From this day on, their relationship suddenly changed.
At 7:30am, Li Shuoxing had just finished breakfast and was pondering whether to read a book or watch a TV series.
His phone dinged.
Su Mingqian: “Good morning, Ximu. Have you started work yet?”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
You’re urging already?
At 8:30am, Li Shuoxing had just written 500 words and was a little sleepy. He yawned and wanted to call someone for a massage.
His phone dinged again.
Su Mingqian: “Ximu, take a few steps and rest for five minutes.”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Although you say this, I can already see you urging me to continue in five minutes!
At 9:30am, Li Shuoxing had struggled out 1500 words.
His phone didn’t forget to ding.
Su Mingqian: “Ximu, how many words have you written?”
Li Shuoxing: “1500.”
Su Mingqian: “1500 in two hours?”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
Are you questioning my slow writing?
That’s not good!
Li Shuoxing wasn’t calm. He immediately went online to look for the little person. “Cub!”
The familiar voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
Su Mingqian blinked in surprise and put down the large knife he was holding to chop a bone. “Ximu, aren’t you writing? Why are you here?”
Li Shuoxing: “…”
If time could go back, I must…
He said sorrowfully, “Cub, I think you’re putting too much pressure on me.”
Su Mingqian: “?”
Li Shuoxing: “Although some authors can write three four five six thousand in an hour, I’m really not that kind of author!”
Su Mingqian: “…” Didn’t know there were authors who could write so many words in an hour.
“My daily speed is 1000 to 1500, sometimes 2000 when I’m fast. That’s very impressive already!” Li Shuoxing stressed, “For me!”
Su Mingqian: “…” Didn’t know Ximu could write so many words per hour either.
Li Shuoxing concluded, “So what I just wrote is actually not little.”
Su Mingqian did a simple arithmetic problem. “But 1500 in two hours, 750/hr, is really less than your minimum speed.” He continued, “Although I said yesterday that I’d make a writing time plan for you, I haven’t started it yet because of the lack of data. But you just explained it, so I pretty much understand.”
Li Shuoxing: “???”
Did I just shoot myself in the foot?!
Recalling the painful experience, he thought about it for a long time and suddenly realised that he shouldn’t tell the cub anything too specific. If he didn’t, the cub didn’t understand everything about writing, but when he did, it helped automatically enrich the cub’s database!
And once the cub’s database was fully loaded, how could he, as a human being, outwit artificial intelligence…
After Li Shuoxing realised this, he quickly changed his thinking.
He wouldn’t list data with Su Mingqian, especially the correct data.
He played the emotion card against Su Mingqian, using it to counter the cub’s urge to update!
Li Shuoxing: “Cub, actually the situation is like this…”
Su Mingqian: “?”
Li Shuoxing fooled with a serious face, “We writers have delicate nerves and are easily affected by the outside world. But writing is a creative job, which needs a good state of mind to support—”
Su Mingqian believed Li Shuoxing’s words in a second.
In his feelings, Ximu was such a person.
With incomparable tolerance, he asked, “Then?”
Li Shuoxing revealed his real intention. “So, too frequent urging can make me nervous, and nervousness will make me write badly.”
He paused and purposefully looked at the little person.
He was a little apprehensive.
Was I too blunt in my refusal?
Will the cub get angry and feel lost?
The wait was a little long and Li Shuoxing got more and more uneasy, so when the silence reached half a minute, he spoke first, “But I’m not saying that you can’t urge. What I mean is that you can remind me once an hour, but be gentle. For example, when I have a writer’s scramble with others, there’ll be a reward for winning.”
This sentence was false.
The truth was that there’d be a punishment for losing.
Su Mingqian: “…”
Su Mingqian, who was considering a three-day or a seven-day review plan, was a bit dumbstruck.
Is Ximu the kind of author who needs someone to ask him once an hour?
That’s a bit much to ask.
But…
I don’t seem to be busy with anything else.
