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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nXiang Wan took a cab together with Hu Bandao to the gathering.

nWhen they arrived, there were about more than a dozen men and women sitting in the private dining room.

nUsually, everyone dressed rather casually for the lessons. Now that they were out to enjoy themselves, all of them, especially the girls, had especially dressed up for the occasion. Some adopted a sweet style, some aloof and elegant and many more. It was an aesthetically pleasing sight to see charming men and women with dazzling clothes sitting together.

nIt was a relief that Zi Tan and Du Landuo were not there.

nXiang Wan heaved a sigh of relief inside. “Hi everyone!”

n“Quick! Over here, over here, come sit here, Beautiful!”

n“Hey tough girl! Why are you fighting with the men over the girl!”

n“I’m trying to be a gay, understand?”

nThis was the first time she joined them for a night out. Everyone was interested to know more about her, and took turns to joke around with her.

n“Thank you, thank you!”

nAfter sitting down, she seemed to be saying “thank you” most of the time.

nAs they belonged to the same industry, they had a common topic. Socializing with them turned out to be much better than Xiang Wan’s original expectations.

nThe two female classmates who had gossiped about her the other day at the canteen were just sitting beside her. However, they had tacitly chosen to forget about that matter.

nOn the dining table, everyone was full of positive energy.

nDuring this period, someone inevitably mentioned Second Young Master Mu.

nThat seemed to be an indispensable part of a social gathering amongst authors.

nSecond Young Master Mu was a myth in the circle of online literature, a myth that no one had ever met before.

nHence, Xiang Wan, who owned the autograph of Second Young Master Mu, became the hot topic. There were those who asked her how she got ahold of the autograph. They were also interested in the gender as well as the facial features of Second Young Master Mu…

nXiang Wan found these hard to answer.

nShe just said it was a friend’s friend who knew him and brushed off the queries.

nFrom the eyes of others, her explanation was dubious.

nHowever, these people had high emotional intelligence, and they did not get to the bottom of the matter.

n…

nAfter dinner, the group proceeded to a KTV to sing, which Xiang Wan delicined their invitation.

nDuring dinner, she had caved in and drank some wine due to their relentless persuasion. If she went to KTV with them, she couldn’t imagine the amount of alcohol they would push to her.

nShe had behaved inappropriately in front of Bai Muchuan when she got drunk. She couldn’t imagine misbehaving in front of these classmates.

nAfter all, Bai Muchuan was right that her alcohol tolerance was poor, and her drunken state could make one’s hair curl.

nHu Bandao was indeed a good friend. Seeing that Xiang Wan’s cheeks were red from the alcohol, he accompanied her back to the campus instead of letting her go back by herself.

nIt was a quiet night at the campus. Most of the students had not yet returned.

nHu Bandao sent her right up to her dorm.

nOnly the two of them were walking on the corridor.

nAfter swiping the room card, Xiang Wan did not pull open the door but turned around to smile at Hu Bandao.

n“I’m fine now, you should hurry and join them.”

n“Alright,” Hu Bandao replied but did not move, his gaze was as if glued onto her face. “Do take good care of yourself. You look a little languish, my heart aches to see you like this.”

nUh…

nXiang Wan felt as if she got struck by lightning.

n“You must have drank a lot. Why so sour?”

nHu Bandao was startled and gave a chuckle, “Sour? There’s even more sour ones, you want to hear them?”

nXiang Wan leaned against the door. “… You can disappear now.”

nHu Bandao had eye contact with her for a moment before suddenly puffing a sigh and laughed.

n“Forget it, you can’t take jokes! I’ll get going now. Call me if there’s anything!”

nPfft! “Okay, an unpopular author like me won’t understand the world of you famous authors. Don’t worry, just go.”

nIn online literature, the polarization between the earnings of authors were very steep. While authors like Xiang Wan had a problem with staying afloat, these famous authors were high income earners, especially those who could earn from copyrights. The earnings of such authors far exceeded those elites from other industries. Such authors had no lack of young, beautiful, gentle, and virtuous women as their girlfriends.

nFor a male author choosing a female author for a romantic relationship was purely asking for trouble, in Xiang Wan’s opinion.

nTac! Tac! Tac! The two of them would be facing their own laptop screen, punching away at their keyboard, writing their story.

nJust imagining that scene alone made Xiang Wan speechless.

n“They’re going to call you any moment now, better get going!”

nHu Bandao paused for a while before he finally replied, “Are you’re really fine on your own?”

nXiang Wan rubbed her light red cheeks. “Of course, I’m not drunk!”

nHu Bandao lowered his head and laughed. Then he waved to her and left.

n…

nWith regards to Hu Bandao, Xiang Wan would not allow any ambiguity to happen between them.

nThis was because she knew very well that, that was not love.

nIt was simply the effect of alcohol and the sorrow of the impending separation that catalyzed certain feelings.

nShe opened the door to her dorm, switched on the lights, and threw herself on the bed. Like a soft, cuddly doll, she lain on the bed, not wanting to move a finger.

