Ah Gui and Suo Heng were guarding their bookstall. In a blink of an eye, it was past noon. Chu Li pulled a lounge for them. It was called a lounge, but it was actually just a room made of simple boards. Chu Li gave each of the two authors a Yuanyue Publishing House lunch box. The two authors sat there and ate with their chopsticks apart.

Seeing that they were seated, Chu Li went out to contact the publicity department to see if they had arrived. At 12:30, there was a book signing for the authors of Xindun Society, and Chu Li also took the opportunity to see what other authors were doing at the book signings. She also saw Gu Baizhi. The last time they met was in Turkey, and they only sent text messages to wish each other a happy new year. Now Gu Baizhi stared at Chu Li's belly and couldn't take his eyes off: "Teacher Zhuchuan is really quick. Two years ago, he was still a fucking otaku. I thought no one except Jiang Yucheng would want him in this life."

Chu Li held her waist and smiled, touching her ball-like belly. She was about to give some face to Zhu Chuan by saying that since she was going to be a father, Teacher Zhu Chuan had also become much calmer. But as soon as she finished her words, she got slapped in the face.

In the crowd, a man wearing a mask in the hot weather walked towards them from a distance. He pushed through the crowd and walked straight to Chu Li and Gu Baizhi, and grabbed Chu Li's arm!

Chu Li was stunned at first, then turned around and looked at the Yuanyue Society staff who were blocking the work area and not letting people in. The meaning was: You are standing there to look good, but you let everyone in!

The staff member on duty at Yuanyue Society who was from the marketing department, smiled innocently: I still know the prince. Even though the prince was wearing a mask, his aura when he walked was different.

"..." Chu Li retracted his gaze and looked at the man who was pulling his arm, "What are you doing?"

Zhuo Chuan: "You still have the nerve to ask me. What did I tell you a few days ago? There are people everywhere outside. Can't you just stay in the lounge? Why did you come out? If you get hurt, is it just my fault? I couldn't sleep well for a while, and I knew you wouldn't listen."

Chu Li: "..."

Zhuo Chuan kept on nagging like a machine gun, while Gu Baizhi stood by and watched with a polite smile, thinking, could this mother-in-law be more annoying? She is not allowed to go to crowded places with her daughter-in-law. She might as well find a dog chain and tie it to her belt (Chu Li: ...).

Zhao Chuan naturally didn't know that Gu Baizhi was complaining crazily under her smile. He took off his mask and greeted her. He dragged Chu Li to the lounge. After scolding her, his tone softened: "Have you eaten?"

"No, I'm not hungry. I just ate an apple."

In the late stages of pregnancy, my stomach is pressed against my stomach, and I get hungry easily, but I can be full with just two bites. It is normal to eat small meals frequently... At this time, Zhu Chuan dragged Chu Li into the lounge: "They don't give you food? Then how do these two people get food?"

Ah Gui and Suo Heng, collectively referred to as "these two people": "..."

It's just a meal, why do I feel like I'm letting someone down... Ah Gui wiped his mouth and kicked out the box under his feet. There was a whole box of lunch inside: "Do you want to eat?"

Zhuo Chuan pushed Chu Li down and took over Ah Gui and Suo Heng's seat to eat. Chu Li was not idle either. She picked up some vegetables and instructed the two to touch up their makeup and lipstick... In addition, the staff came in and out, so the lounge was always busy. A sharp-eyed host girl saw Zhuo Chuan enter the lounge and quickly followed him in, holding a bunch of newly bought books in her hands, wanting to get an autograph. Before Zhuo Chuan could say anything, Chu Li put down her chopsticks and stood up: "Teacher Zhuo Chuan, it's not time to work yet, no autographs will be issued."

The little girl didn't expect to be covered in a smear. She was stunned for a moment and looked unhappy: "Who are you?"

I didn’t expect to get two answers for one question——

Chu Li glanced at her expressionlessly and said, "Editor-in-charge."

Zhuchuan put down his chopsticks, turned around and glanced at her and said, "My wife."

They answered almost in unison, and the little girl's face turned pale and red... Chu Li turned back to look at Zhu Chuan, who calmly took out a napkin and wiped his mouth: "Can you sit down and eat properly? I'm not hungry either. If I wasn't eating with you, how could I sit here and eat this crap like a bricklayer?"

Chu Li said "Oh" and this time he really sat down obediently.

The little girl who came in with the book went out with the book still in her hand. Suo Heng and Ah Gui brought their pony horses and sat beside them, watching the excitement with great joy!

…

What followed was continued chaos and war.

Chu Li chased away countless waves of book fair staff who came in through the back door. By the time it was past one o'clock, everyone knew that there was a ferocious pregnant woman in the lounge, protecting the three authors like a hen, and no one was allowed to approach.

However, at about 1:15, the ferocious pregnant woman came out. She stretched her head to take a look and saw that the readers of Ah Gui and Suo Heng had already started queuing up to enter the venue under the arrangement of the staff. At this moment, the editor she brought with her was questioning them one by one and then handing out number tags.

