Chapter 61: Interception, Interception Again

In the capital, inside the courtyard of the prominent poet-director Chen, he was holding a novel and reading intently.

This novel had been recommended by New Classics Media. Normally, he had very little interest in internet literature and rarely read such works.

However, this piece was an exception.

New Classics Media had recommended it to him because the novel had been shortlisted for the prestigious 5th Lu Xun Literary Prize!

Astonishingly, it ranked first among the shortlisted candidate works, and it was also the sole piece of online literature to make the list.

The fact that this novel turned out to be a realistic internet fiction was what finally piqued his interest.

"How is it? Does this work meet the exacting standards of our esteemed Director Chen?" Chen Hong asked with a smile as she sat down beside him.

"It truly deserves to be an online literary work shortlisted for the Lu Xun Literary Prize. The author's writing style has genuine substance—it is grand yet steady, vivid yet composed, simple yet direct. The tone is calm, yet every single word strikes straight to the heart," Director Chen remarked.

This came as quite a surprise to Chen Hong. As the person sharing a pillow with him, she knew his temperament all too well.

The pride of Director Chen was deeply rooted in his bones.

For him to make such a comment clearly meant he was exceptionally satisfied with the work.

"However, if we are to adapt it into a film, it will need massive revisions. This work is far too hopeless and dark," Old Chen sighed, unable to help himself.

"Have you made up your mind?" Chen Hong asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes. We are in the internet age now, and an old dog like me must keep pace with the times. Besides, the theme of cyberbullying is a social issue well worth exploring.

Still, if I direct it, cyberbullying won't be the entirety of the film. What interests me most are the people behind the screen," Director Chen stated.

"The people behind the screen?" Chen Hong echoed.

"Exactly. Look at the internet nowadays—people will say anything. Back then, that scoundrel brazenly took my work to create a parody. What did he understand? He understood nothing. Would he dare to do such a thing in real life? He wouldn't. But behind the screen of the internet, people like that are everywhere.

The people behind the internet in this story—they are the crucial element!

They understand nothing of the truth, blindly listening and believing everything, adding their own biased perceptions, and then standing on the moral high ground to judge others.

However, in the novel, Ye Lanqiu is bullied by college students while watching the sunrise at dawn, and then accidentally falls to her death—I cannot accept that. Furthermore, Chen Ruoxi jumping to her death is far too cruel for a journalist. And then there is the doctor who harbors feelings for Ye Lanqiu, attempting to persecute Mo Xiaoyu through surgery—that is simply too vicious.

If I am going to direct this, I will definitely make major changes!" Director Chen declared.

Chen Hong was even more astonished. She well remembered how "A Bloody Maple Leaf Caused by a Steamed Bun" had practically made Old Chen spit blood back then; he had been furious enough to explode.

Consequently, no one ever dared to bring up the incident in his presence, as it was practically a scar on his pride.

However, after skimming through this novel of barely 100,000 words, she suddenly began to understand why Old Chen was so interested in it.

Clearly, he was still harboring a grudge over that old incident involving the parody video!

Naturally, Chen Hong was wise enough not to touch upon a sore subject.

In truth, New Classics Media had recommended more than just this single work. Director Chen had been too preoccupied with "The Orphan of Zhao" to pay attention at first, and only recalled it now that his schedule had cleared up.

As a premier, top-tier director in the country (in his own estimation), he indeed did not need to worry overly much about whether the rights to a piece of work could be secured.

Without delay, Director Chen placed a call to Cao Huayi, the head of New Classics Media.

He informed Cao that he had decided to adapt the internet novel titled "Digital Death".

Although the adaptation rights had not yet been acquired, Director Chen had already summoned his go-to screenwriter, Tang Xiaonian, to discuss script adaptation matters.

As for whether they could secure the adaptation rights? Director Chen felt that was hardly something he needed to concern himself with. Who was he?

He was the first and only Chinese master director to win the Palme d'Or! Besides, it was merely a piece of web fiction.

On the other end, New Classics Media naturally attached immense importance to Director Chen. Naturally, they rushed to contact the copyright holder the very moment he expressed his desire to adapt it.

To the absolute astonishment of New Classics Media, however, the rights to this work had already been purchased by someone else the previous year.

That was hardly an insurmountable obstacle; they could simply spend a bit more money. Director Chen's requests must be prioritized.

Consequently, representatives from New Classics Media quickly tracked down Chen Mo's prosperous production company, Prosperous Century Pictures.

"'Digital Death'? New Classics Media?" Hearing Zhao Ming report that New Classics Media had reached out to acquire the film and television adaptation rights for "Digital Death", Chen Mo understood the situation instantly.

As for who the director and lead actors of the film "Caught in the Web" were in his past life, Chen Mo was crystal clear, though he hadn't known precisely which company held the rights.

A moment later, Chen Mo chuckled wryly.

He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He had to admit that the advantages of rebirth were fully manifested in moments like this.

Look, previously, "Love Is Not Blind" and Tenehua Tao had been intercepted by him.

And now, Director Chen had stepped right into the trap as well.

Actually, Chen Mo held a fair amount of respect for Director Chen. True, some people claimed that the man had lived off a single masterpiece, "Farewell My Concubine", for his entire life.

Yet credit where credit is due—"Farewell My Concubine" was truly a classic masterpiece!

However, respect was one thing, but personal distaste was another.

Although he had gotten what he asked for back then when he used mutual hype for promotion, it would be a lie to say he didn't hold the slightest grudge in his heart.

After all, Director Chen's dismissive remark about "stray cats and dogs" was rather grating, no matter when it was said.

Even though he had indeed been a nobody at the time, what gave anyone the right to insult others as mere cats and dogs?

Originally, Chen Mo hadn't really been in a position to do anything about it, but lo and behold, fate had brought them face to face.

Chen Mo's initial acquisition of "Digital Death", the original novel of "Caught in the Web", had actually had very little to do with Director Chen. It was purely because his own experiences had brought this particular work to mind.

Regarding films about cyberbullying, one could say that even years later in his past life, while there were a few, none were more famous than "Caught in the Web".

Although the box office of that film in his past life hadn't achieved the runaway dark-horse success of "Love Is Not Blind", it was still considered a solid project.

Furthermore, having watched the film in his past life, to be honest, he hadn't been particularly fond of certain plot adaptations made within it.

Take the ultimate fates of the characters, for instance.

The endings for Chen Ruoxi and Yang Jiayi were, in Chen Mo's view, far too lenient.

The crucial point was that the film even seemed to display a certain degree of sympathy toward Chen Ruoxi, something Chen Mo truly could not comprehend.

Wasn't this entire ordeal single-handedly caused by Chen Ruoxi? She was the primary instigator! Yet her ending was merely losing her relationship and her job—please, Ye Lanqiu had died!

Losing her so-called romance and career was supposedly the ultimate price she paid?

No matter how others saw it, Chen Mo felt that compared to the devastating consequences she had unleashed, this cost was far too trivial.