Chapter 242: The Idle Rich

After Wu Mengting’s reminder, Yang Ziying finally remembered her previous encounter with Chen Feng.

She said with some emotion, “Mr. Chen is really an extraordinary person. I remember that he took the initiative to make way for me at that time, and he didn’t even look at me much. At first, I thought he was my fan and was deliberately blocking the road.”

Hearing this, Wu Mengting quickly said with some embarrassment, “My brother never chases stars. For example, last time we had dinner with Zhang Yuxi, he wasn’t excited at all and didn’t talk to Zhang Yuxi much. She’s a very beautiful female star after all. If it were anyone else, they would have already tried to find something to talk to her about and flattered her.”

“Oh, do you know Zhang Yuxi?” Yang Ziying was a little surprised.

Wu Mengting nodded with some pride and said, “Of course we know her. My brother is friends with a major shareholder of Zhang Yuxi’s contracted company. Then his friend treated us to a meal and invited Zhang Yuxi along, so we got to know her.”

Hearing this, Yang Ziying’s eyes flashed slightly, and she said seemingly casually, “So, your brother is very amazing. What does he do?”

Wu Mengting smiled slightly and said, “My brother mainly trades stocks now, and he has also invested in some industries. He is very idle most of the time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken us to travel in Europe for so long this time. We have been traveling here for almost a month.”

Yang Ziying nodded thoughtfully and said, “So your brother is an idle rich man.”

Hearing this, Wu Mengting smiled and said, “Your description is really accurate. He is indeed an idle rich man now. The kind with money and leisure.”

Yang Ziying said with an envious look, “Your brother is really enviable. Many people can’t be idle in order to make money. And if they want to be idle, it’s impossible to make a lot of money easily.”

“For me, I still don’t want to be too idle. It’s not a matter of making money or not, but if a person is too idle, they will feel useless after a long time.”

“Then are you idle now?” Yang Ziying asked with a smile.

Wu Mengting said helplessly, “I’m on vacation now. Although I’m a little idle, after this vacation is over, I will definitely be busy when I go back.”

“Oh, what’s your job?” Yang Ziying asked with some curiosity.

“This, my main job now is to be my brother’s personal assistant. My side job is writing. I’m an online writer.”

“You’re an online writer, do you write for female readers? What works have you written? I really like to read female-oriented novels in my spare time. Before, I also starred in several TV series adapted from online novels.”

Yang Ziying was really a little curious this time.

Wu Mengting was a little embarrassed, but she still said with some reserve, “I’ve written two books before, ‘The Fate of the Golden Hairpin’ and ‘The Legend of the Pitying Jade’. I’m writing a new book now.”

Yang Ziying’s eyes widened in shock, and she said with her mouth wide open, “You are An Pianxian! This is really a coincidence. I’m your loyal fan. I’ve read both of your books. I like your ‘The Fate of the Golden Hairpin’ the most. I even wanted to buy the film and television adaptation rights of your novel and had someone contact your contracted website. In the end, the price was not agreed upon, so I had to give up.”

Hearing Yang Ziying say this, Wu Mengting was also shocked and a little disbelieving, “Really?!”

“Of course it’s true.” Yang Ziying nodded seriously. “The female protagonist of ‘The Fate of the Golden Hairpin’ is called An Lingling, right? She was originally a concubine’s daughter of the An family in the capital. She had a hard life since she was a child, but she was always self-reliant. When she was designated for a marriage by her family, she plucked up the courage to escape from her family and wandered the world disguised as a man…”

Yang Ziying recounted the general story of “The Fate of the Golden Hairpin” as if she were counting her family treasures. How could this be fake? Wu Mengting had no choice but to believe it.

“This… this… I don’t know what to say.” Wu Mengting was very excited and thrilled. “I never dreamed that a big star like you would be my fan.”

Yang Ziying smiled, “I never dreamed that I would meet my favorite online writer like this. I can only say that we are really fated.”

“It’s quite a fate. Can I call you Sister Ying in the future?” Wu Mengting asked with a hopeful look.

Although Yang Ziying was not a female star she had liked very much before, there was no doubt that Yang Ziying was one of the top female stars in the country. To be able to have a good relationship with her, and even call her sister, made Wu Mengting feel very proud.

