Chu Li was immersed in sighing over the misfortune of the young man Zhuchuan and gloating over the fact that Lao Miao was flattering her. At this moment, her cell phone suddenly vibrated. Chu Li picked it up and saw that it was Teacher Xia who was messaging her privately on WeChat.
Due to limited technology and speed, teachers are always brief and concise when speaking on WeChat... The WeChat message sent to Chu Li this time was no exception. There were only three words on it: Get him.
Chu Li: "..."
Get him?
who?
Who are you dealing with?
Chu Li thought that although Teacher Xia did not say who “he” was in WeChat, from the current situation, this so-called “he” seemed to be only Zhechuan—Teacher Xia wanted Chu Li to persuade Zhechuan to take “Luohe Divine Book” to participate in the selection of “Flower Branch Award”…
——How else can it be done? Walk into the holy marriage hall with him?
Chu Li put away her phone, organized her words, thought for a moment, and asked the man beside her who was looking serious and watching the ladies dancing, "Teacher, since your writing experience in your youth was so treacherous, and you were able to write "Eastern Charming Records" in less than a year after destroying your real debut, it shows that you still have a spirit of not admitting defeat in your bones, right?"
"Whatever you say." Zhu Chuan looked as calm as a corpse, "I think that kind of passionate stuff is just talk."
Chu Li pretended not to hear his stagnant speech and continued to talk to himself, "Why didn't you resist? It was the same when you got full marks on the college entrance examination essay, and when you finally became famous with your novels. Why didn't you resist after proving that you could do it? You should have stood in front of those who once doubted you with your report card and newspaper, and said to them loudly: Look! I did it!"
As Chu Li spoke, she felt a brief silence fall around her.
This time the rhythm is different from the previous one where "a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water".
He was really silent.
Chu Li turned his head in surprise: "But whether it was the final disregard for the Chinese teacher, the tearing up of your first work, the Writers Association meeting, or the selection of the Flower Branch Award... You have obviously done well, why do you keep avoiding these?"
At this time, the surrounding environment is actually a bit noisy.
The sound of the first ceremony sounded like a loud bang on the ground.
It seemed a little funny to talk about such a seemingly profound topic of life while listening to the music of square dancing... However, at that moment, neither of the two people in the conversation seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.
They were completely immersed in the topic they were discussing at the moment. Chu Li looked at Zhu Chuan with only confusion in his heart.
And Zhuochuan stared at a corner not far away. The child was eating a popsicle seriously, staring at his grandmother dancing in the square not far away with his eyes wide open: the dancing figures in the square were reflected in his eyes, and his eyes were full of curiosity and the desire to try new things, as if -
This was nothing like the radio gymnastics he did at school.
He really wanted to stand up, walk into the crowd and try it out for himself to see what the difference was.
“…”
After a few seconds, the man's expressionless face began to waver.
"...Maybe I have lost interest in competing with them," the man stood up and brushed off the non-existent dust on his body. "Or maybe I am a timid person at heart. I am afraid that once I enter their world, I will find out one day that what they say is actually right, so I will waver in what I have always insisted on... Maybe so."
"But that flower award..."
"Do you know what I want to say by telling you all these stories?"
"…What?"
"There is no such thing as 'but'," said Zhuo Chuan calmly, "This is why I have never taken on the responsibility of editing. At present, my writing career has been stable and smooth. Just like when I didn't need a teacher to force me to write essays, nor did I need my father to tell me what kind of writing was valuable and qualified to be printed in a book... Now, I also don't need an editor to give me too many instructions."
Zhao Chuan: "Did you know that Yu Yao and Suo Heng had a very good relationship in the early years? It's not that Yu Yao doesn't supervise authors now because she is the editor-in-chief, but she just doesn't want to."
"Ah?" Chu Li blinked. She had already caught some information from the conversation between Lao Miao and Yu Yao, but...
Yu Yao and Suo Heng? Any story?
"In this era, for most authors, the meaning of editors has changed - in many cases, editors are no longer needed, and they have gradually evolved into proofreaders and marketers..."
As Zhuochuan spoke, he turned around and looked at the little girl who was still sitting there: his eyes were firm and indifferent.
It's as if to say that he really doesn't need a director.
It's as if to say, don't worry about it, just take responsibility for the book in your hand, proofread it, give it a beautiful cover, and then sell it.
It's as if to say, after that, we can go our separate ways. If everything goes well, I will also politely say: Looking forward to our next cooperation.
“…”
Chu Li was stunned.