At 1:20, the author of Xindun Society finished signing and stood up to pack his things. As he walked down the signing table, the people from Yuanyue Society rushed over and began to prepare to replace the background curtain for Suo Heng and Ah Gui's signing!

At the same time, Ah Xian came back with the number tag. The number of readers who came to the scene for Suo Heng and Ah Gui was about one hundred each. After Chu Li looked at the number tag, he made a rough estimate based on the speed of the book signing with Jiang Yucheng that year, and looked back at the two authors in the lounge: "You may have to hurry up later."

At 1:25, the curtain was replaced.

The host started to warm up and the atmosphere was pretty good.

Chu Li watched from the side for a while, and breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least the opening was smooth, at least half successful, right? Then, at 1:30, amid the enthusiastic cheers of the readers, Ah Gui and Suo Heng were put on, and at the same time, two editors under her also went up to help turn the pages... In fact, Chu Li should have followed to help. But who would dare to let an eight-month pregnant woman stand next to him to help turn the pages at this moment!

Chu Li didn't go up, so he sat in the backstage, giving instructions on Zhuo Chuan's legs.

"Hey, XX, it's ten minutes now. We can prepare for the first activity. Ask Suo Heng to read out a number between 20 and 100 and pick a lucky reader to get a special signature... We have limited time, so let the reader think about what he wants to sign and then bring the slip up for her to copy."

…

"Hey, OO, Ah Gui, don't be idle either. I have a small gift for the readers. It seems to be in my bag. Let her draw a number and send it to her as soon as possible!"

…

"How's the speed outside? They've only moved a dozen or so. Damn it, tell them to go faster! It'll only take an hour!"

…

"No taking pictures, of course not. I can't control anyone who secretly takes pictures from below, but how can it be good to put a cell phone under the author's nose? We are here for the book signing, we are selling our art, not ourselves!"

Chu Li was yelling at the conductor to be busy when Ah Xian pushed the door open and first glanced at Chu Li who was sitting on Zhe Chuan's lap, then looked at Zhe Chuan timidly with eyes like a little rabbit, with a look that said "I have something to say but I don't know if I should say it or not". Chu Li was annoyed by people making trouble in front of her: "If you have something to say, just say it."

At this time, the man, who had his chin on Chu Li's shoulder and one hand on her waist, raised his head and glanced at the editor in front of him.

He didn't say anything, but the way he looked at the stranger made Ah Xian tremble.

"…Well, the students of Professor Chu Chuan and Professor Herman have started to line up, and it's hard to hold back," Ah Xian said. "There were only a few people at the beginning, and then some people couldn't hold back as soon as they saw the line start. Now it's only been five minutes, and there are already hundreds of people lining up there. It's hard to control it!"

“…”

Chu Li was originally sitting on Zhuchuan and swinging her legs.

I was stunned and depressed when I heard this action.

He stood up, muttering "Can't hold it in or can't hold it in?" and opened the door to take a look: he saw a huge crowd of people outside the signing team. Let alone a hundred people, based on the 200 people in Suo Heng and A Gui's reader team, there must be at least double the number outside at this time!

Chu Li was a little helpless for a moment: ... This situation really doesn't look like something that a mere Liang Chonglang can handle. It's like boarding a plane at an airport. At first everyone is sitting, but when it's almost time to board, as long as there are three or four people standing in line, the line will disappear in an instant.

Everything is afraid of having a beginning.

“This marketing department is useless.” Chu Li shook his head. It had to be like this now. Although he felt dissatisfied, these were readers. Could he really drive them away?

It was about half an hour after Ah Gui and his friends started signing books. Chu Li was about to go back to sit down and watch what would happen. At this time, Liang Chonglang walked in with a red face and asked, "Go and check the progress of Teacher Guiwa and his friends. Can they finish signing in 15 minutes? Teacher Zhuochuan and his friends have too many readers. We definitely can't finish them in three hours. If the readers get noisy, we won't be able to handle it. We'd better start early!"

As soon as Liang Chonglang finished speaking, Zhaochuan raised his eyebrows.

“…………………………what?” Chu Li took a deep breath and didn’t react to this operation. “Fifteen minutes to sign? There’s still half an hour left before the agreed time of 2:30…”

Liang Chonglang waved his hand and said, "It will take about 45 minutes to sign."

"..." Chu Li wanted to say bullshit, but because Zhu Chuan was still here, the housekeeper had been controlling her temper recently, and swearing was not good for prenatal education, so she reluctantly said, "It's impossible. It's impossible to finish signing in fifteen minutes. Forget it."

Liang Chonglang gave Ah Xian a look.

Ah Xian ran out immediately, and came back a minute later to inform that the second wave of lucky reader special signatures had been cancelled, and now only the author's name would be signed, and he urged the author to speed up!

Chu Li realized that this tone of voice was not going to slow down. His anger and adrenaline started to rise. Without thinking, he kicked the chair beside him and said, "Who gave you permission to shorten the signing time without permission?"

The stool fell over with a "bang", and everyone in the room clenched their assholes tightly, not daring to fart...Zhechuan stood up and put Chuli in his arms, fearing that she would break her waist. He glanced at Liang Chonglang coldly: "What's the point of fifteen minutes? I said I wouldn't go up early."

