Chapter 256 Bookstore, New Cooperation

"The Honest Man" is the only comedy film during the National Day holiday, starring Jia Long, a leading actor in comedies about ordinary people in recent years.

In recent years, Jia Long has starred in several films, almost all of which feature ordinary people from the lower rungs of society as the main characters. They encounter an accident, get caught up in a bunch of troubles, and then create a series of funny situations.

"The Honest Man" tells the story of a long-time employee who has worked hard at a branch office for more than ten years. By a twist of fate, he enters the head office and is mistaken for the company boss's illegitimate son, which leads to a series of hilarious and absurd events.

Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi sat in the movie theater from beginning to end, laughing the whole time, almost without stopping.

The movie is indeed very well made. The key is that the satire in the comedy is very well done, which hits the mark with the current attitude of young people towards work. It incorporates the most typical types of leaders that everyone complains about into the movie, making them the various villains that the protagonist encounters.

"The movie was well made." Chen Siqi said to Lu Yanhe after watching it.

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Yes, it is indeed very beautiful."

Chen Siqi said, "Jia Long has really made a lot of this type of movie in recent years. I feel that he has created his own style in the field of comedy."

Lu Yanhe smiled and asked, "Are you planning to write a film review?"

“Yes.” Chen Siqi nodded. “I won’t have dinner with you tonight. I have to hurry back and finish writing the film review.”

Lu Yanhe was immediately stunned.

"ah?"

We haven't seen each other for so long, and we finally managed to meet, so why did our date end so soon?

Chen Siqi suddenly thought of something, "How about you come with me to the internet cafe? I need to finish writing the movie review first, and then we can go have dinner."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Okay."

Chen Siqi took out her phone and searched for nearby internet cafes.

There are many internet cafes near the school.

They went to a nearby two-person cubicle with a curtain for privacy and went inside.

In internet cafes, people are still the majority playing games, and the shouts of fighting and killing are constant.

Lu Yanhe asked Chen Siqi, "Could you write under these circumstances?"

“Sure,” Chen Siqi said. “Just put on your headphones.”

Lu Yanhe didn't know how long Chen Siqi would take to write. He opened his cloud drive and found the electronic version of the first volume of "A History of Ancient Literature".

After Chen Siqi opened the document, she glanced at Lu Yanhe's computer screen and was shocked to see that it was a PDF file filled with dense text.

That's ruthless! Studying in an internet cafe?!

At this moment, Chen Siqi didn't know how to describe her feelings.

Chen Siqi always felt that she had worked very hard, but compared to the person next to her, she still seemed to be lacking.

Chen Siqi really wanted to dig open Lu Yanhe's head to see what his brain was like and why he could work so hard at any time.

Chen Siqi wasn't completely baffled. Logically speaking, Lu Yanhe had already successfully entered Zhenhua University, and it was impossible for him to pursue an academic career and become a researcher. So why was he still studying so diligently?

However, Chen Siqi wouldn't ask Lu Yanhe such a question. Everyone has their own thoughts and choices, and Chen Siqi knew that Lu Yanhe was a serious person, which was enough.

A film review can be written simply or in great detail.

Chen Siqi wrote this with the intention of running her media account well, so of course she wouldn't be perfunctory.

I did research, looked up behind-the-scenes stories, made ample preparations, and then, based on what I saw in the movie, I started writing this article.

I finished writing it in one go, and two hours passed.

It's only nine hundred words long.

Chen Siqi took off her headphones, stretched, and asked Lu Yanhe, "Can you take a look for me?"

Lu Yanhe nodded and switched places with Chen Siqi.

Chen Siqi's writing style has a rationality and sharpness, which is very different from Bai Yu's. If Bai Yu's writing style is a typical literary girl—like a spring breeze carrying lingering rain—then Chen Siqi's writing style is a steep mountain peak, where every stone and tree has a clear pattern.

"Comedy films have flourished in recent years, and a number of comedic actors have emerged. There are those who are more famous than Jia Long, and there are those who can carry the box office better than Jia Long. But Jia Long is the only one who is so closely integrated with a genre and a type of film, and almost represents a type of film."

When Lu Yanhe saw Chen Siqi's words, he asked, "Isn't this a bit too much praise for Teacher Jia Long?"