At that moment, it was as if all the noisy people and things around her were drained away, and only she and the man in front of her were left in the world - and in such a completely isolated environment, she accidentally touched the very, very inner soul of the man in front of her for the first time...
——However, when her fingertips carefully touched it, Chu Li had to retract her hand as if she was forced by the biting cold...
My whole heart sank to the bottom as well.
Chu Li also had a bewildered look on her face. She lowered her head. At this moment, she could only subconsciously avoid the man's overly calm brown eyes. As the other party stood there and waited patiently, she just stood up reflexively.
Zhuochuan: "I'd like to treat you to a popsicle?"
Chu Li uttered "Ah", somewhat unresponsive.
She hurriedly followed the man's steps. They stopped in front of a small stall refrigerator about 20 meters away. Zhuchuan took a simple popsicle, but gave Chuli a strawberry cone. She tore off the packaging bag and took a bite of the ice cream. When the soft, sweet ice cream slid down her throat into her stomach, she felt cool.
On such a hot summer night...
Chu Li wanted to borrow a quilt from someone.
That night, Chu Li was infected by the atmosphere of despair at the scene, and after returning home, she also wrote a very desperate reply to Teacher Xia on WeChat:
[The monkey’s hired navy: Teacher, we can’t handle it. ]
[The monkey’s navy: His father spent 27 years trying to pry open the seam of the clam shell, but he still couldn’t do it. How could I be so worthy?]
[The monkey's hired navy: Teacher Chuchuan is very determined and resists this matter from the inside out.]
Five minutes later, Teacher Xia replied.
【Teacher Xia: Even a hero cannot resist the temptation of beauty. 】
Ten minutes later, when Chu Li’s eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, another comment came:
【Teacher Xia: Although you are not a "beauty", you should still give it a try.】
Chu Li: "..."
Chu Li was in a state of sleeplessness that night.
To be honest, Zhuo Chuan's judgment was not wrong - to him, Chu Li was a tenant who was responsible for walking the dog and cooking; she was the editor-in-chief of "Luohe Divine Book"; she was a small editor of a magazine for which he would regularly provide some short stories...
However, that is all.
【In this era, for most authors, the meaning of editing has changed.】
[In many cases, editors are no longer needed...]
Chu Li: "..."
He doesn't need a real editor-in-chief named Chu Chuan himself.
He doesn't need an editor.
He doesn't need her.
He doesn't need her!!!
Realizing this, the person lying on the bed threw off the quilt and jumped up, rolling around on the bed, pounding the pillow and stomping his feet - until a man's voice came from the study downstairs, which sounded like he was about to come up and beat someone up: "The one upstairs, you're not sleeping in the middle of the night and are demolishing the house?"
“…”
The little girl who was hugging a crocodile-shaped pillow and biting it loudly suddenly stopped, stared with a pair of red eyes, and fell back onto the messy bed. She froze for a moment, and then kicked the quilt to the ground as if she was very angry, and turned over violently, making the mattress creak with an unbearable sound.
It was already three o'clock when the god of sleep called me back, yawning and feeling resentful.
The next day, she almost couldn't get up to go to work. With dark circles under her eyes, she dragged her steps like a zombie to take a shower, change clothes, feed the dog, and feed Zhuchuan... Before leaving, Chu Li put on her shoes while secretly glancing at the man sitting at the table eating breakfast -
This guy finally stopped locking himself in his room;
This morning, after she woke up, she found the word document needed for the front matter plan sent by this guy on her QQ;
When she opened the door, he and Er Gouzi were squatting at the attic staircase, looking up at her and asking her what she had for breakfast.
Everything was fine.
But Chu Li just couldn't be happy...
"Why are you looking at me with such a bereaved look?" Finally unable to bear the burning temperature of her wandering gaze, the man put down the cup of milk and asked.
"..." Chu Li said, "This is a look of love."
Chu Chuan: "Do you think I'm blind?"
The man laughed. Chu Li glared at him, muttering things like "he has a black heart", "he broke the girl's heart", "you bastard", etc. Then he grabbed the bag at the entrance and turned around and walked out angrily.
…
Chu Li slammed the door loudly. What she didn't know was that when she turned around and left, the man sitting at the dining table also temporarily put away the smile on his face and fell silent...
No one knows what a man is thinking.
Only he knows——
Last night, there was a moment when he was bewitched by the atmosphere; perhaps he was led astray by the other person's pure eyes; perhaps he was temporarily confused by the light... He almost thought that he had really encountered boiling water, and was forced to pry open the last line of defense that had been closed for many years.
But it's okay.
Fortunately, he braked in time.
It's fine now.
There is no immediate way to change anything.
