**Chapter 92: The Party**

"Haha, Kate, welcome, welcome!"

In the crowd, an old man stood up first and greeted her warmly.

"Mr. Schwartz, I'm sorry I'm late!"

Kate gave a reserved smile, then quickly returned to her serious expression.

"No worries, have a seat. There are plenty of friends who want to meet you."

Old Schwartz gestured for Kate to join the crowd.

"Ms. Kelly, I'm Eric Wald. I love your book!"

"Ms. Kelly, I'm Fred from Greenlight Productions. Could we talk?"

"Kate, I'm the author of *Glass House*. Are you interested in joining our literary club?"

As soon as Kate sat down, people rushed up to greet her, handing her business cards. Some stayed to talk about literature, creativity, or business.

The room suddenly became lively.

Kate sat in the center, trying to maintain the air of a great author.

Nina and Hanli sat on either side of her, helping to manage the people who came over to chat.

Whenever Kate responded with just a few words, it drew a wave of enthusiastic replies, making her the star of the evening.

However, she didn't seem to enjoy this kind of scene, occasionally casting someone a death glare.

Luca smirked slightly. The smile was somewhat bitter. He knew he'd be in trouble when they got home.

*Sigh~*

He let out a soft sigh and sat down on one of the curved wooden stools in front of the cooking station.

"Haha, Luca! It's great to see you!"

Old Schwartz, leaning on a cane, came over and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder.

Luca winced slightly. The old man might look frail, but his strength was still impressive. Luca wondered if Schwartz had ever fought dragons in his youth.

He subtly shifted his shoulder. "Mr. Schwartz, how's your health?"

"Haha, not bad at all!"

Old Schwartz sat down next to him, grabbing a blue-and-white porcelain sake pot and pouring two cups of sake.

"Luca, how about a drink?"

"OK!"

Luca picked up his cup with both hands, clinking it with the old man's in a perfectly formal manner. The sake was smooth and fragrant, with a refreshing, sweet aftertaste—a nice daiginjo.

"Luca, the success of *Twilight* is all thanks to you. I appreciate your hard work!"

The old man poured two more cups.

Luca shook his head and smiled. "Mr. Schwartz—"

"Call me Karl."

Old Schwartz chuckled.

"Alright, Karl."

Calling an old man by his first name felt awkward. "Karl, it wasn't just me. My sister, Emily, Felix, and you, Mr. Schwartz—it was a group effort."

"Haha, well said!"

Old Schwartz raised his cup.

*Clink!*

They toasted again.

"Enjoy!"

The chef behind the cooking station placed two servings of golden grilled miso-marinated cod in front of them.

The fish, about two fingers wide, glistened with honey glaze. The small plate held only three slices of fish, garnished with cilantro and shiso leaves.

The golden yellow paired with the fresh green was visually striking and artfully presented.

"Luca, try it. This Japanese restaurant is ranked in the top ten in New York."

Old Schwartz smiled.

"Sure!"

Luca picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, took a bite, and the tender, delicate fish melted in his mouth. It was fresh and had a slight hint of sake—delicious.

"Very nice!"

Luca smiled at the Japanese chef.

"Thank you!"

The chef bowed in gratitude.

"Haha, Luca, feel free to come by anytime. I'll treat you!"

Old Schwartz said enthusiastically.

"Thank you!"

The two of them ate, drank, and chatted, like old friends from different generations.

"Hey, Luca! I'm exhausted, and you're still drinking here?!"

In the middle of their conversation, Kate came over, glaring at him.

Luca laughed heartily, picking up a piece of fresh shrimp sashimi with his chopsticks.

"Try this!"

Kate opened her mouth and ate it. She glanced at his hands and said, "You're pretty good with chopsticks!"

Luca shrugged. After decades of practice, he'd never forget.

"Kate, what were you talking about?"

"Flaubert, Maupassant, postmodernism, magical realism..."

Kate sighed, resting her head in her hand. "My brain's about to explode."

"Kate, have a drink. This'll help with the headache."

Old Schwartz poured another cup of sake.

"Thanks!"

Kate stopped pretending and downed the sake in one go. Afterward, she let out a long sigh. "Not bad!"

"Kate, you're amazing! Compared to you, Luca's like a little girl."

Old Schwartz teased.

"Mr. Schwartz, didn't you know? Luca is actually my little sister!"

Kate laughed softly, playfully shaking Luca by the neck.

"Great writer, mind your image!"

Luca pushed her arm away.

Kate raised an eyebrow and withdrew her hand.

"Luca, five production companies approached me earlier. They want to buy the adaptation rights for *Twilight*."

She took another sip of sake.

Luca smiled slightly, unsurprised.

"How strong are the five companies?"

"New Line and Summit Entertainment are decent. I've never heard of the other three."

Kate shrugged. The representatives from the other three companies had seemed sleazy to her, so she hadn't bothered remembering their names.

"The other three are just licensing companies,"

Old Schwartz chimed in. "They specialize in buying adaptation rights for niche novels, then flipping them to major studios like Disney or Universal after some hype. But *Twilight* is a bestseller—it doesn't need the hype. Working with them wouldn't be worth it."

Luca nodded. "Kate, what did New Line and Summit offer?"

"New Line offered $2 million for the entire series' film rights. Summit offered $1.5 million plus 5% of the merchandising profits."

"That's not very generous."

Luca shook his head slightly. "Kate, let's hold off on selling the film rights for now. Wait until the entire series is published."

"Got it!"

After a few more drinks and dishes, Kate was called away by Nina.

"Luca, when you signed *Twilight*, how did you think to retain the film rights?"

Old Schwartz furrowed his white brows.

Luca smirked. "Karl, I'm an actor. When Kate designed *Twilight*'s male lead, she based him on me. She hoped that one day I could play the lead role, so we kept the film rights. It was just a small dream."

"Haha, a small dream?"

Old Schwartz took a big gulp of sake. "That 'small dream' is worth millions—maybe billions. Our publishing house lost big on this one."

"Lost big? Wow, Karl, what are you talking about? I heard that when Felix signed *Twilight*, you were banging on the door!"

Luca teased.

Old Schwartz's beard twitched. He chuckled awkwardly. "Haha, let's not talk about that. Let's drink!"

Luca smiled slightly, raising his cup. Just as he was about to imitate Kate and down his drink, he noticed a pretty boy sitting across from her, the two of them chatting happily.

*Bang!*

He slammed his cup down hard.

"Karl, warm the sake for me. I'll be right back."

Straightening his clothes, he marched off with determination.

"Warm sake?"

Old Schwartz raised an eyebrow and said to the chef, "Mr. Hiromu, please warm this cup of sake."

"Of course!"