Chapter 33
A thought suddenly popped into Zhou Xingyun's mind, but she quickly suppressed it.
No, that's a bit too absurd.
However, after sitting in her office for a long time, she not only failed to calm down, but the thought in her mind seemed to take root, making her more and more excited.
Just then, her childhood friend Luo Ying messaged her, asking if she wanted to go for a drive.
She immediately grabbed her car keys and left the company.
Feeling stifled, she went out for some fresh air and to sort out her jumbled thoughts.
Driving their sports car, Luo Ying sped all the way to the outskirts of Beijing. After getting out of the car, the two squatted down by the roadside and smoked without any regard for appearances. Seeing that she was distracted, Luo Ying asked, "What's wrong? You look so miserable. Did your dad make things difficult for you at work?"
"no."
Zhou Xingyun let out a long sigh: "Didn't I recently plan to produce a TV series...?"
"Yeah, I heard you've been searching for almost two months and still haven't chosen a script," Luo Ying teased. "That's a bit slow."
Zhou Xingyun said, embarrassed and annoyed: "Not two months, just one month, okay!"
"Okay, okay, one month it is."
Luo Ying's nonchalant attitude annoyed Zhou Xingyun. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "How did you know? I don't think I told you."
"Tch, what's so surprising? That's how this industry is. Every little thing gets spread everywhere. You should be more careful; a lot of people are waiting to see you make a fool of yourself."
"Damn, I knew it! I was wondering why my dad suddenly called me to his office yesterday. I guess he overheard something and got angry with the old man."
Zhou Xingyun threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stood up, and stomped on it before continuing:
"I'm getting off topic. Lately, I've been looking for scripts, but there aren't any that I'm satisfied with at the company. However, I did find one I like on a novel platform."
Luo Ying raised an eyebrow: "Isn't that great? If you like it, just buy it."
Money is not a problem as long as it suits my taste.
Zhou Xingyun scratched his hair, wishing it were that simple.
"The key is that I only liked the story background of the novel. The main plot of the novel itself... well, it is also good, but it is not very suitable for adaptation into a TV series."
"What do you mean?" Luo Ying frowned. "What are you talking about?"
He doesn't understand.
"Well, it's a novel. Putting aside the main characters, the part about the court intrigue it touches on is very exciting to me. I think it would be very suitable to be adapted into a political intrigue novel with undercurrents and life-or-death struggles."
Of course, the premise is that the author expands on this part, and the expanded plot must be coherent and logically sound.
Zhou Xingyun's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, because she realized that Luo Ying was now looking at her as if she were a fool.
"Putting the main character aside, you're amazing, Sister Zhou. This is the first time I've ever heard a producer say something like that. Putting the main character aside, why don't you just ask the author to write a separate book for you?"
If the main characters are all abandoned, is this still a novel?
Zhou Xingyun was speechless; that was precisely why she hadn't dared to contact the author.
Luo Ying teased her a few times, but seeing her dejected look, she didn't say anything more. She just said irritably, "What's the name of the novel? I'll look it up."
"To read 'The Great Tang Female Painter' on Feihong Novel Network, you need to download the app."
Luo Ying, being a boy, probably hadn't read any female-oriented novels before.
Luo Ying hummed in agreement. He had never read it before. If it weren't for Zhou Xingyun, he probably would never have clicked on the female-oriented novel section to read novels in his life.
He quickly downloaded the Feihong app, added it to his favorites and subscribed to it all, and started watching "The Female Painter of the Tang Dynasty".
He reads very quickly. He wasn't very interested in the daily life scenes of the main characters and would just glance at them and move on. But as he read on, he gradually began to appreciate the story.
"Let's go back," Zhou Xingyun said, not wanting to stand there any longer, and pulled Luo Ying, who was looking at her phone, into the car.
Zhou Xingyun drove the whole way, while Luo Ying sat in the passenger seat and continued reading "The Great Tang Female Painter".
"The Great Tang Female Painter" is still being serialized. It has about sixty chapters. By the time the two returned to Luo Ying's apartment building in the city, he had already read most of it.
Luo Ying put away her phone, still somewhat unsatisfied: "I understand you."
Compared to the female lead's mundane daily life, he was also interested in Emperor Taizong of Tang, who appeared very few times, and the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion.
Through the author's brief background introduction, one can already imagine how Emperor Taizong of Tang, along with his ministers, fought a bloody battle to seize the throne.
"Right? If this story is written well, it will be absolutely fantastic!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xingyun became overjoyed and couldn't help but boast a little.
"It's exciting, but... you should think it over carefully. Political intrigue novels are notoriously niche. Since this is your first time as a producer, it's safer to choose a more mainstream subject."
Luo Ying's advice was very pertinent, and Zhou Xingyun knew it, but she was still unwilling to give up.
He's not interested in popular themes or romance these days, but she's set her sights on Emperor Taizong of Tang and wants to film his story.
"I'm so worried! How am I supposed to communicate with the boss?!"
Luo Ying sighed helplessly, "Is that what you should be worrying about right now? You should be thinking about how to persuade your dad. If the author doesn't agree, you can always get things sorted out by giving him more money. Your dad is the most difficult one to deal with!"
Zhou Xingyun suddenly realized.
She slowly turned her head, her eyes sparkling, and said, "That makes sense! How can you be so smart, Luo Ying!"
