Chapter 75

Apart from the editors of Qianhong, the eagerly awaiting readers, the water army waiting to harvest the results, and Qianhong's competitors, there were other people paying attention to Gu Yongsheng's new book. For example, Professor Chen Shijiang, who had just finished reading "The White-Haired Witch," and other martial arts novel writers like Dandao and Qinse, as well as best-selling authors like Shen You and Luo An. Of course, the majority were netizens who were just there to watch the show.

"Qingnie is a pair of twin brothers; the book introduces this concept, but it can be explored more deeply or in more detail," Professor Chen said in class, never avoiding discussions about martial arts author Gu Yongsheng. "Unrequited love can also be elevated to a common human frustration. I hope the new book will add to this."

Professor Chen, who specialized in literary research, had his own system for reading texts. He would step out of the story to capture the author's underlying meanings, summarize the commonalities in the writing, and analyze them based on existing literary theories, or discover new patterns in the text. These methods were second nature to him.

Of course, just because the teacher liked it didn't mean the students had to follow suit. Some of Professor Chen's graduate students, adhering to the principle "I love my teacher, but I love truth more," always kept a respectful distance from martial arts novels. Professor Chen didn't force them, but he did remind them that literary research shouldn't be too picky about texts. These students, while nodding respectfully, couldn't categorize martial arts novels as "texts."

Once a concept is formed, it's hard to change, unless a work that garners universal praise and is beyond reproach appears one day.

Dandao and Shen You's interest was more understandable. They had once tried to challenge Gu Yongsheng but were left speechless by "The White-Haired Witch," admitting their defeat. This time, whether out of curiosity or competition, they had every reason to watch.

"Now, if I give you ten days and a topic, what kind of story could you write?"

Qinse posed this question to Dandao while chatting on WeChat.

"It depends on my state. If I'm in good form, I think I can still write a decent short story. After all, I used to write for over a dozen magazines and newspapers at the same time, so I'm confident in my speed."

"What if you were in the same situation as Gu Yongsheng? Under the same public opinion, how much of your skills do you think you could maintain?"

Dandao didn't answer, as this was something that hadn't happened and was impossible to predict. As a confident author, he never had the habit of belittling himself to elevate others.

"He wouldn't say such things without preparation. It was the same with 'The White-Haired Witch.' It's not hard to understand. The previous book was low-key, but this one is high-profile. Lu Yichou, with his years of experience in publishing, is well-versed in these tactics."

"But I heard that the editors of Qianhong are now in the northwest looking at snow-capped mountains, and Gu Yongsheng went with them. From Gu Yongsheng's posts and Qianhong's subsequent responses, it seems they didn't plan it in advance."

Dandao still had his doubts and replied with a smile, ending the topic. Like all similar discussions, no one had a definitive answer before the book was released, and it was all speculation.

Qinse made a data-driven prediction in her mind. Unless Gu Yongsheng's skills were ten times or more superior to hers, he would inevitably face ridicule from readers. This judgment was the same as Shen You's, as they were both female authors and didn't have the subtle self-comparison and jealousy that Dandao and Xue Muliang had. They were both looking forward to and worried about it.

...

"Uncle is being too showy this time. I've always known he's a secretly perverted guy."

After class in the morning, Wang Qianqian and Gong Cheng'en, as usual, went to the cafeteria for lunch. Wang Qianqian, with a mocking tone and a smile, commented on Gu Yongsheng's "retrial" post.

"It's probably a way for Qianhong to hype up the new book," Gong Cheng'en, born into a media family, was familiar with such promotional tactics, "But it's rare for Gu to be so cooperative."

"Absolutely not!" Wang Qianqian shook her head happily, as if she had discovered something particularly interesting. "Do you think he would cooperate with the publishing company to promote a new book? He's not that conventional. I've told you before, he's a typical 'innocent boy on the outside, secretly perverted uncle on the inside.' See how many people are waiting to see him fail? He'll give them a good slap in the face. If you don't believe me, call him now. He's probably having a great time alone."

