Chapter 33: Yu Youde: I Can Still Save Him!

"Director Chen, you are truly impressive! By leveraging other people's power and using copyrights as your weapon, you achieved the highest national viewership ratings in your very first outing as a director!" Zeng Qingpeng began showering Chen Mo with praise the moment they met.

Laymen watch for the excitement, while insiders watch the technique. While internet users were filled with speculation, they lacked the inside information available to those in the industry.

"Mr. Zeng, you are too kind. It was just a small endeavor; your company is the one making the big moves!" Chen Mo genuinely admired the other party's strength.

It had to be said, they secured $40 million in financing back in 2007, and this year they were aggressively recruiting talent across the board.

After a round of professional flattery, Zeng Qingpeng finally brought up the purpose of their meeting.

"Our company, Galloping Horse, is thirsty for talent. We have launched an industry-first 'First Look' partnership model, aimed at providing creators with the greatest degree of creative freedom. Essentially, Galloping Horse only holds the right of first refusal for projects our signed directors and screenwriters are working on. Of course, we do have requirements for our signed directors: they must film at least one audiovisual work per year," Zeng Qingpeng stated with immense confidence.

This "First Look" partnership was indeed their greatest leverage in signing so many renowned directors and screenwriters.

To be honest, Chen Mo was somewhat tempted. After all, this collaboration model was incredibly lenient. Furthermore, for someone at Chen Mo's current stage, their platform was sufficiently large. The only pity was that Chen Mo knew the future soul of Galloping Horse, the "Big Dog" Li Ming, would pass away at a young age, leading to a power struggle and the eventual disintegration of the company.

Setting that aside, what Chen Mo lacked most right now was a platform. Joining Galloping Horse certainly had its benefits—not only could he gain the support of their resources, but more importantly, he could expand his professional network. Relying on a platform like Galloping Horse while his wings were still growing was indeed a good choice.

"Mr. Zeng, I need some time to consider this." Despite his interest, Chen Mo did not agree immediately; he truly needed to think it over.

He knew he couldn't go it alone in the future. During the era of "Big Dog" Li Ming's leadership, Galloping Horse was an excellent choice, but that era would not last long. Perhaps it was time to change his perspective, but Chen Mo needed to reflect carefully.

"That is only natural. By the way, while your methods of preemptively seizing the copyright for *Meteor Shower* were clever, I'm afraid the other party might still find a way to break the deadlock," Zeng Qingpeng suddenly said with a smile.

Chen Mo looked at him in surprise. The fact that he brought this up so abruptly suggested that he had investigated Chen Mo's affairs in private.

"Oh? What kind of breakthrough?" Chen Mo asked.

"Don't forget, *Meteor Garden* itself was adapted from the Japanese manga *Boys Over Flowers*!" Zeng Qingpeng said, smiling at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo froze, then suddenly realized.

That was true. If he could secure the remake rights for *Meteor Garden*, then Yu Youde could bypass that and go directly to the source. If he could secure the adaptation rights for *Boys Over Flowers*, he could indeed break the deadlock. Although Yu Youde using the *Boys Over Flowers* rights wouldn't affect him personally, it could revitalize the rival drama *Watching Meteor Together*.

It was definitely something to guard against. He just wondered how far the other party had progressed. Even though Chen Mo wouldn't spend extra money to buy the Japanese copyrights himself, he could certainly cause some trouble for his rival.

Suddenly, he realized that *Meteor Shower* had only sold its mainland broadcasting rights so far.

"Mr. Zeng, is your company interested in acting as the agent for *Meteor Shower*’s distribution outside of the mainland?" Chen Mo asked suddenly.

Zeng Qingpeng was taken aback, then looked at Chen Mo with astonishment. He truly hadn't expected Chen Mo's mind to work so quickly.

"Our company certainly has the channels for that. Director Chen, you can entrust the distribution of *Meteor Shower* outside the mainland to Galloping Horse!" Zeng Qingpeng immediately understood Chen Mo's intention and was happy to oblige; it was a win-win situation.

Since *Meteor Shower* was so popular in the mainland, selling the international broadcasting rights could fetch a good price, and Galloping Horse could earn a significant distribution commission.

In reality, *Boys Over Flowers* was a very popular IP and had been selling its rights internationally for years. Chen Mo didn't know the specific details, but that didn't stop him from letting Galloping Horse help distribute the broadcasting rights for *Meteor Shower* in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Asian regions.

What bad intentions could Chen Mo have? He was simply reminding everyone just how popular the *Meteor Garden* remake, *Meteor Shower*, was in China. Besides, every little bit helps!

After finalizing the arrangements with Zeng Qingpeng, the two parted ways.

On the other side, under mounting pressure, Yu Youde had indeed realized that the source of *Meteor Garden* was the Japanese manga *Boys Over Flowers*. However, compared to the remake rights for *Meteor Garden*, the Japanese side had seen *Boys Over Flowers* sell successfully worldwide for years, and the price was definitely not cheap. After all, they had a very mature operation in place.

Yu Youde was incredibly conflicted. It wasn't that his show *Watching Meteor* couldn't be sold in the domestic market at all—a few second- or third-tier satellite channels were interested—but the price they offered was rock-bottom. Simply put, they wanted a bargain; since the viewership of *Meteor Shower* was so high, they figured his "knockoff" version could ride the coattails of that popularity.

As for top-tier satellite channels like Mango TV, they weren't interested. It was too much trouble, and the potential gain wasn't worth the risk. Heaven only knew if that petty guy Chen Mo, who had orchestrated the "First Internet Defamation Case," would launch another legal strike. Regardless of the outcome, once a case was filed and officially registered, they could be dragged through the mud. Moreover, Chen Mo and *Meteor Shower* were backed by Blueberry TV, the primary beneficiary of the show; even if Chen Mo didn't act, Blueberry TV wouldn't let them off easily.

Yet, Yu Youde was unwilling to give up!

Buying the authorization for *Boys Over Flowers* could break the deadlock, and he wouldn't have to worry about being disgusted or sued by Chen Mo. The problem was that it certainly wouldn't be cheap—it would cost at least a few million. He was no longer confident that he could sell the show for a good price later.

Crucially, with *Meteor Shower* having set such a high standard, his *Watching Meteor* would inevitably be seen as a knockoff. Seeing Chen Mo basking in glory—and having climbed to that height by stepping on his head—made him want to stab the vengeful man to death. But in reality, despite his intense hatred for Chen Mo, he was helpless.

Fortunately, he had a close relationship with Director Lin from Mango TV and they had collaborated many times. He received a promise that if he could resolve the copyright issue, Mango TV would buy it. The price would certainly not be high, but Yu Youde decided to take one last gamble.

However, when he personally traveled to Japan to approach Shueisha for the mainland adaptation rights to *Boys Over Flowers*, they demanded an exorbitant price.

The reason?

Galloping Horse had already brought the mainland adaptation *Meteor Shower*—which was also based on *Boys Over Flowers*—all the way to Japan to sell. Although a deal hadn't been finalized yet, Yu Youde showing up to buy rights at this exact moment was walking straight into the line of fire.

There was plenty of communication between Japan and China, and they quickly found out what was going on. Naturally, they weren't going to let such a good opportunity pass them by.

After figuring out the situation, Yu Youde was grinding his teeth in hatred. But what could he do? It was a difficult situation! If he didn't buy it, the project would be a total loss; the sponsors weren't easy to deal with, and he might even face massive compensation claims. If he did buy it, it would cost a fortune!

He wouldn't have had to spend this money if it weren't for that godforsaken Chen Mo. For the first time, he regretted being so impulsive and lustful in the beginning.