Chapter 39: Do You Know That Man? Marry Him

Uncle Dai, Editor-in-Chief Zhou Mingwei, and the colleagues in the editorial department all praised *To Live* more and more highly, which gave Chen Xiaomi even greater confidence.

Her intuition told her that as long as she could seize this opportunity, her name would quickly resonate throughout the industry, and her life would usher in a glorious peak alongside the publication of *To Live*.

At the same time, she could finally shed the label of entering People's Literature solely "relying on her father's connections."

She just wondered if the subsequent chapters could maintain the brilliance of the beginning?

Chen Xiaomi muttered inwardly. This was her only worry and uncertainty so far.

She truly wasn't being overly critical.

Rather, as an editorial reviewer, she had seen far too many manuscripts start strong and end weak.

Seeing her walk out of the editor-in-chief's office with a beaming smile, Zhou Chunlan, who had been secretly watching all along, immediately put on a concerned expression and asked, "Xiaomi, what did the editor-in-chief say?"

Hearing this, Sister Liao, Uncle Dai, and the other colleagues all stopped what they were doing and raised their heads.

Looking at Zhou Chunlan's hypocritical, fake-friend expression, Chen Xiaomi found it quite amusing.

However, she possessed a very high emotional intelligence and would not expose the other woman. Instead, she replied, "Uncle Zhou and Uncle Dai share the same opinion. They said it's good!"

Good! A concise and comprehensive word.

Yet everyone familiar with Zhou Mingwei understood that this was the highest form of praise.

In that instant, everyone in the editorial department seemed to witness a rising star ascending rapidly, blooming in the sky like a firework with a sharp WHOOSH.

"Xiaomi, congratulations!"

"Xiaomi, remember to treat us when the time comes."

"..."

Listening to her colleagues offer their congratulations one after another, Zhou Chunlan struggled to maintain a stiff smile on her face while her heart completely collapsed: This was clearly supposed to be mine...

After exchanging pleasantries with everyone, Chen Xiaomi focused on the crucial task at hand: calling back the contact number left by "December."

0739-885708

Her fingers rapidly slid across the number pad ten times, and after double-checking that the phone number was correct, Chen Xiaomi straightened up and finally pressed the "#" key.

Was the writer December a man or a woman?

How old were they?

Thirty?

Or forty?

Were they easy to get along with? Was communication easy?

"Hello, hello? Who is this?"

Just as she was pondering while holding the receiver, the call went through, and a remarkably sexy female voice came from the other end.

A woman?

And with such a magnetic voice, her age probably wasn't low, Chen Xiaomi quickly made a judgment in her mind, then carefully phrased her response:

"Hello! Is this the writer December?"

***

Writer December?

Was Li Heng's pen name December? Wang Runwen was stunned for a moment, and then immediately reacted:

"I am not December. I'm a friend of his. May I ask who you are?"

Chen Xiaomi sipped some water to soothe her burning throat. "I'm Chen Xiaomi, an editor at People's Literature. Is December available?"

Right at that moment, a crackling electrical static came through the phone, preventing Wang Runwen from hearing clearly what the other person had said.

So she asked again: "People's Literature?"

Static on telephone lines was a common occurrence these days, so Chen Xiaomi took it in stride. "Yes. Could you please call December to the phone?"

Gazing through the window at the teaching building across the playground, Wang Runwen said, "He's not here right now. Call back at noon."

Not here?

Chen Xiaomi patiently asked, "If I may ask, around what time at noon will December have time?"

With a full morning of classes, the fourth period ended at 12:10, and it took a few minutes just to walk over from the teaching building. Wang Runwen replied immediately, "After 12:20, preferably a bit later."

"Alright, thank you!"

Not connecting with the person on the first try left Chen Xiaomi's burning enthusiasm with a tiny trace of disappointment, though not much.

In her mind, with the prestigious brand of *People's Literature* backing her, as long as she spoke appropriately and followed up promptly, this was practically a done deal.

Placing the red receiver back in its cradle, Wang Runwen suddenly slapped her own forehead, silently cursing herself for being a complete fool as she temporarily forgot all about *Harvest* magazine.

*People's Literature*: 12:20
*Harvest*: Around 12:30

Would the two places end up conflicting?

The English teacher instinctively wanted to call back, but in this day and age without caller ID, she had no choice but to drop the idea with frustration.

Then she fell into deep thought. What on earth had Li Heng written?

How could it involve both *People's Literature* and *Harvest* magazine?

Judging by that tone, it sounded as if they were both rushing eagerly to secure it...

As an English teacher, Wang Runwen not only had to handle two classes regularly, but she also had a pile of trivial daily chores to deal with. She didn't pay much attention to literature in her spare time and had virtually no concept of these two magazines.