Gong Cheng'en found it hard to understand and said, "How can you be so sure he'll hit the mark? Don't be misled by online comments. I feel that this unanimous public opinion is a bit fake. Either Qianhong is behind it, or someone is maliciously creating a hype to ruin his new book."

Wang Qianqian sneered, "He's just asking for it. By the way, are you and your brother not planning to take action this time?"

"Yue Nv Jian isn't finished yet, and 'The White-Haired Witch' has just been greenlit. There's no data to prove that our approach will succeed, so our focus is on these two projects."

Wang Qianqian said, "If 'Yue Nv Jian' fails, 90% of the responsibility is mine. I'll help you ask Sister Mi Hu to instruct Uncle to write a martial arts script for you."

"By the way, what did you say to Mi Hu that day?"

"That's a secret between girls. Anyway, 'Yue Nv Jian' is my debt to you."

"It's not necessarily going to fail, and I've been following this project too. If we fail, we'll share the burden."

Compared to sharing the joy of success, Gong Cheng'en was somewhat looking forward to sharing a common failure with Wang Qianqian. As the saying goes, true feelings are revealed in adversity. This high-cost way of dating was definitely not something just anyone could handle.

"That's not the point," Wang Qianqian suddenly thought of something and changed the topic, "Ask Sister Mi Hu tonight what Uncle's new book is about."

...

Mi Hu had just finished class. She had been in a very bad mood lately. That guy, after going to the grasslands, had almost forgotten about her. His text message was brief and dismissive. What made her even more upset was that he had posted something without consulting her. What was he up to? He hadn't mentioned writing a new book at all.

This sense of exclusion made Mi Hu very unhappy. As a punishment, she decided not to contact Liu Jingting for a whole day, even if he texted or called, she wouldn't reply.

To ensure the effectiveness of this punishment, she would check her phone from time to time during class and self-study. When she found that Liu Jingting hadn't sent any texts or called to apologize during the punishment, her unhappiness increased, and she angrily turned off her phone.

After evening self-study, Mi Hu turned on her phone to check the time and saw several missed calls and unread messages. Her bad mood was somewhat alleviated, but when she opened the messages and missed calls, she was disappointed and even more angry to find that none of them were from Liu Jingting, that conscienceless guy.

The messages were from Zhou Daoran, the former chief editor of "The Great Wulin" and her mentor in editing. He was now the text director of a top domestic fashion magazine, "Style." He wanted to contact Gu Yongsheng through her for a personal interview.

Mi Hu called Zhou Daoran.

"Hello, Chief Editor, I was in evening self-study, so I didn't answer the call."

After leaving "The Great Wulin," both of their roles had changed, but the titles had become a habit.

"I understand, that's how it is in the third year of high school."

"About the interview with Gu Yongsheng..."

"Yes, it's because of his challenge post. It's rare for him to come out and say something, so I thought we could do an interview and let him speak his mind."

"But Chief Editor, I'm afraid he won't agree. I can pass the message, but he's different from others. He's a bit capricious, proud, and self-important."

Mi Hu, who was still angry with Liu Jingting, didn't miss this opportunity to criticize him.

As a senior, Zhou Daoran could sense some other information from Mi Hu's tone and asked gently, "Did you have a fight?"

Mi Hu was taken aback, realizing that her tone had been a bit too harsh, and quickly explained, "No, you know him. He's like that. By the way, you can contact Qianhong. They're promoting the author's new book, so they probably won't refuse."

Zhou Daoran laughed, "That's the strange part. After seeing the post, I contacted Qianhong first, but they were also confused. This wasn't their plan at all; it was Gu Yongsheng's spontaneous idea."

"Ah?" Hearing this, Mi Hu's anger turned to confusion, which then turned to worry.

