1RomanceEB Chapter 34: Liu Ye: You are my own brother!
Chapter 34: Liu Ye: You are my own brother!
For the next few days, Guan Shengbai enjoyed a rare period of peace and quiet.
There were no announcements, no film set, and no alarm clock at 4:30 a.m.
I wake up naturally every morning, brew myself a pot of coffee, and then sit on the sofa in the living room to study the script of "No War in Beiping".
He made detailed annotations for every scene Fang Mengwei performed, memorized the lines perfectly, and even memorized the lines of the actors he was acting opposite.
In the afternoon, he usually turns on his computer and plays the single-player game "Gu Jian Qi Tan" for a while.
Life went on peacefully but fulfillingly until Xu Kai called.
"Brother Bai, we've got 'Yu Zui' on the list."
Xu Kai's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.
"How much?"
"Two hundred and fifty thousand."
Guan Shengbai's fingers tightened slightly as he held his phone, and he remained silent for a moment.
His bottom line is 700,000.
In the original timeline, "Yu Zui" also sold very quickly, selling for 60 yuan around the beginning of 2013.
In other words, if Guan Shengbai wants to snatch the rights to "Yu Zui", he may have to face offers from competitors.
But he also knew that at this point in time, all his assets combined could barely amount to that much.
Any more, and you'll face the "cutoff line" that belongs to artists.
He had even prepared for the worst: if the other party insisted on a price of over 700,000, he would have to find a way to borrow some money from others to make ends meet.
But now Xu Kai got it done with just 250,000 yuan.
"How much are they asking?"
"Chang Shuxin initially offered 400,000."
Xu Kai's tone was filled with a hint of smugness and pride.
"I told him that the book has only just started serialization, the data hasn't picked up yet, and there's no way it'll be adapted into a film or television series."
The fact that someone is willing to buy it now is, frankly, a gamble.
If the readership doesn't pick up by the time the series ends, nobody will want even 40,000 copies, let alone 400,000.
How long did he hesitate?
"Two days. He negotiated with me several more times, and finally, when I insisted on keeping my price at 250,000, he finally agreed."
Guan Shengbai leaned back on the sofa, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.
The Xu Kai he knew in his past life was a notorious smiling tiger in the public relations circle.
On the surface, he looks harmless, with a pair of squinty eyes that smile like Maitreya Buddha. In reality, his methods at the negotiating table are precise and ruthless. Many people have been deceived by his round face and lost even their underwear.
Although Xu Kai, now in his early twenties, is still somewhat naive in his methods and far less experienced than his contemporaries, his innate intuition and courage are already beginning to show.
"Where's the contract?"
"It's all signed. We've secured the film and television adaptation rights as well as the game adaptation rights. Chang Shuxin has no objections to the contract terms and is very cooperative."
Xu Kai paused, his voice suddenly becoming somewhat embarrassed, "Brother Bai, you previously said your target price was 700,000, but I saved 450,000, um..."
"I'll give you a bonus."
Guan Shengbai's tone carried a hint of amusement.
"Thank you, Brother Bai!"
Xu Kai's voice rose half an octave instantly, then quickly subsided, regaining its professional composure.
"By the way, the contract for 'The King's Avatar' is also finalized. It's worth 500,000 yuan, and we've secured both the comic book rights and the film and television adaptation rights."
The other party initially wanted to negotiate the price, but their attitude softened considerably after hearing that we had already signed a contract for "Yu Zui".
Guan Shengbai quickly did some mental calculations.
The copyrights for "The King's Avatar" cost 500,000 yuan and "Yu Zui" cost 250,000 yuan. The total cost for the full copyrights of the two IPs was 750,000 yuan.
He originally set a bottom line of 1.2 million for these two IPs, but Xu Kai managed to save him 450,000.
The value these two IPs can create in the future is hundreds or even thousands of times greater than it is now.
Of course, accounts and projects are not simply a 1+1 math problem.
Holding the copyright alone is not very useful now.
Only when you have capital and confidence can you have sufficient leverage when negotiating with the platform.
