Hollywood, I became a legend with special effects.

August 4th, Friday, 8 PM.

A private room on the second floor of a coffee shop outside the west gate of the Communication University of China.

Jiang Yu arrived ten minutes early and chose a seat by the window.

The cicadas chirped incessantly outside the window, and the August sunlight filtered through the sycamore leaves, casting shimmering spots of light on the table.

He ordered a pot of Longjing tea and asked the waiter to prepare some snacks. He wondered if Yang Siwei had eaten lunch.

At exactly 2:00, the door to the private room was pushed open on time.

Yang Siwei walked in, with short hair, a white shirt tucked into her jeans, and a worn-out canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

She hasn't changed much since she was in school four years ago, except that her eyes are sharper and her skin is a bit tanned, probably from spending the summer on a film set.

"Jiang Yu?" she confirmed, her voice crisp and slightly accented with a Beijing accent.

"It's me. Please sit down." Jiang Yu stood up and gestured.

They were in the same year, both enrolled in 2002, but in different majors.

Jiang Yu is in the School of Animation and Digital Arts, and Yang Siwei is in the Department of Directing.

They had only met a few times at school assemblies and had never spoken to each other.

Jiang Yu remembers the most clearly the "Golden Shell Award" ceremony during his sophomore year. Yang Siwei's work was nominated for Best Director. When he went on stage to accept the award, he said, "Film is a deception, but we must deceive sincerely." The audience burst into laughter.

Yang Siwei sat down, placed her canvas bag on the chair next to her, and glanced at the snacks on the table: "So polite?"

"I don't know if you've had lunch yet." Jiang Yu poured her some tea. "Have something to eat first."

"I've already eaten, the knife-cut noodles from the cafeteria." Yang Siwei didn't stand on ceremony, picking up a piece of mung bean cake. "Dean Huang said you wanted to talk to me about a project? He was being so secretive, telling me not to say it on the phone."

"Because the project is a bit special." Jiang Yu pushed over the project synopsis for "Taken," "Take a look at this first."

Yang Siwei took the document and quickly flipped through it.

She has a habit of tapping the table lightly with her right index finger when she reads.

Jiang Yu noticed that her nails were cut very short, without nail polish, and there were calluses on her knuckles, which were probably left from long-term writing or typing.

Five minutes later, she looked up, her eyes filled with obvious suspicion: "A Hollywood action movie, a budget of thirty million US dollars, and you have 20%? Jiang Yu, although we're not close, I know you're not short of money, but where did you get six million US dollars?"

"Technology as equity," Jiang Yu said calmly. "My visual effects company is responsible for the visual effects production of the entire film, and this part of the service is converted into an investment share."

Yang Siwei stared at him for three seconds, then suddenly laughed: "You started a special effects company? When did that happen? Weren't you still worried about your graduation project in your junior year? I remember your work was... 'Digital Implementation of Ink Painting Animation'?"

"You have a good memory." Jiang Yu was a little surprised. "That was my graduation project last year. I redid it in Los Angeles this year, using better technology."

"So you spent a year at USC, started a company, and even got a Hollywood contract?"

Yang Siwei put down the documents and leaned back. "Jiang Yu, I'm not a three-year-old. This kind of story might fool laymen."

Jiang Yu had anticipated her suspicions. He took out his laptop from his backpack, opened it, and pushed it in front of her.

The screen displays a 45-second video titled "Project Hurricane - Paris Street Test V3".

"Let's watch it first," Jiang Yu said.

Yang Siwei pressed the play button.

The video starts with a black screen, then frame by frame, the outline of a Parisian street scene appears, gradually filling in textures, lighting, and details... until it becomes a complete rainy night street scene.

The camera moves across the street, raindrops shimmer under the neon lights, and pedestrians hurry by with umbrellas in hand—everything is so real it's almost suffocating.

After the video finished playing, the private room was quiet for a few seconds, with only the continuous chirping of cicadas outside the window.

"Is this... real-time rendering?" Yang Si asked, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Yes." Jiang Yu closed his laptop. "We have a self-developed algorithm that's 8 to 12 times faster than traditional processes. That's the foundation for us getting contracts in Hollywood."

.......

Yang Siwei picked up the teacup and took a sip of the tea, which had already cooled down.

Her hands were steady. Jiang Yu noticed that she blinked three times, just like when she gave speeches on stage in college.

"So what do you want me to do?" She put down her teacup and regained her composure.

"I'm setting up an office in Beijing, and I'm short of a manager." Jiang Yu looked directly at her. "This office won't do special effects, at least not now. Its main task is content acquisition, including acquiring the film and television adaptation rights of promising online novels and literary works, and building our own IP library."

