Chapter 147: Just... A 100-Yuan Copyright Fee
Adrian Lancaster lowered his gaze. ’So what if you know?’ he thought. ’Is Second Brother really going to ditch me to go hang out with you?’
’It’s not like I care if Alvin Lancaster keeps me company. This is a perfect chance to check on the movie I snatched from Caleb Lowell.’
’Then again, Adrian Lancaster’s happiness won’t last long. He’s about to have a major scandal.’
’First Brother gets cancer, Second Brother ends up in a mental hospital, and when it’s Third Brother’s turn, he first has a scandal over a fabricated father-son bond, then gets poisoned and falls into a coma.’
’So tragic. The whole family is just a bunch of unlucky saps.’
Alvin Lancaster had been torn, but hearing this snapped him to his senses.
’So my younger brother has a disaster waiting for him, too? No, I absolutely cannot leave my sister’s side during this time!’
No one could predict an illness, and it’s hard to prevent; all you can do is get more check-ups. But a scandal and a poisoning—since those are man-made, they can definitely be avoided!
"Then it’s settled. I’ll go with Jay to help her unwind. Chase, you have your assistant take care of you." Alvin Lancaster was afraid that if he hesitated for even a second, his sister wouldn’t let him tag along.
Adrian Lancaster: "..."
He slowly clenched his fists, telling himself to stay calm.
Second Brother was the one in the family who doted on him the most. He would never abandon him for no reason.
Unless... Second Brother could also hear his sister’s thoughts.
If that was the case, then choosing to stay by his sister’s side out of concern for him was the most logical move.
"Alright, Second Brother, you go hang out with Jay for now. As soon as I’m feeling better, I’ll fly over and meet up with you guys," Adrian Lancaster said with a smile.
Jane Lancaster: "Third Brother, you don’t have to force yourself. Second Brother, you should stay with Third Brother. I’ll be fine."
’Why did they both suddenly change their minds? Have they lost their minds?’
’If you don’t want to come with me, you really don’t have to force it. Seriously, you think I want to deal with you two?’
’One is a fickle fence-sitter, the other is a selfish prick. So annoying.’
With these thoughts, Jane Lancaster took off early the next morning with Mama Knight.
She even left a special note for Alvin Lancaster, explaining that she didn’t want to put Second Brother in a difficult position, so she had decided to go unwind by herself. She told him to take good care of Third Brother.
The obedient, sensible, and wronged yet forbearing tone between the lines made Alvin Lancaster’s heart ache for her.
Adrian Lancaster nearly crushed his own knuckles. This was too much. How did she become such a green tea?
——
Jane Lancaster took Mama Knight and went straight to find Jared Thorne.
The production had just wrapped, and they were about to move into the editing phase.
Jared Thorne was nervous at first. Filming was over; was the investor showing up now because she wanted to interfere with the editing?
Later, he realized he’d been overthinking it. She was really just there to have fun. In fact, it was Mama Knight who, seeing Jared Thorne working day and night supervising the edit, enthusiastically helped out by cooking meals and making soup.
One day, Mama Knight was passing by the recording studio next door when she saw her young mistress playing the erhu. She couldn’t help but stop in her tracks, stunned.
Even though the sun was blazing outside, she was inexplicably shaken by the unfamiliar melody, and before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face.
Jane Lancaster finished the piece, then raised her eyes to look quietly at the person standing in the doorway.
"Young Miss, what piece is that? It’s played so beautifully, but it’s just so sorrowful." Mama Knight wiped her tears.
"It’s nothing, just something I improvised." After speaking, Jane Lancaster turned to Jared Thorne, whose face was a mess of tears and snot. "Director Thorne, what do you think? Could this be used as an insert song for the movie?"
Jared Thorne, a veritable tough guy, was bawling. He tried to hold it in but couldn’t stop the tears, utterly moved and shaken.
"I never expected you to be such a skilled erhu player." He had recently found a singer to work with but had been consistently unsatisfied with the movie’s theme song. Now, finally, it felt right.
"Yes, of course, yes! Did you compose this piece specifically for the movie?" he asked, haphazardly wiping away his tears.
Jane Lancaster: "Yes. Otherwise, would it be a coincidence?"
Having your musical talent accidentally discovered by a director—that’s the kind of thing that only happens to a female lead.
The female lead has no ulterior motives. Everything just happens to her; people chase after her, begging her, and she inexplicably ends up with both fame and fortune.
But Jane Lancaster did have ulterior motives. She liked to have everything under her control, acting only when she had a clear goal.
To put it bluntly, she had calculated that Jared Thorne would be passing by, and that was why she played this piece.
Luckily, Jared Thorne was a straightforward guy. He didn’t feel like he’d been manipulated by Jane Lancaster; on the contrary, he was ecstatic.
"Thank you, thank you so much! Miss Lancaster, you’re a lifesaver, this is a huge help!"
——
Luna Morgan was a bit surprised. She had been recommended by a friend; they wanted to buy her composition for the movie’s theme song, but now they were suddenly saying it wasn’t needed.
"Excuse me, may I ask why?" Luna Morgan asked, grabbing a staff member.
She had known how to play this piece since she was a child. It was likely a composition her birth mother had created. She had later adapted it and hoped that more people would get to hear it.
This was an excellent opportunity, and she didn’t want to give it up.
Her birth mother passed away when she was very young. Her current mother was her father’s second wife.
That beautiful woman was thus gradually forgotten by the passage of time.
But she didn’t want her birth mother to be forgotten, as if she had never existed. That was why she had to get this song out there, no matter what.
"Your composition doesn’t quite fit our movie’s theme," the staff member replied.
To begin with, this piece was always a backup. The director wasn’t very satisfied with it and only kept it under consideration out of respect for the person who recommended it.
Now that they had something better, of course they weren’t going to use this one.
The staff member left after saying his piece.
Luna Morgan hadn’t expected to come all this way just for this result. "How could this be?"
Chloe Dave’s heart ached for her. "What other reason could there be? When this movie had its funding pulled and the crew almost disbanded, you were the only one willing to sell your song to them. You were trying to help them out, but the moment they got a new investor, they kicked you to the curb."
"To put it bluntly, they have a capitalist backer now. They can’t appreciate a work with depth and just want to spend a ton of money hiring some so-called professional to write a piece of utter garbage."
"It’s their loss for not wanting your song!"
Luna Morgan still had a lot of confidence in her composition. "Maybe."
After all, Adrian Lancaster had praised this piece. Even Caleb Lowell was moved when she played it and had asked her what it was called.
Thinking of Caleb Lowell, Luna Morgan’s expression couldn’t help but dim.
She had gone looking for him to explain the misunderstanding from that day, but Caleb Lowell refused to see her.
She also wanted to find Jane Lancaster to apologize. She hadn’t intentionally skipped delivering the cake that day.
If Jane Lancaster was still angry and wanted to order her to do anything, she would do it without complaint, as long as Jane could forgive Caleb Lowell.
But Jane Lancaster had gone away to unwind. Even if she wanted to atone, she couldn’t find her.
As Luna Morgan was walking out, she suddenly looked up and saw a figure walk past.
She froze on the spot, a terrible suspicion forming in her mind.
’Could it be that the crew rejected her song not because it wasn’t good enough, but because someone was maliciously targeting her?’
’Why would Miss Lancaster do this... Was it to strike back in revenge?’
"Wait." Luna Morgan made up her mind, hurried back, and wrote a note.
"I’m willing to sign over the rights to this composition to your production. You don’t have to credit me; you can put anyone’s name you want. All I ask is... a one-hundred-dollar copyright fee!"