My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 129

The plane touched down smoothly at Beijing Airport. Lai Jingming charged ahead, leading Gu Zhinan out of the airport with purpose.

“Heading to the Poetry Association?”

Lai Jingming asked. It was already getting late. Going to the Beijing Film Academy now would be pointless. Besides, Gu Zhinan had mentioned earlier that the two of them would be accompanying the Poetry Association’s president to the Huayang Television Station tomorrow.

Gu Zhinan nodded. Just as they were disembarking, Du Guangyu had called to say someone would come to pick them up. The two waited quietly in the airport’s pickup area. After more than 20 minutes, a flashy red G-Class SUV pulled up in front of them. A girl with a ponytail jumped out of the car.

She lifted her chin and shot Gu Zhinan a cold look, then glanced at the chubby man standing beside him. This guy, always pausing his web novel updates every few days! Infuriating!

Gu Zhinan was naturally stunned to see Du Xiaoyan behind the wheel. Lai Jingming, who didn’t know her, was just amazed at the sight of the G-Wagon.

“What are you staring at? Get in!” Du Xiaoyan waved her small hand, her attitude making it clear she didn’t enjoy looking at Gu Zhinan.

Gu Zhinan scratched his nose, signaled Lai Jingming to get in the car, and then took the front passenger seat himself.

“Didn’t expect someone your age to be driving something this fierce,” he commented.

Du Xiaoyan held her head high with a touch of pride on her face. “Of course! I got my driver’s license the moment I turned 18. Unlike some people who don’t even bother getting one before buying a car!”

“…” Wow, you really know how to talk, little miss.

“I heard from Grandpa that you’re not here to write poetry this time, but to write a song?” Du Xiaoyan turned her head at a red light, her bright eyes scrutinizing Gu Zhinan. “Is that Xia An’ge pretty?”

Gu Zhinan didn’t know why she was asking this, but he answered without hesitation. “Yeah, she’s pretty.”

“So that’s why you’re writing a song for her?”

“What does that have to do with me writing her a song?”

“Oh, so it is for her. Figures. All that kindness, just because she’s pretty. Gu Zhinan, Grandpa keeps saying you’re different from other guys…”

“???” Gu Zhinan felt every word out of Du Xiaoyan’s mouth had thorns! He was speechless and decided to feign sleep.

Meanwhile, in the back seat, Lai Jingming was getting the sense something was going on. He looked pained, this guy wouldn’t even spare a teenage girl!

Du Xiaoyan, fuming, stomped on the gas. The roar of the engine startled Lai Jingming so much he clutched his seatbelt and held onto the door handle for dear life. He didn’t dare say a word, none of them were close, and provoking her further wouldn’t end well.

After over 40 minutes, they arrived at a restaurant not far from the Poetry Association. Du Xiaoyan had clearly floored it the whole way.

The moment the car stopped, Lai Jingming scrambled out first, afraid the girl might start racing again. He’d seen her overtake car after car at one point, she even looked like she was about to jump a drainage ditch.

Gu Zhinan, having had his eyes closed, didn’t feel the stress of the ride quite as much. Once they got out, Du Xiaoyan gave him another glare and swished her ponytail as she marched into the restaurant.

“Keep up!” A sharp voice rang out. Gu Zhinan and Lai Jingming followed her upstairs to the third floor, where Du Xiaoyan opened the door to a private dining room and stepped inside. The two men followed.

Inside were Du Guangyu, Director Quan, Director Li, and someone Gu Zhinan hadn’t expected, Hong An, a senior editor from the Ministry of Education. And another person he really didn’t want to see, the elegant and imposing editor-in-chief, Cheng Mengxi, in professional attire!

“Old Master Du, Director Quan, Director Li, Mr. Hong, Editor Cheng, good evening!”

“Zhinan, come sit over here!” Du Guangyu greeted him warmly.

“Look who it is, Young Master Gu! Care to take the head seat?” Cheng Mengxi said with a half-smile, the glint from her gold-rimmed glasses catching the light.

Gu Zhinan swallowed and sat down beside her as instructed. Lai Jingming took a seat elsewhere. “Editor-in-chief, why are you here?”

“What, Gu Zhinan, you don’t want me here? Should I leave?”

“…” Better watch what I say. 

Gu Zhinan quietly began eating.

“Zhinan, after dinner, come with us to the Poetry Association to submit your materials and formally join. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to Huayang TV.” Du Guangyu chuckled, that was his main objective tonight. To trick Gu Zhinan into joining the Poetry Association.

“Huh?” Gu Zhinan looked up in confusion. He had completely forgotten. Still, it was just a membership, he nodded in agreement.

Seeing his nod, the three directors clinked glasses with him enthusiastically. Gu Zhinan glanced over at Lai Jingming, who had already started drinking with Hong An. What a guy, always finding a way to eat and drink wherever he went!

Throughout the meal, Cheng Mengxi barely spoke to Gu Zhinan, instead whispering with Du Xiaoyan about the Sword and Fairy story. To Gu Zhinan’s surprise, Cheng accurately guessed about half the upcoming plot points despite only having seen a rough outline. Her editor instincts were clearly sharp.

He even briefly wondered if he should let her write it for a few days.

After dinner, Cheng Mengxi didn’t leave. Hong An was already buddying up with Lai Jingming like old friends. Gu Zhinan was speechless, clearly, this old man couldn’t hold his liquor.

The so-called “joining process” turned out to be simple, Du Guangyu had everything ready. Gu Zhinan just had to hand over his ID to a girl for photocopying and sign his name. By the time his ID was returned, he was already a member.

The directors were all smiles and wanted to chat about poetry, but Du Xiaoyan rolled her eyes. Finally, Cheng Mengxi intervened, saying she needed to talk to Gu Zhinan. Only then did they let him go.

