novellhall Chapter 52 Alliance
Chapter 52 Alliance
Wang Zian turned around, nodded, and yawned. "Yes, come in!"
He put his hands in his pockets, walked to the sofa, and plopped down on it.
Lao Huo and Mao Ni exchanged a glance, and the shock in their eyes was genuine.
After the two went inside, they sat down opposite Prince An.
Cat-Nee adjusted his glasses several times and couldn't help but ask, "How old are you this year?"
"I won't go into that, or your Dao heart will be shattered!" Wang Zian leaned back on the sofa and teased with a smile.
Old Huo interjected, "I remember Qi Yue Wu Yi was a man in his forties or fifties! I always thought he was a university professor!"
Wang Zian shook his head, took out his phone, and showed the two of them the QQ group and the private chat records from a while ago.
"It's me, no doubt about it!"
Wang Zian put his phone away, leaned back on the sofa, and looked at the two people opposite him. "What do you want from here?"
Although Lao Huo and Mao Ni were shocked, they suppressed their inner turmoil, as they had important business to attend to today.
Cat-Ni spoke first: "To be honest, I didn't think you were coming; but during the writers' meeting this afternoon, Chen Wu jokingly revealed that a big name was coming, but didn't show up!"
"Old Huo and I discussed it and decided on you!"
Cat-Nee smiled at Wang Zi'an; "We two quietly inquired with the receptionist, and your address was exposed!"
Wang Zian looked at Mao Ni speechlessly; this guy had always been very cunning.
"Isn't this information confidential?"
Old Huo laughed, his eyes narrowing into slits.
"The girl at the front desk is a fan of Lao Mao!"
Wang Zi'an sized up Mao Ni and Lao Huo. Mao Ni, wearing glasses, looked like a doctor working in the public sector.
Lao Huo, on the other hand, has been eating better ever since he started making money writing novels.
He used to look like a writer, but now he looks like someone selling barbecue at a night market.
"Let's get down to business!" Wang Zian withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and asked directly.
Cat and Old Fire exchanged a glance.
"Chen Wu has contacted us several times, as has that Sun Zhonghuai. They want our adaptation rights!" Catni spoke first.
"We're all a little hesitant!" Old Huo chimed in.
"Tencent is new to film and television adaptations; targeting million-word online novels like ours, which are difficult to adapt, right off the bat carries a very high risk of failure!"
"We don't want to risk the fruits of our years of hard work," Mao Ni said bluntly, his tone low and direct.
Wang Zian nodded; this was a concern shared by all the authors.
"So, what are your thoughts?"
"We want to form an authors' alliance to fight for a voice in film and television adaptations, and at the very least, to have some influence over the production teams!"
When he said this, his tone was serious, and the light in his eyes was genuine.
That's wishful thinking!
Wang Zian said these four words in his heart.
For companies like Tencent, the first thing they do when entering any industry is to become the leader.
How could we allow something that's already secured to jump out and start a fire in our own backyard?
"That's not very realistic!" Wang Zian said bluntly. "With Tencent investing in so many film and television production companies, how could they possibly agree to your alliance?"
As he spoke, Wang Zian suddenly thought of someone.
Zhang Yiming.
"How many people are there in your alliance?" he asked.
"Almost all the platinum-level authors have joined, and there are also quite a few great short story writers!" Lao Huo said.
Upon hearing this, Wang Zian raised an eyebrow.
He vaguely remembered something, not very clearly, but enough to make him feel that the future of this alliance was not optimistic.
"I think you should be more cautious!"
"This kind of alliance is very fragile!"
"No, it won't happen." Catman was quite confident. He sat up straighter and looked steadily at Prince An through his glasses.
"We share common interests. Our work is our lifeblood, and no one wants to see their hard work ruined. As long as this common bottom line holds, the alliance will not fall apart."
Seeing his confident demeanor, Wang Zian really couldn't bear to discourage him.
Not all novels by great authors are suitable for adaptation; there might be some shared interests involved.
Some people's books are naturally destined to be best-selling IPs, while others' books, no matter how well they are written, can only remain at the textual level.
The interests are not equal to begin with, so what's the point of talking about advancing and retreating together?
