ghost on paper

Chapter 522 Keigo Higashino (Earth)
The next day, on the plane to Japan.

Zeng Yi asked Chen Ye for advice on a doubt in his mind: "You said you didn't have money to hold a concert, so you had to embezzle public funds to give a New Year's Eve speech. But what about your income as the director and star of "The Man on the Road"? I'm afraid it must be 500 to 1000 yuan." [-] million!"

That's right.

The total box office revenue of "The Road to Misfortune" is close to 9000 million yuan. Excluding the theater share, as well as the minimal publicity and filming costs, there will be a profit of at least nearly 4000 million yuan.

Excluding Mr. Tang's investment income and other people's investment shares, Chen Ye's income will probably exceed 1000 million, which is more than enough to hold a concert. If it is like the absurd theory mentioned by Chen Ye, he must come to a concert. If the concert is to "sustain life", there is no need to risk "stealing money" from the "Young CHUMEN" project funds.

"Why are you embezzling public funds and slandering good people with such empty talk? Has your conscience been snatched away by a wolf?" Chen Ye looked unhappy, but he looked around and refused to say where the huge amount of income he deserved had gone. .

This can't help but make Zeng Yi doubtful.

She has seen many cases in the entertainment industry. There are only two "Ds" that can consume huge amounts of income, namely gambling and drugs. So what did Chen Ye do with the money?
Arrived in Japan.

Chen Ye took Zeng Yi into a car that had been arranged long ago, and soon the two of them met an extraordinary person in a teahouse.

He is about 50 years old, but his temples are dark and his mental outlook is very young. His eyes under his thick eyebrows are used to thinking, forming a state of scrutiny that is good at guessing people's hearts. When he stretches the lines at the corners of his mouth to form a smile, he also has a kind of look. With a childlike innocence, a black suit, a white shirt, and black-rimmed glasses, Zeng Yi felt familiar when she saw him, but she couldn't remember who he was. It wasn't until Chen Ye introduced him that she suddenly understood.

Keigo Higashino!

A well-known suspense novel writer in Japan.

Zeng Yi was impressed by this Japanese writer because one of her hobbies is reading mystery and suspense novels.

Hearing Chen Ye talking to Keigo Higashino in very proficient Japanese, Zeng Yi took a moment and asked Chen Ye in a low voice with an exclamation tone, "Do you know Japanese?"

"What I learned in my previous life, I will never forget in this life." Chen Ye said.

What the hell?Zeng Yi was puzzled.

Due to the language barrier, Zeng Yi was unable to understand most of the conversations between Chen Ye and Higashino Keigo. Only when Chen Ye introduced her would he translate for her.

So Zeng Yi knew that Keigo Higashino knew her through "Lust, Caution". Keigo Higashino admired her acting skills very much, so he decided to sell the film adaptation rights of several novels in his hands to Chen Ye...

Wait, sell it to Chen Ye.

Zeng Yi suddenly understood something.

But it’s hard to verify at this moment, because Chen Ye is having a lively chat with Higashino Keigo. It seems that Chen Ye is providing some inspiration to Higashino Keigo. The two are discussing future creative directions. It can be seen from Higashino Keigo’s continuous serving of tea to Chen Ye. , this chat was deeply appreciated.

Zeng Yi kept the doubts in his heart until night.

In the evening, Chen Ye took Zeng Yi to eat udon noodles at a noodle shop on the street in Japan.

It's February, the New Year is just around the corner, and the festive atmosphere here in Japan is also very strong. Sitting in the warm noodle shop, looking at the hurried people outside through the glass window, I can hear the incomprehensible Japanese voices in my ears. , Zeng Yi suddenly felt that this was very romantic.

She suddenly said to Chen Ye: "Chen Ye, it doesn't actually matter whether there is a movie or not. The key is who you spend your life with..."

"No, eldest sister," Chen Ye said hurriedly, "I just helped you negotiate a drama adaptation that is sure to be a hit. Don't give up. Whether I can sleep peacefully for the rest of my life depends on you!"

What a terrible sight... Zeng Yi glanced at Chen Ye, sighed, and then got back to the topic: "Did you use all the income from "Into the Road" to buy the rights to adapt Higashino Keigo's "X Devotion"? "

"How can you use so much money if you buy the movie adaptation rights of a novel~" Speaking of this, Chen Ye showed a proud smile, "I bought the movie adaptation rights of the novels he created in the past ten years and the next ten years~ "

"Ah? How much did you spend?" Zeng Yi asked hurriedly.

"1.5 million yen." Chen Ye named a number that could probably match the income of his last movie.

"You are too..." Zeng Yi didn't know what to say.

"You have so much investment vision, don't you?" Chen Ye said happily, "Now is Keigo Higashino's explosive period, he can make a lot of money~"

Indeed, Keigo Higashino is currently only "Japan's most watched suspense novel writer", and it will take about four or five years before he becomes "an evergreen tree of Japanese suspense novels" and an "East Asian IP treasure".

That was after he wrote the famous novel "Jieyou Grocery Store", but just now Chen Ye had "returned" the novel idea to Keigo Higashino in advance.

Paying 5000 million yen to buy out the film and television adaptation rights of Keigo Higashino's 20-year-old work, especially including the next 10 years, may be a bit risky for others, but for Chen Ye, it is a sure profit.

So he was quite proud.

But seeing the way Zeng Yi's eyes fluctuated, Chen Ye suddenly woke up.

