Summer browsed through the comments and found that a large part of them were asking for a second season of The Lost City.
A few opposing views were quickly shot down.
Summer turned off the screen of her mobile phone and did the dishes. She was going to call Leonardo later to see how Rosie was doing.
As soon as she finished, her mobile phone rang.
It was a call from a number she did not recognize.
However, it was not like she had not received calls from unfamiliar numbers for the past few days. She glanced at her phone and picked up the call.”Hello.”
“Are you Summer?”The female voice on the other end sounded familiar.
Summer was startled for a while.”Eliza?”
“It’s really you!”The surprise in Eliza’s voice was hard to miss.”News about you has been everywhere for the past days. I thought it was just a gimmick. It really is you!”
Eliza already had faith in Summer’s script early on.
After they completed shooting The Lost City, she had wanted to invite Summer to the wrap party, but Summer had gone missing by then.
Following that, The Lost City web series garnered an exceptional response online. Yet, Eliza was still not able to contact Summer, who had seemingly disappeared into thin air. There had not been any hints of her whereabouts since then.
Eliza had been keeping an eye out for news on Summer for the last three years. When she discovered that Summer had updated her Weibo, she nearly could not believe that it was Summer herself who did it.
Only after several days of observation and confirmation did she contact Summer.
Summer smiled and remained comfortable with Eliza even after so many years.”It’s me. I’ve been back for quite some time.”
“Why don’t we meet up?”Eliza asked.
“Yeah, why not? I’m free, after all.”
Eliza had excellent execution skills.”If you’re free, shall we meet today?”
“Okay,”Summer agreed.
…
Summer and Eliza had agreed to meet in an upscale restaurant owned by someone from the entertainment industry. It was often frequented by people from the same industry.
Eliza appeared even more capable and beautiful now compared with three years ago.
The moment she saw Summer, she hurried up to her and carefully scanned her.”Looks like you haven’t changed even after three years.”
“You have. You’re prettier now.”Summer was sincere.
“I’m tired of hearing such words. I didn’t expect you to be so phony.”Eliza shot her a dirty look before she sat her down, and they started to chat.
“Where have you been for the past three years? It’s like you vanished from the world, and there hasn’t been a word from you.”Recalling how she looked for Summer and found no trace of her, Eliza could not help but shake her head.
“There was an accident and I was bedridden for three years,”Summer briefly explained what happened three years ago in just one sentence.
“Bedridden for three years?”Eliza was wide-eyed.
“Curious?”Summer cocked an eyebrow at her.”But I won’t tell you anything.”
“Pooh! Now you know how hot The Lost City is. The fans are demanding a second season. What do you think?”
Summer swirled the glass of water in her hand with a smile on her face.”I haven’t thought about it.”
Eliza stared at Summer for a few seconds as if she was compromising.”Tell me, how much do you want?”
When she first bought the script from Summer, she already knew that Summer was someone who would absolutely not accept the short end of the stick.
Summer had a mind of her own.
The Lost City was a hit. Even after two years since its first showing, its fans still remembered it.
Eliza was the producer, and Summer was the screenwriter. They both wanted to bank on the popularity by making a sequel to the web series.
When Summer said that she had not thought about it, she was actually waiting for Eliza to make her an offer.
Summer smiled, looking very gentle.”Let’s see how generous you are.”
Eliza’s mouth twitched when she knew Summer had set a trap for her.
By not telling Eliza how much she wanted and waiting for Eliza to make her an offer, she was effectively in control.
Qi Shuishan was aware of Summer’s guile from their last deal, and she was all the more cunning now.
“I think, instead of being bedridden, you must have undergone secret training during the past three years—you’re even more cunning now,”Eliza said gruffly.
Summer pursed her lips.”I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Eliza’s mouth twitched again, and her expression turned serious.”To show you my sincerity, you’ll get this amount for the first season of The Lost City.”She raised her hand as she spoke.
Summer was not impressed, unsure by what that meant.”How much?”
Eliza raised her chin solemnly.”Five million.”
Summer was still holding the glass of water, and her hand froze.
Five million was beyond her expectation.
The Lost City had made Eliza a huge profit, but when Summer sold her the copyright of the script, it just cost one million.
Now, Eliza was willing to pay another five million for the first script so that she could lay her hand on the copyright of The Lost City’s second season. That showed how sincere she was.
Summer did not immediately reply, keeping Eliza on tenterhooks, wondering what she was thinking.
Summer was a few years younger than Eliza and just a rookie in her eyes, but sometimes, she had a hard time working out what was on Summer’s mind.
However, the good thing about Summer was that she was genuine.
As a result, Eliza did not beat around the bush with Summer but made her a generous offer.
They both looked at each other for a few seconds before Eliza broke the silence.”That is my sincere offer. Please think about it.”
Summer did not answer her question.”What will be your offer for the second installment of The Lost City?”
Eliza grinned.”Everything is negotiable as long as you agree to sell to me.”
Summer also smiled as she nodded.”Great.”
Eliza was a no-nonsense person, and Summer had never thought of selling the second script of The Lost City to any other third party.
Even if others could place a higher bid than Eliza, there was no guarantee that they could make a better film than Eliza’s production team.
At least, she knew that Eliza would not screw up her work.
Summer and Eliza discussed the script of The Lost City over lunch before they parted ways.
Eliza paid Summer five million that afternoon.
After she received the money, Summer had to immediately get to work on the second season of the web series. First, she went online to watch The Lost City.