Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

Zhou Yawen picked up her teacup and took two sips before she could barely suppress the pent-up anger in her chest.

She looked at Lin Ying: "Lin Ying"

"Yes, Teacher Zhou." Lin Ying sat up straight, her expression very obedient.

Zhou Yawen got even angrier when she saw her like this.

This child usually gets all his English dictation right, his math steps are neat and tidy, and he excels in all subjects. He even managed to capture the passionate spirit of an Eastern boy breaking through the black mist in his novel, "Exchange Students at the Magic Academy."

And now?

The female lead always falls into the male lead's arms, red wine is always spilled on his white suit, his father always throws out five million, and he always kneels down in the pouring rain... What is all this nonsense!

Zhou Yawen said helplessly, "Lin Ying, please use a pen name for this movie. Don't use your real name."

Lin Ying was a little confused: "Why?"

"Why?" Zhou Yawen slammed her hand on the table. "Don't you know what's going on? You're going to Cambridge to do math, science, and computer chips. When you actually become a great scientist, those reporters will check your resume."

She pointed to the script in Su Zhihao's hand: "I'm really worried that if you succeed in the future, your dark history will be making money by writing melodramatic dramas."

Su Zhihao was originally thinking about making money, but he was unhappy when he heard the words "dark history".

"Ya Wen, you can't say that," Su Zhihao defended his money-printing machine. "It may be a bit vulgar, but it makes money. How can making money be called a dark history?"

Zhou Yawen turned to look at him: "Shut up, all you can smell is money."

Su Zhihao immediately shut his mouth.

Lin Lanying, listening nearby, found it both amusing and worrying: "Teacher Zhou, are you saying that Aying's reputation will be affected in the future?"

"Mrs. Lin, it's not certain." Zhou Yawen's tone softened a bit. "But she's still young, and those newspapers love to write whatever they want. Before, when she wrote 'The Exchange Student at the Magic Academy,' everyone said she was a young genius, a writer of Eastern fantasy, and a culturally confident writer. But if this 'Heart Exchange Contract' becomes a hit, people will say that what she's best at writing is about romantic entanglements, misunderstandings in wealthy families, and the 'wife-chasing-after-the-cremation' kind of stuff."

She glanced at Lin Ying again: "Think for yourself, is it good or not?"

Lin Ying wasn't afraid of sounding bad; money wouldn't decrease just because it sounded bad, and audiences wouldn't stop buying tickets just because film critics thought it was vulgar.

But Zhou Yawen's words make sense.

She wants to pursue a career in science and technology, enter academia, negotiate investments, and build a team. While a screenwriter's background can be legendary, there's no need to constantly drag her into the background of a melodramatic soap opera screenwriter.

Genre creation is acceptable, but reputation should be managed in tiers.

Lin Ying thought for a moment and asked, "Then... what pen name should I choose?"

Zhou Yawen was taken aback by her question: "You're asking me?"

"Otherwise what?" Lin Ying said matter-of-factly. "Teacher Zhou, you're a writer, you have experience with pen names. You call yourself Night Owl, I can't call myself Day Owl."

Su Zhihao couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zhou Yawen gave him a cold look, and Su Zhihao immediately lowered his head to flip through the script, pretending that he hadn't heard anything.

pen name.

A name that doesn't clash with Lin Ying's name, yet can be suitable for this kind of commercially sensational film. It can't be too artistic, too vulgar, or immediately remind people of her.

Suddenly, the image of that hospital room, Xu Ning's warm palms, and the white sheet covering her head in the last moment flashed through her mind.

Xu Yue, that name died at eighteen; but if we put it on paper in a different way, it won't be completely forgotten.

"Let's call him Xu Yue," Lin Ying said instinctively.

Lin Lanying looked at her daughter: "Which one is Xu, and which one is Yue?"

"The 'Xu' in 'promise' and the 'Yue' in 'surpass'," Lin Ying said. "From now on, I'll use this pen name when I write melodramatic dramas and commercial films aimed at women. For serious scripts and projects that require public identification, I'll still use 'Lin Ying'."

Zhou Yawen thought for a moment and said, "Xu Yue... isn't bad."

Su Zhihao slapped his thigh: "Great! Great name! In the future, when we promote it, we'll say: Mysterious screenwriter Xu Yue, a brand new epic of female-centric romance."

Zhou Yawen glared at him helplessly: "You dare to hype her up as some mysterious and sexy screenwriter and see what happens."

Su Zhihao chuckled dryly: "I was just saying it offhand."

Lin Ying added, "It should be clearly stated in the contract. Xu Yue is just a pen name; the actual copyright belongs to me. Attorney Shen needs to file this with the court."

Su Zhihao immediately nodded: "Of course. Don't worry, your second uncle would never cheat you, no matter who else he cheats."

