Hearing the laughter coming from downstairs, Luca sighed lightly.
"Time to write."
The issue with Fifty Shades of Grey had been discovered, and he was preparing to revise it.
The original Fifty Shades of Grey was first published on a novel website, using Twilight fan fiction as a selling point to attract attention.
When it was time to publish, the author changed the main characters' names to avoid copyright disputes.
It was the same now—he had planned to make the changes before publishing.
However, the book became so popular that Greenwood Publishing House noticed it and sent him a legal notice.
He had no choice but to revise the book ahead of time.
After logging into the website, he posted an announcement on the homepage: "Due to copyright issues, this book will be unavailable for three days while revisions are made. It will be republished once the changes are complete. Thank you for your understanding!"
He manually blocked Fifty Shades of Grey and began editing.
Beep beep~
Just after blocking the book, over 99 comments appeared instantly on the homepage.
Most of them were from readers asking about the reason for the block, and some even claimed to be lawyers offering help.
More than ten comments were from editors at publishing houses, asking to chat privately.
Luca skimmed through the messages and picked a few to reply to.
Just as he was about to close the comments, a message popped up from Greenwood Publishing, where an editor asked to chat privately about copyright issues, leaving an email address.
Luca glanced at the email—it looked familiar. It seemed like it was Han Li's email.
He thought for a moment and decided to call Han Li.
"Hey, Luca! Good evening. What's up?" Han Li asked over the phone.
"Yes, Emily. I just saw your message and thought I'd call to discuss."
Luca smiled.
"A message? Did I leave you a message today?"
"Yes, you said you wanted to talk about copyright infringement."
"I did?"
"Alright, I'll come clean—I'm the original author of Fifty Shades of Grey, Miss Demon!"
"Wait…Luca, are you saying you're Miss Demon?"
Emily was stunned for a moment.
"Yes, today I received a summons from the Publishing Court. The plaintiff is Greenwood Publishing. I was going to reveal this later, but I guess it's time to come clean. You guys can drop the lawsuit, and I won't have to rush the edits."
"Luca, did you really write Fifty Shades of Grey?"
This time, Felix's voice came through, still somewhat in disbelief.
Luca shook his head, reopened the comments, and replied "Yes" under Han Li's comment.
"You wrote such an unorthodox novel?"
"Is there a problem with that?" Luca asked, a little annoyed.
"No, no! Haha!"
A loud snorting laugh came through the phone.
Luca's face darkened. "What are you laughing at? Is there anything else? If not, I'm hanging up!"
"Wait!" Felix finally stopped laughing. "Luca, since you're Miss Demon, let's talk business. How about letting our publishing house handle Fifty Shades of Grey? We can negotiate the terms."
Luca smirked. "Sorry, Felix. Random House already contacted me. They gave me an offer I can't refuse."
Random House is the world's largest English-language commercial publisher, a subsidiary of the massive media conglomerate Bertelsmann.
"Random? What kind of offer did they give you?"
"18% royalties, plus I retain the film rights."
"Impossible! You're a new author."
"I'm a celebrity!"
Berlin's Best Actor, Brazil's most handsome man, everyone's favorite guy—Luca silently chanted in his head.
"Luca, we've worked together for so long, and our collaboration has always been pleasant. Why not continue? An 18% royalty share is outrageous. No publisher would offer that."
"If they did, they'd be a scam. But I guarantee that our terms will be just as good as any other publishing house's."
"Luca, are you free tomorrow? We can sit down and talk."
Luca rubbed his chin. He hadn't planned on giving Fifty Shades of Grey to another publisher anyway—it wouldn't help him keep his identity hidden. But Felix's snorting laugh had disgusted him.
He declined Felix's invitation, claiming he was busy tomorrow and didn't have time for a chat.
But, unexpectedly…
The next morning, as Luca was working out, Felix showed up at his door.
"Haha! Good morning, Luca!"
Felix stood at the entrance, impeccably dressed in a suit.
Luca was speechless.
"Felix, you're a bit too eager!"
He invited the uninvited guest in and poured him a cup of coffee.
"I have to be! Fifty Shades of Grey is incredible. Many publishers are after this book, but the author has been so mysterious—no one has heard anything back."
Felix took a sip of coffee and smiled.
Luca chuckled softly. "Didn't you say the book was unorthodox yesterday?"
