Chapter 64: Principal's Attention, Another Banner Hung Under the Banyan Tree

Then he heard her say: "Senior, I am, I am a fan of your books. Could you... give me an autograph?"

After saying this, she let go of Cao Sheng's hand, hurriedly took off her backpack, placed it on the table, and lowered her head to rummage through it for paper and a pen.

Cao Sheng: "..."

What left Cao Sheng even more speechless was that the other freshmen nearby, as if suddenly awakened, also hurriedly began rummaging through their bags and suitcases for paper and pens.

Cao Sheng thought to himself: Since there are only a few people here anyway, it won't be any trouble to sign a few.

He smiled and sat down. When Chen Shuyun handed over the notebook and ballpoint pen she had found, he didn't say anything, took them, and casually signed "Zhongyuan Yidianhui" in the spot she indicated.

Having held five book signing events, he was already very practiced at signing these five characters.

With a flourish, he finished it in one go.

"Senior! Senior, I'm a fan of your books too, could you?"

Another freshman handed over a stack of draft paper.

Cao Sheng smiled and signed one for him as well.

"Senior! Senior! I want one too!"

"Senior! I'm a fan of your books too, really, could you sign one for me?"

"Senior!"

One by one, the freshmen consciously lined up to ask Cao Sheng for an autograph; it was hard to tell if they were all genuine fans.

But their behavior of lining up for autographs attracted the attention of others nearby.

Today was the day for welcoming freshmen, and along both sides of this main campus road, many tables had been set up where seniors from various majors were there to greet the newcomers.

Soon, Cao Sheng noticed that the line of people waiting for autographs was growing longer and longer.

At first, it was just freshmen lining up, but gradually, some seniors began to intersperse themselves in the line, and there were even some of his own classmates.

What to do?

Just go with the flow!

He pursed his lips and patiently continued to sign, treating it as if he were holding another book signing event.

Time ticked by, and the line grew longer; before he knew it, there were over a hundred people, and more kept joining.

No one came to stop it either.

They just watched as Cao Sheng sat there like he was receiving guests, one after another.

Half an hour later.

It was the turn of a girl with big eyes wearing a white dress; not only was her dress very white, but her skin was also dazzlingly fair.

Her large eyes looked a bit like those of a cartoon character, and Cao Sheng looked up at her with some confusion.

Because she didn't have a notebook in her hand, not even a single sheet of white paper.

"Hello, where would you like me to sign?"

He asked.

The big-eyed girl beamed, stretched her fair right arm out in front of him, raised her eyebrows at him, and laughed: "Just sign it on my arm! Make the characters a bit bigger; I promise not to wash this arm for the whole month."

Cao Sheng: "???"

From the line behind her came a burst of laughter, along with some scattered insults.

"Shameless!"

"Slut!"

"Bitch!"

"The school's reputation is ruined by people like this!"

Both Cao Sheng and she heard it, but she acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, still looking at Cao Sheng with a smile. Cao Sheng couldn't be bothered to argue with her; since she said to sign her arm, he expressionlessly signed "Zhongyuan Yidianhui" on her fair arm.

He just wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible.

As soon as he finished signing, she leaned her face in and whispered: "Great talent! I like you, oh. I'll come find you again. By the way, my name is Ren Xueyi, remember it! 'Ren' as in 'Ren Wo Xing', 'Xue' as in 'wind, flowers, snow, and moon', 'Yi' as in 'restless heart'! Don't you forget!"

After saying this, she raised her eyebrows at Cao Sheng again, then chuckled, turned around, and walked away with a light, brisk step, humming a little tune.

So bold?

Cao Sheng glanced at her retreating figure, guessing she was either a sophomore or a junior; freshmen shouldn't be this fashionable and lively.

Her outfit was very stylish, like a little princess.

Cao Sheng withdrew his gaze and continued signing.

In an office building not far away.

