Chapter 11

"Ah." In a moment of panic, the girl instinctively cried out.

Liu Jingtong immediately took three steps back, his face contorted, full of apologies: "I, I, didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to see what you were doing."

Liu Jingtong's reaction was not because he felt the act was particularly heinous, but because Mi Hu was holding a spatula.

In the kitchen, where oil mist swirled, the girl who felt violated, and the hot spatula, the scene and the props instantly triggered the criminal novel plots in Liu Jingtong's mind.

"Sincerely, I apologize again, completely..."

"Have you finished the outline?" Mi Hu's shock had subsided, and her expression returned to calm as she asked.

"Uh, yeah." Liu Jingtong nodded uncertainly.

"Put the eggs on the table, go out and write the opening, write as much as you can." Mi Hu turned back to continue cooking, leaving Liu Jingtong with a mysterious and unfathomable back view.

"Okay, I'll go out."

Back on the sofa, Liu Jingtong reminisced about that fleeting kiss, the touch of softness truly left him wanting more. "Smack," Liu Jingtong slapped his forehead, damn, what was he thinking?

After adjusting his emotions, he began to write the opening of "Seven Swords Descend from Heaven Mountain," the story still started with a poem—tune: Eight Sounds of Gan Zhou:

Laughing at the ten years of wandering in the江湖, I have failed to live up to my youthful head. Facing the bronze camels and alleys, my poetic sentiments are faint, my heart full of sorrow! Cold wine, broken poetry, and interrupted dreams, the southern country is in clear autumn. Holding the sword, I look with a sad gaze, there is no place to call for a returning boat. The old road to the distant horizon, who will keep the Chu pendant, playing with shadows on the island? Counting the heroes and heroines, the ancient and modern sorrows are hard to bear. It is hard to endure the dim lamp and the silk canopy, the fleeting beauty of the white flower, the endless hatred! Used to drifting, with golden armor and iron horses, I am willing to be buried in a desolate mound!

In the clear autumn of the southern country, a bright moon is nearly at its zenith. At this hour, all is silent, except for the laughter and joy in the residence of the Hangzhou general.

This evening was the eve of the Hangzhou general's daughter's coming-of-age ceremony. The general was a Manchu, with the surname Nalan, and the given name Xiujie, one of the founding heroes of the Qing dynasty. He followed Dorgon into the pass, fought for over twenty years, and finally rose to the position of Hangzhou general through accumulated merit. His daughter, named Minghui, lived up to her name, renowned for her beauty and intelligence among the royal family. With no sons, she was his only child, cherished like a pearl in his palm. From a young age, he hired two teachers to teach her, practicing martial arts during the day and studying literature at night, truly a talented woman in both literature and martial arts.

...

After writing this section, Liu Jingtong straightened his back and noticed that Mi Hu had somehow stood beside him, her eyes fixed on the computer screen, lost in thought.

"Is the food ready?" Liu Jingtong asked with a smile.

Mi Hu did not answer, muttering to herself: "Counting the heroes and heroines, the ancient and modern sorrows are hard to bear. It is hard to endure the dim lamp and the silk canopy, the fleeting beauty of the white flower, the endless hatred! Liu Jingtong, no, Gu Yongsheng, how did you come up with these lines?"

Liu Jingtong smiled and said, "I call these gifts from God."

In fact, Liu Jingtong had also asked this question, in those midnight moments when he saw Guo Jing carrying the severely injured Huang Rong, lost and not knowing where to go, his heart stirred beyond measure; when he saw Qiao Feng mistakenly kill A Zhu on that heart-wrenching rainy night; when he saw Yang Guo standing at the Broken Heart Cliff, roaring in sorrow; when he saw Lian Nianshang's black hair turning white overnight... He also wondered how they came up with these lines, these stories.

Now he understood, these were gifts from God, truly gifts from God, so he must cherish them and bring these stories back to life.

"Can I make a request, no, a plea?" Mi Hu's eyes moved from the screen to Liu Jingtong.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Send me each chapter before you publish it, I want to be the first to read the story."

Liu Jingtong smiled and said, "You're my editor, it should be this way. Can I make a request too?"

"Sure, what is it?" Mi Hu said seriously.

"I'm hungry, I want to eat."

"Ah?" Mi Hu was completely surprised by Liu Jingtong's request, "Right, we can eat now." She turned and entered the kitchen, and after turning her back to Liu Jingtong, her expression was a mix of emotions, muttering to herself, "Little brat, little brat, little brat..."

Liu Jingtong smiled and saved the document, then got up to help in the kitchen.

This was the first time Liu Jingtong and Mi Hu were having a meal alone with a member of the opposite sex, and the meal went very smoothly. Liu Jingtong didn't expect Mi Hu's cooking skills to be as good as her editorial eye.

"This dish is my creation," Mi Hu pointed to the dish of fried tofu, black fungus, and meat.

"Uh, this, seems, like before..."

"You mean you've seen it before, right?"

Liu Jingtong nodded.

Mi Hu smiled mysteriously, picked up a piece of mushroom from the plate, and said, "I added extra mushrooms."

"..."

"Give it a name?"

