ROBEPTQ chapter 8

After a day of moving books, Bai Sijun’s hands were trembling when he returned home and opened the password-locked door at night.

A girl from the next door was hanging clothes on the communal balcony. As Bai Sijun entered, she greeted him, “Were you busy today?”

Bai Sijun replied, “Had some last-minute work.”

“We agreed to play Landlord at ten. Are you joining us?”

The four roommates occasionally gathered for a meal or played games.

“Not this time,” Bai Sijun forced a polite smile, “Still not done with my work.”

“Is being an editor that tough?” The girl looked surprised.

“It’s like laying bricks,” Bai Sijun joked.

“Good luck!”

With the new books for the signing event sorted out, Bai Sijun had to consider the opening speech. Though he had attended signing events with other editors before and had a general idea of how to engage the audience, doing it himself made him feel a bit uneasy, especially for a book he knew nothing about.

Qi Jun’s new book was titled “Secrets of the Trash Bin.” The magical trash bin in the story automatically made things disappear when placed inside. The book consisted of three short stories: the missing child, the lost ransom, and the vanished body. Readers would discover the interconnectedness of these three stories, revealing the secret of the trash bin.

Qi Jun, a popular suspense writer in recent years, crafted tense and captivating plots. Bai Sijun originally intended to skim through it, but he found himself immersed in the compelling narrative. When he reached the last page, it was already close to 1 a.m.

Perhaps due to it being a Saturday, the three people in the living room were still laughing and joking. Bai Sijun emerged from his room and went to the bathroom to freshen up. They wanted to invite him to join an all-nighter, but a downstairs neighbor came up to voice their complaint, prompting the three to reluctantly return to their rooms.

Borrowing some ideas from the marketing department’s promotional materials on social media, Bai Sijun added his insights. It was almost 3 a.m. when he finally managed to produce an introduction he was satisfied with.

The signing event was scheduled for 9:30 in the morning, and Bai Sijun had to pick up the author Qi Jun at 8:30.

Qi Jun was a teacher at a prestigious local university, 38 years old, divorced once, and currently residing in the university staff dormitory. As Bai Sijun went to pick him up, he couldn’t help but step into the university campus, which he hadn’t visited in four years.

Observing the youthful and energetic university students, Bai Sijun felt a mix of envy and malicious speculation. When they entered society, would they feel as frustrated as he did?

These students from top-tier universities might have experienced the pinnacle of their lives the moment they received their high school exam results. They entered their desired university, reached their dream platform, and then spent four years in college before gradually becoming ordinary individuals like everyone else.

Bai Sijun shook his head, realizing he was harboring sour grapes thoughts, quickly putting an end to such unproductive speculation.

When he arrived at the staff dormitory, Qi Jun was already waiting downstairs.

After exchanging greetings, Qi Jun smiled and asked, “Is Li Lan really unwell, or did she resign?”

Feeling a bit guilty, Bai Sijun didn’t want to stick to the lie but gave a vague reply, “I’m not sure.”

Qi Jun continued, “She posted on her social media that she’s going to Thailand for a trip.”

The lie was exposed. Bai Sijun’s cheeks heated up, and he awkwardly admitted, “Li Jie did resign.”

Qi Jun asked casually, “I didn’t see her saying goodbye. Did she have a falling out with the company?”

“Well…” Bai Sijun didn’t know how to answer. While there was indeed some unpleasantness, he couldn’t reveal internal company matters directly to the author. He said, “Maybe it’s better to ask the editor directly.”

Qi Jun smiled and said, “Don’t treat me as an outsider. I’ve been with Hongtu since my first book. I consider myself half a Hongtu employee by now.”

Qi Jun initially serialized novels on a website. Due to his concise plot and relatively short word count, which differed from the trend of lengthy novels with millions of words, his works didn’t initially resonate with the market. Later, a public account promoted his book, and the editor at Hongtu happened to notice the promotion, signing him and providing strong support.

After a moment’s contemplation, Bai Sijun honestly confessed, “Li Jie resigned yesterday, and I was temporarily assigned to take over.”

“I see.” Qi Jun nodded, “So, from now on, you’ll be my editor?”

“It’s not certain yet.” Bai Sijun quickly waved his hand, but Qi Jun, seemingly ignoring his response, extended his right hand, saying, “Then, please take care of me from now on.”

Bai Sijun was momentarily surprised, shook his hand, and said, “I should be the one learning from Teacher Qi.”

Qi Jun smiled, withdrew his hand, and asked, “Did you come by taxi or drive?”

“I took a taxi.”

“Let’s use my car then.”

Bai Sijun sat in the front passenger seat, realizing that picking up the author was mainly an opportunity for self-introduction. Fortunately, Qi Jun was easygoing and didn’t express any dissatisfaction with the last-minute change in the signing event coordinator.

If only Mei Yuchen were this easy to talk to…

Impossible.

Bai Sijun almost immediately dismissed the unrealistic fantasy in his mind.

Qi Jun was a university professor, naturally affable, and had achieved success step by step. He was much more humble in dealing with people. On the other hand, Mei Yuchen’s first work was a sensation, and he continued to be adored by readers. He didn’t graduate from university, had a lower education level than Bai Sijun, and hadn’t experienced the real world. He had no understanding of social intricacies.

