Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The two returned to Song Siyi's apartment, and it was already past 1 a.m.

Song Siyi changed into slippers and went into the kitchen.

"Go lie down on the sofa first. I'll make you something to eat."

Jiang Fan walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and rested his right hand naturally on the armrest.

He closed his eyes and mentally went over what was going to happen next.

Six million copies have already been shipped out, and based on the logistics speed, buyers across the country can receive their orders in three to five days.

Once this wave of hype has subsided, film and television adaptations of "Journey to the West" should be put on the agenda.

A dozen minutes later, the kitchen door opened, and Song Siyi came out carrying a bowl of wontons.

She walked to the sofa, placed the bowl on the coffee table, and sat down next to Jiang Fan.

"You really can't hold chopsticks with this hand?" Song Siyi stared at his reddened tiger's mouth.

"I've signed over five thousand names, you try it." Jiang Fan held out his right hand to her.

Song Siyi took his hand and looked at it, then didn't say anything more. She picked up the spoon in the bowl, scooped up a wonton, blew on it twice, and handed it to Jiang Fan's mouth.

Jiang Fan opened his mouth and ate it.

"Is it hot?"

"It's not hot."

A bowl of wontons contained more than a dozen pieces, which Song Siyi fed spoonful by spoonful.

Song Siyi put the empty bowl back on the coffee table, took out a tissue, and leaned over to wipe Jiang Fan's mouth.

"Alright, go to sleep now that you've finished eating. You still have five thousand books to sign tomorrow—"

"I'm thirsty, I want to drink milk."

Jiang Fan leaned back on the sofa, his voice casual.

Song Siyi had just thrown the used tissues into the trash can when she heard this, and her hand froze in mid-air.

There's milk in the fridge. I'll go get it for you.

"I don't want that kind of milk."

Jiang Fan didn't move, his gaze falling on the neckline of her blue knitted sweater.

Song Siyi withdrew her hand, bit her lip, and redness slowly crept onto the skin at the base of her neck.

"Jiang Fan, can't you be serious for once?"

"I'm being very proper. Your hand is injured, don't you feel sorry for me?"

Song Siyi stared at him for three seconds.

She stood up, walked to the wall, and turned off the living room ceiling light.

Only a floor lamp remained beside the coffee table, its warm yellow light illuminating half of the living room.

She walked back to the sofa and sat down next to Jiang Fan.

After a few seconds of silence, she lowered her head, pinched the edge of the hem of the cardigan with her fingers, and slowly rolled it up.

Just this once.

"Um."

The blue knitwear was pushed up above the collarbone.

Jiang Fan reached out with his left hand and pushed aside the obstructing fabric.

Song Siyi turned her head away, not looking at him.

"Be gentle."

"Um."

Twenty minutes later.

Song Siyi straightened up and straightened her disheveled clothes.

Her face was still flushed, and both of them were covered in a thin layer of sweat.

She pulled off her cardigan, smoothed out the wrinkles, and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Satisfied?"

"Mmm. It tastes good."

Song Siyi raised her hand and patted his head.

"You're a little bastard."

Jiang Fan slid down and collapsed onto the sofa.

"I got all sweaty from drinking milk. Siyi, could you rub my back for me? My hands hurt."

Song Siyi turned her head to look at his right hand hanging by his side.

There was a two-second silence.

"Jiang Fan, stop this fucking nonsense."

"My hand really hurts." Jiang Fan raised his right hand and shook it.

Song Siyi glanced at him, then at his self-righteous face, and grabbed a cushion from the sofa, throwing it at his face.

The sound of the shower in the bathroom began. Song Siyi picked up a bath sponge from the shelf, lathered it with shower gel, and rubbed it in her hands a few times, producing white foam.

She took a bath sponge and applied it to Jiang Fan's back.

Jiang Fan's right hand didn't move, but his left hand was certainly not idle.

"Stop messing around, I'm taking a shower." Song Siyi nudged him with her elbow.

After washing and drying themselves, the two went into the bedroom one after the other.

Jiang Fan lay on the bed with his right hand resting flat beside the pillow.

