Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 66 Still Friends
These days, children aren't so precious. Parents are only responsible for picking them up and dropping them off during the three-day exam period; no one will act as a 'volunteer traffic police officer' outside the exam hall.

Of course, given the current traffic volume in Hengjiang, it is not high enough to affect the exam.

During this period, Zhang Yan spent his days either writing or making phone calls—communicating with the magazine, communicating with Feng Xiaogang and Feng Gong, and having long phone conversations with Chen Hong.

Occasionally, Zhang Yan would receive calls from Jiang Shan and Tao Hong. Tao Hong never mentioned what happened that day; she only reported to Zhang Yan that she was taking extra academic classes and preparing for the art exam.

For Tao Hong, who had been learning to swim since childhood, high school courses were like reading gibberish. Unfortunately, she didn't have the money to hire someone to teach her, so she could only resort to rote memorization.

Fortunately, the performance department has lower requirements for academic scores. Last year, the admission score for the Beijing Film Academy was only 280 points, which was 100 points lower than that for the broadcasting and hosting major.

Three days flew by.

On the afternoon of the last day, Zhang Yan and his parents had just arrived at the entrance of the examination hall when they saw a boy walking out of the hall with a blank expression. He ignored his parents' calls and went straight into the alley across the street.

Seeing his parents chasing after him in a frenzy, Zhang Xingguo shook his head and sighed, "He probably underperformed."

"How could someone who performed poorly hand in their paper early?"

Sun Xiaohong questioned, "I suspect it's hysteria. Children are under increasing pressure these days, and I've heard that there are mental breakdowns every year."

He paused, then added, "Luckily, both of our family members are easygoing."

She was certainly carefree. As soon as Zhang Fang came out of the exam hall, she was jumping and skipping, shouting from afar, "Brother, brother, when are we going to the beach?! Does the beach we want to go to have those jet skis like the ones foreigners have?!"

Zhang Yan had to hold back for a long time before he managed to refrain from flicking her finger.

Let her enjoy herself for a while. If the scores come out in two weeks, and she still hasn't reached the admission score for the Broadcasting Academy, then…

uh~
At that time, I won't even need to lift a finger; my parents will just give me a mixed doubles beating.

The trip to the beach was something Zhang Yan had promised her in advance. Originally, Zhang Yan wanted his parents to go to Tianjin for a while as well, but Zhang Xingguo and Sun Xiaohong were unwilling to take leave.

So by July 12th, only Zhang Yan and his sister Zhang Fang had embarked on their journey to Tianjin.

Once Zhang Fang sat in the passenger seat, she became restless, rummaging through the glove box, fiddling with the radio, and finally fixing her gaze on the stun gun that Zhang Yan had fixed to the back seat: "Brother, how do you use this thing?"

"Don't move!"

As Zhang Yan drove, he shouted, "That's for self-defense on the road!"

In addition to the stun gun, the back seat also contained a motorcycle helmet and an entrenching tool.

These are naturally meant to deal with highway robbers and bandits.

However, Zhang Yan traveled mainly on national highways, even making a detour through the capital, so the journey was relatively uneventful.

After arriving in Tianjin, he spent a few days having a great time with his sister, going up the mountain, down to the sea, and even having a French meal in the Economic Development Zone.

This carefree trip finally came to an end after the 20th, when the deadline for submitting the manuscript was fast approaching.

Because he promised to take his younger sister on a trip, Zhang Yan wrote 40,000 words in advance, but he hasn't copied them yet, so he has to copy them all over again before the 25th.

He sent the manuscript to the editorial department of Popular Fiction Newspaper almost right at the last minute before the deadline.

Upon arriving at the editorial department, Zhang Yan sensed a tense atmosphere. He asked Wang Zhongqi and learned that only over 800,000 copies had been sold since July.

This is a far cry from the peak of 1.2 million copies sold in February, which explains why the editorial department is on high alert.

Zhang Yan asked in bewilderment, "Then why didn't you mention this to me on the phone?"

