[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of":3,"chapter-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-46":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Dreaming Back to 1997: I Became the Forefather of Web Novels",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2348280,4589,"Chapter 46: Signing Event","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-46",46,"\u003Cp>\"Third Brother! Are you leaving tonight?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, while packing his luggage in the dormitory, preparing to head to the train station shortly, Song Chao asked Cao Sheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng smiled, \"No! I'm not leaving tonight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Chao said \"Oh,\" and asked, \"Then are you going home tomorrow?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng gave a hum of agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also wished he could go home tomorrow; the semester had finally ended, and having not been home for half a year, he had long been homesick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the email Wang Jing sent forced him to change his plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no time to go home for the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the day after tomorrow was the day he was supposed to arrive in Shanghai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With time so tight, if he went home first, he would likely spend most of the next two days on the train.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he chose to fly, the time would be very rushed, and he would only be able to spend one night at home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, he decided to wait until he was finished with his work before going back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, five of his roommates left the dormitory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, two more left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By 8 o'clock in the morning, only Cao Sheng remained in the entire dormitory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng thought of Tan Lei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This old classmate had taken the same train as him to school at the beginning of the year, and when they arrived, she had repeatedly told him that when the final break came, she wanted to travel back with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, when they met during morning jogs on the track, she had mentioned it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But from last night until now, he hadn't seen her come to find him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng sat in the dormitory for a while before heading out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He planned to buy himself two sets of clothes and shoes; usually at school, wearing old clothes was fine, but tomorrow he was going to Shanghai to face the media and his readers, and he felt he should dress up a little, if only as a sign of respect to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he walked out of the school gate, he was still thinking: perhaps Tan Lei is waiting for me to find her, or perhaps ever since I told her I already have a girlfriend, she doesn't want to go back with me anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like in the original timeline, ever since he got a girlfriend, Tan Lei stopped mentioning going back together during the break.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng hailed a taxi at the school gate, arrived at the clothing mall, and bought two sets of everything, inside and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One set of denim, which was his casual wear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One black suit with a black shirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also bought a pair of sneakers and a pair of black leather shoes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't have much insight into fashion, but he had a good foundation, so nothing looked bad on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of the full-length mirror in the clothing store, having changed into the denim outfit and sneakers, he looked handsome, like a sunny and dashing college student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After changing into the black shirt, black suit, and black leather shoes, he still looked handsome in the mirror, but with an added touch of cold, sharp temperament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, July 10th.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little after 10 a.m., Cao Sheng, dressed in denim and sneakers, dragged a suitcase out of the airport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, he had flown this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The publishing house was reimbursing the airfare anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar, he saw a tall woman in the crowd of people picking up passengers holding a sign that read: Cao Sheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng walked straight over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That afternoon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the coffee area of a five-star hotel, Cao Sheng accepted an interview with the *Wenhui Daily*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reporter interviewing him was a round-faced woman in her early thirties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name tag on her chest read: Xu Yun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the first interview arranged by Huachengchubanshe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interview had just begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yun: \"Cao Sheng! It's a pleasure to meet you. Do you know? I've read your work; I suppose you could call me a fan!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng smiled, \"That is my honor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yun: \"You're too kind. As a fan, the first question I want to ask is: Is *Living with a Flight Attendant* based on your real experiences? Does the female lead, Ran Jing, have a real-life prototype?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng shook his head slightly, \"No! No flight attendant has ever come to ask me to share an apartment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yun was amused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, following Cao Sheng's lead, she asked: \"Then, if a flight attendant like Ran Jing came to ask you to share an apartment, would you agree?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng: \"Why wouldn't I?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yun: \"So, are you currently renting a place to live alone? But as far as I know, you're still a freshman, right? You don't live in the dormitory?