“There’s something off with the pacing right now.”
“Some of the plot points don’t really make sense either.”
“Deng Min-jie, how do you write the protagonist’s romance line?”
In the soft light of early morning, Lin Yiren sat cross-legged on her bed, tapping away on her computer as she talked on the phone.
It had already been two weeks since she returned from the new district, and she was busy working on her novel.
Lin Yiren had always kept up her habits of reading and writing, so her writing skills were fine, but writing a full-length novel for the first time left her feeling out of her depth.
Deng Min, a professional web novel author, had been her go-to for advice recently.
“Just revise it like this for now and send it to your editor to have a look,” Deng Min’s cheerful voice came through the phone.
“Okay.”
Lin Yiren sent the freshly edited chapter to her editor.
Her editor’s name was Xiao Shui, who used an adorable bunny avatar and sent a pink sticker every other sentence. Despite that, her professionalism was impeccable. Ever since she fished Lin Yiren, a total newbie, out of the sea of applicants, she’d been constantly helping her improve her work.
“Yiren, there’s a get-together with some writers I know coming up. Why don’t you come along too?” Deng Min said.
“But I’m just a newbie.”
“Pfft, it’s not some serious event, just eating, drinking, and having fun together. They’re bringing friends too,” Deng Min laughed on the other end.
Lin Yiren pursed her lips, thinking she might pick up something useful if she went, and agreed to Deng Min’s invitation.
***
After she hung up, she saw that Xiao Shui had already sent her some feedback, ending with “You’ve got the makings of a master, keep it up!”
Lin Yiren couldn’t help but smile, feeling warm all over.
She opened up her own sticker collection, and from her stash of bizarre images, she picked a normal heart-shaped sticker to send back.
Setting her computer aside, Lin Yiren propped herself up and picked up an old notebook from the table, which held plenty of her past flashes of inspiration.
She flipped to the back of the notebook and wrote down Deng Min and Xiao Shui’s suggestions from just now.
Gentle light shone down on the pages, illuminating lines and lines of notes.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Xing Yao had gone off to class, and Miss Chen had left early. The sound caught her off guard, making her jump up, but in her rush, her thigh knocked hard against the edge of the desk.
“Ah, ow!” she cried out involuntarily.
The knocking stopped, and with a clatter, the door was flung open from the outside in a hurry.
“What’s wrong?!” The girl who rushed in looked worried, peach blossom eyes fluttering—it was Chen Zhaoyue.
“I’m fine.” Lin Yiren gritted her teeth and rubbed her thigh.
“Let me have a look.” Chen Zhaoyue came closer.
But the girl before her quickly bounced onto the bed and snapped her laptop shut with a “pop,” their eyes meeting.
Lin Yiren nervously clutched the sheets. She wasn’t ready for Chen Zhaoyue to see her novel yet, since the heroine was inspired by none other than this very Miss Chen.
Chen Zhaoyue’s sharp gaze swept the room—the rumpled bed, the flustered girl, the hastily closed laptop.
A certain thought floated through her mind.
A faint blush crept over Chen Zhaoyue’s face. So Lin Yiren was doing this sort of thing in broad daylight, and didn’t even lock the door.
On the surface, she acted shy about her body, but behind closed doors she was quite the explorer.
“I don’t know what you’re doing… But you’d better be careful about it,” Miss Chen turned her head away.
A question mark popped up over Lin Yiren’s head.
“Anyway, are you sure you know what you’re doing? Don’t hurt yourself,” Chen Zhaoyue couldn’t help but remind her.
“Oh, got it.” Lin Yiren nodded, though she had no idea what Miss Chen was talking about, but as long as she could muddle through.
Chen Zhaoyue opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She turned away awkwardly.
“I actually came to tell you to come downstairs for snacks. I bought mung bean cakes.”
“Okay.”
***
When the day of Deng Min’s get-together arrived, Lin Yiren wore a white T-shirt and faded blue jeans, shoved her things into her pockets, and got ready to head out.
The two people in the living room were still watching TV.
Xing Yao called out, “Bye, Mom,” while Chen Zhaoyue just waved her hand.
Lately, Miss Chen had been giving her some pretty strange looks.
Little did Lin Yiren know that in Miss Chen’s eyes, she had already become a “midday exhibitionist,” a person full of unsatisfied desire.
Could it be…that time of the month?
With that thought, she stepped outside into the breeze.
