The jet's fifteen-thousand-mile journey had only taken so long, yet Chen Yuanguang felt as though he had lived through several centuries.
There was nothing particularly novel about America itself, but this trip back to China meant he was about to be formally pushed onto the stage of the times.
Ever since the day he received his ticket to the future, he had known that this day would come sooner or later, that he would eventually become the focus of public opinion and the center of the storm. He just had not expected it to arrive so quickly.
For that very reason, as an online novelist, he truly looked forward to seeing his work brought to the big screen.
If Kuala Lumpur Affairs had been copied from a future work, he would not have been this excited. It was precisely because it was his own work, the fruit of his own labor.
"Welcome. You must be Mr. Chen. You truly are a fine-looking talent." Jenny was exceptionally polite to Chen Yuanguang and Lin Jia.
The moment Lin Jia saw her manner, she guessed that Jenny had watched the advance screening and was very satisfied with the film's quality.
These so-called internal screenings were just that in name. As the producer, Goose Factory's senior executives had certainly watched it first.
Lin Jia reached out on Chen Yuanguang's behalf. "Jenny, long time no see."
Jenny's expression did not change, and she maintained her professional fake smile. "Ms. Lin, let me congratulate us in advance on a resounding success for this collaboration."
The eight-million investment budget for Kuala Lumpur Affairs had been invested through a film investment company under Lin Jia's family group. They had then signed a separate profit-sharing agreement with Chen Yuanguang: Chen Yuanguang would receive 80 percent of the investment returns, while the film company would receive 20 percent.
Simply put, after revenue minus costs, Chen Yuanguang would take 80 percent of whatever they earned. If it lost money, he would not bear any losses. It had something of a betting agreement feel to it.
Jenny did not know this. She assumed Lin Jia had taken the greater share of the benefits, so she wanted to get close to Chen Yuanguang and drive a wedge between them.
Having watched the advance screening and considered Chen Yuanguang's academic achievements, Jenny had a feeling that he was about to soar.
Goose Factory did not mind investing early and securing the subsequent IP rights to Kuala Lumpur Affairs.
"I believe in Yuanguang, and I also believe in Goose Factory's capabilities." Lin Jia wore the same professional fake smile.
A great many people had come. The small screening room, which seated a hundred, was full.
Ever since Wolf Warrior 2, traffic-star movies had been in decline. Last year's Dying to Survive had proven the point even further.
Traffic-star movies could only make money; they could not make serious money or become massive hits.
If you gained the box office from a traffic star's fanbase, you were bound to lose the vast majority of ordinary viewers.
Goose Factory had high hopes for Kuala Lumpur Affairs and wanted it to become a hit on the level of Detective Chinatown, so it had not used traffic stars as the leads. The cast was made up entirely of capable actors.
The only traffic star they had used was for the character modeled after Chen Yuanguang.
Chen Yuanguang ran through his memories but could not match the man's face to a name. It was not until the cast list appeared that he finally connected them. "So it's him."
After the film ended, the room fell silent for several seconds before applause began to rise. The movie was excellent, and its combination with science fiction was especially well done.
There were not many science fiction elements, but their integration with the detective story was brilliant. The plausibility, logic, and plot were all pushed to the limit.
"Goose Factory certainly went all out. They actually hired Guo Fan to direct Kuala Lumpur Affairs," Chen Yuanguang said with feeling.
The Wandering Earth had been released at the start of that year and grossed 4.6 billion. That film had not only made Wolf Warrior legendary; director Guo Fan had also become the industry's representative figure for science fiction films.
Back when he had still been an unsuccessful online novelist, he had been lucky enough to slip into a great god group. The writers in that group often popped up to discuss how some big shot's work had been adapted for film or television.
They would chat in the group about which director and which actors were involved. If the producer had invested heavily, the other writers would congratulate that author, saying their hard work had not gone to waste.
Later, everyone gradually stopped talking about such things because they realized that the bigger the investment, the more the producers liked changing the original work—and changing it beyond recognition.
Back then, Chen Yuanguang had envied those Great Gods whose works could be adapted. He had thought that, as someone who wrote Tokyo romance novels, he would never have an adaptation opportunity in his life.
Yet unexpectedly, not only had his work been adapted, it had received a major investment, and the original had barely been changed.
Lin Jia said, "Goose Factory has the resources. They have invested in many films before and handled the distribution of many themselves. With Goose Factory as their backing, they have more than enough ability to hire a top-tier cast.
"I expected them to hire Guo Fan too. When Goose Factory signed him, The Wandering Earth had not even been released yet.
"And for Guo Fan, The Wandering Earth was his first successful work. He needed more projects to prove his box-office pull. Kuala Lumpur Affairs had a good original novel, a good script, and Goose Factory behind it. It would have been perfectly natural for him to take it."
When The Wandering Earth was released, they had been in America and had waited until April to see it in a theater. After the movie ended, even the foreigners had applauded.
Even viewed from the perspective of the future, aside from the visuals, the film was first-rate in every respect. Its spiritual core was even more exceptional.
Chen Yuanguang asked, "I noticed he barely changed my original work. Was it because you brought it up with Goose Factory?"
Lin Jia shook her head. "How could I possibly restrict Goose Factory and demand that they follow the original work? That would be too difficult.
"I guess it was because science fiction detective stories have especially high requirements for logic. If he changed it, he would have had to tear everything down and start over, so he simply did not change much.
"He seems to have only added some emotional development between the young man and his father, and planted hints about Detective Li's past. He is probably setting up sequels and spin-offs."
"Later, you should have to cooperate with interviews and roadshows in Shanghai. You will have plenty of chances to talk with Director Guo then. You can ask him what he was thinking."
This kind of background material passed censorship especially quickly when it was not set in China.
While the film was undergoing censorship approval, Goose Factory's marketing campaign had already begun.
"A Jiang University undergraduate published two Nature papers within a year—and even won this award."
"Publishing top journals, writing novels, making movies—this undergraduate is a master of all trades!"
"The legendary life of a post-95 genius!"
Once Goose Factory set its publicity machine in motion, Chen Yuanguang's name spread across China in barely a week.
It was easy to verify whether the Nature publications were real. The Science Fiction New Star Award also had a clear paper trail, and the film adaptation was about to be released. A mountain of evidence proved that the reports were true.
Public opinion ignited at once.
As Jiang University's most famous alumnus, Lei Jun reposted Jiang University's official Weibo post about the matter and commented:
"We're both twenty years old, so why is my twenties so vastly different from someone else's? Congratulations, junior. I've already bought tickets for Kuala Lumpur Affairs, and I'll be seeing it this weekend!"
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