Chapter 15

"Did you talk about a collaboration with 'Children's Literature and Art'?" Mi Hu quickly changed the subject.

"Yes, I signed the contract for 'Chu Chuk and Beta.' How did you get this information so quickly?"

"The editor-in-chief of 'Children's Literature and Art,' Yao, called our chief editor. Did you mention 'The Great Jianghu' to her?"

Liu Jingtong nodded in realization, saying, "Yes, it seems there aren't many secrets among us in the industry."

"Chief Editor Zhou and Editor Yao are university classmates, and the two magazines have completely different styles. But I did hear a rumor about 'Ding Novel.'"

Liu Jingtong was very cooperative and asked curiously, "What rumor?"

"Your 'Chu Chuk and Beta' has caused a surge in sales for 'Children's Literature and Art,' almost catching up to 'Ding Novel.' Xue Muliang held an emergency meeting and postponed the magazine's release by three days."

Liu Jingtong laughed, "Isn't market manipulation Xue Muliang's usual tactic? Changing the release date of the magazine is just to show off his status, implying that readers will still wait patiently."

Mi Hu nodded and smiled at Liu Jingtong, saying, "It seems you understand this well. Why don't you come work for us at 'The Great Jianghu'?"

"Probably not, I have many stories to write," Liu Jingtong waved his hand, "But who knows, I might really start a magazine in the future."

Hearing this, Mi Hu felt a sudden tension. She had deep feelings for 'The Great Jianghu,' and if Liu Jingtong started his own magazine, he would be an even more formidable enemy than 'Ding Novel.'

Mi Hu sighed lightly, saying, "Your fairy tale is very popular. I read it, and it's really interesting, accurately capturing the psychology of children."

"Confucius once said that only women and children are hard to deal with. I think this can be rephrased now," Liu Jingtong organized his thoughts and said, "For merchants, including cultural merchants, if they want to dominate the market, they must capture the two types of customers: women and children. I believe you know that women never buy things based on need but on mood. So, it can be said that maternal instinct and the desire to shop are eternal traits of women."

When Mi Hu heard the words "maternal instinct," she thought of herself giving him a computer and a phone, and her face, which had just returned to normal, suddenly turned red.

Liu Jingtong didn't notice the change in Mi Hu's expression and continued, "As for children, they themselves have no purchasing power, but they can command the most powerful consumers in society."

"You're a cunning merchant. Look at you now, you have the face of a cunning merchant," Mi Hu said with a hint of irritation, seizing the opportunity to mock him.

"I'm just discussing it, and it has nothing to do with being cunning."

"You are cunning, a little boy with a big mind, a little boy who is cunning," Mi Hu said angrily.

Liu Jingtong looked at Mi Hu in surprise and said, "What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong."

"Uh..." Liu Jingtong carefully recalled what he had just said, found no problem, and continued to think back, suddenly realizing, "Are you upset because I signed with 'Children's Literature and Art'?"

"No."

"Are you upset because I repeated Confucius' words? That wasn't my intention, I never thought that women..."

"No, no."

Liu Jingtong was puzzled and shook his head, "Then I don't know."

"What did you mean by 'maternal instinct' and 'shopping desire'? Do you think you're a psychologist? Do you think you're a big brother who understands everything, or just a little brat?"

Liu Jingtong then noticed the phone box in his hand and laughed, "Oh, you're overthinking it, I wasn't talking about you."

"Are you saying it applies to all women but not to me? Do you think I'm not a woman?"

"..."

"Don't pretend to be deaf and dumb, talk to me!"

"Mi Hu, I'm a bit scared now. I'm still a minor, I'll be fifteen in July. Don't scare me."

"You know you're a minor, and you know I'm your editor. Why did you, why did you kiss me?"

"What... what?" The conversation took an unexpected turn, and Liu Jingtong was completely stunned.

"Do you want to pretend you forgot, pretend you don't know? After you did it, you wiped your mouth and walked away, acting as if it never happened?"

When Mi Hu asked these provocative questions with a fierce tone, the classmates who had finished breakfast and returned to the classroom, and the passing boys, all gave Liu Jingtong looks of contempt, criticism, and intense jealousy.

Liu Jingtong remained speechless.

"Weren't you just analyzing women's psychology so well? Citing classics and using examples from all over? Why aren't you talking now?"

Liu Jingtong thought to himself, "Maternal instinct and the desire to shop are indeed traits hidden deep in women's hearts, but isn't being unreasonable also a powerful weapon exclusive to women?"

