Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 315 Distance
Zhai Da ultimately decided to stay an extra day.

Don't ask, the answer is that I'm worried about the teacher's health, so I'll come to peel apples again tomorrow.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, it was time for Professor Qian to rest. His wife brought dinner to take over. Zhai Da ate a few dumplings made by his wife and then left.

The teacher is really tired today; her eyelids are drooping. Eight or nine groups of people came to visit her this afternoon.

The meaning behind it warmed Zhai Da's heart.

After leaving Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Zhai Da stretched and took a deep breath.

As a result, I ended up with a mouthful of sand.

The sky was a bright yellow, and although it wasn't quite a sandstorm yet, the smell of dust was very strong.

It's a tough situation. If smog can be managed on its own, then sandstorms are much more difficult to deal with.

It seems like every spring in northern Beijing is like this: sandstorms from Mongolia come and go, and the disorderly development of a small country with 300 million people affects more than a hundred times that number of people.

I wonder if this is related to Mr. Qian's lung infection.

It seems unnecessary to go to the hospital; we can get the whole air purification system when Mr. Qian comes home next time.

Although the dormitory had everything it needed and there were security personnel at the entrance, some new things in life might not have been thought of if no one mentioned them.

Just as I was pondering this, a rugged-looking Land Rover pulled up to the side of the road. The window rolled down, revealing a pretty face inside the driver's seat.

Her large, jewel-like eyes curved into the shape of the moon.

The little deer was dressed in a Chanel-style outfit with solid-color wide-leg pants, looking both elegant and lively, and she also had a cute hair clip in her hair.

Lu Siwen said with a charming smile, "Hello passenger, Little Deer Taxi is at your service~"

Zhai Da smiled and got into the passenger seat: "You've really made something of yourself, you can drive now."

Lu Siwen said smugly, "Well, I did take the exam seriously, so I just need to familiarize myself with it a bit. Let's get ready to go!"

Then, confidently, he turned on the windshield wipers and signaled to the car in front that he wanted to merge to the left.

Zhai Da silently reached out a hand to turn off the windshield wipers, then pressed down on Lu Siwen's small hand as she was about to shift into reverse.

Lu Siwen trembled, her cheeks flushing slightly: "What's wrong?"

Zhai Da said in a deep and solemn voice:

"I come."

Half an hour later, at Qianmen in Dongcheng District, there was Baodu Feng.

Zhai Da originally planned to visit the sick, meet with Lu Siwen whom he hadn't seen during the Qingming Festival, and then take a late-night flight back to Harbin.

I'm planning to stay an extra day now. While I've changed my flight, my idea of ​​getting two plates of tripe hasn't changed.

This was a place Lu Siwen had carefully investigated. When Zhai Da said he wanted to eat tripe, Lu Siwen did his homework and even came to check the goods at noon. This was an old restaurant in northern Beijing, practically located in the "AUV tunnel".

If you're wondering why it took half an hour to drive there, even though it's in the tiny Dongcheng District, let's ask the Beijing North Evening Rush Hour for the answer.

Upon learning that Zhai Da would be staying an extra day, Xiao Lu visibly cheered up and stopped rushing to dinner, even though she had mentally prepared herself to have a quick meal before sending Zhai Da to the airport.

"By the way, what did Zhai go to the hospital for? Is something wrong?"

Zhai Da shook his head: "Just visiting someone in the hospital. How are the sales of 'The Story of Dongyang'?"

Lu Siwen pulled a small notebook from her purse; she seemed to have many of these Tiffany blue notebooks: "First month sales: 20; current total sales: 22.6."

Zhai Da pointed curiously at the notebook: "You remember it so clearly, with both whole and odd numbers?"

Lu Siwen proudly held it up and showed it to Zhai Da: "Of course, I work very hard!"

Above, in addition to her own sales records for "The Story of Dongyang", even "The Time-Traveling Cohabitation Manual" was hand-drawn in a table.

This includes sales figures, rankings, online topics, and reputation analysis.

Her delicate, pink fingers were pointing to the small square on the screen that indicated Zhai Da's Weibo followers had surpassed 600 million.

Zhai Da thought to himself that Xiao Lu was really hardworking, or rather, she was working hard silently in places he couldn't see.

It could even be said that it was precisely because of Lu Siwen, his collaborator, that he was able to be such a "painless" writer, with virtually no worries. Even online public opinion was monitored by Lu Siwen, who could be said to be equivalent to half of a studio.

Even after becoming a writer herself, this "literary goddess of Peking University" did not slack off on any work related to Zhai Da, even though Zhai Da never asked about it.

After looking at the table, Zhai Da said, "It seems that the growth rate of your books has slowed down?"