Chen Siqi said, "I had the same feeling when I was writing it, but I thought about it for a long time and couldn't find a second way to express it. A movie is a commercial product, but when we discuss it, it becomes a work of art. The evaluation of a work depends on the significance it has. The same goes for actors. In my eyes, Jia Long, as a comedic actor, has this ambition and is committed to making this kind of comedy."

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Then I suggest you put our conversation into the article. This will ease the discomfort caused by that decisive tone, and everyone will be able to better understand what you want to express. It's not about erecting a monument or writing a biography for Teacher Jia Long, but about acknowledging his efforts and perseverance in this area."

Chen Siqi nodded: "Then should I write your name in?"

“Then let’s not.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “It’s one thing for us to discuss it ourselves, it’s another for you to write comments, and it’s even more inappropriate for me, as a junior, to comment on a senior in public. It’s not appropriate.”

Chen Siqi laughed.

"Um."

-

In fact, the name "Jump Up" is already associated with Lu Yanhe.

Even if the author of the film review article published by this media outlet is not Lu Yanhe, it will be assumed that it is related to Lu Yanhe.

Therefore, when Chen Siqi met with the editorial team, they established a principle: film and television reviews on the media account would not contain any negative comments.

After this principle was established, the main direction of the media account regarding film and television emerged: to discover good works and good creators.

If possible, Chen Siqi would certainly like to break free from all constraints and create a free media account. However, one cannot be so selfish. The media account was able to succeed because of Lu Yanhe. It's unacceptable to rely on his influence to create this account and then disregard his reputation and standing in the industry, all to create a so-called "media with attitude."

"Discovering good works and good creators" is also a "media with attitude," and attitude is not just about negation and criticism.

-

That night, Lu Yanhe didn't get home until 10:30.

He dropped Chen Siqi off at the hotel before going back.

As soon as I got back, I heard Li Zhibai clicking his tongue for about ten seconds.

"What are your instructions?" Lu Yanhe asked with a smile.

Li Zhibai looked disgusted and said, "Why are you coming back tonight? I thought you weren't coming back today."

Lu Yanhe: "If I don't come back, am I supposed to sleep on the street?"

"Isn't Chen Siqi staying at a hotel?" Li Zhibai immediately said, "Trash, he didn't even bother to keep her company. A girl staying alone in a hotel at night must be so scared and lonely!"

Lu Yanhe looked at Li Zhibai speechlessly.

"Could you please not have such a lewd expression on your face when you say that?"

"Perverted?" Li Zhibai immediately retorted angrily, "Besides you, who else would call me perverted! I'm the dream of countless girls!"

Lu Yanhe: "I'm going to throw up. How many girls are your nightmare?"

At this moment, Yan Liang came out of the room carrying a set of clothes.

"Oh? You're back." Yan Liang greeted Lu Yanhe. "Why are you back so early?"

"morning?"

"Didn't you go on a date?" Yan Liang said. "It's only eleven o'clock now. After being apart for so long, why aren't you as affectionate as ever?"

Lu Yanhe: "..."

With one after another like this, Lu Yanhe couldn't help but wonder if there really was something wrong between him and Chen Siqi.

Lu Yanhe told Chen Siqi about Li Zhibai and Yan Liang's reactions.

Chen Siqi quickly replied, "Then, let's finish a little later next time."

Lu Yanhe laughed sheepishly, "No, that's not what I meant."

"Don't you want to?"

“Of course I’m willing, not unwilling,” Lu Yanhe said, “but will it affect your rest?”

“I’m okay with staying up all night with you,” Chen Siqi said.

Chen Siqi's tone was light and cheerful, yet it sent a chill down Lu Yanhe's spine, as if a bullet had been fired into his heart.

Her tone was nonchalant, but his heart pounded like a drum.

"Okay." Lu Yanhe smiled, his palms slightly sweaty.

"Are you going to sleep?" Chen Siqi asked.

"Not yet, I'm going to read a book for a while," Lu Yanhe said. "It's been a long time since I did a live stream, I'll turn it on later."

"Reading again?"

"Um."

Chen Siqi said, "Compared to you, I'm really a terrible student."

“You just have other things you want to do,” Lu Yanhe said. “Have you posted your film review yet?”

