Chapter 407: Expectation
After the funeral, Chen Xi’s parents took away their daughter’s belongings. Yu Linna and Zhao Yuyan greeted the editors from the editorial department a few times and soon left. And so, this funeral ended.
Although Chen Xi was gone, Wenqing was still operating. Now that Yu Linna and Zhao Yuyan’s editor position was vacant, Wenqing was discussing how to solve this matter. The one who was probably the saddest was the chief editor, Tang He. He had originally wanted to cultivate Chen Xi to be his successor. Who would have thought that this would happen?
Yu Linna did not go back immediately, but went to the editorial department to sort out the belongings that her editor, Chen Xi, had left behind, and then to transfer them to her family. Chen Xi had been her editor for only a year, but a lot had happened in this one year. Although she was gone, she still had to live on properly. Soon, a new volume would be finished. For her editor, she also had to rush out the manuscript as soon as possible.
Yu Linna found a small square box in Chen Xi’s drawer. She opened it and saw that there were many cards inside. Many of the cards on it were written about Shion-sensei, which was to say, her, Yu Linna. The young girl didn’t understand what these cards that Chen Xi had left behind were for. She opened them all and was shocked by the words on them.
“Next month’s goal is to hope to let Shion-sensei return to the public’s view. Although the animation was a failure, the quality of the novel is still very good. I hope she can pull herself together.”
“Air-sensei is always in need of discipline. She’s been procrastinating on my manuscript again this month. She’s gotten a little arrogant after the animation’s success. I have to teach her a lesson.”
“Shion-sensei’s condition is getting worse and worse. Am I putting too much pressure on her?”
“I really wish Air-sensei could let me worry less for once. She’s gotten too arrogant. Her figure has even gone out of shape. I really don’t want to manage her.”
“I’ve fought for a chance for Shion-sensei to go to Japan. I hope she can pull herself together.”
“I really wish Air-sensei could have a second long-form work. Just one long-form work can’t be popular for a lifetime.”
The content of these cards was all written with Chen Xi’s own heartfelt words, equivalent to a diary, but the protagonists on them were Zhao Yuyan and Yu Linna. As the two authors under Chen Xi, Chen Xi had always treated them like her own daughters. She also hoped that these two authors could become more and more successful on their creative path.
She had always thought so. Even for the most troublesome Zhao Yuyan, she had also treated her as her own child. Whether it was her, Yu Linna, or Zhao Yuyan, they were all the same in Chen Xi’s heart.
“Although Air-sensei is very talented and very capable, she is just too lazy. It’s really worrying. What if one day her work is finished? Can she launch another hit then? I hope that Air-sensei can have a work besides The Rich Man’s Game. That way, she can go further. I still want to see more works. Air-sensei is a really very talented person. It would be great if she could be a little more diligent.”
“Although Shion-sensei’s novel sales have not been good during this period of time, she is a very talented person. Even if she doesn’t become a novelist, there are other places that are suitable for her. She is very capable. On the contrary, this place, Wenqing, has limited her development. She should be suitable for a bigger stage. She shouldn’t just be a novelist. But she herself has no intention of going to other stages. Forget it. Being a novelist is also quite good.”
Drip.
Yu Linna’s tears fell drop by drop. She, who had already cried enough, was now crying into a tearful person again.
Her heart hurt so much, really so much. Why did it hurt so much?
“Sister Chen…”
She missed her so much, missed her incomparably. At this moment, she really wanted to see that gentle Sister Chen. It would be so great if she were here.
She really wanted to hear her gentle voice again, to eat her cooking again, to hear her stern voice again.
But that was already impossible.
She was gone…
She was no longer in this world.
Every time she thought of these things, she couldn’t help but want to cry. Her voice was already hoarse from crying, and her eyes were also red, but she was just sad.
She took this square box away, asked Chen Xi’s family if she could take this box away. After Chen Xi’s older brother had read the cards in the box, a sour taste filled his heart. He swallowed his bitterness and agreed to Yu Linna’s request. Yu Linna took this box to Zhao Yuyan’s place. After Zhao Yuyan had read these cards, she also cried into a tearful person just like her.
This box was properly preserved by her and Zhao Yuyan, as a truly precious memory. That was the wish that their editor, Chen Xi, had once written on it. As the authors under her, they would not want to disappoint her no matter what.
…
“Nana, are you still not asleep?”
It was already very late, but Yu Linna was still standing on the balcony, looking at the starry sky, not knowing what she was thinking. When Ye Zhiyun got up and saw that she was still there, she couldn’t help but remind her that it was already three in the morning.
“I can’t sleep. You go to sleep first.”
“You silly girl, you’ll ruin yourself like this. Go to sleep now. Your editor wouldn’t want to see you like this, right?”
She held Yu Linna in her arms, coaxing her, hoping that she would not continue to ruin herself like this.
Yu Linna closed her eyes. Her mind was still full of Chen Xi, still her editor’s voice.