Su Mingqian: “What do you think is a gentle way to ask? Is it…”
He thought about Ximu’s character and probed.
“Ximu, you have to work hard, ah.”
“Ximu, you’re doing great, mu…ah?”
“Like that?”
This cub.
He’s normally naturally cute, but now he’s learned to actively be cute.
Think I’ll eat that?
Hmph!
That day, from 8am to 8pm, Li Shuoxing wrote a total of 10,000 words.
After he finished writing, he was once again convinced by his own awesomeness.
***
Li Shuoxing’s tenth day in Beijing was also the fifth day after he met with both film and television companies.
Li Shuoxing and Night Tour came to Yuanxuan Media again.
This time, he came to sign a contract.
A round table was divided into three parties.
One party was Yuanxuan Media, one party was the Terminal website, and one party was himself.
The contract in black words on a white background was stamped with an official seal and passed through the hands of the first two parties before passing into Li Shuoxing’s hands.
The specific terms had all been read and studied at an earlier time.
Li Shuoxing didn’t read any further and went straight to the last page to sign his name.
When he finished the last stroke of his name, he suddenly had a trace of complexity.
Having talked to both companies, he could indeed see that Yuanxuan Media was down to earth and had a more feasible plan for the project, which was also the reason Li Shuoxing decided to make two million less to sign a contract with Yuanxuan.
But that didn’t mean Yuanxuan had no problems.
It was obvious from the previous conversation that Yuanxuan had no intention to involve him or consider his opinion. Probably for Yuanxuan, they had a very mature production system and very professional production staff. They didn’t need an amateur author to boss them around.
He remembered Night Tour’s words earlier.
“With your status.”
Maybe this status still isn’t high enough.
Li Shuoxing was a little upset.
Then he asked a question to himself.
Is Silent Stream’s status enough?
Obviously, Silent Stream’s status wasn’t enough either.
Novels and television were two fields. Even the absolute gods of the online literature world could hardly make much of their own voice here.
Li Shuoxing was even more upset.
He didn’t think about it any further and quickly signed the remaining two contracts, completing the ceremony. There was still a dinner program for everyone, but it wasn’t too important.
Li Shuoxing felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he followed the group.
He took it out for a look and saw a banner flash.
Su Mingqian: “Ximu, are you busy?”
Li Shuoxing: “Yes, meeting with a film and television company to sign a contract.”
Su Mingqian: “Don’t worry, this project will be successful.”
Is he comforting me?
Li Shuoxing smiled. He replied, “Muah~”
The wild wind blew slowly.
The last leaf on the branch whirled down to the ground.
Su Mingqian took his eyes off the message on the light screen and looked at the bill he’d taken out from the mailbox in the courtyard.
“Hello:
“Your current payable amount is 3060.
“This bill will be due in 5 days. Please pay it back in time.”
He was a little lost.
Ximu is still very busy recently and probably won’t be able to come over to help.
I have to step up the intensity of my work.
Besides going to the production workshop and kitchen to make items and food, I have to make the most of the remaining space in the courtyard and plant pumpkins on the land that hasn’t been sprinkled by the automatic sprinklers.
…
So it turns out that even if automatic sprinklers are bought, I still can’t get rid of the pumpkin planting curse?
Su Mingqian was even more lost.
He shuffled slowly towards the production workshop.
I really want to see Ximu.
He thought.
At the same time.
-1.
-1.
-1.
-1 was a long, rugged road that took Su Mingqian all the way to the door of the production workshop.
Making the favourability pool, which had just reached -182, silently drop back down to -200.
And Li Shuoxing knew nothing about what was happening in the game.
He’d been out and about all day. By the time he got back to the hotel, it was already almost 10pm.
He was a little tired. He lay down on the big hotel bed with his hands folded over his abdomen and quietly watched the iridescent block of light on the ceiling, which was spun out from the crystal lamp.
As he watched, the iridescent block of light turned into an image of signing a contract at a three-party round table during the day.
Shit!
