Chapter 251: Walk Your Own Path

The disputes on the Internet did not affect Lu Yan He's study life.

However, the surrounding classmates seemed to be quite careful about his attitude because of this, as if they were worried that he was in a bad mood, and once they approached him, their speech would become quiet.

Lu Yan He didn't know what to say, and he couldn't just say "I wasn't affected by those attacks on the Internet, you don't have to be like this" when he saw someone.

Fortunately, because there were classes all morning, Lu Yan He focused his attention on listening to the class and taking notes most of the time.

The courses in the first semester of freshman year are mainly literary history, cultural introduction, linguistics foundation, etc.

Lu Yan He had a hard time in these courses.

Because he really wasn't a person interested in literature or language, he just liked reading novels, and at most liked some poetry.

He had no relevant accumulation. Most of the allusions and deeds cited by the teachers in class, Lu Yan He didn't know what was going on, so he could only record them temporarily and look up information after class to understand.

Choosing history as the first choice and literature as the second choice at the beginning was because he liked history more.

But history was not recorded, and being recorded in the literature major was thinking that it would be helpful for him to be an actor in the future and could improve his cultural literacy.

Now it seems that dreams are beautiful, but reality is not so beautiful.

After class at noon, Lu Yan He opened his phone and saw Li Zhibai asking him and Yan Liang if they were going back for lunch in the group five minutes ago.

Yan Liang replied with an OK.

Lu Yan He: I'm not going back, I'm going to the library. I have classes all morning, and I don't understand many of them, so I have to make up for it.

Li Zhibai: Then you are eating bread for lunch again?

Lu Yan He: Yeah, there are too many people in the cafeteria, I don't want to queue, so I'll just eat something. I have a dinner party with classmates tonight, so I'll just eat something casually at noon.

Li Zhibai: Don't end up malnourished.

Lu Yan He: Alarmist, it's not like I didn't eat.

Li Zhibai: Eating is like not eating.

Lu Yan He:...

Today is also the second day that *Jump Up* is on the shelves of Ye Mai Network.

On the way to the library, Lu Yan He opened the APP for the first time.

On the reading homepage of *Jump Up*, the number of people who joined the bookshelf has exceeded 390,000.

According to the rules of Ye Mai Network, to read *Jump Up*, you must be a registered user. Unregistered visitors can only read the first three pages.

Therefore, Lu Yan He guessed that most of these 390,000 people were fans of Jiang Yuqian and Li Zhibai.

Without them, this number would definitely not be so good-looking.

Lu Yan He mainly looked at the comment area.

He wanted to know what everyone thought of this book.

However, just like the market's positioning of this book, this book inevitably showed a fan-oriented trend.

In the comment area, most of them were fans of several artists praising their idols.

The short stories written by Liu Jiazhen, Ming Yin, Bai Yu, and others were rarely discussed.

Lu Yan He was a bit disappointed.

The popularity of this book has reached everyone's expectations, and even exceeded it.

It's just that this popularity is not derived from the content itself, which made Lu Yan He breathe a sigh of relief, but also hesitant. Under this situation, can he continue to make the second one?

Just thinking about it, Chen Siqi called.

"You finished class, right?" Chen Siqi asked.

"Finished, on the way to the library." Lu Yan He said, "I was just looking at the comments on *Jump Up*."

Chen Siqi: "Me too, I have been staring at the comment area basically yesterday and today. Are you a bit disappointed?"

"Hmm?"

"Because the content of the comment area is mostly related to artists."

Lu Yan He thought to himself, Chen Siqi's ability to guess his thoughts is really sharp.

"A little."

Chen Siqi said firmly: "There is no way, but as long as there is a chance to continue to the second and third issues, I want to continue to do it. You won't be discouraged, right?"

Lu Yan He: "..."

Chen Siqi: "Lu Yan He, you can't give up halfway."

"I won't." Lu Yan He smiled and lowered his head, "I'm just worried that when it turns to charging, will there still be such data? Maybe no one is willing to pay to buy it."

Chen Siqi: "That's because you don't know how good the pre-sale situation of the physical book *Jump Up* is. It was put on the shelves for free on Ye Mai Network yesterday. Logically speaking, if there is free reading, everyone won't spend money, but just yesterday, the number of pre-sales added in various channels for the physical book exceeded 10,000 copies. Sister Xiaoyin told me that this number is very excellent."

