Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 224 - 220 Upper West Side

Flushing, the acting class founded by a famous Broadway actor had just ended.

Vera Farmiga was packing up her clothes while digesting the new knowledge she had just learned.

Even though "Anomalies" leaned more towards comedy, the audience didn’t really care much about acting.

But as an ambitious actress, she still wanted to display something different than other actors.

"Vimi," a young actress asked with a bit of flattery, "going to the bar tonight? My treat."

Vera Farmiga glanced at her and smiled as she shook her head.

Having once been a bottom-tier actress, she clearly understood the other’s intentions.

She just wanted to use Vera to get in touch with some people from the "Anomalies" crew to nab a chance on camera.

But... she had made it through Wang Jian, not by schmoozing with some small-fry cinematographer or assistant director.

Introduce this bitch to Wang?

Vera thought of the gossip within the crew and said with a smile, "I have things to do today, maybe another time."

Then she walked down the stairs slowly, full of thoughts.

"Wang is heavily supported by the writer’s community, and very popular with film critics."

"Although this isn’t a big help to become a box office star like Julia Roberts, it offers a major advantage during the awards season."

Vera got into a taxi to head back to her apartment, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

Although presenting herself as a Christmas gift and placing herself next to Wang felt somewhat embarrassing.

But... as long as it achieved her goal.

Even if she, as the gift, had to unwrap herself, what of it?

"Naomi is currently shooting on location, not within New York City."

So...

Vera made up her mind, instructed the taxi driver to change course, and raced straight towards Wang Jian’s apartment.

When she reached the entrance of the apartment, she took a deep breath and touched up her makeup with a compact mirror.

"Wang," she pressed the doorbell gently, revealing her most charming smile.

"I must replace Naomi Watts and become Wang’s exclusive leading lady."

"Who are you looking for?"

At that moment, a new apartment manager asked Vera.

"A resident here, a young Asian," Vera glanced at him and replied.

"Oh, you mean Wang Jian? That best-selling author?" The manager shrugged, "He’s already left here, moved to the Upper West Side."

"Ah?" Vera’s mouth fell open slightly, a bit surprised.

Not so much surprised that Wang Jian had moved away, but surprised he hadn’t notified her.

Could it be that in Wang’s heart, it was just a one-night stand?

He didn’t have any attachment to her body?

If Wang Jian could hear Vera’s thoughts, he would definitely nod in agreement.

Because now, all he could think of was the further reduction of his cash.

"Although the neighborhood is beautiful and the number of police is astonishingly high," Wang Jian muttered to himself on the sofa, "but 3 million US dollars is really too expensive!"

To be honest, he had not intended to move away from his previous apartment.

But ever since his image started being broadcast on television nonstop,

the visitors to that apartment had become a constant stream.

Most of the male neighbors, being "Wall Street elites," behaved quite in accordance with social etiquette.

But those female neighbors behaved quite unreservedly.

Please, he wasn’t a teddy bear, why attract other men’s wives?

Wang Jian stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows of the villa, "Fortunately, in this community, I can get rid of that kind of trouble."

Indeed, being in the Upper West Side, a hub for public figures, he was essentially invisible.

Just to mention Wang Jian’s two neighbors, one was Hillary Hahn, arguably the most elegant violinist of the century.

And the other was the most renowned director in American independent film, Clint Eastwood.

"Indeed, the only downside to expensive things is their cost."

"The previous owner, recognizing our shared Chinese heritage, even gave me a discount."

He looked at the three young Latino maids, anxiously cleaning the house under the guarantee of the community, and sighed softly.

After buying Apple stocks and purchasing the villa in full, he was left with less than two million in cash.

"I heard that in our community, a 12-year-old child actor made nearly a million dollars for just one movie, ’Manny & Lo.’"

Wang Jian muttered under his breath, "Fuck, surely the cash I can cough up isn’t less than that little girl called Scarlett Johansson’s, right?"

He stood up and walked towards the maids.

"Don’t go into the study without my orders."

"Yes," the leading maid responded with an excellent attitude.

But once Wang Jian entered the study, he could hear the maids outside discussing in their broken English.

"I heard that Celine Dion spent a whole 1.7 million on her birthday party."

"That must be the most luxurious in the community, right?"

"But I heard from nearby servants that our employer is the richest in the community."

1.7 million, the richest?

Wang Jian’s mouth twitched into a bitter smile.

To calm his nerves, he played a CD left behind by the previous owner.

According to them, it was a collection from the first generation of immigrants containing Chinese cultural heritage.

"To save her lover Li Lang, she left home, who would expect to top the imperial examinations. To top the exams, dressed in red robes."

What?

This is... an opera?

He hurriedly took out the CD to check it.

He could vaguely make out the Chinese characters for "Princess Consort" written on it.

Well, he really couldn’t appreciate this.

"Never mind, never mind," he sighed. "I better get back to writing. Making money is what’s most important."

Wang Jian picked up the statistics provided by Tom and started to examine them carefully.

He soon discovered that the level of female spending on the website wasn’t much less than that of males.

Female-oriented content accounted for one-quarter of the site’s total expenditures.

Considering that only "Prison Break," "Harem Boleyn," and "Twilight" were big hits,

The return on investment for successful single titles was actually much higher than for male-oriented content.

He clicked on "Twilight" and reviewed it for a while.

He quickly formed his own opinion.

It was a romance-centric work, similar to "Prison Break."

Ugh...

That notion of love being the greatest force was something Wang Jian knew he definitely couldn’t write.

And to force the second half of his mind’s "Empresses in the Palace" into a romance would turn it not into female-oriented content, but into horror.

So, which famous historical figures matched the setting of "Empresses in the Palace"?

He picked up a pen and wrote down several names on a draft.

They were Catherine II, Saint Joan, Queen Anne of Britain, Wu Zetian, and the most mysterious Jon.

He immediately ruled out Saint Joan because her story ended tragically.

Though betrayal, surrender, and defection were routine for the Gallia rooster,

Female audiences would definitely not want to see that.

Next, Wang Jian crossed out the names of the Russian Queen and Wu Zetian.

The palace power struggles of these two women accounted for only a small part of their lives.

Most of the time, they were contemplating which male minister to execute.

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