"Hey, Seth," River Sterling hopped onto Seth Quinn’s desk, glancing over at Clara Grant before turning back to him. He lowered his voice and asked, "So, has she agreed to go public with your relationship?"

Seth Quinn glanced up, looking as if he couldn’t be bothered to reply, yet he answered without a moment’s hesitation. "She’s halfway there."

It wasn’t hard to hear the smugness in his voice.

River Sterling was completely baffled. "’Halfway there’? What does that even mean?"

"It means we’ll go public as a couple first. We’ll announce the marriage later on."

"Why?" River Sterling was even more confused. ’Is there really a difference between telling people you’re dating and telling them you’re married?’

"Because she..." Seth Quinn started to explain, but he stopped short when he saw the gossipy look on River’s face. "River Sterling, did you drag me all the way back here in such a panic just to gossip?"

"Heh, of course not." River Sterling scratched his head. ’It was their fault for making such a big scene. I got so caught up in the gossip that I forgot all about business.’

"If you have something to discuss, spit it out." When the topic turned to business, Seth instantly became serious.

River Sterling’s expression turned serious as well. "Right, so, you know that web novel we were interested in a while back? The one we wanted to buy the film and television rights for?"

As he spoke, he placed a file in front of Seth Quinn and continued, "A while back, I contacted the author online to talk things over. At the time, she was pretty happy to hear we wanted to buy her copyright, and she seemed satisfied with the price. So we scheduled an in-person meeting, which was supposed to be today.

"I figured there wouldn’t be any issues and we could sign the contract after our talk. I even brought it with me. But when I got to the meeting place, the author suddenly called me to say she wasn’t coming. On top of that, she said she wasn’t willing to sell the copyright anymore."

Seth Quinn stared at the file, mulling it over for a moment. "Any reason? Did she want to raise the price?"

"No," River Sterling shook his head. "I brought that up. I told her we could increase our offer if she wasn’t satisfied with the price, but she still refused. She said it’s not about the money."

"’Not about the money?’ Then what is it?"

"She didn’t say. She just hung up on me."

"Then keep trying to contact her. Do your best to win her over."

It was River Sterling who had found the novel online. Despite its poor online sales, River had insisted on buying the copyright, positive that it would be a huge hit if it were made into a television series.

He had been the one following up on it the whole time.

However, Seth Quinn didn’t think this was such a big or urgent matter. They could have just talked about it on the phone. ’Was it really necessary to call me back to the office for this?’

River Sterling nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "Um, Seth, what I mean is... can we just agree to whatever conditions she asks for? As long as she agrees to sell us the copyright, that’s all that matters!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’Agree to any condition she names? Isn’t that a bit of a huge concession?’

Seth Quinn frowned and looked at River Sterling. "Why are you so insistent on this?"

"Why?" The question clearly made River Sterling emotional. "I found this story, and I’ve been following it for months, reading every new Chapter. It’s not just an investment project for me anymore. It’s like a child I’ve watched grow up.

"When would I normally handle such minor details myself? But for this novel, I’ve been following it for so long, paying close attention to it, and I’ve poured so much effort into it. How could I possibly give up so easily?

"You have to understand, *You Are My Eternal Love* is a romance novel! A romance! I’m a grown man, and I’ve been following this sappy story every single day. Do you think that’s been easy for me?!"

"Who?" The words had barely left his mouth when Clara Grant, who was standing nearby, called out to him. "Who did you just say?"