Copyright Sold, Identity Exposed

Although An Puzhu's name sounds like it's from the Land of Kimchi, he is a true Huaguo native.

An is his surname.

Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum are the four gentlemen of Huaguo.

His parents also wished for An Puzhu to learn the simple yet strong spirit of bamboo.

Thus, they named him An Puzhu.

Generally speaking, ordinary copyright collaborations wouldn't require the involvement of An Puzhu, the head of the copyright department.

But Lin Chuan was different.

An Puzhu watched Lin Chuan, step by step, transform from a Bika Net Uploader into a Director whose films grossed over ten million.

In fact, when "Spoon Killer Demon" was featured on Bika Net's homepage recommendation, An Puzhu had played a part in praising it internally at the company.

Originally, An Puzhu saw the potential Lin Chuan displayed in "Spoon Killer Demon" and "Hide-and-Seek."

He thought about recruiting him early.

He hadn't expected Lin Chuan to rise so quickly.

Summer vacation hadn't even ended yet.

"Balloon" had taken the internet by storm. Now, opening Weibo, all you see are news about "Balloon."

From an unremarkable Bika Net user, to a famous Uploader, to a rookie Director whose opening weekend box office surpassed ten million.

Lin Chuan took just over a month.

When An Puzhu occasionally browsed his Moments, he could see friends posting their "Balloon" ticket stubs.

Watching "Balloon" seemed to have become an act of bravery.

On movie review sites, "Balloon's" rating once reached 8.7.

You have to understand, on movie review sites, horror films usually receive lower scores.

The fact that "Balloon" achieved such a high score of 8.7 was enough to prove its quality.

Oh, compared to "Balloon's" reputation and popularity, its box office was actually a bit low.

But it had buzz!

The online exclusive broadcast rights for "Balloon" had become a highly coveted prize.

Domestic video giants were all drooling over it.

"Hello!"

Seeing An Puzhu's polite demeanor, Lin Chuan naturally didn't stand on ceremony and got straight to the point:

"I'd like to know your company's offer to me."

An Puzhu smiled, "We at Bika Net are willing to offer five million for the exclusive domestic broadcast rights of 'Balloon'!"

Five million?

Before discussing cooperation with An Puzhu, Lin Chuan had naturally researched the market.

Five million could almost buy the exclusive broadcast rights for the hottest new anime of the month.

In other words, in Bika Net's eyes, "Balloon" was comparable to an anime like "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid."

This was already a very generous price.

But Lin Chuan still hesitated, feeling that the price could be pushed a little higher.

An Puzhu's negotiation with Lin Chuan for the copyright this time carried a hint of fangirling.

He was very curious to know what the Director who made "Balloon" looked like in real life.

Seeing Lin Chuan hesitate, An Puzhu took a small sip of his coffee.

He smiled, "Director Lin looks very young. You take really good care of yourself."

As the head of Bika Net's copyright department, An Puzhu had dealt with many Directors and writers.

Because he was the client, he felt more confident psychologically.

While Lin Chuan hesitated, he even had the leisure to crack a joke.

Lin Chuan nodded, "I guess. I wash my face every day and often use my roommate's body wash."

Halfway through last semester, Lin Chuan's body wash ran out.

To get revenge, Lin Chuan ended up using Ren Hang's body wash every day.

Roommate?

An Puzhu caught the keywords.

"You're still in university?" An Puzhu's expression was somewhat solemn.

Lin Chuan nodded, "I'll be a sophomore after the summer break."

"Pfft!" An Puzhu sprayed coffee from his mouth onto the table.

Lin Chuan was speechless. Fortunately, he was far from An Puzhu, or it would have splashed on him.

Moreover, Lin Chuan didn't understand why An Puzhu was so surprised.

Lin Chuan himself didn't look old!

An Puzhu's heart was filled with mixed emotions at this moment.

The moment he saw Lin Chuan, An Puzhu knew this was a young director.

In An Puzhu's understanding, Lin Chuan should have graduated from university not long ago.

But Lin Chuan said he was only a sophomore.

This immediately shattered An Puzhu's psychological defenses; his previous psychological advantage vanished without a trace.

A director who made Balloon before the age of twenty, and a director who made Balloon in his twenties, were entirely different.

An Puzhu made a decisive choice, "We at Bika Net are willing to pay eight million to acquire the online exclusive broadcasting rights for Balloon.

We don't want anything else; we just want to befriend Director Lin!"

Lin Chuan's psychological price was six million, and An Puzhu's offer of 8 million was actually a bit of a premium.

But Lin Chuan naturally wouldn't refuse.

At this moment, Lin Chuan inexplicably recalled a meme from his previous life and raised his coffee cup:

"Alright, then, cheers to our friendship~"

"Cheers!"

After seeing An Puzhu off, Lin Chuan welcomed another person who wanted to discuss copyrights with him.

This person was the head of Penguin Music, who wanted to discuss the copyright matters of Love Confession Balloon with Lin Chuan.

Firstly, Lin Chuan never intended to make money from Love Confession Balloon; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent it out on Weibo for free.

Secondly, Bika Net's expenditure of eight million for the online exclusive broadcasting rights of Balloon gave Lin Chuan confidence.

Lin Chuan was not short of money now, so he naturally wouldn't easily back down.

In the end, Lin Chuan reached an agreement with Penguin Music with a 70/30 revenue split.

