After a moment of darkness, Xia Yu found himself facing a somewhat unfamiliar desk.
Wen Zhiying was still in the countryside.
On the desk lay a stack of manuscript paper, with only the four words “Mistaken Path” written on the top sheet.
That must be the title of the novel.
“What kind of story are you planning to write?” Xia Yu asked.
He had originally assumed Wen Zhiying would continue writing romantic stories, which she excelled at, but her response surprised him.
Wen Zhiying said, “It’s about five people taking a shortcut and discovering that no matter how they walk, they can’t escape the path. When they try to cut through the nearby woods, they get attacked by monsters.”
“A horror novel?” Xia Yu asked, surprised.
“Mm-hmm.” Wen Zhiying’s tone remained calm, not appearing to be joking.
After thinking for a moment, Xia Yu asked, “Is it a story where the male and female leads, who were on the verge of breaking up, deepen their relationship through successive trials, and eventually escape successfully and reconcile?”
This was a very clichéd plot, yet most best-selling novels and movies followed such patterns.
“The beginning is, but not the end.” Wen Zhiying chuckled twice, “Two couples gradually reconcile, but they all die.”
Continuing to speak, Wen Zhiying’s voice carried excitement: “I’ll write it subtly, depicting one couple who only care about each other, another couple with a spirit of universal love, and an ordinary single man.”
Xia Yu pondered for a while, somewhat guessing Wen Zhiying’s intention.
Indeed, Wen Zhiying’s explanation was almost exactly what Xia Yu had imagined.
Wen Zhiying said, “At the beginning of the story, readers will think I’m writing about mutual understanding, believing the two couples will surely survive. By the middle of the story, the couple who only love each other die, leading readers to think I’m writing about universal love, believing the universally loving couple will survive. But in the end, the universally loving couple also dies out of sympathy for the monsters, and the only one who survives is the ordinary single man!”
“Although it feels great from the author’s perspective, it might be a bit cruel for readers.” Xia Yu subtly hinted to Wen Zhiying that such a plot might not be well received.
“It doesn’t matter. As long as I’m happy, that’s enough.” Wen Zhiying seemed indifferent in her words, but Xia Yu sensed some anxiety from her.
Apparently, she still cared about the book’s sales. After all, she had been deeply saddened by just a single reader’s slight criticism last time.
With nothing else to do, Xia Yu stood up, walked around casually, and admired the scenery.
It was already nearly four in the afternoon. The sun had long lost its midday warmth, and the countryside was even a bit cold.
As Xia Yu was thinking whether he could start a fire in the woods later, Wen Zhiying said to him, “Can you go to the city and bring me something?”
“Sure.” Xia Yu readily agreed; he had been wondering what to do anyway.
Taking the bus to the city and then hailing a taxi, Xia Yu arrived at Wen Zhiying’s former residence as it had completely darkened.
Taking money from Wen Zhiying’s pocket to pay, Xia Yu got out and walked into the building.
Following Wen Zhiying’s instructions, Xia Yu opened the drawer and retrieved a stack of manuscript paper.
Glancing at it, Xia Yu recognized it as the manuscript for the story about the thug and the noble female warden. It seemed Wen Zhiying, despite her stubbornness, had indeed prepared to use this love story after all.
Unapologetically flipping through it, Xia Yu noticed that the plot had expanded significantly.
“When did you write this?” Xia Yu was surprised. Unless Wen Zhiying had used her time during previous manuscript deadlines for this novel, she shouldn’t have had time to write this.
After all, she had been in the countryside these days.
Wen Zhiying’s voice was slow in coming. Xia Yu shifted his attention from the manuscript and sensed Wen Zhiying’s emotions.
Wen Zhiying was… somewhat fearful?
She had seemed fine when she asked him to fetch the manuscript, so why had she suddenly become fearful?
Looking at the desk, Xia Yu saw a blue letter. It was probably the previous letter from that pen pal who had criticized Wen Zhiying’s novel, causing her to retreat to the countryside in distress.
Before Xia Yu could ask, Wen Zhiying’s emotions returned to normal.
“What’s wrong?” Xia Yu didn’t ask directly; Wen Zhiying didn’t know he could sense her emotions.
“Nothing.” Wen Zhiying’s voice also sounded somewhat downcast.
Indeed, there was something wrong.
Xia Yu had previously felt that Wen Zhiying’s retreat to the countryside over such a small matter was an overreaction. Although it was normal for writers to face mental pressure, their stress resistance was generally quite strong.
He once again recalled the intelligence that Yu Mengmeng had previously gathered from Wen Zhiying’s former neighbors.
In the intelligence, the neighbors mentioned occasionally hearing faint crying sounds.
The clue of crying could point to various issues, such as poverty, weakness, or stupidity. Xia Yu couldn’t determine anything valuable.
Could it be that Wen Zhiying was a perfectionist, and even slight criticism of her book would throw her into emotional imbalance?
As Xia Yu idly speculated, he placed the manuscript into a folder and left the room.
Coming downstairs, he was just about to raise his hand to hail a taxi when he suddenly heard Wen Zhiying speak: “The person coming from your right is the one who sent me that letter criticizing my novel. Be careful.”
After the failure of the TV drama “White Bird,” Bo Huijia had shifted the blame onto Wen Zhiying. Xia Yu later helped her clarify the situation. Before the clarification, Wen Zhiying had received an accusatory letter.
At the time, Xia Yu had suspected the letter was from Wen Zhiying’s neighbor, and now it seemed that was indeed the case.
Looking at the man quickly approaching him—short in stature but broad-shouldered—Xia Yu asked Wen Zhiying, “What’s his deal?”
“He sent me another letter, and I just happened to catch him,” Wen Zhiying explained. “He’s not here to apologize but believes I used my industry influence to shift everything onto Bo Huijia, claiming Bo Huijia was telling the truth.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Yu took another careful look at the approaching man. The guy had thick eyebrows and big eyes; who would have thought he was a brainless fan.
The man soon reached Xia Yu, stopping in front of him.
He didn’t speak but simply blocked Xia Yu’s path, glaring at him.
Wen Zhiying’s body was shorter than the man’s, so for Xia Yu to maintain an equal gaze, he had to look up, which was quite inconvenient.
“Do you have anything to say?” Xia Yu asked impatiently.
“Don’t you have anything to say about Bo Huijia?” the man asked, self-righteously.
“I have nothing to say about Bo Huijia, but I do have something to say about you,” Xia Yu replied.
The man was somewhat surprised and curious, but he quickly adjusted his mindset.
Crossing his arms and standing straight, he looked down at Xia Yu: “What is it?”
“Sandiao.” Xia Yu answered with a smile.
“Sandiao?” The man couldn’t believe his ears.
“Sandiao without ears.” Xia Yu provoked again.
The man’s face turned red with anger.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage