Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

The two hailed a taxi and headed to Tegel Airport.

The taxi drove very fast and arrived at the airport in thirty minutes.

Su Yu paid the fare, pulled the suitcase out of the trunk, and the two dragged their luggage into the terminal.

There was a line of moderate length in front of the check-in counter. Su Yu stood in the line, holding his passport, already thinking about what he would eat after returning to Beijing: hot pot, roast duck, and noodles with soybean paste—he couldn't miss any of them.

The phone rang; it was a German landline number. Su Yu paused for a moment, then answered, "Hello?"

"Su Yu? I'm Gu Changwei."

Su Yu's hand trembled slightly. He quickly tucked the phone between his shoulder and steadied his suitcase with both hands: "Hello, Professor Gu! Why are you using a landline number?"

"I'm at the hotel. Where are you now?"

"At Tegel Airport, we're getting ready to check in."

"Don't leave yet. Change your ticket and come to the Kempinski Hotel. People from MK2 want to see you; they want to buy the rights to your short film."

Su Yu's mind went blank for a second; MK2? A French distribution company? Buy his short film?

"Feed? Su Yu? Are you listening?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Teacher Gu, I'll change my ticket right away!"

After hanging up the phone, Su Yu grabbed Luo Jing's arm: "Change your ticket! We're not going!"

Luo Jing stumbled as he was pulled: "What? What happened?"

"Someone wants to buy my film!"

"Who?"

"A French company! MK2! Introduced by Gu Changwei!"

Luo Jing stared at him for two seconds with wide eyes, then without saying a word, dragged his suitcase and walked in the opposite direction from the check-in counter.

Su Yu followed behind, and the two jogged out of the terminal, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the Kempinski Hotel.

........

The Kempinski Hotel is located in the heart of Berlin, in an old, off-white building with the German flag and the flag of the State of Berlin hanging at the entrance.

Su Yu and Luo Jing dragged their suitcases into the lobby, panting as they glanced around; Gu Changwei was sitting on a sofa in the lobby bar, holding a cup of coffee, with two foreigners sitting next to him.

When Gu Changwei saw them, he raised his hand and waved, slowly and deliberately, as if he were greeting two late students.

Su Yu walked over quickly, the wheels of the box making a rumbling sound on the marble floor.

He walked up to Gu Changwei, a little embarrassed, and said, "Professor Gu, we just arrived at the airport and changed our tickets after receiving your call. We didn't even have time to put our suitcases down."

Gu Changwei smiled and pointed to the sofa opposite him: "It's okay, catch your breath first."

Su Yu and Luo Jing sat down. Su Yu took two deep breaths, trying to make himself look less like he had just run 800 meters.

Gu Changwei turned to the two foreigners and introduced them in English: "This is Su Yu, the director of 'The Black Hole.' This is his friend Luo Jing, who is also an actor."

Then, turning to Su Yu, he said, "This is Mr. Pierre, the purchasing manager at MK2. This is his colleague, Sophie."

Pierre was in his forties, with long, curly hair, and wearing a dark blue suit with the top two buttons undone at the collar.

He extended his hand and said in heavily accented English, "Young man, congratulations. Your film is very interesting."

Su Yu grasped his hand, trying to appear as a worldly person: "Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sophie, standing next to Pierre, was a French woman in her thirties with short hair and black-rimmed glasses. She nodded to Su Yu without saying a word.

The four people sat down, and the waiter came over to order coffee.

Pierre skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point: "Sue, we at MK2 are very interested in your short film 'The Black Hole.' We saw it in Berlin and loved it. We'd like to acquire the exclusive global distribution rights and copyrights, excluding mainland China."

Su Yu tapped his fingers lightly on his knee: "Which channels are included?"

Pierre flipped through the documents on the table: "Television broadcast, DVD release, streaming, art-house cinema screenings—all electronic and physical channels. We will release it in major markets such as Europe, the Americas, and Asia."

Su Yu picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and pretended to be thinking.

In fact, he was already calculating things in his head. He glanced at Gu Changwei, who nodded slightly, indicating that they could talk.

"What's the price?" Su Yu put down his coffee cup, trying to keep his voice calm.

Pierre pulled a piece of paper from his suit pocket and pushed it in front of Su Yu: "Two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars."

