Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

Chapter 185 A Battle of Wits Comparable to...

"I told you it looks good, I wasn't lying to you."

Seeing her cousin's rave review of "Malice," Rio Sakuratani was as happy as an 80-pound child.

She recommended the book to her cousin as soon as she started reading it, but her cousin had a job and couldn't read it as quickly as she did...

"It's really interesting. I feel that this book has a deep understanding of school violence and class anxiety in Sakura. Are you sure it was really written by a Chinese person?"

Although Rio made it very clear that the book was written by a Chinese celebrity, Aya Tsurugi still couldn't believe it.

This is not a stereotype, but a conclusion she drew based on her understanding of the Chinese entertainment industry. She had lived in China for a period of time, and it was her suggestion that Rio study abroad there.

While other aspects of China are thriving, the entertainment industry seems to be on a downward spiral.

At the end of the last century, the Chinese entertainment industry once gained fame in Asia and even internationally, but it has gradually faded into obscurity in the last two decades.

Not only has the industry environment become a society based on personal connections, but problems such as monopolies and cliques are also serious. It's difficult for newcomers to get ahead, as the industry is more competitive than established ones. It looks like a stagnant pool.

The younger generation is even worse. Let's put it this way, many celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry probably don't know as many Chinese characters as this cherry blossom person...

She's only been gone for a few years, and suddenly a star who can write this kind of novel appears out of nowhere. Is that reasonable?

She dared not speak out there, but in Sakura, this book, "Malice," has a certain significance in criticizing reality, as the internet is a breeding ground for systemic malice.

Such a profound book should have been written by a local Japanese author with rich social experience, not by a young Chinese celebrity. It's impossible, absolutely impossible.

Did Rio witness the entire creative process he was working on?

"That's not there."

When Rio Sakuratani started reading, "Malice" had already been completed. She did witness Yu Wei writing other things, but she didn't quite understand that book.

"Didn't you see it?"

Aya's hand unconsciously landed on the table and began to tap it rhythmically. If you don't see it with your own eyes, there are still other possibilities.

Just as she was about to give a few more words of advice, a new message popped up on her LINE screen, accompanied by a slightly excited expression from Rio Sakuratani.

"Yay, the senior has updated!"

Update? The story is already over.

Danxue Caiyu hurriedly switched the screen to the novel app that was still running in the background, and the novel she had written, "Malice," had actually been updated.

She clicked on it and found that this was a new story, completely opposite to the jealousy and hatred in "Malice".

Almost instinctively, she read on with great eagerness.

The story begins in March. The protagonist, Tetsuya Ishigami, is a high school math teacher who takes a detour every day to observe the homeless in the area under the Shin-Ohashi Bridge. He also makes a point of going to the "Benten-tei" bento shop just to see the shop assistant, Yasuko Hanaoka.

Yasuko used to be a hostess, and now lives with her daughter Misato. She is completely unaware of Ishigami's secret crush on her, and even feels resistant to him because of his plain appearance and aloof personality.

Yasuko's ex-husband, Shinji Togashi, suddenly appears at the bento shop, threatening to harass Misato to force Yasuko to reconcile and demanding money.

Togashi's corruption and domestic violence led to Yasuko's two divorces, and he continued to harass and track down the mother and daughter despite their multiple moves.

That evening, Togashi followed Yasuko home, forcibly entered her apartment, and verbally insulted Misato, saying that "she can also be a hostess in three years," which completely enraged the mother and daughter.

In a desperate attempt to protect her daughter, Yasuko tore off the cord from the kotatsu (heated table) and, together with Misato, strangled Togashi to death.

As the mother and daughter panicked, Ishigami from next door knocked on the door to inquire about the strange noise. Yasuko lied and said she was "killing cockroaches," but Ishigami's keen observation gave her away.

Ishigami proactively called to request assistance and appeared wearing sportswear and gloves. Because the corpse had resistance injuries on its wrists, he pointed out that Yasuko could not have committed the crime alone and that Misato must have been involved.

To sever the mother and daughter's connection to the murder, Ishigami moved the bodies to his own bathroom, instructed Misato to thoroughly clean the scene, and began to devise the core scheme of forging an alibi.

The plot of the first two chapters of "The Devotion of Suspect X" comes to an abrupt end with an out-of-control murder case and the male protagonist's intervention.

Similar in style to "Malice," this book also reveals the murderer at the beginning, suggesting it was written by the same author...

Seeing this, Danxue Caiyu couldn't sit still anymore. One book was bad enough, but he actually wrote another one?
The story of "Malice" unfolds by guessing the motive for murder, a plot that is somewhat like using writing techniques to deceive the reader and cannot be considered a genuine mystery.

However, this book, The Devotion of Suspect X, starts by designing a protagonist with a reclusive personality and high intelligence, and the subsequent plot is obviously intended to be a battle of wits between the protagonist and the police.

Compared to narrative tricks, this kind of intellectual battle is undoubtedly more exciting, and if the quality is good, the book's commercial value will certainly be high.

Looks like I'll have to find some time to go abroad...

It's a good opportunity to meet this big star who writes novels.

……

"A math teacher as a crime consultant? That's interesting."

"Ishigami's unrequited love for Yasuko stemmed from his attempt to save himself before his suicide. He would buy her a bento every day just to catch a glimpse of her. I never expected Yu Wei to write something like this. He must have had a lot of unrequited love for her before."

"Ishigami recalled having a physics genius friend in college. A duel between the two was already planned, and what followed would definitely be a cat-and-mouse game, since only another genius could break the genius's trap!"

This reader is quite something; he guessed Yukawa's identity before he even appeared. Yu Wei casually gave a thumbs up to this reader named Ling Yuan QAQ, then thought about it and withdrew it. The author's thumbs up was too obvious; he couldn't give away any spoilers.