Under the reminder of his assistant, Zhang Xiaoguo, who had graying hair, was led to the office window. The young female assistant pointed at the long line on the main road not far away and said with a smile: "Principal, look! Those people lining up over there, do you see them?"

Zhang Xiaoguo stood with his hands behind his back, squinted for a moment, and asked suspiciously: "Isn't today the day for welcoming freshmen? Why are so many people lining up over there?"

The female assistant chuckled, "Principal, I've already asked around. Those people are lining up to get an autograph from Zhongyuan Yidianhui! You know Zhongyuan Yidianhui, right? I mentioned him to you before—a young writer from our school's accounting class who has been very famous lately. I don't know why, but today so many people are lining up to ask him for autographs."

Zhang Xiaoguo said "Oh."

He nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his face, "Not bad! A student from the accounting class actually becoming a writer—the Chinese department must be feeling the pressure now, right?"

The female assistant laughed, "There's no helping that! This Zhongyuan Yidianhui is too popular right now. Looking at the trends online, he is already quietly becoming the leader among our domestic young writers. Not to mention that the students in our school's Chinese department can't compare, even looking at all the universities in the country, I'm afraid no one can compare to him in the short term!"

"Oh? Is he that impressive?"

Zhang Xiaoguo was very surprised.

The female assistant nodded with a smile, "Principal, our school has truly produced a talent this time. It's a pity this student isn't from our school's Chinese department; otherwise, we could have highlighted him and the Chinese department in our school's enrollment promotion next year. If that were the case, our school's Chinese department would have a chance to become our signature major."

Zhang Xiaoguo narrowed his eyes again, pondered for a moment, and then smiled: "Don't be so small-minded! Since you say he is already the leader among our domestic young writers, then for next year's enrollment promotion, let's invite him to be our spokesperson. We can print his picture on our enrollment brochures. It just so happens that our school has been working hard to apply for upgrades over the past two years. We will increase investment in hardware, and we must also continue to exert effort in software. If we can use him to recruit more high-quality students, it will also enhance our school's strength, which will be helpful for our upgrade from a teachers' college to a university."

The female assistant nodded repeatedly, "Principal! You are right. I will definitely convey your meaning to the publicity department later."

Zhang Xiaoguo nodded with a smile.

That very afternoon.

A large red banner was hung at the top of the homepage of the Rongsuxia website.

It attracted countless gazes.

The banner read: "Congratulations to Zhongyuan Yidianhui's 'I Wish to Become an Immortal', soon to be published in Simplified Chinese!!!"

In the bottom right corner of this banner was a small button, and below the button were a few small words—"Click here to pre-order at a 20% discount."

That night.

Cao Sheng logged into the Rongsuxia author backend. After updating a chapter, he habitually went to the book review section to see the recent reader feedback.

But he found that the trend in the book review section had changed drastically; there were hardly any serious book reviews left.

Looking around, almost everything he saw was unserious.

"Damn! You update too slowly. I was just trying to provoke you by saying if you had the ability, you'd publish a simplified version. I didn't expect you to actually publish it? And so fast? I was just saying it! Are you for real?"

"Ahhh!! I have a very bad feeling right now! 'Days of Living with a Flight Attendant' paused its online serialization because of publication. Our book won't pause its serialization too, right? Don't! Author-kun, you can't fall into the money pit!"

"Awesome! Writing one and publishing one, not only publishing the traditional version but also the simplified version? Zhongyuan Yidianhui, you might as well change your name to Zhongyuan Especially Red!"

"Haha, is it really going to be published in simplified Chinese? Does this mean I don't have to wait for updates every day anymore? Can I finally read it all at once? Already pre-ordered, what day can I actually get the book?"

"In just half a year, I have witnessed Zhongyuan Yidianhui go from obscurity to the height of popularity. What kind of monster have I witnessed rising? Is there any other young writer in the country who is more popular than him now?"

"Zhongyuan Yidianhui, you might as well change your name to Dugu Qiubai! You have no opponents left now; you can't be 'gray' even if you want to!"