"Ah, really?"

"You were recording the program, so we didn't disturb you." Chen Siqi said, "Don't belittle yourself, the book we made is very good."

Chen Siqi's voice was full of vitality and firmness, as if she was facing the sun and moving forward unswervingly.

Lu Yan He was also encouraged by Chen Siqi's momentum.

"Let's do it together."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yan He's mood was pulled back a bit.

But he didn't expect to meet Zhou Mukai in the library.

He was also reading in the library's study room.

Lu Yan He passed by and sat down, and greeted Zhou Mukai softly.

Zhou Mukai was surprised when he saw him, as if he didn't expect to meet Lu Yan He here.

When Lu Yan He passed behind him, he glanced at the corner of his eye and found that the tablet computer in front of Zhou Mukai was actually a page in *Jump Up*.

It was a short story by Liu Jiazhen.

Lu Yan He was stunned.

Zhou Mukai didn't say anything.

Everyone was studying quietly.

Lu Yan He silently took out his book and started studying—I don't know what mood was at work, but after knowing that Zhou Mukai was reading this book, he really wanted to ask Zhou Mukai what he thought of this book.

But it was embarrassing to ask such words.

Zhou Mukai wouldn't say it was not good in front of him.

Lu Yan He shook his head, focused his attention, stopped thinking about it, and started reading seriously.

Lu Yan He had an elective course in the afternoon, in the seventh and eighth periods. Before that, Lu Yan He had been sitting in the library reading.

When he left, Zhou Mukai was still sitting there.

"I have class, leaving first." Lu Yan He sent a message to Zhou Mukai and packed up his things.

Zhou Mukai looked at his phone and nodded at him.

The screen of the tablet computer in front of him was no longer the page of *Jump Up*.

In the evening, the party organized by Miao Yue had many people, nearly forty.

Lu Yan He was shocked. He didn't expect so many people to come. Eating even needed four tables, and sitting was quite crowded.

Miao Yue was a social activist, very familiar with everyone, and kept talking to different people.

Lu Yan He came in, and when he saw so many people, he was stunned.

Miao Yue saw him at a glance and immediately waved to him, "You finally came! Why did you come so late?"

"I had an elective course in the seventh and eighth periods in the afternoon, and I came after class." Lu Yan He asked in a low voice, "Did all the classmates in the whole college come?"

"There are some classmates who have classes at night, or have other things, so only so many came." Miao Yue said.

In Miao Yue's mouth, it was "only so many came."

Lu Yan He looked at her in surprise, unable to speak for a long time.

"Do you want to sit next to me?" Miao Yue asked, "The other two tables seem to be full."

Lu Yan He originally thought that he would treat everyone to dinner tonight, so many people, uh, still buy it.

Who knew that Miao Yue suddenly said at this time: "Don't pay the bill, it's agreed that everyone will AA, don't do this kind of treating."

Lu Yan He had to nod.

More than forty people sat at a table, and the atmosphere was very lively. In the eyes of others, the students of Zhenhua University are the pride of heaven, the elite, and the pillars, but setting aside all the halos added to them, they are actually just a group of eighteen or nineteen-year-old young people, who also love liveliness and love to play with their peers. They are not a group of students who only think about reading in the library, nor are they arrogant people who look down on others.

Miao Yue asked Lu Yan He: "You shouldn't know everyone yet, right?"

Lu Yan He nodded and said: "I only know these classmates in our class so far."

"And me." Miao Yue emphasized.

Lu Yan He nodded with a smile, "Well, and you."

Miao Yue introduced who was who to Lu Yan He in a low voice in his ear.

Lu Yan He really mobilized all his memory to try to remember who was who in this short introduction.

Obviously, although everyone is a top student from all over the country, they still can't take it for granted that their classmate is a star. Everyone is curious about Lu Yan He.

Especially their star classmate, who is still hanging on the hot search and being accused by many people.

"Yan He, are you not worried at all about those voices scolding you on the Internet?" Han Yue asked.

Han Yue is an ethnic minority, from the Northeast, but looks like a southern girl, with a small frame and delicate speech.

