Chapter 21: Letter from the Publisher

That evening, just past 9 o'clock, Cao Sheng arrived at the Starry Sky Internet Cafe again.

This time he brought no manuscript, nor did he plan to stay overnight; he had simply submitted a manuscript to Xinchang Publishing House in the early hours of the morning and wanted to check if they had replied.

Logically, although the review process takes one or two weeks after the publishing house receives a submission, they should have sent a brief reply upon receipt, such as stating the review period, otherwise how could he wait indefinitely?

Coincidentally, he had drunk some alcohol at a dinner gathering with that girls' dormitory tonight, which affected his state of mind and made his thoughts a bit scattered, unsuitable for writing.

So, unable to stay in the dormitory, he came to the internet cafe.

He planned to surf the internet for an hour.

To check if the publishing house had replied.

And also to check the current data and book reviews for "Days Living with an Air Hostess," just to pass the time.

Arriving at the internet cafe, he started up a computer.

After the computer started successfully, he first logged into his email.

To his slight delight, there was indeed a new message in his mailbox.

Opening it, it was indeed a reply from Xinchang Publishing House.

— Thank you for your submission! Your work has been forwarded to our reviewing editor for a three-round review process; the review period is approximately one to two weeks, please wait patiently for our review results.

Once the review results are out, we will inform you immediately.

Thank you again for your submission! Wishing you good health and a fountain of literary inspiration!

— Evergreen Tree, Xinchang Publishing House

After reading this brief email, Cao Sheng's gaze fell on the three characters "Evergreen Tree" at the end, and for a moment he was unsure what those three characters meant.

Was it a blessing for the publishing house?

Or was it the online nickname of a specific submission editor at this publishing house?

He felt it must be the online nickname of the submission editor.

This email made him feel a bit more at ease.

If he received no reply from them for a long time, he would not know if they were reviewing his new book, and thus would be unsure whether he should foolishly wait for review results that might never come.

Now, feeling much more at ease, he decided to wait patiently for the review results.

The next day, evening.

After dinner, Cao Sheng returned from the public bathhouse next to the school cafeteria, carrying his toiletries and changed clothes; as he just walked into the dormitory, he saw several roommates looking at him.

All seven roommates were present, and seven pairs of eyes were staring at him.

This scene looked abnormal in every way; Cao Sheng instinctively stopped at the door and asked with a smile, "Why are you all looking at me like that? What? Can't find girlfriends, so you all want boyfriends now? Let me state this first! I don't do gay stuff!"

He guessed that the girls' dormitory from last night's gathering had already clearly cut off their hopes.

So, he deliberately made this joke to liven up the atmosphere.

Unexpectedly...

Guan Zhi stood up and walked over, saying with a complex smile, "Cao Sheng! Congratulations! Last night, after Xu Ling returned to the dormitory and told her roommates that you don't have a girlfriend, that He Xinglan said you seem quite interesting and wants to meet with you privately. How about it? Are you happy?"

Cao Sheng was very surprised.

Because after the gathering in the original timeline, none of the seven girls from the girls' dormitory had taken a liking to anyone in their dormitory.

How was the result different this time?

Where did things go wrong?

Last night I clearly didn't say a word; I just ate and drank the whole time.

What is going on with that He Xinglan?

At the gathering in the original timeline, I spoke to her a few times, but she didn't like me; this time I didn't say a single word to her, yet she actually took a liking to me?

Does she just like the fact that I don't like her?

Cao Sheng looked at the other six silent roommates, frowned, and asked, "Brothers, what is with these expressions? Why is no one speaking?"

Wei Dongming snorted coldly and turned his head away.

Pang Yunhai pouted, saying with a gloomy expression, "What do you think? Last night you didn't say a word, yet the most beautiful one, He Xinglan, took a liking to you. We spent money and effort, said who knows how many nice words, and even shamelessly escorted them back to their dormitory. And the result? None of us got a single one of them to like us, yet you ask us why we aren't speaking? What are we supposed to say?"

Song Chao suddenly chuckled, "Cao Sheng! Do you like that He Xinglan? She asked you to meet privately tonight; do you want to go meet her?"

This question drew everyone's attention back to Cao Sheng's face.

Seeing the gloomy expressions of his roommates, Cao Sheng smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not going! If I liked her, she was sitting right next to me last night, and I would have definitely taken the initiative to talk to her; how could I go an entire night without saying a single word to her?"

Saying this, Cao Sheng looked at Guan Zhi in front of him, "Second Brother! Please trouble you to pass on my meaning to Xu Ling: say that I currently have no intention of dating, and thank her for giving me the opportunity."

Guan Zhi was very shocked.

The other roommates also became shocked.

Guan Zhi: "No way? She is the most beautiful one in their dormitory! You don't like her?"

Pang Yunhai: "Cao Sheng! Are you serious?"

Song Chao: "That's such a waste."

Wei Dongming turned his face back, staring suspiciously at Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng smiled, said no more, walked over to take his basin to put in the clothes he changed out of after showering, and prepared to go wash them.

He also thought He Xinglan was beautiful.

If they had met at a different time or in a different place, perhaps he would have been willing to try dating her; after all, as long as she was a beauty, he liked her.

But this time he met her at a gathering between two dormitories.

And at this gathering, everyone else in their dormitory had paid, yet he alone paid nothing; those who paid, like Pang Yunhai and the others, all got nothing, while he, Cao Sheng, received the favor of the most beautiful girl in the girls' dormitory; this was already enough to make his roommates gloomy, and if he really dated that He Xinglan, how could his roommates bear it?

The key point was: his career hadn't taken off yet, and he didn't have much living money left on him. If *I Want to Become an Immortal* couldn't be published soon, he wouldn't even have enough money for meals.

Under these circumstances, how could he possibly be in the mood for romance?

Romance? What romance?

Should he let the girl pay for every date?

He had zero interest in a shameless romance like that.

……

After that day, his roommates always looked at Cao Sheng with a slightly odd expression.

Cao Sheng knew it would take time to restore his relationship with his roommates.

He didn't deliberately do anything about it, just let things take their natural course.

Outside of class every day, he still went to the classroom in the Continuing Education Building to write. Every other day, he'd go to an internet café and post a chapter of *Days Living with a Flight Attendant*.

The manuscripts of *I Want to Become an Immortal* piled up gradually.

In the blink of an eye, nine days had passed.

That evening, he went to the internet café for another all-nighter, ready to convert part of his manuscripts into electronic files. After the computer booted up, he habitually logged into his email.

When he saw a new email in his inbox, his heart skipped a beat.

When he opened the email and saw it was from Xinchang Publishing House, he grew uneasy inside.