Chapter 74: Bestseller in Taipei

Taipei.

Early morning.

Fifteen-year-old A Shu pedaled his bicycle, speeding along the road to school; to ride faster, he frequently lifted his buttocks off the seat, standing up to pedal with all his might.

The early morning, which had originally been just a gentle breeze, saw his hair flying backward and his white shirt rustling loudly due to the bicycle's speed.

Passing a bookstore, he suddenly braked, planted both feet on the ground, twisted his head, and shouted into the shop: "Boss! Has the new book of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' arrived yet?"

The boss's reply came from inside: "No!"

A Shu's originally spirited expression instantly turned to disappointment.

He pedaled listlessly, continuing on to school.

That same evening.

A Shu pedaled his bicycle past this bookstore again; the speed was still fast, but as he passed the shop, he braked once more, planted both feet on the ground, twisted his head, and shouted into the shop: "Boss! Has the new book of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' arrived?"

The boss's reply came again: "No!!"

"Damn!"

A Shu let out a curse, flipped the middle finger toward the bookstore, then, looking dejected, pedaled home with no energy.

The second day, the third day...

It was the same every day.

Every morning when passing in front of this bookstore, he would brake, twist his head, and shout into the shop: "Has the new book of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' arrived?"

When passing here after school in the evening, he would ask again.

Twice a day, far more often than many men pay their public dues.

Thus, about a week passed.

This morning, A Shu pedaled his bicycle again, arriving at the bookstore door like a gust of wind; he braked once more, planted both feet on the ground, and with a wooden expression, twisted his head to shout at the shop: "Boss! Has the new book of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' arrived?"

The bookstore boss's voice came: "It has! It arrived just last night..."

"Damn!"

A Shu habitually let out a curse, flipped the middle finger toward the shop door, and, looking dejected, pedaled his bicycle, preparing to go to school.

But just after riding out two meters, he suddenly raised his eyebrows, his face showing surprise, and abruptly turned his gaze toward the bookstore entrance.

"Arrived? Arrived? Boss, did you just say it arrived?"

He shouted excitedly.

The boss, carrying a bowl of noodles, limped to the shop door and scolded in a bad mood: "Giving up? No more flipping the middle finger? You brat! When that book hadn't arrived, you cursed and flipped the middle finger; now that the book has arrived, you still curse? Still flip the middle finger? Are you bullying me because I'm lame?"

A Shu, his face already full of excitement, hurriedly jumped off his bicycle, casually pushed the bike over to the roadside, and rushed into the shop in a panic.

Where was there any mind left to argue with the boss?

He only quickly said "Sorry, sorry..." a few times.

A moment later, holding two brand-new copies of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' in his hand, he came to the cashier to pay.

Looking at these two copies of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' with covers different from before, he readily took the pocket money from his pocket and handed it to the boss.

Volume Nine, Volume Ten.

These two new books' covers were respectively marked with such words.

They did not actually mark them as such just because Cao Sheng defined Volume Ten as the first volume of 'I Want to Become an Immortal 2'.

That evening.

When A Shu rode his bicycle past this bookstore again, he saw a long line of people at the bookstore door, all teenagers.

He faintly heard those in line discussing something excitedly.

Words like "I Want to Become an Immortal," "Volume Nine," and "Volume Ten" entered his ears.

A Shu chuckled lightly, feeling no surprise.

Because in recent months, he had seen such scenes many times; whenever the new book of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' hit the market, quite a few people would line up in front of several nearby bookstores.

He had lined up like this before.

But twice, because he was at the back of the line, the newly released 'I Want to Become an Immortal' sold out before it was his turn.

It made him extremely dejected.

So, recently, he had come here morning and evening every day to ask if the new book of 'I Want to Become an Immortal' had arrived.

Doing this was troublesome.

But today, seeing so many people lining up while he had already bought the newly released Volume Nine and Volume Ten this morning, he felt delighted inside and couldn't help humming a little tune.

His buttocks left the seat again; he stood up and pedaled hard, rushing home like lightning.

He couldn't wait to get home quickly and read Volume Ten.

During the day at school, he had finished Volume Nine and only read a little bit of Volume Ten's content.

That same evening, Ke Jingteng, born in 1978, walked onto the street in a dejected mood, looking for a place to fill his stomach, and to take a walk and clear his mind.

He had not been in a good mood recently.

He had studied Management Science in university; recently, he wanted to take the graduate entrance exam for Sociology, but since he couldn't write a Sociology thesis, he used his writing strengths to write a novel with Sociological concepts as his thesis.

And then...

His graduate entrance exam failed.

Maybe later, when his name Nine Blades became famous, he could use his novel as a thesis and perhaps really pass the exam, but not now.

So, he had been very dejected recently.

He appeared somewhat decadent.

With his hands in his pockets, he walked lazily on the street, his gaze scanning aimlessly everywhere; suddenly, he noticed quite a few students lining up in front of a bookstore, and the line was quite long.

A queue outside the bookstore?

He was surprised; in this place called Taiwan, he had seen people queuing outside audio-video shops many times before, but he had never seen a queue outside a bookstore.

Did a bestseller come out recently?

Because he loved writing, his curiosity was piqued; he instinctively approached the queue, forced a smile, and asked a young man in line, "Handsome! What book are you queuing to buy?"

Several young men in the queue all turned to look.

Someone chuckled, while another answered immediately: "I Want to Become an Immortal! Zhongyuan Yidianhui's I Want to Become an Immortal is out, and you don't know? You're not a book fan, are you?"

Another young man spoke up: "Go queue at the back! If you're not queuing, move along!"

Ke Jingteng was a bit dazed.

"Zhongyuan Yidianhui? I Want to Become an Immortal? Is this book really that good?"

He pressed on.

A young woman in a red dress in the queue gave him a dirty look and said irritably, "Ridiculous! If it weren't good, would so many of us be queuing here? Uncle! Move along! It's so hot, you're blocking my breeze!"

Ke Jingteng walked away a few steps, stunned.

He stared blankly at the thirty or forty young men and women in the queue; after a moment of daze, he hesitantly walked to the end of the line and joined it.

He wanted to see just how good this I Want to Become an Immortal was, and why it was so loved by so many students.

As someone who loved writing, he could not tolerate a bestseller like this that he had not read.

Only after returning to his lodging with two copies of I Want to Become an Immortal did he realize with surprise that he had bought the ninth and tenth volumes.

There were eight volumes before this?

I haven't read them! What do I do?

Forget it! My stomach is full from just eating; going back to the bookstore would make me hungry again, so I'd better save my energy! I'll just see how the ninth volume is written; if it's good, I'll go buy the first volume tomorrow; if it's not, I'll forget it.

With this mindset, he took the ninth volume of I Want to Become an Immortal, lay down on the living room sofa, and patiently continued reading.

At first, he read with his brows tightly furrowed.

Because he had not read the first eight volumes and started directly from the ninth, he found it hard to understand the plot in the book and hard to identify with the male protagonist.

But...

Before long, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

The look of wonder in his eyes grew ever stronger.