Chapter 281 Anyway I Will Like You
If being able to walk on the path of your dreams is luck, then how far you can go is a matter of strength.
After three days of fierce competition, the 18th Sports Meet of Xuanzhu No. 1 Middle School came to a successful conclusion.
In the women's 4m, 100m, 1500m and *m events, Xu Cailing won the championship by breaking the school sports meet records, and also won the championship in the m and high jump and long jump events.
One person won six gold medals in the school sports meet and broke four school sports records, which is unprecedented in the history of Xuanzhu No. 1 Middle School.
Cai Ling naturally had a place on the newly posted honor roll, and the series of new school sports meet records with her name on them were truly dazzling.
Fang Wei also won a medal of his own, winning the runner-up prize in the men's 3,000-meter race.
Although it is not as valuable as Cai Ling's result, it is also very impressive. After all, this is the only medal among the top classes. After entering the finals of each event, it is almost the stage for the students with special talents. It is not easy for Fang Wei to represent the top class and win this medal.
On the medal list, the champion is undoubtedly Cailing's Class 6. As the class representing the highest competitive level of school sports, Cailing alone contributed six gold medals, which made their class teacher very happy.
……
After the school sports meet, daily campus life returned to its original tight rhythm.
I don't know when the cicadas started chirping, and spring left quietly.
After entering early summer in May, the temperature rise became more and more obvious. Looking around the campus, we could no longer find the black and white school uniform jackets. Everyone had changed into short-sleeved summer clothes with white shirts and black collars.
The semester has entered the middle and late stages, and I can feel that the seniors in Zhiyuan Building are becoming more hurried. Occasionally when I pass by Zhiyuan Building on the way to or from school, I can feel the invisible pressure coming from inside.
After all, in another month, the seniors in their senior year of high school will face the most important exam in their lives.
"How strange! We are clearly outsiders, but why do I feel like I can't breathe every time I pass by the senior high school?"
"No, who says we are outsiders? We have been in the game for a long time, but the moment that belongs to us has not come yet."
"Now that you mention it, it seems so. Anyway, things feel different after the division..."
This feeling is very strange. When I was in the first grade of junior high school, I didn’t feel anything about the upcoming graduation of the third grade. Only when I was in the third grade of junior high school did I finally feel that sense of urgency.
And now that I have only just completed the subject, I have already experienced the feeling that something is pushing me forward.
What they are currently experiencing is the monthly exam in May, while the seniors in the third year of high school are experiencing their last mock exam in high school.
The girls could not imagine what kind of high school life the seniors who were now sitting in the senior classroom had had in the past two years.
But I think it won’t be long before they will know it themselves.
……
In May, apart from daily study and life training, a more special event was probably Liu Zhiyi's debut novel "Chasing Summer". A publishing house contacted her and wanted to sign a publishing contract with her.
The novel has been serialized in the Mengya column since December of the previous year, and it has been serialized for exactly sixteen months now. The initial fee was 120 yuan per thousand words, which was raised to 150 yuan per thousand words in May last year, and then raised again to 180 yuan per thousand words in January this year.
Unlike the intensity of serialized online novels in later generations, the serialization of physical magazines is still relatively slow. Zhiyi wrote secretly while attending school, submitting 20,000 words every month. At the beginning of this month, the novel was finally announced to be completed. The full text has a total of 320,000 words.
The long serialization period of fifteen months has made Zhiyi's debut work accumulate considerable popularity, especially the completed May issue, which was a hot seller!
Many loyal fans like Pepe who have been following the book have been waiting in bookstores for the May issue to arrive. Since there are no physical copies of the book, fans have no choice but to cut out the novel column in each monthly magazine and bind them into books for collection.
“┗|｀O′|┛Ah~~ Why did it have to end? There’s so much more to write!”
"You're not publishing a book anymore! When will it be published? I want Nan Feng's autograph!"
"Wow, my Zhou Min! My Xu Wanwan! Will I never see you again?"
"What about the new book? Will there be a new book in the monthly magazine Nanfeng next month?"
"How can we live without the south wind?"
"Hehe, luckily I have it, I'm going to start watching from the second episode now~! I'll start killing it when it's finished!"
"Let me tell you how it ends!"