Yang Si raised an eyebrow slightly: "For example?"

"For example, *Ghost Blows Out the Light*," Jiang Yu said. "The novel that Tianxia Bachang serialized on Tianya, like *The Grave Robbers' Chronicles*, which Nanpai Sanshu just started writing on Tieba. And Liu Cixin's *The Three-Body Problem*, the first volume of which just finished serialization in *Science Fiction World* this year..."

He took the IP list out of his bag and pushed it over.

After reading it, Yang Siwei silently looked at the sycamore tree outside the window.

"How much is the salary?" she asked directly.

"Starting salary is 8,000 yuan per month, and 12,000 yuan after three months."

Jiang Yu said, "That's not the point. The point is that you are the co-founder of this office. I'm giving you 10% of the stock options, which will vest over four years. If you do well, you can go to the Los Angeles headquarters after one year to learn about Hollywood's IP development process."

"How much are the options worth now?"

"It's worthless now," Jiang Yu said frankly. "If the company's valuation reaches one hundred million US dollars in three years, your 10% will be ten million. If it doesn't, it's just a piece of waste paper."

Yang Si smiled faintly, a smile tinged with self-deprecation: "You're painting a pretty big picture. Beijing TV offered me a permanent position with a monthly salary of 4,500. Huayi Brothers' production assistant position pays 6,000 a month. Yours is double that, plus stock options..."

"Because I know that what you care about isn't money."

Jiang Yu interrupted her, "What you care about is whether you can truly participate in content creation. At Beijing TV, you might have to edit news clips for three years first; at Huayi Brothers, you might have to work as a production crew for three years first. Here, you'll be directly responsible for building an IP library, starting from scratch, and you'll define the rules."

He leaned forward, his voice low but clear: "Yang Siwei, we're in the same year. We entered university together four years ago; I studied digital animation, and you studied directing. We both believed in the power of storytelling, and we both believed that images could change something. Four years later, we stand at different crossroads; which path do you want to take? Do you want to seek stability in the system, or become a cog in a big company, or come with me and build something that could potentially change the industry from scratch?"

The private room fell silent.

The sunlight outside the window shifted slightly, and the dappled sunlight on the table moved with it.

Yang Siwei broke a piece of mung bean cake in half, and then into four pieces.

She picked up her teacup and finished the rest of the tea, as if it were a ritual before making a decision.

"What do I need to do?" she asked.

Jiang Yu knew that she had agreed.

......

Over the next two weeks, the preparations for the BJ office were carried out intensively.

The company registration went smoothly. The registered capital of Zhuiguang Digital Technology (BJ) Co., Ltd. is 5000 million RMB.

When the money was transferred from Jiang Yu's offshore account, the bank's account manager, a woman in her thirties, confirmed the purpose of the remittance three times.

"Mr. Jiang, is this funding intended for technology research and development and copyright acquisition?" The account manager adjusted his glasses. "What exactly do you mean by 'copyright acquisition'?"

"We purchase the film and television adaptation rights to novels and screenplays," Jiang Yu explained.

"Oh, I see, it's about the copyright for making movies." The account manager suddenly realized, then selected cultural and creative industry investment in the system. "The government encourages this now, there are tax incentives. But Mr. Jiang, you're so young to be doing this, does your family support you?"

"I support you," Jiang Yu smiled.

After completing the formalities and walking out of the bank, Jiang Yu looked at the street scene of Beijing in 2006.

There are still many bicycles, but cars are already causing a traffic jam. Street vendors are selling pirated DVDs with covers of "The Promise" and "Fearless".

He recalled that in his previous life, after 2015, the price of online literature IPs skyrocketed, with the copyright of the entire "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series selling for tens of millions of yuan, and the film adaptation rights of "The Three-Body Problem" sparking a bidding war.

These treasures are still buried underground, waiting to be discovered.

Dean Huang helped me find an office of 220 square meters in the "Cultural and Creative Industry Park" with a monthly rent of four thousand.

When Jiang Yu and Yang Siwei went to see the apartment together, the park manager was a warm-hearted middle-aged man.

"You two are recent graduates starting your own business, right?" the manager said as he opened the door. "Young people like you have guts! There are many like you in this park—animators, designers, short filmmakers..."

The office is empty; it was just renovated and still smells of formaldehyde.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, revealing the Communication University teaching building in the distance.

"Let's recruit five to seven people first," Jiang Yu and Yang Siwei planned in their empty office. "Besides you, we also need a copyright legal counsel, a content evaluator, an author relations specialist, and an administrative and financial advisor."

