196: Business trip abroad

"Aivi, let me go!"

George struggled to pry Aivi's hand off. Seeing George's exertion, Aivi decided to toy with him; he shoved George forward, sending him tumbling into the small pool beside the bar.

Now he was soaked to the bone, his head spinning, surrounded by sounds of mockery, with Aivi's laughter being the loudest of all.

George clenched his fists. He desperately wanted to punch Aivi, but he knew he couldn't win. Aivi was his neighbor, and he didn't have the money to move away, so he had to endure it.

Just as George was struggling to suppress his anger, his phone rang in his pocket.

George pulled out his phone and saw an unfamiliar number. It was already past 9 PM, and he had no idea who could be calling him.

George climbed out of the small pool, walked out of the bar, and answered the phone.

After Lu Qingyu looked into George, he immediately had a Staff Member contact him to sign a contract. Although the Staff Member had already clocked out, the boss offered triple overtime pay, and making a single phone call wasn't exactly a hassle.

"Hello, may I speak to Mr. George?"

A gentle female voice came from the other end of the line. George had no idea why she was calling.

"Speaking. Who is this?"

Staff Member: "Hello, Mr. George. I am a Staff Member from Magic Paradise. Your currently serializing novel, 'A Song of Ice and Fire,' has been selected by our company. We are interested in adapting it for the screen. Would you be willing to sell the copyright?"

George gripped his phone and deliberately stepped a few paces away from the bar, wanting to hear the voice on the other end more clearly.

He hadn't misheard, had he? The person on the other end said they wanted to buy the copyright to his novel!

A company actually wanted to turn his work into a film or television series!

Good heavens, having one's work adapted was the dream of every writer.

Just a moment ago, he was still a down-and-out writer being insulted by his neighbor for being a failure, and the next moment, his life's ambition seemed about to come true.

George stammered, "I—I—I am."

Staff Member: "That's wonderful. Would you have time tomorrow? You could come to our company at 10:00 AM to discuss the copyright details."

George agreed without even pausing to investigate what kind of company Magic Paradise was.

This was his only chance. Whether it was real or fake, he had to try. Besides, he didn't think he was worth scamming.

Scammers should target rich people; he was so poor that there was no money to be scammed out of him.

"I can go."

Staff Member: "I will send our company address to your phone shortly. Please confirm receipt and arrive on time tomorrow."

After hanging up, George took a deep breath. He felt a bit dazed, but his heart was filled with immense joy.

He felt like he was finally going to make it. Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, rushed back into the bar, and punched Aivi right in the face.

Aivi, who had been drinking with others, was caught completely off guard. He took the punch to the face and was stunned when he saw that the person who hit him was George.

He had actually been hit by a coward!

Just as Aivi stood up to hit him back, George's long-suppressed anger suddenly erupted.

He pointed at Aivi's nose and vented all of his long-standing grievances.

"Aivi, you muscle-bound idiot with no brain! Do you think you're so great? You're actually just a dog. Are you curious how I know you're a dog? Because I've seen that rich young master you serve slap you across the face. Why don't you talk about that?"

"And besides bullying me and those weaker than you, what else can you do? Your wife brings many different men home when you're not around. You didn't know that, did you? You poor, pathetic loser."

The other people in the bar were shocked by George's crazy outburst.

"Good heavens, he actually dared to provoke Aivi."

"Is George crazy?"

"I think he doesn't want to live anymore."

George felt incredibly happy now. He felt completely exhilarated after saying all those things.

But this time, it was Aivi's turn to be furious. What George said had wounded his pride. He lunged at George to beat him up, but George dodged.

Knowing he couldn't win a fight against Aivi, George bolted away in a flash.

This behavior infuriated Aivi so much that he nearly smashed up the bar.

"George, don't let me catch you, or I will tear you apart!"

George was too excited to sleep that night. After returning home, he specifically looked up Magic Paradise and was astonished to discover that the science fiction movie he had loved watching recently was actually produced by this company.

The next morning, he arrived at the company early to wait. When the Staff Member saw George arrive so early, they poured him a cup of coffee and led him to the conference room to wait.

Their scheduled time was 10:00 AM, and Lu Qingyu's plane wouldn't land until 9:00 AM.

This time, he was again traveling on Moray's private jet. The jet was fully equipped with all kinds of facilities. Lu Qingyu had sat for nine hours, but instead of feeling tired, he felt refreshed and energized.

He had even adjusted his jet lag on the plane. After getting off, he went to meet George at Magic Paradise, full of energy.

At 9:30, Lu Qingyu arrived at the Magic Paradise company. He pushed open the door to the conference room, where George had already been waiting for half an hour.

Unlike what Lu Qingyu had imagined, George was quite tall and sturdy. If he weren't a writer, he would certainly be well-suited to be a bodyguard.

Seeing the person enter the conference room, George stood up immediately. Lu Qingyu greeted him first:

"Hello, Mr. George. I am the CEO of Magic Paradise. You can call me Lu."

George immediately went to shake Lu Qingyu's hand.

"Hello, Lu. I'm George."

Lu Qingyu smiled, gestured for George to sit down, and instructed his secretary to bring in two cups of coffee.

After the secretary delivered the coffee and closed the conference room door, Lu Qingyu began to discuss the copyright matter with George.

"Mr. George, I believe my Staff Member has already spoken to you. We want to purchase the copyright to your novel, 'A Song of Ice and Fire'."

Lu Qingyu handed George the document that the Staff Member had just given him.

"This is the contract. We are willing to pay 3 million USD to buy out the film and television adaptation rights."

When George heard "3 million USD," his eyes widened. He had never seen so much money in his entire life.

However, he was also a bit worried because his novel wasn't finished yet.

George said somewhat nervously, "Lu, I don't know if you've noticed, but my novel hasn't been finished yet."

Lu Qingyu: "I know. We are already aware of that. That is why we hope this novel can be completed within two years. We want to film this novel in seven seasons. If you can finish it within two years, we are also willing to provide you with a bonus of 100,000 USD per episode."

George was so shocked he couldn't speak; he even suspected that the person opposite him might be crazy.