Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 23 Sister Meng's Phone Call

The World Cup has come to an end.

In the end, the champion was still the German team that Chen Xiu remembered.

This result was within everyone's expectations.

Because of the morale boost from their 7-1 thrashing of the Samba team in the semi-finals, they have no chance of losing.

Chen Xiu earned a total of one small goal during this World Cup, which met his expectations.

After deducting the more than 6000 million yuan from ByteDance's Series C funding, he still has more than 7000 million yuan in funds on hand.

Chen Xiu already had a plan in mind for how to spend the money.

Before that, he needed to arrange something else.

On the 15th, Chen Xiu met a guest at home, arranged by her father, Chen Mingjie.

"Hello, Teacher Chen!"

Looking at this bespectacled, unassuming young man, Chen Xiu's gesture of extending his hand was exceptionally warm.

In fact, the other party deserves to be treated this way, after all, he will be the one to support Kiwi's Misty Theater on his own in the future.

"Well, I'm only a few years older than you, so you shouldn't call me teacher."

Chen Xu shook Chen Xiu's hand and said somewhat awkwardly.

His introverted personality made him somewhat uncomfortable with this overly friendly enthusiasm.

Upon hearing his words, Chen Xiu quickly adjusted her demeanor: "We share the same surname, and if we go back a few generations, we might even share the same ancestor. How about I call you Brother Xu?"

"Um, that's fine too."

Chen Xu nodded, acknowledging the title.

Chen Mingjie, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but speak up after hearing their conversation: "Xiao Xiu, according to the family tree, Xiao Xu is indeed your brother."

"Huh?! What's going on?"

Chen Xiu stared blankly at his father, never expecting that his casual remark would immediately give him an extra brother.

In contrast, Chen Xu remained calm, suggesting that he had known about their relationship for a long time.

Chen Mingjie adjusted his glasses and explained, "My grandfather, who is your great-grandfather, was a cousin of Xiao Xu's great-grandfather. Later, your grandfather brought me to Shanghai, while Xiao Xu and the others stayed in Ningbo. Decades have passed, and they've lost touch."

"That's it."

A look of realization dawned on Chen Xiu's face, but she didn't ask why she had recently reconnected with this relative.

In this situation, it's no surprise that the old man and Zijin Xu's family have always maintained contact, but not much contact, and their relationship isn't close.

Then, since he had recently "written" a book, his father thought of asking his distant nephew, who had a similar major, to write a preface, and also to bring the two families closer together.

Based on Chen Xiu's understanding of his father, the development of events should be pretty much as he guessed.

Seeing the change in Chen Xiu's expression, Chen Mingjie said awkwardly, "Xiao Xiu, why don't you take out the book you wrote and have your brother give you some feedback?"

"Okay, just a moment."

Chen Xiu nodded to her newly acquainted brother, then quickly went upstairs and retrieved a photocopy of the novel.

"The original manuscript has been submitted to the publisher. The content is the same. Brother Xu, you can take a look and check it out."

Zi Jinxu took the stack of A4 papers, nodded silently, and then quickly flipped through them.

Seeing this, Chen Xiu and his father exchanged a glance and both slowed down their movements as much as possible.

I wonder if it's because novelists read books so quickly.

Chen Xiu's expanded version of the "Detective Chinatown" novel is 13 words long, but Zi Jinxu finished reading it in just over an hour.

Closing the manuscript, Zi Jinxu looked at Chen Xiu and said, "This novel has a strong Japanese mystery style and too many comedic elements. I personally don't like it, but it should appeal to readers. What was your original intention in creating it?"

"When I first started writing it, I was writing it as a screenplay, and then I expanded it into a novel. My original intention was probably to make it into a movie!"

Because this answer truly reflected her thoughts, Chen Xiu's reply appeared very sincere. When Zi Jinxu heard Chen Xiu mention wanting to adapt the novel into a film, a hint of interest finally appeared in his usually calm eyes.

"Are you planning to adapt your novel into a movie? Have you found a production company yet?"

"It's not difficult."

Chen Xiu didn't say much.

Judging from Zi Jinxu's attitude, he should have already started managing the film and television adaptation rights of his novels, and Chen Xiu also knows the film and television copyright value of those novels.

However, given that the two are related by blood across many generations and this is their first meeting, they are quite reluctant to have anything too intimate with someone they don't know well.

If Chen Xiu were to directly propose to acquire the copyright of Zi Jinxu's novel now, Zi Jinxu would most likely become wary and develop an excessively high expectation for the value of the copyright.

Instead of doing that, it would be better to first establish contact with each other and let time deepen the relationship.

In the future, when film and television companies come to Zijin Xu to discuss the sale of copyrights, he will probably want to hear the advice of his own industry insider and distant cousin.

Sure enough, seeing that Chen Xiu was unwilling to say more, Zi Jinxu's expression returned to calm.

But the expression on his face showed that this way of communicating was normal.

After a moment's thought, Zi Jinxu spoke again: "Let's exchange WeChat contacts! I'll take this novel back and take a look. If I have any thoughts, we can chat on WeChat."

"Okay! Brother Xu, scan me."

Chen Xiu took out her WeChat contact card. What Zi Jinxu meant by saying this was that he agreed to write a preface for the novel.

As for the novel's photocopy being taken away, that doesn't matter at all.

The novel has been registered with the Intellectual Property Office, and the manuscript has been submitted to a Shanghai publishing house. It is currently going through the printing and publishing process, and the physical book is expected to be available next month.

After exchanging WeChat contacts, Chen Xiu realized that Zi Jinxu wasn't a talkative person, so she didn't bother with any polite attempts to persuade him to stay.

After seeing the person out, Chen Xiu expressed her gratitude to her father, Chen Mingjie.

"Dad, I'm sorry to have troubled you with my novel writing."

"It's nothing. You can chat with Xiao Xu more often. His novels are quite good."

"I will."

Chen Xiu smiled and nodded, indicating that she would keep the instructions in mind.

Chen Mingjie said with satisfaction, "No need to be too enthusiastic, just have a normal conversation. Um, I have two classes this afternoon, so I'll head back to school now."

"Shall I drive you?"

"No need, it's just a short walk from here to Huashan Road, why would we need to drive!"

Chen Mingjie was a little uncomfortable with his son's help, so he grabbed his handbag and left.

Chen Xiu simply smiled at this.

After seeing her father off, and with her mother working at the hospital, Chen Xiu realized she would have to find her own lunch. So, she used her WeChat Moments to gather a list of good takeout options nearby.

Just as he was waiting for his friends to give their praise and offer their suggestions, Meng Ziyi, whom he hadn't contacted for several days, suddenly called.

"Sister Meng, what's wrong?"

"You're home alone during summer vacation, and you still have to cook?"

"Yes! My parents are still eating at their respective workplaces, and I'm just a young person living alone..."

"Then come to Northeast China! I'll treat you to a meal."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiu was stunned for a moment, unable to react for a long time.

Until Meng Ziyi's voice came from the other end of the phone again: "Hey, are you even listening?"

"I'm booking my flight now, wait for me!"

"Pfft~ Remember to bring me a gift when you come! Otherwise I'll throw you out on the street."

(End of this chapter)