0051: Recommendation

“So, why are you coming with us anyway?” Chu Qingchan lifted her eyelids in annoyance and saw Chu Fengyi sitting between her and Xu Lin.

“Father asked me to keep an eye on you. Do you think I’d want to take this kind of train if I had a choice?”

“We’re just going out to shoot a commercial, what’s there to supervise?”

“If I let you two reach Jinling, how would I know what you’re up to? What if you end up in the same bed?”

“Chu Fengyi, don’t talk nonsense,” Chu Qingchan glared at her, but Chu Fengyi seemed oblivious, continuing to look down at her phone.

“Alright, alright, let’s just go together then,” Xu Lin tried to smooth things over.

“Xu Lin, weren’t you afraid she’d beat you up a while ago? You trained for two days and now you’re not scared anymore?”

Xu Lin could sense a hint of jealousy, yet it secretly pleased him. “No, no, I just respect my teacher, that’s all.”

“Hmph!”

Seeing Chu Qingchan turn her head away in deliberate annoyance, he followed suit, glancing sideways at Chu Fengyi’s phone.

She wasn’t chatting or watching videos, but reading a book instead, so he figured it wasn’t really invading her privacy.

She noticed his gaze and raised her phone a little so he could see more clearly. Xu Lin almost wanted to cry.

After being beaten up for so long, she was finally being nice to him. He almost teared up. Wait, that’s a novel. Why does it look so familiar?

“Wait… What book are you reading?”

“I found it on the new releases yesterday. Not many words yet, but it’s pretty good. The title is a bit odd—‘This Is Definitely Not Everyday Life.’”

…It was his book. His book actually made it onto the new releases list? He hadn’t even noticed.

But the number of people adding it to their collections had gone up—about thirty to fifty a day. With no other promotions or past works, and the current number of fans, that was pretty fast.

He never expected, though, to attract a wealthy reader. If she tipped him ten or twenty thousand, he’d feel embarrassed to accept it.

“Do you think it’s good?”

“It’s alright.”

“Aren’t you going to tip, since you’re rich?”

“No, I’m just reading for fun. Why spend money?”

Her words dampened his spirits. But you’re loaded! Last time we met, you gave me a hundred thousand just to replace my phone.

Noticing his expression, Chu Fengyi frowned, “What’s with that face?”

“You’re right, no need to tip. Even if you have money, you shouldn’t waste it. But if you want to support a book, at least read the official version.”

“Of course. I only read when I have spare time, but I’ve already subscribed to forty or fifty books.”

…Is this what being a big shot means?

“Don’t disturb me anymore. I told you the title—you can read it on your own phone.”

“Alright.”

She lowered her head again, engrossed in her book. Xu Lin lightly tapped her arm, and a sudden murderous aura radiated from her.

“I’ll let you finish talking before I teach you a lesson.”

“That posture is bad for your spine and neck, and you call yourself a teacher.”

“Hmph! I know.”

Watching both sisters turn away, Xu Lin realized that even though he was sitting between two girls, he still felt bored.

But he wasn’t without things to do. He took out his phone to review his lines. There weren’t many, but he couldn’t afford to get them wrong.

He’d familiarized himself with the script—it was a public service short film focusing on issues faced by the deaf and mute community.

He played a boy who liked the hearing-impaired female lead, while Chu Qingchan played the main role: a teacher with a cold exterior but a warm heart.

It would really test her acting skills, but Xu Lin believed she couldn’t be worse than before.

When they arrived, they entered the main hall and spotted several people holding signs. One of them read “Broadcasting Room 23.” Chu Qingchan led the way over.

“Miss Chu Qingchan, and the other two, please come with me.” Though she was wearing a mask, the person immediately recognized her.

The group left the station and got into a business car arranged by the organizers, heading toward the hotel.

Xu Lin noticed a new message on QQ—an unexpected one from his editor.

Editors almost never messaged first, since they were always busy and would only reply if you reached out about something important.

In his previous life, he’d signed two books. The results weren’t great but not terrible. Before graduating, his last book even sold its audio rights.

He only learned about the sale when the money arrived, and still no one contacted him, so he was curious now.

The editor’s message was a greeting: “There’s something I’d like to discuss. Please reply when you see this.”

Xu Lin immediately replied, “Hello, what’s the matter?”

The editor responded quickly: “It’s about your novel. This is the first time I’ve read a book with your style—personally, I think it’s very good.”

“Thank you.”

“I recommended your book in our work group. Some colleagues in my team think it has great potential.”

“So?”

“We’d like to give you a bit of a push, start your promotion process early and test the waters.”

“That’s great news. Since you mentioned it, should I change my update schedule?”

“Currently, you update twice a day. After you’re featured, keep it at two. If the data is good, I’ll get you a big promotional spot.”

“Then you can try updating three times a day. If it doesn’t work out, just don’t stop updating.”

“Thank you so much! I’ll keep working hard.”

“Write well. I’m one of your readers too. Let’s aim for three thousand collections during this week’s promotion. If you hit that, I’ll get you a top spot in your category.”

“Ok.”

After replying, Xu Lin’s eyes sparkled with excitement. The two girls next to him looked at him curiously.

“What’s up? Nervous? Filming doesn’t start until tomorrow. We’re just resting at the hotel tonight,” Chu Qingchan guessed he was anxious.

“No, it’s about my novel.”

“Novel? What novel?” Chu Fengyi perked up immediately.

“I write web novels too. My editor just told me about some things to watch for during promotion.”

“Oh? What did you write? Let me see.”

She grinned, and Xu Lin knew she was just waiting to see if his writing was bad so she could mock him.

“You’re already reading my book.”

“What?”

“The one you’re reading—‘This Is Definitely Not Everyday Life!’”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“So… when the main character leaves the apartment, where is he going?”

“I haven’t written that part yet. But you can check my drafts for the next chapters.”

“No, thanks! I’ll just wait for your updates.”

Chu Fengyi glanced at her phone, then smacked her forehead. This guy really did have some talent.

As an ordinary person, his martial arts aptitude was one thing, but the fact that he could sing, write lyrics, and pen novels was truly impressive.

She’d seen many geniuses, but never one who combined so many skills.

“I didn’t expect you to be talented in this area too.”

“It’s just a hobby.”

“On the surface, this book looks like a slice-of-life urban story, but it’s actually a rigorous suspense-horror novel. I think there’s a real market for it.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Master.”

“By the way, if your book really gets popular, could I invest in it? What do you think?”

“Invest how?”

“Buy the rights and make a movie!”

“Are you sure? The first ten chapters alone would need a lot of censorship.”

“Don’t worry, you don’t need to think about that. Let my father handle it.”

“Then I’ll work hard. Who wouldn’t want to see their work on the big screen?”

Although Xu Lin thought she was joking, he couldn’t help but look forward to it. If his book really became a hit, could he sell the rights? How much would it be worth?

Actually, if he had the means, he’d rather invest and produce it himself—to avoid ruining the original work. That was important!

But it all came down to money. He had to figure out a way to earn more! Who would have thought that Xu Lin, the king of slackers, would start worrying about making money?

Still, making money was one of the dreams he hadn’t fulfilled in his past life. Time to work harder. This commercial—I really have to give it my all, a thousand percent!