To put it bluntly, she wasn't even as familiar with them as she was with *Story Highlights*, *Youth Digest*, *Budding*, *Readers*, or the romance novels of Chiung Yao.

After all, she was just an ordinary person; high-brow things like literature were far too distant from her and lacked the appeal of romance and gossip.

At least those romantic tales could satisfy her romantic fantasies as a woman and help her vent her worries in the shower during the dead of night.

On the other hand, Wang琦 and the head of teaching affairs frequently published articles in newspapers, earning a dozen or twenty yuan in royalties from time to time. Presumably, they would know a lot more.

Originally, she had assumed that whatever Li Heng wrote was similar to the works of Teacher Wang琦 and the others, so she hadn't paid much attention at the time and hadn't asked in depth.

Yet looking at it now, this whole affair reeked of strangeness. She would have to ask Li Heng about it later; otherwise, a breakdown in communication might mess up something major for him, which wouldn't do at all.

With these thoughts in mind, Wang Runwen—who had just returned from the classroom—turned around, changed her shoes again, and went downstairs.

Tomorrow was the Lantern Festival night, yet the cold north wind was still howling, making people tremble down to their bones.

The teachers' residential building was close to the school gate. Pulling her black scarf tighter, Wang Runwen simply went outside the school to buy a few cups of sweetened tofu pudding, a dozen hot meat buns, and packed a few sticks of fried dough strips wrapped in oil paper.

When she reached the landing on the third floor of the teaching building, she ran right into Wang琦, who asked in surprise, "Runwen, didn't you go back because you weren't feeling well? Why are you back?"

She hadn't been feeling well because it was the first day of her period, and her lower back ached slightly.

During morning self-study, after just showing her face, she had asked Teacher Wang琦 to keep an eye on the class for her.

Wang Runwen tossed her long hair. "I have something to discuss with Li Heng."

Wang琦 had long since grown accustomed to the close relationship between her and Li Heng, and he had even heard the gossip spread by Liu Yejiang, but he had scoffed at all of it.

Having worked together for many years, he understood her temperament and trusted her character. He didn't believe Teacher Wang would lack clarity of mind and fall in love with a student.

Wang Runwen opened the breakfast bag. "Old Wang, you haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you? Want to have some while it's hot?"

Wang琦 shivered against the cold and asked happily, "There's a portion for me too?"

Wang Runwen curled her lips. "Duh, when have I ever left you out?"

Wang琦 let out a hearty laugh, familiarly picking up a steaming hot meat bun and taking a bite. It was rich, tender, and juicy. Then he grabbed a cup of tofu pudding, slurped a mouthful, and praised:

"These past two years, thanks to this kid Li Heng, I've managed to save quite a bit on breakfast money."

Wang Runwen remained unimpressed and made a teasing, demeaning remark: "Hmph! I despise you; that's the extent of your ambition. How much money is that even worth?"

As the two teachers ate breakfast and chatted about the class's academic progress, Wang Runwen suddenly asked, "Old Wang, let me ask you something."

Wang琦's mouth was full of food and he had no time to speak, so he just nodded at her.

Wang Runwen asked, "Have you ever heard of *People's Literature Magazine*?"

Wang琦 swallowed a few bites of the fried dough strips into his stomach. "I've heard of it. What about it?"

Wang Runwen asked, "Could the stuff you usually write be published in *People's Literature*?"

Hearing this, Teacher Wang琦 almost choked and grinned self-deprecatingly, "Pfft! You think far too terribly high of me. With my three-legged cat skills, getting published in the provincial newspaper is the absolute limit, let alone *People's Literature*! Even if the graves of my Wang family ancestors started smoking with spiritual energy, there'd still be no hope."

Wang Runwen looked astonished. "You weren't like this before. You always claimed to be a man of culture."

Teacher Wang琦 laughed heartily and said, "I was just boasting. Anyway, you semi-illiterates don't understand anyway, so you just let me brag. By the way, why are you bringing up *People's Literature* today?"

"Nothing, just asking casually."

Wang Runwen asked again, "What about *Harvest* magazine? Have you heard of that?"

Teacher Wang琦 replied, "That's for big shots! Anyone who gets published in that is a true literary writer—a heavy-hitter. They aren't in the same league as people like us who earn a few yuan or ten-odd yuan in royalties."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Runwen abruptly threw out: "If someone submitted a manuscript and both magazines called, what kind of concept would that be?"

Teacher Wang琦's eyes widened. "Something that good actually happened? Do you know the person? Marry him."

***

*(Author's Note: The two neighbor dogs barked all night last night, so I didn't rest well. I need to catnap for a bit, and the next chapter will be a bit late. This chapter might be a bit of filler, please don't scold me, my head is all fuzzy.)*

*(Starting today, I'm stockpiling chapters for the official release.)*