She led him, along with Hong An and Lai Jingming, to a nearby café and ordered four coffees before speaking. “It’s good you came to Beijing now, you’re right on time. Otherwise, you’d have to make another trip. You’ve met Old Master Hong, right?”

Gu Zhinan nodded. Hong had already taken a sip of coffee, and the wrinkles on his face seemed deeper, though he was clearly sobering up.

“I’m here to discuss the publishing deal for The Legend of Sword and Fairy,” Hong said with a smile. “I represent China Publishing House and I came because I know you.”

“Oh!” Suddenly it made sense to Gu Zhinan why both Cheng and Hong were present tonight. But he didn’t expect Cheng to have pulled strings with China Publishing.

Cheng Mengxi wasted no time and handed him a contract with the previously discussed terms. Gu Zhinan read it carefully, it involved money, after all.

The deal: 60% of the publishing revenue would be split with the Chinese Lit.Net. platform, while China Publishing would get 40%. Additionally, the publisher would gain adaptation rights, with Gu Zhinan and the platform sharing future revenue from those adaptations.

It was a generous contract by industry standards. But now that Gu Zhinan had started his own company and he planned to let Lai Jingming handle the future drama adaptation, it didn’t suit him. He had his own plans.

After ten focused minutes of reading, Gu Zhinan looked up. “I’d like to propose some changes.”

“Oh?” Hong raised his brows. He hadn’t expected Gu Zhinan to be dissatisfied with such favorable terms. Clearly, this young man had ambition. Cheng Mengxi also looked surprised. She had spent days negotiating this.

Gu Zhinan smiled earnestly. “I want to change the split, 25% to me, 25% to the web platform, 30% to Huaguo Publishing. The remaining 20% should go to a charity fund. And I won’t be selling the adaptation rights, I’ll keep those myself.”

All three stared at him, stunned.

“You’re not joking?” Cheng Mengxi asked cautiously.

“I’m serious,” Gu Zhinan replied.

“What do you think, Old Master Hong?”

Hong An squinted at him. He hadn’t expected such integrity from this young man. “China Publishing is under the Ministry of Education. Since they sent me, I can decide. I agree. But why do you want the adaptation rights? Planning to adapt it yourself?”

Smart old man! Gu Zhinan nodded. “Not now, but maybe later. I want to direct the adaptation myself. That chubby guy next to me, he’s a director.”

He pointed at Lai Jingming, who looked up and smiled sheepishly, unaware of Hong An’s identity despite drinking with him all evening.

“And you, Editor Cheng?” Hong An asked. “It’s hosted on your platform, after all.”

Cheng Mengxi looked at Gu Zhinan deeply, clearly not expecting such a proposal. After a moment, she nodded. “You’re our author. I’ll support you.”

“Great. Let’s redo the contract, only print rights, revenue split as I proposed. The fund will be used to support orphanages and struggling villages, and donations will be made jointly under the names of the platform and the publisher.”

“You’ve got a good heart. I misjudged you,” Hong An said with a laugh. “Leave it to us, we’ll set up the ‘Sword and Fairy Fund.’ No tricks, all transparent.”

“Perfect,” Gu Zhinan smiled. They shook hands.

Cheng Mengxi went to the café’s printer and printed three copies of the revised contract. Everyone signed. Hong An left satisfied. The publisher would lose some money, but the goodwill from donating 20% of profits would more than make up for it.

“Didn’t expect you to be so charitable,” Lai Jingming said as they walked. He trailed behind while Cheng Mengxi and Gu Zhinan walked side by side.

She was about the same height as Xia An’ge, and with heels on, she was nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Gu Zhinan looked at the warm streetlights and smiled. “It’s not charity. It’s just my conscience, I’m staying true to myself.”

“Your ‘true self,’ huh?” Cheng Mengxi smirked. “Well, now that the publishing’s settled, the first run will be 100,000 copies. Let’s see how it sells.”

“100,000?!” Gu Zhinan gaped. What if it didn’t sell?

“Too few for you?” Cheng Mengxi grinned mischievously. “It’s just a test run. Don’t worry, it’ll be reprinted for sure.”

“No, no, I think it’s great,” he said quickly. He just didn’t want to lose money, he was still in debt!

“Anyway, you’re staying here tonight. I hear Young Master Gu has a big TV performance tomorrow, debuting a new song? So much more than just a novelist, huh?”

Sis, are you sure Du Xiaoyan didn’t learn her sass from you? Other than looks, she’s nothing like you!

“I’ve been updating, alright? No hiatus these two days.”

“I see. And the day after that? Who dares rush updates from Young Master Gu, right?” Cheng Mengxi adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and eyed him.

“I’ll keep it going, no breaks!” he promised.

“Good. You said it. If you stop, I’ll deduct your royalties!”

What the?! Gu Zhinan felt a chill run through him. What kind of game was this?

But Cheng Mengxi gave him no chance to respond. She sauntered off to a parked BMW, probably a matching one with her sister’s G-Wagon.

Rolling down the window, she shot him a playful wink. “Goodbye, Young Master Gu. Don’t forget what you promised!”

“…Heh.” As she drove away, Lai Jingming caught up and tried to put his arm around Gu Zhinan’s shoulders, only to be brushed off.

“Wow, Gu Zhinan,” Lai grinned. “A G-Wagon girl, a BMW queen, a gorgeous landlady… Anyone else I should know about? Tell me, I’ll help screen them for you!”

“Fatty.”

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you eat more vegetables earlier?” Gu Zhinan looked at him and spoke slowly. Lai Jingming didn’t get it at first. But once they reached the hotel, it clicked and he shouted in outrage, “You damn scoundrel!”

Gu Zhinan burst out laughing at the sight of his sulking face.