ICTEUWMN Chapter 113.2

Ever since his disagreement with Quint and his dramatic departure, Koslin had been determined to write a script even more popular than before.

He was clearly an expert who has been working in this industry for so many years. How could it be that his work was not as good as a newcomer’s first work?

And it was even a children’s animation! Unbelievable.

“We’re watching “Bei Xing’s Necklace”.”

“Dad, do you know the screenwriter? Jingzhe is so cool!”

“No way, Yishui is the most handsome! All the girls like Yishui!”

A pair of siblings sat in front of the screen, watching the animation while drawing, occasionally arguing with each other.

Koslin, who had been buried in writing his script for half a month, only noticed the drawing papers and colored pencils on the living room table now. He was shocked to realize that his two little ones were actually trying to draw characters from “Bei Xing’s Necklace”.

His own works had never received such enthusiasm from them!

“That’s because they don’t understand your scripts at all.”

Koslin’s wife couldn’t comprehend his grief and indignation at all or his feeling of “having weeds planted in his own field by the enemy”. Her unintentional words stabbed him even deeper.

Koslin: “…”

He suddenly felt like this mysterious screenwriter who had appeared out of nowhere had become a curse hanging over his head.

A children’s animation?

He would write one too, sooner or later!

Meanwhile, Yu Mian was completely unaware that his first work as a screenwriter had stirred up such complicated emotions in so many people. He had just received his first royalty payment from Lightyear, and his little treasury was gradually growing richer.

[Fish: If there’s anything that needs extra budget, feel free to contact me anytime. =w=]

Facing developer Derqin, Yu Mian was starting to act like a wealthy patron.

Recently, the core development team of “Taoyuan Restaurant” had taken a collective vacation after a major update. It was said that Derqin had even gone back to his hometown. Yu Mian was quite curious about how his rebellious game designer’s family relationships had fared.

[Fish: Did you meet your family?]

[Derqin: Mm.]

Derqin, who had just returned from his break, gave a brief response to Yu Mian’s inquiry.

If being scolded by the elders together with his family could be considered sharing hardships, then perhaps their relationship had indeed improved.

At the very least, Derqin had expected his parents to once again fail to understand his choices. Instead, his father, Barov, had simply sighed and said, “So my son actually went to the Federation to do something big.”

Though, in the next second, he stole Derqin’s crops again.

[Derqin: They like the game, and they also like the novel “God of Cooking”. They even sent some specialty gifts for you. Is that okay?]

Thinking about the pile of gifts his family and friends had forced upon him for Fish Soup Noodles, Derqin could only push through his nerves and ask.

‘Specialties from Derqin’s hometown?’

Yu Mian was indeed curious.

Soon enough, he received a massive package.

“Wow…Brother Yu Mian, what’s all this?”

Huo Yan helped carry it in. But when they unwrapped it, they found it was filled with all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The most amazing thing was that these fruits tasted even better than the ones cultivated in Uncle Harrison’s laboratory.

If there was one obvious difference, it was that they had the taste of nature.

“It must be a special race, one with great talent in farming.”

Huo Ting picked up a peach and examined it, coming to the same conclusion as Yu Mian.

“And they must be a race that’s not only skilled in farming but also really loves nature.”

Could this be why Derqin had been so fond of “God of Cooking” from the very beginning?

Was his race, hidden in some remote corner of the universe, essentially a real-life version of Lu Zhen and his Taoyuan Paradise?

Yu Mian took a bite of the juicy peach and was immediately won over by its flavor.

But compared to Yu Mian and Huo Ting, the one truly shaken by this pile of produce was Uncle Harrison.

“This is pure, natural talent for farming! Where did this come from? If we could collaborate, it would be absolutely perfect. Can’t you help make contact? We can provide all kinds of special seeds and funding.”

Yu Mian relayed Uncle Harrison’s request to Derqin.

He wasn’t sure if Derqin’s hometown would be interested in such a partnership.

[Derqin: Maybe. They’ve been looking for seeds everywhere recently, so they’d probably be happy about it.]

