I was in my final year of high school, and my deskmate found out I was writing a novel!

October in Shanghai was already imbued with the scent of autumn; the leaves of the plane trees had fallen to the ground, rustling underfoot. Ye Feng and Miao Miao emerged from the teaching building, clutching their newly printed class schedules.

The number of classes in the third year was less than in the second year, which gave the two of them enough time to deal with their respective "explosive" careers.

Miaomiao's phone was still vibrating incessantly, with WeChat message notifications coming in one after another.

She clicked on the chat box and saw three pinned chat windows labeled "Lemon Pictures," "New Classics Media," and "Yaoke Media," all inquiries about the film and television rights to "Legend of Fuyao."

They're urging me to reply again.

Miao Miao stuck out her tongue and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. "Yaoke said they were willing to add two million, but they wanted to make Meng Fuyao's love line more 'torturous,' so I didn't agree."

Ye Feng smiled and ruffled her hair.

"It's right that you disagree. The Meng Fuyao you wrote is a strong female protagonist who 'demands the submission of heaven and earth, and doesn't care about love and romance.' If you change it to be more tragic, it won't be her anymore."

"Legend of Fuyao" has now been updated to 1.2 million words. From its initial popularity in the female-oriented genre, it has soared to the top of the Qidian female-oriented genre chart, with over 10 million collections and a consistently high number of subscriptions.

In particular, the storyline of Meng Fuyao's adventures across the five continents and battles against numerous heroes has been hailed by readers as the "ceiling of female protagonist stories." Film and television companies have long been eager to capitalize on this, and have been in contact with her since half a year ago, with the competition recently reaching a fever pitch.

All three leading companies offered eight-figure copyright fees, but each had its own insistence on the direction of adaptation.

"Lemon's solution is the most reliable."

Miaomiao talked as she walked, her eyes shining with seriousness.

"They said they wouldn't drastically change the main storyline, that Meng Fuyao's career storyline would follow the original novel exactly, and that the romance storyline would just be an embellishment. They even invited me to be a co-writer and participate in the entire script revision process."

She paused, then hesitated, "It's just that their copyright fee is one million less than Yaoke's, and I'm a bit conflicted."

Money is not the most important thing.

Ye Feng stopped and looked at her intently.

"When I wrote 'Legend of Fuyao,' I wanted to create a female protagonist who didn't rely on men and stood on her own two feet. Lemon Pictures respects the core message, which is more valuable than an extra million. Moreover, as a co-writer, you can uphold the bottom line of the plot, and readers will accept it, which is the most important thing."

Miaomiao's eyes lit up, and she instantly stopped hesitating.

"You're right! I'll reply to Ningmeng right now and agree to their proposal!"

She took out her phone and typed rapidly, her fingers flying across the screen.

"By the way, they also said they wanted me to recommend actors. How should I choose?"

"I wrote this outline back then because you wanted to invite the fairy godmother, so why are you hesitating now?"

"Hehe, I was just saying it. I'll definitely invite them, but I don't know if they'll agree."

Ye Feng wasn't sure either, since it was just a TV series and he might not even like it. However, things took a turn for the better a few days later.

Two weeks later, Miaomiao received a notification.

"Lemon just sent a message saying that they have indeed contacted Liu Yifei's team!"

"Miaomiao's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement as her fingers flew across the screen,"

"They said the team has already read the first 500,000 words of the original novel and finds the character of Meng Fuyao very charming, and is willing to communicate further!"

Ye Feng stopped in his tracks, his eyes full of smiles.

He recalled that more than a year ago, Miaomiao held the manuscript of "Joy of Life" with her eyes sparkling and said, "I want Liu Yifei to play Lin Wan'er." At that time, he told her the truth: "Lin Wan'er is a supporting female lead with her scenes concentrated in the early stages. Liu Yifei's current status is not good enough to accept a role that doesn't offer much room for her to shine."

It was this sentence that made Miaomiao feel down for several days, but it also made him think. He specially prepared a detailed outline of "Legend of Fuyao", from the world view of the Five Continents to Meng Fuyao's growth line of "defying fate and taking control of the world". Every node highlights "independence, strength and non-dependence" and he personally handed it to Miaomiao: "If you want her to play the role, write a female lead who is worthy of her".

Now, this small wish from back then is actually about to come true.

"They also said that the fairy sister thought Meng Fuyao's storyline of 'traveling across the five continents and fighting against heroes' was very exciting, especially the parts where she refused to marry into a foreign land and tore apart the scumbag man, which perfectly matched the female power she wanted to convey."

Miaomiao became more and more excited as she talked, grabbing Ye Feng's arm and shaking it incessantly.

"Ye Feng, Ye Feng, do you think it's really possible? I dream of seeing the fairy sister in armor, wielding a long sword!"

"Yes."

Ye Feng gently ruffled her hair, his tone resolute.

"Since Lemon Pictures dares to confidently say that they have made contact, they must be confident. Moreover, the current popularity of 'Legend of Fuyao' and the setting of Meng Fuyao as a strong female lead are indeed a perfect match for Liu Yifei's temperament and acting style. Her previous roles, such as Zhao Ling'er and Xiaolongnu, were both spirited and resilient characters. She can definitely handle Meng Fuyao's domineering nature and growth."

Just then, Miaomiao's phone rang again; it was the project manager from Lemon Pictures calling.

"Miss Miaomiao, I have great news for you! Liu Yifei's team has tentatively agreed to cooperate!"

The voice on the other end of the phone was filled with barely concealed excitement.

"Their only requirement was that the script could not drastically alter Meng Fuyao's career path, the romance could only serve as a supplement, and she had to perform her own action scenes without using too many stunt doubles."

"no problem!"

Miaomiao agreed without hesitation, "I can guarantee all of that! I'll be involved in the entire scriptwriting process, and for the action scenes, we can hire the best martial arts choreographer. I'll make sure she has a great time and performs beautifully!"

After hanging up the phone, Miaomiao jumped up and hugged Ye Feng, her cheeks flushed.

"It's done! It's really done! The fairy-like actress is going to play my Meng Fuyao!"

Ye Feng caught her steadily, feeling the joy in her chest, and his heart warmed as well. He knew that this was not only Miaomiao's wish, but also the greatest recognition of her writing.

The following day, the screening room at Huace Media was packed. In addition to Ye Feng and Miao Miao, there were media reporters, platform representatives, and some lucky fans.

Zhang Chi personally greeted them at the door, handing them a custom-made commemorative booklet: "It contains behind-the-scenes footage and autographed photos of the actors; it's just a small token of our appreciation. By the way, Ms. Miaomiao, congratulations on your collaboration with Liu Yifei! We're all really looking forward to 'Legend of Fuyao'!"

Actually, they did approach us at the beginning, but they weren't very interested. They actually wanted to develop their careers in film.

Miaomiao smiled shyly: "Thank you, Director Zhang, and thank you all for making 'Joy of Life' so well."

As the lights in the screening room dimmed and the opening theme music began, Ye Feng's heart inexplicably quickened. The familiar story unfolded on the screen.

The pear blossoms in Danzhou, the conversation between Fan Xian and Wu Zhu, the appearance of Teng Zijing... every scene was perfectly recreated, especially the scene where Teng Zijing handed Fan Xian a cup of hot wine, which was almost exactly the same as the scene in Ye Feng's mind.