Chapter 61: Reprint Royalties (Request Monthly Votes and Follows!)

Zhu Lin was from Beijing, but she wasn’t a hutong girl—her father was a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology (the predecessor of Beijing Institute of Technology), and her mother was a doctor; such bare-chested scenes were rare in her life.

Especially not a boy this youthful and vibrant—his eighteen-year-old body was undeniably alluring. Though Wei Ming’s injury was on his shoulder and back, her gaze was drawn to his chest and abdomen; she even wondered if she might have been swallowing saliva.

“Sis,” Wei Ming teased, “let me do it myself.”

Wei Ming’s words jolted Zhu Lin out of her fantasy.

She picked up the medicine and walked around to his back.

“You called me sis—let me wipe you down.” Zhu Lin took direct action, rubbing and smoothing his back.

This was the first time she’d had such intimate contact with a man; her heartbeat accelerated noticeably.

So this is what a man feels like!

Zhu Lin feared Wei Ming might feel embarrassed, so she tried to ease the awkwardness with a joke.

“You don’t look like a writer—you look like you graduated from Shichahai Sports School.”

Wei Ming laughed: “My real job is security guard; writing is just a side gig—I’ve got to keep my body in shape.”

Zhu Lin’s face flushed; she hadn’t meant to compliment his physique.

Wei Ming added: “Sis, you even know about Shichahai Sports School?”

“Know it? I trained there as a kid.”

“What?!” Wei Ming turned around in surprise.

Afraid he’d see her flushed face, she turned him back around.

“When I was little, my family sent me there for a while to develop holistically—I did gymnastics, but not professionally, just in my free time. I’m also good at basketball and swimming.”

“No wonder you stand so straight—I thought you’d been in the military.”

Zhu Lin smiled: “I was—in the arts troupe. I danced in the army.”

“Then why’d you end up at the Health Research Institute? Shouldn’t you have joined a theater troupe?” Wei Ming thought of another great sister from the General Political Department’s Drama Troupe.

At this, Zhu Lin sighed: “My family wanted me to do this, so after discharge, I went to medical college for further study.”

“It sounds like you don’t really like your current job.”

Zhu Lin: “Same repetitive tasks every day—I can see the end of my life from here. It’s boring.”

Zhu Lin had opened up deeply—she’d never confided her dissatisfaction with her life even to her partner.

“What about you? Do you like your current job?” she asked.

“Of course. I get a salary at work, and after hours I earn royalties. On my free days, I can attend any lecture by Peking University’s top professors—I wouldn’t trade it for any high-ranking official position.”

Zhu Lin said sincerely: “I really envy you—you live so freely.”

They chatted for half an hour before the doctor returned, exclaiming loudly: “Oh my, just a few minutes’ rubbing is enough—don’t you fear you’ll rub your brother’s skin right off?”

Zhu Lin turned bright red.

Wei Ming explained: “It’s fine—my sis has a light touch. Half an hour’s the same as the doctor’s few minutes.”

Zhu Lin felt even more embarrassed—his words sounded strange, as if she’d been caressing him for half an hour, and now her hand was numb.

Even though her hand was numb, she still had to carry the radio in one hand to the department store, while the other hung uselessly.

As Wei Ming rode her, his heart was full of worry—tire, tire, please don’t fail me, just hold on!

Fortunately, the tire held up, though the road was bumpy; to avoid falling, Zhu Lin gripped Wei Ming’s waist a few times.

His waist—how to describe it? Hard and firm, even more powerful than it looked. Zhu Lin didn’t dare linger—she touched lightly, then pulled away.

“Wei Writer, can I still call you brother from now on?” As they parted at the department store, Zhu Lin made this request. Wei Ming grinned: “You’re taking advantage of me~”

Zhu Lin pouted: “I am older than you—so you’re not losing out.”

Wei Ming smiled even brighter: “Alright, sis—I’m heading back.”

“Go slow,” Zhu Lin gave him the warmest, most sincere smile she’d shown since meeting him—Wei Ming was momentarily stunned.

For over a month now, why have I kept running into such incredible older sisters?

I’m not a sis-lover!

Since another family was waiting at Peking University to thank him, and time was already late, Wei Ming didn’t bother visiting the trust store—he headed straight home.

Now that he had a watch, he could clearly feel time slipping away from him; before, everything had felt hazy and aimless.

About a hundred minutes later, Wei Ming passed a bicycle repair stall near Peking University.

“Master, change the tire!” Wei Ming stopped his bike, deciding to fix a potential problem.

The repairman opened the outer tire and chuckled: “This inner tube’s still brand-new—are you sure you want to replace it?”

!

“Huh?”

Wei Ming guessed Zhu Lin had changed it—this sister didn’t even say a word, and did good deeds anonymously.

“No need—I’m sorry, see you later!”

Wei Ming pedaled hard to the South Gate, where a guard on duty called out to him.

“Brother Ming, you’ve got mail—several letters.”

Wei Ming opened them: one from Guangzhou Youth Daily, one from Youth Daily, one from China Youth Daily—they must be royalty payment notices for reprints.

But there was also one from Poetry Magazine—that was unexpected.

Poetry Magazine—just from its simple name, you know it’s China’s top poetry journal, overseen by the China Writers Association, founded in 1957, with Zang Kejia as its first editor-in-chief; its first issue opened with the Great Leader’s eighteen classical poems, and in 1976, the Great Leader personally approved its revival.

It’s on par with Harvest and People’s Literature, with impressive circulation and wide reach. Though poetry has far fewer readers than novels, this is the only poetry magazine that truly matters—the absolute king of its category.

He was about to open the envelope when his colleague urged: “Oh, by the way, your boss wants you to go to his office right away—the family of the girl you saved is here.”

“Oh, okay.” Wei Ming stuffed the four letters into his pocket and went to meet the guests.

In the security department’s office, the boss was receiving the Li family.

The father, mother, grandfather, and the little girl herself were all present.

They’d been waiting a while; the boss was anxious—this Xiao Wei, he knew they were coming today, why did he have to go out?

He’d already told them about Wei Ming being a poet and writer, and had received countless compliments—he was now out of things to say.

The scene grew awkward.

Just then, the office phone rang.

“What? Our Peking University security guard, Wei Ming? Yes, yes, he’s from our unit! Ah! Okay, okay, very good…”

After hanging up, the boss excitedly told the guests: “No wonder Xiao Wei was late—he went into town today and encountered a knife-wielding robbery. Our Xiao Wei stepped forward immediately, easily subdued the armed criminal, and even took a pregnant woman to the hospital. That’s why the police station called to thank us.”

Before the guests could react with amazement, Wei Ming knocked and entered.

The boss introduced: “This is Comrade Wei Ming!”

“Girl, say hello!”

The little girl, about three years old, walked up to Wei Ming at her mother’s urging…

(This is the final week of the new book ranking—guys, roll up your sleeves and push! Three chapters today!)

(End of chapter)