"Ah! Shut up!"
Liu Zhiyi, hiding among the crowd of book fans, didn't dare to say a word.
After all, Mengya magazine is already a best-seller among young people, and "Chasing Summer", a book serialized in the Mengya column for fifteen months, has accumulated a huge number of fans for Nanfeng.
Through the story of childhood sweethearts Zhou Min and Xu Wanwan, the growth process of children in the 1980s is concentratedly shown, and the unique youth experience of this group is written. Coupled with the fresh writing style and delicate emotions, it resonates with many young men and women.
Not only Fang Wei, Cailing, Peipei, Yushan and the others were following the story, but many of Liu Zhiyi's classmates in Class 3 were also following the story, especially now that it had just ended. Occasionally when she was eating in the cafeteria, she could hear the girls sitting next to her talking about it.
But no one expected that the unforgivable author was actually right next to them!
While eating, Liu Zhiyi pricked up his ears and secretly listened to the readers' comments on the novel.
"Did you hear that? They said if they see you, they'll tie you up, and won't give you any food unless you write three million words."
"You, keep your voice down!!"
Liu Zhiyi scooped a spoonful of rice and stuffed it into Fang Wei's mouth, not allowing him to reveal the secret.
"Now, have you decided which publisher to choose?"
"I don't know... The editor recommended that I choose Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, but I don't really understand it. Do you think it's a good choice?"
"I think it's okay. They have already finalized the details with us over the phone. If I'm free this week, I can go with you to take a look. If it's suitable, we can sign it."
"Will you go with me?"
"Why, you want to go by yourself?"
"No, I don't dare. You go with me!"
When the girl heard that Fang Wei would go with her, she instantly calmed down.
"Chasing Summer" was so popular during its fifteen-month serialization period that it was naturally favored by many publishing houses. In fact, since last year, publishing houses have contacted Mengya and Liu Zhiyi one after another, hoping to obtain the publishing rights.
However, the novel was not finished at that time. Even though Liu Zhiyi was excited, she didn't understand much about it. At the suggestion of editors Bai Yun and Fang Wei, she decided to wait and serialize it for a while. When the novel became more popular, she could get more bargaining power with the publishing house.
The serialization on Mengya over the past year has made Liu Zhiyi a wealthy woman, with a stable income of more than 3,000 yuan every month. Her piggy bank is much richer than Fang Wei and Cai Ling's.
It is foreseeable that after signing the publishing contract, she will be able to earn more generous royalties.
Unlike later online writers who publish their works on platforms and whose copyrights belong to the platforms, for pure literary magazines like Mengya, the author's submission behavior itself is a form of legal authorization, which only involves the right to reproduce and distribute the work. All other copyrights are in Liu Zhiyi's own hands.
Even if a publishing house contacts us for publication, Mengya only has the right to recommend the book and does not participate in the profit sharing. Even if there is an opportunity for film or television adaptation in the future, the copyright income will belong exclusively to Liu Zhiyi.
At this point, I'm sure all online writers are gritting their teeth in envy.
Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House is a relatively well-known large publishing house in China. In the half century since its establishment, it has published countless books of various types. It also has cooperation with Mengya. For example, the collection of outstanding works of the New Concept Composition Competition was authorized to Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House.
In recent months, the publishing house has been contacting Liu Zhiyi very sincerely and diligently. Because Nanfeng is already an author of certain fame, the publishing house gave Liu Zhiyi 13 points in royalties, which is much higher than the eight or nine points at most for most newcomers, and promised to give him a first print run of 100,000 copies.
First print means the number of copies printed for the first time. If it is a general unknown new author, a first print of 20,000 to 30,000 copies is already very impressive. Now the publishing house has directly given Liu Zhiyi a first print of 100,000 copies. I think they are quite optimistic about the sales of her book. After all, it is a work that has been verified by the market. We dare not say that it will become a best-selling book with sales of millions of copies in the future, but at least according to the evaluation, sales of 100,000 to 200,000 copies should be no problem.
After the first print of 100,000 copies are sold out, the next step is to reprint. The royalties for reprinting will be higher. If the first print is 13 points, the royalties for reprinting will probably be at least 15 points. Some radical people on the publishing house even said to just give 200,000 copies for the first print, but in the end, it is better to be conservative and sign a contract for 100,000 copies first.
