It was already late at night by the time they returned to B City.
After a brief holiday, Lu Yanbei returned to his usual routine, working long hours for the company. Only after work did he belong to his Mrs. Lu.
This trip to Princeton had helped Su He recover her lost memories, resolving the last knot in their hearts and leading to a rapid development in their relationship, making it even sweeter than when they first started dating.
Su He rested for a few days and then, upon opening her computer, discovered several new emails. After deleting most of the spam, only those proposing collaborations remained.
Su He's recently serialized comic, "Living with a Big Shot," had become a massive hit online, naturally attracting significant attention. Once a comic becomes popular, it can be published, adapted into a drama, or even made into a novel.
In other words, these people wanted to buy the copyright to Su He's comic.
Su He's eyes lit up involuntarily.
Could she finally get copyright fees? Yes!
Su He became so happy that she started dancing around.
After hopping barefoot on the carpet for a while, Su He forced herself to calm down.
She began by carefully researching all the platforms that had proposed collaborations and finally chose two well-known ones to reply to. Soon, one of them responded.
"Some things might be hard to explain clearly over the phone, so how about we schedule a time to meet and discuss?" The other party, who introduced herself as the person in charge from Yue Heng, had a sweet voice and spoke logically. Moreover, she seemed to already have Su He's contact information, as she called directly.
Su He looked at her calendar and said, "Then let's set it for ten o'clock tomorrow morning."
"I know a decent coffee shop, shall we meet there?" the editor suggested a location close to the company.
Su He had no objections. "I have no problem with that."
"May I ask what I should call you?" the editor suddenly remembered the issue of address before hanging up.
Su He pondered for a moment and decided to use her pen name. "Call me A Miao."
"Alright, Miss A Miao, see you tomorrow." The female editor bid her farewell politely.
After hanging up, Su He recorded tomorrow's schedule in her phone's calendar. Ever since she hit her head, her memory hadn't been very good, and she would definitely forget if she didn't write it down.
That evening, when Lu Yanbei returned from the company, Su He told him about it.
Lu Yanbei sighed and, embracing her, said, "Why don't you consider your husband's company?"
"Hmm?" Su He looked up at him, confused.
Seeing that she didn't understand, Lu Yanbei patiently explained, "Don't you remember? Lu Shi has an entertainment agency under its umbrella, which ranks among the top three in the industry."
Su He opened her mouth. She truly hadn't thought of that. "But I've already made an appointment with Yue Heng..."
"You've only made an appointment to meet, there's no need to rush to sell the copyright," Lu Yanbei gently stroked the top of her head, coaxing her softly.
Su He thought about it. It wasn't a done deal, after all, and she should shop around!
The next day, Su He arrived at the coffee shop five minutes ahead of the scheduled time.
This way, she could show respect to others without being rushed.
However, to Su He's surprise, the other party was half an hour late. This left a terrible first impression on Su He, and she even began to doubt her choice.
"Are you Miss A Miao? I'm so sorry, there was traffic," just as Su He was hesitating whether to leave, a curly-haired beauty in a chic suit and carrying a designer bag pushed the door open.
She scanned the crowd and finally fixed her gaze on Su He.
As she approached, a strong perfume scent wafted towards Su He, making her feel a little uncomfortable.
She didn't usually wear perfume, and even if she did, she preferred fresh and light fragrances. She wasn't accustomed to such strong scents.
After apologizing to Su He, the woman sat down directly opposite her.
Perhaps because Su He was dressed casually, she was mistaken for a student, and Su He saw a hint of disdain in the woman's eyes. Unlike the polite voice on the phone, the woman before her was much more perfunctory.
"Miss A Miao, this is a contract prepared by our company. Please take a look. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, we can discuss it further." She started with a businesslike attitude, as if she was certain Su He would sign the contract.
Su He didn't rush to look at the contract. Instead, she picked up the coffee on the table and took a small sip.
Honestly, she didn't like this kind of drink. It was bitter and astringent; she couldn't understand why so many people liked it. Milk tea was much tastier.
"I'll look at the contract later. I just want to know, after your company buys the copyright, what will you do with it? And for how many years will you buy it?" Su He asked unhurriedly.
The other party seemed surprised by Su He's question and paused for a moment. "It's all stated in the contract."
Su He lazily lowered her eyes and glanced at the thin few pages, suddenly losing interest.
She had seen enough contract terms. They were nothing more than word games played by the powerful甲方, with the interpretation always in their hands. If a dispute arose, she, as the乙方, would be at a significant disadvantage.
So, it didn't really matter whether she read it or not.
Su He, mimicking Lu Yanbei, gently tapped her finger on the cup. "There are too many clauses, I'm too lazy to read them one by one. Why don't you tell me about them? Wouldn't that be more direct?"
The smile on the other party's face stiffened. She hadn't expected that Su He, who looked so innocent, would be so shrewd.
She adjusted her demeanor and forced a professional smile. "Well, our company generally signs copyright for twenty years. As for when it will be adapted into a film or television series, that will depend on the company's plans. Perhaps in the second half of the year, perhaps in three to five years. I can't guarantee it at the moment."
"Twenty years..." Su He's heart sank upon hearing this number.
As expected, capitalists were all about calculations. While she wanted to earn copyright fees by selling her work, she also hoped her work would be seen by more people. However, a work's popularity was limited. If they kept delaying the next steps, she could only worry. Moreover, once the copyright was in their hands, she couldn't sell it to other companies, and she would be the one losing the most in the end.
"Don't worry, I've come with sincerity. The copyright fee is one hundred thousand yuan. For a newcomer, that's already a considerable income." The other party clearly didn't take Su He seriously.
Su He didn't even lift her eyelids when she heard the figure of one hundred thousand yuan.
Ha, was this trying to bribe a beggar?
Her comic had already earned more than this amount in just two months of serialization. Now, they expected to dismiss her with a mere one hundred thousand yuan. Truly "full of sincerity."
Su He said nothing more and slowly finished the cup of coffee.
After all, it was quite expensive, dozens of yuan, and it would be a waste to leave it.
"Miss A Miao doesn't seem satisfied with this amount?" Seeing that she had no intention of signing, the other party finally started to get anxious.
"I'm not very satisfied," Su He admitted truthfully. "I'm sorry, I have another engagement. I must be going now."
She gave the other party no room for negotiation and left the coffee shop directly, not stopping even as the woman in high heels chased after her.