"Yes, it's already been published," Chen Siqi said. "The response has been pretty good. Many of Jia Long's fans have shared and liked it, but some people say that we were paid to publish this advertorial."

Lu Yanhe: "No matter what you post, someone will say that."

“The official Weibo account of ‘The Honest Man’ also reposted it.” Chen Siqi said happily, “There are a total of seven movies in this National Day holiday. I posted one article. For the other movies, Lin Yu and Xu Zijun will each be responsible for one or two articles, and we will post one article every day.”

Will you pay me for writing this article?

“No,” Chen Siqi said. “I’ve already told them that if the media account can start to make a profit in the future, we will pay salaries and royalties. Right now, we can only rely on our passion and can only receive a salary as the editorial team of ‘Jump Up’.”

"How are the data from the media accounts going?" Lu Yanhe asked.

"Currently, we have a total of 30,000 followers across all platforms," ​​Chen Siqi said. "But this is basically all from the first issue. Our media account has only just started creating independent content. This film review column only started with today's post. We hope to reach a total of over 100,000 followers across all platforms this year."

There are still two months left in the year, and they need to gain 70,000 new followers in the next two months. This requires them to maintain a high frequency of updates and regular promotions.

-

The long-awaited live stream that evening excited the fans in the live stream room, with the comment section filled with "You're finally live!"

Lu Yanhe briefly explained why he hadn't been live-streaming recently.

First, she was recording a TV show, and then because she often lived in the dormitory, it was inconvenient for her to do a live broadcast, fearing it would disturb her roommates.

Lu Yanhe has already gotten a new laptop. This laptop was brought by Chen Ziyan and has been given to Mao Jiayang for him to handle.

Now, Lu Yanhe is just waiting for the fish to take the bait.

Once someone who previously installed a Trojan on his laptop knows he's changed computers, they'll definitely try to reinstall the Trojan on his new computer in order to continue monitoring him.

In the comments section, someone asked Lu Yanhe if he had changed his camera, saying that the picture was much clearer this time during his live stream.

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "My agent said that the built-in camera on my previous laptop had low resolution, so he helped me get a new laptop and installed a more advanced camera."

Immediately someone said: This agent is great, he really understands what we want to see.

Another person immediately said: Finally, we can see Lu Yanhe in high definition.

Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.

Even with high definition, he only sees things a little clearer.

What's so interesting about this?

Someone said: "I ran into Lu Yanhe today! He's even more handsome in person than on the live stream."

Someone asked: Really? He already looks very handsome on camera.

Immediately replied: He's tall and handsome in person, and he exudes youthful charm, just like the kind of boyfriend I dreamed of having every day when I was in high school.

Someone asked: Don't you want to think about it now?

The person replied: "When you grow up, it's time to wake up."

There are many such conversations in the comments section.

Everyone is familiar with Lu Yanhe's live streaming style, and they are also familiar with each other.

They frequently comment in the comments section, are quite familiar with each other, and don't hold back when they banter.

Lu Yanhe smiled and glanced at it, then lowered his head to start reading.

Lu Yanhe has a habit of taking notes while reading—because neither professional books nor reading lists compiled by teachers are the kind that can be read in one go. They contain a lot of information, and if you don't stop from time to time to take notes, it's easy to forget what you've read.

Lu Yanhe didn't finish his live stream until 12:30 before going to sleep.

-

On October 2nd, Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi arranged to meet at 10:00 AM and went to a bookstore together.

Lu Yanhe originally thought that Chen Siqi just wanted to check in at this bookstore, but he didn't expect that Chen Siqi had already made an appointment with the bookstore manager in advance.

Lu Yanhe only learned about this before he entered the room.

"It was a last-minute appointment," Chen Siqi said. "It's okay, you can browse around first, I'll talk to the manager."

"What do you want to talk about?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi said, "Let's talk about the sales of 'Jump Up,' and then I want to invite him to write a bookstore manager's business log."

"Huh?" Lu Yanhe was taken aback.

Chen Siqi said, "I want to create a column about how bookstores operate in the internet age. If an interesting article is written, it can be included in the book. If it is not suitable for inclusion in the book, it can be published on a media platform. This way, we can establish a connection with bookstores and help them promote themselves. I think everyone would be happy to do so."

