Chapter 306: Someone I Like
After finishing her vacation in Hainan, Yu Linna returned to school. She felt that this vacation was not bad. At least she was quite happy. And after that, An Xiayue followed the crew to Africa for filming. It was estimated that it would take two to three months to wrap up. The conditions there were harsh, and the environment was poor. She didn’t know if this young miss could endure such a great hardship.
As soon as she returned to school, Xiao Yanhan immediately fussed over her, sending her all kinds of delicious food, just like a simp. Although Yu Linna enjoyed it and didn’t refuse the snacks that were sent to her door, just accepting them was enough.
“Linna, you seem to be quite happy.”
Seeing this, Fang Jiangning couldn’t help but tease her.
“Am I?”
“Of course you are. It’s quite obvious.”
Fang Jiangning had known her the longest (in the dorm). How could she not know if she had changed? She knew everything very well.
“Tsk tsk, not simple. You can even see that.”
Xiao Yanhan was inexplicably annoyed. Although she knew that Fang Jiangning had no such feelings for Yu Linna, she still felt annoyed. This was her Yu Linna.
Fang Jiangning didn’t seem to notice Xiao Yanhan’s hostility at all and continued to chat with Yu Linna, handing her a bag of potato chips at the same time.
“It was a bit boring while you were away. The three of us were always wondering how you were doing over there. It seems you had a good time. How was it? The big star’s looks are not bad, right?”
“Pretty good. Sister Yue took good care of me. She often took me to eat delicious food. It was nice.”
“You’re that close to her now? Not bad. As expected of Shion-sensei. So amazing.”
Xiao Yanhan listened to their chat and instantly felt a sense of crisis. How could this be! It’s only been two weeks, and this Yu Linna is already getting along so well with the big star An Xiayue. This is a big crisis!
No, she has to act as soon as possible.
Yu Linna didn’t pay any attention to her, just packed her luggage and put her precious computer on the desk. Then she went out to the balcony to make a phone call.
She hadn’t been in contact with Ye Zhiyun for a while. She didn’t know how she was doing now.
“Zhiyun, how is life abroad?”
“Mmm, so-so. I’m trying to get some startup capital. But I think it will be soon. As long as I get the money, everything will be easy to handle.”
Ye Zhiyun was abroad, thinking of all kinds of ways to raise money. Although her family was rich, it was by no means a simple matter to start a company on her own. She had followed Zendaya’s advice and started as a small photographer, taking photos for business tycoons and wealthy ladies, earning money from the rich. After raising a little money, she went to apply for a job as a photographer, serving as a cinematographer for a commercial TV series, earning more money from it. Plus, she herself had investment business in the country and had earned a sum of money. After Zendaya and Dai Wenqian each took out a sum of money, they could try to get the company started.
It had not been easy to persuade Zendaya to become a partner, but as for what to do next, she had to rely on herself completely.
For the sake of her career, she had even dropped out of school. Although she could still pass her exams, she had no heart for studying.
“Nana, I want to see you.”
“…Me too.”
Yu Linna said with a wry smile.
She found that she was really missing her more and more.
Ye Zhiyun was fighting for her career. She wanted to create her own business empire, and Yu Linna also wanted to create her own era. They were both workaholics, both fighting for their own ideals. It couldn’t be helped that they saw each other less often.
“Nana, are you doing okay now?”
“So-so.”
What she said was actually a lie. In fact, she was not doing well at all.
The evaluation of her new book Demon Child was not high, and the scores were generally very low. People all said that this book was not as good as Ballad of the Enchantress. Only the sales of Zixuan and the Paper Airplane were still decent, but Demon Child really couldn’t be said to be ideal. It should be said that it was far below expectations.
The horror elements and the dark and deep elements implanted in this book were too many, and it even looked a bit like a horror story. She had also used this book to satirize parents’ education, criticize the current school violence, and the indifference of teachers to violence.
Although it was a very good theme, Yu Linna had not grasped the direction of the story well. The whole narrative was bland, and everything was like a pre-set NPC, triggering a plot at a certain plot branch and then starting the plot. And what was most impressive was not the characters, but the terrifying atmosphere that was rendered to the extreme, and the intriguing suspense clues. Despite this, people still gave it a fierce critique.
Those who belittled it felt that it was an entertainment work that was too dark and had no comedy at all. The key was that it also learned from traditional writers and added its own thoughts, reflections on human nature and school violence. This was very fatal in an entertainment work. And those who praised it felt that Shion-sensei had mastered different styles, from fighting themes to daily life themes to horror themes. She had crossed a large span, but she dared to try them all. This was the reason why fans praised Shion-sensei.
But even so, it still flopped. The sales were far below expectations, and it was estimated that the second volume would not be much better. Chen Xi had given Yu Linna a notice, asking her to shorten the original length of Demon Child, from the original ten volumes to be completed within four volumes, and to quickly prepare the next story.
