Zou Weijun arranged to meet Wen Ying’s family at the café across from her workplace.
It was true that Wen Ying’s secret identity could no longer be hidden, but there was no need to make a scene at the office and let Editor Wan and others watch the drama unfold.
Besides Zou Weijun, Zheng Zhihe, who had received the news, was also on his way.
As Wen Ying’s family headed over, Zou Weijun and Xiao Ni were already waiting. Xiao Ni was a bit dazed.
“Sister Zou, aren’t you scared?”
Zou Weijun glanced at Xiao Ni, “I’ve done nothing wrong, what’s there to fear?”
The publishing contract could withstand scrutiny. When Wen Ying was slandered by the magazine and Han Qin, Zou Weijun and the Chengdu Publishing Group immediately defended her rights. In doing these things, Zou Weijun had no ulterior motives, so she wasn’t afraid of Wen Ying’s parents holding her accountable.
Zou Weijun’s composure rubbed off on Xiao Ni, who couldn’t help but smile. Working with Editor Han, there were plenty of disagreements. Staying at Aige would’ve meant either being moulded by Han Qin or falling out entirely. The job was stable, but her heart always felt unsettled.
Working with Sister Zou was different. Zou was fair, and though not yet permanent, Xiao Ni wanted to stay in Chengdu forever.
A phrase popped into Xiao Ni’s mind: kindred spirits.
She and Sister Zou were kindred spirits!
Xiao Ni was smiling when there was a stir at the door. Zou Weijun stood up, and Xiao Ni quickly suppressed her grin.
Chen Ru had arrived.
Wen Ying wasn’t allowed upstairs. Wen Dongrong and Deng Shangwei stayed in the car to keep an eye on her, preventing her from tipping off the publisher. Chen Ru was going in alone!
Chen Ru saw Zou Weijun, and Zou Weijun saw Chen Ru.
Years later, Wen Ying still felt this was a historic meeting. Since she wasn’t there, she didn’t know the details. When asked later, neither Chen Ru nor Zou Weijun elaborated, as if they shared some unspoken understanding.
As Chen Ru went upstairs, Wen Ying muttered in the car, “Auntie Zou is so gentle, but Mum’s temper…”
Wen Dongrong gave a cold chuckle, “You’re worried about her? Why not worry about yourself?”
He wanted to say, “Why not worry about your dad?” but couldn’t bring himself to lose face as the head of the family.
Wen Ying didn’t want to talk to her tool of a dad.
Tools have no loyalty, they’d betray her any moment. Auntie Zou always had her back, so of course she was worried about her!
In the café, the fiery scene Wen Ying imagined didn’t happen. Chen Ru even extended her hand, “Ms. Zou, right? I’ve seen you before.”
At the “Shrimp King” store opening, Zou Weijun had shown up to support Wen Ying and her friends.
Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong had gone too, but while Zou Weijun appeared openly, Chen Ru and Wen Dongrong lurked across the street, later caught red-handed by Wen Ying. Zou Weijun’s distinct presence, like Xie Qian’s, was memorable. Chen Ru hadn’t connected the face to the role before, but seeing Zou Weijun now, the memory clicked.
Another memory surfaced: when auditing loan qualifications at Tianjiao Film, Li Zhentao reduced the loan amount, saying Xie Qian’s mother decided to invest, shrinking Tianjiao’s funding gap.
Li Zhentao cut the loan by 3 million, meaning Zou Weijun invested 3 million.
A wealthy woman.
But Chen Ru never judged people by wealth. So what if Zou Weijun was rich? Did that mean she wouldn’t deceive kids?
Chen Ru’s face was stern, but Zou Weijun shook her hand warmly, “What a coincidence. I’ve long heard of you but never had the chance to meet. You’ve raised Wen Ying so well, I’ve always wanted to ask how you educate your child.”
In an environment where academic grades define a child’s excellence, the top student would surely be Xie Qian.
By rights, Zou Weijun should be smug, but she wasn’t.
She genuinely believed Wen Ying was exceptional.
Not just for her writing talent, but for her calm under pressure, her care and inclusiveness toward friends. To Zou Weijun, Wen Ying was full of virtues!
Chen Ru could tell the difference between empty flattery and sincere praise.
That made things tricky.
As the saying goes, it’s hard to hit a smiling face. Chen Ru came to confront Zou Weijun, but her fiery temper met Zou’s gentle breeze, leaving no chance to vent.
Chen Ru dropped the pleasantries and demanded to see the head of Chengdu Literature Press.
Zou Weijun smiled, “I used to work in the publishing editorial department, but I’m about to transfer to the Literature Press as the head. The editor who signed Wen Ying is me, and the head of the press you want to see is also me.”
Chen Ru was stunned.
This threw her off.
Moving from group headquarters to head the press was a promotion!
Zou Weijun’s rise might even owe something to Wen Ying’s novel!
Before Chen Ru could question her, Zou Weijun openly admitted it, thanking Wen Ying for boosting her career, not for publishing Teen Idol, but for earlier, at the school field, when Wen Ying’s “nightmare” talk snapped her out of her daze.
But Chen Ru didn’t know that!
She was even more eager to see the contract.
Zou Weijun brought not only the original contract but also Teen Idol’s sales data.
“Since its nationwide release on August 1, Teen Idol has been a hit. It’s selling best in our province, where we get near-real-time sales data weekly. Out-of-province stats are slower, some haven’t come in yet, but as of yesterday, we’ve recorded 169,908 copies sold nationwide.”
The figure was roughly accurate, likely exceeding 170,000 copies.
“Teen Idol’s success is partly due to good promotion, but mainly because Wen Ying wrote a great book, and the market recognises her talent!”
Zou Weijun didn’t hide her admiration for Wen Ying.
Chen Ru was still reviewing the contract.
Based on actual sales and a tiered royalty structure, per the contract with the publisher, with sales over 150,000 but under 200,000, Wen Ying got 10% royalties.
At 32 yuan per book, 10% royalties meant Wen Ying had earned 540,000 in royalties?
That was a huge sum.
And the book had been on sale just shy of a month, 170,000 wasn’t the final figure.
Chen Ru mentally calculated Wen Ying’s royalty earnings, and the speech she’d prepared on the way didn’t know how to come out.
Though not a lawyer, Chen Ru worked in a bank, dealing with contracts daily. To her trained eye, this contract didn’t exploit Wen Ying, it was incredibly generous, the publisher covered all promotion costs, and the more the book sold, the higher Wen Ying’s royalty rate. This contract was almost too fair!