"Hey, but it's not actually about making money. Money is nothing compared to our relationship. Xiaoyi, look at the bright and big sign of this love hotel on the street. Why don't we go in and have a rest..."

"Get out of here! Dead sex embryo!"

……

The script was finalized.

Investment and producers are also needed.This is not difficult.

As a "high-profile suspense novelist", many Japanese companies have paid attention to this IP work of Keigo Higashino. The reason why Keigo Higashino wants to see the heroine before deciding whether to authorize this work to Chen Ye is because I have enough confidence in my heart.

Soon, Chen Ye determined the director and producer. The director was still Nishiyama Hiro, and the production company was Amuse Soft Entertainment. Amuse is a long-established large-scale film and television agency in Japan. Its positioning is equivalent to Hollywood's CAA and major film studios, so it can operate Film and television artists can also produce movies.

With Amuse joining, everything started to go smoothly.

Chen Ye originally wanted to attract some investors from China, but it turned out that this was not necessary. The initial investment estimate for "X Devotion" was not more than 5000 million yen, and Amuse could handle it on its own.

There is not much investment in this kind of feature film, and most of it is indoor scenes, so the investment risk is very small. It is only a small case among Amuse's many investment projects.

Before confirming the investment intention, Amuse repeatedly asked Chen Ye if the IP could be sold. Of course Chen Ye disagreed. The key is that Amuse’s bid was too low. Not only in Japan, but also in the world, the price of the original adapted script was based on the author’s price. Fame is priced, and now Keigo Higashino is not worth the sky-high price.

As for the choice of Zeng Yi as the protagonist, Amuse and the director had little disagreement. With the popularity of "Lust, Caution" throughout East Asia, Zeng Yi has also gained considerable popularity in East Asian countries.

Everything was arranged well and the Spring Festival had passed. Chen Ye and Zeng Yi spent the 2008 Spring Festival in a foreign country.

Although it was a holiday, there was no festive atmosphere. Chen Ye first spent a day "writing" the script, and then spent a week discussing the adaptation of the script with Keigo Higashino and the director.

The final result was that nothing could be changed, which made the two Japanese admire Chen Ye.

Zeng Yi was involved in the whole process. Chen Ye couldn't take care of her. There was also a translator who repeated the conversations between several people to Zeng Yi.

Whether it is Keigo Higashino, the original author, Chen Ye, the script adapter, or Hiroshi Nishiyama, who is in charge of the final presentation of the film, every interpretation of the novel and script is something Zeng Yi needs to ponder over and over again, which will increase The depth of her understanding of the characters in the script.

After eight intense days, Chen Ye was about to leave for the United States. The "Young CHUMEN" project had made considerable progress, and Ang Lee needed Chen Ye to discuss some issues in person.

Before leaving, Chen Ye told Zeng Yi: "Your goal is definitely to return to the mainland market, and you can definitely do it. Japan is just a stepping stone. You can't have any overseas romances here. It will be detrimental to your future development."

"Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" Zeng Yi didn't understand why Chen Ye suddenly mentioned personal relationship issues.

"You are the one who will become the goddess of the people in the future. If you want to be cheap, you cannot be cheap to outsiders, especially the Japanese. Now that you are alone abroad, you will inevitably have some physical and mental needs, but you must restrain yourself. If you really can't restrain yourself, you will Use this." Chen Ye handed Zeng Yi a box.

"Okay, I'm leaving, bye~" Chen Ye waved to Zeng Yi and entered the security checkpoint.

Zeng Yi also waved goodbye to Chen Ye, feeling a little sad indeed, and thinking about what was in the box, couldn't it be flowers?This kid doesn't have such a romantic head, does he?

Opening the box, Zeng Yi saw a long black thing... At this time, Zeng Yi had not yet realized what it was.

Meng Meng picked it up casually, but accidentally touched the switch on the handle. The thing began to vibrate and squirm, which made Zeng Yi's cerebellum shrink.

People passing by looked at Zeng Yi with curiosity and surprise, wondering why this woman was holding a vibrator in public...

"Chen Ye!!!!!"

Zeng Yi made a sharp crackling sound.

……

Chen Ye sneezed so loudly on the plane that the passenger in the next seat wearing sunglasses looked over curiously.

This is a first-class cabin, and the fare is expensive. Of course Chen Ye can't afford it himself, but the expenses related to "Young CHUMEN" can be reimbursed at public expense. Of course, Chen Ye will not be polite and wronged himself.

"Sorry~" Chen Ye apologized, looking for paper everywhere, but there was none. He was about to call the flight attendant when a piece of paper was handed over to him.

"Thank you." Chen Ye thanked him and took the piece of paper, taking a closer look at this helpful beauty.

With just one glance, Chen Ye was stunned.

Because this face is extremely familiar.

"Xingyun!"

Chen Ye shouted.

……

Zhang Xingyun was a little stunned by the name "Xingyun". As a famous singer, it was not surprising that she was recognized, but few strangers would call her that.

But Zhang Xingyun was very professional. She smiled politely at the corner of her mouth and gestured with her fingers in the middle of her mouth to signal the other person to keep their voice down so as not to attract other people's attention.

But she didn't expect that the other party stopped screaming, and became more bold. He took off her sunglasses as soon as he reached out and looked at her face.

"Hey~ you look good, don't you?" Chen Ye said, "Yes, according to this time, you haven't had a heart attack yet. It was just when you first became popular, tsk tsk, you are so cool now~"

Chen Ye only focused on observing the impact that 15 years had had on the legendary singer in front of him, but did not notice the sullen look in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)