's mistress?"

"I'm a fan of Master Xu (Xu Fengyin). Old Xu often posts photos of herself and Aunt Xue, and it seems like they're already living together. I seriously suspect these two women are lesbians. Here's an intimate photo of them."

"Damn, both of them are stunning beauties. It's such a waste of resources to be involved in lesbian relationships."

"I'll take this picture. I can use it."

"You've already masturbated? How repressed are you? If you're going to masturbate, masturbate to the books drawn by Master Xu."

"Doujinshi? I need the resources!!!"

These Weibo comments quickly went off-topic, but Tao Xue and Xu Fengyin did become quite popular because of it.

The main suspects are Chen Guiliang and a big boss named Tao Chenggang. Both women involved are beautiful—a renowned painter and a famous writer—and they're involved in lesbian relationships!

It has all the elements that make it a hit.

Even Xu Fengyin's mother called: "Yinyin, do you like women?"

"Huh?" Xu Fengyin didn't react.

The mother said with a heavy heart, "No wonder you always make excuses to procrastinate when I ask you to go on blind dates."

Xu Fengyin said, "You already know about this?"

The mother said, "I've been following your Weibo, and there are so many people discussing it in the comments section. I'm not blind!"

“Those are all rumors. Xiaoxue and I are just ordinary friends,” Xu Fengyin explained.

The mother said, "I looked it up online, and some people say there are many types of homosexuality, one of which might be a mental illness. Should I take you to see a psychologist?"

Xu Fengyin was speechless: "Really not!"

The mother said, "I'm not forcing you. Your father and I respect your choice. But what if it's a mental illness? It's better to find out early and treat it early. Even if it's not an illness, there's no harm in seeing a doctor."

"Sigh, never mind, I'm still working overtime."

Xu Fengyin immediately hung up the phone and then sent a WeChat message to Tao Xue to complain.

Tao Xue said, "Your mother is right, you really should see a psychologist. You definitely like women, you're always bullying me!"

Xu Fengyin: "Tch, someone's words are false, but their actions are true."

Tao Xue: "I'm not chatting anymore. I just got off the plane and I'm going to take a nap in the car."

The group traveled by car to the county town. Qin Shanshan went straight to her home, while the rest went to a hotel.

The high school class group chat was flooded with messages: some people reported that they had arrived in the county town, some asked what else they had to go back to, and some expressed envy and regret that they still had to work overtime.

The homeroom teacher and his wife both chimed in, saying they would be coming to the class reunion dinner.

Xie Yang, who had been lurking in the class group chat, said to Chen Guiliang, "It seems like more than ten old classmates can come. Even that bastard Xu Haibo has shown up."

“Bobo is pursuing his doctorate at Fudan University, so he has plenty of free time,” Chen Guiliang said.

Xie Yang continued looking at the class group chat and said, "Li Jun also popped up, still swearing all the time. Holy crap, that idiot actually got promoted at the bank!"

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "As long as he doesn't embezzle public funds to recharge his game account, that's good."

(End of this chapter)