I really didn't intend to make a living based on my looks.

Chapter 101 Copyright, Game Company and New Assistant

TR City, GZ Province.

The clouds and mist of Fanjingshan Mountain swirl around its waist like a silver belt.

At the foot of the mountain, the Jinjiang River flows through the city, its emerald green waters reflecting the stilted houses on both banks.

This is a settlement of the Tujia and Miao ethnic groups. The aroma of sour fish soup wafts from the stone-paved road, and the tinkling sounds of hammering come from the silver jewelry shops.

Jiang Chenzhou sat in the corner of the coffee shop. She had a round face, was slightly chubby, and was wearing a navy blue cotton-linen dress.

A laptop sat in front of her, its screen displaying an unfinished novel document.

My fingers are flying across the keyboard, frantically typing away, making the most of every spare moment.

The copper bell on the door jingled.

Two beautiful women pushed open the door and came in.

The one in the lead was wearing a gray suit and had short, neat hair.

The one behind her was younger, in her early twenties, with a round face and big eyes. She was very pretty, wearing a light yellow knitted cardigan and carrying a canvas backpack.

"Fresh Guoguo?" the woman in the suit asked.

Jiang Chenzhou looked up: "It's me."

"My name is Xu Yinuo," she said, extending her hand. "This is my assistant, Li Yitong."

The three shook hands and took their seats.

Soft music played in the café, and outside the window was the street scene of Tongren, with the upturned eaves of the stilted buildings gleaming in the sunset.

"We're here today," Xu Yiruo said bluntly, "to acquire the film and television adaptation rights to 'The Journey of Flower'."

Jiang Chenzhou's finger stopped on the rim of the coffee cup.

She first published "The Journey of Flower" on Jinjiang Literature City at the end of 2008. Initially, it received few clicks, but gradually gained popularity through word of mouth.

By 2010, this fantasy romance novel featuring a master and disciple had consistently ranked among the top three in the fantasy category on Jinjiang Literature City, with total views exceeding 100 million.

Jiang Chenzhou picked up his coffee, took a sip, and glanced back and forth between the two men: "You should know that several companies have already approached me."

"Know."

"Then what makes you think I would sell to you?"

"Our sincerity is greater than theirs. Their offer may be higher, but most of them want to sign a revenue-sharing agreement plus priority development rights."

To put it bluntly, the idea is to spend a small amount of money to secure the IP rights, and then find investors to take over later. We don't play that game.

She took a document out of her bag.

"One-time full payment purchase of all film and television rights, including TV series, movies, stage plays, and games, and all related adaptation rights, for 200."

Ten thousand."

Jiang Chenzhou did not answer immediately.

To be honest, 200 million isn't the best price.

The highest price offered so far is 220 million.

However, for an author, it's impossible to only look at money.

They definitely hope their work will be good.

"May I ask you something?" she looked up, "If the rights are sold to you, who will act in it? Who will direct it?"

"Male lead, I can tell you definitively, it's Jiang Chen."

Jiang Chenzhou was taken aback: "Jiang Chen?"

"Yes," Xu Yiruo nodded, "He played the Fourteenth Prince in 'Palace,' Baili Tusu in 'Swords of Legends,' and his album 'Evening Breeze and Youth' sold over 70 copies. He's now the boss of our studio."

"By the way, he's also a fan of your books."

Jiang Chenzhou was even more stunned: "Book fans?"

"Hmm," Xu Yiruo took a piece of paper out of her bag and pushed it over, "He asked me to bring this to you."

Jiang Chenzhou took it, looked down, and saw that it was a handwritten manuscript.

The handwriting was neat and elegant, and the annotations were densely written.

"Bai Zihua's coldness isn't a blank expression; it's that he's afraid to be warm. He's lived for a thousand years and witnessed too much life and death, so he dares not fall in love with anyone. But once he does, it's utter destruction."

"Hua Qiangu's infatuation is not naive and innocent; it's knowingly doing the impossible. She knew her master couldn't love her, but she still did. This kind of knowingly committing a wrong is more torturous than knowingly committing a wrong."

"The core of the master-disciple romance is not taboo, but the time difference. He has lived for a thousand years, while she is only sixteen. His slowness and her haste, his concealment and her revelation, this mismatch is what creates dramatic tension."

Jiang Chenzhou's fingers trembled slightly as he looked at the annotations.

These insights —

That's incredibly accurate.

She did think about these things when she wrote this novel.

But more often than not, it's based on intuition, on emotions, and on a young woman's fantasies about love.

The person who wrote these annotations seemed to have refined her vague feelings into a clear theory from a higher dimension.

"He said," Xu Yiruo's voice continued, "that the character Bai Zihua is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, reserved yet deeply affectionate, unlike any of the roles he's played before. He wanted to take on that challenge."

