Chapter 72: I Was Merely Average

From the Writers' Association?

Cao Sheng was slightly surprised, immediately stood up, and showed a smile.

The graceful young woman also showed a smile, raised her jade hand shimmering with a crystal luster to push the glasses on her nose, and spoke proactively: "Hello, Cao Sheng! I am Huang Qingya, very pleased to meet you!"

Saying this, she extended her right hand in front of Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng reached out to shake it, smiling in response: "Hello! Have you had dinner? Why not eat a bit together?"

Huang Qingya smiled and turned her head to look at the food serving window not far away, laughing: "Is that okay? But I don't have meal tickets for your school cafeteria."

"Whoa! Secretary Huang, what do you want to eat? I'll go buy it for you! I happen to be getting a portion for myself anyway."

Lu Xiangwei quickly chimed in, very enthusiastic.

Huang Qingya was slightly reserved: "Isn't this too much trouble for you? How could I accept this?"

Lu Xiangwei waved his hands repeatedly: "Not trouble, not trouble at all! What trouble is this? I happen to be going to get a portion myself anyway, just tell me what you want to eat! Let me tell you, the food in our school cafeteria is actually quite good."

"Except for breakfast!" Class Monitor Geng Yong interjected with a laugh from the side.

Because a saying had always circulated in their school cafeteria regarding breakfast: the steamed buns in the cafeteria could kill a person.

Cao Sheng and Lu Xiangwei had both heard this saying, so Geng Yong's words made both of them laugh.

Huang Qingya didn't understand why, but she laughed along.

After saying a few more words and mentioning a few dishes she wanted to eat, Lu Xiangwei and Geng Yong went to get the food.

Left were Cao Sheng and Huang Qingya, and the two people who had been persuading Cao Sheng to attend the hometown gathering all along.

When Cao Sheng invited Huang Qingya to sit, he glanced and saw those two were still there, so he showed an apologetic smile and said: "Senior brother, senior sister, look at my situation here... why don't you two go back first? We can talk about the hometown gathering later?"

The senior brother and senior sister looked at each other, both feeling a bit helpless.

But they could only agree.

After they walked far away, Huang Qingya looked curiously at the backs of those two and asked, "Hometown gathering? Were they just here inviting you to attend the hometown gathering?"

Cao Sheng nodded: "Mm, they wanted to invite me to this year's hometown gathering dinner."

"You didn't agree?"

Huang Qingya asked again with a smile.

Cao Sheng nodded slightly: "I don't really want to attend; I don't really like socializing."

Huang Qingya pushed the glasses on her nose again, looking at Cao Sheng curiously: "You are so young, and you already dislike excitement?"

Cao Sheng nodded.

Huang Qingya laughed lightly: "Rare! No wonder you can write novel after novel! You are much more steady than I imagined before I came, looking quite mature."

Cao Sheng smiled.

Thinking to himself: My psychological age is older than yours; if I didn't look mature, that would be strange.

Seeing that Cao Sheng didn't respond, Huang Qingya started talking about the main matter: "By the way, Cao Sheng, I am here today representing our city's Writers' Association to invite you to join us. You have already published two novels, and I heard the sales and reputation are both very good; you must definitely meet our membership conditions. How about it? Are you interested in joining us?"

To be honest, Cao Sheng had no interest.

Before his rebirth, he had also received an invitation from the city's Writers' Association.

But he found it troublesome, so he didn't join.

But that time was different from this one now; that time was an invitation online, while this time Huang Qingya personally came to his school to find him and invited him face-to-face.

The sincerity was completely different.

Moreover, letting him refuse such a graceful young woman face-to-face, he really found it a bit hard to open his mouth.

So, he pondered slightly and nodded.

"Okay, but I might not have much time to attend meetings or participate in certain activities of the association in my daily life; I hope you can understand this point."

Seeing Cao Sheng agree at once, Huang Qingya was very happy and nodded repeatedly: "Good, good! It is very good that you agree to join; I understand! I will definitely understand. After all, you still have to attend school, and besides your studies, you still have to write manuscripts; you don't have time for meetings and such, I can completely understand. Please rest assured! Our association is very free and has no mandatory tasks; you just need to be willing to join us."

