Chapter 26: Sample Copies Arrive, Meeting Tan Lei Again

"Oh, these are a few books my friend bought for me."

Cao Sheng casually made up an answer for Geng Yong.

Because he did not want to reveal for the time being that he had written a novel and that it had already been published.

The reason?

First, if he made this public, his roommates would definitely ask him to treat them tonight, and tomorrow, when other classmates in the class found out, they would likely ask him to treat them as well; besides hearing some flattery, he would definitely face more trouble.

For instance: seeing that the remaining time in this semester was already short, some classmates' living expenses were probably running low; if they learned at this time that he had earned money from writing novels, in the next one or two months, there would likely be quite a few classmates asking to borrow money from him; at that time, would he lend it or not?

Secondly, there were only five sample copies per volume; of these five, he wanted to keep one for his own collection, perhaps give one to a future girlfriend, and if the woman he married in the future was not her, he might also give one to his future wife; as for the remaining two, even if he wanted to give them away, he would definitely have to weigh the matter carefully, either giving them to teachers and parents, or to his closest friends.

And his roommates numbered seven.

Whoever he gave one to and whoever he did not would offend the others.

So, he did not want to give one to any of his roommates.

But if his roommates learned that he had published a novel, I am afraid everyone would want to ask him for a sample copy.

What should he do then?

It would be very difficult!

So, he decided simply not to do it, not to give one to anyone for the time being, keeping them all in his own hands.

When he had more sample copies in the future, when he was about to graduate from university, he could consider giving one sample copy to each of the seven roommates as a parting gift.

"Oh? What books did you buy?"

Geng Yong was somewhat curious.

Cao Sheng made a joke: "Postpartum Care for Sows."

"Pfft..."

Geng Yong was amused into laughter.

Several roommates in the dormitory were also amused into laughter.

Seeing that Cao Sheng did not want to say more, Geng Yong did not continue to press the matter; he had originally intended to take his leave, but Pang Yunhai, Guan Zhi, and others were very enthusiastic; Cao Sheng thanked Geng Yong for bringing the sample copies over and also spoke to ask him to stay, so Geng Yong sat down in their dormitory and chatted for a while.

As night was about to fall, Cao Sheng, carrying his draft notebook, pencil, tea cup, and the registered letter Geng Yong had sent, came to a classroom on the first floor of the adult education building.

Today he had arrived quite early; for the time being, only he was in this classroom.

Finding a seat by the window, he put down his draft notebook, tea cup, and pencil; with a smile on his face, he tore open that thick registered letter.

Immediately, beautifully printed sample copies slid out from the envelope opening and fell onto the desk before him.

On the cover of the topmost book, four large characters were printed vertically in traditional script—I Desire to Become an Immortal.

Beside these four characters were several smaller characters arranged vertically: By Zhongyuan Yidianhui.

The background on the cover was also quite beautiful; the lower half showed continuous mountain ranges, and atop the highest Shanfeng stood ancient buildings with flying eaves and upturned corners.

Above the mountain ranges was a vast expanse of white mist.

In the void between the mist and the ancient buildings on the mountain peak, the back view of a man wearing a green Daoist robe stood with hands clasped behind his back, floating in mid-air, drifting like an immortal.

In the void in front of this figure, streams of golden sword light were clearly visible.

Looking at this cover, Cao Sheng felt somewhat moved in his heart.

Because from this cover, he could see that Xinchang Publishing House had put heart into publishing this book; not only was the artwork on the cover exquisite, but most importantly, this picture on the cover fit very well with the main scene in the first volume of his book's plot: the Sword-Controlling Sect.

The plot of the first volume of I Desire to Become an Immortal unfolded entirely inside and outside the mountain gates of the Sword-Controlling Sect.

Under his pen, the Sword-Controlling Sect was a sword-cultivating sect atop the mountain peaks, and the Sword-Controlling Sect primarily cultivated the flying swords shown on the cover.

Furthermore, the male protagonist cultivated the sword formation.

With an inexplicable mood, Cao Sheng picked up the topmost sample copy, opened the cover, and saw that the main text inside was also entirely in traditional characters, and all arranged vertically.

Holding such a sample copy, watching his own novel become neatly arranged traditional characters within the book, and smelling the faint fragrance of paper and ink mixed together, a sense of achievement arose spontaneously in his heart.

This sample copy in his hand seemed to silently prove his own talent.

Yes!

The reason he was able to publish this book was more because, as a reborn person, he had the advantage of foreknowledge, as well as the ability honed over many years of typing words in the original timeline.

But so what?

At least, this book was his original creation; he had not plagiarized any other book.

He had merely borrowed various settings common in web novels.

So, there was indeed a sense of achievement.

Cao Sheng casually flipped through this sample copy; when he reached the last page, he discovered that part of the last page was folded inward, and on this folded portion of the last page, a personal introduction to him was printed.

Zhongyuan Yidianhui: Original name Cao Sheng, male, from Huizhou Province, born in April 1980, currently a first-year university student; although he is studying accounting, he very much enjoys writing; his debut work is Living with an Air Hostess; I Desire to Become an Immortal is both his new work and his longing for the immortal hero world; welcome everyone to step into the immortal hero world in Zhongyuan Yidianhui's heart.

Looking at this author introduction, Cao Sheng's feelings in his heart were somewhat different again.

Reading this introduction, it was as if he, Cao Sheng, had already become a famous novelist.

At this moment, he somewhat understood why so many writers longed for their One's own work to be printed in lead type and published.

This sense of achievement was indeed far superior to only serializing on the internet.

May in Huizhou is very beautiful.

Everywhere is green.

The morning air is also particularly good.

This morning, Cao Sheng, as usual, arrived at the playground early, preparing for today's morning run.

The effect of running every morning these past days has indeed been excellent.

The muscles on his body, especially in his legs, have become noticeably firmer.

His overall spirit and energy are also more vigorous than before.

However, recently, perhaps due to the warming weather, the number of people coming to the playground to exercise every morning has gradually increased.

This made him somewhat displeased.

He actually quite liked running on the empty playground.

But the playground was not built by his father, so he had no right to forbid others from exercising there; thus, recently he could only arrive a little earlier.

Arriving earlier meant far fewer people on the playground.

It was just...

Today, while he was running, he unexpectedly saw Tan Lei again.

Today, Tan Lei wore a white tracksuit and sneakers; she had been warming up by the side of the playground, but upon seeing him run over, she flashed a smile, stepped onto the track, and ran alongside him.

While running, she raised her hand to greet him, "Hey! Old classmate, I'm back."

Cao Sheng couldn't help but laugh.

"Didn't you say last time that you would come run with me every day from now on? Why did you disappear the very next day?"

Tan Lei's expression showed a hint of embarrassment; her face flushed slightly, and she said sheepishly, "Uh, I originally intended to come run with you every day, but after running with you that one time, my legs were sore and swollen the next day, and I even caught a cold with a stuffy nose, so I thought I'd rest for a few days until my body recovered before running with you again, and then... Ah! I'm too embarrassed to talk about it..."