Thinking about it, Bai Sijun recalled the last question Mei Yuchen left him: “Will you still be my editor?”

Bai Sijun felt a headache. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Mei Yuchen wasn’t making it easy. To drive him away, Mei Yuchen even brought up such a private matter as his sexual orientation.

Putting a halt to those thoughts, Bai Sijun decided to focus on the present work.

The signing event aimed for a sales target of three hundred books, but unexpectedly, the scene was extremely lively. All five hundred new books were sold out, and the bookstore had to provide exquisite bookmarks for Qi Jun to sign for those who couldn’t buy a book.

The signing event, initially planned to end at 11:30 a.m., dragged on until 1:00 p.m.

After wrapping up, Bai Sijun, Qi Jun, and colleagues from the marketing department went to a nearby restaurant. During the meal, a colleague struck up a conversation with Bai Sijun, “Editor Bai, the introduction you wrote at the beginning was truly captivating. If I hadn’t already read it, I would’ve joined the queue.”

Another colleague added, “Yeah, I feel the same way. Your introduction is more enticing than the promotional materials our marketing colleagues wrote.”

“By the way, we conducted a survey downstairs, asking readers how they learned about this book. Several readers mentioned they were just browsing in the bookstore and overheard your introduction, so they joined the queue to buy it.”

Bai Sijun smiled apologetically, “I rushed out of it last night.”

Qi Jun raised his glass at the right moment and cheered, “Come on, let’s toast to Editor Bai.”

“I dare not.” Bai Sijun quickly raised his glass, “It’s Teacher Qi’s book that is truly amazing. I should be toasting to you.”

Everyone clinked their glasses cheerfully. Bai Sijun added, “And to the colleagues from the marketing department, who live-streamed the signing event online. Thank you for your hard work.”

A female colleague from the marketing department teased, “Editor Bai is handsome and eloquent. I wonder if he’s already taken?”

Several female colleagues immediately burst into laughter. Not wanting to stir up trouble, Bai Sijun smiled and said, “Yes, I am.”

After a satisfying meal, everyone dispersed, and Qi Jun called for a designated driver. He suggested dropping Bai Sijun off at home, and Bai Sijun didn’t want to be too polite, so he agreed.

As they got into the car, exchanged WeChat contacts, and chatted, Qi Jun directly brought up ideas for his next book. In the end, he asked Bai Sijun, “What do you think?”

Feeling pleasantly surprised, Bai Sijun couldn’t help but think again about the vast difference between authors. Some were willing to communicate with editors, while others kept everything to themselves for weeks.

When Bai Sijun got out of the car, Qi Jun said, “Looking forward to our collaboration.”

Bai Sijun replied, “Likewise.”

But in reality, he wasn’t entirely confident. After all, the final decision rested with the chief editor.

Having slept only three to four hours last night and being busy for most of the morning, Bai Sijun fell asleep as soon as he returned home. When he woke up, the night had already enveloped the outside.

It seemed the barbecue from lunch had been digested, and with his growling stomach, he planned to order some takeout. However, he noticed dozens of unread messages on his WeChat.

Opening WeChat, he found they were all from work-related groups, including an @mention from the chief editor.

The chief editor officially assigned Qi Jun to him.

Due to the excellent response to the new book, several online bookstores were sold out. The chief editor decided to print an additional twenty thousand copies and instructed Bai Sijun to follow up. Although “Secrets of the Trash Bin” was not Bai Sijun’s work, he genuinely felt happy for Qi Jun’s success.

He sent a WeChat message to Qi Jun, informing him of the additional printing, and Qi Jun replied that he was already aware, expressing gratitude to Bai Sijun.

It seemed the crisis had indeed turned into an opportunity. Bai Sijun’s job was secured, and he even made significant progress – he finally felt like a formal editor.

But what about Mei Yuchen?

Dragging it out, as the seniors suggested, was an option. After all, he now had a new author, and he didn’t have to tie himself to one tree.

But Bai Sijun felt that it wasn’t a solution.

Among those who ate skewers, some liked to grab a handful, pulling all the food into their bowls before eating. However, Bai Sijun was used to taking one skewer at a time, eating it before moving on to the next. He felt this way was more orderly.

Mei Yuchen was the first author he took over. If he let things slide like this, it would be like not taking the first step well after just setting out, creating a disconcerting feeling.

After thinking for a while without coming up with a solution, he absentmindedly swiped through the WeChat chat interface. Then he suddenly realized he hadn’t added Mei Yuchen on WeChat yet.

He wasn’t sure if that person even used WeChat.

Bai Sijun opened the search bar and entered Mei Yuchen’s phone number. A WeChat profile with a pink strawberry ice cream cone quickly appeared. At first, he thought he got the wrong person just by looking at the ice cream, but when he double-checked the WeChat ID, myc1111, it was indeed Mei Yuchen.

After hesitating for a moment, Bai Sijun pressed the “Add Friend” button. When entering the verification message, he wrote, “I am Bai Sijun.”

After a while, he deleted the period at the end and replaced it with a comma. He added another sentence, “Your editor.”