After finishing the meal, Huang Qingya left happily.

When leaving, she took the membership application form that Cao Sheng had just filled out.

Before leaving, she also left the association's address and contact phone number.

At the main entrance of the cafeteria, when Cao Sheng watched Huang Qingya ride away on her bicycle, he inadvertently glanced at Lu Xiangwei's reluctant expression beside him.

He started to suspect whether Lu Xiangwei had taken a fancy to this Huang Qingya.

But this woman was around thirty years old, with such a mature figure, completely the figure of a young married woman; could it be she isn't married yet?

Out of curiosity, he asked: "Teacher, is this Secretary Huang married?"

Lu Xiangwei came to his senses, looked at Cao Sheng, then looked at Geng Yong beside him who was equally curious; Lu Xiangwei sighed and shook his head: "I don't know! I am seeing her for the first time today; how would I know if she is married or not?"

Late that night.

In the second-floor study.

Cao Sheng had just finished typing another chapter of his manuscript; when he picked up the teacup by his side to drink tea and rest, the face and figure of Huang Qingya involuntarily flashed through his mind.

Then he thought of the evening three days ago, when his former first love, Chen Shuyun, stopped him on his way to the cafeteria and handed him a love letter with a red face.

Thinking of that love letter, he casually pulled open the desk drawer.

That love letter lay quietly in the drawer, with no signs of having been opened.

He felt there was no need to read it.

A love letter, after all! It's nothing more than saying how much she likes him; what's there to see?

Before he decided to accept Chen Shuyun, he didn't want to read the content of this love letter, didn't want to disturb his state of mind.

Actually, when he first returned through rebirth, he wrote in his diary much like a certain master of Chinese classics; and how did that master of Chinese classics write in his diary?

— "I have no other hope in this life; I only hope to meet more women and women from various places."

His young body now had strong physiological needs.

Yet, as his works achieved better and better results after his rebirth, and the royalties he earned grew larger, his ambition was constantly ignited.

He wanted to achieve even better results, wanted to continue improving his strength, and wanted to compete with the great masters of the future.

This ambition, or rather this greed, gradually suppressed his desire for women.

Because he knew that once he fell in love, his mind and time would surely be scattered.

In the field of online literature, he was originally of average talent; a person who had studied accounting could make a living in this industry, which was already very difficult.

Otherwise, before his rebirth, after typing for so many years, he would not have remained unable to stand out.

Now that he had the advantage of acting first and the opportunity to become a top master in this industry, how could he not go all out?

It was just...

A woman so easily within reach, yet he had to hold back.

He did not know how much longer he could endure.

Two days later, at dusk.

Cao Sheng could not withstand the entanglement of those two senior students, male and female, and ultimately went to attend this year's hometown gathering.

In the private dining room, two large tables were fully packed with more than twenty people.

Among them, the senior students included only him, totaling just nine, while most were freshmen who had just enrolled this year.

The ten-odd freshmen Cao Sheng had met when he first attended the hometown gathering back then were today represented only by him and another male student dressed in designer brands who had been invited.

As he had expected, at tonight's hometown gathering, he, Cao Sheng, became the focus of the entire venue.

Whether senior students or freshmen, everyone was discussing his works, enthusiastically asking him about matters related to writing, and also asking how much royalties a single book could earn.

During the meal, Cao Sheng noticed that the senior students present today, judging by their clothing and conversation, seemed to have a Similar family background, each better than the last.

As for the female students, whether from the sophomore or junior year, each was more beautiful than the one before.

In comparison, the freshmen present today seemed to fade into the background.

Just as the gathering was about to disperse, a junior-year senior student who claimed to belong to the school's literature club approached Cao Sheng, smiling broadly, and said, "Student Cao Sheng, I also very much like writing; I have accumulated a few articles that I personally think are decent. May I bring them to you later for you to take a look? Please help me correct them."