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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nAfter the end of the presentation ceremony, everyone started to disperse.

nAs Xiang Wan had attended a social gathering together with Hu Bandao last night, these authors had become her own little circle of friends.

nAs she won the merit award, many of them congratulated her via WeChat.

nXiang Wan responded to all these congratulatory messages awkwardly. She kept feeling that it was unreal for her to have won the award.

nFeeling uneasy, she took her training completion certificate as well as the merit award certificate to look for her homeroom teacher.

n“Sir, I would like to speak to you. Do you have a moment?”

nThe homeroom teacher seemed to know what she wanted to say and pointed up ahead.

n“Let’s talk over there.”

nThat was his office.

nAfter saying that sentence, the courage that Xiang Wan summoned had dissipated. Thus, when she entered the office, she appeared to be somewhat timid and hesitant.

nAfter closing the door, she walked up to the table and asked very softly, “Sir, why am I chosen as the merit award winner?”

nHuh?

nThe homeroom teacher took a sip of tea from his tea cup. Upon hearing what she said, he looked at her amiably with a smile.

n“Did you feel that you should not be the one to receive the merit award?”

n“… Yes.” Xiang Wan replied a little weakly.

nIn actual fact, no writer would truly think that he or she was not good at writing.

nTherefore, Xiang Wan’s reply was, in fact, referring to her essay results.

nThe homeroom teacher’s smile soothed her nerves.

n“You’ve thought too much over this. As I said the other day, the award would be based on the grade of your essay. Firstly, your essay is really well-written. When I discussed with the other teachers, everyone held the same views as me. Secondly, you have a high overall score. Throughout the two week training course, besides the day you applied for sick leave, you arrived for lesson on time everyday and were always seriously taking notes. You’re never late and never left early for class. You’re the only one in class who did that! If you’re not outstanding, who else is?”

nXiang Wan was surprised.

nHis explanation was good enough.

nIt was totally reasonable.

nXiang Wan’s motive to want to get selected for the training programme was exactly to want to learn something from it. She might be the only one with the best attitude toward learning in the whole class.

nHowever…

nXiang Wan eased up and wore a more relaxed smile.

n“Sir, do you really think my essay is good?”

n“Yes,” the homeroom teacher nodded, “you’ve wrote what many would not dare to write. The development of online literature up till today, is a problem that we, the practitioners, must seriously think and face up to it. For that, you deserve a commendation.”

nXiang Wan lowered her head. “I’m ashamed to show off my skills in front of the experts.”

nThe homeroom teacher glanced at her kindly. “Don’t say that, the new generation would surpass the old. Your generation has the convenience of the internet, so it is a good time to display your talents in literary creation. Do continue to write well, I hope one day, you’ll be able to surpass Second Young Master Mu.”

nSecond Young Master Mu?

nXiang Wan was slightly surprised.

nOh right, the homeroom teacher was also the leader of the Writer’s Association. He would certainly know Second Young Master Mu.

nXiang Wan nodded her head, motivated. “Second Young Master Mu is my idol. I’ll certainly look up to him.”

n“Haha, alright, take care. I look forward to greater achievements from you.”

n…

nWhen Xiang Wan returned to her dorm, her footsteps still felt a little light.

nWhat had happened was really totally beyond her expectations.

nShe had never thought that she would be able to win the merit award from a class of famous authors.

nEarlier, she had gained the recognition from her homeroom teacher, relieving her of the negative feelings she had from receiving the merit award at the ceremony.

nIf all the teachers felt that she deserved the award, she should gladly accept it!

nAs to how others would think or say about this, it was not within the scope of her consideration.

nXiang Wan washed her face to clear her head, then she put on a facial mask and sat before her laptop.

nThere was still a lot of time as her flight was 9:30 p.m. She only needed to concentrate to start writing her update for the day.

n…

nThe Case Of The Fountain Goddess

nThe number of searches and hits for this case in the internet was persistently high. However, the novel, “Murder The Dream Guy” only received a lukewarm response.