n…

nThe summer night in the capital was rather breezy, which was unlike Jin City, where the nights were stuffy and hot.

nOutside the window, the leaves of the tall trees were rustling in the wind. Xiang Wan gradually calmed down as she listened to these sounds of nature.

nShe had fallen asleep when her mobile phone rang.

nXiang Wan felt as though her eyelids were stuck by glue as she couldn’t lift her eyelids. “Hello?” She sounded muffled.

n“You drank wine?” The voice from the other end sounded really displeased.

n“Bai Muchuan?” Xiang Wan snorted a laugh, “It’s none of your business?”

nShe seemed to have taken a liking to bicker with Bai Muchuan. Everytime when she managed to out-talk him, she would feel an indescribable sense of triumph.

nPerhaps she had been bullied by him too many times in Jin City.

nShe thought and asked in her muddled state, “What’s up? If there’s nothing, I’m hanging up now…”

nIt was easy to get sleepy when one was drunk, and when one felt sleepy, the brain would not work properly.

nShe waited for quite a while, but the man over the other end of phone did not make any sound.

nHe was not talking, but he did not hang up the phone. What exactly did he want?

nXiang Wan couldn’t hold up for long. “Bai Muchuan, what exactly do you want to tell me? She yawned. “Sir, please don’t do this? I’m not so free to play guess all the time…”

n“I’m also drinking,” he said, “still drinking.”

n“?” What did he mean?

n“You didn’t notice it?”

nHe’s right, how come he could tell she had been drinking but yet she couldn’t?

nXiang Wan gently pulled her hair. She was so sleepy that her brain was not functioning well.

n“Okay, you go ahead and drink then. Goodnight…”

n“You’re not allowed to hang up!” He suddenly commanded her.

n“Hm? Why did I have to listen to you… Tch! I’m not your mom!”

nXiang Wan unconsciously used the common phrases seen in the internet to bicker with him.

nBut when she said this, Bai Muchuan’s breathing seemed to have caught in his throat for a moment.

nAnother round of silence ensued.

nXiang Wan’s eyes were almost shut, about to fall asleep, when he suddenly said, “I don’t have a mom.”

nEh? Xiang Wan was stunned, and her brain was slightly clearer now. “Hey, what happened? Did something happen?”

nOnly then did she realize that there was something not quite right with Bai Muchuan that night.

nHe seemed to be very depressed, yet the emotions hidden within his calm voice was clearly a towering rage.

nYet when he said he did not have a mom, he sounded like a child!

nXiang Wan was puzzled by the fact that when Bai Muchuan talked to her in such a tone, she would automatically think of him as a helpless child in need of love…

nDid her maternal instinct act up?

nA poor kid like her worrying about a wealthy guy like him?

n“What has it got to do with me even if they don’t like me? I don’t need them at all… I have no need for them long ago…”

nBai Muchuan seemed to be muttering unconsciously to himself, or maybe to his inner self.

n“I don’t need anyone to love me, anyone.”

nWhat? Xiang Wan could not make sense of it. “Hey, you alright?”

n“Who would care if anything happened to me?”

nSh*t! What happened to the wise and brilliant Detective Bai? Did he get possessed by a literary scholar?

nXiang Wan massaged her slightly aching and tired head, then lied down on her pillow. She looked at the screen of her phone to ascertain that the one talking was indeed Bai Muchuan. Only then did she believe that all these words were sprouted from his mouth.

n“Young Master Bai?” She imitated how Nanny Li addressed him. “What exactly happened?”

n“Xiang Wan, do you care?”

n“…”

nDid this guy drink more than me? He’s talking incoherently.

nXiang Wan guessed that Bai Muchuan had drank too much wine and called her up due to some pent-up feelings.

nShe could not help but yawn again. “Okay, it’s hard to talk to a drunk. Say what you want to say or I’m going to hang up the phone now?”

nThere was no sound from the other end of the phone.

nXiang Wan pricked up her ears for a moment and got impatient.

n“Crazy…”

nShe muttered to herself, put her phone aside, and went to sleep.

n…

nThe next morning, Xiang Wan finished her essay and sent it to the homeroom teacher’s email.

nUpon completing the task, she felt really relaxed.

nThis was the last day of training, so the students who attended the lesson were much fewer.

nWhen Xiang Wan opened her notebook, Hu Bandao arrived at the classroom.

nHe had slept in his dorm in the morning and missed the morning lessons.

n“Good afternoon, Little Wanwan.” He sat down beside her and smiled.

n“…” Xiang Wan was speechless with regards to this nickname.

nHe asked another question, “What time is your flight tomorrow?”

n“Half-past nine at night.”

n“Why such a late flight?”

n“… It’s cheap, of course!” Xiang Wan rolled her eyes. “You authors on a pedestal won’t understand the frugal life of broke authors like me.”

n“I see!” Hu Bandao chuckled, “Is it convenient to return home once you touch down in Jin City?”

