Chapter 123

In Gansu, Li Heng wrote a total of 4 chapters, which were: Daoist Pagoda, Mogao Caves, Sunshine Snow, and Hidden Spring in the Sand Dunes.

When the group of 5 returned to Lancheng from the small county of Dunhuang, Zhao Jing had already started packing her things and was planning to move.

Seeing her mother's large and small pieces of luggage, Li Ran couldn't help but complain to Li Heng: "She reminds me of an idiom: 'homeward bound like an arrow.'"

"My father spent over 20 years pouring his heart out to accompany her, but in the end, it was all just fleeting clouds, no match for her unrequited love for your father."

Li Heng laughed in spite of himself: "She is your own mother, is it okay for you to say that about her? If we judge by actions rather than intentions, no one is perfect. Over these 20-plus years, Aunt Zhao hasn't done anything out of line, so it can be considered a beginning and an end."

Li Ran was left speechless, and it was a long time before she stood up and said: "That's true. I'm not blaming her, I'm just lamenting the power of love."

Hearing that the group was going to Chengdu and Dujiangyan, Zhao Jing hurriedly found connections to get an introduction letter, and then invited everyone to a well-known restaurant in Lancheng to see them off.

Before leaving, Zhao Jing specifically read the 4 new chapters Li Heng had written.

After reading, she pondered in silence, and only after a long while did she sigh and say: "Well written! Worthy of being a writer; there is beauty between every line. Run'e gave birth to a good son."

Glancing at Li Heng, then glancing again at her own daughter outside the window, Zhao Jing had a moment where a strong idea of playing matchmaker surged up, but in the end, she held it back.

She understood that Li Heng probably didn't think much of her daughter.

Zhao Jing asked: "About how many chapters are left?"

Li Heng said: "Looks like there are over 30 more."

Zhao Jing felt a sense of anticipation: "Will it be published as a book?"

Li Heng pondered: "Hard to say, it depends on the market reaction. If the response is good, naturally there will be a standalone volume."

Zhao Jing nodded and said: "It will definitely be good. Even I want to collect a copy after reading it. When the book is published, remember to notify me."

"Eh, alright. If that day really comes, I will definitely personally give you a copy, Auntie." Li Heng's words were sincere; he had taken too many favors from her, so what were these small things?

Zhao Jing reached out: "I've packed most of the other luggage, but the study hasn't been touched yet. Give me your list, and I'll start packing tomorrow."

Li Heng had long since planned the books and reference materials he needed, so he immediately took 5 pages of paper from his pocket, which listed over 140 books and documents.

Zhao Jing took it and looked, without much reaction, then said: "I'll have these shipped to you first. If you need more later, you can come find me again."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Although 140-plus books sounded like a lot, compared to the 1,200-plus books in the study, it was only the tip of the iceberg. Zhao Jing was even worried about why he didn't ask for more.

They rested in Lancheng for a day and a night.

On the third day, Li Heng, the English teacher, Zhang Zhiyong, Li Ran, and Sun Aiguo took the train south and entered the county seat of Guan County in Chengdu.

They used the unit's introduction letter to find a place to stay for the night, and in the evening, the group searched for many delicious snacks in the county seat.

The next morning, Li Heng got up early and went to Dujiangyan with great interest.

Before going to Dujiangyan, he had subjectively assumed it was just a water conservancy project and wouldn't have much sightseeing value, but standing in front of the Fulong Temple, Li Heng was stunned by the rushing torrent before his eyes.

Even standing on the reefs by the seaside, he had never felt the charm of water as intensely as he did here. Seawater is a grand gathering of magnanimity; gathered too much and too deep, a vast expanse, making one forget that it is truly water, water that can be scooped and held. The water here is different; if you say there is a lot, it's not too much, but every wave and layer is full of spirit, racing together with the power of flying, surging with clamorous life.

Returning from Dujiangyan, Li Heng, who had been rushing about all day, ignored his fatigue, washed up simply, and began to write.

As usual, the moment he picked up his pen, Wang Runwen appeared by his side right on time.

She could have read it afterward, but she had grown to love watching Li Heng create on the spot, word by word; that spiritual feeling was incredibly intense, and she enjoyed it very much.

Li Heng asked: "Teacher, Li Ran and the others went to Mount Qingcheng overnight, rushing to see the sunrise tomorrow morning. Why didn't you go?"

Wang Runwen adjusted her glasses and smiled: "A bit tired, didn't want to move."

Hearing this, Li Heng nodded, and after brewing his emotions for a while, he began to write.

Writing the "Dujiangyan" chapter.

This chapter was quite long, and even though he wrote as if possessed by a god, he didn't finish until after midnight, having started at 8 PM.

Damn it, his hand was sore as hell. Just as he was rubbing his wrist to relax, he felt a pair of eyes staring fixedly at him from his side.