Although many people in his forest had been planting chili peppers and garlic everywhere, which had made the elders furious for a while.

But after they tried a bowl of three-flavor asparagus soup, they suddenly stopped complaining and silently allowed the vegetable gardens to continue.

Quite a number of elves had taken a liking to the various novel fruits and vegetables introduced in “God Of Cooking”.

The only issue was that, being from two different star systems, many seed varieties were different, and long-distance interstellar express wasn’t very convenient.

But if they personally traveled to the Federation for a visit, many elves would probably be willing?

[Fish: If you invite friends over, we’ll make sure they’re well taken care of. This way, they can also learn more about your work. Uncle Harrison would definitely welcome them warmly, his food research institute is practically a museum of ingredients.]

[Derqin: …Mm.]

As for the necessary entry approval paperwork, Secretary Hals would handle it.

But there was one thing Derqin had hesitated over for a long time, but in the end he didn’t have the courage to speak up.

[Barov: Derqin!! Did you invite Teacher Fish Soup Noodles too?? Can we meet Teacher Fish Soup Noodles?!]

[Karls: Yeah, yeah! Where exactly do you live in the Federation? Do they really have tons of seeds there? And are there unlimited snail noodles?]

[Brick: We’ll be arriving next week. At the very least, give us some special in-game rewards! I also want a signed autograph from Teacher Fish Soup Noodles!]

Because most of the eager volunteers signing up to visit the Federation Star and exchange agricultural techniques with the Food Research Institute were actually most curious about Fish Soup Noodles himself.

Everyone assumed that if they made a special trip to the Federation Star, given the relationship between Derqin and Fish Soup Noodles, they might even get a chance to meet in person.

Who would have known that every time Derqin talked to Yu Mian, as long as the conversation wasn’t about games, he would become tight-lipped, and if he said too much, he would get nervous immediately.

In the end, Derqin stated that while meeting Fish Soup Noodles wasn’t guaranteed, apart from a pile of gifts from the Food Research Institute, they could at least receive a deluxe package containing Fish Soup Noodles’ physical books and merchandise.

This barely managed to coax the curious elves, and they were now eagerly looking forward to their trip to the Federation Star.

However, just as the merchandise for “Bei Xing’s Necklace” were soaring in popularity alongside the animation, an unexpected piece of news once again thrust Yu Mian’s mysterious identity as a screenwriter into the spotlight.

It was that Delia, the founder of the Delia Jewelry brand, had personally designed an adult version of the necklace.

The material used for the gemstones was upgraded from the children’s version, and the cutting and design transformed it into an exquisite adult necklace.

The pricing was very friendly to adult fans with purchasing power, and pre-orders immediately broke records.

Most importantly, besides the publicly available edition, Delia also used gemstones from her private collection to craft a high-jewelry version of the necklace.

Currently, it was being displayed in the Central Star’s flagship store, its dazzling brilliance catching the eyes of countless fans.

[Help! The gift I want the most has appeared! I was even delusional enough to consider buying it…until I saw the price. Goodbye.]

[But being expensive isn’t its fault. It’s my fault for being too poor. If I work for another 300 years… Okay, even after 300 years, I still wouldn’t afford it.]

[Isn’t the affordable version good enough? Let the rich sisters buy the high-jewelry version. TwT I’ll do my best not to be jealous.]

Most fans could only sigh at how the high-jewelry version of the solar terms necklace was simply unattainable.

But on Central Star, where wealthy individuals were concentrated, quite a number of well-off fans took an interest in the necklace, and there were reports of various attempts to buy and bid for it.

After all, no matter how wealthy parents were, if their child liked something, they would have to open their wallets.

Not to mention, this necklace had an undeniably high collectible value.

A famous actress publicly stated that she hoped to purchase the necklace to give to her daughter when she grew up, further keeping the necklace’s popularity at its peak.

Netizens watching this secret bidding war among the wealthy parents of “Bei Xing’s Necklace” fans were thoroughly entertained.

[Lightyear really went all out on marketing this time. If I recall correctly, Madam Delia hasn’t personally designed jewelry in the past ten years. And now you actually got her to do it? How much did that cost?!]

