I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 374 Return to Cannes
In the first half of 2003, Liu Jin only published three works.

To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise to Liu Jin that the million-dollar baby dropped out of the top 20.

So far, "Baby" has sold over 800,000 copies, but it seems to be losing momentum.

Of course, this is an achievement made in France.

Meanwhile, in America, thanks to HarperCollins Publishers' efforts, "Million Dollar Baby" has already sold 1.7 million copies and will most likely surpass the 3 million mark by the end of the year. This is already a very impressive achievement.

Therefore, HarperCollins has contacted Mela to try and win the publishing rights to Liu Jin's "The Wind-Up Bird".

However, he faces competition from Random House.

This is a good thing; with the two publishing houses competing with each other, Liu Jin will benefit more.

Moreover, according to Matt Damon's inside information, Eastwood, the famous director, has Epsilon Pictures, which is very interested in the film and may be in talks with Mera.

Then just wait!
Liu Jin himself also preferred to cooperate with Eastwood.

Kubrick has passed away.

After much deliberation, Liu Jin chose Clint Eastwood as the best candidate to bring "The Eye of the Beast" to the big screen.

This guy is pretty good, he's just a bit long-winded.

Perhaps it's because I'm getting old, so I want to express myself through movies.

Anyway, his original version of "Million Dollar Baby" had this problem.

However, when Liu Jin was creating the work, he deleted all the pretentious and rambling nonsense.

By the way, I think this guy also directed "Letters from Iwo Jima".

……

Overall, Liu Jin's three works in the first half of the year were not satisfactory.

Of course, this is not entirely satisfactory, but it is relative.

Liu Jin will most likely have two more works this year.

The Wind-Up Bird and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Recreating last year's glory will be quite difficult.

However, based on estimates, global revenue, including various copyrights, should not be much less than last year, so Liu Jin is not concerned.

Notre Dame de Paris is a work of slow and steady progress.

Perhaps decades from now, it will still shine brightly in the literary world.

However, media commentary was somewhat unfriendly, especially regarding "Love Before Dawn," which led many commentators to believe that Liu Jin was simply going back to his old flame and had already lost his creative spark.

Liu Jin tossed the newspaper aside and took a sip of coffee.

Not in a hurry!
Let's wait until next year and see.

He checked the time and made a phone call to Genevieve.

After agreeing to meet at Bastille Square at noon, Liu Jin took out his easel from his backpack and sat on the balcony to start painting.

The cultural square became lively.

Shops opened one after another, and the number of tourists increased significantly.

It added a lot of life to this small square...

Liu Jin sipped his coffee, drew comics, and occasionally glanced downstairs, savoring the unique hustle and bustle and extravagance of Paris.

great!
……

Genevieve certainly remembered Liu Jin.

After hearing that Liu Jin planned to hire her as his bodyguard, she even inquired about Liu Jin's background.

The meeting between the two was very relaxed.

Having already learned about Liu Jin's background, Genevieve had already decided to accept his invitation.

High pay, little work.

That's right, Liu Jin is now a public figure.

But he was just a writer!
No matter how famous someone is, they are still just a writer.

Unlike celebrities.

If Liu Jin were a celebrity, Genevieve might not have agreed.

In her opinion, celebrities... have a lot of trouble, little money, and a lot of problems.

Liu Jin, on the other hand, was very satisfied with Genevieve.

After their conversation, Liu Jin, in front of Genevieve, dialed Chloe's number and asked her to prepare the contract.

"I will be moving in a while, and your family can stay at my old house temporarily."

I don't really have many activities. Besides going to school, I usually stay home writing, and occasionally I'll go out for a short trip.

"Just look after the house for me, that's all you need to do."

"I am very honored to receive your recognition, and I hope that future services will satisfy you."

Genevieve cannot go to Toulouse immediately.

She has one month left on her contract with the car rental company here.

After that, she needs to pack her bags and make arrangements for her family, so she won't be able to take up her post until August at the earliest.

Liu Jin thought about it and agreed.

He needs to go back to look at houses and renovate them.

I'll be going back to my home country for a while, and won't return to Toulouse until September. That timing is perfect.

After reaching an agreement with Genevieve, Liu Jin strolled around alone and found a car dealership.

It's a BMW dealership.

After looking around, he chose a silver BMW Z8 sports car.

The entire process cost him a total of 128,000 euros.

Actually, it's a premium!
After all, the high-end version of this car has a list price of less than $140,000.

Based on the exchange rate of the euro to the dollar in 2003, Liu Jin spent approximately $150,000 to acquire the car.

However, BMW also offered many discounts.

I won't go into detail here.

Around 6 p.m., all the formalities were completed, and Liu Jin drove away from the car dealership.

I drove around downtown Paris and tested the car's performance; it felt great.

He then called Chloe and told her he had bought a Z8, and Chloe immediately screamed on the phone.

Amos, aren't we good friends?

"Yes!"

"Let me drive for a few days."

Originally, Liu Jin planned to drive to Cannes and then drive back to Toulouse.

Chloe's words made him hesitate.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then I'll leave the car keys at home tomorrow, and the car will be parked in the parking space in front of the gate. You can come and get it yourself."

“So generous?”

Chloe was somewhat surprised by Liu Jin's decisiveness.

Liu Jin couldn't help but laugh and said, "When have you ever refused when I asked you for help before?"

It's just a car... I'll need it when I come to Paris again anyway.

"Amos, if you were a girl, I would fall in love with you!"

"Go away!"

Liu Jin and Chloe exchanged a few jokes before hanging up the phone.

……

The next day, Liu Jin left his car keys at home.

He rushed to Charles de Gaulle Airport early in the morning and bought a ticket for the earliest flight to Cannes.

You could also take the train, but it takes six hours and you have to transfer in Marseille, which is quite inconvenient.

The flight only takes an hour and a half, which is very convenient.

It's only twice as expensive as taking the train, but it's not unbearable.

He arrived at Cannes Airport at 11:00 a.m.

It was a very small airport, and it was Liu Jin's first time there.

At this point, the Cannes Film Festival was drawing to a close.

The number of film crews has decreased significantly, but there are still many tourists.

I called Industrial Bank and then successfully booked a room at the Carlton Regent Hotel through their VIP service.

He originally wanted to choose the Antibes Eden Hotel, but it was fully booked and there were no vacancies.

After arranging everything, Liu Jin got into a taxi.

On his way to the hotel, he finally dialed Sophie Marceau's number.

"You've already arrived in Cannes?"

"Yes!"

"Have you found a hotel yet?"

"It's already found, the Carlton Regent Hotel."

There was a sudden silence on the phone.

After a long pause, Sophie smiled and said, "Amos, did you already know?"

"what do you know?"

"The hotel arranged for the judges this time is the Carlton Regent Hotel."

"..."

Liu Jin was taken aback, then laughed and said, "I really don't know... It was Industrial Bank that booked the hotel for me."

"Well, what a coincidence!"
Once you arrive, just send me your room number.

I'm not at the hotel right now. I'll come find you as soon as I get back.

"No problem, see you later!"

Sophie Marceau hung up the phone.

Liu Jin put away his phone, sat in the back seat, and began to close his eyes to rest.

……

(End of this chapter)