Chapter 15: Unexpected windfall during the live stream

"I myself am my own grandfather!"

"What a powerful logical loop; it circumvents all issues and points directly to the truth!"

"While this conclusion is impressive and convincing, is it really the truth?"

"This conclusion is flawless. I'm ready to kneel before him!"

"..."

In a corner of the broadcasting hall.

The interviewees who had previously been dissatisfied with Jiang Zhe could not help but be struck with wonder at this moment.

Fanatical smiles broke out on the faces of the dozen or so interviewees, and they were quick to applaud.

"This competitor has a limitless future. Perhaps I'll only ever be his substitute, only getting a chance to show my face when he's sick."

"Sigh, if he stays at the Television Station, we'll likely never have our day in the sun."

"I just saw Old Wang from the monitoring department heading to the conference room to report with an excited look on his face. He's gone several times now; I bet this show has already blown up!"

"Don't just bet on it; it really has blown up. The official live stream has already surpassed the 2 million mark. It's just a shame gifts can't be sent, otherwise his performance metrics would be sky-high. I'd estimate the TV viewership has probably surpassed 1 million as well."

"If only the person on that stage were me!"

...

Far away in an office at the Beijing University of Science and Technology.

All of Professor Feng's previous doubts were completely swept away.

"'I am my own grandfather.' Even in film and television, this concept could immediately become a blockbuster movie or hit series."

Just then, the phone on Professor Feng's desk rang.

He picked it up and saw it was an old classmate from the Kyoto Authors Association who was very well-connected both domestically and abroad.

Pressing the connect button, Professor Feng smiled curiously and said, "It's so late, Old Qian. Why are you calling me?"

A helpless and anxious voice came from the other side. "Old Feng, you're a physicist. I recently took a contract from Hollywood to write a sci-fi time travel script. The sci-fi scripts on the market right now are too homogenized, leading to inconsistent quality. Do you have any good ideas on your end?"

"Hmm?"

Old Feng looked intrigued.

Just as Jiang Zhe finished his explanation, this call came in.

"Better late than never. Right now, immediately, go watch the Su City local Television Station. You'll understand once you see it."

"Why watch a local station? What's there to see?"

At Old Feng's insistence, Old Qian skeptically turned on the TV and tuned it to Suzhou TV Station.

The moment he tuned in, he saw Jiang Zhe finishing his explanation of the second answer to the Grandfather Paradox.

...

Meanwhile, in a villa in Kyoto.

A veteran screenwriter in his fifties, wearing a suit, was in his living room watching Jiang Zhe's explanation of the paradox.

He was the 'Old Qian' Professor Feng had mentioned, Qian Youde.

He rewound the program and played it at double speed.

"Hmm, explaining the Grandfather Paradox? If even scientists can't solve it, how can a host from a small local station?"

Old Qian naturally didn't believe this young host could truly solve the Grandfather Paradox.

Driven by curiosity, he continued watching.

He shouldn't have watched it—the more he saw, the more he couldn't stop.

"Holy crap..."

Even as a seasoned veteran of the industry, Old Qian couldn't help but be shocked by Jiang Zhe's incredible logic.

"Living in the future 1980 rather than the past 1980."

"Quantum Delayed Choice can change past behavior in the here and now."

"Damn, the grandson actually became his own grandfather."

In the past, Old Qian would have likely scoffed at such claims.

The key was that Jiang Zhe had provided a concrete example to prove that the Grandfather Paradox wasn't unsolvable—it really could be resolved!

Other scientists and professors could only think of parallel worlds to solve the Grandfather Paradox.

Who would have thought that a substitute host for a tiny local station could solve a temporal paradox that had remained unsolved for years within a single-threaded timeline!

"Well, Old Qian?"

Seeing that Old Qian hadn't spoken for a long time, Professor Feng teased him playfully.

Old Qian snapped out of his shock. "Old Feng, these ideas of his are worth a fortune in the arts and entertainment world!"

Professor Feng said, "I don't understand those things. If you want to use his ideas, you'd better contact the station manager. Besides, these ideas are quite extraordinary; many people will want to copy them."

In this world, while ideas were worth a fortune, they were not protected by copyright.

"Once his program spreads, someone will definitely invite him to be a sci-fi screenwriter. By then, it'll be too late for you."

Hearing this, Old Qian began to tremble with excitement. "I understand. Once this is settled, I'll buy you a drink!"