Lu Yanhe was extremely surprised.

"Linyu and I have assigned each other tasks to develop this into a regular column," Chen Siqi said. "The bookstore owners who choose to continue running a bookstore in this era usually have unique stories about themselves and the bookstore. Such stories may be able to arouse people's interest in bookstores and bring them back into bookstores."

Lu Yanhe: Where did you get these ideas from?

These ideas are not complicated, they are even very simple, but Lu Yanhe had never thought of them before Chen Siqi brought them up.

Lu Yanhe found the idea very creative as soon as Chen Siqi proposed it.

This is an idea that no one has ever done before. As Chen Siqi said, the bookstore managers are also willing to promote their bookstores. They only need to invite people, and with almost no cost, they can find a lot of interesting content for the "Jump Up" media account, and even—

As they get to know more and more bookstore managers, and accumulate a certain level of connections, the future promotion of "Jump Up" will benefit greatly.

-

Just as Chen Siqi had expected, the store manager was flattered and readily agreed after hearing Chen Siqi introduce herself and explain her purpose.

Chen Siqi exchanged friends and contact information with the store manager, saying, "Whether it's published in a book or on a media platform, it will definitely bring many readers to your bookstore. So, we welcome your long-term contributions. For content suitable for publication in a book, once it's decided to publish, we will also give you another payment."

The store manager smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, are you the only one here today? Didn't Lu Yanhe come with you?"

Lu Yanhe, wearing sunglasses, was behind a row of bookshelves.

Chen Siqi said, "He'll probably come later."

"I really hope he can come. That way, I can take a picture with you two editors and hang it in our bookstore. When 'Jump Up' becomes the most popular book, it will become a treasure of our bookstore," the store manager said happily.

Chen Siqi: "Then I'll ask him when he's coming."

The bookstore manager said, "That's great! Would you like some coffee? I'll buy you a cup."

"Thank you, I've already had my drink," Chen Siqi said, thanking the other person. "I'll browse around the bookstore first."

"Okay, feel free to browse around," the store manager said.

Chen Siqi found Lu Yanhe and winked at him.

"nailed it?"

"Okay, all done." Chen Siqi nodded. "Before we leave, shall we take a picture with the store manager? He'd like to take a picture with us."

Although Lu Yanhe didn't know the purpose of the store manager, he could certainly grant such a request.

When Lu Yanhe actually appeared in front of the store manager, the store manager smiled with surprise.

"You actually came!"

The three of them took a group photo.

Other customers in the bookstore noticed this scene, recognized Lu Yanhe, and asked to take photos with him.

Lu Yanhe cooperated with all offers without hesitation.

"Please support 'Jump Up'!" Lu Yanhe said to everyone with a smile. "Any good suggestions are welcome to be sent to our email address."

"Will 'Jump Up' continue?" a girl asked, still wearing her school uniform.

Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "As long as you continue to support us, we will continue to do this."

"We will always support you!" the girl in the school uniform said enthusiastically.

The bright smile on the other person's face gave Lu Yanhe a lot of motivation.

-

Chen Siqi said, "I didn't expect that so many people would actually support this book."

“Yes,” Lu Yanhe nodded. “Let’s work hard and make sure it’s not just a flash in the pan.”

"Yes, of course." Chen Siqi nodded seriously. "We're getting more and more submissions into our email inbox now."

"Really?" Lu Yanhe was pleasantly surprised.

“Yes.” Chen Siqi nodded. “Luckily, there are four of us looking at the submissions in the email inbox now. Otherwise, if it were just the two of us, we definitely wouldn’t be able to finish reading them.”

"Besides Jiazhen's long novel, do you also do other serializations?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Chen Siqi shook her head and said, "Let's just do one serial for now. Space is limited. If we do another serial, it will take up space on other pages."

Because of the physical publishing, the number of pages in each issue is limited, and the number of words that can be published is also limited.

According to Chen Siqi's vision, she hopes to publish more works by various authors in each issue, at least for the book "Jump Up," to have a group of authors with a stable and loyal readership. Only with star authors who can carry the torch can this book truly and sustainably continue.

Chen Siqi asked, "Which celebrities would be best to invite to write articles for the second and third episodes?"

(End of this chapter)