It was just a love letter; I'm really no great writer!

"I've had it too easy."

Looking back on the past, Lu Ran couldn't help but sigh. He hadn't expected "White Night Walking" to become such a hit.

With almost no obstacles, it swept through the online literature world.

However, he still doesn't claim to be the number one online writer.

In the male-oriented genre, he indeed holds 200,000 average views, standing out from the crowd.

But in the female-oriented genre of this world, there has long been a battle for supremacy—

Three years ago, the female-oriented author Yun Zai Qingtian wrote a series of hit novels every six months, depicting the tragic romance of a dynasty fantasy.

Last year, female-oriented newcomer Sakura topped the charts for 244 days with her book "Betrayal".

From a literary perspective, female authors were the first to discover the popularization of pure literature.

In terms of income, female-oriented content far surpasses male-oriented content...

It wasn't until Lu Ran emerged that male-oriented content regained its reputation.

……

"Ding-a-ling!"

I awoke from a jumble of thoughts.

Lu Ran looked towards the classroom, where students were leaving in small groups, chatting and laughing.

"Hey Ran-ge, wanna play some games together?"

"No, I have something to do."

Lu Ran declined Zheng Yue's invitation to the internet cafe and glanced at Zuo Hanzhi's silhouette bathed in the evening light.

He sighed inwardly.

Although he has had a smooth career in online writing, he has suffered setbacks in his love life...

How can a single word like "sorrow" possibly describe it?

Despite having memories from my dreams spanning over a decade.

Lu Ran's dating experience is still nonexistent.

After saying goodbye to Lao Zheng.

He walked to the classroom door empty-handed.

In the corridor, Xia Liang and Li Xingping met up with Di Lingyan in the next class.

"Come here, what are you standing there for?" Xia Liang called out to Lu Ran.

The corridor was crowded with students.

Lu Ran wasn't used to being in the spotlight, so he walked over slowly.

His tall and handsome figure, standing next to three beautiful girls, immediately attracted admiring glances.

I rely on!

Xia Liang, needless to say, was the goddess in the hearts of all the boys in the school;

Li Xingping is pretty and lively, in no way inferior to others; otherwise, she wouldn't have four Heavenly Kings under her command.

Di Lingyan has short hair, a dashing and handsome appearance, a tall and athletic build, and an imposing presence.

Why are they all revolving around one boy?

Zheng Yue, who was about to go down the stairs, saw this scene and almost crushed her back teeth.

No wonder he stopped playing games; he's forgotten his friends because of a beautiful woman!

"Old Zheng!"

Lu Ran felt quite uncomfortable being surrounded by three girls when he happened to see Zheng Yue: "Old Zheng, want to go eat together? It's on me."

Zheng Yue ran over, looking rather silly.

Li Xingping said, "Let's not invite outsiders to our literary society's get-together."

Lu Ran: ...

"You guys eat, I just remembered I forgot something." Zheng Yue smoothly walked into the classroom.

They won't secretly hide and drop little pearls, will they?

Lu Ran observed two seconds of silence for Zheng Yue.

The group arrived outside the school and took a bus to a nearby shopping district.

Xia Liang chose a restaurant serving local salt-based cuisine.

The menus at this restaurant are all handwritten.

The girls chattered and ordered a braised pork belly with pork cracklings, a braised eel, a tomato and egg stir-fry, and a pea soup, which came to over two hundred yuan.

in the past.

Lu Ran was definitely in a lot of pain.

It only costs sixty yuan per person, enough for him to eat in the cafeteria for a week.

But now he pays the bill with ease, little kiss~

Xia Liang, unaware that Lu Ran had secretly paid the bill, rinsed the white porcelain plate with hot tea and said worriedly:

"The first issue of our new pictorial has been sent to print. The initial print run is 1,000 copies. I don't know if we can sell them all."

Li Xingping analyzed in detail:

"Our school has about 5,000 students. The senior students are about to take the college entrance examination, so we are targeting the first and second year students, which is more than 2,000... We should be able to sell 200 copies, right?"

"It mainly depends on the retail sales of each newsstand in Huaicheng. Based on past reputation, selling 800 copies shouldn't be a problem."

