Li Mengjiao was nervous, sweating as she spoke, doing this kind of thing for the first time.
Wen Ying, unaware of Li Mengjiao’s cunning, assumed she was overwhelmed by the mountain of Xie Qian’s test papers.
Feeling pity, Wen Ying answered earnestly, “Things are going well. Readers are enthusiastic, and Xiao Ni said the last two issues of *Spark* sold exceptionally well. As for Tianjiao buying film rights, you don’t think the story with the most votes is automatically the best for adaptation, do you?”
It’s not that simple!
For the short story category, there are two voting methods: online voting and paper ballots clipped from *Spark* magazine.
Online votes are limited to one per IP address, and paper ballots allow one vote per reader. The two methods carry different weights: online votes count for 30%, while paper ballots make up 70%.
Wen Ying and the team had implemented measures to ensure voting fairness, including hiring notaries to tally votes. But rules always have loopholes. If a finalist was determined to cheat, buying votes would be nearly impossible to prevent entirely.
The first-prize winner might not be the best of the twelve stories.
Judges prioritize a story’s brilliance and originality, but readers have their own tastes. A story’s ability to captivate, along with its style and prose, is just as crucial.
The three judges, including Wen Ying, could only ensure the twelve short stories met finalist quality. How readers voted or whether authors cheated was unpredictable.
Absolute fairness is unattainable; the organizers could only aim for the fairest possible outcome.
Buying film rights based solely on final rankings would be foolish for Tianjiao. An “honorable mention” story might have more adaptation value than the first-prize winner. Tianjiao needed sharp judgment to choose wisely—or the brute-force method of buying all the stories’ rights to avoid missing out.
At this, Li Mengjiao’s eyes lit up. “You can do that?”
It was the simplest solution for Mrs. Wang—better to overbuy than miss a gem!
Her excitement was too obvious, catching Xie Qian’s attention. He handed back her graded test paper, cutting off her glee. “Of course not.”
“Why not? Wen Ying said it’s possible, and I think she’s right!”
Xie Qian was the smartest, but Li Mengjiao stood firmly with Wen Ying.
She tried to intimidate him with a glare, hoping he’d see the stakes: any guy who contradicts his girlfriend and wins risks losing her.
Xie Qian wasn’t easily swayed. His rapport was reserved for Wen Ying, and he didn’t catch Li Mengjiao’s signals. “Every shortcut feels great at first, but they all lead to dead ends. Buying all the rights now to save effort? That’s not just about spending more money. Rights aren’t bought to gather dust. Tianjiao will need to adapt them eventually, facing the same choice: which story has the most value? Choosing wrong now means missing valuable stories. Choosing wrong later isn’t just a loss—it’s a blow to the company.”
What kind of blow?
Major financial losses.
Greenlighting the wrong project, producing something that doesn’t sell—Tianjiao would eat the loss.
For a new film company, two profitable dramas only mean it’s barely stable. It could survive one flop, but a hard-won foothold could collapse.
Take a shortcut now, face disaster later.
Li Mengjiao broke into a cold sweat at Xie Qian’s scenario, looking to Wen Ying for rescue. Wen Ying nodded slightly but felt Xie Qian was too blunt. “Why scare her like that? She’ll take it seriously!”
Xie Qian was worried she wouldn’t.
Li Mengjiao was clearly fishing for information from Wen Ying.
If she ran off with Wen Ying’s half-baked idea and bought all the semifinalist rights, the mess would fall to Wen Ying to clean up.
His “little hamster” was sharp with most things but dropped her guard with friends. If he didn’t watch closely, even Li Mengjiao could trick her.
Xie Qian’s sternness made Wen Ying sense something was off. “Why are you suddenly so curious about the contest rankings? Who’re you asking for?”
Li Mengjiao looked sheepish. “Teacher Yuan asked Mrs. Wang to pick stories for rights, but she has no experience and is stressed out. Wen Ying, I’m sorry, I messed up. I won’t try to trick you again!”
Li Mengjiao was the classic “apologize eagerly, repeat the mistake” type. Feeling close to Wen Ying, she thought acting cute could smooth things over.
Xie Qian disapproved, but Wen Ying fell for it.
Brushing off Li Mengjiao’s mistake, Wen Ying was more puzzled by Mrs. Wang’s lack of confidence. “She’s watched so many dramas—how can she say she has no experience? Tell her to trust her gut and choose boldly!”
Trust her gut?
Mrs. Wang was even more confused by that advice.
In the end, Wen Ying decided to skip the middleman and talk to Mrs. Wang directly. She said this on a flight to Hunan, where Mrs. Wang sat beside her.
“Exactly, pick based on your feelings. What you like, others might not, but if you don’t like it, most viewers probably won’t either.”
Wen Ying explained aesthetic commonality and audience targeting.
No drama can please everyone. Mrs. Wang’s taste represents a segment of viewers. Buying rights based on her preferences could capture that audience and succeed.
Mrs. Wang didn’t quite follow but thought Wen Ying was impressive.
“Slow down, let me take notes.”
She pulled a bedazzled notebook from her bag, asking Wen Ying to repeat.
Wen Ying’s eye twitched at the rhinestone-covered notebook—a stark contrast between a wealthy wife and a corporate drone.
As a rich housewife, Mrs. Wang never wanted to be a corporate drone, but when forced into the role, she took it seriously. Even in an unfamiliar field, she grumbled but studied hard. A woman like her, managing family and thriving in the workplace—Wang Jun struck gold marrying her!
Li Mengjiao, equally lost, stared at Wen Ying in awe.
Zhang Yangning wasn’t interested in this. On the plane, she was still thinking about her album. A Hunan performance had specifically requested her, or she wouldn’t have left the recording studio.
Yun Chen watched Wen Ying with interest.
Writing was a talent.
But aesthetic commonality and audience targeting—where did Wen Ying learn that?