Instinctively, Li Heng turned his head to look, and happened to meet a pair of pitch-black eyes. Instantly, the two stared at each other; you looked at me, I looked at you, and the room became even quieter.

At this moment, the window was open, and the faint moonlight shone on her face through the wooden window lattice, as if forming a halo, mixing her sexiness and beauty together, which was exceptionally attractive.

Li Heng made small talk to break the silence, asking: "Teacher, has anyone ever told you that you are very charming?"

"Heh!" Wang Runwen let out a cold laugh.

Having regained her composure, she gracefully brushed her hair back with her right hand, stood up and walked to the window, opened the other closed window, and then stood with her arms crossed, looking out at the bright moon in the sky, lost in thought, motionless.

Li Heng watched her back for a while, and only later did he refocus his attention on the newly written chapter, picking up his pen to begin refining it sentence by sentence and paragraph by paragraph.

Everyone who has written a book knows that refining from beginning to end is often harder than writing a new one, and the energy spent might be even greater; this is the origin of the saying that good books are all polished.

This is like the difference between a young girl and a young married woman; a young girl is often easier to satisfy, while a young married woman, hmph hmph, even if you break your waist, she might not be satisfied, and she'll still curse you as a dead ghost.

When you are fully focused on doing one thing, time often passes very quickly.

Unknowingly, the night grew deeper. Just as Li Heng finished one round of refining and his stomach began to growl, Wang Runwen brought two bowls of beef noodles from outside.

It was full of red chili oil, and each bowl was covered with four or five pieces of beef. Li Heng asked curiously: "Teacher, it's this late, where did you get this?"

Wang Runwen said: "I had the shop owner make it himself."

Li Heng understood immediately, "Must have cost a lot of money, right?"

Wang Runwen didn't answer this question, but handed him a newspaper: "This was taken from the front desk downstairs. Congratulations! The standalone volume of 'To Live' has reached a cumulative sales volume of 937,000 copies."

These days, he had been busy writing and hadn't paid much attention to outside news, almost completely disconnected from the outside world.

Hearing this, he couldn't care about eating the noodles and hurriedly took the newspaper to read it carefully.

Wang Runwen didn't disturb him; she carried the kettle downstairs again to fill it with water and brought it back up.

Li Heng flipped through the news twice and said excitedly: "It's only been a short month! I really didn't expect it, didn't expect it to sell so many."

Wang Runwen smiled without a word.

Li Heng looked up at her, "Teacher, the newspaper predicts that 1 million in sales is just around the corner. I'm going to be a rich man."

Wang Runwen put a bowl of noodles in front of him, "You can get 140,000 in royalties from these sales; you are already a rich man. Come, eat the noodles quickly, or they'll get soggy."

"Eh!" Having struggled for so long, Li Heng was truly starving. He responded happily, picked up his chopsticks, and ate it in a few gulps.

He had a bad habit when eating: he would eat the good stuff first, then the bad stuff.

Actually, this couldn't be blamed on him. Since he was small, he had lived under the gloomy terror of his second sister. Once there was good food in the bowl, like pork, he definitely had to prioritize putting it in his mouth, otherwise, it would be snatched away by others.

Seeing that the four or five pieces of beef in his bowl were finished in a few gulps, and then he was there slurping the noodles, Wang Runwen, on a whim, used her chopsticks to stack the beef from her own bowl and placed it into his.

As the beef landed in the bowl, Li Heng was stunned. With noodles hanging from the corner of his mouth, he tilted his head and looked over.

Their eyes met. Wang Runwen calmly waved the chopsticks in her hand and said coolly: "Eat yours!"

After saying this, she acted as if nothing had happened, lowered her head, and ate the noodles in small bites.

Watching her finish a bite, Li Heng asked: "Teacher, do you want me to give you a piece of beef back?"

Wang Runwen didn't even raise her head, "No need."

Li Heng said: "Give one back, otherwise I won't feel at ease, afraid I won't be able to pay it back later."

Wang Runwen gave him a cold look and spat out one word: "Scram!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but the tone was unquestionable.

Fine. Seeing that her expression was normal, Li Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and obediently turned back to continue eating.

When people are hungry, everything tastes good, let alone a bowl of spicy, punchy beef noodles. In the end, he didn't even leave a drop of soup, holding the bowl and drinking it all dry.

This appearance was exactly like a starving ghost reincarnated.

After he drank the last drop of soup, the English teacher reached out and took his empty bowl, instructing: "It's not early, you should rest as soon as possible."

"Alright."

Watching the teacher take the bowl downstairs and watching the teacher enter her own room, Li Heng returned to his room from the corridor. With a bowl of hot beef in his stomach, it was too damn hot, so he quickly took another shower, then threw himself onto the bed, lying spread-eagled, thinking of nothing, and slowly drifted into dreamland.

He slept very soundly this time.

