Chapter 24: Not Yet the Time to Enjoy

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

A stack of draft paper was laid out before him, and he held a pencil in his hand, with some manuscript written on the paper.

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

Making money! Who wouldn't want to make a little more?

Therefore, after eating dinner that night, he arrived here early, wanting to write a bit more tonight.

But, wanting to write in his heart was one thing, and whether he could actually write it out was another.

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

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

He had experienced this situation more than once during the years he spent typing before his rebirth, and he knew that in his current state tonight, he probably wouldn't be able to write anything.

In this state, even if he forced himself to write something, the quality would be worrying.

Typing, after all, is not manual labor; it is not something you can do well just by gritting your teeth, stamping your feet, and pushing yourself hard.

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

He thought to himself: since I can't write anything tonight, I'll let myself rest for the night, just consider it giving myself a holiday.

After returning the draft paper and pencil to his dormitory, he walked alone into the campus night, like a spectator, observing everything he saw with indifference.

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

Walking out of the school gate, the snack stalls by the roadside were filled with smoke and fire, the heat of the food drifting with the wind under the light of the streetlamps, and the young men and women eating had either smiles or dejection on their faces.

Taxis, private cars, and bicycles flowed like a shuttle on the road in front of the school gate.

In front of the shops by the roadside, some had long queues, while others were deserted.

These scenes fell into Cao Sheng's eyes, making him feel inexplicably lonely.

It was as if he had returned to the scenes he saw when he went out for a late-night snack alone when he was in a bad mood before his rebirth.

At that time, he could afford all the food at the night market.

But the loneliness in his heart followed him like a shadow, like a disease attached to the bone, which he could never shake off.

A thought often popped into his mind: why must I exist?

He couldn't help but think: this world is not lacking one more person like me, nor is it lacking one less; what is the meaning of a person like me living in this world?

As he grew older, he remained all alone.

The passage of time made him feel like the sunset on the horizon; even though it looked quite beautiful, the sunset would soon fall below the horizon.

And for someone like him who had no wife and no children, once he kicked the bucket, this world would have nothing more to do with him.

Everything he currently possessed seemed meaningless.

Cao Sheng, whose mood had inexplicably sunk, walked aimlessly along the sidewalk by the road, passing one shop after another, then passing a desolate stretch of road lined with trees; as he walked, he suddenly discovered he had arrived at the banks of the Xinanjiang.

The pitch-black river water flowed quietly under the bridge; on the beach by the river, on some scattered large rocks, he could see couples sitting and embracing, as if doing something shameless.

Cao Sheng walked along the sidewalk to the middle of the bridge, clasped his hands behind his back, and squinted to watch the river water under the night sky in silence.

The chilly night wind blew his hair into a mess, and from time to time, strands of hair covered one of his eyes, but he paid no attention to it.

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

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

Reason gradually returned to his brain.

Originally, he had felt very lonely tonight, thinking of the lonely life he led before his rebirth, and thinking that his book "I Desire to Become an Immortal" had already been signed with a publisher; it wouldn't be long before he received his first royalty payment, and his living conditions would soon improve significantly.

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

After all, his current young body had very vigorous physiological needs.

But now that his reason had returned, he felt he should wait a little longer.

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

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

And how many talented people are there in this world?

In his memories before his rebirth, how many god-tier authors who lacked neither talent nor effort had emerged one after another in the web novel circle?

For example: Jiangnan, Xuehong, Sanshao, Xihongshi, Chendong... and so on.

Too many, countless.

Although he, Cao Sheng, had snatched the title of "Progenitor of Web Novels," it was not yet publicly recognized; even if he was the first author on the mainland to publish a web novel in Wanwan, so what?

In his memory, from the moment web novels were born, they quickly entered a period of savage growth.

During this period, talented and diligent authors emerged one after another, and veteran gods who slacked off even a little would be slapped onto the beach by the waves behind them in the blink of an eye.

Then they would be labeled as "outdated" by people inside and outside the circle.

Just like the first batch of web novel masters in the original timeline, they couldn't make any waves after a few years.

He, Cao Sheng, did not want to become such a wave of the past.

Before his rebirth, he had always been obscure; he had lived enough of that "why must I exist" life. Now that he had the chance to live again, how could he be willing to be slapped onto the beach by the waves behind him in the blink of an eye?

At this moment, his gaze gradually became firm.

He thought of the acquisition editor at Xinchang Publishing House, "Evergreen Tree."

Evergreen Tree was just an online handle.

And at this moment, he, Cao Sheng, wanted to be an evergreen tree in the web novel circle.

Let time pass, let wave after wave of predecessors be slapped onto the beach by the waves behind them; he, Cao Sheng, would stand firm. He wanted to become a legend in the web novel circle.

And as a legend, how could he start enjoying life so early?

After this day, Cao Sheng truly settled his heart; apart from attending classes, he used almost all his time to type and revise his manuscripts.

He pursued both the daily quantity of his typing and tried his best to improve the quality of his work.

He tried his best to ensure there were no typos in his work, tried his best to make his writing smooth, and for plots he wasn't very satisfied with, even if they were already written, he would cut them without hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, 8 days passed.

He received an email from Evergreen Tree again.

In the email, Evergreen Tree told him—the contract he had mailed had been received, and the royalty for the first volume had been deposited into his bank account; please check it.

In addition, Evergreen Tree also told him—his "I Desire to Become an Immortal" had been included in this month's publication plan and would be officially on the market by the end of the month.

The next morning, after finishing an all-nighter and uploading his manuscript for the night, Cao Sheng came out of the internet cafe, ate breakfast at a snack stall at the school gate, and returned to campus; when he passed the campus ATM, he stepped forward, took out his wallet, and inserted his bank card into the machine.

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

The 10 yuan in change was the money he deposited when he opened the card.

The extra 4000 was his first royalty payment.