Chapter 18

Sang Yu shot up from her seat, pacing barefoot across the floor.

Her boredom vanished, replaced by the thrill of finally knowing what to do.

Too excited to type, Sang Yu sent voice messages, leaving a long string in her memo —

She didn't want to forget the scenic area details flashing through her mind.

Sang Yu didn't trust her memory.

The mountain gate had to be grand, with many high steps, and some artificial mist to create a sense of a heavenly path, making mortals feel small.

If there was already a sea of clouds, even better.

For the Gobi Desert, the architecture should be rugged, using rammed earth, logs, and stone to blend with the surroundings.

On the Sea Island, the buildings should be light and ethereal, with blue and cyan as the main colors, wind chimes under the flying eaves — beautiful to look at and listen to.

The core buildings in different places should be designed according to regional features.

But the sect's characteristics couldn't be overlooked. A sword cultivator sect definitely needed a Sword Pavilion, Martial Arts Arena, Sword Forging Pool, and a cliff for reflection.

A magic cultivator sect needed a Star-Gazing Terrace, Alchemy Chamber, Scripture Storage Pavilion, and a terrace for divination.

A body cultivator sect's base needed an Arena, Training Room, and Beast Arena...

...

Xi Xingfa was strolling with his new girlfriend when he got Sang Yu's message.

— 'Xi Zong, can you recommend some reliable construction companies to me?'

Xi Xingfa nearly choked on a burger.

Construction companies?!

What was Sang Zong planning...

Was she going into real estate?

Huajing Real Estate was his family's business, and the industry had been down for two years. If Sang Zong entered the market, honestly, it wouldn't be good for Huajing.

Xi Xingfa quickly bit through the chicken patty in his burger, patted his girlfriend beside him, and mumbled, 'Babe, get me a wet wipe. Best one, mwah.'

His girlfriend handed him one with a look of disgust, pushing away his greasy mouth.

Xi Xingfa typed fast.

Xi Xingfa: 'Sang Zong, depends on what aspect? Housing construction, landscaping, ancient architecture?'

Xi Xingfa: 'If you ask me, if Sang Zong wants to do real estate, let's partner up!'

Xi Xingfa: 'Huajing might be low-key now, but we've got the foundation — land acquisition, approvals, construction, one-stop service.'

True talk.

Going with Huajing would be faster than anyone else.

Sang Yu replied quickly with a voice message.

'Not housing construction. I'm building a few... maybe a dozen? Not sure. A Xianxia Scenic Area.'

'The kind that can build mountain gates, palaces, ancient-style building complexes, with man-made caves, cliffside walkways, island development, and such.'

After listening to the voice message, Xi Xingfa crumpled the wet wipe in his hand.

His palms were sweaty.

From shock.

A dozen?

A Xianxia Scenic Area?

An image of Hengdian World Studios popped into his head, but then he thought, no, Sang Yu's 'scenic area.'

A tourism project?

Numbers flashed through his mind fast —

A medium-scale development project would cost at least a few billion in the early stages. A dozen? That's not hundreds of billions?

He knew Sang Yu was rich, but 'rich' couldn't describe this.

'What's wrong? Your face is pale.'

His girlfriend leaned in to look, but Xi Xingfa flinched away, not sure why he reacted that way.

'Who sent that message?'

Xi Xingfa stared blankly, muttering, 'A big shot. No, a mega-big shot.'

Suddenly his mouth felt dry. He swallowed hard and chugged some cola.

His girlfriend laughed: 'How mega?'

Mega...

Richer than his old man.

In Xi Xingfa's eyes, developing a scenic area was a 'money-eating beast.' Even his dad rarely touched it.

Domestic theme parks didn't play like this. Who would spend money on something like this? You'd never recoup the investment!

Just the early costs —

Land costs, design and planning fees, construction expenses, and the necessary hardware, plus themed landscapes.

It could burn through cash.

Xi Xingfa carefully typed: 'Sang Zong, investing in a scenic area isn't worth it. The payback period is ten years, a long wait.'

Sang Yu: 'I'm not investing.'

Xi Xingfa: 'Huh?'

Sang Yu: 'I'm playing.'

In other words, as long as she had fun, the project was worth it.

Xi Xingfa stared at that message for three seconds, his hands trembling slightly.

There was nothing like this in the country.

Ancient scenic areas were usually limited to a few projects within one park.