Su Yu's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the numbers on the paper.

US$250,000, which, at the 2005 exchange rate, was roughly RMB 2 million.

How much did he spend making this short film? The location was free, the equipment was from the school, the actors received red envelopes (bribes), and the post-production equipment was borrowed from the school. All in all, it cost no more than 50,000 RMB.

He didn't agree immediately. He remembered the negotiation techniques he had read online in his previous life: whoever makes the first offer loses. But the other party had already made an offer, so he couldn't appear too excited.

Su Yu spun his coffee cup halfway around, deliberately paused for a few seconds, then looked up at Pierre: "Mr. Pierre, two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars, I think..."

Pierre raised his eyebrows slightly; Su Yu paused for a moment, then slowly curled the corners of his mouth up: "I think it makes perfect sense."

Pierre's expression changed from serious to relaxed, and he smiled and extended his hand: "It's a pleasure working with you."

Su Yu grasped his hand: "It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Gu Changwei watched from the side, a slight smile on his lips.

Sophie pulled up a contract from her laptop, printed it out, and handed it to Su Yu: "These are the specific contract terms. You can take them back and have a lawyer or brokerage firm review them. If there are no problems, we'll sign the formal contract tomorrow."

Su Yu took the letter of intent and flipped through it.

He couldn't quite understand the densely packed English terms, but he trusted Gu Changwei; a renowned international director wouldn't stoop to cheating a student for such a small amount of money.

"Okay, I'll take it back and have my lawyer take a look." Su Yu put the letter of intent into his backpack and zipped it up.

Pierre chatted with him for a few more minutes, asking him what his next film was and whether he had any feature film plans.

Su Yu shared some ideas, half-jokingly and half-seriously. Pierre listened attentively and finally said, "When you're making a feature film, you can give us priority consideration."

.......

After seeing Pierre and Sophie off, Su Yu, Gu Changwei, and Luo Jing sat in the lobby bar.

The coffee had gone cold, so Su Yu ordered a pot of tea instead.

"Teacher Gu, thank you so much this time. If it weren't for your help, I wouldn't even know what MK2 was."

Gu Changwei waved his hand and picked up his coffee cup: "No need to thank me. Your film is good. They came to us on their own. I just acted as a go-between."

Su Yu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Professor Gu, may I ask how much the copyright for 'Peacock' was sold for?"

Gu Changwei glanced at him and smiled without hiding anything: "The deal we've finalized so far is over three million US dollars."

Su Yu almost choked on his tea. Three million US dollars, more than 20 million RMB.

He put down his teacup and wiped his mouth. "Wow. Film festival award-winning movies make this much money?"

Gu Changwei patted him on the shoulder, his tone earnest: "Su Yu, you've won the Golden Bear Award and sold the rights, so you've got a good start. There are plenty of people in this industry who start with high scores, but very few go far. Remember, trophies are for others to see; your work is what truly belongs to you."

Su Yu silently repeated the sentence to himself three times and nodded vigorously.

........

The change fee cost over eight hundred dollars, and Su Yu felt a pang of heartache, but when he thought of the two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars, he felt that eight hundred dollars was nothing.

The two stayed an extra day in Berlin, and Su Yu took the time to buy a Berlin Bear; it was small, fluffy, and had a red scarf around its neck.

He spent a long time browsing in the souvenir shop, picking up and squeezing each bear, and finally chose the one with the roundest face.

Luo Jing, growing impatient, said, "Are you picking a partner? So serious?"

Su Yu didn't even look up: "This is a gift for an important friend, so it can't be just anything."

Luo Jing gave a meaningful "Oh" and then said nothing more.

Before boarding, Su Yu sent Anxi a message: "I've bought the Berlin Bear, the coolest one. Also, the short film sold for $250,000."

Ansie replied instantly with a long string of exclamation marks: "Two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars? Did you rob me?"

"I sell my art, not my body."

Anxi sent a long string of "hahaha" and then said, "So, are you very rich now?"

Su Yu thought for a moment, "It's alright, at least I don't have to worry about the cost of treating you to a meal."

"You still owe me several meals! And Berlin Bear! When are you coming back to Beijing?"

"Fly tomorrow, arrive the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back. But I'm still working in Zhejiang right now, I'll let you know when I get back to Beijing."