nHis question reminded her of Bai Muchuan.

nHe had told her that he would go back to Jin City with her, but he had never asked her for the flight details.

nThe two of them did not make any formal arrangement even though she received a strange phone call from him last night.

nMaybe, he was just saying it for fun?

n“What’s up?” Hu Bandao was observing her emotions. “Do you want me to book an airport transfer for you?”

n“No, no, no, there’s no need.” Xiang Wan gave him a disdainful look, “Have you gotten too much money? Want my bank account number?”

n“Hahaha,” Hu Bandao laughed, “no problem.”

nMore students strolled into the classroom.

nThere were still 10 more minutes to go before the class starts, and the more familiar ones talked to one another.

nA pretty classmate beside Xiang Wan suddenly poked her arm.

n“Hey, I heard that one of the two students who received a ‘Good’ for their essay is Zi Tan from your website…”

nXiang Wan’s eyelid jumped. “Is it? I didn’t know that?”

nThe female classmate peered at her. “Have you submitted your essay?”

nXiang Wan nodded, “Yes, I treat it as a mission, we should get it done.”

n“Yup, everyone treated the essay as a mission.” The girl also held the same thinking as Hu Bandao. “We’re like the Crown Prince’s accompanying attendants, there’s no need to think too much over this.”

n“You’re right,” Xiang Wan chuckled.

nFor such a topic, she really did not know how to handle it.

nSigh! “I heard that Zi Tan’s statistics for her novel is actually not so great, just…”

nJust as she said this, the notebook on the desk fell to the ground.

nThe noise startled the two of them, and when they looked up, they saw Zi Tan walk past them in an aloof manner.

nShe had accidentally knocked down the notebook when she walked past.

nZi Tan wore a cold expression and did not apologize.

nThe female classmate’s face instantly flushed red upon seeing her.

nShe did not know if Zi Tan had overheard what she had said, but she wished the ground would swallow her up nonetheless.

nXiang Wan, who was innocent, met Zi Tan’s eyes when she looked up.

nThey had eye contact for one second where Zi Tan pursed her lips and walked away coldly as if she had not seen her.

nThat was really awkward!

nThere was nothing she could do about it.

nEver since the first day of lesson, they would at least nod at each other when they meet, hardly making any contact. Xiang Wan did not attempt to try to get close to her as well, since Zi Tan was always wearing a cold expression.

nNow, with this incident, things suddenly became complicated although there was no resentment, or so she thought.

n…

nIt was the last day of training—the presentation ceremony.

nThat day was a sunny day and all the students were peppy.

nThe leaders of the literary school and the writer’s association were present at the ceremony.

nTheir homeroom teacher was the host of the ceremony. When the respective leaders finished their speech, the homeroom teacher announced leisurely that he had finished reading everyone’s essay. After discussing with all the lecturers that taught them, they had chosen two outstanding students for the merit award.

n“A male author and a female author.”

nThis was what everyone had guessed, so the students wore calm and composed expressions.

n“Let’s invite web novelist, Fengyan Zhenghao of Fiery Sky Chinese Literature, please come to the stage.”

nWhen their homeroom teacher announced Fengyan Zhenghao as one of the merit award winners, everyone was not surprised.

nTotally not surprised.

nThey already knew the results would be this way.

nAt this moment, some students were whispering that the other winner would be Zi Tan.

nMany people’s eyes were fixed on her.

nEveryone thought that the other award winner must be Zi Tan.

nObviously, Zi Tan herself knew that as well.

nShe sat upright with a cool expression, but it was too obvious that she was also all ready to go up the stage once her name was called.

n“Let’s invite web novelist—Xiang Gongzi Wan of Wen Quan Book Treasury!”

nTime seemed to have stopped at that moment.

nZi Tan was already preparing to get up from her seat, but their homeroom teacher did not call her name.

nEveryone was caught off guard.

nThere were many loud gasps across the classroom.

n…

nZi Tan used three seconds to realize that her name had not been called.

nXiang Wan, on the other hand, did not stand up even after three seconds.

n“Me?” Her cheeks were burning, totally unprepared.

n“It’s you! Quickly get up now!” Hu Bandao was also quite surprised but he was happy for her and was secretly poking her arm. “Hurry up, everyone’s looking at you! Don’t be a disgrace! Stand up with confidence! You’ve got a great figure so all the more you should show off in occasions like this, understand?”

nXiang Wan: “…”

nThe flush of embarrassment made her cheeks go red. She got up slowly from her seat and walked toward the stage.

nIt was actually a short distance, yet she felt it was faraway.

nThere were people whispering around her, but her brain was blank at that moment.

nShe did not know how she got up the stage and stood behind the podium. She also did not know how she got her essay and read it out to everyone.

nShe could hardly hear her own voice as she rarely got on stage. She was uncomfortable.

nIn particular, Zi Tan, who was sitting quietly in the center of the classroom, was looking at her with a gaze like ice picks…

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