"But with such a long hiatus and no promotion whatsoever, how much it will sell is up to fate. I just hope there isn't too much unsold stock~"

"Don't worry!" Di Lingyan said optimistically, "With the foundation of the *Huaizhong Pictorial*, I think it will sell out!"

The food arrived while they were chatting.

Lu Ran quickly picked up the eel segment. He didn't know if it was a local yellow eel, but the meat was firm and chewy, and the flavor was spicy and rich, making it a perfect dish to eat with rice.

"Lu Ran, stop just eating!"

Xia Liang sat next to Lu Ran, feeling both amused and exasperated.

If other boys could eat with them, they would be too busy trying to please them, unlike Lu Ran who was like a starving ghost reincarnated.

"What do you think? Tell me your thoughts." Xia Liang rested her chin on her hand and looked at him.

"Um?"

Lu Ran slowly wiped his mouth.

"I support Di Lingyan's opinion. The Huaizhong Pictorial has been popular before and has a rich history. With its current high quality, selling a thousand copies is no problem."

"I'm more worried about... a shortage."

"You're that confident?" Di Lingyan pouted. "Every time you come to the activity room, you either slack off or sleep all day."

Lu Ran's lips twitched slightly as he scooped up a large spoonful of twice-cooked pork.

Paired with garlic sprouts and pork cracklings, the crispy and savory meat slices bring a satisfying and savory flavor to the taste buds.

Li Xingping smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "Lu Ran is in charge of the novel, so all he needs to do is write it well."

"Will his novel work? We might as well call Yi Shuang back..." Di Lingyan said halfway through his sentence.

"Enough!" Xia Liang's expression darkened. "Will she come back?"

"If she comes back, why did she leave in the first place?"

"Don't bring this up again!"

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

Lu Ran glanced at the three women's expressions, mixed in a spoonful of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and silently ate his rice.

Fluffy and smooth eggs, paired with sweet and sour tomatoes, are incredibly delicious with rice!

"..."

Di Lingyan remained silent for a long time before saying, "She must have her reasons."

"What exactly is the reason?" Li Xingping pressed.

"This... I don't know." Di Lingyan glanced at Lu Ran and shook her head slightly.

"No need to trouble her." Xia Liang's eyes were firm. "Now that we have Lu Ran, we won't lose to her."

"As long as the inventory for this issue is less than two hundred copies, we can continue producing it."

"Huh? How much will this cost?" Li Xingping frowned.

"It's okay, I'll cover the rest. The important thing is to keep the magazine going... Back then, we were completely unsuccessful too..." Xia Liang said softly.

"Back then, only 300 copies were printed. If it weren't for Zuo Hanzhi's poems becoming popular, we would have stopped publishing long ago..." Di Lingyan recalled.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's see next week." Xia Liang smiled brightly. "Have some confidence in our magazine, okay? We have the internationally renowned poet Lu Ran joining us."

Di Lingyan wrinkled his nose, while Li Xingping smiled faintly: "Mm."

Lu Ran ate his fill, but also listened to a lot of questions.

What?

Zhao Yishuang and Zuo Hanzhi were both members of the Huaizhong Literary Society before?

So it turns out "Life is Bitter" was written by Zhao Yishuang, and that Zuo Hanzhi could also write poetry. I like her even more now...

However, the pictorial magazine was at its peak back then.

Why did the literary society dissolve?

The girls didn't have big appetites, and Lu Ran ate most of it.

Xia Liang was about to pay when the waiter informed her that she had already paid. She glanced at Lu Ran, who looked completely innocent, and said nothing more.

It was already dusk when we left the restaurant.

Di Lingyan and Li Xingping took a taxi home together.

"Shall we take a taxi back too?" Lu Ran suggested.

Xia Liang lives right across the hall from him and is also his landlord, so there's no reason for him to go back alone.

"Walk with me for a bit." Xia Liang turned around, her shadow stretching long.

The evening breeze caressed her face, lifting the girl's long, flowing hair.

Lu Ran walked side by side with her on the sidewalk, with the overpass overhead and the sound of car horns filling the air.

He knew Xia Liang was worried about the magazine's sales.

There's really no need to worry. With a masterpiece like "To Live" published in a small school magazine, how could it not sell well?

But he couldn't explain it, so he could only wait for Monday to arrive.

What concerned Lu Ran even more was something else...

"Zuo Hanzhi, were you also in the literary society before?"