Chapter 68 - Meeting Up Again
Chapter 68: Meeting Up Again
When Xiang Wan came back to the campus, she met several authors in the main hall.
There were male authors as well as female authors. They were sitting on the sofa, chatting with each other.
As Xiang Wan did not know any of them, she only gave them a polite smile.
She was preparing to walk past them when a male author sitting on the sofa called out to her.
“Hey Beautiful, which website are you from, what’s your name?”
Xiang Wan was startled. “Wen Quan Book Treasury. Xiang Gongzi Wan.”
“Ah, Gongzi[Young Master]? Ha, nice to meet you, Gongzi.”
“…”
To be honest, when Xiang Wan bantered with her readers on the Internet, she felt that her pen name was really cool and fun.
But it felt a bit awkward to say it out in front of strangers.
“Everyone, nice to meet you!”
Besides this, she did not know know what else she could say.
“I’ll go up first. Bye.”
She smiled at the group and headed straight to the lift.
A gaze followed her from behind but she didn’t notice it.
…
The training officially began the next morning.
Like all schools, the first lesson was self-introduction.
Xiang Wan then noticed that her classmates were the industry’s famous authors.
Wen Quan Book Treasury selected three female authors for the training. The other two female authors were more famous than Xiang Wan. One of them was even a big shot from the Women’s Genre.
However, Xiang Wan attracted the most attention as she was the most striking girl in class.
In the real world, looks do matter.
Xiang Wan had attractive facial features—a heart-shaped face; a pair of big eyes, deep and bright as well as fair, delicate skin without spots and scars. She had a slender, curvy figure, and a pair of beautiful long legs. When she smiled, she gave off a feeling of gentleness and mild temperament.
Generally, such women would fall under the most desirable girlfriend category from the men’s perspective.
After Xiang Wan finished introducing herself, her deskmate handed a notebook over to her.
“May I have your autograph?”
Xiang Wan turned and saw the guy, the one who called out to her at the hall last night.
“I… I’m not a famous author.” She smiled apologetically.
“It doesn’t matter.” The guy blinked at her. “Even a famous author may not be able to write something that could foresee what’s going to happen next in a case.”
“…”
So did he know about her?
That guy spoke in a lower tone and chuckled, “I’ve read your novel when Zhao Jiahang died. Your writing is quite good. If you publish your novel in the Men’s Genre, your book might have flown off the shelves…”
Eh?
Was it a compliment that she had done a good job in her novel or praising her that she had the mentality of a guy?
Xiang Wan gave an awkward smile. “Thank you.”
The self-introduction soon ended.
The authors were now students in this training programme. The facilitator let the student representatives have a word with everyone in the classroom.
There were three student representatives that were from different websites. Each one of them were renowned authors that everyone in the classroom had heard of before.
After they finished addressing everyone with their speech, the facilitator moved on to the Q&A session between the student representatives and rest of students.
The student representatives were two guys and a girl. They took turns to answer questions. Many of the students asked the two male representatives questions and both of them answered all of them without a hitch.
Lastly, it was the turn of the female representative.
Xiang Wan heard about her before. She was the big shot that came from Wen Quan Book Treasury. Her pen name was Zi Tan.
She seemed rather aloof and taciturn. Thus, nobody asked her any questions.
The facilitator waited for a while and saw that the students were whispering amongst themselves, yet nobody asked a question and the atmosphere started to get awkward.
“Is there no one who has questions to ask our Miss Zi Tan?”
Such a question sounded really embarrassing.
A layer of red started to show up on Zi Tan’s cheeks.
Xiang Wan was from the same website as her. Seeing that she was faced with such a situation, Xiang Wan quickly raised her hand to break the strange atmosphere.
“I would like to ask Miss Zi Tan. You have written so many wonderful works, I believe there must be a supportive gentleman behind you… Well, I actually wanted to ask, are you married?”
Xiang Wan actually felt a bit embarrassed to have asked this question.
Actually she wanted to ask if she had a boyfriend, but in the end, she couldn’t hold her tongue.
Xiang Wan could have asked questions relating to her work but she had never read her books before, hence, unable to raise any question relating to her works.
The original intention was to help her, yet in the end, Miss Zi Tan’s face obviously gone redder than before.
“She said, “I’m still… Thank you!”
The whole room was filled with applause.
Xiang Wan’s face was now burning hot, she totally could not hear her reply at all.
Thinking back of the earlier scene, she wished the ground would swallow her up.
Why the hell did she ask that kind of question!
…
At a corner in the classroom.
Zi Tan was fiddling with her mobile phone with a gloomy face.
Beside her was the other female author from the same website, Du Landuo. “Can’t you tell?” She snorted, “I think she meant to embarrass you, knowing the fact that you’ve just divorced…”
Zi Tan replied coldly, “Don’t have to worry about me, just say what’s on your mind.”
Du Landuo observed Zi Tan’s facial expressions. “This girl’s ambitious. Just look at how she revived her dying novel by taking advantage of the hype.”
Zi Tan remained silent.