"Moreover," she paused, then added, "the production company is Daylight Entertainment, director Kong Sheng's team. They are currently filming 'Battle of Changsha,' and will be fully committed to 'The Journey of Flower' next."

Jiang Chenzhou's fingers tightened.

Zhengwu Sunshine.

Kong Sheng.

These two names are synonymous with quality in the film and television industry.

"And also," Xu Yiruo looked into her eyes, "Jiang Chen wants to invite you to be one of the screenwriters for this drama. Not just a nominal position, but a real involvement in the script adaptation. Your novel, your daughter, you will protect them."

Jiang Chenzhou looked up, his eyes stinging.

She suddenly remembered that she wrote this novel in a rented room in Tongren.

In the summer, without air conditioning, she would stand barefoot, writing on a secondhand laptop until 3 a.m.

At that time, she never imagined that so many people would see this story.

I never imagined that someone who understands it would see it.

"I'll sign!"

Inside the black minivan.

Sitting in the passenger seat, watching the scenery rushing past the window, Li Yitong suddenly asked, "Sister Yan, why did you make me come with you? Isn't Brother Chen busy?"

Xu Yiruo was looking at the contract and didn't even look up: "What's so busy that guy is? He's been busy filming kissing scenes lately."

Li Yitong: "————"

"Tongtong, we'll be finding another assistant for Achen. You can recommend someone if you have a suitable candidate."

Li Yitong was taken aback: "Huh? What about me?"

"During this time, you should go to classes," Xu Yiruo finally looked up at her, "Achen has enrolled you in several acting classes, an advanced course at the Beijing Film Academy, as well as courses on diction, physical expression, and basic martial arts."

Li Yitong was even more confused: "Sister Yan, I—I'm an assistant, why would I need to learn these things?"

Xu Yiruo closed the contract, her eyes gleaming: "The Journey of Flower, Achen plans to cast you as the female lead in this drama."

Li Yitong: "————???"

Her mouth was open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.

"I?"

Yes, you.

"The Journey of Flower?"

"The Journey of Flower".

Li Yitong slowly turned her head and looked out the window.

The clouds and mist of Fanjingshan Mountain still lingered around its waist, like a silver belt.

She suddenly felt that this world was a bit magical.

She was just an assistant, someone who massaged Jiang Chen's legs, served him tea, and organized his documents.

Now, you're going to play the female lead?

"Sister Yan," her voice trembled, "Brother Chen—has Brother Chen gone mad from all that kissing?"

Xu Yiruo: "————"

"Possibly," she nodded, "but as foolish as he may be, his judgment has never been wrong."

In Shanghai, the three-story building of Mihoyo in Caohejing still looks the same gray exterior, but once you push the door open, the interior has changed dramatically.

The first floor is no longer a spiderweb of wires, but a neat office area with more than twenty workstations arranged in a row. Each desk has two monitors, and the keyboards and mice are all mechanical sets.

The wall is covered with character posters from "Honkai Impact 3rd," with Kiana's smiling face taking up the entire wall, next to a line of large, flamboyant characters.

"Before getting players to pay for their love, first make yourself fall in love with every character."

The signature is Jiang Chen.

Instead of isolated code and assets, programmers now see complete game visuals on their screens.

A silver-haired girl with pigtails, wielding a giant sword, leaps and slashes through a horde of zombies; the special effects are dazzling, and the movements are fluid.

.

Honkai Impact 3rd.

This is miHoYo's second product after "FIyMe2TheMoon", and also their first truly mature mobile game.

Side-scrolling shooter with anime-style graphics, online social features, and in-app purchases.

Under Jiang Chen's influence, their development speed and direction have accelerated significantly.

Third floor, small conference room.

Liu Wei, Cai Haoyu, and Luo Yuhao sat around a folding table with three laptops on it, displaying the latest test data for "Honkai Impact 3rd".

"DAU has surpassed 50,000," Luo Yuhao pushed up his glasses, his voice tinged with excitement. "Paid conversion rate is 3.2%, ARPPU is 28."

"At this rate, we should break even next month."

"It's not enough," Cai Haoyu shook his head. "What we need isn't break-even, it's a blockbuster. Honkai Impact 3rd's graphics and gameplay are fine, but the story is too thin, and the characters aren't memorable. Players will forget about it after they finish playing, and we won't retain them."

"Regarding the plot," Liu Wei scratched his head, "the strategist said last time that we should create emotional anchors, so that players can immediately recognize that this is my wife. He also said that we need to be able to write stories, the kind of stories that can make players cry."

This is how miHoYo internally refers to Jiang Chen: strategist.

I don't know who started it, but it eventually became a consensus.

