Chapter 66: Friends

A week had passed since the novel went on sale, and during this time, Jiang Zheng had been working overtime every day, pushing himself to make progress. For one thing, he wanted to finish the novel within three months; for another, he owed quite a few updates to his readers and was eager to make up for them as soon as possible.

At present, Jiang Zheng was the most prolific author across the entire network. Such a high volume of updates brought many benefits: readers were more likely to stick around for a story that provided plenty of content. As a result, his subscriptions were steadily climbing.

In addition, his monthly votes were surging every day. Not to exaggerate, but he was getting at least a thousand or two votes daily. Seeing this, Jiang Zheng felt a sense of relief; thankfully, he had set the bonus update rules based on subscriptions on the very first day. Otherwise, just keeping up with the bonus updates for the monthly votes alone would have been impossible, even by the time he finished the novel.

The books Jiang Zheng ordered the day before arrived the next day. He managed to bring them upstairs with some effort, tidied up his computer desk, and placed the books on top. There was no study in his room, only a computer desk suitable for keeping books.

He planned to get a bookshelf someday, so he could display all the books he’d read. When Jiang Zheng came home with so many books, his parents were truly astonished. No one knows their child better than his parents; they were well aware of Jiang Zheng’s temperament.

He was never much of a reader. That morning, Jiang Zheng had barely escaped a scolding, and now, out of the blue, he was buying a pile of books—no wonder his parents’ imaginations ran wild.

Jiang Zheng interrupted their train of thought, saying, “I want to learn something new, so it’ll be easier to find a job after I graduate.” Hearing this, his parents were overjoyed and stopped worrying. Since Jiang Zheng was now thinking about his future and making an effort for his career, they needn’t fret so much.

On the monthly vote rankings, Jiang Zheng’s name could already be seen. Though he wasn’t at the very top, he was still quite satisfied. Last month’s royalties had just arrived, and seeing the extra money in his bank account filled him with happiness. The royalties amounted to several thousand yuan, mostly from reader rewards, with the biggest share coming from his Silver Alliance supporters.

As for the profits from the novel’s official release, that was this month’s business, and he’d have to wait until next month to receive those royalties. The first thing Jiang Zheng did after getting paid was to buy his parents each a new piece of clothing.

He told them the money was from his part-time job. His parents were pleased, but still put on stern faces and lectured him, saying, “This is the time to focus on your studies.” Their meaning was clear: he shouldn’t be working part-time, they could provide for him.

Jiang Zheng knew well enough that his parents could afford his university tuition and living expenses. They weren’t wealthy, but by no means poor. He only took on part-time jobs to lighten their burden, believing that now he was an adult, he shouldn’t rely on his family for everything.

After Jiang Zheng promised not to take on any more part-time work, his parents reluctantly accepted the clothes.

A couple of days later, Jiang Zheng received a phone call. The caller ID read “Yuan Yuhua”—a name Jiang Zheng knew well. Yuan Yuhua had been his classmate in both middle and high school, not quite a childhood friend, but certainly a brother he’d known for many years.

As soon as Jiang Zheng picked up, Yuan Yuhua said, “Open the door, quick!”

Jiang Zheng was taken aback. “Why should I open the door?”

“I’m outside your place—why else? Come on, I’m about to melt out here!” Yuan Yuhua replied.

Jiang Zheng saved his work and exited the author’s backend, then opened the door to find Yuan Yuhua standing there, holding a large watermelon.

“Finally! You’ve opened up. Got the air conditioner on, right? I need some cool air,” Yuan Yuhua said, making himself at home.

Jiang Zheng closed the door behind him. “What brings you here?”

“Your parents told me you were back, so I came over to see you,” Yuan Yuhua explained.

The two went into Jiang Zheng’s room. “At last, some cool air. It’s scorching outside,” Yuan Yuhua said, collapsing onto a chair.

Jiang Zheng glanced at the blinding sunlight outside. He hadn’t been out, but just looking at the sun, he could tell it was sweltering.

“Why didn’t you let me know you were back? If I hadn’t run into your parents, I wouldn’t have known,” Yuan Yuhua complained.

“I thought you’d be busy with your girlfriend. If I came to find you, wouldn’t I just be a third wheel?” Jiang Zheng replied, concealing the truth.

“What girlfriend? Don’t slander me—I’m single now,” Yuan Yuhua said.

Jiang Zheng raised an eyebrow. “You broke up? When did that happen?”

Yuan Yuhua shrugged. “Just last month.”

Though they were close, the two didn’t talk often—typical of most guys. So Jiang Zheng had no idea about Yuan Yuhua’s breakup, and was surprised to hear it now. He knew Yuan Yuhua’s girlfriend, too—they’d all been in the same class. Because of Yuan Yuhua, she and Jiang Zheng had gotten along quite well.

From what Jiang Zheng remembered, Yuan Yuhua and his girlfriend had always been inseparable, so it was hard to believe they’d ended things so suddenly.

“What happened?” Jiang Zheng asked.

Sighing, Yuan Yuhua recounted, “Last month, it was her birthday. I went to her university to celebrate, wanted to give her a special day. As we were walking hand in hand down the street, her parents suddenly appeared—they’d also come to surprise her for her birthday. Can you imagine that scene? I wished the ground would open up and swallow me.”

“I can imagine—it must have been awkward,” Jiang Zheng said, knowing that even after three years together, Yuan Yuhua had never met his girlfriend’s parents. Their relationship had been kept secret from her family.

“But bumping into them isn’t such a big deal. You’re both in college now—meeting the parents could just be considered an early introduction. Why did you break up over it?” Jiang Zheng asked, puzzled.

“I would’ve liked that, but her parents absolutely forbade her from dating in college. So, we broke up,” Yuan Yuhua explained.

Jiang Zheng eyed him suspiciously. “You don’t look like someone nursing a broken heart.”

Yuan Yuhua rolled his eyes. “Then what should a heartbroken person look like? Do I have to be sobbing and inconsolable?”

“That’s not what I mean, but you’re way too calm for someone who just broke up,” Jiang Zheng said. He knew a bit about Yuan Yuhua’s relationship—if it were a real breakup, even if Yuan Yuhua didn’t make a scene, he wouldn’t be this composed when talking about it.

Could it be a fake breakup?

Thinking this, Jiang Zheng said, “You’re not actually pretending, are you?”