Sang Zong was connecting real-world landscapes across the country to create a multi-node... just for fun? A real-life xianxia RPG?

Xi Xingfa broke out in a cold sweat.

This wasn't a project. It was a big move...

Doing something like this, which fell under cultural tourism development, required a company with development qualifications. For Sang Zong, that was easy.

Huajing had the qualifications and experience. If they could partner up and get a piece of the action, that would be great.

But the old man might not agree.

Because cultural tourism development had a slow return.

Xi Xingfa steeled himself and decided to talk to the old man.

If Sang Zong was paying for her own hobby, it showed her strength. Getting involved was like 'confessing' to Sang Zong.

Even if they invested a little?

Sang Zong would reciprocate.

It wouldn't hurt Huajing's future.

Xi Xingfa scrolled through his contacts and recommended five or six construction companies he'd worked with, all with decent reputations.

·

On the other side.

Sang Yu had talked a lot, her throat dry, so she went to get a glass of water.

Standing by the window, she picked up a black pen from the desk and, like when she was a kid, waved it around like a sword.

Her only concern: should she run multiple lines in parallel? Develop one first?

Yeah, she'd check the effect first.

These architectural designs needed specialists. What Sang Yu cared about most was that 'xianxia feel' — it couldn't be templated.

She'd pass the first checkpoint, and if it passed, she'd develop other places.

Such a project involved too much. Besides setting up a new company, there was land, planning, environmental protection, fire safety, tourism departments...

She'd leave it to her assistant.

As she thought, Sang Yu suddenly laughed out loud. Her mood was amazing — wow!

Man, it's good to be rich.

So happy.

When people are happy, they spend money.

It was a 'habit' Sang Yu had developed before binding the God-Tier Wealth System.

When in a good mood, she liked to treat herself. Now it was different — besides treating herself, she could throw money around.

Who to throw it at?

Sang Yu thought back to the many netizens who had commented earlier. She'd close her eyes and pick one to make their wish come true.

=v=

The netizens had no idea about Sang Yu's scenic area project.

Sang Yu closed her eyes, randomly scrolled through ten or twenty pages — she didn't count — and stopped when she felt like it.

She opened her eyes —

Preference.

Huh?

A female-oriented novel?

Just as Sang Yu was curious, she saw people arguing fiercely in the comment thread.

Yeah, arguing.

The original poster was begging Sang Yu to remake it because their beloved novel had been ruined by a live-action adaptation.

Some original fans disagreed.

'Didn't we already agree to separate the book from the drama? Why ask for a remake and let another adaptation ruin it?!'

Some original fans disagreed.

'I'm an original fan too, and I support a remake. I don't have to watch the drama, but the author can get another paycheck. But it's up to the author to decide...'

Actor fans also joined in.

'Look at your profile, you're in other female stars' super topics. Pretending to be a book fan? My Qi acted well!'

Actor haters disagreed even more.

'Sachima's face is as big as a basin as always... Even the paper characters got dragged down. How dare you say that? Huh?!'

Then it turned into a free-for-all.

But...

Sang Yu hit an important point: whether to remake or not, she first had to confirm the author's thoughts. If not, it was a no-go.

If the author didn't want to sell again, she couldn't force it.

Y_03: 'Does the author have a Weibo account?'

That one comment stirred up a storm.

'?'

'What are you doing?!'

Y_03: 'I'm in a good mood, so I decided to cosplay as Santa and randomly pick one fan's wish to fulfill.'

'You don't actually think you're the savior of Domestic Entertainment, do you... A few netizens hype you up and you get carried away?'

Y_03: 'What did I do to become a savior? The bar for being a savior is way too low. I suggest raising it.'

'Are you really going to remake Preference?!'

Y_03: 'First, check if the copyright is still with the author. Then ask if they're willing to sell. If they're not, we can't shoot it.'

'What if the copyright was sold to another company and there's no way to do it?'

Y_03: 'No way? Then I'll randomly pick another comment.'

Industry insiders who had been closely watching Sang Yu and Aurora Entertainment suddenly saw news that she might be remaking Preference.

'...'

They couldn't understand.

High EQ: Sang Zong is too free.

Low EQ: That person is too unpredictable, with an action track that no one can follow. No one can understand their decisions.

The Demolition And Relocation Office was a relatively independent project that showcased Sang Zong's strength.

With money, there were no permanent 'enemies.'

In everyone's eyes, she was a high-quality investor and partner to be courted.

But not like this!