When she asked this, everyone's eyes were focused on Lu Yan He. This is something everyone is curious about.

"Nothing to worry about. When this happened while recording the program, the agent gave me a vaccination." Lu Yan He said, "As long as there is a conflict, there will definitely be people scolding you. Different people have different perspectives, but I know what I am doing, and I also think I didn't do anything wrong, that's enough. People who think I didn't do anything wrong will support me, and people who scold me mean they think I did something wrong. It's all fine. Anyway, it's impossible for everyone to like me, just settle my mind."

Lu Yan He felt that this was good, and finally he could explain this matter in front of everyone in a justified way.

He smiled.

"Maybe many such things will happen in the future, and I can only try to get used to it."

"Although we are all peers, you feel much more mature than us."

"No, no." Lu Yan He waved his hand quickly, "These words were all used by my agent to comfort me. I just learned it. If I see someone scolding me, I must still be angry."

Everyone laughed immediately.

Zhou Qingcheng also sat at their table.

In the School of Literature, there are not many boys. Today, there are more than forty people, and there are only about ten boys.

Zhou Qingcheng immediately said: "I have been scolding people on the Internet for a long time. Those people are like they can't understand human words. For a while, they asked me how much money I received, for a while, they scolded me as a brain-dead fan, and for a while, someone said I was a primary school student."

Lu Yan He looked at Zhou Qingcheng in surprise: "Why are you still scolding people on the Internet?"

Zhou Qingcheng: "I also watched that program of yours. I think what you said to Meng Li is very right. You didn't say anything wrong. Those fans of hers are like taking the wrong medicine, not distinguishing right from wrong, and they can't reason."

Lu Yan He didn't expect Zhou Qingcheng to go to the Internet to help him quarrel.

"There are always such people on the Internet, what are you talking to them about." Miao Yue said, "As long as what you say is not what they like to hear, then you are their enemy."

Zhou Qingcheng: "It's my rashness to think that I can reason with them well."

"However, why did you have a conflict with Meng Li in the program?" Ji Qianxing, who had shown favor to Lu Yan He that night, suddenly asked, "Since you know that having a conflict with her will make you scolded by her fans?"

"Because I couldn't stand her behavior at the time." Lu Yan He explained.

"Mainly because Meng Li was targeting Li Zhibai, she didn't target you." Ji Qianxing said.

Lu Yan He: "But Li Zhibai is my friend. She targets Li Zhibai, and I can't stand by and watch."

"I just think that those people on the Internet are very excessive, but in fact, it's not unreasonable. After all, it was Meng Li and Li Zhibai who were quarreling at first. You joined in, Li Zhibai had help, but Meng Li didn't have help." Ji Qianxing said, "Meng Li certainly has a problem, but her fans think she was bullied, and I think it's understandable."

Miao Yue looked at Ji Qianxing in surprise.

Lu Yan He was also surprised, but looking at Ji Qianxing, he didn't refute, but nodded.

"Well, from your perspective, it's not wrong." Lu Yan He said.

"What's not wrong? Is it because your friend has a conflict with someone, and because that person is only one person, you stand by and watch?" Zhou Qingcheng looked at Ji Qianxing speechlessly, "According to your logic, two people are quarreling, no one should interfere. As long as you interfere, it becomes one side hugging together to bully the other side? What kind of logic is this."

Ji Qianxing was refuted by Zhou Qingcheng, and her cheeks turned red.

"Why are you speaking so aggressively? I just said that those people on the Internet say this kind of thing, and it's not completely unreasonable."

"I rely on, among those idiots who quarreled with me on the Internet, there won't be you, right?" Zhou Qingcheng stared in surprise, looking at Ji Qianxing in disbelief.

Ji Qianxing's cheeks turned red, and she seemed to be hurt by Zhou Qingcheng's words. Her eyes turned red in an instant.

"Zhou Qingcheng, you are too much." The girl sitting next to Ji Qianxing immediately stood up for her friend.

Zhou Qingcheng: "Wait, you'd better shut up, otherwise according to Ji Qianxing's statement, you can hug together to bully me now."

He looked at the two of them indifferently.

Ji Qianxing was so angry that her face turned green at this moment.

And the consequence of this incident was that Ji Qianxing left directly.

