Chapter 22: My Brother Is Really… Too Fierce!
On the paper, you could barely make out two lines of writing.
“Owe Mu Yi her first kiss. Will repay it later with a vacation. If I don’t repay, I’ll turn into a puppy and swallow a thousand needles!”
There were no spelling mistakes, but the handwriting looked like messy scribbles.
It made the eyes hurt to read.
Gu Zhiren couldn’t help rolling his eyes. Even though he knew that novel writers were used to typing on computers, it was still hard to imagine that her handwriting could be this ugly.
He didn’t say anything about it. He took the black pen Mu Yi handed to him, signed an English name skillfully, and then gave the paper back to her.
“I hope I can still see this paper in the future.”
After saying that, Gu Zhiren closed the pen and walked straight toward the entrance, pulling open the wooden door.
“Thanks for the reminder. I’ll keep it safe!”
Holding the note tightly, Mu Yi gritted her teeth as she looked at his back. Tears were already filling her eyes, almost spilling over. She pressed her lips together.
The moment Gu Zhiren walked out, she quickly stepped forward, shut the door, and locked it. Then she leaned against the door as her body slowly slid down.
Because her butt still hurt, she could only squat halfway on the ground. The emotions she had been holding back finally burst out. Her small body curled up, and her shoulders shook.
She lowered her gaze to the words on the paper, but her vision became more and more blurred by tears.
Afraid the paper would get wet, she tried to see the words clearly.
She kept wiping her tears with her hand, letting out soft sobs. But the tears wouldn’t stop. Soon, Mu Yi gave up and tilted her head up.
She let the tears fall from the corners of her eyes as she looked at the ceiling through blurry vision.
It was like a fuse had been lit. All the emotions she had been holding back for so long slowly exploded, flooding her thoughts, making it hard to even understand why she was crying.
Without realizing it, she remembered her childhood self lying on the piano. She had thought her tears had already dried up back then.
It had been a long time since she truly cried. No matter how difficult things were, even when her gender changed overnight, she had not shed a single tear.
“Don’t cry… don’t cry… it’s just like being bitten by a dog, it’s no big deal…”
She wiped her tears again. Looking at the paper in her hand and recalling what Gu Zhiren had said, she tightened her grip and showed a bitter smile.
Prove that I’m self-aware, is that it…?
Mu Yi bit her lip.
She stood up and tried to walk to the computer, but her left foot slipped. Her already sore butt hit the floor hard again. She shut her eyes tightly in pain, her whole body trembling.
Damn it.
She never wanted to see him again, that stupid jerk!
Why did he hit so hard?!
Muttering in her heart, she carefully got up again and walked very cautiously toward the computer desk. But just before reaching it, she turned and went into the bedroom instead.
First, she needed to put this paper away safely. This was important proof for collecting her “debt” in the future.
………………………
At the same time, in a beef hotpot restaurant, Gu Anran was sitting face to face with her senior, Egg Pie…
Or rather, she should now be called Bai Zhi.
In mid-October, the nights in Ganlan City were already freezing, with cold wind cutting through the air.
The hotpot restaurant was completely full, and business was booming.
“Hehe, today is really a double good day! My ‘Canned Little Fish’ got first place on the bestseller list! I don’t know if he has seen it yet, I’ll send him a message later.”
Breathing in the rich smell of meat from the pot, Gu Anran clapped her hands, her smile growing wider and wider.
“Look how happy you are. It’s not the first time Mu Yi has been number one.”
As she spoke, Bai Zhi rested her chin on her hand and smiled warmly. With her other hand, she pointed at the beer Gu Anran was about to pick up.
“Aren’t you still underage? No drinking. Be careful, or I’ll tell your brother. Oh right, you said double good news, what’s the other one?”
Hearing this, Gu Anran snorted and put the beer down, then obediently picked up a peanut milk drink instead.
“Hmph~ My brother isn’t even here anyway.”
After taking a few sips of milk, she proudly started talking about her brother’s “achievement.”
That was… Mu Yi suddenly writing ten thousand words in one day.
Before this, no matter how much she pushed for updates, Mu Yi would just do the minimum. She always had many excuses to take time off, and each excuse was different, so it was hard to tell if they were real.
But they all sounded very convincing.
“Ten thousand words a day? The authors I manage do that almost every day. At least three hundred thousand words a month. It doesn’t sound that special.”
Bai Zhi took a sip of beer.
“I also have an author like that, Arluo. When he planned a new book before, he gave me two full books at once, even including the first three volumes, and asked me to review them!”
Gu Anran shrugged helplessly.
If Mu Yi had even one percent of Arluo’s hard work, she wouldn’t need to ask her brother for help.
“The moment my brother stepped in, Mu Yi started writing ten thousand words a day. I don’t know how he did it, but he’s really… too strong. As expected of my brother!”
Hearing this, Bai Zhi smiled and shook her head. Just earlier, when Gu Zhiren was mentioned, Gu Anran looked scared to death.
“Anran, don’t get too excited and forget to tell Mu Yi about the illustrations and the cover. The company is strongly promoting comic and animation adaptations recently. We’ve signed long-term partnerships with many illustrators, comic artists, and well-known teams both locally and overseas.”
As she spoke, Bai Zhi scooped a spoonful of beef from the pot and carefully placed it into Gu Anran’s bowl. After hearing her say thanks, she smiled.
“Tell Mu Yi to work a bit harder. I have high hopes for him.”
“Oh come on, Sister Bai Zhi, don’t tell me you like my ‘Canned Little Fish’! Even if it’s you, I won’t give him to you. Mu Yi belongs to me.”
Hearing this, Bai Zhi almost couldn’t hold back her reaction. Kids these days…
Gu Anran happily ate the beef in her bowl, while also thinking about what Bai Zhi had just said.
Illustrations and cover art are very important for light novels.
There were more and more artists in the company, but who gets assigned to draw depends entirely on luck. Some authors aren’t satisfied with their assigned artist, but they have no choice but to accept it.
Luck plays a big role… she wondered which artist Mu Yi would get this time.
“Don’t worry, Sister Bai Zhi, I’ll remember. I’ve been working for a year now, I’m already a mature editor.”
While eating, Gu Anran still glanced at the beer beside her.
Meanwhile, Mu Yi was also eating fried chicken, wondering whether she should drink some alcohol.
She was lying face down on the sofa.
At first, she planned to start writing right away, but after thinking for a moment, she chose to lie down and eat fried chicken instead.
It wasn’t that she had no ideas or was stuck. It was simply that she felt unwilling to accept things as they were.
If she proved herself through hard work, she could get rid of Gu Zhiren.
But if she did that, wouldn’t it mean giving him exactly what he wanted? The enemy’s happiness is her own suffering. She didn’t want to make him happy, but she also had no better choice.
Crunch, crunch.
Chewing her fried chicken, Mu Yi let out a deep sigh. With her left hand, she picked up a can of beer. Just as she was about to open it, she suddenly remembered something, quickly moved it farther away, and then pulled the tab open.
Drink a little, then start writing!