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

The office of Wangyuan Shengtang is located in an ordinary office building at No. 85 Chaoyang Road, Chaoyang District.

A poster of "Gu Jian Qi Tan" hangs on the wall, depicting Baili Tusu standing with his sword in hand.

Meng Xianming sat at his desk, his hair already half white. At forty-five, he looked more mature than his actual age.

"Mr. Meng, after more than half a year on the market, sales have already exceeded 500,000." The marketing director stood opposite, his tone filled with undisguised excitement. "The players' word-of-mouth is excellent, the forums are full of positive reviews, and the game's popularity on Tieba has consistently remained in the top three of the single-player game charts."

Meng Xianming nodded. "What about the film and television adaptations? What did Yujing Jiangshan say?"

"Still the same old story," the marketing director said, flipping through a folder. "We signed the copyright with them last July, but it still hasn't been officially launched. They say they're looking for a suitable screenwriter, but after more than half a year, there's been no real progress."

Meng Xianming frowned.

Signing up film and television adaptation rights before a game's release is a standard promotional tactic, but if the other party doesn't take action, this move is essentially wasted.

The popularity of the game "Royal View of the Rivers and Mountains" has been declining until now. If it is not launched soon, the IP value will be wasted.

"Keep pushing," he said, "and if it doesn't work, we'll terminate the contract."

"Mr. Meng," the secretary came in to report, "the receptionist said a young man came to visit you, saying he wrote the script for 'Gu Jian Qi Tan' and wanted to show it to you."

"Who?"

"His name is Jiang Chen. He's supposed to be an actor, the one who played the Fourteenth Prince in the recent drama 'Palace'."

Meng Xianming thought for a moment but couldn't recall the face. But no matter what, the other person had a name.

"Let him in!"

When Jiang Chen pushed open the door, he was wearing a light dark gray coat and carrying a bulging brown paper bag.

He greeted Meng Xianming politely but firmly, and sat down opposite him.

"Mr. Meng, this is my own adapted script outline for 'Gu Jian Qi Tan'."

He pulled the documents out of the paper bag, a thick stack, and pushed it in front of Meng Xianming.

Meng Xianming didn't respond: "We already have a copyright holder, Yujing Jiangshan. You might have heard of Liu Yanjun."

"I know," Jiang Chen nodded. "President Liu has worked on 'Ten Years of Marriage' and 'The Best Restaurant in the World.' He's a veteran in the industry."

"Then why did you even write this script?"

Because of passion!

Meng Xianming was taken aback.

"Mr. Meng, I play 'Gu Jian Qi Tan' and I love the character Baili Tusu so much. He's a child who was raised as a monster since childhood, burdened with the curse of his clan's extermination. Everyone tells him he won't live long, but he insists on living life on his own terms."

"He refuses to accept his fate, refuses to admit defeat, and refuses to accept the script that anyone has written for him."

Jiang Chen's expression was somewhat agitated. "I often think, if I were Baili Tusu, how would this story be told? Every choice he made, every struggle he endured—if I were in his shoes, what would I have done?"

"So I started writing this story. As I wrote, I wrote more and more, and I couldn't put it down. My mind was full of this character and those scenes. I wanted to film it and let more people see it."

Meng Xianming had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

This guy used to be a die-hard gamer...

"By the way, Mr. Meng, although I'm an actor, I also enjoy writing in my spare time. I even wrote a song before, 'The Power of Love,' which is the opening theme song for the TV series 'Palace.' You might have heard it."

Meng Xianming paused for a moment, realizing he had indeed heard this song before...

Jiang Chen continued to increase his bets.

"The character Baili Tusu appears to be a cold-hearted, tragic hero pushed along by fate, but deep down he has his own choices."

"He doesn't accept his fate, which is the biggest difference between him and traditional fantasy male protagonists. In your game, there's a line that says, 'Only with a sword in hand can one protect those they want to protect.' If it were made into a TV series, that line would have to appear in the first episode as the key to the entire series."

"I know you talked to director Tsui Hark about the adaptation. Director Tsui wanted to make 'Swords of Legends' into a wuxia film, but you disagreed. You said it wasn't wuxia, it was xianxia, ​​it was Eastern fantasy. Wuxia is about the grudges and feuds of the martial arts world, while xianxia is about the cycle of fate."

Meng Xianming's expression changed.

It seems the other party did a lot of research and it wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Jiang Chen didn't give him time to process it, and continued, "Yujing Jiangshan has had the copyright for almost a year, but there's still no project approval. President Meng, the film and television adaptation rights are stuck in your hands and can't be used, which also affects the game's promotion. When players ask when the TV series will be made, you can't answer. When the media asks about the progress of the film and television adaptation, you can only say that it's in preparation. If you say 'in preparation' too often, no one will believe you."

The marketing director stood to the side, glanced at Meng Xianming, and said nothing.

Meng Xianming was silent for a while, then finally picked up the script outline on the table and turned to the first page.

The story begins with Wumeng Ling Valley.

In order to protect the Fenji sword, Baili Tusu's mother, Han Xiuning, forcibly sealed the evil energy within the sword into the body of the young Han Yunxi. Her own spiritual power was exhausted, and she collapsed to the ground.

The visuals are very strong, and the cinematic language is very skillful.

The scene then shifts to Tianyong City, where Master Ziyin waves his whisk and utters the line: "This boy carries the spirit of the Burning Sword. If he enters the demonic path, all living beings under heaven will be in danger."

The following section is the scene where Feng Qingxue appears, and Jiang Chen wrote a long scene description.

The dark river of Youdu, the lanterns on the bow of the boat, the girl lifting her cloak to reveal a clean face.

The narration is in Feng Qingxue's voice: "I've known since I was little that there's someone in this world whose fate is intertwined with mine. I've been searching for him for many years."

He was completely absorbed in watching.

Jiang Chen sat quietly without saying a word.

The only sound in the office was the turning of pages.

Half an hour later, he closed the script and leaned back in his chair.

it is good!

Well written!

It's much better than what Xu Ke wrote.

That guy actually wants to make a martial arts film? What the hell!

You don't understand anything!

"Well written." His tone was flat.

"Thank you, Mr. Meng." Jiang Chen didn't say anything more.

"You mean, sell the script to Yujing Jiangshan and let them film it?"

"No," Jiang Chen shook his head, "I can find a more suitable director."

"Who?"

"Find director Kong Sheng," Jiang Chen said. "You should know him. He directed 'Crossing the Guandong' and 'Life and Death Line.' He's good at ensemble dramas and capturing the essence of a period."

"He's never directed a fantasy drama before, which is an advantage; he won't follow the formula. Moreover, Director Kong respects the original work; the original author of 'Crossing the Guandong' praised him for not making any bad changes."

"Kong Sheng..." Meng Xianming hesitated, "Is he willing to take the job?"

"I can talk to them. My father works for Shandong Film and Television and has a connection with Director Kong. Recently, my father is planning to start an independent company with Director Kong, and I can act as a go-between."

"And another thing," Jiang Ye continued, "I can get Yang Mi to play Feng Qingxue."

"Yang Mi?" The director beside him widened his eyes, his tone full of astonishment. "She's willing to act?"