Leaving a table of people looking at each other.

She left too fast, and no one had a chance to keep her.

At this time, the girl sitting next to Ji Qianxing who stood up for her glared at Zhou Qingcheng and said: "You are really annoying, unforgiving."

Zhou Qingcheng curled his lips and didn't refute this time.

Lu Yan He was also a bit embarrassed. Although Ji Qianxing was angered away by Zhou Qingcheng, in the final analysis, it still had something to do with him. He didn't know if Ji Qianxing really thought so, or because of his previous refusal, she had some opinions on him. In short, Lu Yan He also felt embarrassed that such an unhappy thing happened today.

Fortunately, no such unpleasantness happened later.

People at the table were very interested in entertainment news and had many gossips to ask Lu Yan He if it was true.

Lu Yan He raised his hands in surrender and said: "Everyone, although I am an artist, my channels for eating melons are not much more than yours. I am just eating melons on the Internet. I don't know if it is true or false. It is impossible to ask the other party if it is true."

Others heard it, and it was the same truth, but they were still a bit disappointed.

After all, everyone wants to hear real melons.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Yan He went to the bathroom, but ran into Zhou Qingcheng who left earlier. He was standing at the window at the end of the corridor, actually smoking.

Lu Yan He was surprised to see him smoking.

Zhou Qingcheng saw him, raised his hand, and greeted him.

Lu Yan He came out of the bathroom, washed his hands, and saw that Zhou Qingcheng had finished the cigarette in his hand, extinguished the cigarette butt, and came over to wash his hands.

"When did you start smoking?" Lu Yan He asked in surprise.

"Last year." Zhou Qingcheng was actually a bit embarrassed, lowered his head and smiled.

Last year? That was when he was in his third year of high school.

Lu Yan He nodded.

"What about you? Do you smoke?" Zhou Qingcheng asked.

"No." Lu Yan He shook his head.

"But that's true, you are public figures, smoking is really not good."

"Not necessarily, quite a few people smoke." Lu Yan He said, "I just haven't smoked, and I don't like that taste very much."

Zhou Qingcheng: "Not smoking is a good thing. I am also trying to control it now, wanting to quit."

"Why do you smoke?"

"The pressure was high at that time. I was preparing for the exam from morning to night, so I smoked secretly." Zhou Qingcheng said, "I have to hide from teachers and parents, and I have to wash my hands immediately after smoking."

Lu Yan He laughed.

Zhou Qingcheng: "To be honest, I admire you."

"Hmm?" Lu Yan He looked at him in surprise.

Zhou Qingcheng said: "I have seen your news on the Internet, especially the story of your counterattack in the third year of high school. It's really awesome. I guess the classmates of the whole college admire you."

"How come, I should admire you."

"Nonsense, you spent a year to be able to do things we have spent many years to do." Zhou Qingcheng said, "And, aren't you still working while going to school now? I admire you just for this point. You are really awesome."

"No, no."

"Don't be humble. I specifically registered for a membership today and read the book you edited." Zhou Qingcheng said, "The short story written by Liu Jiazhen is very good."

"Thank you."

"I heard that you wanted to make this book into a magazine at the beginning, so will it continue to be published in the future?"

"It depends on whether the publishing house and Ye Mai Network are willing to do it. Of course I want to continue to publish it."

Zhou Qingcheng nodded and said: "If it can be done for a long time, then you will become the idol of the whole college."

"Ah?"

"In this day and age, besides you, who else can start a new magazine and keep it going?" Zhou Qingcheng said, "It's still a literary magazine, awesome."

Lu Yan He didn't expect that he would have such an impression in the eyes of his classmates.

He had been vaguely worried about whether his identity as an artist would make his classmates mind.

Celebrity artists look like they are covered in various halos, but Lu Yan He also knows very well that in the eyes of non-fans, they are just a person who is a bit famous, commercially packaged, and looks better.

Zhenhua is the top institution of higher learning. The students who can study here are one in ten thousand, or ninety-nine percent of them are excellent from childhood to adulthood. Therefore, Lu Yan He has never felt that he can be more special than them, nor does he feel that his identity as an artist can help him stand firm in this school. Everyone's curiosity and attention to him are just because of his fame.