Afternoon.

Jianghai City, Lotus Residential Area, Building D8, Unit 403.

In the living room, Lin Chuan was installing a television.

With the eight million from Bika Net's copyright purchase, plus the revenue-sharing agreement with Penguin Music, Lin Chuan no longer had to worry about the production funds for his next film.

All the old appliances at home had been replaced by Lin Chuan with the latest models.

Originally, Lin Chuan wanted to buy a new house for his parents, but they refused, citing that they had lived in the old house for too long.

His parents' reason was very valid.

Lin Chuan thought about it again; including the box office share from Balloon, Lin Chuan would have nearly thirty million in income.

The estimated cost for the next film was five million.

If he lost money making the film, he would still have over twenty million left.

He would wait until the next film was released before preparing to buy a new house.

He would improve his family's quality of life first.

If the box office was a huge success, he would go all out and buy his parents a large villa!

After the television was installed.

Lin Chuan sat on the sofa and turned on the TV.

Jianghai City Television was broadcasting Ren Hang's starring Golden Warrior.

At this time, Golden Warrior had only been on television for a short while.

Its viewership rating had already surpassed 4%, breaking the viewership record for a Tokusatsu Drama.

It was estimated that breaking 6% was only a matter of time.

"Golden Warrior, combine!"

Watching Ren Hang, who was goofy and funny in daily life, earnestly deliver chuunibyo lines on TV.

It had to be said, it was quite interesting.

Lin Chuan noticed that terms related to Golden Warrior were also in the top ten of Weibo's trending searches.

Many "big kids" came to watch Golden Warrior under the guise of reminiscing about their childhood.

Not to mention the little kids.

This morning, Lin Chuan even saw the neighbor's child pestering his parents, insisting on buying a set of Golden Warrior armor.

Lin Chuan wouldn't tell him.

That a set of Golden Warrior armor was in his own closet.

This was a special gift commissioned by the Director of the Golden Warrior crew, who, upon learning of Lin Chuan's particular fondness for Golden Warrior, had asked Ren Hang to give it to Lin Chuan.

A month later, Balloon was taken off the big screen.

The total box office reached 80.79 million.

At the same time, Balloon officially landed on Bika Net.

It also coincidentally landed on Bika Net's homepage recommendation.

The first day's viewership reached five million.

Although opinions on Balloon were mixed online.

Those who liked horror movies, liked it a lot.

Ordinary viewers attracted by the Love Confession Balloon, on the other hand, avoided it like the plague.

However, Balloon still piqued everyone's curiosity.

Everyone wanted to know what the plot of this movie, which was so popular online, actually was.

After all, while some people complained that Balloon was scary, no one complained that its plot was bad.

It was better to spend money to become a VIP member and watch it on a computer, phone, or tablet.

For most movies, the audio-visual effects on a phone or tablet were far inferior to those in a cinema.

Some 3D blockbusters could only deliver that soul-stirring effect in a cinema.

Without immersive audio-visual effects, without the atmosphere of a large theater.

These were the shortcomings of Bika Net.

However, for Balloon, these shortcomings unexpectedly became advantages.

No immersive audio-visual effects.

That's exactly what I wanted! Do you know how scary immersive audio-visual effects are in a cinema?

I was worried that Head Balloon would stick to my face!

No atmosphere?

That's great.

The atmosphere in the cinema was too oppressive; my friend didn't even dare to cry!

Soon, the first batch of "victims" arrived in the comment section.

"It's too scary. I don't know why I felt compelled to keep watching, and only after finishing did I realize how terrifying it was!"

"I suddenly understand why people online wet themselves from fright watching Balloon, but my bladder is about to burst, and I don't dare go to the toilet, what should I do?"

"Luckily, I watched it on my phone and tablet together. I put Balloon on the tablet and Golden Warrior on my phone! When it got scary, I just slammed the tablet shut!"

Bika Net not only bought the first-run broadcasting rights for Balloon but also acquired the recently popular Golden Warrior for its website.

Many netizens felt a sense of trust in Golden Warrior, their childhood hero.

They were reassured that this childhood hero would jump out and protect them when they were in danger.

"Hahaha, me too."

"Me too!"

The comment section exploded with people watching Golden Warrior while watching Balloon.

They posted videos or pictures in the comments.

Some watched on their computers, some on their phones, and some on their tablets.

In many of the recordings, they also captured the decoration and surrounding environment of their bedrooms.

Some netizens' homes were luxuriously decorated, indicating wealth.

Others looked like ordinary homes, but they were tidy and clean.

Some people even filmed their workstations.

These pictures gave a very relatable feeling.

It felt like visiting a stranger's house through a picture, watching horror movies together online.

However, it wasn't long before someone noticed something was off.

"Does anyone else feel like the Golden Warrior looks strangely familiar?"

"Holy crap, I thought I was the only one who felt that!"

"You're not alone, upstairs neighbor."

"Damn it, isn't this the actor from the Spoon Killer Demon?"

As soon as this was said, the audience was stunned.

"No way, the two roles are quite different, after all."

"I remember the actor playing the Spoon Killer Demon being a head taller than the Golden Warrior!"

"No, they actually do look quite alike!"

In the comments section, someone put pictures of the Spoon Killer Demon and the Golden Warrior side-by-side.

After careful comparison and identification, the netizens had solved the case.

These two were the same person!