The lively girl was stunned for a moment."Xiaoting, you're buying it? Didn't you say you didn't want it because you'd already been spoiled?"
Xiaoting replied, "I was being shallow. This book is good! I'll read it first, then lend it to you."
The lively girl looked a little surprised."Alright then. I'll check it out later and see if there are any details the TV drama missed."
…
Editor Kang stayed in the bookstore for two hours and discovered that the sales of this book had actually begun to rise.
Based on the data previously provided by major bookstores, if today's sales were calculated, they would clearly be higher than yesterday's.
The trend of this data was actually somewhat abnormal.
Normally, with Dafei and the popularity of the TV drama Reset, sales would explode in the first few days after release and then begin to decline.
But this set of books seemed to be gradually gaining momentum later on. This pattern looked more like the data trend of blockbuster novels.
Could it be that this book really had the potential to become a huge hit?
Suddenly, Editor Kang's phone rang. The caller was a well-known writer, Zhou Shifang.
"Hello, Master Zhou?"
Editor Kang's attitude was very polite. Normally, ordinary authors would curry favor with editors like him, since whether your book gets published—or the price at which it's published—was decided by the editor.
But authors at Zhou Shifang's level usually communicated directly with the chief editor. The fact that he contacted Kang personally was already an honor.
"Editor Kang, the sales of Reset seem to be doing well. I've watched the TV drama too—it's quite similar to my style."
Kang replied, "There really are some similarities. You started out writing science fiction as well. Although this novel leans toward suspense, it can still be considered sci-fi."
Zhou Shifang said, "Do you have the author's contact information? I'd like to discuss something with him."
Editor Kang hesitated. In principle, he shouldn't give out the number. But Zhou Shifang wasn't an ordinary writer, so refusing might offend him.
"I have Dafei's agent's number. I'll send it to you in a moment."
…
Two days later, Editor Kang spent the entire morning answering phone calls in his office—every single one urging him to place more orders.
His face was full of joy.
The sales of Reset were getting higher and higher, showing a sharp upward trend over the past few days.
That morning, he had already sought approval from the chief editor. They had decided to print an additional 200,000 copies for nationwide distribution.
The physical book industry was sluggish these days. Selling over 50,000 copies was already considered a bestseller.
Yet Reset had sold 20,000 copies in just five days in Shanghai alone. Now every bookstore had ordered an additional 2,000 sets, which meant the novel was only just beginning to gain traction in literary circles.
After the next 200,000 copies were distributed nationwide, more printings would likely follow.
Judging by the current data, surpassing one million copies sold was only a matter of time.
"Old He, I'm too busy here. If you have time, help me answer some calls. They're all bookstores urging orders anyway. Just write them down for me."
Editor He rolled his eyes.
What was he showing off for?
Sure, Reset had become popular, but could that really be counted as Kang's achievement?
After all, it wasn't an ordinary author. The web drama had become popular first, and the novel just rode that wave.
At most, Kang had simply gotten lucky.
…
Two more days passed, and the sales of Reset surged again.
Feiyang Publishing printed another 800,000 sets, aiming straight for the one-million mark.
Publishing houses relied on data when doing business. In this age of big data, sales numbers represented real money—they couldn't be faked.
Reset's sales kept improving.
According to feedback from across the country, breaking one million copies would definitely not be a problem.
As for going even further, only time would tell.
At the film set, Liang Yin received the good news and immediately shared it with Lin Chudong.
A bestseller in physical books didn't feel very intuitive.
After spending so long in the entertainment industry, they were used to more direct indicators of popularity—like explosive fan reactions.
But in the world of physical books, most readers simply bought and read quietly. Unless the book became a cultural phenomenon, there was rarely much visible buzz.
Given the strength of Reset, becoming a bestseller was no problem.
But breaking out beyond the literary circle might be difficult.
After all, part of the sales came from the popularity of the TV drama and Dafei's fame.
So although the book had become a bestseller, they didn't feel much of it.
"If the sales really break one million, we'll make quite a bit of money too, right?" Liang Yin asked.