Every long message Jiang Chen sent in the group was screenshotted and saved in a folder called "Strategist's Quotes".

Sometimes, when Cai Haoyu was working on code until he was about to collapse in the middle of the night, he would open that folder, flip through a few lines, and after reading them, he could still smile and continue working.

There's no way around it, this guy is just too good at providing emotional value!

Moreover, they have foresight; they can say anything that resonates with them, they understand them so well, and they understand their games so well.

"What's that guy been up to lately?"

"I heard they've been filming in Hengdian."

"It's such a waste of talent. If the strategist were willing to come, I think our development could be much faster."

"By the way, the strategist said he wants to make a game."

"What game?" Luo Yuhao asked.

"It's a fantasy/xia (fantasy/martial arts) genre film, adapted from a novel. He's already acquired the IP."

Cai Haoyu put down his pen and turned around.

"Should he do it himself? Or should he hire us?"

Liu Wei shook his head: "Neither. He said he doesn't understand technology and doesn't have the time. He wants to start a new company and acquire the IP."

The game adaptation rights, and then—”

"He wants the three of us to help him build the game's development team, from technical direction and product planning to team management, he wants us to guide him along the way."

"In return, he will give us 30% of the shares."

Luo Yuhao was stunned for a moment: "30%? Free?"

"It's not a free gift," Liu Wei corrected. "We help him build a team, manage the product, and provide technical support. It's equivalent to—technology as equity."

Cai Haoyu pushed up his glasses, said nothing, and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

"I think it's a good idea," Luo Yuhao said first. "The strategist has helped us so much—"

"The problem is, our own Honkai Impact 2 is already in the works. We only have so many people, how can we guarantee quality while managing both?"

"The strategist said," Liu Wei pulled a piece of paper from his drawer, "that the new company will operate independently, and the team will be recruited separately. There will be three of us, each holding the title of technical or product consultant, and we'll meet once a week to keep track of the direction. He'll find professionals to handle the specific execution."

"Then our time—"

"Fragmented investment," Liu Wei interrupted him, "will not affect miHoYo's main business."

"Then there's no problem!"

"I agree!"

"What is he planning to name the new company?"

Morning Star Interactive!

Changzhou, school dormitory.

Bai Mengyan lay on her desk, listening to "The Wind Rises" on repeat in her headphones.

She held a pen in her hand and had a College English Test Band 4 vocabulary book open in front of her, but her eyes weren't on the words at all.

"I was once overwhelmed by the vastness of the world, and also lost in its delusions—"

'

She hummed along.

My roommate poked her head out of bed, looking completely bewildered: "Mengyan, don't you like listening to Korean songs? Bigbang, EXO,..."

Girls' Generation, why did you suddenly change your taste?

Bai Mengyan was taken aback, then said seriously, "What do you know? This is called—cultural exchange. If you're tired of Korean songs, try some Mandarin and support domestic music."

"Domestic music? Who sang this?"

"Jiang Chen".

"Jiang Chen? That...that popular celebrity?"

"Not a popular celebrity!"

Bai Mengyan sat up abruptly, somewhat angry, "He is—he is—"

After a long pause, he finally managed to say, "He is the future of Chinese pop music!"

roommate:"----"

The phone rang.

Unknown number.

Bai Mengyan hesitated for a moment before answering: "Feed?"

"Excuse me, is this Orange No. 2?"

Bai Mengyan was taken aback.

Orange No. 2 was her ID in the fan group.

But she had never given this number to a stranger.

"It's me. And you are?"

"Snow White".

Bai Mengyan's heart skipped a beat.

Snow?

That gossipy woman who keeps posting on her main account and who argues with her for half an hour every day.

She gripped her phone tightly, but her voice remained sweet and cloying: "Sister Baixue, what's up?"

"Here's the thing, Chenchen Studio is currently hiring an assistant, and we've looked into the information of their core fans. You're a student, majoring in English, and you also know a little Korean, right?"

"Ah—yes."

"Besides, you're a big fan of Brother Chen and very active in the group. The admins unanimously recommend you. We'd like to recommend you for an interview. Are you interested?"

Bai Mengyan: "??????"

Her mouth was open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.

Go be Jiang Chen's assistant?

she?

An undercover agent?

A hater leader?

A spy who shouts "Orange Family only loves Brother Chen" in the group every day, but secretly plots a dismantling operation in the anti-fan group?

"Feed? Orange Number Two? Are you listening?"

"I'm listening."

"So what do you think?"

Bai Mengyan slowly turned her head and looked at the photo of Lu Han on the table.

The boy in the photo is blond, handsome, and has a shy smile.

That was her faith, her original aspiration, and the reason she fought for it.

"no problem!"

Little deer, I, Bai Mengyan, have sacrificed so much for you!

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