"You're really going to wait three years?"
"Hey, hey, hey, Mr. Fanchen, are you crazy?"
"'Strange Tales' is red-hot right now. You think it'll still be hot in three years?"
"Come on, think it over again."
Huang Yifan ignored Lin Hao's messages; he was already angry.
But anger didn't make Huang Yifan impulsive. On the contrary, it made him even calmer.
This world had always been dark.
The online novel world was like that. The supernatural fiction scene was no better. And who's to say other literary fields would be any different?
Anyone with a brain should know to find a smarter way to deal with this.
That said, whether 'Strange Tales' was published now or three years from now didn't really matter to him.
He had all the time in the world and a mind full of stories.
Even if it didn't come out right away, so what?
As for whether 'Strange Tales' would still be relevant, please, this was a classic that had stood for centuries in his past life. It even crossed over into a different world and still shone brightly. What were three years compared to that?
Honestly, it was Midnight Talk he was worried about. Waiting three years wouldn't hurt him, at most; it just delayed things. And he was only 14… no, with the term ending, already 15. He had more than enough time. But without 'Strange Tales', who knew whether Midnight Talk could even stay afloat.
As Huang Yifan expected, the Midnight Talk team had never imagined he would actually refuse. Even with threats and incentives, nothing worked. Days later, panic set in. The next issue of Midnight Talk was missing 'Strange Tales', and their weekly sales plummeted by half.
The entire editorial staff was stunned.
They scrambled to recover. At first, they tried soft approaches, and later, even sincerely offered to renegotiate contracts with Huang Yifan. But he ignored them all.
He wasn't going to work again with anyone who had tried to scam him, no matter how good their offer was.
…
"Sigh, Mr. Fanchen, I was actually planning to make a bet with you. Who knew, before we could even begin, your 'Strange Tales' got tied up and couldn't be published. What a pity."
After the fallout with Midnight Talk, the self-proclaimed paranormal master Zhang Yun got wind of it and messaged Huang Yifan right away.
"Nothing to pity. Consider it paying tuition for a valuable lesson."
"Great mindset. If we met in real life, I think we could've been friends."
"I don't know you in real life, but I've never seen you as an enemy."
"Haha! So that means we could be friends someday. I like that. Whether or not we really become friends, I admire your attitude. In fact, I've got an idea that might help you."
"Oh? What kind of idea?"
"See, Midnight Talk's so-called contract isn't as airtight as they think. In this world, some things get done through contracts, others in spite of them. They may say you can't publish 'Strange Tales', but the copyrights are still in your hands. If you want to publish it, they can't actually stop you. Worst case? Get ready to go to court. A lawsuit like that can drag on for three, five years, easy."
Zhang Yun had been in publishing for over a decade. He'd seen plenty of disputes between authors and magazines; he spoke from experience.
"Three to five years, huh? Honestly, Midnight Talk probably won't last another year or two. So yeah, your idea's not bad. Just stretch it out, and they'll fold before the case ever goes to court."
"Exactly."
"Eh, forget it. I'll just wait for the three years."
"Huh? Why?"
"Too much trouble. I hate dealing with that kind of hassle."
Court battles were exhausting, and at his age, Huang Yifan didn't have time to stress over lawsuits every day.
"You've gotta be kidding."
"Not really."
"You're a weird one. I was all geared up to compete with you in the publishing market. I really wanted to see if the guy who boxed me out in magazine sales could do the same in book publishing."
"And I've gotta ask, what's a big-shot paranormal master doing picking fights with a rookie like me? Don't you feel even a little embarrassed?"
Maybe it was just his mood, but this time chatting with Zhang Yun didn't feel nearly as annoying as before. Sure, the guy was still a little crazy, always watching him like a hawk, but Huang Yifan didn't mind it so much now.
"Oh, cut the crap. Embarrassed? Status? I never cared about that stuff. You don't get it, being at the top comes with huge pressure. To protect my spot, my reputation, I've got to eliminate every potential threat. And you? You're one of them. But it looks like I won't have to lift a finger this time."
"Well, at least you're honest."
Reading Zhang Yun's message, Huang Yifan couldn't help but chuckle. "But now that you've said all that, if I don't compete with you a little, it would be rude."
He hadn't planned on it before, but suddenly, the desire to challenge Zhang Yun flared up again.
"Compete? But Fanchen, your 'Strange Tales' can't be published. What are you gonna use to compete?"
"Then I'll write a new book."
"A new one? You're joking."
"Do I look like I'm joking? I already have the title in mind."
"What is it?"
"'A Chinese Ghost Story'."
"'A Chinese Ghost Story'? Great title! Sounds way better than my 'Rise of the Evil Spirits', and definitely more appealing than that boring 'Strange Tales' of yours. Fine, then I'll wait for your 'Chinese Ghost Story'. But you'd better hurry. My book hits shelves in two months. Don't tell me when it launches, you still won't be done writing."
"Relax. I've always been a fast writer. Once wrote a million words in ten days."
"Yeah, sure. Keep bragging."
…
The "ghost beauty" in 'A Chinese Ghost Story' was named Nie Xiaoqian, originally a character from 'Strange Tales'.
But 'A Chinese Ghost Story' was nothing like the original tale. It was a film adaptation, or rather, a whole series of adaptations.
It had become such a classic that many famous actors had taken part over the years.
Why choose 'A Chinese Ghost Story'?
Aside from its classic status, it was also a better fit for the publishing market.
Truth be told, even though Huang Yifan had faith in 'Strange Tales', he never expected it to be a runaway hit. It wasn't that kind of book. It wouldn't explode in popularity; it would sell steadily, over years and decades, building its reputation over time to become a classic.
And in publishing, 'Strange Tales' had one major disadvantage: each chapter was a standalone story. In other words, it was a short story collection with no overarching plot.
That kind of structure worked fine in a serialized magazine format, one story at a time.
But as a book? The lack of continuity could seriously hurt sales.
Huang Yifan did not doubt the quality of a classic, but he also deeply respected the market.
And so, he turned to one of the most frequently adapted classics of all time: 'A Chinese Ghost Story'.
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Glossary
A Chinese Ghost Story (倩女幽魂) is a 1987 Hong Kong horror-fantasy film directed by Ching Siu-tung and produced by Tsui Hark. The movie is a loose adaptation of the short story Nie Xiaoqian, found in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai Zhiyi), a classic Qing dynasty collection of supernatural tales written by Pu Songling. While the original story tells of a scholar who falls in love with a ghost trapped by a demon, the film reimagines this tale with added action, romance, and fantasy elements. Despite being initially banned from cinemas in mainland China, the film became a cult favorite and played a key role in popularizing Pu Songling's work among younger generations.
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