Today is a holiday, so Xia Yu doesn’t need to work. He spent the morning playing games in the living room with Xu Youxiang and An Siyao.
In the afternoon, Xia Yu lay on his bed and logged into Wen Ziying’s body.
After a moment of darkness, he saw the familiar ceiling.
Wen Ziying was also lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Sensing that Wen Ziying’s mood was low, Xia Yu nervously asked, “How’s the new book doing?”
Wen Ziying replied weakly, “It flopped terribly, like all the way to Grandma’s house.”
“Oh,” Xia Yu smiled. Everything was going as planned.
Even though Wen Ziying had said she wanted her book to fail, she still felt down when it actually did.
To change her focus, Xia Yu said, “Then let’s talk about the translation work?”
“Not yet,” Wen Ziying replied.
“What do you mean not yet?” Xia Yu asked in confusion.
“Although the book flopped, the publishing house is over the moon,” Wen Ziying said bitterly.
“What happened?” Xia Yu was surprised.
“A famous director is interested in my book and plans to adapt it into a movie. They just contacted the publisher, and they’re in talks now,” Wen Ziying sighed, feeling helpless.
“…”
Xia Yu furrowed his brow and checked Wen Ziying’s list of buffs.
[Inspiration Boost Lv.2, Screenwriting Boost Lv.2, Language Boost Lv.2]
He looked it over from every angle but couldn’t find any “luck” buff.
How come Wen Ziying always had such good fortune? Her previous horror novel was on the verge of failure, but then it received a boost from a prestigious award. Now this horror-comedy truly flopped, and a director approached about adapting it.
“Sigh, what kind of book can flop like that!” Wen Ziying lamented.
“You’re going to make your fellow authors want to beat you up,” Xia Yu said.
“But I really want to flop,” Wen Ziying sighed again.
“Well, since it flopped anyway, can’t you just convince yourself it flopped?” Xia Yu added.
“But the publisher is still asking me for another novel. This time, they don’t even care about the genre—just let me write whatever I want,” Wen Ziying sounded a bit wronged.
“Then write something purely literary, or an experimental novel—go as obscure as possible,” Xia Yu suggested, not believing that kind of book could become a bestseller or get adapted.
“That sounds good,” Wen Ziying thought this suggestion was reasonable.
She began discussing the novel’s theme with Xia Yu.
“How can I make it as obscure as possible?” she asked him.
“That’s simple. Whatever others like to read, you do the opposite,” Xia Yu said.
“Right, adults aren’t interested in animal characters, and children aren’t interested in adult stories. I’ll use adult themes to write about a group of animals!” Wen Ziying got the idea quickly. “They like comedies, so I’ll write a tragedy instead. They like stories about one main character, so I won’t…”
Helping Wen Ziying jot down these ideas on a piece of paper, Xia Yu looked at it with satisfaction, convinced Wen Ziying’s book was guaranteed to flop.
“No, I’m too excited now. I’ll tell you, you take notes,” Wen Ziying began listing plot fragments.
These fragments were scattered and lacked any coherence. As Xia Yu wrote them down, he looked at the absurd storyline and felt the book was doomed.
Eight hours later, Xia Yu returned to his own body.
He walked out of the bedroom, poured a cup of coffee, and drank it.
Wen Ziying said she could finish the book in a week at most, and then they could see it flop.
After it flopped, he could complete the mission and obtain a star shard.
What could that star shard be used for?
Xia Yu looked forward to it.
Back in his bedroom, he checked the time. It was ten o’clock at night—still early. He decided to play some games.
During the game’s startup screen, Xia Yu glanced at his phone and saw five missed calls—all from Zhu Mei.
He ignored them and placed the phone aside. Ten minutes later, Zhu Mei called again.
Pausing the game, Xia Yu picked up the phone and answered.
“Can you come out and keep me company?” Zhu Mei’s voice came through.
“No,” Xia Yu refused without hesitation.
“I want to go to a bar,” Zhu Mei said again.
“You can want to go to the moon, but it won’t work,” Xia Yu replied.
“I’m already at the bar,” Zhu Mei said.
“…” Xia Yu turned off the game console. “Where are you?”
Zhu Mei gave him the address.
Leaving his room, Xia Yu drove there.
Given Zhu Mei’s looks, trouble was guaranteed if she stayed at a bar. He couldn’t just leave her alone.
Arriving in front of the bar, Xia Yu got out of the car. As he walked inside, he called Zhu Mei again. “Where exactly are you?”
“On the opposite side,” Zhu Mei answered, her voice cheerful.
“Opposite side? What do you mean, across from the bar?” Xia Yu asked, confused.
“I’m across from the bar, at Yuejiuzhu Café,” Zhu Mei clarified.
“???”
Xia Yu turned around and looked at the café across the street. Zhu Mei was waving at him.
Was I tricked by a girl? Xia Yu found it hard to accept. If Zhu Mei had said she was at a café, he would have refused outright.
He went to the café and sat in front of Zhu Mei. “Didn’t you say you were at the bar?”
“I said I arrived at the bar, not that I went inside,” Zhu Mei played with words.
Xia Yu didn’t bother arguing and reached out to tap her head.
“It hurts,” Zhu Mei covered her head and looked at Xia Yu pitifully.
If An Siyao or Xu Youxiang made such an expression, it would make one want to hug them. But when Zhu Mei did it, it only made one want to pin her down.
After adjusting his mood, Xia Yu asked, “What’s going on?”
“They’re all leaving. They’re going back the day after tomorrow,” Zhu Mei said, sounding depressed.
“What about you?” Xia Yu’s mood also darkened. Zhu Mei wasn’t returning home—she was heading to a battlefield.
“I don’t want to go,” Zhu Mei grabbed Xia Yu’s hand and stared at him intensely.
This made Xia Yu a bit uneasy. He pulled his hand back, trying to figure out the current situation.
“Can I stay with you?” Zhu Mei stood up from her seat and leaned close to Xia Yu’s face.
Xia Yu rubbed his forehead. What kind of ridiculous plot was this? When did his relationship with Zhu Mei reach this point?
“No,” Xia Yu rejected Zhu Mei. After all, he had a girlfriend.
Looking at Zhu Mei, he hadn’t expected that while he considered her a friend, she wanted to do something like this to him.
Zhu Mei didn’t seem disappointed by the rejection. She said to Xia Yu, “Then can you keep me company at the bar tonight?”
Xia Yu didn’t understand Zhu Mei’s logic, but as long as she didn’t bring up what just happened, he could discuss it.
Getting into the car with Zhu Mei, Xia Yu took her to the hotel from yesterday.
“We’re here. Get out,” Xia Yu told Zhu Mei.
“…” Zhu Mei looked at Xia Yu for a moment, then silently got out of the car.
The following routine was the same as last night. Xia Yu watched Zhu Mei get drunk, then left her in one of the bedrooms.
Yawning, Xia Yu went to another bedroom to sleep.
Not sure how much time had passed, Xia Yu suddenly heard a soft voice calling him in his sleep: “Xiongxiong, Xiongxiong.”
“Hmm?” Xia Yu barely opened his eyes and saw Zhu Mei leaning over him.
He reached out and patted Zhu Mei’s head. The entire scene was just like when he used the brown bear’s body.
After patting her twice and seeing the joy on Zhu Mei’s face, Xia Yu suddenly became fully alert.
Oh no, something might have gone wrong.
Damn it, after being tricked, he was trapped again!
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