A writer has arrived in the Chinese entertainment industry.

On the way to Ran Xiaoqing's house, the little girl sat in the back seat and for some reason didn't say a word.

"Am I that scary?" Su Liu thought to herself, and couldn't help but check her appearance in the rearview mirror.

While admiring himself in the mirror, he also carefully observed this "younger sister" who had suddenly appeared.

Her not-so-smooth hair was tied in a simple ponytail, and fine beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, with some stray strands clinging to her skin. She looked thin and frail, with a sallow complexion that suggested malnutrition.

The school uniform looked neat, but there were still some dirty marks on the collar, cuffs and other corners.

Su Liu scrutinized the girl for a long time and found that the girl's features did indeed resemble his own, inheriting some of his bloodline, and possessing a breathtaking beauty.

"Why haven't we arrived yet?"

The car wound its way through the streets, already far from the city center.

"Almost there," Officer Luo replied.

"That far? How does she get to school?"

"It takes more than an hour to walk there."

"More than an hour? Don't you have an electric scooter or a bicycle at home?"

Officer Luo did not answer. Su Liu tilted his head and glanced at Ran Xiaoqing in the back seat.

Why don't you ride your bicycle to and from school?

Ran Xiaoqing seemed to be suddenly awakened, and stammered, "I...I don't know how."

"Can't even ride a bicycle."

At this point, Officer Luo interjected, "How could she know if no one taught her?"

Su Liu paused for a moment, then, as if to ease the awkwardness, said, "Oh dear, aren't there any high schools nearby?"

"Yes, there is, but that's the important part. Are we going to give up on studying it?"

Su Liu really wanted to say, "Fine, I won't study then." But in the end, she didn't say it.

He turned to look out the window, watching the rows of old houses flash by. Under the watchful eyes of the villagers, the car stopped at the entrance of an alley.

After getting out of the car, Su Liu followed Officer Luo into the alley, while Ran Xiaoqing silently followed behind. The group turned several corners in the alley and finally arrived at a low-lying house.

Seeing Su Liu frowning and looking around, Officer Luo joked, "What's wrong? Is the great writer finding the environment here unpleasant?"

"Ha, you've looked up my information, you should know that when I was a child... it wasn't much better than here."

As they were talking, Ran Xiaoqing stepped forward, took out her key, and opened the door.

The three filed in. To the left of the entrance was a stove made of plywood, with a dilapidated gas stove on it. The only window facing outwards was covered in grease, black and yellow. The refrigerator next to the stove was making a slight hissing and vibrating sound.

Further inside, there's a simple partition that separates the kitchen from the bedroom.

There is another door on the inside of the bedroom, which must be Ran Xiaoqing's room.

Ran Xiaoqing had never hosted guests before, let alone her own "brother," so she seemed a little lost. She blankly pulled out two plastic stools from under the table next to her, wanting to quickly invite him to sit down.

"I won't sit down," Officer Luo waved his hand. "After dropping you off, I should head back; I have things to do at the station."

"What do you mean?" Su Liu said blankly, "You're leaving already? Then... then what should I..."

"Your father is buried on the mountain to the west. It's getting late, so let's go tomorrow."

"That's not what I meant..."

"Xiao Qing," Officer Luo completely ignored Su Liu and waved to Ran Xiao Qing, "I'm leaving, goodbye."

Ran Xiaoqing also raised her hand and waved, "Goodbye, Uncle."

Now it was Su Liu's turn to be at a loss.

To be honest, he doesn't have any of the currently popular "social anxiety disorder." If he wanted to, he could chat with someone for ages as calmly and leisurely as an old man taking an afternoon stroll in the park.

But at this moment he did feel a bit caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, he wanted to just leave and not care about his sister.

But on the other hand, this feeling is really hard to describe in words... How can I put it, the only relative in this world?

Su Liu shifted his feet slightly. The only people present were the small room and the silent Ran Xiaoqing.

He plopped down on the stool, pondering for a long time but unable to come up with anything to say.

But I have to say something.

"Your dad," he said, "abandoned me shortly after I was born and ran away, you know that?"

"I...I know, Uncle Luo told me." Ran Xiaoqing's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.

"Oh, you know that."

"I'm sorry." She practically shrank her head into her chest.

What's going on? Su Liu just wanted to chat for a bit, how did it suddenly turn out like this?

"Why are you apologizing? It has absolutely nothing to do with you."

"sorry."

"Tsk." Su Liu looked troubled, as if he didn't know where to start.

"Let's go," he said, standing up. "I'll take you to dinner."

"Ah...no need," Ran Xiaoqing said softly, "I...I'll just eat at home."

"Little girls are such a hassle!" Su Liu thought to himself, exasperated.

"Oh, whatever." With that, he went out.

Ran Xiaoqing clenched her hands, watching his figure disappear before her eyes.

On the other side, Su Liu slowly walked out of the alley and patted the dust off his clothes that he didn't know where it had gotten.

The villages on the outskirts of the county town were quite different from the quiet mountain villages at night. Loud music from square dancing could be heard from not far away. Su Liu walked in that direction and soon saw several sheds set up by the roadside, with food stalls bustling with activity.

He walked over and casually ordered a few dishes when his cell phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

"Su Liu! Where did you go?"

A roar came from the other end of the phone.

Su Liu was immediately startled and hurriedly said, "Ah, Sister Wenxiu, I forgot to tell you, I have something to do in Yuzhou."

The person on the other end of the phone was An Wenxiu. She was the executive director and overseas copyright manager of Su Liu's company, "Fusu Culture," and had previously worked in the public relations department of Penguin Publishing Group in the UK for five years.

Three years ago, Su Liu planned to establish a company to manage the copyrights of her novels, just as she resigned and returned to China. Su Liu valued her extensive experience in handling overseas copyrights, and she also valued Su Liu's potential. The two hit it off immediately and jointly established "Fusu Culture Media Co., Ltd."

"Have you forgotten the dinner invitation from Editor-in-Chief Liu of Phoenix News tonight?! And the people from Duoke Culture too! They're already at the company!"

"Oh dear!" Su Liu slapped his forehead. "I completely forgot!"

"What did you say? You can forget something like this!"

"I'm so sorry! I do have something urgent to attend to. But it's nothing serious, right? We'll just talk about the release of the new book. Having you here is enough."

"The editor-in-chief came all the way from Nanjing, only to be stood up by you. Do you think that's appropriate?"

"At worst, I'll just make a special trip to Jinling to visit him, then we'll be even."

"You think this is a game of pool? He takes a turn, you take a turn, it's even."

"There's nothing we can do now that things have come to this. We can only ask you for help, Sister Wenxiu!"

"Ah...I really...What are you doing in Yuzhou?" An Wenxiu on the other end of the phone sounded rather frustrated, as if she had nowhere to vent her anger.

"Something came up... I'll tell you when I get back."

"Come back quickly!"

After saying that, she hung up immediately.

Su Liu gripped his phone as if he had escaped death.

"Wenxiu can be really fierce when she gets angry," he muttered to himself.

After a while, all the dishes were served. Su Liu picked up a few pieces with her chopsticks, hesitated for a moment, and then stopped.

"Boss," he called the man over, "pack this up for me."

......

After Su Liu left, Ran Xiaoqing sat on the edge of the bed for a long time before starting to prepare her dinner.

She opened the refrigerator, took out the leftovers from that morning, poured them into the pot, and tried turning the stove switch twice without success. Then she realized the gas valve was off. She bent down, turned on the valve, and gently stirred the leftovers with a spatula. Her movements were practiced, yet a lingering weariness permeated her being.

A few minutes later, she placed the heated dishes on the small table in the bedroom, then scooped rice from the rice cooker. Just as she sat down, she heard a knocking sound at the door.

She was startled and quickly asked, "Who is it?"

"I."

It was Su Liu's voice.

Ran Xiaoqing immediately stood up and quickly went to open the door.

Su Liu walked past her into the room, glanced at the meager dinner on the table, and couldn't help but purse her lips. She pushed the plate of leftovers to the corner of the table and then placed the lunchbox she had brought back on the table.

"Let's eat together," he said.

"Th...thank you."

Su Liu ate quickly and efficiently. Ran Xiaoqing, however, ate slowly, rummaging through her rice for a while after each bite of food. Neither of them spoke; the only sounds in the air were the soft clinking of chopsticks against the edge of the food container and the subtle sounds of chewing.

"Do you want to come to Shanghai with me?" Su Liu suddenly asked.

"Ah," she was clearly taken aback, wondering why Su Liu would ask that.

"Would you like to come to Shanghai with me?"

"I...I don't want to go."

Her answer puzzled Su Liu. Was there anything here worth staying for? "Why?" he asked.

Ran Xiaoqing felt a little apprehensive, wondering if he would be angry that she had rejected his kindness.

"I don't want to break up with Vivi."

"Weiwei? Oh, Tian Xiwei."

"Um."

"Whatever you want."

After finishing their meal, Su Liu got up to leave, and Ran Xiaoqing quickly took a key from the TV cabinet drawer and handed it to him.

"Here, take this."

It is a key to an electric scooter.

Su Liu looked at the key, then at her, and took it from her.

Thanks.

"No, no need."

The young girl was quite perceptive; she could tell that he had no intention of staying overnight.

Su Liu rode his bicycle to a hotel in the county town and checked in. Around nine o'clock that evening, An Wenxiu called again.

"What's wrong, Sister Wenxiu?"

"Editor-in-Chief Liu wants to ask you if you have any plans to adapt the novel into a film. He said that Yilin Press has already started working on the film and television adaptation project, and he wants to ask if you have this idea."

"My novel? Are you kidding me? Which one can be adapted?"

"He probably had his eye on '13.67'."

"Don't be ridiculous. If only a part of '13.67' is adapted, it's meaningless. If the whole thing is filmed, it probably won't be able to be released in China."

"So, when it comes to adaptation, just change the sensitive parts, right?"

"I'd rather use that time to write an original screenplay."

A soft laugh suddenly came from the other end of the phone.

"You little rascal, you already have a story to tell, don't you?"

"Hehe," Su Liu chuckled smugly, "the story is in your heart."

......

In the new era of classic mystery fiction, one person challenged the boundaries of mystery novels with his extreme settings and cold logic.

His works contain almost no emotional resonance or realism. What they offer is rigorous, almost obsessive, logical deduction and bizarre, outlandish, and wildly imaginative settings.

This person's name is Shirai Tomoyuki.

Su Liu chose this artist's masterpiece, "The Elephant Head Labyrinth," as his debut work.

Actually, choosing mystery novels was a last resort.

A novel's writing style and story complement each other, and Su Liu doesn't have the ability to memorize an entire novel word for word from beginning to end. But if he only remembers the main plot, he's not confident he can replicate its success.

He also considered online novels, but they are more uncertain and time-sensitive. Every successful online novel is closely related to its era; a book from ten years ago or ten years from now might flop if published today.

Moreover, online novels often have millions of words, so even if someone can remember the main plot, it's uncertain whether their recreation will be as successful as the original.

At this point, mystery novels are the best choice. As long as you remember the core trick, you can rewrite the story yourself.

So in 08, he released "The Elephant Head Labyrinth," a film that combines perversion, absurdity, extreme taste, and ingenious trickery.

Back then, Dook Culture had just been established and needed a successful project to make a name for itself in the book publishing industry. When the founders, the Hua brothers, saw this incredibly unconventional novel, they were shocked but also convinced that this was the work they needed.

To this end, they joined forces with Phoenix Publishing House and even approached Kadokawa Shoten in Japan, preparing for a simultaneous release in China and Japan.

Of course, "The Elephant Head Labyrinth" lived up to expectations, selling 500,000 copies in the month it was released in Japan, which is an astronomical figure for a debut work by a new author.

This success is also thanks to a clever trick played by Kadokawa Shoten. In their promotion, they deliberately concealed Su Liu's identity, leading Japanese readers to believe he was a newly debuted local author. As a result, "The Elephant Head Labyrinth" swept various lists, including "This Mystery Novel is Amazing!" and "Top 10 Mystery Novels of the Year".

Su Liu's identity was finally revealed when it came time to award the "Edogawa Rampo Award".

The following year, in 09, Su Liu accepted an invitation from Kadokawa Shoten to write a mystery novel set in an island nation.

He chose a classic logic-based mystery, "The Mystery of the Gymnasium." Although it didn't achieve the same sensational success as "The Elephant Head" upon its release, it still successfully maintained Su Liu's reputation as a "genius."

In 2010, Su Liu directly presented "13.67," the masterpiece by Hong Kong writer Chan Ho-kei, which was hailed as a "masterpiece of the era" and "the number one mystery novel in Chinese literature" in his previous life.

With this book, he won the first Shimada Soji Mystery Award, which was established at the beginning of the year. He swept all the lists that year and won the foreign category award in all mystery novel awards in Japan, which made Su Liu stand on the altar.

It was also in this year that he met An Wenxiu, who had resigned and returned to China.