Chapter 5: Could It Be That the “Cold Tree” Is Finally Blooming?
After finishing lunch, Mayonnaise sat straight in front of her computer. She planned to apologize properly to her brother. At the same time, she kept an eye on Gu Zhiren’s chat window while guiding the authors under her.
Unlike Mu Yi, those small authors always tried their best to push their stories into romantic or “intimate” scenes.
Every now and then, they would get “caught” and end up in front of her.
Looking at the intense scenes in their writing, Mayonnaise could easily imagine how those authors felt at the moment.
They must be so embarrassed that they wanted to smash their faces into the keyboard.
Especially…
Those who couldn’t write action or emotional scenes well, but still forced themselves to write them, the awkwardness showed in every line.
“I wonder what kind of style my little ‘Canned Fish’ would have if he wrote something like this.”
After seeing so many examples, Mayonnaise became a bit curious.
But…
From an editor’s point of view, it wasn’t appropriate to say such things. She couldn’t personally encourage authors to write bold romantic scenes.
An editor had to act like an editor.
After giving advice to five or six authors, Mayonnaise stretched and glanced at Gu Zhiren’s chat window. When a new message suddenly appeared, she immediately became alert.
Gu Zhiren: “Looks like I got stood up.”
Such a simple sentence, yet it felt like a thunderclap in her heart, stirring up waves of panic.
It was as if her brother was right in front of her. His calm, low voice echoing in her ears, almost like a quiet warning.
Mayonnaise trembled.
“Brother, listen to me! I didn’t want this either, but that author got sick, seriously sick! Really! We didn’t mean to stand you up!”
She quickly replied.
Gu Zhiren: “You care about him that much?”
Seeing this, Mayonnaise almost heard her brother’s teasing laugh.
Was it strange for an editor to worry about their author?
Can’t you trust your own sister a little?
“Because I value him a lot. Brother, why don’t you read his novel too? Maybe after reading it, you’ll understand how I feel.”
Gu Zhiren seemed to be thinking. The chat went quiet.
Seeing no reply, Mayonnaise felt her heart rise to her throat. It was the first time she had recommended an online novel to her brother.
If it were those more “adult” novels, she wouldn’t even dare mention them. But Mu Yi’s writing was different, it felt more like a proper published book.
The writing style was fresh, the language was sharp, and the details were very well done. The reading experience was excellent.
It was exactly the kind of writing Gu Zhiren liked.
Gu Zhiren: “Since you rate it so highly, I’ll take a look.”
“He actually agreed…”
Mayonnaise let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She quickly sent him the link, then thought for a moment and added another message.
“When I first read this, I thought it was written by a girl. But actually, it’s written by a boy around my age, named Mu Yi.”
“Brother, don’t be too surprised when you read it.”
When the chat became quiet again, Mayonnaise assumed that Gu Zhiren had opened the link to read the novel. She picked up her coffee, took a small sip, and returned to her work.
…………………………
Inside the CEO’s office.
A pair of well-defined fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the keyboard, slowly and casually.
Along with the soft tapping sound, a calm and thoughtful voice spoke.
“Mu Yi…”
……………
As evening approached, the sky was still gray, and rain kept pouring over the large city of Ganlan.
In the Egg Bun editorial office, many editors had already gone home.
Only a few stayed behind to finish their work, and Mayonnaise was one of them.
Busy, busy, busy.
At that moment, the chat window that had been quiet for a long time finally showed a new message.
Gu Zhiren: “I’ve read the novel.”
Mayonnaise noticed it right away. She immediately stopped working and asked her brother what he thought. She had a lot of confidence in Mu Yi.
As if to confirm her expectations, Gu Zhiren first sent a short “heh,” sounding like he was in a good mood, and then replied,
“From my personal view, it’s alright.”
“It’s alright.”
Mayonnaise knew very well how picky her brother was. Getting those two words from him already meant Mu Yi’s ability had been highly recognized.
She straightened her back proudly.
“See, brother? Being a web novel editor has its advantages, right? I just found you a hidden gem of an author!” Mayonnaise typed quickly.
Even though the chat was quiet again, she knew her brother was probably smiling at her.
Gu Zhiren: “I suppose so. Set another time. I’ll be there on time.”
Seeing this, Mayonnaise quickly replied “Okay.” She couldn’t help covering her face with both hands, feeling very happy inside.
“What happened? You look so happy.”
Just as she was enjoying the moment, her senior, Egg Pie, spoke from behind.
“Dear, my brother just recognized my work for the first time.”
“Oh? That’s great! How did you convince him?”
“With my judgment! I recommended Mu Yi’s novel to him.”
Hearing that, Egg Pie glanced at the screen, looked at the chat, and nodded in understanding.
She had often heard that Mayonnaise’s brother had very high standards.
It seemed Mu Yi really had great potential. If she improved a bit more…
Tsk tsk.
Egg Pie could already imagine Mu Yi becoming very successful, with other websites trying to recruit her.
But improvement wasn’t easy. Some people, even with guidance, could only manage the basics.
Not to mention Mu Yi was such a “pure” and well-behaved writer, no one wanted to lead her in the wrong direction.
“You really care a lot about Mu Yi.”
“Of course! If the authors under me become better, my performance as an editor will also look better!”
Mayonnaise quickly finished her work, packed her things, and went into the elevator with Egg Pie.
“By the way, my brother seemed to be in a really good mood today. Maybe it’s because Mu Yi’s novel is so good.”
“Well… could it be something else? Like maybe the ‘iron tree finally blooming’, a cold CEO finally finding love? Like those romantic novels?”
Egg Pie said with a nod, though she felt Mayonnaise’s brother wasn’t really like those fictional CEOs.
To be honest, those CEOs in stories always lived on the edge. Good-looking, rich, healthy, but not much else.
“Oh, you have no idea. My brother has very low emotional skills when dealing with women. He’s only normal in business. But with small animals, he’s surprisingly good.”
Mayonnaise shrugged helplessly.
“You really don’t have much faith in your brother. But you always say he reads a lot. Do you think he’s ever read those CEO romance novels?”
“…”
Mayonnaise paused for a moment.
Probably not… that thought alone felt a bit scary.