“Zhiyun, before, I always felt that as long as Sister Chen was at Wenqing, I could go anywhere. I just felt that it was fine for me to be a novelist, because this profession could make money and also earn me a name. Everyone liked me. I always felt that I was not wrong.”
“You are not wrong now either. How can you be wrong for being a novelist?”
“No, Sister Chen hoped that I would go to a broader stage. She always felt that this place, Wenqing, had wronged me. She felt that my stage was in the world.”
In the past, Yu Linna had never thought of going to a farther place. Although her dream was to go to a higher and farther place, she had never thought of leaving Wenqing, let alone going to a place other than Wenqing.
But Chen Xi hoped that she would not be limited to this place.
She had a more suitable place for her.
Wenqing was only a part of her, not all of it. This was what Chen Xi wanted to tell her.
“Then, what do you think you should do?”
“I don’t know either. But if this is Sister Chen’s wish, I want to try to fulfill it.”
Never before had she wanted to fulfill such a wish. But this was Sister Chen’s wish. Yu Linna wanted to carry this entrustment, this dream, to a bigger stage to complete it.
But to do so without being a novelist, and without leaving Wenqing, to open up a brand new path, to let her fame resound throughout the world, it was not an easy thing to do no matter how you thought about it.
She did indeed dream of letting her name be known throughout the world, and also wanted to go to a higher and farther place. But after joining Wenqing, this thought had faded a lot. But now, she wanted to pick it up again.
…
Chen Xi’s funeral was over, and everything was settled. Even if everyone didn’t want to accept it, they had to accept this fact. As the editor of Shion-sensei and Air-sensei, Chen Xi was no longer here. Her position would surely have to be filled by someone. Wenqing was having a headache over who would replace Chen Xi and be the editor for Shion-sensei and Air-sensei. The authors who were originally under Chen Xi’s editorship had been taken over by other editors one after another. But only Shion-sensei and Air-sensei, no one dared to take them on.
There were also some concerns in this. Because when Chen Xi was around, Shion-sensei and Air-sensei had each had their own glorious periods, and they were also both winners of the Wenqing New Talent Gold Award, and both had explosive popularity at Wenqing. They were also representatives of idol authors. Although Yu Linna herself did not agree with this statement, without a doubt, if you wanted to talk about both looks and talent, the only authors that came to mind at Wenqing were them.
To be their editor, if you were not a very high-status editor, or if your personality was not strong enough, who would dare to be their editor? These two big shots, only Chen Xi had dared to manage them.
And the most fatal thing was that everyone at Wenqing knew that Air-sensei was a salted fish, always the one who procrastinated on her manuscript. They really had no confidence in rushing this god-tier author for her manuscript. In addition, there was Shion-sensei, who was very likely to be promoted to a supreme god author. Her existence was also not to be underestimated. Who had the confidence to be her editor?
Yu Linna did not know about these things. After this, she returned to her normal life and continued to create her manuscript. Even if she was in a very bad mood, at least it was no problem to draw the illustrations. She also had the confidence to get the manuscript out. At the same time, as the end of the year approached, she planned to go back to Japan once to promote The Big Sister Head is a Teacher, which was about to be broadcast on major TV stations in Japan. Besides that, she was also thinking about whether to take on a script to write.
After staying at Ye Zhiyun’s house for a period of time, when she returned to school, everyone was still very worried about her condition, repeatedly asking if she was okay. She would just answer that she was fine. And after returning to school, she quickly returned to her normal life, going to school plainly, working plainly, no different from before. But the more she was like this, the more worried everyone was.
“Have you heard? That big star Nangong Ying is suing her old employer, Chenghe.”
“I know. And Chenghe even lost the case. It’s really surprising.”
“I wonder what will happen to Sister Nangong in the future…”
During this period, Yu Linna had also heard about Nangong Ying’s matter. Although she was quite happy to hear that Chenghe had lost the case, she was clearly not concerned about these things. In this one month, a lot had really happened. It had not been easy to return to the ranks of a great god, and she had thought that everything would develop in a good direction. Who would have thought that such a change would come? But also because of this, it had given her other ideas. She did indeed have plans to open up a battlefield outside the novel circle now.
“Linna, don’t tire yourself out. Here, coffee.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s better to rest early. I know you’ve been very busy recently.”
“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not as weak as you think.”
“But it’s not good to be too strong either.”
Yu Linna smiled wryly, but said nothing.
As the time reached the end of the year, and this December was almost over, Yu Linna also received a phone call from Japan, asking if she could fly to Japan during this period to do promotions. The TV series she had written the script for was about to be broadcast. The people in Japan were also very careful, their tone carrying the meaning that if it was not convenient for her, she didn’t have to come. They naturally understood what Yu Linna had been through recently. They didn’t dare to put too much pressure on Yu Linna.
But Yu Linna did not refuse. She agreed.