The first print run is 100,000 copies, with a royalty of 13%. The work is divided into two volumes, each priced at 15 yuan. This is the contract that the Literature and Art Publishing House has reported to Liu Zhiyi recently.
Since Fang Wei and Liu Zhiyi basically answered the calls from the publishing house together, Fang Wei was very clear about the details. In order to prevent his little classmate from making mistakes, he also made a lot of effort to learn a lot of knowledge about literary publishing.
In addition to large publishing houses such as the Literature and Art Publishing House, many unknown small publishing houses also contacted Liu Zhiyi for quotes, and the prices quoted were even higher. One publisher even promised her a first print run of 200,000 copies, with a direct royalty of 15%, which was quite tempting.
However, after much deliberation, Fang Wei and Liu Zhi finally decided that it would be safer to find a large publishing house to publish the work. After all, it is guaranteed. A good saddle will bring the work's popularity to a higher level. It is not inconceivable that the work will be adapted into film and television works in the future. That would make big money.
"The first print run is 100,000 copies, the royalty is 13%, and each copy is priced at 15 yuan... This, this is a lot of money?"
Perhaps she guessed that the final number would be so staggering that even an elementary school student could figure it out, so the girl didn't dare to calculate it.
"Let me help you do the math. 100000 x 15 x 2 x ... Damn! You can get before tax! Even after deducting the royalties, it's still ! Based on the current annual net profit of per acre of mussels, your income is equivalent to the annual income of more than acres of mussels! My family's current acres of mussels are not worth your books!"
Fang Wei spoke in an exaggerated manner, and the girl was shocked but also amused by him.
"What the hell...! Then I can't write fifteen books in a year!"
"It's different. This is a brain-powered creation, with no capital investment. And what if it becomes a bestseller with millions of copies sold? It's much better than raising mussels! Little rich lady, please support me!"
Xu Cailing, who was still slowly writing and calculating on her palm, was also shocked when she heard this. As if she was afraid of missing out, she hurriedly shouted, "Support me too! Support me too! Zhiyi! I want to learn how to write books from you!!"
“Oh my, you’re exaggerating…!”
"We are serious!"
"Okay, okay, then I'll support you guys~"
Liu Zhiyi giggled. Although writing and publishing a book was her dream, living in this secular world, who doesn’t want to make a lot of money while realizing their dreams?
To be honest, she was a little bit unbelieving when she heard the number, but the number was right in front of her, and she only needed to go to Shanghai and sign the contract.
This was more than 300,000 yuan in 2004! She could easily buy a house in the city with full payment! She was only 16 or 17 years old, and she was a little confused when faced with such a huge amount of money. If she went home and told her grandfather about it, he would probably be shocked...
Hehe, supporting Fang Wei and Cai Ling~~
Does this count as her monogamy?
As expected, money can solve many troubles. However, the girl had also seen higher scenery with Sister Susu, so she was not dazzled by "a mere" 300,000 yuan. Instead, Fang Wei and Cai Ling, the two stinky guys, kept calling her "great writer", which made her feel a little flattered and her face blushed with embarrassment.
"That's annoying! Stop calling me like that!"
"Okay, okay, let's all listen to the great writer... Ouch, you're still stepping on me!"
Finally, I stopped teasing her.
Back to the business, Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House has been communicating with Liu Zhiyi for more than a day or two, and now the details of the contract have been basically discussed over the phone, so a definite answer must be given to the other party.
It just so happened that the monthly exams had just ended at the beginning of the month and there was a weekend off, so Fang Wei decided to go to Shanghai with Liu Zhiyi to finalize the contract. "Going to Shanghai? Should we tell Sister Susu?"
"Of course I must. Shanghai is my sister's territory. Even if she is not in Shanghai now, you should tell her. If she knew that you were going to become a big... Oh! She would definitely be very happy!"
Zhiyi blushed and forbade him to say that word again. At this point, the only people who knew that she was Nanfeng were her grandfather, Fang Wei Cailing and Wen Susu.