Only then will joint development be possible.
"You've worked hard. Take a good rest during this time."
"It's not hard work. I feel at ease working with Brother Bai."
When Xu Kai said this, there was no hint of flattery in his tone; it was more like he was stating a fact that he had already accepted.
In fact, Xu Kai's understanding of his current job has long surpassed the scope of "artist assistant".
After all, the tasks Guan Shengbai assigned him were never chores like serving tea and water or running errands and booking tickets.
From contacting online authors and negotiating copyright contracts to analyzing market data and screening project information, every single task is a core business.
He could sense that Brother Bai was grooming him to be an agent.
This realization also filled Xu Kai with enthusiasm.
After all, when he worked as a clerk at a tech company, he faced a bunch of reports and data that had nothing to do with him every day, and he didn't even want to say a word after work.
Now, with each project he closes and each contract he signs, he can truly feel that he is doing something big with Guan Shengbai.
The sense of accomplishment and participation made every cell in his body burn.
To put it bluntly, it's the difference between building a career and simply being a beast of burden.
"By the way, Brother Bai, I also contacted the production team of 'Joy of Life'."
Xu Kai put aside his feelings and steered the conversation back to the main topic.
"The situation is more complicated than expected. The copyright is in the hands of Hainan TV, and it has indeed been shelved for several years. However, they have frequent personnel changes, and the person in charge of this project has only recently taken over. They are not opposed to our contact."
"How much are you asking?"
"They haven't officially given a price yet, but I sounded out that they basically mean... anything below three million is out of the question."
Three million.
Guan Shengbai quickly reviewed his current funds in his mind and then gave a reply.
"Keep it hanging, maintain contact, and don't break the line. Don't rush to discuss the price; wait for the right opportunity to make a move."
"clear."
After hanging up the phone, Guan Shengbai put his phone on the coffee table, picked up his coffee cup, and walked to the window.
The afternoon sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a large patch of warm, soft light on the floor.
The landscaping in Jinmao Mansion is quite good. Even in winter, the lawn downstairs retains some greenery. Several children are chasing and playing in the playground, and their laughter can be faintly heard through the glass windows.
He stood by the window, watching the little figures running around downstairs, and a rare sense of peace settled over him.
The IP strategy has taken initial shape. The next step is to wait for the right opportunity to plant these seeds one by one in the right soil, so that they can take root, sprout, and grow into towering trees.
……
……
During this rare period of leisure time, Guan Shengbai not only studied the script and played games, but also took some time to go to the gym to lift weights a few times and go for a run in the neighborhood.
After all, although it's cold in Beijing in January, running a few kilometers outdoors in the afternoon sun is more comfortable than being cooped up in the gym.
He even took some time to go to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities and ingredients for his home.
The refrigerator was crammed with vegetables and meat, new dishes were placed in the cupboards, and the withered green plant on the balcony had been replaced with two hardy snake plants.
Under his careful management, the house gradually shed its long-standing desolation and began to feel more lively.
That afternoon, Guan Shengbai was playing games on the sofa when Baili Tusu's phone suddenly vibrated after he finished a boss battle.
He picked up his phone and glanced at it; the profile picture flashing on the screen was someone he didn't recognize.
He was stunned for a moment before he realized that it was a WeChat video call request, and the caller was Liu Ye.
Guan Shengbai pressed the answer button, and Liu Ye's stubble-faced face was right in front of the camera, filling the entire phone screen.
His eyes were a little red, and his lips were moving as if he had a thousand words stuck in his throat, but he couldn't say a single one.
"brother!"
Liu Ye's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, so loud that it made Guan Shengbai's phone speaker crack.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Guan Shengbai was a little confused by his appearance and moved his phone further away.
"Brother Ye, let's talk this out and catch our breath first."
Liu Ye took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, repeating this several times before she could barely calm herself down.
He wiped his face with the back of his hand, his voice still trembling slightly.
"Hey bro, do you remember when we were on set, you told me to have my wife get a medical checkup?"
"Remember."
"To be honest, I was a little upset at the time."
