Wen Ying had signed a tiered royalty contract with Zou Weijun.
The 6%-15% tiered royalty rate depended on the actual sales of *Teen Idol*.
Once *Teen Idol* sold over 20,000 copies, the royalty rate moved past the minimum 6%. At over 1 million copies, it would hit 15%!
15% was the publisher’s royalty ceiling, a condition only secured by well-known authors. Selling 1 million copies firmly marked a writer as a bestseller, deserving such treatment regardless of age or gender.
Back then, no one expected *Teen Idol* to sell over 1 million. Zou Weijun’s former boss agreed to the tiered royalty as a gesture to appease and encourage Wen Ying.
Han Qin certainly couldn’t have imagined it, or she wouldn’t have come to Chengdu with such a haughty attitude to discuss publishing terms with Wen Ying.
Even Wen Ying herself hadn’t foreseen it.
Reborn or not, did that guarantee becoming a bestseller?
Last year, her confident first submission to a magazine was rejected!
*Teen Idol*’s current sales were tied to Wen Ying’s writing talent, but not solely. Without the attention from the defamation lawsuit, Li Mengjiao’s variety show promotions, the buzz from *The Princess’s New Clothes*, and the blog invitation from the portal site… every perfectly timed publicity move boosted *Teen Idol*’s sales!
If another author wrote *Teen Idol*, even with identical content, it wouldn’t have skyrocketed so fast.
It was a good book, and with time and word-of-mouth, it could sell well. But achieving Wen Ying’s current success—hundreds of thousands of copies in just three months—was unreplicable for others!
Whether it surpassed 500,000 copies was crucial.
Above 500,000, royalties would be calculated at 14%, covering 500,000 to 1 million copies.
Just over 500,000 copies would mean Wen Ying’s royalties were 500,000 × 32 × 14%, or 2.24 million before tax!
That was no small sum.
Wen Ying’s profits from selling her “Shrimp King” shares and investing in *The Princess’s New Clothes* didn’t come close!
If under 500,000 but over 400,000, the royalty rate would be 13%. A mere 1% difference, like *The Princess’s New Clothes* missing 5% viewership by %, was a slight regret.
So, 600,000 copies was Wen Ying’s fantasy, but 500,000 was her solid expectation.
It wasn’t just Wen Ying awaiting the sales tally. Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong were also keen, though too proud to ask since they’d said Wen Ying could keep her earnings. Wen Dongrong was particularly wistful: what was it like for his daughter’s three-month book royalties to outstrip his years of salary?
He desperately wanted to brag!
No, money was too sensitive to boast about at work.
Old Li probably couldn’t handle such a blow.
The only “good news” Old Li could take was probably Wen Dongrong passing an exam.
Sigh, his only flaw among countless virtues was being too kind!
…
November 1, 2005, was a memorable day for Wen Ying.
That day, the first three months’ sales data for *Teen Idol* began being tallied. Zou Weijun said it’d take about two days for results.
That same afternoon, Wen Ying’s independently written script, Tianjiao’s second drama *Galaxy and You*, officially began filming!
Yuan Fenghui held a modest launch press conference with few but influential media outlets invited.
Director Fan wanted the *Galaxy and You* launch in Hunan, but Yuan Fenghui insisted on Chengdu.
Friendships aside, until terms were settled, *Galaxy and You*’s rights weren’t exclusive to Hunan TV. Tianjiao retained autonomy. Plus, it wasn’t a weekend, and Li Mengjiao only got half a day off from school. A Hunan launch would’ve meant her rushing between cities in a tight window.
Filming in Chengdu wasn’t an issue.
To accommodate Li Mengjiao’s schedule, most indoor scenes for *Galaxy and You* would be shot in Chengdu, with only a few exterior scenes in Shanghai. Yuan Fenghui planned the November start to wrap indoor filming first, then move the cast, including Li Mengjiao, to Shanghai during the winter break.
As the screenwriter, Wen Ying reluctantly missed the launch press conference.
Not because she was camera-shy or playing mysterious—her class teacher, Lin Lin, rejected her leave request!
Wen Ying suspected Xie Qian’s influence but had no proof.
If Wen Ying couldn’t go, Wang Shuang definitely couldn’t.
Mrs. Wang, however, attended as Tianjiao’s PR manager.
Mrs. Wang was initially uninterested, with neither Chen Ru nor Zou Weijun present, but Yuan Fenghui lured her with promises of an unexpected big star.
At the venue, no mystery star in sight, Mrs. Wang was swamped with tasks, greeting media while inwardly cursing Yuan Fenghui.
Too much!
Yuan Fenghui had printed business cards for Mrs. Wang without her knowledge.
Tricking her to the launch, she handed out Mrs. Wang’s cards to the invited journalists.
“This is our new Tianjiao PR manager. She’ll handle media coordination moving forward.”