The sequel to "The Devotion of Suspect X" is a true battle of wits, with Ishigami devising the crime and Yukawa solving it, creating a thrilling game of strategy.

Another point of discussion revolved around Ishigami's unrequited love. In fact, Yu Wei was a little worried before deciding to take the book.

The conflicts have become too acute in recent years. Anyone who takes the initiative is easily labeled as a sycophant. If this is the case with those childhood cartoons, one can only imagine how it is with novels.

If we really take this too seriously, Ishigami from "The Devotion of Suspect X" could easily be categorized into this category, which would undoubtedly severely weaken the core of the book.

Fortunately, his readers are all rational and no one has thought in that direction yet.

In reality, normal people wouldn't be so extreme; it's just that under such sharp conflicts, there are fewer and fewer people worth sacrificing for.

Because this book has officially started updating, the subscriptions for Qi Luoan's novels have also increased. After reading the original work, reading about the plagiarist makes it more relatable.

Many readers have developed the habit of discussing suspense novels there, and now Qi Luoan has another book review to copy.

After finishing the update late into the night, Yu Wei fell into a deep sleep and slept until noon the next day, when he was woken up by Sister Liu's phone call.

Liu Ning's voice on the other end of the phone carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement: "The production team of a TV series just called and said they're interested in collaborating with you."

"The production company?"

Yu Wei was a little confused when he heard this. He didn't seem to have gotten involved in the TV series so far, so why was he being asked to do this?

Should we cast him in a period drama, or hire him as a screenwriter?

Or perhaps they're eyeing the film and television adaptation rights to "Malice"?

It's unlikely to be adapted into a film or television series. A novel of over 100,000 words would at most be adapted into a movie, but a TV series of a few dozen episodes would be excessive.

It's hard to say. The novel "Chang'an's Lychee" is only 70,000 words long, but the TV series it was adapted into has 35 episodes. That's how adaptations are done in the Chinese entertainment industry. They add scenes and pad the story, and no matter how long the original work is, they can make a TV series out of it.

If it's a collaboration like this, then forget it; the readers will be furious.

"The production team of 'Three Lives, Three Worlds' called. They've decided to use 'Peach Blossom Promise' as the theme song. What do you think?"

Oh, it's the theme song. Never mind then.

Actually, some film and television dramas had approached him to write songs before, but the requirements were numerous and complicated, and Yu Wei didn't bother to deal with them. This time, however, there were ready-made ones.

"Peach Blossom Promise" is a theme song for a TV series, with a strong sense of reincarnation and destiny, which is quite compatible with most fantasy romance dramas on the market today.

Given his inherent influence, it's quite normal for the TV series to choose this song, since there's currently only an AI version available, leaving a lot of room for manipulation.

Sister Liu called specifically to explain that this drama should be a big production, but the title is a bit corny, "Three Lives of Love" instead of "Three Dreams of Love".

The drama's title includes the word "fate," and it turns out that Qi Yuan actually appears in the drama. This is an upcoming historical romance drama he starred in during his idol period, but he was only the second male lead.

Given Qi Yuan's popularity, he's only the second male lead, which shows that this drama has many big names and can be considered a big production in a sense.

But looking at it from another angle, if Qi Yuan, back in his idol days, can play the second male lead, this drama probably isn't very good. Fast forward to a chaotic battle of young heartthrobs...

Upon hearing that the investment exceeded 100 million yuan, Yu Wei became even more certain that this was a trashy historical romance drama, just like all those other flops and terrible shows.

Why does this song always seem destined to be featured in bad movies? Does it have to become a classic example of a bad movie producing a hit song?
“Tell them that this song is already in my competition prize pool and it’s not appropriate to take it out in advance. If a contestant gets the song, tell them to talk to the person in charge directly.”

Yu Wei was unlikely to agree, but he didn't rule it out completely. He said the song could be chosen as a reward, and they could discuss it later.

His answer was comprehensive. First, he respected his competition; if it was a reward, it had to be a reward, and he couldn't release the work for commercial use beforehand.

If he adds a song to the AI ​​music library as a reward, but then uses it for commercial purposes and prevents others from choosing it, even though he has the final say on his own songs, it's still not a very respectable thing to do.

Secondly, he didn't want to offend anyone. Even though it was a terrible show, the fact that his song was specifically chosen was a form of recognition, and it would be inappropriate for him to refuse directly.

Even if, hypothetically, the contestants choose this song for collaboration, Yu Wei will still get a share of the money, without even getting her hands dirty...

The production team of "Three Lives, Three Worlds" won't be dissatisfied after hearing this, since the song has already been included in the competition's prize pool, as everyone knows.

Yu Wei's actions were perfectly reasonable and even garnered praise within the industry. Despite the fact that it was a fake competition, principles were still upheld.

Liu Ning immediately made specific negotiations, and the "Three Lives of a Wonderful Romance" production team was not only not dissatisfied, but even quite happy.

What a coincidence! Their crew member Qi Yuan is participating in a competition. If he wins against the AI ​​and chooses this song, it will be incredibly convenient to discuss collaboration.

While contacting Qi Yuan, they also announced that whoever wins the competition and chooses the song "Peach Blossom Promise" will be the singer of their TV series theme song.

Just in case, they made two preparations. The song and the drama were a perfect match, and they were determined to win.

For many singers, this is a golden opportunity to earn money, gain fame, and even have free publicity channels.

The news spread like wildfire, like a bounty, and "Peach Blossom Promise" became a song that every military strategist would fight over!

It all comes down to who can defeat the AI ​​first.

(End of this chapter)