In his dream, there was a beauty for company, entangled with him for a long time. But unfortunately, he never saw the other person's face clearly, only remembering that the skin on her back was as fair as milk, and there was a beauty mark on her lower abdomen, the size of a red bean.

Having just experienced ultimate mortal bliss, Li Heng slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling, feeling a sense of loss for a moment.

Who was the woman in the dream?

Recalling it, this was someone he didn't know at all.

Then how the hell did this get into his dream?

Ghost possession?

After scratching his head for a while, Li Heng couldn't remember anything, so he had to sigh, take off his shorts, and enter the shower room again.

Having too much capital isn't good either; a pair of pants can't hold it all, getting it all over his thighs. Damn it! I really miss Chen Zijin.

If she were here, how could such an annoying thing happen?

After showering, Li Heng picked up his shorts to look, and finally decided to throw them away. There was really too much, he didn't want to wash them; it was terrifyingly scary.

When he went downstairs to go out, he found that the English teacher, Zhang Zhiyong, and Li Ran were already up and were gathered together chatting.

Li Heng walked over and asked Li Ran casually, "Sister Li, where is your fiancé?"

Li Ran replied: "He had something to do, so he went back first."

Li Heng was stunned: "Back where?"

Li Ran said: "I plan to go with you all to the Liu Hou Shrine in Yongzhou, and then meet up with Mom. He went back to Gansu; his train was at 9 AM."

9 AM?

Li Heng only then remembered to check the time. It would have been better if he hadn't looked; he was startled when he did. Damn it, it was already almost 11 o'clock. No wonder he was hungry again.

During lunch, Li Heng asked Li Ran: "Which newspaper are you providing news material for now?"

Li Ran replied: "Several, including the China Youth Daily. Don't worry, even though I run around everywhere, the pay is much higher than the average person's, enough for expenses."

Li Heng wasn't worried about this. Although this girl loved to play a bit, she followed Aunt Zhao, was full of talent, and had many clever ideas. Later, she made a huge name for herself in the news industry.

Otherwise, with her plain face, how could she sleep with so many outstanding men? It was still the status that attracted people.

After the meal, the four of them rushed to the train station again, heading toward Yongzhou in Xiangnan.

During this time, taking the opportunity when the English teacher and Li Ran went to the restroom together, Li Heng caught Zhang Zhiyong and asked: "Did Li Ran and Sun Aimin break up?"

Zhang Zhiyong's eyes widened, "Yo! Master Heng, you're really godlike. Haven't you been sleeping the whole time? How did you know?"

Li Heng scanned his surroundings, lowered his voice, and asked: "You and Li Ran hang out together every day, have you slept together?"

Zhang Zhiyong jumped up and cursed: "Mother's! What are you saying? This old man only loves Sister Chunhua. Don't frame people out of thin air, or I'll fight you to the death."

Li Heng frowned, "Then why did they break up so quickly? Is it really not because you and Li Ran are too close, neglecting Sun Aimin?"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhiyong was dumbfounded, and asked breathlessly: "So Sun Aimin is jealous?"

"You two are almost at the point of hooking arms and going to bed. Which man can stand that? You really are a blockhead."

Actually, Li Heng had long since noticed something was wrong. Li Ran kept being happy and cheerful with the blockhead, and throughout the day, she hadn't spoken much to Sun Aimin. It would be a wonder if nothing happened.

Zhang Zhiyong slapped his forehead with his right hand: "Oh my god! This old man is creating bad karma!

I didn't even know Sun Aimin left because of me. Mother's! Should I go to Gansu to chase him back? I don't want to take the blame for this."

Li Heng was speechless, "Forget it, Sun Aimin is destined to have this tribulation; he can't avoid it. You should pay attention to keeping your distance from Li Ran in the future. Don't blame your brother for not reminding you; stay away from her. Think about how Uncle Li died."

Zhang Zhiyong was shocked, "Holy crap! Is it that scary?"

Li Heng patted him on the shoulder and didn't say anything more.

If the blockhead wasn't his brother through thick and thin, he wouldn't bother talking behind Aunt Zhao and Li Ran's backs; after all, that would be a loss of integrity.

It was another thousand-plus kilometers from Guan County in Sichuan to Yongzhou in Xiangnan, and it took another 20-plus hours by train. Fortunately, there was one more person this time, so the four of them formed a card game, and it was no longer boring. Chatting and playing cards, they arrived happily.

Li Heng was familiar with Yongzhou. As soon as he got off the train, he took the three of them to choose a restaurant. Without even looking at the menu, he ordered Yongzhou Blood Duck, Dong'an Earth Chicken, Qiyang Qu Rice Fish, and Stuffed Tofu in one breath, and also added two green vegetables and river snails.

After ordering, Wang Runwen raised her right wrist to check her watch and said: "The college entrance exam results are out today. I'm going to make a phone call."

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After chatting with the editor, she provided me with two options: Fudan or Sun Yat-sen University. Do the big bosses have any opinions?

(End of chapter)