To some extent, Lu Yan He even feels that he is not as good as everyone—just like when he is in class, he always encounters allusions he doesn't understand, knowledge he doesn't know, and it is very hard to keep up with the teacher's rhythm.

Unexpectedly, in the eyes of others, he is another shining image.

Lu Yan He couldn't help but start thinking about when the fake foam on him would be dismantled.

He really doesn't feel that he is "shining."

After the dinner party, everyone prepared to disperse.

There is no class in the first and second periods tomorrow morning. Lu Yan He looked at the time and decided not to go back to the dormitory tonight.

So, Lu Yan He said goodbye to everyone and walked in another direction alone.

"Really a bit envious of Lu Yan He, being able to rent a house outside the school." A girl envied.

"Don't envy, people have started to fight for their careers since they were fifteen. We were just students who only knew how to study at that time."

"Speaking of which, Miao Yue is also enviable, having published two books." Another person sighed, "My mother also told me, after coming to Zhenhua, let me be humble, saying that Zhenhua is hidden dragon and crouching tiger, now I have realized it, there are really too many powerful classmates."

"Let's not be so involved, okay? This is just entering university, how can we compare with them? Have you read the book edited by Lu Yan He that is on the shelves?"

"Read it, sigh, I think it's meaningless, most of them are articles written by celebrity artists, and there is very little real literary creation."

"The first issue, setting this aside, I think it's quite good."

"Don't you also love to write some things? Why don't you go and submit it."

"The things I write can't be on the stage."

Lu Yan He returned to the dormitory, only Yan Liang was there.

"Li Zhibai went home?" Lu Yan He asked in surprise.

Li Zhibai would never live in the school dormitory. He disliked the poor environment of the school dormitory and said that he had to live somewhere, and he couldn't sleep for a night.

Therefore, usually Li Zhibai is not here, that is, he went home.

Yan Liang shook his head and said: "Zhou Ping'an temporarily took a play for him, and he packed his things in a hurry and sent it over."

"Ah?" Lu Yan He was shocked, "His next play is not *Wase*, which will not start until the end of the year?"

"Added a play, it is also a male lead play. Originally, Zuo Xing was the lead, but Zuo Xing temporarily let go of the pigeon, the crew went everywhere to find someone to save the field, and found Li Zhibai." Yan Liang said,

Lu Yan He could almost imagine Li Zhibai's reaction.

He also smiled.

"Why are you back so late?"

"I was just having a meal with some classmates. It got a bit late, and I need to do some reading. If I stayed in the dorm, I'd disturb the others; they all sleep quite early."

"I see." Yan Liang nodded, looking at him with a rather peculiar expression.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that I'm a bit surprised. I didn't expect you to be so diligent in your studies even after getting into Zhenhua." Yan Liang said, "You won't be working in this field in the future anyway, so why work so hard? Getting an eighty or a ninety won't affect your graduation, will it?"

Lu Yan He was taken aback.

He thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know. It's not about getting an eighty or a ninety, but since I'm studying at Zhenhua, I'd feel it was a real pity if I didn't give it my all."

Yan Liang looked puzzled.

Lu Yan He shrugged and said, "Maybe it's just that when I'm in a position to do something better, I don't want to just go through the motions."

"Fair enough." Yan Liang nodded. "Although I don't quite understand it, it's impressive that you can think that way. Sometimes I wonder if my own efforts are too opportunistic. I was reflecting on a problem today—it seems I'm only willing to put in effort for things related to acting, and I have absolutely no such desire for other areas. A classmate asked if I wanted to learn archery with them, and I refused outright. Then they said maybe this skill would come in handy for acting later, and I suddenly became interested. I realized that I am... how should I put it, quite utilitarian in this regard."

"You can't really say it like that. Effort is effort. Being opportunistic means not wanting to put in that much effort. You didn't want to learn archery because you didn't want to, and you suddenly became willing to learn it because you felt it might be useful for acting later—doesn't that just prove that you are actually hardworking? Opportunistic people would only wait until they needed it to cram, or they'd just rely on camera angles." Lu Yan He said, "Don't use me as a benchmark; if I weren't doing it for 'Phoenix Terrace', I wouldn't be able to get up and exercise every day either."

Yan Liang laughed instantly.

"Fair enough."