“…”
Thinking of this, as if he had made up his mind to return everything to the starting point, the man raised his eyebrows after he breathed a sigh of relief and stuffed the last bit of toast into his mouth——
Ah, that Banana Person, she is still not very good at editing, but she is a really good cook.
…
October issue of Moonlight magazine.
Because Chu Li copied the Taobao link of "Special Hemp Rope for Hanging, Compensation for Not Diing" three times before the deadline, the three Togashi Yoshihiro finally submitted their manuscripts before printing. Therefore, Lao Miao's conspiracy to take over the manuscripts of the other three authors and replace them at any time did not succeed...
The problem was solved perfectly.
After the October issue was released nationwide, the submission box for Moonlight magazine saw a small peak in submissions. Chu Li was so busy that he was almost exhausted by the deadline for submissions.
In seven days, we received a total of 135 manuscripts.
Among them, there are 65 sequels written for Zhuchuan;
I wrote the subsequent 47 articles for Jiang Yucheng;
Twenty-three sequels to "Crazy Doll".
Considering the monthly sales of Moonlight, this number is neither too much nor too little... Although I am busy, when I calm down and think about it carefully, Chu Li still feels that the number of submissions is slightly different from what I imagined: it seems to be a little less.
Chu Li reported this result to the three authors separately, and the three authors responded differently:
*Zhuchuan
【Zhuchuan: So few? If you had told me earlier to forward it on Weibo, the number of submissions would have been much higher. 】
[The trolls hired by Monkey: The result is only known to you and the editorial department, it will not be announced to the public, don’t be so obsessed with being an idol.]
【晝川：Is that so?】
【Zhu Chuan: I don’t have any idol baggage, so don’t talk nonsense. 】
[The navy hired by the monkey: I believe it. ]
[Zhuchuan: Article 5 of the Thirty Tenant Rules...]
[The Monkey's hired navy: Now it's working hours, the relationship between us is purely that of editor and author. ]
【Zhuochuan: If you have the guts, don’t come back tonight. You’re squeezing with beggars under the bridge.】
[The navy hired by the monkey: …]
【Zhuchuan: Is it wrong? 】
[The navy hired by the monkey: Wrong. ]
【Zhuchuan: Good boy, kneel down. 】
[The monkey’s hired navy: Hey! ]
* Jiang Yucheng
【Jiang Yucheng: OK, got it :)】
[The navy hired by the monkey: (＾＿＾)]
*Ah Ghost
[The Ghost Behind You: Ahh ...
[The navy hired by the monkey: …]
[The Ghost Behind You: It’s worth it that I keep reposting this on Weibo and asking for contributions! Sure enough, there are still people who care about me! I have fans! I am only half as good as Jiang Yucheng!! ]
[The Monkey's hired sailors: ………………It's great that people are so easily contented. Their happiness index should be very high, right?]
[The ghost behind you: Who are you mocking?! ]
[The navy hired by the monkey: You. ]
[The ghost behind you: ...You definitely didn't talk to Chu Chuan like that. ]
[The navy hired by the monkey: Nonsense, I am Chu Chuan. ]
[The ghost behind you: ...]
above.
Amid the readers’ less than enthusiastic response, Yuanyueshe—at least in Moonlight magazine—has kicked off its “Reader-Author Interaction Month”… For a while, all the reposted comments on the official Weibo were discussing this event, with both those who had submitted articles and those who had not—
Some said that if I was chosen, then the distance between me and my big brother would only be as close as a space between two paragraphs. Ah, when I think about it, I feel so shy. I love my big brother XX the most!
Some said that the one upstairs is also a bit cute. When the big guy posts on Weibo, if you go and grab a sofa and be the first to like or become popular, you can also be very close to the big guy, right?
Some said that since the master had replied to me on Weibo, they were already very satisfied - they usually wrote book reviews and so on, so they would not participate in this review!
Chu Li reads these comments every day and finds them quite interesting. His initial confusion has also been satisfactorily explained: Why are there so few submissions?
It's the Internet age.
There are Weibo, QQ, WeChat, and various online platforms. Even submissions only require sending an email.
The distance between readers and authors has been invisibly shortened.
Unlike before, the interaction between readers and authors is only a "questionnaire" that the author may not be able to see... Some readers have loved a certain author for most of their lives, but until the day the author stops writing, they never have the chance to say to the author in person: I love you.
——Because the author was mysterious enough, readers were actually more enthusiastic about the "author" at that time.
