Chapter 42

Yes! Cao Sheng got beaten up again at dinner by everyone.

When everyone discovered he had quietly written another book, already published to its fourth volume in Taiwan, everyone—including counselor Lu Xiangwei—was utterly astonished.

They had thought Cao Sheng writing *Living with an Air Hostess* was already incredible.

No one expected he had also written another book, *I Wish to Become an Immortal*.

What surprised everyone most—this book had actually been published in Taiwan.

Before this, none of them had ever heard of a mainland author's work being published in Taiwan.

Envy, jealousy, resentment…

Amid all these emotions, Pang Yunhai and others started clamoring for Cao Sheng to treat everyone—he absolutely had to treat them.

Class monitor Geng Yong joined in the clamor.

Counselor Lu Xiangwei didn't join the clamor, but he didn't stop it either; he just stood smiling beside them, waiting until Cao Sheng reluctantly agreed to treat everyone to dinner, at which point Lu Xiangwei reaped the benefits of their fuss, being dragged along by them to this small restaurant.

A meal was nothing to Cao Sheng now.

Long before he decided to hide his publishing achievements, he had foreseen this day and had already prepared himself mentally to treat everyone again.

He just hadn't expected it to come so soon.

Who could have imagined the envelope of the sample book mailed to him had a hole in it?

But now that everyone had found out, he could face it calmly.

He had already eaten dinner, so eating another meal now was beyond him—he could only accompany everyone with a few drinks.

What surprised him was counselor Lu Xiangwei, who seemed even happier than Cao Sheng himself; within half an hour of sitting down, he had downed more than two bottles of beer and kept drinking, accepting every toast offered to him.

Suddenly, Lu Xiangwei jolted upright, slapped his thigh, and groaned: "Damn it! I forgot the task your English teacher asked me to handle for her! I came to your dorm to gather people to help her move! How did I end up here drinking with you? This… Professor Cheng must be furious with me!"

The private room fell silent instantly; everyone glanced at each other, wanting to laugh but too embarrassed to.

Pang Yunhai suddenly waved his hand, casually saying: "No problem, Teacher! Since you're already here, if Professor Cheng wanted to scold you, she'd have done it already! Come on, Teacher Lu, let me toast you again—you've got to drink plenty tonight, otherwise you'll have been scolded for nothing! Isn't that right?"

Lu Xiangwei froze, hesitating.

Seeing Lu Xiangwei's expression, everyone else immediately stood up to toast him, offering reassurances in overlapping voices.

"That's right, Teacher Lu! Since you're already here, why think about it anymore? Come on! I'm toasting you too!"

"Teacher Lu! Don't worry! Let's eat fast, then go help Professor Cheng move later—what's the big deal? I'm sure she'll understand."

"Yes, Teacher! Professor Cheng's a nice person—I'm sure she won't scold you!"

"Come on, Teacher! Put everything else aside—drink, drink! Live for today, drink today!"

…

Lu Xiangwei was still honest.

He wanted to drink, but he kept thinking about Professor Cheng's move.

After half an hour of distracted drinking, he finally couldn't sit still anymore; he stood up and said: "You all keep drinking! I'm going back to get a few more students from other dorms to help Professor Cheng move—you all stay here."

This time, no matter how they tried to persuade him, he wouldn't budge.

But they also felt awkward letting Lu Xiangwei leave alone, so the meal ended right there.

Everyone followed Lu Xiangwei back to campus, arriving at Professor Cheng's dorm building.

Cao Sheng came too.

When they reached Professor Cheng's dorm door, they saw her and her partner hauling things out—Professor Cheng had a dark face and was drenched in sweat; her partner was equally soaked, his T-shirt nearly transparent with sweat, mouth open, gasping for breath. It was late June, already scorching hot—moving in this weather was a torment only those who did it could know.

When they saw Lu Xiangwei arrive with a group of students, both their expressions turned comical.

Professor Cheng immediately gave Lu Xiangwei a withering look: "Teacher Lu, how did you get here so fast? Isn't that a bit too quick?"

Professor Cheng's partner set down the sack of rice, stood up, pulled out half a pack of cigarettes, and walked over with a smile to offer Lu Xiangwei one, whispering: "Don't be mad! She's just exhausted from moving and is in a bad mood right now!"

Lu Xiangwei apologized repeatedly and explained.

He soon mentioned that he'd forgotten to bring help because he'd suddenly discovered Cao Sheng had another novel published in Taiwan, and today a sample copy had arrived.

Speaking of the sample copy, he casually handed one to Professor Cheng.

It was a gift from Cao Sheng.

He'd carried it with him since before going out to drink, and had brought it along when he came here.

"Sample copy?"

Cheng Ying reached out, took it, glanced at Lu Xiangwei in surprise, then looked at Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng smiled back.

Cheng Ying forced out a faint smile for him.

Then she flipped through a few pages—the anger on her face vanished, replaced entirely by astonishment.

In her experience, vertically arranged traditional characters were only found in ancient texts, but this *I Wish to Become an Immortal* was clearly freshly printed—paper was brand-new, and opening it released the scent of ink and paper.

After flipping through a few more pages, Cheng Ying looked up at Cao Sheng again, smiling warmly: "Student Cao Sheng, you did promise to give me a sample copy, right? Could you also give me one of this book?"

Cao Sheng's smile stiffened slightly.

Professor Cheng had indeed asked him for a sample copy before.

But back then, she had asked for *Living with an Air Hostess*—he had agreed because he planned to buy a few copies once it was published and give her one.

After all, sample copies were extremely limited—he didn't want to give them away lightly.

But now she was asking for *I Wish to Become an Immortal*.

*I Wish to Become an Immortal* was only sold in Taiwan; there were none available on the mainland—he couldn't even buy a few copies without negotiating with the publisher.

Right then, Cao Sheng smiled and asked: "Professor Cheng, weren't you asking for my *Living with an Air Hostess* sample copy? That one won't be ready for a while yet."

Cheng Ying blinked. "I want the sample copy of that book too—but I want this one as well!"

You've got some nerve!

Cao Sheng suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and shook his head: "Professor Cheng, I'd love to give you a copy of every book, but sample copies are extremely limited—I've already promised others, and I want to keep a set for myself, so I'm sorry—I can only give you one."

When he was young, his skin was thin; he felt embarrassed to refuse others.

Now, if he can refuse, he will refuse.

If others feel no shame making requests, what shame does he have in refusing them?

At this moment, Lu Xiangwei spoke up to back him: "Right! Teacher Cheng, don't make things difficult for Cao Sheng. Regarding sample copies, there are only a few of each book. As his teacher, the fact that he can give us one is already a great respect to us. Don't make things difficult for him."

Cheng Ying looked slightly regretful, nodded, and smiled: "Fine! I was too greedy. Then just give me one of these sample copies? I really like this traditional-character sample copy; I want to collect one. Is that okay, Cao Sheng?"

This time, Cao Sheng did not refuse again; he readily agreed.

……

The next morning.

Lu Xiangwei knocked on the Department Head's office door with a smile, approached the Department Head's desk, and handed the sample copy Cao Sheng had given him to Wu Chengping.

"Department Head! Take a look. This is another novel published by my student. Look at the font! Then look at the content inside. Guess where this book was published, hehe! See if you can guess."

Wu Chengping frowned, looking at Lu Xiangwei's smiling face with suspicion, reached out to take the sample copy, and after just glancing at the cover, surprise appeared in his eyes.