"Tch~"
Luo Ying scratched her face awkwardly under her gaze, hurriedly left with a "I'm leaving" and fled, leaving Zhou Xingyun shouting from the open car window, "Hey, why are you running so fast!"
*
Xu Ying had just woken up in the morning when she saw a long string of messages from 'Lucky Come Come Come'. She was still a little dazed, so when she replied, she was a bit too rough and described Emperor Taizong of Tang as a dark terrorist.
I don't know if she was scared by me, it's already afternoon and I still haven't replied to her message.
Xu Ying glanced at her phone, wondering if she should say something to salvage Emperor Taizong's image, when suddenly a message came in from the other end, thankfully she wasn't startled.
Lucky me: Hey, I want to buy the copyright to your novel "The Great Tang Female Painter".
Buying copyrights?
This unexpected surprise made Xu Ying's heart skip a beat.
February Sky: Copyright needs to be discussed with the editor; authors cannot sell copyrights privately.
Lucky Come On: I know, what I wanted to tell you is that I was actually drawn to the background of this novel, which is the story of Emperor Taizong of Tang ascending the throne step by step from the Prince of Qin.
Lucky me: If I buy the rights to this novel, I'm afraid it will be heavily modified later, and the female lead will be removed.
As Zhou Xingyun typed these words, he felt incredibly uneasy.
She felt that no author would accept their protagonist simply disappearing from the script.
When she bought "The Female Painter of the Tang Dynasty," it was like buying the box and returning the pearl; she didn't need the original main plot, but instead turned the tiny side plots in the novel into the main plot.
In fact, this is almost the same as rewriting a new novel.
However, since Emperor Taizong of Tang was inspired by this book, buying it now is the most cost-effective and permanent solution to avoid potential copyright disputes in the future.
Xu Ying understood what she meant.
This lucky guy wanted to make a traditional historical drama about political intrigue, and Emperor Taizong of Tang happened to be the protagonist he chose.
As for the female lead in "The Great Tang Female Painter", the character is fictional, and her involvement in various aspects of the era is too Mary Sue-ish, which does not fit the tone of a historical drama.
Xu Ying was not as upset as she had imagined.
She actually thought that Lucky Lai Lai Lai was quite insightful, as she could see the extraordinary nature of Emperor Taizong of Tang at a glance and wanted to make it into a TV series. She was truly insightful and had great courage.
February Sky: I understand what you mean. After you buy the novel's copyright, you want to rewrite the plot. So, who would you like to hire as the screenwriter?
No one else can do it; only she can write this story.
It's not that Xu Ying is arrogant, but who in this world understands the core of Chinese history better than her?
Lucky Come On: I would like to ask you to write about these characters. You created them all, and I believe that only you know the intricacies of their stories, and only you can capture their charm.
Lucky you! You're the best screenwriter candidate, and don't worry, the copyright is yours, but I'll pay you separately for the screenwriting fee.
Tsk.
So generous.
Xu Ying did not hesitate any longer.
February Sky: Okay, then you can contact Fei Hong. I have no objections.
Lucky Come On: Really? Thank you so much! I promise I won't let you down. I'll definitely do my best to adapt this novel into a film!
February Sky: Yeah, keep it up.
Xu Ying put down her phone; she really hadn't expected things to develop in this direction.
She originally planned to wait until she was able to film all the stories in her heart, but unexpectedly, the opportunity suddenly came, and someone took a liking to the profound history wrapped in her cheerful stories.
It's quite amazing.
Xu Ying suddenly felt like sharing something with someone, and for some reason, she thought of Lin Zhongxu.
They've been exchanging messages and sharing their updates every now and then. She knows that Lin Zhongxu has a lot of classes at school, and she also knows that he opened an account on TK short video platform, where he breaks down and analyzes classic movie scenes.
He said he was in a lot of pain because his fan base was slow to grow.
She then asked him to follow her account. At first, he disagreed, but he eventually gave in and did.
When she found his account, she almost burst out laughing. No wonder he was embarrassed to give it to her; he really didn't have many followers. Including the one she had just followed, he had a total of forty-six followers.
Young people have a strong sense of pride, and because of her mockery, he didn't message her for several days afterward.
Thinking of this, Xu Ying put down the phone she had picked up.
Never mind, I won't post it.
Since the news wasn't confirmed yet, she shouldn't rush to open the champagne. She should wait until the copyright contract was officially signed before sharing the good news with him.
Xu Ying diligently typed for an entire afternoon.
That evening, as she was relaxing in bed after washing up, she suddenly received a message from her editor, Yueyin, who excitedly told her the good news that someone wanted to buy the copyright to "The Great Tang Female Painter".
"Hmm..."
With Yueyin's strong reaction, Xu Ying was momentarily at a loss as to whether she should reveal that she had actually known about it that afternoon.
In the end, she didn't say anything, but feigned surprise.
February Sky: Really? That's great!
Yueyin: Right, right? And let me tell you, this time the buyer was very generous. They agreed to the company's price without much haggling. They were so quick to agree!
February weather: So nice.
Yueyin: But the other party clearly stated that the novel will be drastically changed, and they also want you to be the screenwriter. You... don't have any objections, right?
Please don't have any objections.
Although the novel might be drastically altered after being sold, she secretly hopes that February Sky can sell the copyright.
February Sky: I'm fine with it, I'm willing to be a screenwriter.
She believes that only by writing the script herself can she ensure that the story can be written in its entirety, instead of being altered into a mess, and of course she is willing to do so.
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