Lin Chudong nodded."Several million won't be a problem. It depends on the publisher's costs. The sales are a pleasant surprise, but selling a million copies within a year would already be good—don't expect too much."
Selling hundreds of thousands quickly happened because the market demand was extremely high—many fans had been waiting to buy it.
Once another 800,000 copies entered the market, it would gradually become saturated, and later sales would definitely slow down.
Still, physical books could bring them several million in revenue. The project hadn't been a waste.
Even though the cycle was long, it required no management on their part. It was essentially passive income.
The company's income streams were increasing—games, web dramas, and publishing all brought money every month.
Song copyrights were also generating continuous revenue.
The company's monthly net profit had stabilized at over one million.
And that didn't even include Lin Chudong's appearances on variety shows. If he attended four or five shows a month, his appearance fees alone would approach ten million.
Although taxes were high, the company's profits kept growing.
For Liang Yin, this level of success had once been unimaginable.
Now it had actually become reality.
Dafei was truly a money tree.
Her original three-million investment had already increased more than twentyfold.
…
That evening, while resting, Liang Yin suddenly received a call from an unfamiliar number.
"Hello, I'm Zhou Shifang. I'd like to speak with Dafei."
Liang Yin felt puzzled. She had never heard of him, but many people contacted them for business matters now, so she politely asked,
"I'm Dafei's agent. If you have a business proposal, you can discuss it with me."
Zhou Shifang replied,"I'm the author of Ten Thousand Years Later. I'd like to talk with Dafei about Reset."
Liang Yin rarely read physical books. She seemed to have heard of Ten Thousand Years Later, but she didn't know Zhou Shifang himself.
In the field of science fiction, he was quite famous, but among ordinary people, his reputation wasn't very great.
Only that one book had gained some broader recognition.
"Put Dafei on the phone. I'll talk to him directly."
His tone was rather cold. Liang Yin guessed he might be an important figure, so she went next door to Lin Chudong's room.
"Dafei, a writer is looking for you."
Lin Chudong took the phone and switched it to speaker. Wang Zhi and Liang Yin gathered around to listen.
"Hello, this is Dafei."
"Hello. I'm Zhou Shifang, the author of the science-fiction novel Ten Thousand Years Later. You've heard of me, right?"
His tone carried a hint of pride, as if it were natural that people should know him—and if they didn't, it meant they were ignorant.
Lin Chudong replied,"I've heard of you somewhat. What can I do for you?"
In truth, he had never heard of him, but he was being polite.
Zhou Shifang said,"I've read your Reset. The TV drama is good. The novel is alright, but the ending leaves no suspense. That's actually a very immature approach."
"You should leave a hook at the end. Then when you write a sequel, a large number of readers will follow it, and the sales will be better."
The three of them were stunned.
Listening to this unsolicited advice from the writer, Liang Yin felt speechless.
Dafei was a singer, okay?Now he was even a company boss—busy beyond belief. Who had time to treat writing novels as a full-time career?
Lin Chudong didn't sound impatient."Thank you for the suggestion. Is there anything else?"
Zhou Shifang sounded dissatisfied with his tone.
"I contacted you to discuss cooperation. Your novel became popular mainly because of the TV drama. If the sequel lacks creativity, readers will probably be disappointed."
"I happen to be in a creative gap right now. Authorize it to me—I'll write Reset 2. After I finish, you adapt it into a TV drama."
"You give me the authorization, and I'll give you the film-and-TV rights. That way we'll call it even and won't charge each other."
"I have a strong reputation in the science-fiction field. I'll definitely bring traffic to your drama."
"What do you think?"
The three of them were stunned again.
Where had this "great writer" come from with such confidence?
A show this popular, a novel selling this well—and he wanted the sequel authorization for free?
Then after writing it, Dafei would have to produce the TV drama for free as well?
He'd take the authorization, ride the hype, and still expect Dafei to promote him?
How shameless could someone be?
If he were a Nobel Prize–winning author, maybe such arrogance would be understandable.
But Zhou Shifang clearly wasn't.
Lin Chudong had already lost patience.
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
He hung up the phone.
-----------------------
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