“I’ve heard that ever since she tasted the sweetness of the success of the hype,” Du Landuo continued to sneer, “she’s doing it again by shamelessly adapting an actual case as a plot for her novel…”
Zi Tan gave her a glance. “Want to go to the restroom?”
With that, she left the classroom for the restroom.
…
When Zi Tan came into the restroom, Xiang Wan was washing her hands at the basin.
“Hi!” Xiang Wan turned to greet her.
Xiang Wan thought there was nothing wrong being friendly as they were from the same website and furthermore, she had helped her out earlier.
However, Zi Tan straightened her back and walked past her as if she had not heard or seen anything.
The mirror reflected her aloof and cold face as well as her unapproachable attitude.
A moment later, she heard a ‘bang’ in a cubicle. It was the sound of door closing.
Xiang Wan took a glance, wiped her hands, and left the restroom.
…
Wen Quan Book Treasury was an online literature website for women.
When there were a lot of women in a place, there were bound to be disputes. The amount of disputes had a positive correlation to the number of women.
Therefore, Xiang Wan rarely mixed around in the circle of authors. There were very few authors whom she was familiar with.
In the morning, the classroom had displayed the name tags of each and every student on the respective seats, which meant the seating arrangement was fixed.
However, after their lunch, the students started to mingle around.
Many of them took their name tags and sat together with those authors they were more familiar with.
A training like that appeared to be rather relaxed.
Some of the authors were actually daring enough to bring their laptop to the classroom. They sat at the back of the classroom and started to write their story.
Xiang Wan was not a famous nor popular author, and did not dare to do that. She sat in her original seat which was the third row from the front and was taking notes seriously.
Ding!
She received an SMS.
The student who sat beside took a look at her.
Xiang Wan felt her ears warm. She took a peek at her mobile phone while lowering her head.
“Why didn’t you look for me when you’re in the capital?”
Thump! Her heart missed a beat.
I blocked Cheng Zheng, why didn’t I block him as well?
Xiang Wan mulled over how to reply as her finger stroked the screen, and that took her quite a while.
“I have class. Busy.”
“Won’t it end eventually?”
“… Yes.”
“I had wanted to treat you to dinner. But since your attitude is so bad, this Young Master changed his mind.”
“…”
Xiang Wan was speechless.
Besides Bai Muchuan, she had not seen another “tsundere” that acted like that?
Seriously, Xiang Wan felt like sending a rebuttal so powerful that could send him to his “death”.
But she had yet to find the appropriate words when Bai Muchuan sent another message.
“I’m giving you a chance to apologize.”
“?”
Xiang Wan was dying of laughter.
Really, she was not angry the least bit. She totally found this hilarious.
“Young Master Bai, did you send the message to the wrong person? Do we know each other very well?”
“Xiang Wan, the moment you got the autographed books, you forgot the one who helped you?”
Uh~ Alright!
For that, Xiang Wan was really grateful for his help.
Although up to until now, she did not know how Bai Muchuan managed to get Second Young Master Mu’s autograph!
…
When she got the memorabilia, she posted to her WeChat Moments, and that shook the online literature world, right?
It’s the only copy!
The only copy with the autograph in the market!
That autograph is hard to get!
There were countless comments that expressed their envy. In fact, Xiang Wan was too embarrassed to disclose she actually had a collection of such autographed books.
However, there were also people who raised their doubts.
“Could it be fake?”
“Nobody has seen how the autograph of Second Young Master Mu looked like… Could this be just a prank to make people laugh?”
Of course, such comments were privately discussed and not left on WeChat. Xiang Wan only knew of it after someone told her.
However, when one kept hearing about such doubts, the doubt would take roots in the mind.
Hence, after contemplating for a while, she decided to ask Bai Muchuan.
“Are you close to Second Young Master Mu? How did you get the autographed books?”
Bai Muchuan did not reply.
This guy is trying to be aloof again?
“Hello, Bai Muchuan? Say something!”
“…”
“Are you mute?”
“…”
“Bai Muchuan, I’ve asked you a question.”
She sent several SMS but Bai Muchuan only replied a sentence coldly.
“You’ve a lot of guts now? When you’re asking for help, don’t you know you have to change your attitude?”
Pffft! Xiang Wan did not notice that when she lowered her head to chat on the mobile phone, the corners of her lips were turned upward.
“Who’s asking you? Forget it then.”
“The third volume of Second Young Master Mu’s ‘The White List’ is almost out!”
Ahhhhhhhh! Really?
“What do you want in order to help me?”
“Try asking me nicely?”
“Young Master Bai, please help me. Help me get the autographed book!”
“Tell me, do we know each other well?”
Xiang Wan bit her lips lightly, her smile almost became a grin.
“Sometimes.”
Maybe Bai Muchuan was satisfied with this answer.
This time, he did not make things difficult for her but behaved like an Emperor who bestowed her a reward.
“Wait for me to fetch you!” He said coldly.
…
When it was the last lesson, the people inside the classroom were almost gone by half.
Xiang Wan had to admit that the lecturer was really a cultured person. Despite half the class was gone, he was able to stand on the podium alone and continue to deliver his speech.