"I've asked the boss for instructions." Liang Chonglang smiled at Zhechuan again, "They are all Yuanyue Society's own authors, there's nothing wrong with us communicating among ourselves - we also notified Mr. Herman in advance, and he agreed to publish it in advance."

Zhao Chuan frowned slightly. Herman was much more famous than him. Herman agreed to go ahead of schedule without knowing anything. It wouldn't have any impact if he didn't go.

Liang Chonglang is certain of this point.

Chu Li thought for a moment, suppressed his anger and asked: "If you can't finish signing here, can you go back to the Yuanyue Society booth to continue? I remember there is a table there..."

"The table in the booth is occupied by the author of the art book, and it's still in use." Liang Chonglang didn't even think about answering, "You should ask the author to speed up and stop worrying about other things."

He also told her not to worry so much!!

Is she thinking about it???!

Chu Li was instantly ignited by this sentence. He was no longer just strolling around to get his adrenaline pumping. He was like an exploding little universe about to explode: "Fuck you, Liang Chonglang, you're almost the same. If there is anything, let's solve it privately. Don't mess with me here! Get lost!"

Liang Chonglang was scolded to bits, but he was just good at being shameless. He glanced at Chu Li and said, "I am the leader and I have the final say." He turned around and said he would go to check the situation outside, and asked Chu Li to prepare to end the event early to vacate the venue.

Chu Li's eyes turned red because she was angry!

After Liang Chonglang turned around and left, she followed him out and onto the stage. At this time, there were only about forty readers in the audience... Seeing Ah Xian had already started the second wave of urging, he glanced at her coldly and walked between Ah Gui and Suo Heng: "There are still more than twenty people, can you speed up?"

Ah Gui raised his head and glanced at her: "Okay, I'll try my best. Emma, ​​I've honed my autograph speed in this lifetime. What's wrong with the backstage?"

Seeing that Ah Gui had no intention of resisting, Chu Li just asked casually. The way she allowed herself to be kneaded reminded Chu Li of the time when she was spinning nervously in the lounge before the book signing began...

I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, so I just didn't say anything.

"Axian said it should be done within five minutes, I think I can do it," Suo Heng said while signing autographs for readers, "You go down first, the iron frame of this autograph stand is not very stable, don't fall."

After saying this, she did not forget to smile sweetly and say thank you to the readers.

Chu Li looked at the two of them writing furiously, but in the end he didn't say a word and turned around and walked off the stage silently.

Liang Chonglang happened to come back, and he threw her his favorite five words: "It has to work even if it doesn't work."

Chu Li glanced at him and was too lazy to even get angry with him. When you are desperate about someone, you find that it is too tiring to say even one more word to him...

The situation was at a stalemate when people from the Propaganda Department rushed in.

At this time, Ah Gui and Suo Heng each had about ten readers.

Fifteen minutes before the start time, with the two authors still sitting at the signing table, they began to replace the signing posters behind them.

Chu Li leaned against the door and saw everything clearly. He thought that he knew to respect the authors of Xindun Society and waited until they left the stage before changing the curtains. Yuanyue Society treated its own authors... Chu Li felt chilled to the bone. This could be said to be a wake-up call. He had to be as clear-headed as possible.

Yuanyue Publishing House has never thought about respecting any author, nor has it ever thought about respecting any reader. It cannot change, just like a dog cannot stop eating shit.

Chu Li leaned against the door of the lounge, folded his arms, and looked over there. Ah Gui and Suo Heng stood up with the gifts given by the readers and a handful of markers in their hands. The two authors, two editors who helped to turn the pages, and a dozen readers formed a group and got off the stage. Then they went to the small open space next to the lounge, sat down on a stool, put the book on his knees, and signed the signatures of the last few readers.

My phone is vibrating. There's a message from Ah Xiang.

[Flying Elephant: What are you doing there? A few readers came for the book signing, but when they got there they found that they couldn't get in. Not only that, the staff also said that the book signing ended early, and they are now in the booth. The little girl was so anxious that she cried.]

Chu Li didn't reply and just locked the phone screen.

Zhuo Chuan pulled her back, patted her head, and spoke to Liang Chonglang in a decisive tone: "Vice President Liang, this is also the last time I will cooperate with your Yuanyue Society. There will not be a next time. In the future, you don't need to notify me of any promotional activities of your society."

Liang Chonglang looked at Zhechuan in surprise, he didn't expect his tone to be so absolute, but then he thought that he was probably angry now and would definitely stand on the side of his wife, so it would be difficult for him to say anything... Everything can be discussed in the future, like last time, even though it was such an ugly incident, the publishing contract was still signed!

Anyway, as long as the first ceremony is still there——

Liang Chonglang was happily thinking...

At this time, Chu Li, who was leaning against the door of the lounge like a statue, moved. She slowly stood up and glanced at Liang Chonglang with her black and white eyes. Her tone was quite calm and she said -

"I'm quitting. You can choose whoever you want. My resignation letter will be delivered to the boss's desk within two hours. I wish Guishe will make a lot of money from the votes of Zhuochuan and Teacher Herman, and then have a good meal and go on the road."