Previously, industry insiders had seen The Demolition And Relocation Office as a marketing case —

A 'rising star' that stepped on Golden Realm Legend to climb up.

The tactics were ruthless, but effective.

And now it changed?

Yesterday it was a male-lead blockbuster!

Today it's a romance?

Only classics get remade for film and TV rights. What's the point of remaking a modern romance?

None!

Who would watch it?

Anyone interested in that genre had already watched it during the first broadcast. The original fans had been milked then —

All the arguments had been had, contributing a wave of free black-and-red traffic to the drama.

A second time?

Readers were desensitized.

Fewer people were even cursing.

With all these factors combined, the remake's buzz was rock bottom.

Could it be...

To step on the original actors?!

Coincidentally, the original actors' fans thought so too.

A war was about to break out.

The original actors' fans immediately screenshotted the netizen who wanted to remake Preference, checking their super topic participation.

On their profile, they were in super topics for variety shows, male idols, and female actors.

But the variety shows were unrelated, the male idol had no past conflicts, and then they checked the background of the female actor Yu Zhitao.

A deep dive, and the fan circles exploded —

Well, well, old grudges!

Preference was a hit original novel, one of the top contenders in romance.

When it was first announced, there was a casting call, and many people auditioned.

The female lead was described as a bright, stunning beauty. At the time, Yu Zhitao had just blown up with a set of cheongsam photos, gaining some fame.

Everyone thought she was perfect to play the female lead 'Jiang Wanyin,' and the author even interacted online, saying they'd recommend her to the production team.

But she didn't get the role.

At first, people thought it was fine, since Yu Zhitao wasn't a professional actor, and there might be a better fit.

Then the female lead was cast as Chen Liqi.

Like Yu Zhitao, she had no acting experience, and she was the complete opposite of the 'bright, stunning beauty' setting.

— She was the girl-next-door type, cute and fresh.

Book fans were confused and went to ask the author.

Then they got another bad news: the author had no say in the production team, and the screenwriter was just a figurehead.

Soon after, the author was kicked off the team without knowing it, completely unaware of how the drama was being made.

The author spoke up on Weibo, revealing that they had never agreed to cast Chen Liqi. The production team brushed them off, found them troublesome, and found an excuse to kick them out.

Book fans were furious.

After Preference aired, the wealthy family background was too cheap to spend money on, turning it into a rural nouveau riche mess, drawing widespread criticism.

But because the plot was good enough, the female lead gained a wave of fans and established herself in the entertainment industry.

'Jiang Wanyin' became the female lead's iconic role, but book fans searching for 'Jiang Wanyin' would never see the right fit.

The 'lost' Yu Zhitao became even more precious, even becoming a regret for some book fans.

Why not let Yu Zhitao play it?!

Then, with entertainment accounts stirring the pot and fanning the flames, they deliberately brought up past events, putting both Yu Zhitao and Chen Liqi in a tough spot.

Years passed, and Chen Liqi's fan circle grew from nothing, from a loose sand to a 'regular army.'

They started a sustained counterattack against Yu Zhitao, the author, and book fans.

As fans, they had to defend!

But in the eyes of the author, book fans, and Yu Zhitao's fans, it was a different story.

Some extreme fans even doxxed (back then it wasn't called 'opening boxes') the author's info. The author was a teacher, and fans reported them to the school.

The reason was that the author, to give back to fans, had written stream-of-consciousness smut on a foreign website, spreading pornography. They wanted — actually, they used public pressure to force the school to fire the author.

The author was cyberbullied, doxxed, and reported, leading to resignation. They didn't write for two years, and reportedly had mental health issues and sought treatment.

As for Yu Zhitao, they went low, spreading crazy slut-shaming rumors.

Call girl, escort turned legit, rich man's mistress — all of it.

They photoshopped a porn star's face onto hers, claiming it was Yu Zhitao's secret resource, and distributed it widely.

It was a huge mess back then. That's how the grudge was formed.

Only time had calmed it down.

Now it was brought up again, old and new hatreds piling up. Chen Liqi's big fans didn't hesitate and refused to admit past events — who knew if it wasn't just mudslinging?!

So they directly mobilized the fan circle to attack Yu Zhitao.

Not just her Weibo comments, but her name square.

Yu Zhitao's fans didn't start it; they only fought back. Some curse words were tacitly ignored.

Just take it.

Because there was a saying in the circle —

The one who strikes first is the one in the wrong.