“We must sue for sure. Not only Wen Ying, our company will sue too. The issue is, that surnamed Guan would not spend much on buying the rights to ‘Crown of Thorns’. With just that little money, how can we make him lose big?”
Mrs Wang had personally handled copyright deals before. At current rates, a bestseller author’s film and TV rights could sell for a million. For an average author, selling for a few hundred thousand was already a pleasant surprise.
Wen Ying’s book rights would surely cost a lot. Lan Jing fell far short of Wen Ying!
Even if Director Guan was a fool, hoodwinked lame by Bao Lixin, and spent seven figures on the rights to ‘Crown of Thorns’, if the book just sat unfilmed, Director Guan would only lose seven figures.
Director Guan was no tycoon, but a mere million would not hurt him badly.
Unless the project got approved and funded smoothly, only to get axed halfway, that would count as heavy loss.
But Director Fan had said ‘Crown of Thorns’ was a Hunan TV self-produced drama. If it got halted midway, the real heavy loss would fall on Hunan TV alone. For a moment, Mrs Wang’s gaze at Director Fan turned different.
Director Fan was ruthless!
Most people only schemed against outsiders. Director Fan was different. He even schemed against his own house.
Director Fan read Mrs Wang’s look. He hurried to explain. “It is not what you think. If I did not know, fine. But now that I do, how could I let ‘Crown of Thorns’ become a self-produced drama?”
Mrs Wang stayed noncommittal. “That is not certain. You did not know ‘Love’s Cruise’ grabbed the summer prime slot before ‘With the Galaxy’, did you? This time, Director Guan and the rest could operate ‘Crown of Thorns’ the same way, keeping it from you. If Wen Ying had not reacted fast and checked ‘Crown of Thorns’ last night ahead of time, we would be caught off guard again now.”
Mrs Wang’s words stung deep. Yet Director Fan could not refute them.
Seeing Director Fan look stifled, Mrs Wang added a couple of soothing lines.
“Of course, this is not your fault. Blame the enemies for being too sly, always pulling little tricks!”
Director Fan felt better at once.
Yes, this was not his fault. It was that rice-soul-sucking Director Guan stirring trouble. An honest man like him would naturally eat losses from such despicable small fries.
Luckily, though the process twisted and turned, the outcome stayed fairly good. Even if that surnamed Guan held the upper hand for a while, he would fall at key moments. Perhaps even heaven could not stand such a despicable small fry acting arrogant!
With his mood eased, Director Fan patted his chest in promise. “No more on that. For this recording, Xiao Wen, I will watch from start to finish. If someone tries to ride Xiao Wen’s popularity to climb, they must ask if I agree!”
Mrs Wang had waited just for these words.
Wen Ying’s time was so precious now. Just one semester left before the college entrance exam. Coming to Hunan TV to record one episode, counting round-trip time, would waste at least two or three days.
Such precious two or three days, all to promote Lan Jing’s new book?
Pah!
Not a penny in promo fees, yet thinking only of taking advantage. Where in the world was such a good deal?
With Director Fan’s guarantee, Mrs Wang felt at ease.
When Wen Ying took another break, Mrs Wang leaned to her ear and whispered. Wen Ying nodded lightly. “I get what Director Fan means now.”
Wen Ying and Mrs Wang were talking when the most gossipy male writer from before came over again.
“This Lan Jing is no simpleton. New book first print sixty thousand copies. What connections? Background that hard?”
This gossipy male writer had a new work out recently too.
His new book’s first print was thirty thousand copies.
It was not jealousy over that. He just could not figure it. For a new author whose debut had no big success, which nerve did the publisher hit to dare a first print of sixty thousand?
Such confidence it would sell?!
And so coincidental. Wen Ying’s new book ‘Searching for Yong’ first print sixty thousand. Lan Jing’s new book also sixty thousand.
Wen Ying came to record the variety show. Lan Jing came too.
This was deliberate to go against Wen Ying, right?
The male writer was truly curious. Wen Ying smiled. “Lan Jing has talent. The publisher wants to push her hard!”
The male writer felt unsatisfied with this answer. Wen Ying refused to say more. It left him itchy inside.
The programme staff saw nothing amiss. They had no sense of what a sixty thousand first print for ‘Crown of Thorns’ meant. But peers were shocked to bits.
By the end of recording, little rumours flew everywhere.
Some said Lan Jing was the daughter of a publishing house leader. Others said she was an artist newly signed by Director Guan. Still others claimed she was the child of a Hunan TV executive. The tales grew more detailed, more outlandish.
That night, the programme team treated the guests to dinner. When facing Lan Jing again, even their expressions changed.
The gossipy male writer grumbled to Wen Ying in secret. “What is there not to spill? If I knew earlier, I would not have offended her.”
Why had he not held back that laugh then?
The male writer wanted to slap himself.
Wen Ying urged him it was not too late to mend fences. The male writer thought it over, then shook his head. “Forget it. Even if she is some young miss with big backing, I am too lazy to cosy up.”
He could already make money writing books. Why bend the knee to please others?
A literary man’s knees were stiff. Once bent, they bent often. The male writer did not want that.
Wen Ying gave a thumbs up in praise. “I admire your backbone!”
The male writer felt shy instead. He no longer stopped Wen Ying from more gossip.
Wen Ying suspected Director Fan fanned the flames. On the way back to the hotel after dinner, she could not help sighing to Mrs Wang. “The old ones are still the spiciest. Everyone believes Lan Jing is signed by Director Guan. Now even Director Guan cannot push ‘Crown of Thorns’ easily.”
These little rumours were too damaging.
They struck Director Guan and the TV leaders behind ‘Crown of Thorns’ in one go. Once the plagiarism broke, both Director Guan and the execs pushing the project would get dirtied.
Wen Ying did not know if Lan Jing heard these rumours.
Bao Lixin surely did.
Bao Lixin was not afraid, of course. At tonight’s dinner, the man even felt smug. He thought his strategy worked right.
The bigger others guessed Lan Jing’s background, the less they dared provoke her easily.
After all, among the four guests recording together, including Wen Ying, whatever they thought inside, they still had to act polite to Lan Jing’s face!
Wen Ying decided to let Editor-in-Chief Bao stay happy a bit longer.
The day after recording, Director Fan invited Wen Ying and Mrs Wang back to the TV station. He wanted to talk about the rights to Zhang Guangzhen’s new drama.
Before coming to the station, Wen Ying had a serious talk with Yuan Fenghui.
Director Guan pushed ‘Crown of Thorns’. That meant going all the way to the end as Tianjiao’s enemy. An enemy’s enemy was a friend. Tianjiao must help Director Fan hold sway at Hunan TV. The rights to Zhang Guangzhen’s new drama counted as a key achievement for Director Fan. Yuan Fenghui had held out so long, but finally relented.
Director Fan could not hide his joy. “When can we sign?”
Director Fan looked at Mrs Wang. But Mrs Wang only looked at Wen Ying. It seemed she waited for Wen Ying to speak.
Director Fan felt both shocked and baffled. This was Zhang Guangzhen’s drama. How did it fall to Wen Ying to decide?
Mrs Wang cleared her throat lightly. “I forgot to introduce. Wen Ying is not just an author signed by Director Yuan and a valued screenwriter at our company. She is also a shareholder in Tianjiao. She can handle all copyright sales on her own!”
