“So Xiao Ni is your editor again?”
While Wen Ying was in Rongcheng awaiting the launch of *Youth Idol*, Xie Qian in Modu was anything but idle.
In just a few weeks, Xie Qian had tackled a mountain of tasks.
Thankfully, Gong Sheng and Ma Wufeng were there to help, otherwise Xie Qian wouldn’t have known where to start with some things.
It’s true that heaven gifted Xie Qian a sharp mind and a privileged background, but intelligence doesn’t mean omniscience. Some knowledge comes from books, but much more comes from beyond them. In these few weeks, Xie Qian felt as if he’d lived a lifetime anew.
That might sound dramatic, but the rewards of hands-on experience far surpassed armchair theorizing.
If Wen Ying could see Xie Qian now, she’d notice a subtle shift in his demeanor.
The boy, once like a rainbow over a snowy peak, had left his solitary summit and glimpsed the myriad facets of the real world.
Over the phone, Wen Ying’s voice was cheerful, “Xiao Ni’s my editor again. Auntie Zou will handle the overall planning and promotion, while Xiao Ni takes care of the details and liaises with me. I just wonder if Xiao Ni can adapt to working in Rongcheng. The publishing department is different from the magazine.”
That was Wen Ying’s nature.
When someone showed her even a sliver of kindness, she wanted to repay it tenfold.
Barely a month away from starting her second year of high school, she was already worrying about the career path of a university graduate.
But that was the Wen Ying Xie Qian knew so well.
After running around Modu for weeks, Xie Qian’s perspective had broadened. Hearing Wen Ying’s concern, his suggestion was direct, “If she can’t adapt, put her in a role that suits her. Youth magazines are so profitable now, Rongcheng Publishing Group should give it a try.”
“…You mean start a magazine for Xiao Ni?”
Wen Ying was stunned by Xie Qian’s idea.
Xie Qian was exasperated.
He didn’t even know Xiao Ni, why would he start a magazine for her?
This hamster was sometimes sharp, sometimes clueless!
If Rongcheng Publishing Group launched a youth literature magazine, it wouldn’t just benefit Xiao Ni. Authors like Wen Ying, who had worked with the publishing department, would gain the most.
*Youth Idol* wouldn’t be Wen Ying’s last book. With her falling out with *Aige* to the point of a lawsuit, even if she won, other magazines would likely hesitate at the pen name “Fish Against the Current.”
Serializing novels was a great way to build a fanbase gradually. Updating monthly kept readers engaged with “Fish Against the Current,” while giving Wen Ying time to manage her schedule.
Besides long novels, short stories and articles needed a platform too.
From every angle, Wen Ying needed a stable, long-term magazine partner.
The more Xie Qian thought about it, the better his idea seemed. But discussing it with Wen Ying was pointless, she couldn’t decide if Rongcheng Publishing Group would launch a youth magazine. When he returned to Rongcheng, he’d suggest it to Uncle Jiang.
“I’ve got things to do here, I won’t keep you. Go do your practice papers.”
Wen Ying found Xie Qian’s words oddly familiar, like something she’d heard before… Wait, wasn’t that what she said to Li Mengjiao a few days ago? She’d said it with such disdain for Li Mengjiao’s intelligence, so now Xie Qian was calling her dim?!
“Hey—”
“Are the practice papers I left you too few?”
Sensing the hamster on the other end puffing up with indignation, Xie Qian couldn’t help but chuckle.
His laughter made Wen Ying hang up in a huff.
Listening to the phone’s busy tone, Xie Qian touched the corner of his lips.
Business was far tougher than studying. These days, only Wen Ying’s calls could make him want to laugh. Once the call ended, he was back to being “Young Master Xie” in Gong Sheng and Ma Wufeng’s eyes. Many things he was doing for the first time, but he couldn’t show weakness in front of them.
Young and wealthy, showing weakness to seasoned players was like begging to be fleeced.
Xie Qian didn’t set strict profit targets for the logistics company, but being cheated out of money was an insult to his intelligence. That’s why he’d stayed in Modu so long!
Modu’s summer heat left people drenched in sweat. Gong Sheng and Ma Wufeng stood in the shade, watching Xie Qian take a call from afar.
They didn’t know how tense Xie Qian had been lately. To them, Young Master Xie seemed born knowing everything, as if nothing could fool him. Take the logistics company’s drivers—long-haul drivers were often cunning, yet Xie Qian could tell who was more honest and who was full of lies.
Never done business? No problem. Read people, hire those who know business, and you’re set.
Thinking of Xie Qian’s knack for reading people, Gong Sheng, a seasoned operator, felt a secret thrill—so Xie Qian’s insistence on bringing him on board meant he really valued him, right?
Ma Wufeng wiped the sweat from his brow, “What’s Young Master Xie’s background, Gong? Do you know?”
Gong Sheng didn’t know.
But he gave Ma Wufeng a cryptic smile, “Why ask? Whatever his background, as long as you manage the company well, will Young Master Xie shortchange you?”
Ma Wufeng didn’t mean it that way. He just wanted to know how Xie Qian’s family raised a kid like him!
Still, Gong Sheng’s words struck a chord.
Starting a business with a sharp, perceptive boss meant you couldn’t play too many tricks. Short-term, it might feel like a loss, but long-term, as Gong Sheng said, Xie Qian saw every effort and drop of sweat Ma Wufeng put into the company. He wouldn’t be shortchanged.
Xie Qian was in Modu, and so was Xie Tang.
Xie Qian was sweating it out for his logistics company, while Xie Tang was enduring hardship for love.
This summer, Xie Tang had her school arrange an internship in Modu, dragging her suitcase along. Despite having a house in Modu, she didn’t dare stay there, as her boyfriend Yan Yuchuan didn’t know her family background.
Xie Qian had visited Xie Tang.
Xie Tang, once the queen of the compound, was living in the internship dorm, eating canteen food, and somehow still happy?
Xie Qian couldn’t fathom it.
Mentioning her boyfriend, Xie Tang smiled sweetly, while throwing shade at her cousin, “You’ve never been in love, how could you understand? You think I’m suffering, but I feel happy. I’m building a future with the person I love. When you have someone you love, you’ll get it.”
Someone he loved?
Xie Qian glanced at Xie Tang’s dorm, shaking his head in front of her, “If I had someone I loved, I wouldn’t let her suffer to accommodate me. She should be herself, openly showing me the gap, and I’d work to close it. You have a house in Modu but choose to cram in a dorm. I don’t think Yan Yuchuan will be thrilled when he learns the truth.”
