After Being Bent by Reader

There were few customers in the teahouse at this hour. Murong Shi and Rosa ordered a coffee and a milk tea, respectively. They also paired their drinks with some snacks. 

When the waiter served their order, they halted their conversation for the moment. Then, after taking a sip of her milk tea, Rosa commented, "The milk tea in Taiwan is still better."

Meanwhile, Murong Shi also took a sip of her coffee before asking, "Will you be returning soon?"

"Yes." Setting down her cup, Rosa pointed her chin at the paper bag beside Murong Shi and said, "I was in a hurry this time, so I didn't get to read through those books properly. However, while I might've only briefly looked through them, the lovely stories still attracted me deeply. I've been sacrificing sleep for the past few days to finish them."

"I will say thank you on her behalf," Murong Shi said, smiling.

"But it's a bit too early to thank me."

Murong Shi grew confused.

Crossing her legs, Rosa solemnly said, "Taiwan indeed allows the publication of books of this genre. However, yuri is still a niche genre among the general audience. So, the difficulty of getting a publication is significantly greater."

Murong Shi quietly listened to Rosa.

Then, Rosa continued, "Because of the small audience, we have to consider not just the quality of the author's work, but also the author's reputation. Of course, I'm not saying that your girlfriend isn't famous. I've seen her online statistics. From the number of views and bookmarks she has, she seems to be quite outstanding among yuri authors."

"She often underestimates and ridicules herself, saying that she's a nobody." Seeing that the other party was still behaving tactfully, Murong Shi frankly asked, "So, do you mean to say that her works are unfit for publication?"

"No, no, no," Rosa hurriedly said and shook her head. "There is no question that your girlfriend's work is excellent.

"Her writing is exquisite, and her sweet love stories fit the market very well. If going by my personal preferences, I would very much like to cooperate with such an author. However, I need to make it clear to you that our editor-in-chief prefers novels with a strong narrative such as Ange's novels."

Speaking of Ange, Murong Shi couldn't help but recall her chance encounter on her flight back from Taiwan.

Murong Shi had gotten acquainted with Rosa while flying back from Taiwan. Of the three seats in their row, Linda sat in the window seat, Murong Shi sat in the middle seat, and Rosa sat in the outer seat. After the plane took off, Linda quickly fell asleep because of her exhaustion, while Murong Shi took out a magazine from the seat pocket in front of her.

Unfortunately, the magazines prepared were all written in traditional Chinese, and reading them gave Murong Shi a headache. Just after she had returned the magazines and was about to get some shut-eye, she coincidentally caught a glimpse of the thick book the passenger beside her was reading.

Meanwhile, probably aware of Murong Shi's prying eyes, Rosa turned to her and smiled, saying, "Having nothing to do on a three-hour flight is boring, right?"

Murong Shi didn't expect Rosa to strike up a conversation with her. So, she smiled back and said, "Indeed, it is very boring."

Then, Rosa suppressed her voice and complained, "The magazines provided by this airline are boring as hell, so I always bring a book with me."

Noticing the book Rosa held, Murong Shi examined Rosa's face and asked, "Judging by your accent, you should also be from the Mainland, right? But all of the words in your book are traditional characters. Isn't it tough to read?"

Flipping the pages of her book, Rosa said, "You mean this? I work as an editor in a Taiwanese publishing firm, so I read these characters every day. I've long since gotten used to them."

By chance, Murong Shi noticed the words written on the book cover. And when she saw the words "Author Ange," she thought she was hallucinating and subconsciously muttered, "Ange?"

"This is a mainland author who is very well-known in the novel industry. The novels she writes are beautiful, but the genre is somewhat unique."

Smiling, Murong Shi casually said, "I know this author."

As if she had just found her soulmate, Rosa's eyes sparkled as she asked, "Have you read her novels?"

"A little bit," Murong Shi said, her mouth twitching slightly. "I know this author in real life. We've even shared more than a few meals."

"What a coincidence!" Rosa exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock.

This was also an unexpected situation for Murong Shi.

Out of boredom, Murong Shi decided to continue her conversation with Rosa. She listened to Rosa talking on and on about Ange's novels. Meanwhile, Rosa used this opportunity to ask about Ange, such as her height and temper in real life.

After thinking about it for a while, Murong Shi summarized her answer and said, "She's okay."

Meanwhile, all of this happened a week ago.