Yang Ziying smiled and nodded, “Of course you can. I’m your fan.”

“That’s great. Sister Ying, can I add you on WeChat?”

“No problem.”

Yang Ziying took the initiative to take out her phone and opened WeChat for her to scan.

The two quickly added each other as friends, and Wu Mengting was even happier. She said with a smile, “I really want to take a photo with you now and post it on my Moments, but last time I posted a photo with Zhang Yuxi, it brought me a lot of trouble.”

Yang Ziying said generously, “If you want to post our photo on your Moments, I personally have no objection, but you can’t just leak my WeChat account.”

Wu Mengting nodded repeatedly, “Of course. Last time, some of my relatives and friends asked me for Zhang Yuxi’s contact information, but I didn’t give it to them.”

Yang Ziying explained, “You also know that if my private contact information is leaked, many people will harass me. Then this contact information can only be invalidated, and I have to get a new one. At that time, I have to notify my relatives and friends to add me again, which is very troublesome.”

Wu Mengting quickly promised, “I understand. Don’t worry. I won’t leak it. Even if my brother and Anna and the others want it, I won’t give it to them.”

Yang Ziying smiled, “If your brother and the others want it, it’s okay. You can give it to them, but you also have to tell them not to leak it.”

“Thank you so much. If they want it, I will tell them. By the way, you said just now that you wanted to buy the film and television adaptation rights of ‘The Fate of the Golden Hairpin’. Can you tell me what your offer was at that time? My contracted website didn’t even notify me.”

Yang Ziying said very frankly, “Our initial offer was 2 million, and later it was increased to 3 million. But your contracted website wanted 5 million, so we had to give up in the end. I’m sorry, you should know that business is business. At that time, the popularity of ‘The Fate of the Golden Hairpin’, the person in charge of copyright in my studio had evaluated it, and it was worth at most more than two million. 3 million was already a premium. But obviously, your contracted website was more optimistic.

“It’s been about a year since then. If we were to talk about it now, the film and television copyright of ‘The Fate of the Golden Hairpin’ is indeed worth 5 million, but now there are too many TV series adapted from female-oriented novels. Many companies are tightening their adaptation and filming plans in this area. If you want to sell the copyright, I can have my studio’s people re-evaluate it.”

Wu Mengting smiled bitterly and shook her head, “The copyright of these two books of mine has been fully entrusted to the website for agency. I can’t make the decision myself.”

Of course, Yang Ziying also knew this. She smiled and comforted her, “I really like your writing style. If you are interested, you can completely write a novel with your own copyright. After you finish writing it, you can seek publication or release it for free on the internet. I can help you promote it. If it’s suitable, I can even buy the copyright of your book. By the way, have you signed a contract for the new book you’re writing?”

Wu Mengting said, “I’ve already written more than 20,000 words. I originally wanted to save up to 50,000 words before submitting it for a contract, but because I was going to travel to Europe, it was postponed.”

“Isn’t that just right? I really believe in your writing style. As long as you write this book with your heart and write it well, you can completely publish it yourself. I believe Mr. Chen will also help you. At that time, I will also consider buying the film and television copyright of your book, and even invest in filming it.”

Yang Ziying’s words could be said to have opened a new world for Wu Mengting.

Before, she had never thought of going the publishing route directly, let alone owning the copyright herself. Because this was almost impossible. First of all, she had no money. Now that the traditional publishing industry was in decline, if you wanted to publish, unless you had someone to support you, or you were already famous all over the country. Wu Mengting had neither, so how could she go the physical publishing route?

But now she was different. First of all, she was very sure that as long as she was willing, someone would support her, and that was Chen Feng. Secondly, Yang Ziying, this big star, also said that she would support her. It would definitely not be fake. With her recommendation and help with promotion, and spending a little money, publishing would not be so difficult.

“Thank you, sister. Your words have really opened a new world for me. I was satisfied with just earning some manuscript fees before, but now you have told me a brand new choice. Although I also know that this may be a bit difficult, I have nothing to do anyway, so I can completely give it a try.”

“You have this ability. I believe that as long as you are willing, you will definitely succeed. In addition, you have a brother with outstanding ability like Mr. Chen. I think he will help you. I believe in your writing ability, and Mr. Chen should also believe in it, right?”