While the Internet platform brings various benefits, it also often reduces readers' curiosity about "authors" to the lowest level - just like a pet kept in a mobile phone that produces food regularly, occasionally checking Weibo, you can know through the author's own Weibo posts whether he is eating, playing games, or just waking up, or staying up late to finish his manuscript...
Occasionally, there are even malicious revelations about the author's private life.
——Because the author is too close, the readers’ enthusiasm for the “author” is not as good as they imagined.
Of course, Teacher Xia doesn't quite understand this.
Therefore, at the regular meeting in the second week, the editorial departments of each magazine were basically criticized. Teacher Xia believed that each magazine had its own face authors who relied on traffic, especially Moonlight magazine, which had two "popular authors who are currently very popular among young people," namely, Hirokawa and Jiang Yucheng. However, the number of individual submissions from each author did not exceed three digits, which was caused by the editorial department's insufficient publicity efforts.
In this regard, Chu Li and the others were completely speechless and had no answer.
How to say it?
Readers are willing to pay authors to buy books, but they are no longer new to the idea of "reader-author interaction." You launch a book as if it were something explosive, but if the result doesn't meet your expectations, isn't that normal?
...Of course, I didn't dare say this directly to Teacher Xia.
After being scolded and humiliated, we returned to the editorial department. All we could do was secretly forward the promotional Weibo posts every day, begging for submissions from the three authors Suo Heng, Nian Nian and He Ma, who would be published in November.
I counted on my fingers the days when I couldn't express my pain to my readers and couldn't show my anger to the editor-in-chief, and they had already reached thirty days.
…
In the blink of an eye, it was the day for the November issue to be released nationwide.
It was early autumn and the weather was turning cooler.
That day, Chu Li had learned a tragic lesson the last time when he nearly missed the subway due to mental breakdown from organizing submissions for Zhuchuan and his friends. So he got up an hour earlier to go to work and prepare for a new battle. So before daybreak, the man and the dog who were curled up in bed practicing Taoism were woken up by the quilt and rushed to have breakfast.
"What's the point of having breakfast before dawn?"
"Woof!"
The man hugged the quilt with a dissatisfied look on his face. When Chu Li walked over and opened the curtain, Er Gou narrowed his eyes and buried his head under the man's armpit... The man touched the dog's head and said, "You came into my room without knocking."
"How many times have I knocked? Can you hear me? You only wake up when the quilt is lifted. What's the point of knocking?" Chu Li reached out and pulled his quilt. "Get up, have breakfast and go back to sleep. How can you go without breakfast every day? Your body can't stand it! You have to live a few more years to write for me!"
The man slapped Chu Li's hand that was pulling at the quilt and narrowed his eyes slightly: "What are you doing up so early?"
Chu Li: "Today is the second issue of the reader-author interaction frontispiece project submission day, I have to go and get the manuscript ready early!"
Chu Chuan: “Huh.”
Chu Li: “What the hell!”
Zhuo Chuan: "I only have 65 people submitting their works, and Suo Heng and his group probably only have two or three at most. You go so early..."
Before he could finish his words, the little girl hit him on the head with a pillow. The man raised his head angrily and saw the dwarf standing beside the bed throwing the pillow away and staring at him fearlessly: "What nonsense are you talking about? Where is your gentlemanly manners?!"
Zhuochuan rolled his eyes, grabbed the pillow to cover his face, and fell back onto the bed with Ergouzi in his arms.
Ten minutes later, Chu Li walked out the door.
An hour later, Chu Li arrived at the office an hour early, took a deep breath, opened the submission mailbox, squinted his eyes slightly and began to prepare to organize the submissions, and then found that the number of submissions was: none.
First Li: “……………………”
Maybe the students haven't woken up yet.
Chu Li comforted himself, then turned around to do other things and prepared to come back later.
At nine o'clock, it's time for work and classes. The number of submitted articles is: none.
At ten o'clock, it's time for work and classes. The number of submitted articles is: none.
Eleven o'clock is the best time to slack off at work or class. The number of articles submitted is: 1, to Nian Nian.
Lao Miao poked his head out from the next cubicle. "Have you sorted out today's submissions? How many are there?"
Chu Li: “…I haven’t seen it yet.”
Lao Miao: “Oh.”
The head in the next cubicle shrank back with a whoosh.
That's it.
On this day, Chu Li was able to go to and from get off work on time, because by the time she got off work, the submissions of the three authors were: Nian Nian 2, Hippo 1, Suo Heng 0...
After checking his mailbox countless times, and even sending a few emails from his own mailbox to confirm that it was not damaged, Chu Li could only come to a despairing conclusion: Zhuchuan and Mr. L must be from the same school and of the same lineage.