nUnlike the 720 case where her case was being replicated in real life, Xiang Wan had chosen to adapt this case into her novel. Nevertheless, not only did it fail to attract new traffic, it drew criticism instead.

nSome people felt there was a lack of novelty, while some chided her of creating hype by riding on the waves. There were also some who thought that the case was too simple, leaving no room for creativity and further development…

nOf course, there were also the curious onlookers wondering how the case would turn out under Xiang Gongzi’s plot.

nIn her novel “Murder The Dream Guy”, Xiang Wan’s opinion was—the general public might not always be right. A lopsided opinion of the majority toward an issue would not mean that the truth was what they thought to be. The washed-up celebrity was a stranger to the police officer, and he had no motive to force her to commit suicide. There was definitely more than meets the eye behind her death.

nShe wrote:

n“There is a reason behind every death. When the woman leapt from the fifth floor, there must be a pair of pushing hands behind her, tangible or intangible. That would be the real cause of her death.”

n“Rong Xiaonuan believed that Detective Fang Yelan would be able to apprehend the pair of hands and bring it to justice!”

n…

nXiang Wan was in a good shape that day. As she was writing her story in the dorm alone, she almost forgot about lunch.

nIt was Hu Bandao who sent her a reminder before he left the campus for his flight.

n“Brother, do persist on! I’ve ordered a take-out delivery for you. It’s going to arrive very soon.”

nThe word “brother” made Xiang Wan laugh two times and felt valorous.

n“Thanks, bro, I’ll remember your favor of one meal and promise you a take-out delivery in future.”

n“There’s no need to. I shall take my leave, we’ll meet again if fate allows.”

n“Okay, hope we’ll meet again.”

nAfter Xiang Wan sent her message, she peeked out of her window and saw Hu Bandao pulling his luggage along, walking toward the campus entrance.

nFarewell.

nShe waved at the back view of Hu Bandao, then she continued writing her story.

n…

nIt was now 6:00 p.m. in the evening.

nAfter uploading the chapter, it was time to pack up to go to the airport.

nShe was one of those who left the campus much later, and noticed that the whole building seemed empty.

nShe felt somewhat nervous for no reason as she dragged her suitcase into the elevator and walked alone in the hall.

nThere were staff at the reception in the main hall.

nXiang Wan walked toward the reception to sign the relevant documents and return the room card before bidding goodbye to the staff.

nThe staff wore a faint smile. “Goodbye.”

nXiang Wan thought that smile was rather unusual but did not think too much of it.

nBut the moment she turned her head, there was suddenly someone in front of her, blocking her path.

n“Eh!” Xiang Wan got a shock!

nAs usual, Bai Muchuan’s hands were inside his pockets. He looked cool with a pair of shades this time and just stood in front of her, looking at her coldly.

nWhen did he come? Xiang Wan’s heart missed a beat.

n“Why are you here?”

nInstead of answering her question, Bai Muchuan swept a glance at her and reached out for her suitcase. “Let’s go.”

nUh!

nXiang Wan saw the teasing look of the staff and her cheeks started to turn pink.

nWhy does this guy always like to launch “surprise attacks” on me?!

nXiang Wan didn’t want to talk to him in the hall as she didn’t want to be laughed at. She lowered her head and followed him out.

nBai Muchuan walked in big strides. He did not turn to look at her and neither did he wait for her.

nIt was evident that he had specially come to fetch her, although his attitude was not friendly at all.

nAt the entrance of the campus, there was a huge, red horizontal banner that read: “Farewell, students”. As Bai Muchuan’s Maybach was parked right before the entrance, it grabbed the attention of the people that walked in and out of the gates.

nThere were also several fellow authors waiting for a taxi outside the entrance.

nXiang Wan was a little dazed and she slowed down. At that moment, Bai Muchuan turned to give her an icy glare.

n“Is there glue on your feet?!”

n“…”

nWhat the! Did I owe you? Xiang Wan groaned inwardly.

nI didn’t ask you to fetch me!

