120: Can you please stop being so double-standard?
Yue Qingzhu saw He Yuanyuan making a wish, so she continued to stand quietly, her hair by her ears gently stirred by the night breeze, swaying slightly by her cheeks.
She looked up at the night sky.
Another shooting star streaked across, drawing an arc in the dark night sky. The head of the shooting star was bright and concentrated, while its tail gradually dispersed, like silver powder scattered by the wind, slowly fading into the air.
Just a second later, the shooting star's light flickered slightly, like a final farewell, before merging into the endless night.
Yue Qingzhu pursed her lips, a feeling of loss spreading through her heart.
Shooting stars are beautiful, but they are also fleeting. Just like the wonderful people in one's life.
She wanted to chat, but He Yuanyuan was still making a wish.
After a moment of hesitation, Yue Qingzhu looked up at the sky, tucked her fluttering hair behind her ear, and softly said, "Teacher Chen."
"Hmm?"
Yue Qingzhu's voice was soft, as if she was talking to herself, asking, "Why do you think shooting stars move so fast?"
"Because... they want to fulfill our wishes quickly."
Yue Qingzhu's eyes widened slightly.
They move fast, not because they are fleeting. But to fulfill our wishes?
She turned her head to look, only to see him casually leaning his arms on the railing, his body slightly tilted forward. The soft light from the other side of the balcony fell gently on him, as if coating him with a faint halo. He seemed to be glowing.
Yue Qingzhu unconsciously fiddled with her sleeve.
Wow, she really envied his mind. Why could he always think about things in a positive way?
How did he have such an ability?
She really wanted to ask, but that might expose her weakness.
Forget it, she wouldn't ask.
Yue Qingzhu withdrew her gaze and looked back at the night sky, cupping her face with her hands. The warmth in her heart gradually spread, and a faint smile unconsciously appeared on her lips, "Is that so? That's wonderful."
Beside her, He Yuanyuan finished her wish and opened her eyes. She glanced at Chen Fang, recalling his responses to her and to Sister Qingzhu, and her lips trembled.
No, big brother, what did you just tell me? Go downstairs, throw away your phone. 7 million... not belonging to, material love... not yearning for, a richest man boyfriend... not wanting, living a simple and unadorned... life.
Can't you be less hypocritical?
Chen Fang didn't notice their gazes and looked up at the starry sky.
If he could hear He Yuanyuan's thoughts, he would definitely retort: what he just said was all true!
...
Two days later, on the afternoon of June 18th.
In the office of the editor-in-chief at Wenyuan Bookstore.
A girl with a bun and black-rimmed glasses stood opposite the editor-in-chief's desk, holding a document. Her gaze quickly scanned the task the director had given her—to contact the author of ghost blows out the light 1: the ancient city of精绝.
The director tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at the editor opposite her. This young person was already 29 years old, but still dressed like a 19-year-old, carrying a two-dimensional manga-style backpack, as if a child coming to work.
She said earnestly, "Miaomiao, this is your first time contacting a Wenxing Cup award-winning author. If you meet the author offline, I suggest you dress more maturely."
"Okay." Qin Miaomiao pushed up her black-rimmed glasses and nodded seriously.
"You work very diligently, it's just that you get a bit shy during offline communication. You need to work hard to overcome that."
"Director, don't worry, I'll contact them right away." Qin Miaomiao promised confidently, then left the office.
As soon as she stepped out, she secretly yawned.
She was actually quite outgoing; every day at work, she wanted to sit in the boss's chair.
Qin Miaomiao returned to her desk and quickly sent an email to the author, informing him of the award details and other basic information, and asking him to add her as a friend for easier communication.
After sending it, she picked up her cup with a Q-version character printed on it and walked towards the pantry. If a fan saw it, they would easily recognize Xie Yunxuan on the cup.
...
At the same time, Chen Fang was in his study, writing and drawing on the script for legend of fong sai-yuk with a highlighter.
Suddenly, his phone chimed with a notification. He picked it up and saw it was an award notification from the official email of Wenyuan Bookstore.
Chen Fang quickly scanned the body of the email.
In short, it congratulated him on winning the third prize and asked him to add the editor as a friend as soon as possible.
Chen Fang was not in a hurry to read the script. He opened the chat software, added the other party, and noted his pen name "Dongfang."
He chose this pen name because his name, Chen Fang, when broken down, is: Dao Dongfang Haunted.
"Dongfang" is him, and the remaining two characters, "knife Haunted," represent his aspirations on his literary path.
knife is a tool used for cutting, carving, and chopping, and Haunted means to tap lightly.
In layman's terms, these two characters mean—I won't kill you all!
This book isn't enough to 'cut' yet, but it will be eventually.
However, while using a pen name, he planned to reveal his identity in September, after harvesting enough negative emotional value from the novel's content over the summer, to re-harvest negative emotional value.
He believed that some people, such as his parents' colleagues, and Hu Bin, Uncle Hu, would be both confused and depressed.
Hey, didn't expect it, did you? It's me. Hand over your negative emotional value quickly.
On the other side of the network.
She walked back to her seat and was about to do something else when she saw a friend request pop up on her chat software.
Qin Miaomiao was slightly startled. Such a quick reply!
She clicked to open it: [Please contact me at 25:00 on December 32nd if there's nothing urgent] requested to add you as a friend, with the note "Dongfang."
Qin Miaomiao: "..."
Paired with a silly cartoon character avatar, he looked like an otaku college student.
She clicked to accept the friend request and quickly typed.
On the other side of the screen.
Chen Fang watched as messages popped up on his chat software.
Every word was filled with a cold, AI-like flavor.
AI is good, let's just get this done quickly.
Chen Fang read and replied carefully.
First was the process: Wenyuan Bookstore was notifying authors of their awards today.
Next, they needed to quickly sign contracts and print.
On June 30th, the list of winners would be announced to the public, and new book promotion would begin.
Sales would start on July 12th.
Chen Fang did not intend to sign the contract with them himself. Many writers sign contracts with publishers through a lawyer or literary agent. This not only protects privacy but also allows professionals to help them avoid contract pitfalls, optimize efficiency, and reduce unnecessary administrative work.
He had already contacted a law firm a few days ago. His plan was that legal and administrative work would be handled by hisacting lawyer, and he would only contact this editor if there was something important.
Chen Fang stated his requirements, and the other party quickly said it was no problem.
However, the editor still sent him the preliminary contract draft for a look.