Han Mingyue’s intuition had always been sharp, and since Zhen Yu had sensed that something was amiss, how could he not feel the anomaly? It was just that he had been too excited about being able to sit with Zhen Yu and hadn’t given it much thought before!
At this moment, as soon as he calmed down, he immediately realized he had been reckless.
After coldly staring back at each ’malicious’ glance, Han Mingyue moved closer to Zhen Yu with some guilt and whispered, "Xiao Yu, sorry! I,"
Zhen Yu chuckled and patted his arm, "It’s fine! They’re just envious and jealous! I’m too happy to care!"
"Uh," Han Mingyue blushed at her words but quietly rotated his arm to hold Zhen Yu’s hand.
With her right hand intertwined with his fingers, Zhen Yu could only reach into her backpack with her left hand and rummage around.
Both sheets of paper were placed on top, easily accessible.
Zhen Yu simply slapped them onto the desktop, saying, "Here! One for each of us!"
Han Mingyue tightened his grasp, then silently let go of Zhen Yu. "Shall we stick them on the corner of the desk? I’ll do it!"
"Sure! I’ll start reading then, we have class in the afternoon."
"Mhm." After Han Mingyue nodded in agreement, he began to search his backpack for clear tape.
Just as he had finished taping all four sides of the timetable and was giving it an ’overall protection’, Zhen Yu’s phone suddenly vibrated.
Thus, she had to close the Chinese textbook she had just flipped open on the desk and signaled to Han Mingyue, "Let me step out to take a call."
"Oh!" Han Mingyue quickly paused what he was doing to make way for Zhen Yu.
In an era where caller IDs were not yet widespread, naturally, there were no nuisance calls to speak of! So, if a call came through, it was definitely from someone who knew her phone number, which meant Zhen Yu always answered her calls!
Stepping out of the classroom under the curious gazes of her classmates, Zhen Yu immediately took out her phone from her pocket, "Hello! This is Zhen Yu!"
"Xiao Yu! It’s your mom! Did your brother tell you? We stayed at a hotel last night!"
"No!" Knowing full well that Mrs. Zhen called only when something was up, Zhen Yu still didn’t want to engage. Didn’t her mother know that today was the first day of school?!
"Ah! Well, if he didn’t say, he didn’t say! Anyway, your brother started school today, right? Mom was just wondering if there’s any market around Public Security University where they sell quilts or anything like that?! We’re already at our place, but it’s completely empty! I have to buy everything new for eating, drinking, and living!"
Zhen Yu closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, she was no longer as angry.
But some things she still had to say!
"Zhen Yan has started school, and so have I! It’s class time right now!"
"Oh, I thought you were still in High School,"
Mrs. Zhen obviously felt she had a point and wanted to explain further to Zhen Yu.
Unfortunately, Zhen Yu had no desire to listen.
She cut in directly, "I’m not familiar with the Capital! There are plenty of people on the main roads, go ask around yourself! Don’t call me during class time again; I’ll turn off my phone!"
After saying her piece, Zhen Yu swiftly hung up.
After saving her mother’s new number to her contacts, Zhen Yu was about to turn off her phone when it vibrated again.
"Hello! This is Editor Huang from Capital Knowledge Publishing House! I wonder if you remember me?" A familiar young woman’s voice reached Zhen Yu’s ears.
"I do! Hello, Editor Huang!"
The number was still in her phone, so Zhen Yu of course knew who was calling.
Actually, after signing the agreement with Old Lin that day, Zhen Yu had considered whether to call Editor Huang to inquire about it!
However, thinking about the manuscript that Old Lin needed as soon as possible, Zhen Yu felt she might not have the energy to handle both, and ultimately decided to wait and see.
She didn’t expect that after such a wait, school would start, and the other party would actually reach out to her again!
"Congratulations! Such a young age, and you’ve won the first prize in the national calligraphy competition! I’m calling to ask about the publication of the calligraphy booklets we talked about last time, how have you considered it?"
"I’ve already signed a contract with a local publishing house,"
"Ah?!" Editor Huang was quite surprised! How could the candidate she painstakingly chose be snatched away by others first? This won’t do! She had to quickly try to see if there was any chance to still secure a deal!
"What kind of contract did you sign? Also for calligraphy booklets? What kind?"
A barrage of questions bombarded Zhen Yu; thankfully, she was clear-minded and responded question after question, "A five-year copyright agency agreement, a full set of instructional calligraphy booklets, from primary school to high school."
"Oh... no problem!" Editor Huang heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "The calligraphy booklets I want you to publish are aimed at the adult market, for grown-ups to use! It doesn’t overlap with the one you’ve signed!"
Zhen Yu understood what the other party meant right away, but she still had a head full of questions.
"Editor Huang, there were a hundred first prize winners in this competition! And it’s not just the children’s group; there’s an adult group too,"
"Hey! Sister knows what you want to ask! Since you’ve already signed a contract, you must understand the ins and outs! Sister will tell you the truth! There were only 20 first prize winners in the adult group, and each one is somewhat well-known! To get them to publish a calligraphy booklet, the royalties would have to be pretty high, you know!"
So, it’s because she was ’cheaper’!
"How much does your local publishing house pay you in royalties? The minimum standard, right? Sister will add 1% to that for you! Other conditions will be the same!"
Zhen Yu remained silent, but her heart was already wavering...
"To be honest! Sister chose you because I think even among the adults, your cursive script would definitely win first prize without question! The calligraphy booklets the department wants to publish this time are meant to be more neutral, not too sharp and edgy, nor too dainty and delicate! Gender-neutral, you know what I mean?"
"Really! After meeting you, I looked through many others’ calligraphy, including many first prizes from the competition! But when I compare them to yours, your cursive script stands out, and others are just..."
"I got it! Thanks for your appreciation, Editor Huang!"
Having someone endorse her work, Zhen Yu truly felt the sentiment of ’one would die for a cause knowing they are understood’.
But although she had already decided to agree, she still cautiously asked, "May I know what the content of the calligraphy booklet your company wants to publish is? Will it be just one booklet or a whole set?"
"You agree? That’s really great!" Content originally comes from NovelHub(.)net
Editor Huang’s voice suddenly rose several octaves!