When she first saw the post, she thought it might be a promotional tactic by Qianhong, and Liu Jingting had probably prepared the manuscript in advance. But hearing Zhou Chief Editor's words, it was clear that the guy was acting out of anger. He hadn't prepared the manuscript at all; it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. This meant he hadn't secretly written a new story without telling her.

Understanding this, Mi Hu's mood improved, and she said, "He's still on the grasslands and says he'll be back tomorrow. I'll tell him your message then."

"Good, but don't force it. I know his personality," Zhou Daoran suddenly chuckled, "Mainly, our visual director is a martial arts fan. After reading 'The White-Haired Witch,' he dyed his hair white. He wants to meet Gu Yongsheng."

"Okay, I'll pass the message."

"Study hard, take care of yourself, and don't take the college entrance exam too seriously. If you don't get in, you can come work at 'Style.'"

"Hehe, thank you, Chief Editor."

Working at 'Style' was the dream of many young girls, and Mi Hu knew that Chief Editor's words were meant to comfort her, so she didn't take them too seriously.

After hanging up, she fell into deep thought. She remembered when she first met Liu Jingting, he had posted a challenge online to defend her, showing that he could indeed act impulsively. But this time was different. With the popularity of 'The White-Haired Witch,' Gu Yongsheng's name had become increasingly significant in the martial arts novel world. If he made such an obviously irrational decision out of anger, wouldn't he be playing right into the hands of those with ulterior motives?

Thinking about this, she suppressed her anger and called him. The phone rang for a long time before he answered, and just as she was about to hang up, his familiar voice came through:

"Just finished self-study?"

Mi Hu was still a bit upset and mumbled a "yes."

"I left a message on WeChat. Didn't you go on WeChat today?"

"I had class. Couldn't you send a text?"

Hearing that he had left a message on WeChat, her mood improved.

Liu Jingting, realizing she hadn't caught his humor, felt a bit awkward and said, "I just got back from the grasslands. After arriving at the hotel, I took a shower and slept. Then I got up, had breakfast, and went back to my room to go online, leaving you a long message."

"I'm on my way back to the dorm now. I'll check it later. By the way, when did you start preparing for your new book? You never mentioned it before."

"Not long ago, I decided after going to the grasslands. Didn't I tell you before that one of my hobbies is to suddenly appear and surprise them? I checked online and saw it was a good opportunity, so I didn't want to miss it."

"Are you sure you can surprise them this time? Have you calculated how many days you have left?"

"Including today, I have eight days."

"So?"

"So it's more than enough. And you can see that many readers on the forum are waiting."

"They're waiting to see you fail. Are you stupid? Can't you see someone is trying to set you up?"

"No, they seem very sincere and polite. Besides, who would be so foolish as to spend their days trying to ruin someone online?"

Mi Hu was speechless and said, "Haven't you heard of professional trolls?"

"Why would trolls promote my new book?"

"Ah, you..." Mi Hu thought that if he were in front of her, she would kick him. Thinking this, she suddenly felt a pang of longing for him.

"Okay, I know you're worried about me. Why do you have to be so aggressive when you're clearly worried?"

"..."

"The new book is called 'The White Horse Whinnies in the West Wind.' It's a love story wrapped in a martial arts novel. I can finish it in about four days. I'll send it to you before sending it to Qianhong to ease your worries. Okay?"

At this point, Mi Hu had no more anger and said with a forced smile, "Whatever you say."

"Whatever? Then forget it."

"Liu Jingting, you dare not send it!"

"Ha ha..."

...

Girls often think their anger can last a long time, but in reality, it's usually very fragile.

After hanging up, Liu Jingting closed all his internet connections, created a new document titled "White Horse," opened it, and started writing:

"Clippity-clop, clippity-clop... Clippity-clop, clippity-clop... In the vast, sandy desert of Huijiang, dust rose two zhang high as two horses galloped one after the other..." (To be continued. Please search for Piaowen.com for better and faster updates!)

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