"I have someone in mind for copyright law," Yang Siwei said. "I have a high school classmate who is pursuing a master's degree in intellectual property law at China University of Political Science and Law. He's graduating this year and is currently looking for an internship. The only problem is that he's a bit... stubborn."

"Being principled is good; legal counsel has to be principled too," Jiang Yu said. "What about content evaluation?"

"I know a senior female student, a graduate student in Chinese literature, who is a senior moderator on Xingxing Literature Network. Her online name is 'President of Cangyue Fan Club,' and her real name is Lin Xiaowen. She has a very accurate judgment on online novels and can tell at a glance which ones will become popular."

Jiang Yu chuckled: "The president of Cang Yue's fan club? That's certainly quite senior. Let's invite him over to meet."

Three days after the job posting was sent out, we received more than forty resumes.

Jiang Yu and Yang Siwei went for an interview together in an office that hadn't been renovated yet, where they moved a few plastic chairs.

.......

On August 12, the first confirmed employee was Yang Siwei's high school classmate.

Shen Ming holds a Master's degree in Intellectual Property Law from China University of Political Science and Law.

During the interview, he wore thick glasses and carried a large backpack stuffed with legal articles.

"Yang Siwei said that if you want to do copyright procurement, then we need to establish a complete copyright registration, contract management, and rights allocation system."

Shen Ming immediately switched into professional mode, stating, "According to the Berne Convention and China's Copyright Law, film and television adaptation rights should at least include..."

He spoke for ten minutes before Jiang Yu interrupted him: "Shen Ming, if we want to buy the full rights to 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' and go to the author now, how much do you estimate it would cost?"

Shen Ming adjusted his glasses: "Ghost Blows Out the Light is serialized on Tianya, and the author, Tianxia Bachang, is a part-time writer. According to the market rate for online literature, the full copyright, including film and television, games, and derivative products... I think it's between 200,000 and 500,000 yuan. But if it becomes popular, it could be several million yuan."

"So we need to hurry." Jiang Yu nodded. "You're hired, with a monthly salary of seven thousand and 1% stock options. But there's a condition: within one day, you need to create a template for the copyright contract for 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' for me."

Shen Ming was stunned for a moment: "You've already hired me? Didn't you even ask about my English level? Didn't you even ask if I have a lawyer's license?"

"Yang Siwei recommended you, and I trust her," Jiang Yu said. "Besides, although I didn't understand all the legal provisions you just mentioned, I found them very professional."

Shen Ming blushed slightly and said softly, "Actually, I haven't taken the bar exam yet..."

"Then pass the exam this year." Jiang Yu patted him on the shoulder. "If you pass, your salary will increase to eight thousand."

On August 14, the second employee joined the company.

Lin Xiaowen, a graduate student in the Chinese Department of Beijing Normal University, is indeed the "President of the Cangyue Fan Club".

She brought a stack of printed online novels to her job interview, each one covered with sticky notes.

"This novel, *Scarlet Heart*, is bound to be a hit. It has all the elements: time travel, Qing Dynasty palace intrigue, and romance." Lin Xiaowen opened a copy. "Author Tong Hua has excellent writing skills and is meticulous in her historical research. As for film and television adaptations, I suggest just buying the TV series rights; a movie might not be able to keep up."

She opened another book: "This novel, *Zhu Xian*, is a masterpiece of the Xianxia genre, but it's difficult to adapt and requires high-quality special effects. However, if your special effects company, Mr. Jiang, can handle it, then we can take it on."

Jiang Yu asked her, "If you had a budget of one million and you were to buy three IPs right now, which three would you choose?"

Without hesitation, Lin Xiaowen said, "First, we'll get the full rights to 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' for 500,000 yuan. Second, we'll get the TV adaptation rights to 'My Sunshine' for 100,000 yuan; I know the author, Gu Man, she's short of money. Third, 'Zhu Xian' has less policy risk and is easier to get approved."

Jiang Yu and Yang Siwei exchanged a glance, both seeing the look of "we've struck gold" in each other's eyes.

"You're hired," Jiang Yu said. "Monthly salary of seven thousand, plus 1% stock options. Your first task is to contact these three authors and sound them out."

On August 16, the third and fourth employees joined the company at the same time.

Wang Wei, who is in charge of maintaining author relations, is an outgoing girl who calls herself a "social cow syndrome patient"; Chen Fang, who is in charge of administration and finance, is Yang Siwei's roommate and is meticulous in her work.

By August 20th, the team had grown to six people:

Yang Siwei, person in charge, 10% stock options.