Zhiyi took the initiative to tell her about Sister Susu last summer vacation. When she found out that Zhiyi was Nanfeng, Wen Susu was very surprised. She never thought that the girl had been secretly submitting articles to Mengya since the first grade of junior high school under her nose!
But when I thought about it, maybe this is Zhiyi... Well, she has been secretly writing books for so many years and no one knows about it. Only those who really understand her know that it is Zhiyi!
"Cai Ling Cai Ling, are you going to Shanghai with us tomorrow?"
"Ahhh! I have training tomorrow!!"
Cai Ling cried to death!
She couldn't go with Fang Wei and Zhi Yi the first time they went to Shanghai! Without her, they would definitely kiss!!
But what can I do? I can't tell the coach that I'm afraid Fang Wei and Zhiyi are kissing secretly, so I want to take a leave and go over to supervise them... I will definitely be criticized to death!
Thanks to the training during the Chinese New Year, I was able to enjoy two nights alone with Fang Wei. Now, it’s good. Sooner or later, I have to pay back for the training. It’s my turn to stay alone in the empty room...
"So, you're going to Shanghai on Saturday and coming back the same day?"
"Um... I'm sure there won't be enough time. You can stay at my hotel for one night."
"Woooooooo..."
Cai Ling’s dream is shattered!
Now that things have come to this, I could only lean over to Zhiyi's ear and whisper in despair:
"Zhiyi... When you kiss each other, remember to think of me..."
"…What? Cailing, what you said is so weird!"
"You will definitely kiss him when you go to bed together at night!"
"I, I, I, I...No way!"
The girl's face flushed. God knew how Cai Ling could have known her plan to secretly kiss Fang Wei...
……
That night, after the three of them came back from watching a movie, Fang Wei and Liu Zhiyi began to pack their luggage for their weekend trip to Shanghai.
Cai Ling felt so melancholy. It was the first time she saw Fang Wei and Zhi Yi busy while she was idle. She felt a little empty for a moment. She ran around Zhi Yi's room and Fang Wei's room to help them pack their luggage so that she could keep herself busy.
In the end, he quietly hid in Fang Wei's room and closed the door calmly.
Fang Wei looked up, not knowing what she wanted to do, and said with a smile: "Why are you closing the door?"
"Help, help you pack your luggage!"
It seemed to be an answer with no logical connection. The girl didn't care and walked over to help Fang Wei collect the clothes.
In fact, it was just a one-night stay, so there was no need to bring so many things. Cai Ling had been unable to hide things in front of Fang Wei since she was a child, and Fang Wei could also see that the girl just wanted to talk to him.
But some words cannot be said easily just because you want to. Seeing that she seemed to be hesitant to speak, Fang Wei opened his arms and faced her.
"Would you like a hug?"
"……it is good!"
The girl was stunned for a moment, and then, as if she had received some private reward, she pounced into his arms, buried her face in his chest, hugged his back tightly with her hands, closed her eyes and hugged him comfortably.
Fang Wei also put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. The delicate girl looked very comfortable no matter whether he was hugged while standing, sitting or lying down.
Whenever we hug each other like this, even without saying anything, we can feel that our hearts have become so close to each other.
She warmed his body temperature, and he sniffed the fragrance of her hair. Cai Ling, who loved hugging people, was still not satisfied. She pushed and pushed like a calf, pushing Fang Wei to the wall, and then nestled in his arms.
After a while, she spoke softly.
He didn't say anything, but just sighed: "Zhiyi is amazing, he really wants to be a great writer..."
"Yeah, why, are you unhappy?"
"No! I'm very happy for her!"
Fearing that Fang Wei might have misunderstood, Cai Ling quickly explained, "We are best friends. Zhiyi is going to publish a book, so of course I'm happy for her!"
"Then why do you look so depressed today?"
"I just feel like I'm not as good as Zhiyi..."
"what?"
"I'm afraid... I'm afraid that you like Zhiyi more than... I like me..."
The girl was as frank as ever. Although she could be stubborn sometimes, she would never let others guess for her on crucial matters.
But even after she said it, her face still blushed. When she said the last sentence, she was so embarrassed that she buried her face in his arms and didn't dare to look up at him.
Fang Wei was both angry and amused. Although Cai Ling was confident in the competition, the girl was often quite unconfident when it came to emotional issues.
