Li Xuezha yawned. Anyone dragged to an exam right after getting off a plane would feel like him.
Wang Xuezha glanced around, fidgeting restlessly.
Only Wen Xuezha seemed relaxed, her body language calm and at ease.
Was this because she thought Wang Shuang would rank below her, so she wasn’t worried?
“Here’s the test paper for today.”
One night clearly wasn’t enough to finish papers for three main subjects and the science comprehensive, so Xie Qian prepared a combined paper, merging the three main subjects.
Questions from Chinese, Maths, and English were jumbled together, making it dizzying to look at, requiring constant mental switches—truly a devilish paper. Wait, why were everyone’s papers different?
Wen Ying finally sensed something was off.
“Aren’t we doing the same paper?”
Xie Qian calmly countered, “You and Wang Shuang aren’t in the same grade, so why would you have the same paper?”
…So, Wang Shuang couldn’t be her safety net!
Wen Ying instantly lost her calm.
Wang Shuang, holding his paper, said blankly, “How about we swap—”
Before he could finish “swap papers,” Li Mengjiao tugged his sleeve hard under the table. With such an obvious hint, Wang Shuang stopped mid-sentence.
Wen Ying suspected her paper was different from Li Mengjiao’s too.
Xie Qian was a paper-making genius, turning a simple test into three distinct papers, making it impossible for Wen Ying to admit defeat gracefully.
In Xie Qian’s living room, only the sound of pens scratching on papers remained.
Downstairs, the housekeeper, Auntie Liu, was preparing a late-night snack for Wen Ying and the others.
Exams were brain-draining, so they’d need food after finishing.
Since Zou Weijun’s condition improved, the two nurses were first reduced to one, and now none were needed. With Zou Weijun working days and Xie Qian at school, Auntie Liu had plenty of free time.
A big house with few people felt lonely. Even when Zou Weijun and Xie Qian were home on weekends, Auntie Liu couldn’t chat with her employers about trivial matters, which made things quite dull.
Having guests brought life to the house.
Xie Qian had only invited Wen Ying before, but now with Li Mengjiao and Wang Shuang, Auntie Liu wasn’t bothered at all—she was delighted.
If only Zou Weijun would invite colleagues over too!
As Auntie Liu thought of Zou Weijun, she returned.
“Weren’t you on a business trip?”
“There was an issue with the extra print run, so I came back to handle it. I’ve arranged the out-of-town promotional events and left them to other colleagues,” Zou Weijun said.
Zou Weijun treated Auntie Liu warmly, never looking down on her as a housekeeper.
Though Auntie Liu was paid to work, she’d shown much care for Zou Weijun and Xie Qian during her time in Rongcheng.
“What’s this for?”
Xie Qian couldn’t eat all this food alone.
Auntie Liu quickly offered Zou Weijun a sandwich, “Have this to tide you over. Want anything else? I’ll make it. Xie Qian invited classmates over, and these are for them.”
Zou Weijun was indeed hungry, having gone straight from the airport to the printing factory without time for dinner.
“No need for anything else, sandwiches are fine.”
Zou Weijun wasn’t picky about food, especially since starting work. She ate at the company canteen or grabbed simple meals during busy out-of-town trips.
After the sandwich, Zou Weijun felt energised enough to talk.
“Which classmates did Xie Qian invite? Is Wen Ying here?”
“She is!”
Perfect, no need to schedule a separate meeting with Wen Ying to discuss the publishing contract.
The combined paper left Wen Ying reeling.
She could recall some concepts, but Xie Qian’s questions were so tricky, not straightforward, with traps that caught her off guard.
By the time she finished, it was nine o’clock.
Li Mengjiao set her pen down, her stomach growling. Auntie Liu timely brought sandwiches.
Auntie Liu’s sandwiches had soft, thin bread with generous fillings—mostly vegetables and fruit, plus a few slices of her homemade braised beef tendon, paired with her not-too-sweet jam. Wen Ying and Li Mengjiao, mentally drained, felt saved.
Wang Shuang and Xie Qian’s sandwiches were different, with braised beef and sausage, topped with salad dressing instead of jam, calorie-heavy, perfect for boys like them.
Teenage boys had bottomless stomachs, and Wang Shuang was ravenous after the paper.
Auntie Liu’s cooking was amazing!
Wang Shuang almost wanted to stay at Xie’s house.
Zou Weijun, guessing Wen Ying and the others were nearly done with their snacks, changed clothes and went to the study. Seeing the uncollected papers, she smiled, “Are you doing homework together? I thought Xie Qian would invite you to play games or something.”
—Hah, Xie Qian, that weakling, would never admit he didn’t know how to play games!
Wang Shuang stuffed the sandwich in his mouth and stood.
“Z-Zou Auntie.”
“Hello, Auntie Zou.”
“Auntie Zou, weren’t you on a business trip?”
Wen Ying and Li Mengjiao stood to greet Zou Weijun. Not wanting them to feel nervous, Zou Weijun asked only Wen Ying to stay behind.
Why did Wen Ying need to stay?
Before Wang Shuang could speak, Li Mengjiao stepped on his foot, nearly choking him on his last bite of sandwich.
What was going on lately? Why were there suddenly so many taboos, things not to mention or ask? But Wang Shuang didn’t dare argue with Li Mengjiao. After ditching her hand on Friday, he’d sent countless texts begging for peace.
Li Mengjiao, ever tactful, dragged Wang Shuang away. Xie Qian stayed to grade the papers, leaving Wen Ying to talk with Zou Weijun alone.
Zou Weijun was sincere, securing a great publishing contract for a new author like Wen Ying.
“I want to calculate royalties based on actual sales, with tiered rates, starting with a 50,000-copy first print.”
Zou Weijun handed Wen Ying a list.
It was indeed a solid deal, with no flaws except the starting royalty of 6%, which was low.
Six percent was below the usual 8% for new authors, Wen Ying knew.
But raising the royalty wasn’t hard under Zou Weijun’s terms. If *Teen Idol* sold over 20,000 copies, she’d get 7%.
50,000 copies, 8%.
100,000 copies, 9%.
150,000 copies, 10%.
200,000 copies, 11%.
If sales exceeded 300,000, Wen Ying would get 12%, a rate reserved for established authors.
Wen Ying laughed at the list, “Auntie Zou, you have too much faith in me, don’t you?”
A 12% royalty? Wen Ying wasn’t sure she’d reach it. Zou Weijun’s list went as high as 15%… though the required sales were terrifyingly steep!