Shen Ming, copyright lawyer, 1% stock option.

Lin Xiaowen, content evaluation, 1% option.

Wang Wei, online film and television, 0.5% option.

Chen Fang, Administrative Finance, 0.5% stock option.

The office has been simply renovated, with twenty workstations, six computers, and a dedicated network line.

On the wall are posters sent by Jiang Yu from Los Angeles, concept art for "Taken", and the logo of Light Chaser Animation: a bright moon rising in a landscape painting.

Yang Siwei also brought a potted green ivy from her home, saying it could absorb formaldehyde.

The first all-staff meeting was held on August 21.

Six people sat around the conference room, their average age less than 24.

On the table were snacks that Wang Wei had bought: spicy strips, sunflower seeds, and Arctic Ocean soda.

"Our first meeting should have an atmosphere like a tea party," Jiang Yu said with a smile, picking up a bag of spicy strips.

"Mr. Jiang, doesn't this seem more friendly?" Wang Wei said with a smile. "Besides, I heard that Hollywood meetings are all about eating donuts, so let's eat spicy strips, a Chinese specialty."

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed.

"Okay, let's get down to business." Jiang Yu stood up and walked to the whiteboard. "We are Light Chaser Digital's beginnings in Beijing. Your task is not to do special effects, at least not now. Our task is to buy stories and buy online film and television rights."

He wrote a formula on the whiteboard:

Good story × Good technology = Good movie

"Why is Hollywood so powerful? Because it has decades of story accumulation; Marvel, DC, Disney princesses, Pixar... We can catch up in terms of technology now, but we have zero story reserves. So we need to start now and use the lowest possible cost to fill our warehouse with the stories that will be popular in the next ten years."

He wrote several names on the whiteboard. "Some of these works are already somewhat famous, while others are still in their infancy. Our goal is to acquire full copyright or film and television adaptation rights within the next six months."

Jiang Yu looked at the team, "Do you have confidence?"

"Yes!" several people said in unison, even Shen Ming pushed up his glasses and nodded.

"Okay, let's divide the tasks." Jiang Yu drew a table on the whiteboard. "Lin Xiaowen is responsible for content evaluation and initial contact with authors; Wang Wei is responsible for maintaining author relationships, inviting authors to meals, tea, and discussions about ideals; Shen Ming is responsible for contract drafting and copyright registration; Yang Siwei is responsible for overall coordination; Chen Fang manages the money, and every expenditure must be recorded."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "You'll have a video conference with the Los Angeles team every week to keep them updated on the progress. A month from now, I expect to see at least five signed works in our IP library."

After the meeting, Jiang Yu and Yang Siwei discussed matters in a temporarily partitioned general manager's office.

"This is the budget for three months." Jiang Yu handed her an Excel spreadsheet. "Five million, including all expenses: salaries, rent, travel, and advance payments for copyright purchases. I need to review the financial statements weekly and give a business report monthly."

Yang Siwei took the document and quickly glanced at it: "When are you going back to Los Angeles?"

"Next week," Jiang Yu said, "Taken is starting filming, and I need to go back to oversee things. You're in charge of BJ."

"The pressure is considerable." Yang Siwei looked at the budget sheet. "I have to manage 20 people and also help you recruit a behind-the-scenes team."

"So I'm giving you 10% stock options," Jiang Yu smiled. "The greater the pressure, the greater the potential for future growth. And..."

He walked to the window and looked out at the evening in Beijing: "Yang Siwei, our generation is very lucky. We caught the eve of the explosion of the Chinese film market, the golden age of online literature, and the window of opportunity for technological change. But opportunity only comes to those who are prepared, and what we are doing now is preparing."

Yang Siwei also walked to the window and stood next to him.

In the distance, the teaching buildings of the Communication University of China were lit up, and the outline of the library was clear in the twilight.

"Jiang Yu, why did you choose me?" she suddenly asked. "We've been in the same grade for four years, and we've hardly ever spoken to each other."

"Because of something I said during my sophomore year," Jiang Yu recalled. "You said, 'Film is a deception, but we must deceive with sincerity.' I was in the audience at the time and thought, 'This girl from the directing department is quite interesting.' Later, after watching your work, I realized that you were indeed putting that statement into practice, using your most genuine heart to tell the most 'fake' stories."

Yang Si smiled, a genuine smile this time, his eyes curving into crescents: "That line was copied by me; it's from Akira Kurosawa."

"But once you say it in that setting, it becomes yours," Jiang Yu said. "Like what I'm doing now, many of the ideas may come from Hollywood, but I will transform them into Chinese ones."