"I……"

Just as Wang Zhongqi was about to explain, Feng Jingyuan came out of his office and waved to Zhang Yan, saying, "Xiao Zhang, come to my office and let's talk."

Zhang Yan walked into the editor-in-chief's office with some doubts. Feng Jingyuan first gestured for him to sit down with a beaming smile, and then personally poured him tea.

Then, speaking softly, he said, "Xiao Zhang, it's normal for the magazine's sales to have declined a bit since you just changed the subject matter. They'll definitely recover once the story unfolds. Don't put too much pressure on yourself." He understood; the editorial department's intention was for Wang Zhongqi to only report good news and not bad.

The magazine's sales have plummeted, and although there are various reasons for this, he, as the "pillar of the company," must be under considerable pressure.

"I also think this is normal."

Zhang Yan spread his hands and said, "So from the very beginning, I thought of using the method of soliciting readers' submissions to boost the popularity of our magazine."

The theme of superpowers is not new. Before the two main storylines of establishing national organizations and promoting scientific and technological development emerged, this novel was just more "exciting" and had not yet achieved a level of dominance that could overwhelm the competition. It is normal that its appeal has declined.

Zhang Yan launched the "superpower solicitation" among readers in order to create a wider publicity effect when the main storyline was released, thereby attracting new readers who were interested in the topic.

After hearing his plan, Feng Jingyuan couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect you to be so far ahead and have such deep and far-reaching thoughts than I did. It seems that in a few years, I should pass this position to you."

Zhang Yan exaggeratedly shrugged and said, "If you want to be the president, just say so. There's no need to drag me into this as a cover."

"Hahaha~"

Feng Jingyuan laughed a few times, then couldn't help but sigh, "I wonder when our magazine will be able to return to its peak."

"There were only a few days of peak performance in total, right?"

Zhang Yan complained, "I think this is a case of going from frugality to extravagance being easy, but going from extravagance to frugality being difficult. If you compare it to the sales of 40 copies in the first half of last year, it's already quite good."

"People strive to rise higher, just as water flows downhill."

As Feng Jingyuan was speaking, Zhang Yan's pager went off. He took it off, glanced at it, and his expression turned somewhat strange.

This number...

If I remember correctly, it was Zhou Tao's landline—although the two were already married, they still lived in their original rented apartment.

Not knowing what Zhou Tao wanted to talk to him about, Zhang Yan became somewhat distracted. Feng Jingyuan could see this, so he stood up and said, "You go back to your phone first, I'll go check the manuscript you brought."

After Feng Jingyuan left, Zhang Yan quickly called back.

However, the moment the call connected, he and Zhou Tao on the other end of the line remained silent. After a while, Zhang Yan took the initiative to ask with a smile, "How have you been lately? Have you found a chance to transfer?"

"not yet."

Zhou Tao on the other end of the line said in a somewhat stiff tone, "I'm calling to tell you that the radio version of 'The Great Detective of the Red Chamber' will be launched on August 1st."

Because Yao Ke was transferred to the Literature and Art Department, and was too timid to make demands in front of his superiors, the radio drama has only now finally been launched.

If it launches in March, it will definitely benefit the sales of genuine products.

But now piracy is rampant, and it has even spread to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Even if radio dramas can generate some traffic, it will probably be a drop in the ocean.

However, Zhang Yan still planned to contact the publishing department to ask if they had any plans to print another 50,000 copies.

After finishing discussing business, Zhou Tao fell silent again.

Zhang Yan could only continue the conversation: "How is married life?"

"That's it."

Zhou Tao's tone finally changed slightly: "The same as before marriage, the same as after marriage. I originally wanted to apply for staff dormitory, but after submitting the report, nothing happened."

Sensing the resentment in her voice, Zhang Yan almost couldn't help but reveal that he was planning to spend 100,000 yuan to buy a courtyard house in Beijing.

However, he ultimately didn't want to upset Zhou Tao, and simply said, "If you encounter any difficulties in the future, just let me know. No matter what, we're still friends, right?"

Zhou Tao remained silent for a long time before softly uttering a single word: "Mm."

(End of this chapter)