nXiang Wan quickened her steps, and through the iron gates, she saw Zi Tan and Du Landuo who were by the roadside, seemingly waiting for a cab.

nAlmost simultaneously, both of them seemed to have noticed Xiang Wan.

nDue to the unexpected turn of event at the presentation ceremony earlier in the day, Zi Tan had felt very humiliated.

nFrom then on, Xiang Wan knew that the bad blood between Zi Tan and herself most probably couldn’t be resolved.

nTherefore, she no longer needed to care about the slandering thread in the forum, and neither was there a need to greet them anymore. She turned away and walked toward Bai Muchuan’s car.

nZi Tan and Du Landuo exchanged glances with each other before turning away as if they had not seen her.

nThe moment Xiang Wan got close to the car, the car window drew down.

nThe next moment, Quan Shaoteng’s gorgeous face appeared in sight. “Hi Beautiful, we meet again.”

nBai Muchuan swept a cold gaze over at him, where Quan Shaoteng shrugged his shoulders innocently.

nXiang Wan smiled at him, pulled the car door, and hopped onto the back passenger seat of the car. “Captain Quan, sorry to trouble you.”

nQuan Shaoteng laughed and spoke candidly, “I love it when beautiful women come to bother me. Right, Little Bai?”

nBai Muchuan had finished loading the suitcase into the trunk and sat together with Xiang Wan at the back passenger seat.

n“Start driving now!” He ignored him but directly issued an order instead.

n“D*mn! Who are you commanding?

n“You’re really!”

n“…”

nAnd so, Quan Laowu was being “tragically” made to act as the chauffeur sending them to the airport. Not only that, he was also a victim suffering from their cold war, enduring the indifferent aura both of them emitted throughout the journey.

n“Hello, both of you, don’t you have anything to say?”

nBai Muchuan’s eyes seemed to be half-closed, as if he was napping and did not say a word.

nXiang Wan was polite to him. “Alright,” she agreed in a soft tone, “why don’t you talk then, Captain Quan?”

n“…”

nQuan Shaoteng raised his eyebrows, feeling helpless.

n“I’ve nothing to say actually. I’ll talk about Little Bai then. Not sure what happened to him, but he’s really crazy!”

nBai Muchuan had asked him over to his place early in the morning. When he arrived, Bai Muchuan was lying on a chair near the window, sleeping. The room was full of wine bottles and cigarette butts.

nAfter that, he helped to take care of him–wake him up, get him breakfast, and accompanied him to fetch Xiang Wan. In the end, Bai Muchuan did not even return him a smile…

n“Little Bai, if we weren’t bunk mates and had carried guns together, I would have sent you flying with a kick, do you believe me?”

nBai Muchuan did not even return a glance.

n“Look at your face! Did someone owe you money or what?”

nQuan Shaoteng was a warm and friendly person. He was about to be driven crazy by Bai Muchuan’s apathetic responses.

nTalking by himself was really not interesting at all. He looked at Xiang Wan through the mirror and puffed a sigh when he noticed that Xiang Wan was pursing her lips and looked unconcerned.

n“Hey Beautiful, do show more concern for this fellow. If you don’t take good care of him, I’m really worried that he’ll be a menace to the society’.”

n“…”

nXiang Wan was speechless.

nWhat right did she have to care about Bai Muchuan?

nShe did not know how to answer that, so she just smiled reluctantly to get out of it.

nHowever, Quan Shaoteng did not want to let her off easily. “I’m serious,” he took a glance at her through the mirror, “it’s not easy for this fellow to survive till today. You should…”

n“Quan Laowu!” Bai Muchuan suddenly opened his eyes and interrupted him, “Do you still want to be the chauffeur?”

nUh!

nXiang Wan felt as though her ears were frozen and contained in an ice cube when she heard his cold, distant voice without a trace of emotion.

n“Hur!” Quan Shaoteng sounded really exasperated, “I f*cking want to 1 … d*mn, d*mmit, I f*cking terribly want to!”

nXiang Wan: “…”

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