Kang Mucheng sat in his huge office, staring out the window in a daze.
The brilliant sunset glow shines in through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, outlining a rare and magnificent sunset in the city center.
Jinwu is a company with an history of more than 30 years. Since President Kang started the business from scratch, by the time it was passed on to him, it had already occupied half of the publishing industry and had established countless connections in the literary and art circles.
But times are changing, and if old companies don't keep up with the changes, they will inevitably be abandoned.
In recent years, it has become a trend to adapt literary works into movies and TV shows, and there are many successful works both at home and abroad. Although publishers can make a lot of profit from it, and some ruthless companies even swallow all the copyright fees, for Kang Mucheng, this is obviously not enough.
The publishing company holds the copyright, so why should they eat the meat while we drink the soup
Investing is of course the easiest, and no one would mind having too much money. However, people like Kang Mucheng would obviously not be satisfied with just being an investor.
Jinwu is a group company with several major departments, including the traditional publishing department, publicity and marketing department, copyright management department and the newly established film and television media department. Each department has one or more subsidiaries.
The Film and Television Media Department is directly managed by Kang Mucheng. He has invested in several TV dramas and web series. Some of them made money, some lost money, and some were just mediocre. He has gained some experience.
After the situation was opened up, he was no longer satisfied with small-scale operations and was always thinking about doing something big.
Having dinner with Qiu Lin from Brilliant Media was not about food, of course. It was about getting in touch with each other and seeing if there was any opportunity for cooperation.
This is certainly a good invitation, but the problem is that Kang Mucheng doesn't want Jian Jing to worry about it.
Like her mother, she is the kind of person who doesn’t have artistic talent but can appreciate and discover the talents of others.
Among those who were signed, Jian Jing was the most popular.
On the one hand, it was because she was pure enough. Others were smarter and more sophisticated than her, but she was like a blank sheet of paper, beautiful and fragile, and her parents had both passed away. She had suffered a tragic fate, so he could not help but feel sympathy and pity for her. On the other hand, her brilliance made him ambitious.
The greatest achievement of ’s mother, President Kang, in her decades of career was that she went against all odds and signed a young man who no one was optimistic about.
Twenty years later, this person won the Nobel Prize.
We are still good friends today and have always cooperated without any conflicts.
Kang Mucheng also has similar expectations for Jian Jing.
The relationship between them is like that between a gardener and the flowers he cultivates; what amazes the world is the beauty of the blooming flowers, but the sense of accomplishment belongs to the people who silently water the flowers behind the scenes.
But since she was rescued from suicide half a year ago, many things have changed unconsciously.
I try hard to adapt, but I also have some concerns.
Kang Mucheng held the Montblanc fountain pen in his hand, and it took him a long time to come to his senses and put the cap on.
"Go and order some food that girls like to eat for me and have it delivered within 20 minutes." He said to the secretary.
The Jinwu Building is located in the center of CBD. There are many well-known stores nearby, but the queues are always very long and whether you can buy something depends on luck.
But the secretary immediately agreed: "Okay, Mr. Kang."
Kang Mucheng didn't care how she did it. Twenty minutes later, he had placed two bags full of fresh food on the passenger seat.
I made a call, but the customer service said the call could not be connected.
Kang Mucheng frowned and stepped on the accelerator.
Jian Jing's home has an upgraded security system, which requires fingerprint + face recognition + password to enter. If a second person is detected to be present, the mode will be upgraded immediately.
Kang Mucheng entered his personal information and successfully opened the door and went in.
He opened his mouth to call her name, but out of the terrible worry that seemed to be there in his heart, his mouth closed tightly again.
There was no one in the living room, no one in the kitchen, and no one in the study.
Kang Mucheng's heart began to beat heavily, as if a drum hammer was hitting his chest, and it actually hurt a little.
He calmed himself and carefully opened the bedroom door.
The first thing I saw was the mobile phone on the bed.
He paused slightly, not catching any unusual sound, and then walked over to get his phone.
The moment his fingers touched the phone, he felt a chill on his back and instinctively dodged to the side. However, a slender, white leg swept over as if it had foreseen it, causing him to stumble.
Kang Mucheng half-hid and half-rolled down to sit on the wool carpet beside the bed in an unprecedented awkward position. His elbow hit the bedside table with a dull thud, which was extremely painful.
Without waiting for 嫿 to climb up on the bed, he pressed his knees into 嫿's abdomen and pinned 嫿 to the ground.
Tick-tick, drops of cold water fell on his face.
Kang Mucheng raised his head and met Jian Jing's extremely shocked expression.
And the surprise on his face was definitely no less than hers.
The air froze, and the strange and awkward silence was like an invisible rope, strangling the throat.
Jian Jing was full of curiosity. She couldn't understand why Kang Mucheng secretly appeared in her bedroom at this time. What was his purpose? He knew that she had returned home, so he couldn't be here to steal things.
Once the thoughts are released, they cannot be taken back, and the movement will inevitably become stagnant.
Kang Mucheng was left with only embarrassment.
"You," he said, not daring to move, his tone hesitant, "Can you get up first?"
Jian Jing let go of her hand and went straight to the point: "Boss Kang, what were you doing sneaking into my room?"
Kang Mucheng stood up and tried his best to remain calm: "If you don't answer the phone, I'll come and check it out."