"The stronger the fortress, the easier it is to breach from within!"
Catni and Old Huo suddenly stared blankly at Wang Zi'an. As two people who had been writing books for so many years, they certainly understood the weight of his words, but they didn't know why he would suddenly say such a thing.
"What do you mean?" Cat-Ni frowned slightly and asked directly.
Wang Zian shook his head: "I don't think your alliance will be of any use."
Cat and Old Fire exchanged another glance.
They were mentally prepared before they came; Prince An might not want to participate.
This person is a long-time lurker in the author community, never attends author conferences, and is absent from all group activities. How could he suddenly join an alliance that wants to confront the platform head-on?
Cat-ni didn't have time to think it through and asked another question.
Aren't you going to join?
Prince An shook his head.
"Join us! You two are both here, so we should at least give you face!"
"However, I'll join, but I won't participate in the specifics!"
Upon hearing that he had joined, Lao Huo's face lit up with a relieved smile, and Mao Ni also breathed a sigh of relief.
This guy has too many high-quality IPs in his hands. With him joining, Tencent will definitely pay more attention to their voices than it does now.
Neither of them noticed the subtle reserve in Wang Zian's tone when he said "I won't get involved in specific matters."
What they didn't know was that Chen Wu had already been there before they arrived.
The allies they thought they had weren't actually on the same chessboard.
He asked Maoni and Lao Huo to keep his identity a secret, and then Wang Zi'an saw them off.
He stood at the door for a while; the corridor was quiet, the carpet absorbing all the sound of his footsteps.
He checked the time—5:30, it was still light out, and the sunset over West Lake should be just right at this time.
He went back and changed into a T-shirt, then went downstairs alone.
The West Lake at dusk was not quite what he had imagined.
It wasn't the kind of tourist attraction that's packed with visitors; perhaps it was because two-thirds of the sun had already sunk behind the mountains, and the remaining orange-red hue dyed the lake surface softly and quietly.
He turned into the lakeside road, where the asphalt surface was slightly damp, probably from a brief rain shower during the day.
The wind came from the lake, carrying the fishy smell of water and the faint scent of grass from the reeds in the distance, and felt cool against the skin.
The Baochu Pagoda stands darkly atop the mountain, against the backdrop of the deep blue sky, like a folded old umbrella.
The benches by the lake were full of people; there were young people holding hands, couples pushing strollers, and an old man sitting alone throwing breadcrumbs into the lake to feed the ducks.
The city lights in the distance were bright, stretching as far as the eye could see, casting a faint orange-red hue over half the sky.
People kept raising their phones to take pictures of the lake, the distant mountains, and the painted boat radiating colorful light.
The painted boat slowly glides across the center of the lake, its lights shattering on the water's surface, rippling like a shimmering jewel.
Wang Zian leaned against the stone railing by the lake, enjoying the cool evening breeze, watching the colorful painted boat slowly move from left to right.
He recalled the line: "Your words, 'Spring is not late,' and I've arrived in the true Jiangnan region!"
···
The next morning, Wang Zian's phone rang.
"Have we arrived yet?"
"Just got downstairs!" Zhang Ruonan's somewhat annoyed voice came through the receiver; "If it weren't for the money you pay me, I would never be your assistant!"
Although Zhang Ruonan did not agree to work for him, she still agreed to be his assistant for a few days.
According to her, the temporary assistant position is a short-term job that will not affect her ability to continue working as a Taobao model or interfere with her studies.
Nan Wangzi'an ignored Zhang Ruonan's complaints and continued, "Then come on up! Room 1202! Oh, right, I haven't eaten anything yet!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Wang Zian could almost hear Zhang Ruonan taking a deep breath.
"Hello!" The person who answered the phone hung up decisively without any hesitation.
downstairs.
Zhang Ruonan hung up the phone, stood at the elevator entrance in the hotel lobby, and angrily cursed at the now-black phone screen:
"If you can order people around like this before you're even a boss, what will you do when you become a boss? You'll be living a life of debauchery."
After she finished cursing, she put her phone in her pocket, pursed her lips, and obediently walked into the elevator, pressing the button for the restaurant floor.