"Mom and Dad, I'm home."
"A Chen, you didn't cause any trouble for Wang Ni yesterday, did you?" Wei Xin asked.
Wang Ni? Su Shichen realized that his mother was probably referring to Wang Ni, Aunt Wang.
Aunt Wang was just over thirty, definitely not over thirty-five, and his mother was thirty-eight, so calling her 'sister' was not wrong.
"Of course not." Aunt Wang didn't know what he did to her when she was sleeping, so this shouldn't count as causing trouble. Yes, it doesn't.
"How are things with the book?" Although Su Jian seemed calm, he was actually very concerned about this matter.
"I've already signed with Aunt Wang, and she's already given me the five thousand yuan manuscript fee." He took out the money, bought a computer, treated Ma Jun to a big meal, and only had a little over a thousand left.
"Why is there only a little over a thousand left? Wasn't it five thousand yuan? Did you spend it recklessly again?" Wei Xin glared, her tone somewhat stern.
"No, I bought a computer." Wei Xin opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but he knew his mother's personality, so Su Shichen didn't give her a chance to speak. "I'm in my second year of middle school, and I'll be using a computer frequently in my third year. I can't possibly run to your room every time, can I? Besides, there's a lot of important data of Dad's on the computer, and it would be bad if I accidentally lost something."
"Wei Xin, don't worry about it. That five thousand yuan was earned by Shichen himself, so let Shichen decide how to use it. Our family isn't short of this five thousand yuan." Su Jian spoke up.
Su Shichen's reasoning finally made Wei Xin compromise.
She compromised but still muttered, "What do you know? I'm afraid A Chen will buy a computer and then not study, only focusing on playing on it, and his grades will drop."
"Mom, you don't need to worry about that at all. The computer I bought doesn't have very high specifications. At most, it can watch movies and search for information; it can't play games. That's why it was only a little over Sanqian's price." Now that they had reached an agreement, things would be easy.
"A Chen, if you buy a computer, will you need to connect another cable?"
"No, the cable connected at home is 8 meters long, which is more than enough for two computers. I just need to connect a cable from the modem."
"Then do we need to pay more each month?" Wei Xin asked.
"No, it's the same amount each month as before."
"Hmm, when will the computer be delivered?" Su Jian asked.
"I bought it from my classmate's home; it can be delivered today." Su Shichen replied.
"Hmm, then I'll call your Uncle Wang later and ask him to connect a cable." As they were talking, the computer had already arrived. Su Shichen's room already had a ready-made computer desk, so there was no need to buy another one. However, there were no extra outlets at home, so he had to buy a power strip. After a while of bustling, he finally set up the computer in his room.
After finishing today's homework, he opened the computer. The computer wasn't connected today, but he could save drafts first. Su Shichen had a huge advantage over others when writing novels: he wouldn't get stuck, because the entire plot of the book was searched out from his mind, which meant he was directly copying it.
His fingers danced on the keyboard, typing at a moderate speed, about Sanqian characters per hour. He was still a student, so his primary task each day was naturally to attend classes. School ended at 5:30 PM, and if nothing came up, he would get home around 6:00 PM. Then he would finish the homework assigned by various teachers, meaning he could only start typing around 7:00 PM. Ten thousand characters a day would take three hours, meaning he would finish around 10:00 PM. This time was about right. Besides, he could save more drafts on Saturdays and Sundays.
Tomorrow, a record of a mortal's journey to immortality, the web novel considered the founder of the "mortal flow" and the pinnacle of the "spiritual root flow," was finally going to be released in this world!
Coincidentally, on the way to school, he ran into Class Monitor Li Dongfang again.
"Da Ban Zhang…"
"Alright, I lost that word bet, you don't need to ask again. I owe you a request." Before he could even speak, Li Dongfang interrupted him impetuously, then said in a huff.
"That Da Ban Zhang, I wanted to say what a coincidence, and I had forgotten about that bet until you brought it up. But since you brought it up, I'll reluctantly accept this request."
Her cheeks puffed out, huffing and puffing. "Hmph hmph!"
"What's the request? It can't be too excessive."
"Let me think." Actually, Su Shichen didn't really intend to make any demands; he was just saying it casually. But looking at Li Dongfang's pouting little mouth, which could hang an oil bottle, he blurted out a request by some strange impulse, "Kiss me."
"Pop." Li Dongfang's movements were swift. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Su Shichen on the cheek.
Li Dongfang, that girl, was bold enough and direct enough. She wasn't shy at all. After kissing him, she ran off. By the time Su Shichen reacted, Li Dongfang had already disappeared without a trace.
"Am I too evil to make a fourteen-year-old girl kiss me? But that feeling was really good." He touched his cheek. The moment her lips touched his cheek, it was soft, and that moist feeling was really comfortable and lingered.
A casual bet unexpectedly resulted in Su Shichen receiving a kiss. It would be great if more such surprises came along. "How evil. As the saying goes, every otaku has an 'uncle heart' within them, which means every otaku is a loli-con. Has the latent loli-con heart within me also been stimulated?"
Li Dongfang's lively and youthful appearance couldn't help but appear in his mind; indeed, it would make countless loli-cons bow down.