Zhou Yawen sneered: "Did you say the same thing when you bought three of my books for 130,000 last time?"

Su Zhihao: "..."

The atmosphere in the living room was a little awkward, so Lin Lanying quickly picked up the fruit plate: "Eat oranges, eat oranges."

The pen name was settled, but Zhou Yawen's anger hadn't subsided at all; she picked up the script on the coffee table again, turned to a page, and pointed to a certain line.

"Lin Ying, I really can't stand what's going on in your head."

Zhou Yawen pointed at Lin Ying, asserting her authority as the homeroom teacher: "I'm warning you. If you continue writing such mindless stuff, and do it so skillfully, next time I'll have all the subject teachers assign you a ton of homework. Two more English reading reports, three more Chinese essays, and one page of math Olympiad problems every day. You're full of energy, aren't you? I'll make sure you're full to your heart's content."

Lin Ying shrank her neck. The "all-subject homework nuclear strike" was a devastating blow to any student.

"Teacher Zhou, the work has nothing to do with the author..."

"Unrelated?" Zhou Yawen closed the script and turned to look at Lin Lanying: "Mrs. Lin."

Lin Lanying hadn't put the orange down yet: "What's wrong, Teacher Zhou?"

Zhou Yawen spoke as if she were attending a parent-teacher conference: "I think your Lin Ying is very likely to start dating early in the future. You need to keep a close eye on her."

Lin Lanying was stunned: "Puppy love?!"

"Yes." Zhou Yawen pointed to the script. "She's only twelve years old, but she can already write about misunderstandings, entanglements, jealousy, and possessiveness between men and women so smoothly. It's alright at school, since Boya is an all-girls school, so she doesn't usually come into contact with many boys. But you have to keep a close eye on her during holidays, on film sets, and at film companies."

Lin Ying was speechless: "Teacher Zhou, you're exaggerating! The work has nothing to do with the author! Car accident, amnesia, five million—these are all tools to amplify the emotional impact. Today's audience needs emotional release, so I provide them with the most direct visual stimulation. I myself could never possibly like this kind of idiotic romance!"

Zhou Yawen looked at her with complete distrust: "I don't believe you at all that you could write this kind of garbage. Lin Ying, the good student card you got from me when you enrolled is now completely ruined."

Lin Ying: "..."

Su Zhihao, clutching the script, laughed so hard he almost choked. He didn't care whether his "good student card" was broken or not; all he knew was that this movie, "The Heart Exchange," would definitely empty the pockets of all the housewives in Hong Kong.

Lin Lanying looked at her daughter. Of course, she trusted her daughter; since Ah Ying had regained consciousness, she had acted more steadily than adults. But what Teacher Zhou said wasn't entirely unreasonable. A twelve-year-old girl writing about a rich young master's desperate pursuit of his wife, a story so compelling that even a seasoned veteran like Su Zhihao wanted to invest immediately. Thinking about it carefully, it did seem a bit outrageous.

"Ah Ying, tell me the truth," Lin Lanying asked directly, "Where did you get all these scenes from?"

"Serialized articles in newspapers, foreign novels, popular movies shown in theaters, and the gossip I hear from the neighbors," Lin Ying said guiltily. "And market analysis too."

Lin Lanying reached out and tapped Lin Ying's forehead: "Your teacher Zhou is doing this for your own good. I agree with the pen name thing, but in the future, don't use your real name for such outrageous books."

"Okay, Mommy."

"And puppy love too," Lin Lanying added. "Although Mommy believes you, you're still young and the world outside is complicated. There are plenty of guys in the movie industry who are good at sweet-talking and playing the victim. You're not allowed to believe them."

Lin Ying could only guarantee, "I won't believe everything I hear."

Zhou Yawen added from the side, "Especially the good-looking ones."

Su Zhihao stroked his chin: "We definitely need to find a good-looking male lead for this film..."

Three lines of sight from the living room were looking in that direction at the same time.

Su Zhihao immediately changed his tune: "I will have the assistant director take charge of casting. I will never take Ah Ying to the set to see the male actors."

Lin Ying no longer wanted to speak.

She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and wanted to end this absurd trial of puppy love as soon as possible.

Su Zhihao finally steered the conversation back on track: "Alright, alright. Aying, I'll have Attorney Zhang come over tomorrow morning. You should schedule an appointment with Attorney Shen. Sign everything: pen name registration, copyright ownership, and revenue sharing agreement."

Lin Ying nodded: "Okay; for the signature section, use Xu Yue."

After much difficulty and repeated assurances that the two had been sent away,

Lin Ying returned to her bedroom and wrote: Xu Yue.

She looked at the name Xu Yue. In her previous life, Xu Yue, who lay in a hospital bed and felt cold even when the wind blew by, was living a new life in a different way in this glamorous and vibrant Hong Kong of the 1980s.