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng shook his head, \"No! I live in the dormitory.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yun was surprised, \"Then you just said no flight attendant came to ask you to share an apartment? You live in a dormitory; surely you wouldn't let a flight attendant come to live in your dormitory?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng chuckled, \"That's why I said this book is not based on my real experiences.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he first started the interview, he was indeed a bit nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after chatting for a few minutes, he gradually relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This had to do with Xu Yun's interview style, which felt like a casual chat between friends, and also with his many romantic experiences before his rebirth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such rich romantic experience, it was hard to feel nervous in front of a woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Cao Sheng was scheduled to go to the Shanghai Radio Station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was to be interviewed for a radio program.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, he was interviewed by two radio hosts, a man and a woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had more interview tasks the next day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third day, July 12th.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Living with a Flight Attendant* was officially released.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early that morning, Cao Sheng woke up very early; he had suffered from a bit of insomnia last night, and although he wanted to fall asleep early, his brain uncontrollably thought of this and that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One moment he was thinking about how ugly the scene would be if few fans came to buy the book at the signing event tomorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment he was imagining the scene of the signing event being packed with people, with hundreds of fans waving his work and rushing toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Various possibilities flashed through his mind involuntarily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It made it hard for him to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He woke up even earlier this morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply got up, and when he went to the bathroom to wash up, he specifically used hot water to wash his face to avoid having two dark circles at the signing event today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even so, after washing, he saw that his complexion in the mirror was still a bit poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were still some dark circles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little after 10 a.m.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accompanied by staff from the publishing house, Cao Sheng took a car to a Xinhua Bookstore in the JA District.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he even got out of the car, he saw a long queue in front of the bookstore, stretching over a hundred meters along the sidewalk, causing passersby to stare, with two traffic police officers even maintaining order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng glanced at it twice, turned to ask Zhao Ping beside him, \"Sister Zhao! Are these people all fans who came spontaneously? Did you arrange for people to come and queue?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Ping was the staff member arranged by the publishing house to receive him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zhao Ping smiled and said softly, \"Today is the first stop of the signing tour. By convention, we do arrange for some extra people to come, but I'm not very clear about the specific situation today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Sheng was silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suspected that all these fans in line were arranged by the publishing house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this suspicion, he was very calm when he got out of the car; even when the crowd in line looked at him, he didn't feel nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice kept echoing in his mind: \"Plants! They're all plants!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Consequently, when he saw several media reporters around him taking photos and filming, he didn't feel nervous either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the disappointment in his heart had already made it impossible for him to be nervous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He followed Zhao Ping into the bookstore, and when faced with the store manager who greeted him enthusiastically, he just played along, thinking that the manager had good acting skills and deserved to be a manager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he started signing for the \"fans,\" he remained very calm, only trying his best to keep a smile on his face. As he signed, his pen flew across the pages, wanting only to sign faster and faster, to end this signing event sooner, to end this ordeal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was like a heartless assassin; there was no ripple in his heart as he signed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And while he was busy signing for the \"fans.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Ping, who had been by his side, went with the store manager to an empty bookshelf. Looking at the bustling scene around Cao Sheng, Zhao Ping thought of the question Cao Sheng had asked when he first got out of the car and couldn't help but ask the manager in a low voice, \"Hey, Brother Wang, how many people here today are arranged by us? Are there 50?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The store manager looked at Cao Sheng's side with a full smile and replied casually, \"We did arrange for a few dozen, but early this morning, more and more people came to queue. I saw the situation wasn't right, so I didn't have our people come over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Ping was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Cao Sheng, who was trying hard to maintain his smile and signing rapidly. She stared blankly, feeling that Cao Sheng's smile didn't look happy at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was even a little heartbreaking.\u003C\u002Fp>",1672,"2026-06-21T01:55:54.452Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","3964c21e28d124ecdaf1148a58225b81db7885f74f0894aef0e41334f3e99ac9","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-47","dreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-chapter-45",338,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdreaming-back-to-1997-i-became-the-forefather-of-cover.jpg"]