Liu Jingtong blurted out, "It sounds like a name for a child..." Realizing something, he quickly lowered his head to eat and then casually changed the subject, "Let's call it 'Fragrant Ear Bamboo,' is this dish also a creation?" Liu Jingtong pointed to another plate with a combination of eggs and minced meat.

"This one isn't, I saw it in a fast food restaurant and tried it out. You're lucky, this is the first time I made it."

Liu Jingtong nodded and said, "It looks very appetizing, yes, these lumps of minced meat wrapped in two bright eggs, this dish can be called 'Bright and Upright.'" He then picked up a large piece.

"Generally, I can replicate dishes I've seen to about 70-80% of their original quality, a talent I inherited from my grandmother, just like your writing," Mi Hu said proudly.

"I have a story in my mind, the female protagonist is a great cook, and she cleverly uses this skill to help her boyfriend learn powerful martial arts."

"Really, what's the female protagonist's name?"

"Um, Huang Rong."

"Huang Rong? Hmm, that name sounds a bit ordinary, not like a heroine in a martial arts novel."

Liu Jingtong laughed and said, "I'll make that name the most famous heroine in martial arts novels." Thinking of the moment when "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" would be released, Liu Jingtong couldn't hide his excitement.

"I believe that, it's called simplicity, now the names of novel protagonists are all the same, flowery and flashy, and you can usually tell the quality of the book just by the protagonist's name."

Liu Jingtong nodded in agreement.

"By the way, I brought the contract, take it back later, it still needs your parents' signatures."

Liu Jingtong nodded in agreement.

"Why do you look so unconcerned? Aren't you curious about the contract?"

Liu Jingtong thought to himself, the total value of the novels in his mind could rival the GDP of a small country, how could he care about the contract for one book? Most importantly, he felt that a writer should maintain a bit of dignity, even if others thought it was pretentious, it was still necessary.

He looked at Mi Hu sincerely and said, "I'm a minor, I don't understand these things, can you explain them to me?"

Mi Hu said, "The payment for 'Dragon Tiger Battle in Jinghua' is based on the new talent rate, which is 500 yuan per thousand words. 'Seven Swords' also starts at 500, but it will increase based on performance. If it's published later, the royalty rate for new talent is generally 8-10%, and if the performance is good, it can go up to 12% or even 15%."

Liu Jingtong listened carefully and, to show his interest, asked casually, "Who has the highest royalty rate in the bestseller world now?"

Mi Hu had a "do I need to ask" expression and said, "The highest is definitely Xue Muliang and Han Shuo. However, Xue Muliang is now his own boss, and his books are mostly self-published, so he can get at least 20%. Han Shuo is also close to this number, but it's still tied to the number of books sold."

Liu Jingtong nodded and said, "I hope I can challenge them in the future."

"Do you want to compete for the throne of the bestseller king?" Mi Hu asked with interest.

Liu Jingtong shook his head and said, "That's not very meaningful, I just want to surprise them a bit," he said with a mischievous smile, "You see, when they give interviews, they always act like they're on top of the world, saying things like 'I'm the best, what can you do about it?' or 'If you're so good, sell more books than me.' So, when they're standing at the peak, I'll suddenly appear behind them and scare them. Isn't that fun?"

Mi Hu also laughed. She naturally understood the significance and difficulty of Liu Jingtong's "scaring them" but, given her confidence in her judgment and seeing Liu Jingtong's nonchalant attitude, she was even more convinced that Xue Muliang, Han Shuo, and the entire publishing industry would be shocked by this mischievous boy.

After the meal, they discussed the plot of "Seven Swords Descend from Heaven Mountain" a bit more, and then Mi Hu packed the contract and laptop and handed them to Liu Jingtong. Liu Jingtong took the black computer bag and smiled, "Thank you, Sister Xiaomi, I'll give you an Apple in a year."

"How did you know my name?"

"That day when I was online, didn't I see your ID card, Comrade Hu Xiaomi?"

For young people in a semi-familiar stage with mutual affection, directly calling each other by name is definitely an ambiguous matter. Hu Xiaomi, or Mi Hu, stood at the entrance of the residential area for two minutes after Liu Jingtong left, still in a daze. He called her by her name, and he stole her first kiss. This little brat is so wicked, what will he be like when he grows up?

The wicked Liu Jingtong was sitting in the back of a taxi, his mood particularly good. Thinking about Mi Hu's various expressions of panic, anger, and happiness, he couldn't help but laugh. The middle-aged taxi driver glanced at Liu Jingtong in the rearview mirror and commented to himself, "This kid is definitely in love."

When Liu Jingtong returned home, he hadn't even had time to rest when his mother told him a piece of news: "The editor-in-chief of 'Children's Literature' just called you, asking for a submission. I said yes for you."

"Mom, you..."

"My son is the best, I'm proud of you." His mother kissed his forehead lovingly and walked away with a smile.

Indeed, she had another reason to boast to her neighbors and colleagues, but he would be busy again, what a trouble.

Liu Jingtong rubbed his forehead, pondered for a moment, and muttered to himself, "Fairy tale, fairy tale, where to start?" At that moment, he heard a noise from the cabinet. Were they mice?

"Mice! Two mice, Shu Ke and Beta?" Liu Jingtong's furrowed brows relaxed happily.

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