Mrs. Wang’s vision darkened.
She could already foresee the flood of “work” calls coming her way!
She only wanted to run the writing contest, not deal with all these media.
At that moment, Mrs. Wang had a sudden urge to go home and scold her kid.
, If her useless son weren’t such a letdown, would she be stuck in this mess?!
Mrs. Wang’s mood stayed sour until the press conference began, hampering her social prowess.
When it started, Yuan Fenghui announced the leads for *Galaxy and You*.
No surprises: Yun Chen as the male lead, Li Mengjiao as the female lead, and Zhang Yangning as the supporting female.
Zhang Yangning had been out of the spotlight for a while.
Her last appearance was at Hunan TV’s National Day gala.
She’d gained some traction on her blog, but it wasn’t enough, as blogs hadn’t yet caught mainstream media attention.
Some journalists only just learned Zhang Yangning had joined Tianjiao.
“It’s a choice, isn’t it?”
“Tianjiao’s new, but with Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen, two hot stars, Zhang Yangning can ride their coattails!”
“Not bad. Her old company signed so many talent show contestants, she got no attention. Joining Tianjiao’s a good move…”
Choices sometimes outweigh effort.
Picking the right company beats a hundredfold effort in the wrong direction!
At the press conference, Zhang Yangning felt the scrutinizing gazes.
Scrutiny or gossip, she didn’t care.
This was her job!
If she couldn’t handle a few odd looks now, how would she have the courage to stand center stage at a solo concert?
The lead roles were expected, and Zhang Yangning’s supporting role was a mild surprise. But when Yuan Fenghui announced a major guest midway through, journalists were both expectant and shocked. Mrs. Wang craned her neck.
She almost thought Yuan Fenghui had tricked her.
Li Mengjiao aside, even Yun Chen, who’d charmed Mrs. Wang in *The Princess’s New Clothes*, was someone she could see anytime at Tianjiao.
Yun Chen’s mysterious aura was for outsiders, not insiders.
No matter how handsome, familiarity dulled the thrill.
But when Yuan Fenghui’s major guest appeared, Mrs. Wang was instantly revived, as if injected with ten shots of adrenaline.
No one expected the guest to be mainland’s top diva, Hu Man!
Hu Man was a mainstay in mainland music, rising to fame the year Wang Shuang was born. Her years of stardom matched his age.
Mrs. Wang wasn’t this excited for other divas—Hu Man was her favorite singer for years.
Not just Mrs. Wang, the media were stunned.
Hu Man didn’t appear alone; she was joined by renowned musician Huang Yongjuan.
This golden duo of mainland music, with multiple joint albums, sparked guesses at their *Galaxy and You* appearance.
“Why’s Hu Man here?”
“She’s not acting in this drama, is she?”
“No way, Hu Man acting? Maybe she’s singing the theme song? Huang Yongjuan’s here too!”
The journalists guessed wrong.
Hu Man was acting in *Galaxy and You*. Set in the entertainment world, Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen had popularity but were young. The drama needed veterans to anchor it.
Casting familiar veteran actors as industry seniors was fine, but a real industry legend’s cameo was far better.
Yuan Fenghui said Hu Man’s role was crucial, piquing journalists’ curiosity.
No leaks beforehand—Li Mengjiao and Mrs. Wang were as shocked as anyone.
Even Wen Ying, if present, would’ve been stunned. Yuan was incredible—convincing Huang Yongjuan was one thing, but getting Hu Man for a cameo through him? Mind-blowing.
That night, the launch made headlines, with media giving it prominent coverage.
Frankly, Yuan Fenghui’s move gave *Galaxy and You* far more buzz at its start than Yu Tianlin’s drama!
Unlike the low-key launch of *The Princess’s New Clothes*, this was a bold new strategy.
“When we lacked strength, we kept a low profile. Now that we have it, why stay quiet?” Yuan Fenghui explained to Wen Ying’s confusion.
Wen Ying was curious how Yuan got Hu Man, “Really a friendly cameo?”
A friendly cameo meant doing it for friendship, unpaid.
Wen Ying was skeptical.
Sure enough, Yuan Fenghui chuckled, “Of course not. For three episodes, I promised Hu Man 3 million!”
No bond beats the power of cash.
Was that why *Galaxy and You*’s budget exceeded *The Princess’s New Clothes*?
Wen Ying had believed Yuan’s claim that the extra budget was for music production… Had Yuan been eyeing Hu Man since negotiating with Huang Yongjuan at National Day?
Wen Ying had a bad feeling.
“Teacher Yuan, the drama’s budget—”
“I was just about to discuss that. We need to increase the budget. Can you invest another million?”
Wen Ying suspected Yuan was targeting her yet-to-be-received royalties, determined to drain her pockets and tie her to Tianjiao!
, A man’s heart is where his money is. Wen Ying’s money was with Tianjiao, so she was too.
