Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

After Han Fei calmed down from the joy of success, he suddenly realized that this success had not made him relax much. Before the model went live, his goal was to keep the Bluebird alive, but once he achieved that goal, he knew that he had not yet reached the end of the journey, or rather, this was not the end he had imagined, or the end had changed, or he had changed, or who the hell knew what had happened.

The key point is that his nerves are still on edge, and success is no longer as sweet as it was at the beginning. This impressive report card raises a question: What's next?

At 9:30 a.m., the impressive achievement of a 13.7% paid subscription rate on the first day of the new SP model's launch had already reached the ears of everyone at the publishing house.

The corridors of Bluebird Publishing House were filled with a carnival atmosphere.

Han Fei bought peanuts, melon seeds, mineral water, as well as beer, soft drinks, and eight-treasure porridge, and gathered all the publishing house staff in the largest conference room to celebrate the harvest.

Han Fei sat in his chair, looking at the large cake Zhang Ruiyi had placed in front of him, listening to Wen Jie speak, and to the laughter and applause of the crowd. Someone passed by him and gave him a gentle push on the back, but most people didn't bother him.

He was surrounded by chattering voices.

"13.7%, 13.7%! 50 text messages! Do you know how many people 13.7% is...?"

"68500 people, I've counted it a hundred times..."

"If each person pays 10 yuan, that's 685000 yuan..."

"Who would have thought that we Bluebirds would have a day like this! Hahahaha..."

"When you were working on the 'Jiangnan Literature Series,' the inaugural issue sold 6 copies. Didn't you have a moment of glory then?"

"How can that compare to this? This is only the first day!"

"Hey, why are you crying..."

Lu Hai's voice boomed from the other end of the room: "Alright, everyone quiet down! I just proposed a motion to President Han, and it passed. Everyone gather at the Haipai Grand Bar at 8 PM tonight for a good drink. Everyone who doesn't have urgent business should come, understand?"

The crowd cheered loudly.

Carbon dioxide hissed out of the freshly opened beer can, and a slightly tipsy Lu Hai hooked his arm around Wen Jie's shoulder.

Han Fei took out his cigarette case and put a cigarette in his mouth. At that moment, a small hand reached out and grabbed the cigarette from his mouth. It turned out to be Zhang Ruiyi.

"Why aren't you eating cake?" she whispered in his ear.

Han Fei looked at the chocolate cake, which weighed at least half a pound, with suspicion. He felt his blood sugar was about to spike before he even touched it.

"Who bought this cake?"

"Me?!" Zhang Ruiyi said proudly, "How could a celebration be without cake!"

"But I don't have much of an appetite right now, and I can't eat."

"Don't you like sweets?"

"Yeah, I don't really like it."

Are you in a bad mood?

"How could that be?" Han Fei said with a smile, "I'm just a little dazed."

Zhang Ruiyi pulled up a chair, sat down next to him, and tilted her head to one side, looking at Han Fei.

"What are you looking at?"

"I'm thinking," Zhang Ruiyi said, "how can I get you to stop thinking about work for the time being?"

Han Fei chuckled lightly: "How did you know I was thinking about work?"

"It's written all over your face," Zhang Ruiyi drew a circle on his forehead with a cigarette, "Here, it's wrinkled like a walnut."

Han Fei subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed his temples.

"Relax a little," Zhang Ruiyi said, handing the cigarette back to him. "You know, people who think about work all day will eventually become like that..."

"What kind of cigarette?" Han Fei asked, bringing the lighter to the cigarette.

"The kind of person who suddenly doesn't know what to do after retirement, so he goes to the park every day to play chess with old men, but always loses. When he loses, he gets angry, and when he gets angry, his blood pressure rises. He doesn't dare to take medicine for high blood pressure for fear of damaging his liver. In the end, he can only vent his anger on the neighborhood committee's garbage cans that haven't been emptied in time."

Han Fei stared at her in disbelief: "Your description is way too detailed."

"Because that's how my dad is," Zhang Ruiyi said, playing with the pull tab on a beer can. "Although he hasn't retired yet, he's already showing signs of retirement syndrome ahead of schedule."

"Retirement comprehensive assessment?"

Zhang Ruiyi looked around and beckoned to Han Fei: "Come here, I'll tell you a secret."

Han Fei leaned over.

Zhang Ruiyi whispered in his ear, "His favorite thing to watch on TV is a quiz show called 'The Great Exam of Wisdom.' The host asks questions, and three contestants press a bell to answer. If they answer correctly, they get points, which can be redeemed for a rice cooker or a massage pillow. Once, the host asked how many hours are in a day, and guess what my dad's reaction was?"

"Uh... tell me what the correct answer is first?"

"24."

Han Fei frowned, wondering if he should go to sleep.

"What did Uncle Zhang say?"

"He actually thought about it seriously," Zhang Ruiyi said. "Then he said: Strictly speaking, a sidereal day is 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds, but a solar day is 24 hours, so this question is not rigorous. I happened to be going downstairs to get some water when I heard him talking to himself in the living room, and I almost dropped my cup."

Han Fei laughed heartily, just as he saw Wen Jie and Lu Hai passing by him, which suddenly reminded him of something, so he called out to Wen Jie.

"What's wrong, Fei-ge?" Wen Jie leaned down to look at him, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"How many hours are there in a day?" Han Fei asked.

Lu Hai quickly replied, "24."

Wen Jie straightened up, tilted his head and thought for a moment: "Hmm... strictly speaking, a star day is 23 hours..."

"Alright, you guys go have fun." Han Fei waved his hand, noticing Zhang Ruiyi's surprised expression.

"Oh my god, this is terrible," Zhang Ruiyi said, leaning forward on the table, holding the cake plate in her hands, and examining the cake. "This cake is going to melt if we don't eat it soon."

"You eat it," Han Fei said.

"Oh, right," Zhang Ruiyi said, straightening up as if she had suddenly remembered something, "let me tell you a joke."

"Go ahead and speak."

"There was a bakery apprentice who worked incredibly hard. In three months, he made what was supposedly the perfect croissant. The boss tasted it and said, 'It's alright.' Three months later, he made a lava cake, and the boss again said, 'It's alright.' Three months after that, he made a rose mousse, and the boss said—" Zhang Ruiyi paused, """I don't eat sweets.

"That was a pretty harsh scolding," Han Fei heard himself laugh out loud. He really needed a good night's sleep.

Zhang Ruiyi raised her eyebrows: "It's good that you know."

Han Fei picked up his fork, cut off a small piece of cake, and put it in his mouth. "It's alright," he said.

Zhang Ruiyi stared at him expressionlessly.

Han Fei laughed a few times, ate a few more bites of cake, then looked at his watch and stood up: "You should go home and rest first. I'm going to the hospital to see my dad and tell him the good news."

"I'm not particularly tired yet," Zhang Ruiyi said. "I'll go with you."