HPDBC Chapter 35 Seeking Leisure
Chapter 35 Seeking Leisure
Because he announced that he would be registering for the college entrance examination this summer and needed to calm down to prepare for it, Yu Zhen moved out of the publishing house's dormitory and has now moved to a large courtyard in Shangxie Road Lane.
With the help of editor Xiao Wu, he rented a two-bedroom apartment.
Preparing for exams was one thing, but in reality, moving out of the dormitory was also because Yu Zhen wanted to find some peace and quiet and didn't want to be frequently disturbed by literary youths who "came to him seeking advice."
Too many young literary enthusiasts who also wanted to make a living through writing wanted to become his apprentices and learn his extraordinary creative skills. They didn't necessarily aspire to create any famous works themselves; they all shared the same goal: to earn a living at "Story Club".
That would be enough.
no way.
A person's name, a tree's shadow.
In one winter, he created 25 excellent stories for the story collection.
Furthermore, the 25 stories were not only compiled into a separate collection but also published as a special issue.
What shocked the entire nation even more was...
The eight major film studios collectively favored those 25 story-level works, and thus divided up all the works in one fell swoop.
Furthermore, the eight major film studios have already made their statements public.
Within the year, each company should release at least one or two films adapted from Yu's works.
Within three years, if any of the publishers that acquire the adaptation rights to Yu's 25 story collections fail to complete film or television adaptations, Yu will have the right to resell the works and grant the rights to production companies with the capability to adapt them into films or television series.
This is backed by such a shocking event in the arts and culture circle that has reverberated throughout the country.
If given the chance, who wouldn't want to become Yu's student and learn even a little bit of his creative wisdom?
Yu Zhen's normal life rhythm was disrupted, so he had no choice but to move out of the dormitory.
As for announcing his registration for the college entrance examination, on the one hand, he did want to attend a prestigious university to enrich his status; on the other hand, he mainly wanted an excuse to avoid a life of leisure.
Of course, he is currently enjoying both fame and fortune, and has no worries about food or clothing.
The issue of identity has already received endorsement from Shanghai municipal officials.
Now they've transformed into a Shanghainese family.
Next, if he doesn't find something new to do, he's afraid that he'll lose sight of his life's goals and quickly become useless. What if he gets so bored that he starts thinking about other things after he's already satisfied, and his little head starts controlling his big head...
Now that he has traveled through time, the many positive changes in his body are truly remarkable. If he were to switch careers and pursue sports, he would absolutely be a national-level athlete.
People really can't suddenly become idle.
Editor Xiao Wu is now the only person who knows his new address and is his only contact with the outside world.
If there's any news from the company, besides contacting him directly by landline, the message has to be relayed through editor Xiao Wu as an intermediary.
As a result, editor Xiao Wu inevitably had a very hard time.
Putting everything else aside, every day he would sift through the letters from readers, and that guy would carry those heavy mailbags weighing dozens of kilograms back and forth.
In any case, within ten days of moving, one of the rooms in the rented two-bedroom apartment, which was originally intended as a study, was piled up against the wall with stacks of letters that were half a person high, and it looked like it was about to take over the entire twenty-square-meter study.
And so, with the publication of the latest issue of Harvest magazine...
The letters from his readers suddenly began to pour in again. Just a few days ago, Xiao Wu only had to forward one package a day, but today the number suddenly doubled.
Editor Xiao Wu greeted him with a pained expression, complaining, "Yu Zhen, I must have owed you something in my past life to be your editor. I'm so unlucky! I'm practically your personal maid!"
Despite her complaints, Wu Ke was actually enjoying herself. The company originally wanted to replace Yu Zhen with a strong and muscular male editor, but she refused, determined to defend the editor's rights to the death.
The company had no choice but to let her have her way.
Of course, this was also out of consideration for writer Yu's sentimentality. Since writer Yu did not take the initiative to suggest changing the editor, the publishing house could not be the bad guy for no reason.
After all, it's not easy to find such a talented young writer.
To put it bluntly, the entire publishing house is now united in treating the great writer Yu like a revered ancestor.
Indeed, Yu Zhen's creative ability and his reputation among readers nationwide are both top-tier in the industry.
If they don't take good care of them, they'll be devastated if some shameless rival journal suddenly poachs their staff.
Yu Zhen ignored the ambiguous words that Xiao Wu, the editor, had used intentionally or unintentionally.
What about exclusive female slaves...?
Although Editor Wu isn't a stunning beauty, her youthful energy is her greatest asset. She's such a good-looking woman with a great personality—oh dear, I shouldn't let my imagination run wild.
"Comrade Wu Ke, why are there so many reader letters today? I've practically disappeared from the public eye lately!"
"Hehe, Mr. Yu, have you forgotten that this month's Harvest magazine will be serializing the second part of your science fiction novel, The Truman Show? But don't get too excited. I reckon that more than half of these reader letters are specifically written to criticize you. Recently, the publishing house's phone lines have been ringing off the hook with calls from readers, all specifically looking for you, wanting to confront you, and demanding to know why you're not focusing on polishing the second part better before publishing it..."
Upon hearing these words, Yu Zhen helplessly shrugged.
"Sigh, readers are too impatient. Don't they have the patience to wait for the sequel, 'The Brain in a Vat'?"
Editor Xiao Wu curled his lip. "Heh, it's fortunate that your sequel was written a long time ago, so everyone is more at ease. The editorial department also explained it to the readers who called. Otherwise, do you think you can hide away and focus on preparing for the college entrance exam? In the entire city of Shanghai, there probably wouldn't be a place for you, the great writer Yu. Don't think I'm bluffing you! You have no idea how crazy the literary youths in society are these days..."
Yu Zhen was still shaken.
Goodness, the literary youth of this era.
He really left a deep impression on me.
If it weren't to escape the trouble of being forced to become an apprentice, or to avoid the idle literary youths, why would he have moved out of the dormitory? Now he lives alone, can no longer eat at the club's canteen, and has to cook for himself.
"Yu Zhen, ahhh...you damn author...ahhhh...please, please don't let me find out where you live..."
Suddenly, through the open window, the angry shouts of a young girl came from downstairs.
Editor Xiao Wu immediately rushed to the window.
Then I saw a young and pretty girl downstairs, holding a new issue of the magazine "Harvest" in her hand, angrily shouting and cursing.
Yu Zhen also approached the window at this moment, and as he peeked out, he happened to meet the gaze of the young girl.
"Little Gong, what are you yelling about?!"
"Uh, Comrade Yu, haven't you read the latest issue of 'Harvest' yet? Our most admired writer, Yu, has published the second part of his science fiction novel, 'The Truman Show.' I'll come upstairs and get it for you, do you want to see it?"
The young girl smiled sweetly, her gaze inadvertently sweeping across Editor Wu's face, a fleeting hint of wariness flashing in her eyes.
As she spoke, the young girl turned and ran towards the stairwell.
Editor Xiao Wu glanced at Yu Zhen and scoffed.
Yu Zhen gave an awkward laugh. "I was a student at the Academy of Fine Arts. Once, while strolling along the Bund, someone pulled me to be their sketching model. Who knew I'd move here and become their neighbor? Don't jump to conclusions, Xiao Wu..."
Wu Ke pouted again. "Didn't you tell her that you're the young, great writer Yu Zhenyao?"