Xie Qian had provided Wen Ying with an investment opportunity, but it also presented her with a difficult choice.
This matter truly required careful consideration.
On second thought, the money was in her own hands anyway. Whether to invest, and how much, was entirely up to her.
Wen Ying immediately felt relieved, “Then when would be a good time to go? Sunday?”
Today was Friday.
Tomorrow was already scheduled for watching the basketball game and treating Song Shao to dinner. If both she and Xie Qian were free, it would have to be the day after.
Xie Qian nodded, “That works. We’ll go on Sunday then. We’re not the ones in a hurry anyway. We can visit a few times before deciding.”
Wen Ying hummed in agreement.
Back in the dormitory, her three roommates teased Wen Ying and asked when she would treat the whole dorm to a meal.
After getting a boyfriend, treating the entire dorm to dinner seemed to have become an unspoken rule at universities. What to eat was secondary; the important part was the process of eating!
Eating together was the official announcement!
Wen Ying was very frank, “I don’t know. How about you wait a bit longer?”
Sun Mingfei winked suggestively, “So, you and classmate Xie Qian have only mutually expressed your feelings, but haven’t…”
Haven’t officially gotten together?
Wen Ying nodded lightly, feeling her ears growing hot. She pretended to be calm, “I’m not in a hurry!”
That night when Xie Qian confessed, he said “I like you”, and she replied “more than anything”. That should count as mutually expressing feelings, right?
As for being together.
She and Xie Qian were together every day!
Together for public classes.
Together for elective courses.
Together eating in the cafeteria.
Together for rehabilitation.
Together going to the study room.
Everything campus couples should do, she and Xie Qian had done. She did not know if she counted as Xie Qian’s girlfriend. Ordinary couples did not have as deep an emotional foundation as she and Xie Qian.
Once she also invested in Yan Yuchuan’s side, not only would there be emotional ties with Xie Qian, but economic ones as well.
Regarding this point, it was actually something Wen Ying had been avoiding all along.
Wen Ying was willing to lend money to Xie Qian. As long as he asked, as long as she had it, she would lend however much and for however long.
But Wen Ying was unwilling to partner with Xie Qian in starting a business.
Jiaxin was Xie Qian’s; she would not touch it. She already had Tianjiao.
If Zou Weijun wanted to start a cultural company, Wen Ying did not mind helping, but she similarly would not participate in investing.
Romance was romance, business was business. The two of them could clearly shine in different fields. Why must they mix career and finances together?
Her experience as a lawyer had shown Wen Ying too many negative examples. She hoped her relationship with Xie Qian could remain pure. If anything changed in the future, they would not turn against each other over financial interests.
The thought of turning against Xie Qian, fighting fiercely over money, made Wen Ying feel terrible!
Up to now, the only financial tie between Wen Ying and Xie Qian was that both held shares in “Xia Wang”. However, “Xia Wang” had become the main battlefield for the Qin siblings. Wen Ying and Xie Qian were both hands-off minority shareholders and would never have conflicts over “Xia Wang” shares.
The same went for Yan Yuchuan’s side. Even if Wen Ying invested there, both she and Xie Qian would just be shareholders, not decision-makers.
Without decision-making power, there would be no conflicts.
Repeated conflicts would destroy her relationship with Xie Qian.
Wen Ying was not being overly worried. How many couples who started businesses together ended up in ruins? She had seen news of fights over company seals. Couples who stayed loving until old age? Wen Ying truly had not seen any!
Sun Mingfei looked Wen Ying up and down, thought seriously, and suddenly burst out laughing, “You really don’t need to rush.”
Xie Qian’s appearance at Zhendan had indeed created a “out of nowhere” sensation.
If Wen Ying were not by Xie Qian’s side, the girls at Zhendan would have made their moves long ago.
Xie Qian made it hard for girls to look away, and Wen Ying was no less impressive. There were plenty of boys who liked her.
Sun Mingfei called the relationship between Wen Ying and Xie Qian “a love of equals”. This description won the approval of the other two roommates.
“That’s why girls need to have their own confidence. A prince falling for Cinderella is a fairy tale. A prince and princess is reality. If we had Wen Ying’s confidence, no, even one-tenth of it, we could take the initiative in relationships!”
The roommates muttered.
Only those without confidence feared losing love.
With confidence, what was there to fear about loss?
If this one ended, there would be the next. Bye-bye, the next one would be even better!
Wen Ying’s mouth parted slightly, Hey, that’s not what I meant?
The three roommates had already launched into a heated discussion, leaving Wen Ying, the person involved, forgotten.
Wen Ying tried several times to interject but found no opportunity. She felt utterly exhausted.
“…As long as you’re happy!”
On Saturday morning, Xie Qian went for rehabilitation as usual.
Wen Ying had originally wanted to accompany him at the hospital, but what stopped her was a call from Chief Editor Ding of Modu Publishing.
Ding Chao pressed Wen Ying about the progress of “Tan Jing”.
“Teacher Xiaoyu, it’s almost December. You should remember, right? We agreed that by January 2008, you’d finish the final draft of “Tan Jing”, then we’d proofread it at the publishing house, and officially publish in mid-February.”
“Xun Yong” had been released in February 2007.
Launching the second book of the Jiuding series, “Tan Jing”, in February 2008 would be perfect.
Writing one full-length novel per year was not slow. Wen Ying considered herself a prolific writer.
Chief Editor Ding did not argue with Wen Ying. He casually mentioned Shui Mingyue.
Wen Ying immediately choked.
Shui Mingyue’s new book was about to be released.
Counting the previously published ones, this would be Shui Mingyue’s 13th novel.
Alright, compared to Shui Mingyue, Wen Ying’s writing speed could only be considered average.
“I’ll definitely hand over the first draft to you before January!”
Ding Chao was very satisfied with Wen Ying’s answer and even took the initiative to ask about her final exams, “Teacher Xiaoyu, you’re so smart. It shouldn’t affect you, right?”
“Probably not…”
What could Wen Ying say? She had to tough it out and maintain her top-student image.
First-year courses were not particularly difficult, and the chance of failing was low.
Even for high scores, Wen Ying was not worried.
Her tutor had returned to the country!
With Xie Qian around, Wen Ying had no worries about finals.
On the other end of the phone, hearing the vitality in Wen Ying’s voice, Ding Chao could not help but smile.
There had been a period when Wen Ying’s condition was poor.
Some writers achieved nirvana through pain, producing profound literary masterpieces from suffering.
Others were crushed by life’s hardships, never regaining their creative spark.
Ding Chao was very optimistic about Wen Ying.
The Jiuding series had only completed one book. He hoped Wen Ying could surpass herself time and again.
Though Modu Literary Publishing currently only had contracts for the first three books of the Jiuding series, and it was uncertain whether Wen Ying would cooperate with them for the remaining six… what did that matter?
Ding Chao looked forward to the day the entire Jiuding series would be released.
China had the Four Great Classics.
China still lacked a modern, widely popular super literary IP.
In Ding Chao’s view, it would surely be a grand and splendid “complete world”!
Having gotten a firm commitment from Wen Ying, Chief Editor Ding was satisfied. Wen Ying, however, had to change her schedule.
“Chief Editor Ding is right to remind you. You should focus on writing “Tan Jing”. Your readers are waiting for the new book, and seniors like Old Fu are very concerned about your work. How could you bear to disappoint everyone? As for me… we’ll see each other this afternoon anyway.”
These days since returning to the country, Xie Qian had been inseparable from Wen Ying every day.
Though he verbally urged Wen Ying to prioritise important matters, the thought of not seeing her for half a day made Xie Qian uncomfortable too.
“Do you want to write at Tianjiao or the school study room? I’ll pick you up when you’re done.”
“I’ll write in the school study room then. It saves time on the road. You don’t need to come get me. When I’m finished, I’ll just take a taxi to Jiaotong University. We’ll meet there.”
Xie Qian agreed with Wen Ying’s suggestion.
This way, Wen Ying could work longer on her tasks, and the time saved for Xie Qian could allow him extra rehabilitation training.
Having reached consensus, they each went about their business.
Wen Ying took her laptop to the study room, writing from 8 a.m. until just past noon.
At first, she would unconsciously check her phone, afraid of missing a message from Xie Qian.
Then she realised Xie Qian was at the hospital for rehab and hardly had time to text.
After half an hour, Wen Ying fully entered her creative flow.
Except for bathroom breaks, she did not leave her seat. Finishing a minor climax plot in one go left even Wen Ying exhilarated!
Rushing to meet a deadline was excruciating, producing dry and awkward text that made one want to tear out every hair.
But writing purely for creation’s sake was joyful.
Wen Ying closed her laptop and stretched widely, only then noticing someone had sat beside her at some point.
“Wen Shimei, finished your draft? I saw you so focused on writing you even skipped lunch. I have some bread and milk here. Want to snack a bit?”
The boy speaking was not unfamiliar to Wen Ying. He was the rich second-generation senior who had chatted with her in the cafeteria a few times. Everyone jokingly called him “Zhendan’s Richest”. It showed how affluent his family was.
Zhendan’s Richest had been waiting for Wen Ying a long time.
The journalism department’s talent had been crushed by Xie Qian’s divine looks, but Zhendan’s Richest had a better mindset.
He was generous and very popular at school. In other words, every student could potentially be his “informant”.
These days, Wen Ying and Xie Qian had been inseparable, but today she was alone.
As soon as Zhendan’s Richest heard Wen Ying was by herself in the study room, he hurried over.
Wen Ying started writing at 8, and he arrived at 9. Wen Ying was deeply focused and did not notice the addition.
The richest classmate did not disturb her, quietly waiting beside her for three hours.
By 12, when Wen Ying showed no signs of stopping, he even went to the cafeteria to buy some food… Being called “Zhendan’s Richest”, this senior never lacked places to go. Yet today, he accompanied Wen Ying however long she wrote, finding it not boring at all.
Wen Ying’s serious creative appearance was even more captivating than usual.
One should not refuse a kind offer. Zhendan’s Richest smiled throughout, very gentlemanly.
When Wen Ying came back to her senses, however, she did not accept the food he bought.
Her stomach was indeed rumbling.
The senior’s gaze was clear and proper, without any impropriety. It seemed he genuinely liked her.
Wen Ying firmly but politely declined, “Thank you for your kindness, senior. The restaurants you recommended before, I’ve never had time to try. Today I happen to be free, so I can go taste them with Xie Qian.”