After retracting her thoughts, Murong Shi looked Rosa straight in the eye and said, "Please give it to me straight."

Feeling a little embarrassed, Rosa said, "I am not the editor-in-chief, after all, so I cannot give you a definite answer. Do you know what I'm trying to say?"

After pondering for a moment, Murong Shi said, "Then, how likely do you think that my girlfriend's novel will receive approval for publication?"

"I am only 50% confident right now. But I really like your girlfriend's works, so I'll do my best to convince the editor-in-chief once I return."

In other words, the chances of Xu Chuanchuan's novels being published were still up in the air.

Murong Shi didn't know much about matters relating to novel publication. So, she had previously exchanged WeChat information on the plane, and she would frequently pester Rosa, asking her many questions. Fortunately, Rosa was a patient and mild-tempered person, and she willingly shared plenty of detailed information with Murong Shi.

Although Xu Chuanchuan had always said that she only intended to earn some pocket money through her novels and that she wasn't doing it for fame, whenever she brought up Ange, Murong Shi could see the envy on her face.

"Ange is going to sell the film rights to her latest novel again. I heard many companies fought for it. How amazing."

"Did you know? Before Ange even published a single chapter for her latest work, the publisher has already signed a contract with her. Hah... The treatment of a god-level author really is different."

Xu Chuanchuan had spoken such words countless times.

After dating together for half a year, Murong Shi had already gained a thorough understanding of her lover's character. Xu Chuanchuan wasn't settling for mediocrity because she wanted to. Instead, she felt that her abilities were lacking, so she dared not hope for too much.

So, after hearing Rosa talking about the publication matters of Ange's novels on the plane, Murong Shi had the thought of helping Xu Chuanchuan get her novels published.

Although Xu Chuanchuan wasn't as famous as Ange, Murong Shi felt that the quality of Xu Chuanchuan's work was not the slightest bit inferior compared to Ange's. So, why could Ange's work receive publication while Xu Chuanchuan's couldn't?

The frequent contact Murong Shi had with Rosa for the past few days was also for this matter. Murong Shi was indeed trying to give Xu Chuanchuan a surprise.

However, Murong Shi also knew how difficult and unlikely the chances of getting a novel published, so before everything was set in stone, she didn't wish for her lover to find out about it. And to prevent any possibilities of Xu Chuanchuan finding out, Murong Shi had changed her phone's security measures.

Only, Murong Shi had forgotten how much of a worrywart and a sensitive person Xu Chuanchuan was, and her preventive measures ended up causing Xu Chuanchuan to grow suspicious instead. They even nearly broke into an argument because of this situation.

Since Rosa would be returning to Taiwan soon, Murong Shi treated her meet-up today as a send-off. Before leaving, she gave Rosa a set of beauty products and said, "Once the result is out, make sure to notify me about it. Contact me even if it fails."

"Even if it fails?" Rosa asked in confusion.

In response, Murong Shi frankly said, "I promised her I would be giving her a surprise. If your firm can't publish the book, I plan to fund the publication myself."

"You want to self-publicize?"

"Mhm. I want to fulfill her dream."

Rosa was stunned by Murong Shi's words. Then, after switching her gaze between the expensive beauty products and Murong Shi's face, she enviously said, "You are very kind to your girlfriend."

Murong Shi smiled but did not speak.

After sending off Rosa, Murong Shi returned to the car.

Linda had already been playing with her phone for half an hour. When she heard the door opening and saw Murong Shi getting into the car, she grew a little confused but kept her mouth shut.

The desserts the teahouse served were good, so Murong Shi packed two sets and gave one to Linda. She also took the wheel so that Linda could eat in the car.

Pointing at the other set, Linda asked the obvious, "Who's that for?"

"Who else?" Murong Shi said, smiling. Before stepping on the accelerator, Murong Shi pulled out her phone and messaged Xu Chuanchuan: "Come to my office ten minutes later. I'm bringing back something delicious for you."

After returning to the company, Linda went to deal with her work while Murong Shi returned to her office.

However, when Murong Shi arrived in her office, she found the place to be deserted. In addition, the curtains were closed, the air conditioner was silent, and the lights were dark. Confused, Murong Shi wondered, Did she not see my message?

Murong Shi placed her car keys, bag, and desserts on her office desk. Just as she was about to pull out her phone and message Xu Chuanchuan, a person suddenly snuck out from under the desk.

"Surprise!"