Lu Siwen said with distress, "My father had someone conduct a survey. Actually, because of the length and seriousness of my book, very few readers have finished reading it, only 9%. The editor said that this is normal and that we should take a slow and steady approach."

Physical books also need to have a completion rate, because most word-of-mouth and word-of-mouth come from readers who finish reading the whole book.

The quality of "The Story of Dongyang" is absolutely fine, but as a long novel of over 200,000 words, it takes time to read, and some readers may abandon it due to its perceived difficulty. A 9% sales figure in one month is already quite good, and that's only thanks to the fame of the "Goddess of Peking University" and the influence of online traffic. In other words, it may take one or two years, or even longer, to realize its full sales potential.

It's actually quite impressive that a debut work sold 20 copies in a month, and it's a serious literary work.

If we were to first expel Zhai Da from the ranks of writers, he would already be the strongest new writer in recent years.

Zhai Da nodded and handed it back to Lu Siwen: "Are there any directions we can work towards?"

That's the question, but in his opinion, there's not much an author can do after a book is published.

Lu Siwen thought for a moment and said, "Uncle Lou said there are only two directions, the first is a book signing event."

Zhai Da immediately raised his hand: "Whatever the second option is, I suggest you choose the second one."

Lu Siwen pursed her pink lips. She was actually quite curious about the autograph session, but listening to Zhai Da was always the right thing to do.

"Another approach is to participate in some television programs. The idea is the same: to promote the book while constantly reminding readers that they have it. However, Phoenix Media is a state-owned enterprise and doesn't have many resources in this area."

To be precise, it was Editor-in-Chief Lou En who brought out his old favorite resource again: If You Are the One!

However, Lu Siwen naturally rejected the idea, even though she wasn't the top scorer in the college entrance examination.

But she's got a sharp mind! Hmph~
Lu Zetao, Xiaolu's father, is sorting through the resources at hand to see if there's anything, however inconvenient, he can help his daughter.

The conversation then veered off into many different topics, covering everything under the sun.

The child sponsored by Lu Siwen from the Dongyang County Welfare Home was admitted to high school.

When I got to school, I felt a bit alienated from everyone.

As for Zhai Da, are there any plans for a new book?

She enjoys talking, listening, and especially being with Zhai Da.

After dinner, Zhai Da originally planned to find a hotel nearby, but Lu Siwen suggested that he stay at "Ziyan Garden". Lu Siwen rarely stayed at that house; it was mostly Zhai Da who slept there.

Although she has recently felt a bit distant from her classmates and roommates because of her new identity as a writer, she still insists on staying in the dormitory.

Zhai Da, also a writer, couldn't offer her much advice on this matter.

Boys and girls are quite different.

Zhai Da drove again, but after returning to Ziyan Garden, Lu Siwen parked in the garage.

Zhai Da turned his head and saw Lu Siwen standing straight with her hands behind her back, her wide-leg pants without a single gap.

"You have the key, so I won't go up. I'll just go back to school."

"The sheets and duvet cover have been changed, the toothbrush is in the cabinet behind the mirror, and your special slippers are on the second shelf of the shoe cabinet. I'm leaving now~?"

Zhai Da smiled and said, "Okay, you've saved me money on the hotel again. You don't need to worry about me tomorrow. I'll go to the hospital again and then head straight to the airport."

Lu Siwen waved her hand and parted ways with Zhai Da in the garage without any hesitation.

One of them took the elevator up from Building 2, and the other took it from Building 3, which was closer to the main gate of the complex.

However, after reaching the ground, Lu Siwen did not leave immediately. Instead, she stood under the dim streetlights, looking up at a certain window.

A moment later, the lights in the room were turned on, and an indistinct figure came to the window, seemingly looking at the night view.

Lu Siwen quickly hid behind a streetlamp.

She knew very well that she couldn't go up there.

Only with this kind of self-awareness would Zhai Da still be willing to stay here every time he comes to northern Beijing.

She really wanted to continue being with Zhai Da, brewing him a pot of Kung Fu tea in the house, refilling his cup again and again, and chatting with him casually.

But, only by maintaining distance.

Only then can we maintain distance.

The tall figure didn't linger in the darkness for long. He placed his backpack on the coffee table by the window and began to organize his things.

Lu Siwen showed half of her face, staring blankly.

A moment later, Lu Siwen patted her small chest and took a deep breath, but all she could smell was the dust in her mouth.

Lu Siwen glanced one last time at the streetlights overhead, then, carrying her small bag in both hands, turned around gracefully and walked into the night.

The wide-leg pants created folds like a skirt.

(End of this chapter)