That lesson was the appreciation of the classic “Dream of the Red Chamber”.
There had been a lot of debate over this great classical novel. Everyone had their own point of view over supporting the “bond of the stone and flower” or “marriage of jade and gold” where people argue over which female character would be a better match with the male leading character.
The hot summer made people sleepy.
Xiang Wan had rested her arms on the table, about to doze off from the lecture, when she got awakened by the vibrating sounds of her mobile phone.
“Come down!”
What the! Bai Muchuan is here?
Xiang Wan looked at the lecturer’s strict face, then glanced at the surrounding classmates before she secretly replied to the message.
“Lesson has not ended. It’s not nice to leave now.”
“Five minutes!”
“…”
Xiang Wan decided to comply.
She took a deep breath. When she noticed that the lecturer was not looking at her, she gave an awkward smile at the student sitting next to her, and held her stomach as if she needed to go to the restroom. Then she left the classroom with her head lowered.
Nobody bothered with her.
Everyone got used to such occurrences by the end of the day.
The classroom was located on the ninth floor, while the lower floors were all dorms.
Xiang Wan walked through the main hall at the ground floor and saw Bai Muchuan standing at the main entrance.
His car was parked aside quietly. He was leaning against it quietly as well, looking cold, arrogant, and relaxed.
The female authors who skipped their lesson and had returned to their dorms were looking at him through their windows…
Such a good-looking man with a bad*ss aura was indeed a rare sight.
Moreover, although Bai Muchuan had driven a car without showy features, not to forget that these women were mostly romance fiction authors, they were able to tell that the car was a Maybach!
That’s a wealthy guy! they thought.
Xiang Wan braced herself to go to him. “Hi, you’re looking good today.”
“Hm?” Bai Muchuan raised his chin slightly while still wearing a cold face. His voice sounded a little unnatural; it was husky and muffled. “You have a good eye. Get on!”
Pffft!
Little thing.
“Why? You caught a cold? Your voice sounds blocked?”
“This is called sexy!”
“… Detective Bai, don’t be shameless, save some face.”
He took a glance at her. Then as if he was playing a magic trick, he made a swiping action before his face, and continued to look at her coldly. “Look, my face is back.”
Pffft! Xiang Wan suddenly felt like laughing.
At that moment, Bai Muchuan was undoubtedly charming.
But the funny thing was, since when was she as close to him like now?
She did not feel like they were in love, nor was this friendship, either.
How should she describe it? Casual friends going for a dinner?
Hmm, yes, friends that go for a dinner together, she thought.
That sounds fine.
Xiang Wan sat at the front passenger seat. When she relaxed, she also noticed that Bai Muchuan was not as indifferent as before.
Or rather, he had concealed a soul that was not as tough by pretending to be indifferent.
By just using a little bit of force, he would show his true self…
This discovery made her a little elated.
“What are you smiling at?”
“You look so happy to see me?” Bai Muchuan took a glance and remarked, “You missed me terribly?”
Hah! Xiang Wan was amused by him.
“I never thought you can behave like that… You’re different from the Bai Muchuan that I know from Jin City. Sigh! Could it be that now that you have returned to the capital, you had a romantic encounter or something, so your mood has improved?”
Bai Muchuan’s eyes started to get darker, but he still looked emotionless.
“Make a guess?” he said.
“Hahahaha.”
Xiang Wan sat idly on the seat, her body and mind both relaxed.
Bai Muchuan suddenly leaned over to fasten her seat belt.
And he laughed softly at her ear.
“This is because… I might have seen an idiot.”
A fresh, light scent seeped into her nose from his body.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” Xiang Wan cried out in a low tone, looking really flustered.
Bai Muchuan did not pull back. Instead, after seeing her desperately move back although there was nowhere to move to, he attempted to get closer and trapped her on her seat. He closed in on her, his eyes narrowed and his gaze stuck on her as though there was glue. “Try saying it one more time?”
Xiang Wan straightened up her neck. “No problem, I’ll say it again. What do you want?”
Bai Muchuan did not say a word.
He lowered his head and went nearer to her.
“Xiang Wan.”
The warm rays from the setting sun shone through the window behind him. As if he had been highlighted from the light reflection, his handsome face seemed more well-defined against the light.
What a heartthrob!
Xiang Wan’s heart was trembling.
Was he going to kiss her?
The sudden thought made her close her eyes nervously.
Next, his big “claws” landed heavily on the top of her head.
“Sit tight! I’m starting the car now.”
“…”
He’s an Old Driver!
Xiang Wan cheeks blushed so much that it was burning.
Bai Muchun sat upright and started the engine. A sly smile formed on his solemn face but disappeared as quickly as it appeared.Zi Tan (紫檀) – A particular species of rosewood with a red hue. It was a precious type of wood usually used to make furniture for the royalty and nobles in ancient China.Du Landuo (毒兰朵) – This pen name has a meaning of a poisonous flower from the orchid family. Also sounds similar to the book by the name of Turandot, which has the exact hanyu pinyin name, Du Landuo.