Song Siyi stood at the head of the bed, tucked her hair behind her ear, glanced at Jiang Fan, bent her left leg, and straddled him.

"Don't complain about my poor skills if you don't move."

"Feel free to do whatever you want," Jiang Fan said, looking at her.

The main lights in the room were off, but the small bedside lamp was on, casting light on Song Siyi.

She placed her palms on Jiang Fan's chest, her hair falling down and being gathered to one side, obscuring half of her face.

Song Siyi's breathing rate increased.

In the middle of the night, the noise in the bedroom stopped.

Song Siyi lay motionless on Jiang Fan's shoulder, a few strands of hair sticking to her forehead with sweat.

The system panel popped up and appeared in front of Jiang Fan.

[Deep Compatibility x2, Lifespan +600]

Current lifespan: 50100 points

[Remaining lifespan: 123 days]

-

As dawn breaks, express delivery stations across the country open for business.

Cardboard boxes bearing the "Qitian Printing" logo are piled on the sorting belt, and packages are scanned, loaded onto trucks, and transported to various distribution points.

Today is Saturday, in a male dormitory at a university in Shanghai.

A boy wearing shorts pushed open the dormitory door, holding a square delivery box in his hand.

He walked to his desk, picked up the utility knife on it, and cut open the packing tape.

The cardboard box was opened, and inside were two volumes of "Journey to the West".

The boy couldn't wait to take out the first volume and open the hard cover.

On a white background, there are two large black handwritten characters.

Jiang Fan

The boy held the book, looked at it for two seconds, and then opened his mouth and shouted.

"Holy crap, I got it!"

The other three roommates, who were playing games, threw down their mice and all gathered around.

Four heads huddled together, staring at the two words on the page.

"Holy crap, this is a signed copy! Your hands must be blessed!"

The boy placed the book flat on the table, took out his phone, took a picture of the signature, opened Douyin (TikTok), and uploaded the image.

Caption: "I won a signed copy. My luck is unbelievable."

Less than ten minutes after it was sent, the background message notification sounded continuously.

The number of comments quickly surpassed 1,000.

"Dude, wanna pay? I'll put up two hundred."

"Two hundred? I'll give you a thousand! Transfer right now!"

"1500! Check your private messages, add me on WeChat and I'll transfer the money directly!"

The boy scrolled through the comments on the screen, swallowed hard, and realized he had only spent thirty-nine yuan and ninety cents on this regular edition of the book.

In less than an hour, hundreds of links to autographed copies of "Journey to the West" appeared on a second-hand trading platform called Xianyu.

Scalpers are buying up books at high prices in various online forums, university groups, and book clubs.

The price of a signed copy of a regular edition has skyrocketed from a few hundred to over two thousand.

The price of the deluxe gift box edition signed copy has risen even higher, with some people placing orders for 5,000 yuan in cash and requesting to meet in the same city to inspect the goods and complete the transaction.

The blind box effect has taken hold online.

Those who bought the regular, unsigned version were dissatisfied, while those who missed out on the first wave of pre-orders were even more anxious.

Within an hour, Qitian Culture's official Weibo account received 50,000 comments, with the comment section flooded with messages.

"Please, Mr. Jiang, sign another 10,000 copies!"

"I'll pay, you risk your life, sign it!"

When will the second wave of pre-orders begin?!

"Looking to buy a hardcover copy personally signed by Jiang Fan, price negotiable. DM me if interested!"

-

Shanghai, the headquarters building of Qidian.com.

Zhou Ming sat in front of his computer, looking at the trending topics on the hot search list.

#A signed copy of the Journey to the West blind box is being resold for up to 5,000 yuan#

Two weeks ago, he tried every means to use channels and the Writers' Association to seal the book at the printing plant.

Now, even a signed copy of a secondhand book can sell for five thousand yuan.

All the money he spent became stepping stones for building momentum for Jiang Fan.

The phone on my desk vibrated.

Zhou Ming picked it up and glanced at it; it was a link sent by a friend in the industry.

Clicking on it leads to an official announcement.

"Liu Qingshan, vice chairman of the Writers Association, has been dismissed from his post and is under investigation for suspected violations of regulations and abuse of his position for personal gain."