Lu Yan He hadn't expected Yan Liang to have such confusion as well.

In fact, both he and Yan Liang were people who tended to overthink things.

Too many thoughts lead to too many worries.

Lu Yan He shook his head, and just as he sat down, his phone chimed.

He picked it up and saw a message from Xin Zixing: The number of readers for "Jump Up" has already exceeded 500,000!

"Jump Up" was launched on the Ye Mai website on the 25th. According to the previous agreement, the three days from the 25th to the 27th were free reading time.

Lu Yan He was pleasantly surprised upon receiving this news: That's amazing!

Xin Zixing sent a second message: It's driven nearly 200,000 new registered users. Awesome!

Seeing this data, Lu Yan He was equally overjoyed.

Xin Zixing said: We'll be posting the good news officially in a bit; remember to repost it too.

Lu Yan He: Mm-hmm.

Xin Zixing said: Let's find a time to discuss what to do next with "Jump Up"? The feedback from the first issue is much better than we expected, and the market response is also quite good.

Lu Yan He said: Okay.

Xin Zixing: I'll also try to set a time with Siqi to see if she's coming back for National Day. It would be best if we could sit down and discuss it in person.

Lu Yan He: Okay.

The day "Jump Up" officially started charging was also the day the physical book of "Jump Up" was officially released.

Lu Yan He was picked up by Xu Xiaoyin at noon and taken to the Chengpin Bookstore in the Guangmao Building to assist with the book signing event at this large bookstore.

Besides Lu Yan He, there were also Liu Jiazhen and Ming Yin, all arranged by Jiang Yin Publishing House.

Lu Yan He could only sign for an hour; he had a class to catch at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Some media were also on-site, filming the scene of the signing.

Jiang Yin Publishing House had arranged for two media outlets to interview him, but there was only enough time to finish one, so the other had to be done on the road.

"Sorry, I have to catch my afternoon class." Lu Yan He apologized to them as soon as he got in the car.

The media were quite understanding and said it was no problem.

These kinds of interviews were routine and promotional, and the questions had all been communicated with the publishing house beforehand.

Lu Yan He answered according to the routine.

Just as they were nearing the school and the interview was about to end, the other party suddenly asked: "Yan He, regarding the sales of the book 'Jump Up', how much do you expect it to reach?"

"Hmm?" Lu Yan He was stunned; he hadn't prepared for this question.

"Did you see the post that Yu Jiang posted on her social media today?" the other party asked.

Lu Yan He shook his head, feeling a bit lost.

This was a media car; from the driver to the reporter and the photographer, everyone was from the media outlet, with no one from the publishing house.

At the time, the plan was for Lu Yan He to go straight to school after the interview in the car. Since the signing event on-site hadn't ended yet, Lu Yan He had told Xu Xiaoyin and the others not to follow.

Now, Lu Yan He felt a bit of regret.

When he was in a spot where it was hard to handle, there was no one there to step in and block for him.

He had a premonition that the content of the post by this Yu Jiang shouldn't be very positive.

He also remembered the name Yu Jiang; this female writer had been quite unwelcoming to him on a program and had said some unpleasant things.

He remembered.

The reporter took out their phone and said: "Yu Jiang said: 'Inviting a celebrity artist to be an editor-in-chief is a move by the publishing industry to bow to online popularity and traffic. True creators disdain contributing to such an editor-in-chief. Creation has dignity; it's not something anyone can do. Its threshold is not so-called popularity and traffic. Even if its sales are high, it's just hollow.'"

Lu Yan He's heart sank.

Alright, here it comes.

Sure enough, it wasn't anything good.

Lu Yan He frowned in silence.

The other party was still waiting for his answer.

Lu Yan He pondered for a moment and said: "I actually don't want to respond to such words."

The reporter asked: "Why?"

"If you discuss something with a preconceived attitude from the start, then if you want to pick faults, you'll always find them. Yu Jiang is also a very famous writer; she has her views, and I have my stance. If she thinks I'm not suitable to be an editor-in-chief, she can also be an editor-in-chief herself and start a magazine." Lu Yan He said, "In this world, it's not like just because I became this editor-in-chief, others can't. The road is wide open. If you don't like my path, there's no need to negate it; just go and forge your own path."