Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 24 It's not time to enjoy yet

That evening, there were only four male and female students studying in a classroom on the second floor of the Adult Education Building. Cao Sheng was one of them. He sat alone in the back row by the window.

There was a stack of draft paper in front of him, and he was holding a pencil in his hand with some manuscripts written on the paper.

Because he signed a contract with Xinchang Publishing House today, he wanted to write more manuscripts. After all, every word he wrote now could be sold.

To make money! Who doesn’t want to make more money?

So, after dinner tonight, he came here early, wanting to write more tonight.

However, wanting to write is one thing, and being able to write it is another.

Because of today's signing, because of his vision for the future, and the memories of the past, they always emerged involuntarily in his mind, making his mind always scattered tonight. He wanted to gather his thoughts and concentrate on writing, but he was always unable to gather his wandering thoughts.

I simply couldn't immerse myself in the story I was writing.

He had experienced this kind of situation more than once during the years when he was typing before his rebirth, and he knew that he would not be able to write the manuscript in this state tonight.

In this state, even if he managed to write something, the quality would be worrying.

After all, typing is not a physical job. It is not something that can be done just by gritting your teeth, stomping your feet, or working hard.

So, after sitting in his seat for more than half an hour, he packed up his things, got up and left the classroom.

I thought to myself: Since I can’t write anything tonight, I’ll just give myself a night’s rest and treat it as a holiday.

After returning the manuscript paper and pencil to the dormitory, he walked into the night of the campus alone, like a spectator, casually observing everything he saw.

Young couples walking together, lonely alumni, dim street lights at night, wild cats jumping past the bushes...

Walking out of the school gate, there was smoke from the roadside snack stalls, and the hot steam from the food was drifting in the wind under the light of the street lamps. The young men and women who were eating had either smiles or dejected expressions on their faces.

Taxis, private cars and bicycles are shuttling back and forth on the road in front of the school gate.

In front of every roadside store, some have long queues, while others are completely deserted.

These scenes made Cao Sheng feel inexplicably lonely.

It was as if I had returned to the time before my rebirth, when I was in a bad mood and saw the scene when I went to the night market alone for supper late at night.

At that time, he could afford all the food at the night market.

But the loneliness in my heart follows me everywhere, like a thorn in my flesh, and I can't get rid of it.

A thought often pops up in my mind: Why do I need to exist?

I always can't help thinking: In this world, one more or one less of me won't make much, so what's the meaning of someone like me living in this world?
I am getting older, but I am still alone.

The passage of time makes him feel like the sunset on the horizon. Even though it looks good, the sunset will soon fall below the horizon.

And for someone like him who is not married and has no children, once he dies, the world will have nothing to do with him anymore.

Everything I have now seems to be meaningless.

……

Cao Sheng, feeling inexplicably depressed, walked aimlessly along the sidewalk, passing by the doors of shops and a deserted section of road lined with trees. As he walked, he suddenly found himself at the bank of the Xin'an River.

The dark river water flowed quietly under the bridge. On some scattered large rocks on the riverside mudflats, couples could be seen sitting on the rocks hugging each other, as if they were doing something shameless.

Cao Sheng walked along the sidewalk to the middle of the bridge, put his hands behind his waist, squinted his eyes and quietly looked at the river in the night.

The chilly night wind made his hair fly around, and sometimes a strand of hair covered one of his eyes, but he ignored it.

He just stood there quietly, letting the night wind blow on him. After a while, the coolness in the night wind penetrated his skin and went into his body.

The chilling feeling made his heart gradually calm down and his mind became particularly clear. Reason gradually returned to his brain.

Originally, he suddenly felt very lonely tonight, thinking of the lonely and isolated life before his rebirth. He thought that his current book "I Want to Become an Immortal" has been signed with the publishing house. It won't be long before he can get the first royalties, and his living conditions will soon improve a lot.

Maybe it's time to find a girlfriend to relieve my loneliness.

After all, his young body has strong physiological needs.

But now that he had regained his senses, he felt that he should wait a little longer.

Signing a contract with a publishing house is just a beginning, not the end at all.

If he starts enjoying life now, the quality of his book in the middle and later stages will definitely decline and it may not become really popular in the market.

And how many talented people are there in this world?
In his memory before his rebirth, how many talented and hardworking god-level authors emerged in the online literature circle?
For example: Jiangnan, Xuehong, Sanshao, Tomato, Chendong... and so on.

There are too many to count.

Although Cao Sheng has now taken the title of "the originator of online literature", it has not yet been recognized. What if he is the first author from the mainland to publish online literature in Taiwan?

As far as I can remember, online literature quickly entered a period of rapid growth since its inception.

During this period, talented and hardworking authors emerge in large numbers, and any veteran masters who slack off will be washed up on the beach by the new waves in the blink of an eye.

Then he was labeled as "outdated" by people inside and outside the circle.

Just like the first batch of famous online writers in the original time and space, after a few years, they were no longer able to make waves.

He, Cao Sheng, didn't want to be that kind of leader.

Before his rebirth, he was always unknown. He had had enough of the life of "why should I exist". Now, he has the opportunity to live again, how can he be willing to be washed onto the beach by the next wave?

At this moment, his eyes gradually became firm.

He thought of "Evergreen", the manuscript editor of Xinchang Publishing House.

Evergreen is just an online name.

At this time, Cao Sheng wanted to become an evergreen in the online literature circle.

No matter how time passes, no matter how the waves are beaten onto the beach, Cao Sheng will stand firm. He wants to become a legend in the online literature circle.

And how can a legend start enjoying life so early?
……

After that day, Cao Sheng really settled down and spent almost all of his time after classes typing and revising his drafts.

He not only pursues the number of words he types every day, but also tries his best to improve the quality of his work.

He tries his best to make sure there are no typos in his works and his writing is as fluent as possible. If he is not satisfied with the plot, he will delete it immediately even if it has been written.

In a blink of an eye, 8 days passed.

He received an email from Evergreen again.

In the email, Chang Qingshu told him that he had received the contract he sent and that the remuneration for the first episode had been deposited into his bank account, so he was asked to check it.

In addition, Chang Qingshu also told him that his book "I Want to Become an Immortal" had been included in this month's publishing plan and would be officially available for sale at the end of the month.

The next morning, after finishing his overnight stay and uploading manuscripts, Cao Sheng came out of the Internet cafe and had breakfast at the snack stand at the school gate. He returned to the campus and when he passed by the ATM on campus, he took out his wallet, took out his bank card and inserted it into the ATM.

After some operations, the balance on the machine was 4010.
The remaining 10 yuan was the money he deposited when he opened the card.

The extra 4000 was his first payment for his writing.

(End of this chapter)