"Did I say that?" Felix shook his head. "Impossible! Fifty Shades of Grey is a serious literary work. Its depth is comparable to The Lady of the Camellias. Anyone who says otherwise is a heretic."
As he spoke, Felix opened his briefcase and pulled out a folder.
"Luca, I came with the utmost sincerity today. Look over the terms I've proposed, and if there's anything you're not satisfied with, feel free to let me know."
"You drafted a contract overnight?" Luca asked in surprise.
"Yes, after learning you're 'Miss Demon,' I was so excited that I didn't sleep. I stayed up all night drafting this contract," Felix said with a tired but proud smile.
Luca shook his head. A millionaire who worked this hard—truly impressive.
He opened the contract and glanced over it. 16% royalties for the author.
In the publishing world, royalties for new authors typically range from 5% to 10%. For well-known authors, it's above 10%. Felix offering 16% was nearly the best possible deal.
"Luca, you mentioned film rights yesterday—I've included those for you. If there's anything else you want, just say the word."
Felix sat upright as he spoke.
Luca nodded and continued reading the other terms.
After a while, he slowly began to speak.
"Felix, this contract is sincere, but I have one condition. Before publishing, we need to sign a confidentiality agreement. Only my pen name will be used. My identity must not be revealed."
"Only your pen name?" Felix frowned.
The reason he was offering such a large royalty was due to Luca's fame. The book was engaging, Luca was a public figure, and the novel was controversial.
Once the book hit the shelves, a simple promotion—"Based on the real-life experiences of Luca Kelly"—would cause a sensation.
But if Luca's identity wasn't revealed, the publishing house would have to invest extra in marketing.
"Luca, aside from some of the erotic content, Fifty Shades of Grey is essentially a serious urban love story. Many modern romance novels include erotic elements. You don't have to worry too much about this.
"If the novel sells well, you'll become a famous author—it'll benefit your personal brand, too."
Felix tried to convince him.
Luca shook his head. "Felix, I'm a public figure, and I'm a man. If people found out I wrote Fifty Shades of Grey, it would lead to a lot of unnecessary misunderstandings and trouble.
"So, during promotion, my identity must remain hidden. You can't use my name for marketing. If you disagree, we'll have to pause the deal."
Luca put down the contract.
Felix hesitated for a moment. "If we only use your pen name, the royalty percentage must be adjusted. Would you be okay with that?"
"That's fine."
"Alright then."
Felix nodded.
Without Luca's fame to boost sales, the novel's short-term success wouldn't be as explosive. However, the quality of Fifty Shades of Grey was solid, and securing the publishing rights would still be a win for the publisher.
The two continued negotiating the royalty share.
Half an hour later, Felix left, satisfied.
Luca exhaled and resumed his workout.
"Ugh… did we have guests?"
Kate yawned as she walked downstairs, her long blonde hair flowing freely. She was only wearing a silky cream-colored slip dress that highlighted her long, fair legs and stunning figure.
"Yeah, Felix came by."
Luca filled her in on the Fifty Shades of Grey publishing deal.
Kate nodded, then suddenly narrowed her blue eyes at him. "Someone was peeking into my bedroom last night. Was that you?"
"Uh... no, not me!"
"Not you?"
Kate's icy expression betrayed a flash of anger.
"…Okay, it was me!"
Luca admitted in defeat.
"Hmph! If you're going to look, do it boldly. Why sneak around? You're nothing like my perverted brother!"
Kate pinched his cheek, wearing a teasing smile as she walked into the kitchen.
"Look boldly?"
Luca shook his head. Looking boldly would get him killed faster. He wasn't going to fall for that.
He headed into the gym and continued lifting weights.
After more than a year of consistent training, his physique had become more and more perfect, with his muscles looking better and better.
Every muscle was firm, full, and resilient—hard as iron, yet brimming with power.
"I can take on ten people!"
Luca struck a bodybuilding pose in front of the floor-length mirror.
He was very satisfied with the changes in his body. Nothing felt more fulfilling than growing stronger.
He decided to keep at it—having a strong body made him more resistant to beatings!
One, two, three, four... Huff, puff~
After breakfast that morning, Kate and Miranda went to work, while Luca spent some time editing Fifty Shades of Grey before driving to the recording studio at JIVE Records.
Britney was recording there today, and he planned to stop by and check things out.
(End of chapter)