Rebirth 02, the Celestial Being Told Me to Stop Pretending

Thank you to Jelly Qian for the generous donation.

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From over six million to twenty-three million, it nearly quadrupled.

But no matter how much money you earn, it's just numbers.

What truly made Lu Chen happy was that this money meant he could finally start playing "The Legend of Sword and Fairy".

In its previous life, this drama was filmed in 2004 with an investment of 12 million, creating a generation's youthful memories.

He currently has over 13 million yuan, enough to start the production a year ahead of schedule and fully fund it.

Making money is secondary; this is a film and television adaptation right that Lu Chen specifically hijacked from Tangren Media for Liu Yifei.

In her previous life, Liu Yifei became a sensation again after playing the role of Zhao Ling'er in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," and the name "Fairy" spread throughout the entertainment industry.

Without Liu Yifei, Lu Chen wouldn't have invested in the TV series.

Long cycle, slow return.

"How long did it take you to write that script?" Wang Yan appeared behind him at some point, holding two cups of instant coffee.

"I started writing it when I was filming 'Crazy Stone'."

"Then why didn't you take any pictures with us?"

Lu Chen took the coffee and took a sip.

It's bitter, and there's no sugar added.

"Because we didn't have the money back then. The investment for 'Stone' was only three million, while making a fantasy drama would cost at least ten million. I couldn't afford it."

"Can you produce it now?"

Lu Chen walked to his desk and sat down, taking out a thick stack of documents from the bottom of the left drawer.

Project proposal for "The Legend of Sword and Fairy".

"Wang Yan, starting tomorrow, your main task will shift from monitoring the market to project preparation."

"You're quitting monitoring the stock market?"

"We still need to keep an eye on the market, but that's not the main focus."

He pushed the document in front of Wang Yan.

"First, find a location and assemble the crew. Second, contact special effects teams—we talked to the best from Hong Kong and South Korea. Third, actors."

"An actress?" Wang Yan opened the proposal and saw a name on the first page: "Liu Yifei?"

Lu Chen nodded.

"Are you sure she can play the role? She's not even sixteen yet, and she just finished filming 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.' We don't even know if she'll be available."

"You don't need to worry about that," Lu Chen said. "I'll talk to her."

Wang Yan closed the folder and glanced at Lu Chen.

That glance held gossip, curiosity, and a hint of a knowing smile that said, "Don't think I can't see through you."

But he didn't say anything and turned to make a phone call.

Liu Yifei saw the script on the last weekend of July.

Lu Chen asked her to meet him at a coffee shop near the Beijing Film Academy.

When he arrived, she was already sitting by the window, with a half-empty Americano in front of her.

She was wearing a white cotton dress, her hair was loose, and sunlight shone in from the window, falling on her profile like a painting.

"How long have you been here?" Lu Chen sat down, took the thick script out of his bag, and placed it on the table.

"I've been waiting for you for twenty minutes, you bastard, you're so late." But his attention was completely drawn to the script that Lu Chen had placed on the table.

She reached out and took the script, glancing at the cover.

"The Legend of Sword and Fairy? What kind of story is that?"

"It's adapted from a game, take a look."

She turned to the first page, her gaze falling on the character introductions.

"Zhao Ling'er, a descendant of Nuwa, is sixteen years old and lives in seclusion on Immortal Spirit Island, naive to the ways of the world..." She read aloud, then paused.

"You wrote it exactly like mine, didn't you?"

Lu Chen picked up his coffee, neither confirming nor denying it.

She continued reading.

The café was quiet, with only the sound of pages turning and the steam from the coffee machine.

She read very slowly, carefully reading each page, occasionally frowning slightly and occasionally smiling.

Lu Chen sat opposite her, neither urging her nor saying anything.

About half an hour later, she closed the script and looked up.

Something seemed to be sparkling in her bright eyes.

"Did Ling'er die in the end?"

"right."

She looked at him, her lips moving as if she was thinking about how to phrase it.

"Why did you write such a character for me?"

Lu Chen put down his coffee cup.

I thought to myself, "That's how the script was written in my past life. I didn't change it."

"Because only when she dies will the audience remember her forever."

She remained silent for a long time.

Someone walked by outside the window, their footsteps rustling on the fallen leaves.

"Then I'll take it," she said.

"Aren't you going to ask about the pay?"

"Any amount is fine."

"What if they give very little?"

"That's very little, I'm not afraid."

Lu Chen was speechless after hearing her words.

He wanted to argue, but found that he wasn't a petty person at all.

The prices he offered to his own people were all significantly higher than the industry average.

"Okay," he said.

"Wang Yan will discuss your salary with your agent. Just focus on acting."

Lu paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something.

"Your agent is still Aunt Liu, right?"

"Yes, but I have one more condition." Liu Yifei hugged the script to her arms and looked at him with a smile.

"you say."

"You be the director."

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

I haven't decided on a director for this film yet.

"Then you've made your decision now."

She laughed heartily, with a hint of coquettish seriousness, "I don't trust anyone else to write the character you wrote yourself."

"When did you become so domineering?"

"I learned it from you."

Lu Chen opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.

He picked up his coffee cup, concealing the smile on his lips.

In the following days, the earnings season for the US stock market arrived again.

Lu Chen divided the $400,000 in venture capital into two parts.

Two hundred thousand will be left to NetEase, and two hundred thousand will be left to Amazon.

Both companies released their second-quarter reports in mid-to-late August.

In early August, NetEase's stock price hovered around seventeen yuan.

The market has low expectations for it because the SP business is still under negotiation with the telecom company and has not yet been finalized.

But Lu Chen knew that the negotiations would be finalized before the financial report was released.

He bought 15,000 shares of NetEase stock at a cost of $17.20, for a total of $258,000.

With the remaining 140,000 yuan, he bought call options on NetEase, with a strike price of 20 yuan and an expiration date in September.

In mid-August, Amazon's stock price was consolidating around $48.

Instead of buying options, he directly bought 5,000 shares of the underlying stock at a cost of $48.50, for a total of $242,000.

Two transactions nearly depleted the $400,000.

Wang Yan no longer questions why he bought these stocks.

He simply stood beside Lu Chen while he placed the order, holding a bottle of nitroglycerin pills, ready to open it at any moment.

"Aren't you nervous today?" Lu Chen glanced at him after placing the order.

Is being nervous helpful?

"It's no use."

"Then I won't be nervous anymore."

Wang Yan stuffed the nitroglycerin pills back into his pocket, saying, "Anyway, you've never lost."

"How can anyone keep winning?" Lu Chen said softly.

"Are you scared?"

"I'm afraid. But I can't let fear stop me from doing it."

On August 19, NetEase released its second-quarter financial report.

Revenue increased by 61% year-on-year, and net profit turned from loss to profit.

The SP business has been officially launched, and the contract with the telecom company has brought in an additional 30 million yuan in revenue annually.

After hours, the stock price jumped from 17.2 yuan to 21.5 yuan, a 25% increase.

Lu Chen's call option, with a strike price of 20 yuan, has changed from out-of-the-money to in-the-money.

The option price has increased nearly fivefold.

The underlying stock also rose by 25%.

He closed out his positions in batches the following day.

The options were redeemed for $680,000, and the underlying stock was sold for $302,000.

The total was $982,000. After deducting the cost of $400,000, the net profit was $582,000.

With the original $800,000 in the account, the total assets in US stocks exceeded $1.38 million.