“Of course. He has also read the books I wrote and praised me for writing well.”

“That’s it. I believe he will support you.”

“Yes. If I ask him, he will definitely be willing. But I must first write the novel well so that I don’t disappoint him.”

“I believe you can write it well.”

“Thank you.”

The two then chatted about some online novels. Yang Ziying actually knew a lot about online novels, which made Wu Mengting amazed.

After chatting on the bed for more than an hour, the two slowly stopped talking and went to sleep.

The next day, a few of them got up a little late. Chen Feng was relatively early, getting up at around eight o’clock. The three women got up at around nine-thirty.

Today, Chen Feng’s group planned to visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which was not far from their hotel. So, after Yang Ziying also said she would go with them, everyone did not refuse.

So, their group was joined by the big star Yang Ziying.

Although the foreigners in the local area did not know her, this big star from Rabbit Country, after the experience of being recognized by those international students yesterday, Yang Ziying still specially wore a mask.

The few of them looked at the museum for two or three hours, then went out. Under Anna’s leadership, they went to a Western restaurant to eat. Her recommendation was not wrong. The main course here, fried steak, did have a special taste.

This meal was insisted on by Yang Ziying, and Chen Feng and the others could not refuse.

After lunch and a short rest, they were originally planning to go to the Belvedere Palace next to the embassy to have a look. But Yang Ziying happened to receive a call from the embassy. The thief who had broken into her room yesterday had been caught, and her stolen items had been recovered. She needed to go to the police station to verify it now.

Of course, Chen Feng and the others could not let Yang Ziying go alone, so they went to the local police station with her.

After some identification and verification, Yang Ziying was very lucky to get back all her stolen things.

It was hard to say whether her luck was good or bad.

In short, after some thanks and procedures, Yang Ziying and Chen Feng and the others finally came out of the police station smoothly.

“Thank you again.” Yang Ziying solemnly thanked Chen Feng and the others.

Wu Mengting shook her head, “Sister, you’re really too polite.”

Chen Feng also said, “You don’t have to be so polite. We are all fellow countrymen after all. When we meet abroad, even if we don’t know each other, we will help if we can. Not to mention a big star like you.”

“In your eyes, am I, this big star, no different from an ordinary person?” Yang Ziying asked with a hint of coquettishness.

Chen Feng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, “Of course it’s different. You are a recognized TV queen in our country, a big star. To a certain extent, you represent the face of our country. If something happens to you abroad, the people of our country, at least your fans, will feel disgraced.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Yang Ziying smiled and then said, “My manager and assistant have already landed. They will come to the hotel soon. I have to go back to the hotel to wait. I can’t continue to hang out with you. When you come back tonight, if you have time, we can have a good gathering.”

“Alright.” Chen Feng agreed readily. “We’ll gather again when we get back tonight.”

So, for safety’s sake, Chen Feng and the others sent Yang Ziying to the hotel first, and then drove their rented car to the Belvedere Palace.

This was the famous palace of Prince Eugene in European history. For Chen Feng and the others who had seen the Forbidden City, some of the ancient buildings here were really nothing. However, the garden design here was quite good. More importantly, the art museum inside the building had many collections of fine arts, which were relatively well-known in the world.

The area was also relatively large. The few of them walked and stopped, taking photos from time to time, and then went into the art museum to slowly browse. An afternoon passed quickly.

When they returned to the hotel, it was almost eight o’clock. At this time, the three women were all quite tired and were too lazy to find a place to eat outside. They planned to eat directly at the hotel and then take a shower and go to sleep.

Just as they returned to the hotel, Wu Mengting contacted Yang Ziying. Then Yang Ziying said that she and her manager wanted to invite them to dinner at a high-end restaurant near the hotel.

Chen Feng refused at first. After all, Yang Ziying had already treated them at noon. But in the end, Yang Ziying was very insistent, and Chen Feng could not refuse anymore. Anyway, Yang Ziying was not short of money.

So, the four of them simply waited in the hotel lobby on the first floor until Yang Ziying and her manager and two assistants appeared together.

They were all women, but her manager, Hao Xiaolian, had a masculine appearance. She had short, neat hair, a flat chest, and wore a suit. If it weren’t for her female voice and female name, Chen Feng would have really thought she was a man.

(End of chapter)