Ever since the three of them talked about their feelings together last time, both Cailing and Zhiyi seemed determined to stay together until the end. They were not worried that the other would snatch Fang Wei away, but they still sometimes wondered whether Fang Wei liked one of them more. Zhiyi was a taciturn person, she would definitely not say it actively, but Fang Wei knew that Zhiyi was actually the same as Cailing, the only difference was that Cailing would say it and she wouldn't.
It is not so easy to enjoy the happiness of having two wives. Since Fang Wei has chosen to be greedy, he naturally needs to be responsible for dealing with the little troubles in getting along with each other. He dare not promise to treat them equally in everything, but at least he must make sure that none of them feels that they lack love.
"Fool……"
Fang Wei smiled, reached out his hand and pinched the girl's delicate and hot little face.
Cai Ling groaned, looking unhappy, and buried her face in his arms again.
"Of course I like my childhood sweetheart. How can I like you less than Zhiyi? Under the same circumstances, at least now that I am holding you, I like you more."
“I don’t believe it…!”
Xiao Qingmei replied while lying in his arms like a cricket.
So Fang Wei lowered his head and kissed her delicate left cheek.
A light "boo" was more violent than her heartbeat!
"Do you believe it now?"
"I still don't believe it!"
So Fang Wei lowered his head again and kissed her on the right cheek.
"how about this?"
“Believe…no…no…I don’t believe it!”
After being kissed twice by him, Cai Ling felt her legs go weak and her face turned as red as a tomato, but she still stubbornly refused to believe him.
"You just want me to kiss you more, right?"
"Believe it or not!"
There was no other choice but to use his ultimate move.
He stretched out his hand and gently lifted the girl's delicate chin.
Her cheeks were like the clouds at the seaside on a summer evening, dyed by the sunset glow, and were instantly covered with a layer of intoxicating crimson.
The red color quietly spread from under her pink earlobe and gradually spread to her entire face.
When Fang Wei lowered his head and their lips gently touched, Cai Ling's eyes widened unconsciously, her long eyelashes trembled, and the clear spring-like light deep in her eyes was stirred by this sudden kiss, causing ripples.
The blush on the girl's face became more and more intense, like a charcoal brazier with a blazing fire, the heat seemed to ignite the air around her. Her intense heartbeat revealed her inner panic, and her breathing became rapid and shallow, carrying traces of warmth, spraying between their tightly pressed lips.
No matter how tough a girl's mouth is, it is soft when you kiss her. It is as tender as a petal just peeled off from a bud, soft, wet, and sweet...
In an instant, that softness turned into a warm current, flowing into Fang Wei's heart, making his heartbeat also become more intense.
Putting aside the unexpected kiss she gave him in childhood, this was the first time in two lifetimes that Fang Wei took the initiative to kiss her, giving his first kiss to his childhood sweetheart.
As for Cai Ling, she was completely stunned...
Originally, I was thinking of coming over to talk to him, and maybe even taking the opportunity to hug him, but I didn't expect that things would take a turn for the worse, and I actually knew what Fang Wei's mouth tasted like before Zhiyi did...
The two hearts beat violently in the tight embrace.
Looking down at the girl whose face was flushed red and who needed him to hold her tightly to barely stand, Fang Wei said with the mouth he had just kissed her:
"You don't have to do anything. You don't have to strive to be the first or the best. I will love you anyway."
Cai Ling has received love from many people in her life. In order to make herself worthy of the love in return, she worked hard to be brave, motivated, to get into a good school, to win championships, to make a lot of money... But only Fang Wei said to her, you don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to strive to be the first, you don’t have to be the best, I will like you anyway.
It is difficult to describe this extreme doting and preference. How many girls in this world can be like her, being favored by someone like this since childhood?
"Do you still believe it?"
“Ugh…believe it…no, I don’t believe it!!”
"Hey, you're not going to accept my toast and you'll have to drink the wine for punishment!"
Something bad happened. She thought Fang Wei would continue to kiss her, but Master Fang got so angry that he actually spanked her little butt!
"I believe it! I believe it!!"
Zhiyi, who was eavesdropping at the door, was a little confused...
What are Fang Wei and Cai Ling doing...
(End of this chapter)
