Chapter 77

At 11 PM, after seeing off the relatives, Song Rao helped her father tidy up the dining table. The large cake had been completely eaten, and her plan to bring a couple of pieces to Zhao Ying and Tong Yan had fallen through.

"Rao Rao, go rest. I'll clean up," Old Song said, having had a bit of alcohol. Today, he was happy; his daughter was 18, a grown woman. He had raised her alone for over a decade, and he felt a great sense of accomplishment in raising her so well. At the same time, he also felt a sense of crisis.

After tidying up the dining table, Old Song called his daughter over and gently promised, "When you go to college, Dad will be very happy if you bring back a boyfriend who is both talented and good-looking. But not in high school. You only have half a year until the college entrance exam. Use this time well; striving for a good future is what you should be thinking about now."

"I know, I know," Song Rao replied dismissively. Old Song, noting that she and Tong Yan hadn't been in any recent gossip, didn't press the issue further.

Back in her bedroom, lying on the bed, Song Rao pulled out a copy of "The Little Prince" from somewhere. The Chinese characters on the title page made her happy, but the numbers in the corner puzzled her. Even Zhao Ying couldn't figure out what these numbers meant. What did they signify? Were they written by Tong Yan on purpose, or was it just a coincidence?

After the lights were turned off in the boys' dormitory, Wang Ping noticed that Tong Yan wasn't taking off his clothes and asked, "Going out again tonight?"

"Yep."

"Tong Yan, what are you doing out there? Is there something you can't tell me?" Zheng Jing had always been curious and even once tried to find Tong Yan in the bathroom and water room, but to no avail.

"Old Zheng, the reason I don't tell you is that I'm afraid of your big mouth!" Tong Yan sighed.

"I, I..." Zheng Jing knew he couldn't keep a secret, "Forget it. If you don't want others to know, then don't tell me."

"When the time comes, I'll tell you everything," Tong Yan promised, "I'm off. Don't miss me."

At Old Liu's place, a notebook was already prepared for Tong Yan. Tong Yan logged into起点 (Qidian) and opened QQ. Some necessary leisure and communication were still important.

As soon as Tong Yan came online, Watermelon sent a message.

Watermelon: Why didn't you come online yesterday?

Tong Yan: I took a day off. What's up?

Watermelon: Nothing, do you know what we're busy with now?

Tong Yan: How would I know?

While chatting, Tong Yan opened a few books he was following.

Watermelon: The second Qidian Annual Conference! We've been contacting popular writers, hoping they will attend.

Watermelon started working in 2005 and missed the first conference. This time, she would meet many famous writers she had only heard of. She heard that Tang Jia San Shao was tall and handsome, and danced beautifully. Xue Hong, on the other hand, was just a fat guy, not much to look at. But the thought of meeting so many great writers made her excited, and she couldn't help but brag to the young Tong Yan.

Tong Yan: Qidian Annual Conference? I've never heard of it, and I didn't get an invitation.

Watermelon: Come on, you're not qualified yet. The standard for this year's participants is a peak subscription of over 7,000! These are all authors with annual incomes over 100,000.

Watermelon then briefly explained the knowledge of the writers' annual conference to Tong Yan.

The Qidian Annual Conference started in 2004. The first one was held in Shanghai last year, inviting over 70 famous writers and 400 readers, serving as a platform for interaction between authors and readers.

In 2004, it was the first time Qidian held such an event, and they lacked experience. This time, they planned a grand event with the slogan "Journey to Success in Original Literature and the Second Qidian Annual Conference." The event was still held in Shanghai, and only authors with a subscription rate of over 7,000 were eligible to participate. Tong Yan, who hadn't even started serialization, could only envy and drool.

Tong Yan: What's there to envy? I don't like gatherings. There are so many people, and I don't know who to talk to.

Watermelon: It's not just a gathering of writers. There's media coverage, and it will be reported in the newspapers. Most importantly, several publishing houses will also participate. Qidian will negotiate publishing collaborations with these publishers. If a novel gets published, the author's income will increase several times! Their social status and fame will also greatly increase!

Hearing this, Tong Yan was a bit tempted.

Tong Yan: Unfortunately, I won't make it this year. I'll have to wait until next year.

Watermelon: If you can come next year, I'll treat you to a meal.

Tong Yan: Deal!

Tong Yan browsed Qidian and saw many famous writers mentioning they would attend the Qidian Annual Conference. He was quite envious, but he laughed when he read the comments below. It seemed that the writers were using the conference as an excuse to reduce or even stop their updates.

Tang Jia San Shao, however, was different. He clearly stated that these events wouldn't affect his updates. Tong Yan didn't know that this guy had been consistent for over a year and would continue for over a decade!

Tong Yan noticed that the new writer "I Eat Tomatoes" was updating once a day, occasionally twice. Their update frequencies were similar. Out of a special feeling for this person, even though he thought "Star Peak Legend" was just average, Tong Yan still left a comment in the book review section, hoping to make a friend.

Before starting to write, Tong Yan closed the web pages and QQ, leaving only a document open. Old Liu was still listening to the radio, lying in bed, blocking out the tapping sounds from outside. Around 1 AM, Tong Yan took a break, released a new chapter, and saw that the number of favorites had reached 25, which was a good rate. This motivated him even more.

In the past, Tong Yan's fastest speed was 3,000 words per hour, and now it was around 3,500. Two hours of typing could easily produce two chapters.

Hong Ruidi was a young teacher whose girlfriend worked in the provincial capital. She came to see him today, and he wanted to keep her overnight, but she had to leave suddenly. The room he had booked wasn't used, so he decided to return the money and go back to the school. However, when he reached the dormitory door, he realized he had left his key in the office and had to come to Old Liu for help.

Although the single teachers' dormitory and the boys' dormitory were in different buildings, the spare keys were all with Old Liu.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Tong Yan, who was in the middle of a creative flow, immediately stopped and took off Old Liu's headphones, pointing outside.

"Who is it?" Old Liu asked.

"It's me, Xiao Hong, Hong Ruidi."

Tong Yan panicked. If the teacher found out, it would be hard to explain!

Old Liu gave Tong Yan a reassuring look and shouted, "It's so late, what's the matter? I'm sleeping! Wait a moment!"

The wait lasted three minutes. When he opened the door, Old Liu looked groggy and a bit annoyed.

"Old Liu, why did it take so long to open the door?"

"I'm old, and it takes me longer to get dressed."

"You're still in good health, but leaving the window open at night isn't a good habit." Saying this, Hong Ruidi walked towards the window.

"Teacher Hong, what's the matter?" Old Liu quickly called out to Xiao Hong.

"Oh, I need the key to my dormitory. I left it in the office." Hong Ruidi didn't stop walking and was already by the window...

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