"Mi Hu... big sister, I didn't mean to cause you so much trouble with my unintentional action. What can I do to make up for my mistake?"

"Be my boyfriend." Mi Hu's voice softened slightly as she said this.

"Huh?"

"Stop pretending to be dumb, you heard me."

"But, um?"

"What are you saying 'um' for? Do you think I want to do this? I'm just giving you a solution, an example. Do you understand?"

"Um." Liu Jingtong nodded, suddenly transforming into a hopeless middle school student being scolded by a teacher.

"Don't always say 'um.' You took my first kiss, and you have to take responsibility."

Liu Jingtong took a deep breath and said softly, "I remember a girl whose situation is similar to yours. Her face is always covered with a black veil. Her master, who is also her mother, made her swear that the first man to see her true face must either marry her or be killed by her."

"Is this a character from your novel?"

Liu Jingtong nodded.

"What's her name?"

"Mu Wanqing."

"Mu Wanqing, gentle and clear?"

"Yes, clear and gentle."

"Her name has a martial arts feel. By logical inference, it must be the male protagonist who sees her true face first, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, did they end up together?" Mi Hu tried to hide the hint of vulnerability in her question.

"Um, the situation is a bit complicated. They later discovered they were siblings."

"Siblings? So melodramatic?"

"Wait, the male protagonist eventually found out he wasn't his current father's biological son, so he and Mu Wanqing ended up together."

Liu Jingtong was referring to the latest revised version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," where Wang Yuyan and Duan Yu separated, and Duan Yu married Mu Wanqing and Zhong Ling, who were both made concubines.

Mi Hu nodded in satisfaction and said, "You should focus on writing 'Seven Swords Descend from Heaven' now."

Liu Jingtong quickly nodded, relieved to have used the story of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" to defuse the tense situation. He seized the moment and said casually, "Want to have breakfast together?"

Mi Hu firmly rejected, "I have to go to work. By the way, give me your answer about being my boyfriend tonight." She turned and left, leaving Liu Jingtong stunned.

"I'm still a minor," Liu Jingtong muttered to himself, watching Mi Hu's back, "Why can you talk about being my boyfriend so casually?"

Liu Jingtong, who was already not focused on his classes, became even more distracted after Mi Hu's sudden confession. He couldn't concentrate in class and couldn't even write his novel, with Mi Hu's image constantly on his mind.

Mi Hu's situation wasn't much better. Since that kiss, her heart, which was still that of a young girl, was mostly occupied by that little brat.

That cunning boy, not talking to me, not eating with me, because of you, I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't rest.

When a literary girl falls in love, "The Book of Songs" and "Three Hundred Tang Poems" suffer. These two lines mean: That little brat doesn't talk to me, doesn't eat with me, so I can't eat, can't sleep, and can't rest.

So, to eat well and sleep well, she used almost a shameless method to force Liu Jingtong to comply, but thinking of his age, she still felt a sense of guilt, as if she were committing a crime against a minor.

After evening study, Liu Jingtong returned home, didn't even have time to eat the late-night snack his mother had prepared, and went straight to his room. He turned on his computer, logged into WC, and opened the chat window with Mi Hu:

"Is this how you act as an editor? Your rambling made it impossible for me to write a single word."

After a moment, Mi Hu replied, "Do you think I'm better off, Liu Jingtong? You're so young, why are you like this?"

This could also mean, "Why are you so good at seducing people at such a young age?"

Liu Jingtong replied with a string of ellipses.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm worried about losing you. Our magazine is in a precarious situation. Seeing your collaboration with 'Children's Literature and Art' made me feel a sense of crisis. By the way, Xue Muliang is preparing to release a new book called 'Sad Forest,' which will start serializing in 'Ding Novel' on June 1st. We decided to launch your 'Seven Swords' on the same day."

"That's fine. Hu Xiaomi, there's something I need to tell you. I'm not as young as you think. My mental age might be older than yours. Do you have that feeling?"

"So?"

"Being your boyfriend is fine. That's my answer."

Silence. Even though they were chatting online, the silence was vivid.

After half a minute, Mi Hu sent a string of ellipses, followed by a message: "I have one question."

"Ask."

"Why can you write both fairy tales and martial arts stories so well?"

A completely off-topic question. Liu Jingtong was taken aback and quoted the great definition: "Because martial arts stories are also fairy tales, but they are fairy tales for adults."

"Good answer. In the future, as my boyfriend, you have to be well-behaved, got it?"

"..."

"Talk!"

"First love, please guide me."

---

Page AD starts

Page AD ends