With that, Old Qian took a deep breath. "Such ideas and creativity are exaggerated and heaven-defying for this world. However, this idea cannot be given to Hollywood. It must be produced by our own Xia Country, even if it costs a fortune!"

He then contacted people in the TV industry and found the phone number for the Su City Station Manager, Zhao Ming.

...

Meanwhile, in the leadership conference room.

Silence reigned as everyone was lost in the answer of being one's own grandfather.

Just then, Old Zhao's phone rang.

He looked at his phone and saw it was an unknown number.

Not having the habit of answering unknown calls, he hung up.

Old Zhao continued to immerse himself in the shocking answer of being his own grandfather.

"It feels so ethically wrong, yet so exciting!"

Beside him, Wang Guosheng's lips couldn't stop twitching. "This is a normal, logical hypothesis. You're so old, yet you're still like those youngsters, making everything sound suggestive."

Old Zhao gave a dry cough.

As luck would have it, that same number called again.

Just as Old Zhao was about to hang up, Wang Guosheng interrupted with a suggestion: "In case it's something important, just answer it."

"Fine."

Once connected, the magnetic voice of a middle-aged to elderly man immediately came through.

"Is this Station Manager Zhao?"

"It's me. Who is this?"

"I was recommended by Professor Feng. I belong to the Authors Association, and I would like to cooperate with your Television Station."

Old Zhao frowned. Good grief, it hadn't even been two minutes and he'd already been found by a writer friend of Kyoto's Professor Feng.

He quickly turned on the speakerphone so everyone present could hear.

"I see. What kind of cooperation do you have in mind?"

The person on the other end didn't waste time—time was money. He said bluntly, "I want to hire your station's host, Jiang Zhe, to write a script for me. I'll buy it at a high price. Given that he has no reputation yet, I'll offer the price for a first-tier script: 3 million RMB!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.

"Three million!" Wang Guosheng looked astonished. He had never seen three million in his life, except when taking out a mortgage for a house—and even then, the money wasn't his...

Xiao Shiyi and Wang Lin slapped each other; the pain told them it was real.

"Is this the chosen one? His first time on a show, and he's already being headhunted by the station's superiors, and now he's facing a 3 million script fee."

"I'm completely dumbfounded. It's only his first day as a host. I've been doing this for so long, why hasn't a big shot ever looked for me?"

The veteran hosts of other programs were all salivating with envy.

They could spend their entire lives struggling to earn 3 million, yet for Jiang Zhe's debut broadcast, 3 million was already in the bag.

Why was the gap between people so large!?

If they weren't so old, they really would have burst out crying.

The conference room was noisy for a moment before Old Zhao forced them to settle down.

Though Old Zhao was excited, his tone remained steady. "You should talk to him yourself. I can't make decisions for him. He'll be off the air in a bit."

Old Zhao then picked up Jiang Zhe's file from the desk. He intended to give the caller the number, but felt it was somewhat impolite and decided against it.

"If he's interested later, he will contact you."

"Please hurry. I estimate that once this program is widely broadcast, peers who make their living by plagiarism will take it. That would result in losses for many parties. Such creativity can definitely take our country's sci-fi film and television industry to the next level. I'm not exaggerating when I say that if this idea were in Hollywood, the other party would definitely offer even more!"

Hearing this, Old Zhao nodded in agreement.

It was true; their Television Station had indeed found a treasure.

New concepts, new thinking, everything new; it all came from a rejected host.

If pinching himself didn't hurt, Old Zhao would have felt like he was dreaming.

The other party was very sincere and was surely trying to contribute to the national sci-fi industry!

"I understand. The third question is starting; you might as well listen before hanging up."

"I'm already in front of the TV."

Just then, on the big screen.

Following the "Beep, beep, beep!" sound.

The third call was connected.

This time, the caller didn't give much of an introduction and asked the question directly.

"Hello, I just have one question: What is the Bootstrap Paradox? I've searched online for a long time and couldn't find it. Is it because I'm looking in the wrong places?"

Jiang Zhe was taken aback. The caller didn't ask about the Grandfather Paradox, but instead asked about the paradox he had mentioned in passing earlier.

To be safe, he searched through his mind and found that this world indeed did not have the [Bootstrap Paradox].

He could then answer with peace of mind: "That's a paradox I came up with myself, which I intended to explain later. Since someone has asked early, I can give a brief teaser."