Chapter One Hundred Autograph Session

  Trafalgar Square is located in the heart of London, its moderate geographical location and beautiful square buildings make it one of the famous scenic spots in London.

  Mrs. Sha Man took her daughter into the square and couldn't help but sigh as she watched the huge crowd surging towards the National Art Museum.

  She herself is a somewhat famous writer, and now she's recklessly attending the book signing of a twelve-year-old boy, it's crazy.

  "Mom, can we hurry up? There are so many people."

  "Alright, dear."

  Shaman quickened her pace, her seven-year-old daughter had always been very self-abased, Harry Potter was her only comfort, and she had to satisfy her wishes.

  "Mom, can we see Ryan?" The little girl kept her head down, with a few twisted gloomy shadows still on her face.

  "Of course I will, dear Kate."

  "Why was Ryan fluent at four and writing children's fantasy novels at six, while I'm seven now and can't even read the simplest article, Harry Potter has to be read to me by you or dad."

  "It's okay, just wait until you're a bit older." Mrs. Samantha looked helpless, knowing that her daughter had dyslexia.

  The girl called Kate hung her head and followed her mother's footsteps to the National Gallery of Art, with an even more gloomy expression on her face.

  Why is that? She wanted to ask everyone, she read the same school as Ryan in London at the time, and used the same textbook, why did she have a barrier, why did all her classmates like to mock her? Why do they all say she's an eccentric little girl?

  Outside the National Gallery, a long queue had already formed in front of the historic bookstore. Fortunately, this was Great Britain, London, where people took pride in their reserve and tradition, so there were no instances of people arriving a day or several days early to wait in line.

  Sha Man and her mother arrived early and soon found themselves in a position near the front of the queue, as the crowd slowly moved forward.

  "Mom, it seems like there are reporters." She tugged at her mother's hem.

  "Darling, Ryan is a big star, it's normal for reporters to come over."

  "Is he a big star? Is he more famous than Dad?" She couldn't quite understand the meaning of this word at her age, and subconsciously brought up Director Father.

  Shaman smiled helplessly, her husband was an old-timer and had some reputation in the UK, but compared to that boy...

  "Hey, ma'am, hello. Is this your daughter? I'm a reporter with The Times, may I ask her a few questions?"

  A female journalist walked over at this time. Shamen saw that she was a regular reporter, not a paparazzo, and didn't block her, nodding slightly.

  After all, letting a daughter have more contact with people is beneficial for her character.

  Although she was a bit eccentric, the girl was still somewhat clever. She tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "Okay, ask away."

  "Do you like the Harry Potter series?" The reporter's question was a bit silly, seemingly treating the girl as if she were a weak-minded child.

  "Of course! Every night before I go to sleep, I have either Dad or Mom read me a chapter."

  "Then which character inside do you like best?"

  "Miss Know-It-All, Hermione Granger!" The girl replied crisply, but in her heart she was thinking, if only I were as clever as her.

  "So you like Ryan Jenkins?"

  "Yes, all of his works my dad and mom have gone through, let me tell you a secret, I am now studying in the same school as Ryan." The girl's chin rose unconsciously, as if those inferiorities had disappeared.

  The reporter asked Ms. Shamen a few more questions and walked away satisfied, looking for the next interview target.

  They finally lined up in the bookstore and found that most of the people in front were not just buying "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", but instead, they had all the books published by Rain packaged together and walked towards the signing desk.

  "Mom..." The girl pulled on her mother's arm, a look of expectation in her eyes.

  "Alright, dear." Mrs. Sherman quickly picked out books, "Jurassic Park", "The Ryan Stories", "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"..., finally hesitating for a moment before picking up "Resident Evil", after all this book wasn't children's reading material.

  But seeing the bright eyes of his daughter, even the self-abasement and gloom on his face disappeared, he smiled and took down "Resident Evil", walking towards the checkout counter.

  Sitting behind the signing desk, Ryan waved his pen and signed with a sense of melancholy. All businessmen in the world are the same, born to pursue profits.

  This time, the publisher even launched a seven-book package discount project, which indeed boosted the sales of all books, but his workload increased greatly.

  However, if you want to gain something, you have to pay a corresponding price.

  To put that into perspective, the advance for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" alone was $5 million, which is less than the $10 million J.K. Rowling got for this book back in 2000, but keep in mind it's now 1992.

  Moreover, there is also a royalty share of up to 25% afterwards.

