Just Blame Me For Being Blind In the Beginning

Ch 28

“What kind of name is that? That’s all you could find?” Song Nanchuan asked Xiao Zhang with a frown.

Xiao Zhang quickly explained, “Calling Out for Meat at the Heart of the World is the original title on Pujiang, but the published version was renamed Just in Time for Love / Season of Love!”

“Mm,” Song Nanchuan responded plainly.

Xiao Zhang continued his recommendation, “During the series’ original posting, it was consistently at the top of the charts. The published novel has also sold very well, and it has gotten several reprints. Moreover, Boiled Lemon previously had a series adapted into a TV drama. KaiHuang’s Zhang Chengyi was the lead then, and Boiled Lemon would also like him to come on as the lead actor in this adaptation as well.”

Song Nanchuan wasn’t very familiar with celebrities in the entertainment industry, so he told Xiao Zhang, “Get me the files on Zhang Chengyi. Also, what is this novel about?”

“The story is about a girl who loves to eat meat and a chef who’s amazing at cooking meat! Modern, cheery, youth drama. It’s very innocent and there’s not even a kiss scene!”

“Mm.” Didn’t sound too bad.

Hearing the boss’ tone, Xiao Zhang felt rather pleased. He finally let out a sigh of relief and said, “I’ve thought it over. Ms Pei’s popularity isn’t that high right now, so filming a TV series will help her gain more popularity than filming a movie.”

Song Nanchuan chuckled. “Are you planning on becoming a celebrity manager from now on?”

“My wish is to serve CEO Song for the rest of my life,” Xiao Zhang responded with utmost earnesty.

“Alright, enough with that. Inform Pei Ying’s manager about it.”

Xiao Zhang was taken aback. “You don’t want me to tell Ms Pei directly? That way, she’ll know you helped her find the role.”

Song Nanchuan pressed his temples and sighed. “She’s annoyed with me right now. If she knew that I helped find this role, she might reject it outright. Tell Chen Sheng not to mention my name.”

“Okay…”

“Alright then.” Just as Song Nanchuan was about to hang up, Xiao Zhang stopped him once more. Song Nanchuan paused before asking him, “Anything else?”

“It’s like this. When I was looking for a script, I came across some other news. Universe Pictures is interested in buying the rights for the movie adaptation of Xing Xin’s Performer.”

Song Nanchuan’s brows twitched slightly. “Xing Xin? The famous and highly recommended author?”

“CEO Song, you know him too! I’m one of his super fans!” Xiao Zhang’s voice couldn’t hide his excitement. “Not only do his novels sell well at home, they’re also very popular abroad. Performeris the first novel in his Enron Detective Series. Universe already had their eyes on the story for awhile, but they couldn’t come to an agreement even after several discussions. If they come to an agreement, that would be a major IP piece!”

Song Nanchuan contemplated briefly. “And so?”

“If Ms Pei were able to take the role of the heroine in Performer, her popularity would skyrocket, and she’d even become well known abroad!”

“Mm.” Song Nanchuan nodded. “But that role would probably be very hard to win.” Even if he was a major shareholder in Universe, he couldn’t call all the shots on his own.

“That’s certainly true.” Xiao Zhang let out a sigh. “Moreover, Teacher Xing Xin has continued to refuse to sell the rights for the novel because he doesn’t feel that there’s anyone suitable to portray the characters. Although the main character in the series is male, the heroine in Performer, Zhao Yue, is a key piece to the story. Teacher Xing Xin will naturally be very picky about it.” (Note: Teacher is used here as a term of respect, not pointing to a literal student-teacher relationship)