Why is it still haunting me!
Li Shuoxing was a little upset, an upset that was mostly directed at his lack of awesomeness.
When men get upset, they lose reason.
What was more, Li Shuoxing had really drunk a little wine and lost some reason.
He rolled over, sat up on the bed, came to the computer, opened the document, and started to copy and paste his stock into the backend of the website.
One by one, he copied them.
Hour by hour, he set the time.
From 10am tomorrow morning to 12am tomorrow night, a total of 14 hours, 15 chapters in all, nearly 40,000 words in one breath!
After setting them, Li Shuoxing suddenly felt good, even though his stockpile had shrunk by two-thirds in the same breath.
So he turned off the computer, returned lazily to bed, took out his phone, and got on the game.
When he entered the game, he checked the favourability pool and contribution pool as usual.
The favourability pool was -200, and the contribution pool had 1200 contribution points after the hard work of making and selling over the past few days.
…Eh?
Is the favourability pool so low? Is the contribution pool so high?
Li Shuoxing was a little confused. He thought hard about it, but his dull head couldn’t recall the data he saw last time he got off the game. So he gave up thinking and went straight to looking for the little person, soon finding his figure in the production workshop.
Li Shuoxing: “Cub.”
Su Mingqian: “Ximu?”
“Today I…” Li Shuoxing suddenly saw the little person raise his face in the craftsman’s room, and the words in his mouth silently turned around. “Your face is smeared. “
Su Mingqian was a little surprised. He raised his hand and wiped his cheek. “Is it gone?”
Li Shuoxing: “Not there. Here.”
As Li Shuoxing said that, he raised his hand and wiped the dirty little cheek on the screen.
Suddenly, a forceful mark appeared on the cheek.
Bringing up a trail of heat from the friction.
Su Mingqian froze, a little unresponsive. At that moment, Li Shuoxing’s voice came again in front of him.
Li Shuoxing wanted someone to talk and vent to. The little person in the game was just the right person.
He said, “Cub, the three-party contract was successfully signed today. Within one month, the payment will be made from the film and television company to the Terminal account. Within another month, Terminal will transfer the money to my account after deducting the agency fee. Although a large sum of money will be arriving soon, I’m kind of… how can I put it… feeling powerless, alas…”
He spoke out all his bottled up grievances in one breath.
Then he noticed that the little person in the game hadn’t moved and just stayed there.
Is he in a daze?
Li Shuoxing called out again, “Cub.”
“I’m here, Ximu.” Su Mingqian paused. “Go on, I’m listening.”
Li Shuoxing was suddenly placated.
In the dead of the night.
Someone’s willing to listen to your nonsense.
This feeling’s pretty good.
Like drinking a cup of hot water in winter, instantly comforting.
***
At the same time.
At the No. 3 spot on Terminal’s new book potential list, a novel called My Girlfriend is a Princess had just added an extra chapter.
The author, Wuling Youth, immediately posted a sincere promo chapter asking for votes.
This was what he wrote in the promo chapter:
“Hello, dear readers. I’ve been updating this book for more than twenty days. For your reading pleasure, I’ve added extra updates from time to time. Now it’s about to reach 200k, and the requirement for the new book list is that the work is within 200k and published within a month. Today, I thought long and hard about whether to slow down my update speed and fill up the remaining days on the new book list, or keep updating and get off the list within three to five days.
“Then I decided.
“Neither.
“From the moment we got on the new book list, we’ve been pressured by the top two. I don’t know if you’re willing, but I’m really not. So I’m not going to slow down the updates of my new book.
“The new book list is meaningless without first place.
“Tomorrow, I’ll burst out a minimum guarantee of five updates.
“I’ll add five extra updates for each position I overtake.
“In other words, if I can touch the first position of the new book list on the last day.
“I’ll update fifteen chapters tomorrow!
“I don’t want it to drag on, I’m just seizing every minute.
“Just in this one day, burst the two guys above and rush to first in the new book list.