Sheng Yize was speechless.
So was An Xiaxia.
The man was still chattering non-stop. “Gosh, how I love your works! The emotions are depicted in such a refined way, the message delivered is so positive, and more importantly, the plot twists and the climax of the relationships are all so wonderfully done! I always thought that they were the works of a female author, but what do I know? This is wonderful. Your charisma, your writing style, your…”
Sheng Yize cut him off. “You’re talking to the wrong person.”
“What?” The man was dumbfounded.
An Xiaxia said awkwardly, “I’m the author. He’s my husband…”
“…”
Silence filled the room for one moment. The man then chuckled uneasily and said, “I – I’m so sorry… I’ve only read your books, but know very little else about you…”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal.” An Xiaxia smiled at him. The man cleared his throat and said, “My surname is Yue. Just call me Director Yue.”
“Yue? As in Yue Shuangman, the director who won an award at Cannes?” An Xiaxia was astonished.
Director Yue smiled modestly. “Art films come with natural advantages and get awards more easily. Here, Master Stone, please sit down.”
An Xiaxia waved her hands. “Just call me Xiaxia. Master Stone sounds so weird…”
“Haha! I agree!”
That concluded the funny little incident. After taking her seat, An Xiaxia looked around the table and saw two old acquaintances.
One was Qian Ming, the newly crowned Best Actor of the Year, whom they had met at the airport the other day.
The other was their high school classmate Yin Qinghan, who was a fellow writer of An Xiaxia’s.
“Hello, guys.” An Xiaxia greeted them in confusion.
“Ahem. Allow me to fill you in on this. Director Yue here holds a very high opinion of your work. We’ve already drafted up a detailed contract. Please have a look; we can always alter it at your request,” Director Yue’s assistant said politely.
An Xiaxia took the contract with a smile and was shocked by the amount offered.
OMG!
She gingerly tugged Sheng Yize by the lower hem of his clothes and asked, “Hey, how many zeros do you see in there?”
Turning in her direction, Sheng Yize glanced at the page and said calmly, “Six.”
That amount was trivial to him, but to An Xiaxia, it was such a pleasant surprise!
The book was from a long time ago, and she never expected to make money from it now. This was great!
She handed the contract to Sheng Yize, who quickly went through it. Then, casually but incisively, he pointed out a few errors.
The others saw him in a completely different light after that.
This was especially true of Director Yue’s assistant, who had broken into a cold sweat.
This man was remarkable!
That was how everyone felt at that moment.
“Well, I’ve made changes in the terms you pointed out just then. What do you think?” The assistant then suggested some alterations and Sheng Yize nodded. “That’ll do. Oh, one more thing. After the series airs, she gets five percent of the profits.”
That put the assistant in a difficult spot, for the request sounded presumptuous.
However, Director Yue nodded at him, so he called the investors, who told him that they would accept it.
Hence, the contract was signed in a merry mood.
Once the contract was settled, Director Yue said eagerly, “Now, let’s talk about your expectations for this series.”
An Xiaxia now saw how eager they were for this to work, or they would never have invited the lead actor, scriptwriter, and the director here on the day the contract was signed.
They wanted to lock it down as soon as possible to prevent any potential complications.
