Chapter 24: It Is Not Yet Time to Enjoy

That evening, in a classroom on the second floor of the Chengjiao Building, only four students were studying, and Cao Sheng was one of them; he sat alone in the back row by the window.

A stack of draft paper lay before him, a pencil in his hand, with some drafts written on the sheets.

Because he had signed a contract with Xinchang Publishing House today, he wanted to write more drafts, after all, every character he wrote now could be sold for money.

Making money! Who doesn't want to earn a bit more?

So, after dinner tonight, he came here early, wanting to write a bit more tonight.

But wanting to write in one's heart is one thing, and whether one can actually write it out is another.

Because of today's signing, because of longing for the future, and memories of the past, they kept surfacing involuntarily in his mind, making his thoughts scattered tonight; he tried to gather his thoughts and focus on writing drafts, but could never rein in his wavering thoughts.

His mind simply could not immerse itself in the story under his pen.

He had experienced this kind of situation more than once during the years he typed in his previous life; knowing full well that with such a state tonight, he probably wouldn't be able to write any drafts.

Even if he forced himself to write a little something in this state, the quality would be questionable.

Typing is not a physical job; it is not something that can be done well just by gritting one's teeth, stamping one's foot, and trying hard.

So, after sitting idly in his seat for more than half an hour, he packed his things, stood up, and left the classroom.

Thinking to himself: Since I can't write anything tonight, I'll just let myself rest for one night, treating it as a holiday for myself.

Returning the draft paper and pencil to the dormitory, he walked alone into the night of the campus, observing everything he saw carelessly, like a bystander.

Young couples walking together, alumni alone, dim streetlights under the night, a wild cat darting past the bushes...

Walking out of the school gate, the food stalls by the roadside were filled with smoke and fire; the steam from the food drifted away in the wind under the streetlight, and the young men and women eating there had expressions of either smiles or dejection on their faces.

Taxis, private cars, and bicycles streamed like shuttles on the road in front of the school gate.

In front of the shops by the roadside, some had long queues, while others had no visitors at all.

These scenes, falling into Cao Sheng's eyes, made him inexplicably feel a bit lonely.

It was like returning to before his rebirth, the scenes he saw when he went to the night market alone late at night to eat a late-night snack when he was in a bad mood.

Back then, he could afford all the food at the night market.

But the loneliness in his heart followed him like a shadow, like a cancer clinging to the bone, impossible to shake off.

A thought often arose in his heart: Why should there be me?

He couldn't help but think: In this world, having one more of me is no more, having one less of me is no less; what meaning is there for a person like me to live in this world?

As age increased, he remained alone all along.

The passage of time made him feel like the sunset on the horizon; although it looked quite good, the sun would soon set below the horizon.

And for someone like him, who had no marriage and no children, once he kicked the bucket, this world would have not a single thread of connection with him anymore.

Everything he currently possessed seemed to have no meaning.

With his mood inexplicably dropping, Cao Sheng walked aimlessly forward along the sidewalk by the road, passing the entrances of shop after shop, then passing a desolate stretch of road lined with trees; as he walked and walked, he suddenly found himself by the banks of Xinanjiang.

The dark river water flowed quietly under the bridge; on the sandbars by the river, on some scattered large rocks, one could see couples sitting on the rocks embracing each other, as if doing something shameless.

Cao Sheng walked along the sidewalk to the middle of the bridge, clasped his hands behind his waist, squinted, and quietly watched the river water under the night.

The chilly night wind blew his hair flying wildly; occasionally, strands of hair covered one of his eyes, but he paid no attention.

He just stood there quietly, letting the night wind blow; before long, the chill in the night wind penetrated his skin and drilled into his body.

That bone-chilling feeling made his heart gradually calm down, and his mind became particularly clear.

Reason gradually returned to his brain.

Originally, tonight he suddenly felt very lonely, recalling that lonely, solitary life before his rebirth, thinking that his current book "I Wish to Become an Immortal" had already signed a contract with the publishing house, and before long, he would receive his first royalty payment, and his living conditions would improve greatly very soon.

Perhaps it was time to find a girlfriend to relieve his loneliness.

After all, with this young body of his now, his physiological needs were very strong.

But now, with reason returned, he felt he should wait a bit longer.

The contract with the publishing house was merely a beginning, not an ending at all.

If he started enjoying life now, the quality of the middle and later parts of this book would definitely decline, and it might not truly become popular in the market.

And how many talents are there under this sky?

In his memories from before his rebirth, how many god-tier authors, lacking neither talent nor hard work, had emerged successively in the online literature circle?

For example: Jiang Nan, Xue Hong, San Shao, Xi Hong Shi, Chendong... and so on.

Too many, countless.

Although Cao Sheng had now snatched the title of "Godfather of Online Literature" ahead of others, it was not yet generally recognized; even if he was the first author on the mainland to publish online literature in Taiwan, what of it?

In his memory, online literature entered a period of wild growth from the moment of its birth.

During this period, talented and diligent authors emerged one after another; veteran god-tier authors who slackened even slightly would be swept onto the sand by the next wave in the blink of an eye.

Then they would be labeled "past their prime" by people inside and outside the circle.

Just like the first batch of famous online literature authors in the original timeline, within a few years, they could no longer stir up any waves.

Cao Sheng did not want to become such an old wave.

Before his rebirth, he remained unknown all along; he had had enough of that "Why should there be me?" life; now that he had the chance to live again, how could he be willing to be swept onto the sand by the next wave in the blink of an eye?

At this moment, his eyes gradually became firm.

He thought of the acquiring editor at Xinchang Publishing House, "Changqingshu".

Changqingshu was just a pen name.

And at this time, he, Cao Sheng, wanted to be the evergreen tree of the online literature circle.

Regardless of the passage of time, regardless of how many old waves were swept onto the sand by the next wave, he, Cao Sheng, would stand unshaken; he wanted to become a legend in the online literature circle.

And how can a legend start enjoying life so early?

After that day, Cao Sheng truly settled his mind, spending almost all his time outside of class typing and revising his stored drafts.

He pursued both the daily word count and strived to improve the quality of his own work.

He tried his best to ensure there were no typos in his work and that his writing flowed smoothly; for plot points he was not very satisfied with, even if already written, he would act swiftly, cutting them out without hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, eight days passed.

He received an email from Chang Qingshu again.

In the email, Chang Qingshu told him that the contract he had mailed had been received, the payment for the first episode had been deposited into his bank account, and asked him to check it.

Additionally, Chang Qingshu told him that his "I Wish to Become an Immortal" had been included in this month's publication plan and would officially go on sale by the end of the month.

The next morning, after ending his overnight session and uploading another night's worth of drafts, Cao Sheng came out of the internet cafe, ate breakfast at a food stall by the school gate, returned to the campus, and when passing the on-campus ATM, he stepped forward, took out his wallet, pulled out his bank card, and inserted it into the machine.

After a series of operations, the machine displayed a balance of 4010.

The extra 10 yuan was the money he had deposited when opening the card.

The additional 4000 was his first payment for his manuscript.