He slowly strolled into the classroom, where Ma Jun was already waiting for him.
"Little Four, you're finally here."
Su Shichen asked, "Why? Do you need me for something?"
"Little Four, have you forgotten what day it is today?"
"What day?"
"Today is the school magazine release day."
"School magazine release day? What does that have to do with me?"
"Dizzy, how could it be unrelated? Your article is the main feature in this month's school magazine. How can you not buy a few copies to collect?" Ma Jun's state was as if his article had been selected as the main feature of the school magazine.
Pulled by Ma Jun, Su Shichen bought a few more copies of the school magazine.
The cover of the school magazine featured an aerial view of the entire school. [Experimental Middle School School Magazine Issue 235 (Environmental Protection Issue)]
Below it was his article—
Highly recommended by the School Magazine Department, a perfect combination of environment and miniature science fiction novel "Wei—come out." Below that was another line in small print: "Crafted with great effort by Su Shichen, Class Ten, second year of middle school, page 36."
To put it simply, the main feature article had its title displayed on the cover.
He pouted, not caring at all. If he wasn't too young now and lacked persuasiveness, the articles he searched out from his mind could be published in any newspaper. Just kidding, Su Shichen wasn't fighting alone; he had countless writers and literary giants from Earth behind him.
Ma Jun was very happy and, overstepping his bounds, treated the entire class to delicious food.
He was happy, and the whole class was naturally happy to have free food, but two people were sulking.
One was our Class Monitor Li Dongfang. She lost the bet, and Su Shichen even made such a request. Although she secretly admired Su Shichen a little, this time it was too much, so she was fuming.
The other person sulking was Tang Lingyu. She held this issue of the school magazine in her hand. Undeniably, Su Shichen's article was indeed far better than hers, but her little temper wouldn't allow her to admit defeat, so she clutched the school magazine tightly and dragged it all the way home.
Opening the door at home, a smell of alcohol wafted out. Tang Lingyu frowned slightly and shouted, "Zhao Dandan, you're hiding at home drinking again!"
"Oh? My precious daughter is back. What 'hiding and drinking'? I just got stuck while writing a review, so I drank a little to find some inspiration." The person speaking was Tang Lingyu's mother, Zhao Dandan. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her face was flushed from drinking, making her look charming and alluring, a captivating young woman.
Tang Lingyu didn't speak, snatching the beer from Zhao Dandan's hand.
She tidied up the bottles and the messy table.
Judging from the beer bottles on the floor, Zhao Dandan had been eating peanuts and drinking, having already finished five or six bottles.
Zhao Dandan tidied her hair, tossing it behind her head. "School magazine, my darling's article was selected for the school magazine again, wasn't it?"
"No, it wasn't. This time, the article chosen from our class wasn't mine. Someone in our class wrote a bit better than me this time." Tang Lingyu replied.
"Who is it that can write better than my darling?" A hint of curiosity was revealed in Zhao Dandan's intoxicated eyes. Tang Lingyu was her daughter, and she had taught her. Her writing skills had long surpassed those of middle school students, and even ordinary high school students couldn't compare. Therefore, the articles selected from Class Ten had always been Tang Lingyu's, from the first year of middle school to the second. But this time, she was actually surpassed, and judging by Tang Lingyu's tone, she even admitted that the other person wrote better than her.
Zhao Dandan knew her precious daughter very well; if the other person's level hadn't surpassed hers by a lot, she wouldn't have admitted defeat.
"It's Su Shichen, a boy. He used to dislike writing essays the most, but after one summer vacation, he suddenly wrote very well. Here! It's the article on the cover."
"Wei—come out, hehe, what an interesting name. Let me see, page thirty-six." Zhao Dandan read carefully, and at this time, Tang Lingyu consciously returned to her room to do her homework.
Three thousand words didn't take long to read. Soon, Zhao Dandan finished reading the article, then casually scanned the rest of the articles.
"The level of this article is clearly several grades higher than other middle school students' articles. Even compared to the teachers' articles in this school magazine, it's not inferior. My darling daughter lost fair and square. To write about environmental protection in the style of a science fiction novel, truly a genius, an unconstrained idea."
She put down the school magazine and picked up a pen—Today, I read an article in my daughter's school magazine, written by a child named Su Shichen…
Zhao Dandan was preparing to write a review of this article and then publish it in a newspaper.
After writing, Zhao Dandan busied herself in the kitchen for a while. "Darling daughter, come out and eat! Mama made you some delicious food."
Tang Lingyu walked to the dining table. "Zhao Dandan, why is it instant noodles again?"
"Oh, darling daughter, your mom forgot to go to the market to buy vegetables today, and there's nothing left in the fridge, so we'll just make do. Besides, look how fragrant and delicious the instant noodles your mom made are! Most people can't achieve this level."
"Zhao Dandan, yesterday you said you forgot to buy vegetables and ate instant noodles, and today you forgot again."
"Your mom here is busy with both the newspaper office and home, raising you from a baby, acting as both father and mother…"
"Alright, alright, don't pretend to be teary-eyed. I'll just buy groceries on my way home from school tomorrow."
"I knew my darling daughter loves her mama the most."
"Pop."
"Let go, don't kiss me…"