After finishing her manuscript in seclusion, Wen Ying’s first move was to contact Zou Weijun.
“Done? Earlier than expected! You didn’t rush the ending, did you? Alright, I’ll read the final draft first, then we’ll talk details.”
Wen Ying now wrote on her computer, sending the draft via email to Zou Weijun, but that meant communicating online and waiting for feedback.
Having been cooped up at home for days, Wen Ying wanted to get out.
“Aunt Zou, I’ll email you the draft, then head over to meet you. By the time I arrive, you’ll likely have finished reading, if it’s convenient for you.”
Wen Ying also wanted to discuss Aige’s termination statement, even if Zou Weijun was busy, with Wen Ying putting it like that, she’d make time, private ties aside, as Wen Ying was an author under Zou Weijun’s wing, her matters were a top priority for an editor!
Zou Weijun promptly cleared her schedule for Wen Ying.
“Come over, we’ll meet at Xinran Water Bar across from my office.”
Wen Ying had visited Zou Weijun’s workplace before, but during a holiday when few people saw her.
This was at Wen Ying’s own request, she needed to keep her “Fish Against the Current” alias secure, better to be cautious in Rongcheng, where social circles could unexpectedly overlap, what if a colleague of Zou Weijun’s happened to know Chen Ru or Wen Dongrong?
Less exposure meant less risk of being unmasked.
Wen Ying sent the draft via email, then got ready to head out.
A 120,000-word manuscript would take Zou Weijun some time to read, so Wen Ying didn’t need to rush.
On her way out, she called Xie Qian, mentioning her plan to deal with Editor-in-Chief Han.
On the other end, Xie Qian paused, “I didn’t mention while you were focused on writing, but now that you’ve submitted and can go out, I suggest you stop by any newsstand and take a look.”
Look at what?
Wen Ying thought Han Qin had pulled another stunt.
When she reached a newsstand, she picked up a newspaper and, good grief, found a review of Youth Idol.
Oh, it was slamming her.
The gist was that the author’s character was flawed, so no matter how good the work, it was worthless.
It tore into her character alright, but on closer inspection, it seemed to praise her work?
“To provide a fair evaluation, the reviewer collected Aige’s issues from January to July this year…”
Look at that, even trolls had it tough these days, the columnist, clearly not young, had to grudgingly read youth magazines just to bash her.
Another article, still trashing “Fish Against the Current.”
Wen Ying flipped through more, finally finding one that didn’t attack her.
The writer not only praised Youth Idol, expressing eagerness to read more, but also questioned Aige’s termination statement, noting that claims about Fish Against the Current’s character were one-sided, as the author hadn’t spoken yet!
Perhaps Fish Against the Current lacked a platform to respond.
This writer offered their magazine as a space for Fish Against the Current to publish a statement, hoping the author would contact them after seeing the article.
Wen Ying looked closer, the writer was none other than Song Foxiang.
She was baffled, since when was Editor-in-Chief Song her biggest fan?
Song Foxiang likely didn’t know “Fish Against the Current” was her, so why was he doing this? To curry favour with Aunt Zou?
No way.
Not after getting a beating from that jerk Xie last time.
Wen Ying couldn’t figure it out, she bought several newspapers, the newsstand’s female owner grinned, pulling out paper and pen, “Hey, miss, want to leave your contact info? I’ll save you a copy when the book goes on sale or if Aige has new serials.”
“Auntie, do people actually leave their contact info?”
“Of course!”
The woman showed Wen Ying a notebook, and Wen Ying peeked, seeing Youth Idol pre-orders with over a dozen phone numbers.
, So, the book was just finished today, and already over a dozen readers wanted to buy it?
Newsstands like this usually sold newspapers and magazines, low-priced and time-sensitive, not worth a trip to a bookstore, passersby grabbed one to kill time, with drinks and cigarettes sold to supplement income.
Occasionally, for a bestseller, the owner might stock a few copies to sell alongside.
If a book was available at a newsstand, it was truly popular.
“They’re arguing about it in the papers every day.”
The owner whispered to Wen Ying, “A book that’s no good doesn’t stir up this much noise. Look at that Little Secret earlier this year, the louder the fuss, the more it sold!”
Oh, she meant Shh, Little Secret.
Wen Ying never underestimated anyone, even a newsstand owner had business savvy, this was a well-kept stand, newspapers and magazines neatly arranged, clearly managed with care.
Wen Ying had been focused on the reviews earlier, not taking in the full stand, now glancing around, she noticed the owner wasn’t just planning to pre-sell Youth Idol, but also had a few copies of Zhao’s Family Letters on display, Zhao Dong’s autobiography, impossible to miss with his face on the cover.
Wen Ying cheerfully left her phone number, paid to pre-order a yet-to-be-released Youth Idol, then asked, “Auntie, how’s this Zhao’s Family Letters selling?”
“It’s great, the author’s handsome, want a copy, miss?”
“Auntie, you didn’t sound as sincere just now, is it really selling well? If you’re just pushing it, I’ll buy elsewhere next time.”
The owner gave a dry laugh, “Fair point, what others like might not suit you.”
Were young girls these days too sharp to fool?
, Zhao’s Family Letters was selling like rubbish!
Hyped on TV, the owner thought she’d struck gold, but after stocking up, she only sold a few at first, later, regular customers who bought it on her recommendation complained she’d misled them.
The author was promoted on TV, praised in newspaper columns, who’d have thought it was so bad?
The owner had been burned by Zhao’s Family Letters once, Wen Ying didn’t buy her pitch, so she skipped pushing it further, smoothly explaining, “If everyone’s just singing praises, it’s fake. No matter how good a book is, some will love it, some won’t. You’re safe pre-ordering Youth Idol, I reckon Aige terminated the contract because the book was too good, the author stopped writing for them, and the magazine threw a fit…”
This was a woman with life wisdom.
Wen Ying’s lips curled up from the owner’s praise.
Her book wasn’t the best, but it was surely better than Zhao Dong’s ghostwritten mess of an autobiography.
Wait.
That fleeting spark of inspiration, which had once raced by too fast, now looped back.
, If Youth Idol was already generating buzz before release, with this much attention, didn’t that mean the hyped-up heat for Zhao’s Family Letters was being sniped by Youth Idol?!