"Why did you come over to check on me when I didn't answer the phone?" She became even more suspicious.
Kang Mucheng realized the loophole and quickly said, "I brought you some food. It's already past five o'clock. Let's go to bed now. Won't you be hungry tonight?"
turned around and went out, taking out the snacks from the thermos bag: "Eat something before going to sleep."
Jian Jing didn't want to sleep, but she just perfunctorily said, "You just come here to bring me food?"
"I didn't make myself clear before." Kang Mucheng sighed and said seriously, "Jingjing, I don't want you to worry about these things. You just need to focus on your creation."
He knew that Jian Jing introduced Qiu Lin to him because she wanted to help him. However, the reason why writers need agents is to save the energy of dealing with the secular world.
The mundane world wears away one's ambitions. I have seen too many lost writers and witnessed their spirits being eroded by the secular world bit by bit, until they could no longer write as well as they did in the past.
Maintaining the original intention is easier said than done.
Kang Mucheng cannot guarantee that everyone can do this, but he hopes Jian Jing can do it.
"Jingjing, my value lies in solving all your problems in reality, so that you can persist in creating the works you like." He looked into her eyes, "Do you believe me?"
"Of course," she replied.
"Then we have reached a consensus." Kang Mucheng breathed a sigh of relief and said, "From now on, you don't need to spend time and energy getting to know those people. Just leave it to me."
Jian Jing was puzzled: "Why else would I ask you to go to that meal?"
Kang Mucheng looked at her.
She also looked at him.
After a long while, Kang Mucheng slowly spoke: "Why did she invite you to dinner?"
I originally thought that she had this meal because she happened to meet a famous agent on the set and tried to get to know him, but now listening to her voice, it seems that is not the case.
Jian Jing: “…” She let the cat out of the bag.
"Well, I helped Jiang Baiyan and she returned the favor." She said lightly.
Kang Mucheng was suspicious: "Help for what? Jiang Baiyan is such a smart man, why would he need your help?"
"That's true," she shrugged.
Kang Mucheng frowned: "Quietly."
"Ok," Jian Jing made a gesture of surrender, "I just met a crazy fan, and I helped him find the person and sent him to the police station. It's that simple."
Kang Mucheng saw that she didn't seem to be lying, so he relaxed a little, thinking that she was not being set up. However, he soon realized that something was wrong: "What a coincidence?"
Jian Jing: "There is no coincidence in the world."
He was half-believing and half-doubting, but couldn't help but say, "It's too dangerous. If the fans of a celebrity go crazy, you don't know what they might do. This is the negligence of their agency. You shouldn't take the risk."
"She was just an ordinary girl, and she was subdued in an instant." Jian Jing used an example to convince him, "After all, Mr. Kang, you are so tall that I just couldn't..."
Kang Mucheng's face froze.
Seeing that his face was not good, Jian Jing could not help but feel uneasy: "Just now, did I...did you feel uncomfortable somewhere?"
"I'm fine." He interrupted her quickly.
But Jian Jing's extraordinary observation skills noticed that he moved his elbow slightly.
"Mr. Kang." She became persistent, "Show me your hands."
He waved his hand: "I'm fine."
"I know how much strength I use." Jian Jing rummaged through the boxes and found the home medical kit. "Let me see your hand."
Kang Mucheng stood there for a while, and finally retreated, took off his suit jacket, unbuttoned the cufflinks of his shirt, and rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.
There is an obvious bruise about one-third of the way down from the joint.
Jian Jing took out the plaster and carefully applied it to his wound, saying guiltily, "I don't know who it is, I used a little force, does it hurt?"
"I don't blame you." Kang Mucheng said calmly, "I came here without saying hello."
was a little curious: "When did you learn this?"
"I've been learning it, for a few months now." Jian Jing's answer was half true and half false.
Kang Mucheng was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."
There is something hidden from her. Jian Jing's intuition told her so. She concentrated on thinking, but said: "Speaking of which, Jiang Baiyan's fan is quite scary. Being an idol is really a dangerous industry."
Without waiting for Kang Mucheng to teach her a lesson, she suddenly changed the subject: "The fan who sent me flowers at the beginning also looks alike."
She said, her eyes fixed firmly on his face.
Kang Mucheng's eyes flashed with worry, but he quickly replied, "I will definitely increase security for the next book signing. It's true that you usually mind your own business."
Avoided her temptation.
"Some crimes escalate slowly." Jian Jing said, "Before, he sent me flowers, but next time he may not show up at the book signing event. He might come to my house. Mr. Kang, you are worried about this, right?"
Kang Mucheng was startled and looked up at her in surprise.
Jian Jing said slowly: "Otherwise, why are you so anxious to come into my room?"
She said she was sleeping, so it was normal for her not to answer the phone. However, given Kang Mucheng's style, how could he go straight into her bedroom without knocking
Unless you think knocking is unnecessary, or knocking will alarm something.
"Your door is not closed." Kang Mucheng said calmly, "It will open as soon as I push it."
Jian Jing: "I turned it off."
"It's not closed tightly." He turned the tables and said, "Why, I didn't knock on the door, are you mad at me?"
refused to say.
Why
Jian Jing frowned.
"Okay, Qiulin, I'll meet you." Kang Mucheng seemed to be afraid of being questioned again, so he decided to leave. "You should take a rest. Remember to eat something before going to sleep."
He picked up his coat and walked away.