"Mr. Fang, are you in college?"
Li Jie took a small sip of her coffee, her expression curious.
Fang Yi replied with a smile, "Just graduated high school."
At this point, Yang Zhen was already completely immersed in the manuscript. The Ghost Blows Out the Light—with The Ancient City of Jingjue and Longling Labyrinth alone—already spanned hundreds of thousands of words. Even if Yang Zhen could skim with lightning speed, there was no way he could finish them all quickly, not to mention there were six more volumes' worth of outlines.
With no smartphones or tablets around, the two others could only pass the time by chatting.
"Have you filled out your university preferences yet? If you're coming to Shanghai, you might consider joining us at Under the Banyan Tree as a part-timer," Li Jie offered.
"Ah, what a pity. I've already chosen Jinan University," Fang Yi said, chuckling.
In the year 2000, college applications worked very differently than in later years. Instead of waiting for the gaokao scores to come out before submitting their university choices like people do now, students had to fill in their preferences before the exams.
Pretty wild, right?
But this system had its flaws. Say a student didn't think they'd do too well, so they played it safe and applied to a second-tier university. But when the gaokao rolled around, they aced it and got a score high enough for a top-tier school.
So now what?
Either bite the bullet and go to a lower-ranked school, or take another year to repeat the exam.
Total headache.
That's why, by 2003, many provinces began changing the system—students could wait for their scores before choosing where to apply, just like in the future.
In his past life, Fang Yi had experienced this. His practice scores had always hovered around the second-tier cutoff, but he'd overperformed during the gaokao and actually made it into first-tier territory.
Luckily, his first-choice school had been a first-tier university.
And now, reborn with a memory upgrade (courtesy of his mysterious golden finger), he'd listed Jinan University as his top pick, and Donghua University as his second.
As for third and fourth? He didn't even bother filling them in.
If his score was good enough, Jinan University would admit him straight away.
He still remembered being in the exam hall, confused and struggling with the decision—Jinan University or Donghua University?
Looking back now, what a waste of energy.
After chatting a bit, Li Jie casually brought the conversation back to Ghost Blows Out the Light.
"Mr. Fang, have you actually been to the Ancient City of Jingjue?"
"Of course I have," Fang Yi said matter-of-factly.
"…Really?"
Li Jie narrowed her eyes, studying him with suspicion.
But this time, Fang Yi wasn't pulling her leg. He had been to the site of the ancient city in his previous life—though it looked nothing like how it was described in the novel.
"You're such a mystery. I never know when you're telling the truth," Li Jie sighed, shaking her head.
Fang Yi grinned. "Isn't that what makes me fun?"
Li Jie blinked, then chuckled. "You've got a point."
Just then—
"Whew!"
Yang Zhen let out a long breath and slowly set the manuscript down.
With hundreds of thousands of words in the two completed volumes, plus detailed outlines for six more, there was no way he could go through every word in one sitting. He'd skimmed through the novels, focusing on the highlights, but he'd read the outlines more carefully.
As the chief editor of a publishing house, he might not be the best writer, but his eye for talent was razor sharp.
After going through everything, he already had a pretty solid judgment.
Now came the hard part—negotiating the price.
"Mr. Fang," he said, sitting up straighter, "let's talk specifics, shall we?"
"Sure," Fang Yi nodded, then got straight to the point. "I'm not interested in revenue splits. I want a one-time buyout."
"A buyout?"
Yang Zhen raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. But he didn't hesitate. "That's fine. What kind of price are you thinking?"
From a publisher's perspective, a full buyout was actually better than a royalty deal—especially for a potential bestseller. It meant years—maybe decades—of profits with no strings attached.
So of course Yang Zhen was on board.
Fang Yi tapped his finger lightly against the table, thought for a moment, and said, "1.8 million."
"Mr. Fang, that's… impossible."
Yang Zhen chuckled bitterly and shook his head. "The rate I had in mind was 100 yuan per thousand characters—that's already on the high end for this industry."
He didn't even blink at the 1.8 million price tag.
This was negotiation, after all—open high, settle low.
Fang Yi's opening price was astronomical, and Yang Zhen immediately countered with a modest, "100 per thousand characters."
The manuscript totaled around 2.3 million characters. At 100 yuan per thousand, that came out to about 230,000 yuan.
And truth be told, Yang Zhen wasn't lowballing him—100 per thousand characters was very generous for the time.
But Fang Yi just smiled. "Editor Yang, I think you misunderstood."
"Oh?"
Yang Zhen instinctively sat up straighter.
"I'm not just talking about the print rights for Ghost Blows Out the Light. I'm offering a complete buyout—print, film, TV, gaming, audiobooks, comics, and animation. All rights. One bundle."
Yang Zhen's brow creased.
He was familiar with film and TV rights, and could even stretch his imagination to games and comics. But… audiobooks?
"Mr. Fang… this 'audiobook' copyright… can you explain what exactly you mean?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.
Instead of answering, Fang Yi asked, "Editor Yang, do you know what kind of late-night programs are usually broadcast on Shanghai radio stations?"
Ah.
It clicked instantly.
Yang Zhen wasn't slow. With just that one prompt, he immediately understood.
And now, his admiration for Fang Yi only deepened.
This kid's sharp.
He'd managed to connect horror fiction with late-night radio broadcasts—a natural fit.
Even Li Jie's eyes lit up with surprise as she realized what Fang Yi meant.
Of course, audiobooks and narrated fiction apps would eventually be a much better platform for something like Ghost Blows Out the Light, but at this point in time, bringing that up would've sounded like science fiction.
So instead, Fang Yi cleverly pitched the idea of selling it to radio stations.
After all, Ghost Blows Out the Light was a horror series—perfect for spooky, late-night storytelling on the airwaves.
If it had been a different genre, Yang Zhen might've shrugged it off.
"There are so many radio stations across the country. Even if the audio rights aren't expensive individually, together they add up to a pretty sizable income," Fang Yi added casually, giving the idea an extra push.
In truth, he could've skipped the publisher entirely, waited until the print edition came out, and then taken the book around to sell the audio rights himself.
But that was way too much effort.
Better to bundle everything together and hand it all to Hongyan Publishing in one clean deal.