Chapter Thirty-Three: Ambiguity and the Rising Fame of the Book
Li Mengya drove Jiang Yun to the largest supermarket in the city to shop for groceries.
“This one, this one, and this one too—I want them all!” Li Mengya bounced along like a cheerful young girl.
Jiang Yun smiled as he walked beside her, the scene radiating warmth and intimacy.
“Ugh, what a nuisance!”
To his dismay, Jiang Yun spotted Wang Lili. The cozy atmosphere was instantly shattered.
Both Jiang Yun and Li Mengya wore masks as they pushed their shopping cart, brushing past Wang Lili.
“Phew—” Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t recognized him.
Wang Lili frowned. “Why did that person look so familiar?”
She turned and began to follow them.
Jiang Yun and Li Mengya pushed their cart toward the fresh food section.
“Jiang Yun, it really is you!”
Wang Lili had somehow caught up to them. Jiang Yun cursed his luck inwardly.
He turned his head, glancing to either side as if searching for who this “Jiang Yun” might be.
“Jiang Yun, stop pretending! Your jacket gave you away!”
“Are you talking to me?” Jiang Yun pointed at his own nose, disguising his voice with his S-level vocal skills to sound like a burly man.
The unfamiliar voice made Wang Lili hesitate. She frowned. “Hmm? Did I really make a mistake?”
“Sorry, I must have mistaken you for someone else!” Wang Lili apologized hurriedly.
“No worries.”
As Wang Lili walked away, Jiang Yun and Li Mengya continued selecting ingredients.
“Who was that just now...?” Li Mengya asked.
“My ex-girlfriend,” Jiang Yun replied nonchalantly.
“Oh!”
When they returned to the rented apartment, it was already afternoon. Jiang Yun set about cooking.
He prepared braised lamb, salt and pepper mantis shrimp, garlic scallops, steamed celery leaves, and a bowl of dumpling soup.
As the dishes were placed on the table, Li Mengya could hardly wait.
However, she maintained her elegance, eating slowly and gracefully.
Despite her slow and delicate chewing, she ate at remarkable speed, quickly finishing off an entire plate with her small mouth.
“Pfft—” Jiang Yun couldn’t help but laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” Li Mengya frowned.
“You have a grain of rice on your nose! It’s adorable!”
“Where?” Li Mengya touched her nose.
“Right there, on your nose.”
“Is it gone now?” She wiped her nose.
“It’s still there.”
She wiped again. “Now?”
Jiang Yun nodded. “Still there.”
“Help me get it off!” Li Mengya grew flustered.
Jiang Yun reached out his right hand and gently brushed her nose.
Li Mengya shivered slightly, and Jiang Yun froze as well.
Alone together, the air grew thick with unspoken tension.
Their eyes met, Jiang Yun’s hand lingering on her nose.
Li Mengya quickly leaned back, moving out of his reach.
“Ahem, ahem.” Jiang Yun cleared his throat and slowly withdrew his hand.
Neither of them felt like eating anymore, the mood turning awkward.
“I’ll go now.”
“I’ll walk you home.”
They spoke in unison, and then burst out laughing.
Their laughter dispelled the awkwardness, and the earlier moment was instantly forgotten.
Jiang Yun escorted Li Mengya downstairs, watched her get into her Beetle, and drive away.
“Sigh—” Jiang Yun let out a soft sigh, replaying the moment in his mind.
Damn! He chided himself for being a coward. If only he’d been braver, perhaps things would have progressed further.
Back in his apartment, Jiang Yun resumed working on his novel.
He wrote thirty thousand words, split them into ten chapters, and uploaded them. The plot had just reached the Cloud Mist Sect.
“Ding! ‘With You for the Rest of My Life’ has rewarded you with 10 million points and become a Golden Patron of your work!”
“Ding! ‘A Future With You’ has rewarded you with 10 million points and become a Golden Patron of your work!”
“Ding!...”
“Ding!...”
…
“Wow!” Jiang Yun exclaimed. “Ten Golden Patrons?”
With the previous one, he now had eleven Golden Patrons.
He checked his back-end stats. The numbers startled him: “Two hundred Silver Patrons. One hundred million clicks?!”
Although he had anticipated success, Jiang Yun still couldn’t suppress his excitement.
“I can’t stand it—my blood’s boiling. I want to write another thirty thousand words!”
No sooner said than done, he opened his computer and wrote another thirty thousand words.
He split them into ten chapters and uploaded them again.
Another wave of tips and rewards rolled in.
The phone rang.
Jiang Yun glanced at the screen: it was Zhang Yi.
No need to guess—he knew exactly why Zhang Yi was calling. It must be about the contract.
“Hello?”
“San Yu, after discussion, we’ve decided to upgrade your contract to the Grandmaster Agreement,” Zhang Yi said from the other end.
“Mm,” Jiang Yun replied coolly.
“Aren’t you excited?”
“Do you want the truth?” Jiang Yun asked.
“I…” Zhang Yi was momentarily at a loss—what a question! Who’d want to hear a lie?
“Alright, I won’t tease you,” Jiang Yun said. “Of course I’m a little excited!”
“You scared me! I thought you didn’t care. If that were true, you and the rest of us would be living in different worlds.” Jiang Yun had always come across as indifferent to fame and fortune, a true scholar above the fray.
When he first signed, it was only an A-tier contract, which he accepted without hesitation. Even when he earned his first Golden Patron, he remained unruffled.
He always seemed calm and detached, unaffected by worldly concerns.
“San Yu, if your work ever gets adapted for film or television, I can personally guarantee you a Platinum Contract!”
“Pfft!” Jiang Yun almost laughed aloud. You can guarantee it? More likely, your superiors have given you the go-ahead.
He didn’t say this out loud.
They chatted for a while longer, then ended the call.
Zhang Yun was a senior college student, and an old hand at reading web novels.
After graduating, he had become a homebody, spending his days immersed in online fiction.
One day, his reading app pushed a notification: “With You for the Rest of My Life has rewarded ‘Battle Horse Soaring the Heavens’ with 10 million points and become a Golden Patron. ‘A Future With You’ has rewarded…”
Reading the endless stream of reward notifications, Zhang Yun grew curious.
He tapped into “Battle Horse Soaring the Heavens.” The first five chapters were nothing special. But by chapter seven—“What the—?!”
He couldn’t help but curse and slap his thigh, utterly absorbed.
He read for an entire day and night without pause, until he could no longer keep his eyes open and fell into a deep sleep.
As soon as he woke, the first thing he did was pick up his phone and continue reading.
Another day and night passed before he finally caught up with all the latest chapters.
As soon as he finished, he grabbed his New Year’s money and topped up his account.
He immediately tipped the author with a Silver Patron reward.
He left a message: “I’m using my New Year’s money to support you. Please update faster, it’s not enough—I need more!”
“Beep!”
“Thank you for the tip. The author writes 30,000 words every day, with occasional extra updates. Since you used your New Year’s money, I’ll add ten more chapters today no matter what!”