When she got to the meeting spot by taxi, Deng Min was already waiting, waving to her from afar.
Lin Yiren jogged over.
Deng Min smiled, patted her on the shoulder, and handed her a bottle of jasmine tea. “No need to hurry like that. By the way, didn’t your lady’s driver bring you over?”
Deng Min had once worried about “two young girls raising a three-year-old child.” Chen Zhaoyue had revealed a little about her family, which finally put Deng Min at ease—it turned out she was actually a “heiress and her little wife.”
Lin Yiren shook her head. Madam Huang Susu had been busy attending events all over the city lately, and Uncle Xu had been recruited for quite some time.
“Come on, they’re already here.” Deng Min led Lin Yiren into the restaurant behind her.
***
They entered a private room, and the people inside turned toward the door at the sound.
Five men and four women were sitting on either side.
There was a quiet girl with square glasses, a mature woman with big wavy hair, a literary youth with carefree long hair… Around the table sat a harmonious mix of people, each with their own style.
Deng Min introduced, “This is Lin Yiren, a new author.”
“Hello, little sister.”
“What a pretty girl.”
“Ming-jie’s friend is a beauty.”
The atmosphere was lively and warm.
Lin Yiren greeted everyone in a clear voice, nervous but excited inside. So this is what a gathering of writers is like.
She was seated with the girls, and as soon as she sat down, she was surrounded by curious questions.
“Jiejie, you’re so pretty! I’m Lin Mo, same surname as you.” A short-haired girl sidled up to Lin Yiren, her face full of admiration.
“Don’t scare her, Lin Mo.” The woman next to Lin Mo tugged her back and said to Lin Yiren, “Don’t be nervous, just make yourself at home.”
Lin Yiren nodded, but kept her gaze from wandering. Sitting among all these girls made her feel a little uneasy.
Seeing Lin Yiren’s discomfort, Deng Min called the waiter to bring out beer and snacks. “Let’s eat and chat.”
The clinking of glasses filled the table, and things grew lively.
“My latest novel flopped again.”
“Come on, you’re being modest. With your subscription numbers, you call that flopping?”
“How come Wu Yong didn’t bring his girlfriend this time?”
“…Ex-girlfriend, now.”
The topics drifted from novels to daily life, and even as the dishes arrived, they kept chatting as they ate.
In this atmosphere, Lin Yiren relaxed and chatted with Lin Mo.
“How did you all meet?”
“We all write on Qingkong Reading, and got to know each other through the Author Group. We became friends over time. Jiejie, you write there too, right?”
Lin Yiren nodded, thinking Lin Mo must be older than her—so why did she keep calling her “jiejie”?
“Have you seen my book? You can be my fan.” Lin Mo smiled, sharing her book title.
Lin Yiren was surprised—she’d seen that book ranked on the male history chart before. She hadn’t expected the author to be this girl sitting right next to her.
So Lin Mo wrote historical fiction? You really can’t judge an author by their appearance.
A male author drinking nearby overheard, turned and said, “Lin Mo, your book’s been surpassed by mine lately. Maybe she should check out mine instead.”
Lin Mo frowned and hugged Lin Yiren’s arm. “I’ll surpass you soon, Wu Yong. Don’t you try to hit on jiejie.”
Lin Yiren felt her hand pressed to a soft chest, her face heating up. She froze, not daring to move.
Wu Yong saw the blush on the girl’s cheeks, and his heart skipped a beat. Scratching his head, he chuckled, “I just wanted to make friends with her.”
Lin Yiren watched this man’s bashful act and felt goosebumps—better keep her distance from this senior.
Deng Min glanced over and coolly reminded him, “Yiren’s already taken, so don’t get any ideas.”
Wu Yong laughed awkwardly and turned to chat with his friends.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo’s eyes sparkled as she shook Lin Yiren’s hand, trying to get the scoop on her significant other.
Lin Yiren’s arm felt hot. Do girls really get this close this quickly?
The woman next to Lin Mo noticed Lin Yiren’s discomfort and patted Lin Mo, signaling her to let go. She then asked Lin Yiren, “So, what’s your book called? We’ll check it out later.”
Lin Mo realized her mistake and let go, waiting for Lin Yiren’s answer.
Being put on the spot like this felt a little embarrassing, but chatting with professional authors could only help her improve.
Thinking this, Lin Yiren finally said the title of her own book.