  Because of his past life's involvement in the entertainment industry, Ryan knew a thing or two about book publishing. Domestic publishers didn't need to be mentioned, and at the time of his rebirth, it seemed that no one's royalties could exceed 15%, while international conventions were 15%——20%.

  It has to be said that domestic writers are also a group of miserable people. Like other industries, taxes and various expenses are approaching developed countries, but income is not getting obvious growth.

  Looking at the thick stack of books in front of him, Ryan's mouth twitched slightly. This middle-aged couple had bought a total of 6 sets, 42 volumes in all, and as they put it, they wanted to give one set to each relative in their family.

  "Thanks for your support!" Ryan lowered his head and flicked his wrist, sending the two people away.

  "Ray... Rayen, hello..."

  A shy girl's voice came from in front of him. He looked up and smiled, extending his hand. "Hello, thank you for your support."

  "Rye..." The girl opposite him looked a bit shriveled up and hesitated before giving his hand a slight squeeze.

  "Don't be nervous, take a look at me, I'm just like you, with one nose and two eyes, not some kind of monster the media makes me out to be." Ryan said with a slight smile.

  "Mom." The girl also smiled and her facial expression brightened up.

  Ms. Shaman put seven books on the table, Ryan took over the top "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", turned to the title page, and signed his name in a flourish.

  "Rye... can... " The girl seemed a bit nervous and also somewhat self-deprecating, "Can you write a congratulatory message?"

  "No problem." Ryan gave her an encouraging look.

  "Go ahead..." The girl scratched her red hair, "Hmm... Kate, may you overcome your difficulties and read fluently."

  "Alright, lovely Kate." Ryan wrote this sentence on the six books without any hesitation.

  On the last page of "Jurassic Park", Ryan wrote and whispered, "Kate, although life is always full of disappointments, confidence and a bright smile will make you more beautiful.

  "You know, when I was a kid, I encountered even more difficult things, but I never gave up, never lost faith. So, keep working hard and you will overcome all the hardships!"

  "Thanks, Ryan!"

  Upon hearing his words, the gloom on the girl's face gradually dissipated, her self-abasement decreased a bit, and her smile became more confident.

  "Mom, I will work hard, I'll try as hard as Ryan."

  Watching them leave, Ryan shook her head and suddenly felt that if she wasn't a star, she could also be a psychologist. Had she been influenced by Natalie? She always loved to read psychology books in her free time.

  It's not bad to help one's fans resolve a little psychological inferiority complex, thinking about it, if you want to become a super superstar, you have to have something that sets you apart from the rest, otherwise, even if you pull someone out of Hollywood, there won't be much difference. Ryan thought as he busied himself again.

  After a busy four hours, Ryan escaped the siege of paparazzi and reporters and got into the car, heading to the villa.

  Leaning against the back seat, he stuck out his tongue, feeling as tired as a dead dog. This time was really exhausting, more than the album signing last time. He signed nearly four thousand books, and just the numbness of his wrist made him sigh.

  There were also those journalists who feared that the world would not be chaotic, constantly asking him whether Harry Potter was British literature, and whether it was because he received a British-style enlightenment education that he had such outstanding literary and artistic talents.

  Ryan really wanted to give them the finger, I never attended classes when I was studying in London, where did this British education come from? You ask like this, aren't you afraid of triggering a media war across the Atlantic?

  These guys are eager for this kind of situation to happen, so they can attract attention and boost sales. Perhaps if the two sides of the Atlantic were firing missiles at each other, it would be most in line with their wishes. If the world is destroyed, the happiest ones will definitely be the British paparazzi.

  Ryan is not a fool and won't be used by others like a tool.

  Back at the Kensington villa, Ryan found Natalie had returned and was sitting in the living room reading a book, which happened to be about directing.

  "This is what I found on your bookshelf in your room. Anyway, there's nothing to do, so I just took a look." Natalie said.

  "How did you get back so quickly?" Ryan sat down beside her.

  "Walked along the Thames River, and that's it for London, nothing special." She obviously didn't have much interest in sightseeing.

  "Don't you think beautiful scenery can cultivate artistic temperament?" Ryan said with a smirk.

  "Alright Ryan, do you know what art is? Oh right, art is for money and honor." Natalie was still reading her book.

  "Alright, I admit it, you're smarter than me, fine." Ryan didn't bother to argue with her and headed upstairs, "I'm going back to my room to look at the script, we leave for Poland in a few days."

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