This also gave Yu Linna an ultimatum. This novel was basically being cut short.
Indeed, this was a blow.
To fall from the supreme throne to the mortal world was the most appropriate description for Yu Linna. Now the most popular author at Wenqing was still Air-sensei. Her popularity was getting higher and higher, and there was a trend of her becoming a supreme god. The originally most promising Shion-sensei, whether she could now challenge the position of a supreme god was still an unknown.
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
“You too.”
“See you later, baby.”
“Bye.”
Hanging up the phone, Yu Linna put her phone in her pocket. She still didn’t know what to do with her future, whether she should go forward or find another path. There was no clue at all.
Xiao Yanhan secretly poked her head out of the window, a look of resentment on her face. Just now, Yu Linna was on the phone with someone she had a very good relationship with, and her tone was quite gentle. Xiao Yanhan instantly became jealous and unhappy. She had never seen Yu Linna show such an expression!
“Yanhan, what are you doing? Not drawing?”
“Drawing is not as important as you.”
“Oh, is that so? Then get me a coke.”
“Alright, Your Highness~”
“Pah, disgusting.”
Although she said so, Yu Linna still laughed. Xiao Yanhan was now more and more like a lackey, buying her everything, and even giving her gifts on every holiday, which made Yu Linna feel quite embarrassed. Last time on Xiao Yanhan’s birthday, she had given her a gift, and Xiao Yanhan had been moved for a long time, almost crying. And because Yu Linna herself didn’t celebrate birthdays, Xiao Yanhan would give her gifts on every holiday. Whatever Yu Linna liked, she would try her best to buy.
“Simps don’t get a good end.”
Lan Ranyan said silently.
As the big sister of the dorm, how could she not see Xiao Yanhan’s little thoughts? This girl, to have a crush on anyone was fine, but it had to be Yu Linna. They were both girls. This was a bit scary.
After giving Yu Linna something, Xiao Yanhan received a phone call. After chatting for a few sentences, she started to put on her shoes and socks again, changing into nice clothes.
“Yan, on a date?” Lan Ranyan asked.
“Get lost. I’m going to eat with my high school friends. What are you thinking? Why would I go out to eat with a guy?”
That’s right, you don’t like guys anyway.
Lan Ranyan thought silently in her heart.
Xiao Yanhan’s high school friends were all good friends of hers. They had been in Experimental High School for three years, and during those years, Xiao Yanhan had officially started drawing manga. Her friends had also given her support, but they had not seen her grow. It wasn’t until recently that they learned that her short manga had been published in a magazine, and they had bought the magazine at the first opportunity to support this good friend of theirs.
“Yanhan, long time no see. You seem to have become fairer and more tender. University is really different~”
“Let me tell you, university is very realistic. I had a boyfriend, but that guy was always thinking about sleeping with me. I broke up with him directly. These days, it’s really hard to find a good man.”
“I’m single by my own ability. I don’t need a boyfriend.”
Good friends met again, and there were many topics of conversation. The three of Xiao Yanhan’s friends were all good friends from high school. Although they were not as good-looking as Xiao Yanhan, their looks were still decent, except for one who had gained weight after starting university. The others had all maintained their high school figures.
“Haha, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other. It’s my treat today. I’m a great manga artist now!”
“Yanhan, you just drew one short manga. What great manga artist? You’re bragging.”
“Hey, in any case, I have a manga published now. Am I not a manga artist!”
“Mmm, mmm, right, you’re right. Today’s meal is on Miss Xiao. Applause.”
Her friends laughed. After ordering the dishes on the menu, Xiao Yanhan had the waiter bring some tea, and then they sat down to chat, talking about their university lives. One of her friends happened to ask about whether Xiao Yanhan had a boyfriend.
“Huh? A boyfriend? No, no, I don’t need one.”
“But if you don’t date in university, is that really okay?”
“You can still date without a guy, right? A boyfriend is not important. I don’t need one.”
“So you’re saying you have someone you like?”
Xiao Yanhan immediately spat out her tea, almost spraying it on her friend’s face.
“What-what are you talking about? Where did I get someone I like? Really, stop joking with me!”
Xiao Yanhan’s face was flushed, but she still tried to hide her embarrassment. Her friends looked at each other and all showed comical smiles.
“Oh ho, so you do have someone you like. How is it? Have you confessed?”
“What are you talking about? There’s no such thing!”
“You stubborn girl, your face is all red, and you still won’t admit it.”
“No, no, you’re all just making things up.”
“Is that person very ugly? Is that why you’re denying it so much?”
“Not ugly at all, super cute!”
“Hahaha, now you’re not admitting it. You all heard it, you all heard it. She admitted it.”
“…You guys…”
Xiao Yanhan had lost a lot of face this time. She wished she could just dig a hole and crawl into it. Surrounded by her friends, she was like a circus animal on display, with no face left at all.
The key was that she couldn’t say that the person she liked was her idol, and also a girl.