Liu Ye's voice carried a hint of guilt, "You said my wife's eyes are a little yellow, and I thought to myself, how could you, a grown man, immediately say that she has a health problem?"
So I just gave a casual reply and didn't take it too seriously.
He paused, and his voice suddenly became low.
"Later, when I was video chatting with Anna, she casually mentioned that she had been experiencing a dull pain in her chest and wasn't feeling well, saying it might be due to internal heat."
My mind went blank for a moment, and I suddenly remembered what you said.
I asked her to hold the phone closer so I could examine her eyes more closely; they were indeed a bit yellowish.
"I immediately got worried and told her to go to the hospital for a check-up right away."
She was still unhappy, saying it was just a case of internal heat, and that taking some cooling pills would be fine, and there was no need to make a fuss and rush to the hospital.
We even had a fight about it on the phone.
Liu Ye spoke in great detail, sounding somewhat incoherent.
But Guan Shengbai knew that his rambling was actually an expression of his lingering fear.
"Later, I became more and more worried. Since I was in Beijing anyway, I gritted my teeth and asked the crew for leave. I dragged her out of the house and took her to the hospital."
She kept nagging the whole way, saying I was making a mountain out of a molehill, wasting money, and that I, a grown man, was more suspicious than she was.
"result……"
Liu Ye's voice suddenly choked up. He turned his head away, and a suppressed sniffling sound came from off-camera.
Several seconds later, he turned back, his eyes even redder than before.
"The test results showed that there was nothing seriously wrong with my liver, but a shadow was found on my chest X-ray."
The doctor said we needed to do further tests, so we went through another round of testing and had a biopsy.
During the days I waited for the results, my heart felt like it was being fried in oil.
The final results are in: breast cancer, early stage.
When he uttered those four words, his voice was hoarse.
But his tone carried a sense of relief at surviving a disaster.
"The doctor said that it was fortunate that it was discovered early and the cancer cells had not spread. If surgery is performed in time, the cure rate is very high."
He added that if the disease were to progress to the middle or late stages, the difficulty of treatment would increase several times over, and the prognosis would be significantly worse.
Liu Ye's voice suddenly became serious. He brought the phone closer, his face almost touching the lens.
"Brother, you saved my wife's life."
Guan Shengbai was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"Brother Ye, don't say that. I just mentioned it casually at the time, it wasn't anything like saving a life."
My sister-in-law's ability to escape danger is her own good fortune.
"You know what!"
Liu Ye's voice suddenly rose, filled with an undeniable excitement, "If you hadn't mentioned it back then, I would never have thought of it that way!"
Anna herself won't care! By the time we find out, it might be too late!
Do you know how terrified I was when the doctor said that? I almost…”
He couldn't continue, so he covered his eyes with his hands, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Guan Shengbai didn't rush to speak, but quietly waited for him to calm down.
He knew how deep Liu Ye and Anna's feelings were.
In the entertainment industry, where breakups and makeups are commonplace, Liu Ye and Anna have been married for so many years and have never had any scandals.
The couple has always been low-key and loving, and are recognized as a model couple in the entertainment industry.
If something were to happen to Anna, the blow to Liu Ye would likely be heavier than any career setback.
"No matter what, brother, I, Liu Ye, will remember this kindness for the rest of my life."
Liu Ye removed his hand from his eyes, took a deep breath, and spoke in a much calmer tone than before, "Are you free now? I'd like to treat you to dinner to thank you in person."
"No need, Brother Ye. Your most important task right now is to take good care of your wife."
Guan Shengbai shook his head. "There's no rush for dinner; we can eat anytime. How is your wife doing?"
"She's doing well and in good spirits. The doctor said she's in good physical condition and the surgery is not very risky."
At this point, Liu Ye's tone finally softened, "We found someone to help us, so we were able to get on the emergency waiting list and the surgery can be performed next Monday."
After hanging up the phone, Guan Shengbai thought for a moment and then called Xu Kai, asking him to prepare some fruit and flower baskets for visiting the patient. They then arranged a time to visit Anna at the hospital together.