“This is a misunderstanding. No matter how deep Lightyear’s pockets are, we couldn’t pull that off.”

Director Lin Ke and the production team were just as surprised.

Initially, Lightyear had indeed considered stirring up publicity by releasing a high-end, extravagant version of the necklace during the animation’s run, to be displayed at offline events.

They never actually planned on selling it.

After all, the price would be astronomical, and once the animation ended, they could simply dismantle the gemstones and recoup most of the costs. It was purely meant to create marketing buzz.

Who would have thought that this designer would actually take it upon herself to create the piece?

“If you ask me, the only reasonable explanation is that she personally likes “Bei Xing’s Necklace” so much that she was inspired to design it herself.”

Director Lin Ke hit the nail on the head, though there were still many mysteries surrounding the situation.

“But isn’t Madam Delia famously single for life? She has no children, and given her age, would she really be into something like this?”

Rumors said that Madam Delia was not a native of the Federation Star. Her background was highly mysterious, yet her wealth in jewelry was astonishing. She had rapidly expanded her jewelry empire upon arriving in the Federation and established a renowned brand.

Some speculated that her ancestry must have been extraordinary, otherwise, how could an ordinary person possess so many dazzling gemstones?

Before Director Lin Ke could ponder this for long, the silver-haired Madam Delia publicly rejected all bidding offers.

She stated that she had created the necklace purely as a small gift for the daughter of the screenwriter behind “Bei Xing’s Necklace”.

“I was deeply captivated by the world of this story. I even thought that if I had a charming little daughter like the one in the story, it would be perfect.”

“Upon learning that this mysterious screenwriter created the story based on their daughter, I decided to make this necklace as a gift. It will not be for sale.”

Madam Delia, elegant as ever, wore only a dazzling necklace around her neck, and its value was visibly high.

Her lighthearted words sent the necklace straight to the top of the hot searches.

[Help! Madam, are you accepting applications for a daughter? QWQ I’d like to apply for a position as a full-time daughter…]

[I can’t believe this! Shouldn’t the screenwriter respond to this by now?!]

And just as the star network was exploding, at the long-awaited Screenwriters’ Association Exchange Day, the attending screenwriters turned their heads to look at Yu Mian, who had just entered under Director Lin Ke’s guidance.

Then they glanced back at their light-brains, which were showing the trending hot searches.

For a moment, their brains stopped working.

“Ahem, this here is the screenwriter of “Bei Xing’s Necklace”, Yu Mian. He’s obviously still very young, so why don’t we give him a round of applause?”

Director Lin Ke had rushed all the way and upon picking up Yu Mian, he was instantly stunned…he never expected Fish Soup Noodles to be this young.

Not to mention, with looks like that, he could easily pass for a star. The fact that Fish Soup Noodles was this stunning yet had never publicly shown his face made Director Lin Ke think that this young man was surprisingly low-key.

All in all, he was beyond excited and shook Yu Mian’s hand for a long time, eagerly expressing his hope to collaborate on more great scripts in the future.

“The reason I didn’t show my face before is actually quite complicated. Ahem, plus, since I usually stay home to write, there really haven’t been many opportunities to appear in public.”

At first, the reason for staying out of sight wasn’t just because of debt, but also the fear of being exposed in front of Huo Ting. Later, it simply became a habit, and he never showed up again…

In any case, Yu Mian felt a bit embarrassed by the director’s enthusiasm and subconsciously leaned a little closer to Huo Ting.

Director Lin Ke realized he had invaded personal space a bit too much, so he scratched his head sheepishly and said they were about to arrive at the association’s event hall.

The screenwriters were all looking forward to this exchange and learning session.

However, when Lin Ke opened the doors and introduced Yu Mian beside him, he was met with an unexpected sight…everyone was standing still, staring blankly at them.

Could it be that they thought this young man looked too fresh-faced and looked down on him?

That was just too much.

“Perhaps you’re more familiar with another identity and name, A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles?”

This time, the moment Lin Ke finished speaking, every screenwriter in the room felt like their brains were about to be broken.