Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

Across the ocean, at the headquarters of Penguin Random House in the UK.

As a top-tier publishing house with over a century of history, this place has always been a mecca for Western classical and highbrow literature. Editor-in-Chief Arthur Smith was currently seated in a leather office chair, sipping red tea, his expression indifferent as he scrolled through his emails.

Suddenly, a bilingual (English and Chinese) electronic manuscript from China popped up, with an extremely eye-catching title: "Pride and Prejudice".

"A rising director from China writing about classic British literature?"

Arthur couldn't help but chuckle, his eyes filled with the disdain typical of an arrogant old Western gentleman. He shook his head, picked up his teacup, and his fingertip prepared to press the rejection button:

"This is simply the biggest joke in the publishing world this year. Easterners have no idea what 19th-century manor culture is, let alone how to write about true gentlemanly elegance. They've brought this upon themselves—"

However, just as he was about to close the page, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the first line of the manuscript:

【It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.】

Arthur's finger, which was reaching for the mouse, suddenly stopped.

This highly ironic, humorous, concise, and elegant opening statement was like a precise key, instantly unlocking the heart of this discerning veteran editor.

He frowned, put down his teacup, and decided to "just glance at a couple more pages."

Ten minutes have passed.

Half an hour has passed.

Arthur stared intently at the screen, his breathing becoming rapid without him even realizing it.

When he saw Mr. Darcy proudly propose to Elizabeth in the rain only to be scolded on the spot, he was amazed; when he saw Darcy silently working for the Elizabethan family and covering up their huge gambling debts, Arthur was so excited that he broke out in a cold sweat; and when he heard Darcy say "You have captivated my soul" in the morning mist, this gentleman in his sixties trembled slightly and even his eyes became a little moist!

"My God...this is genius! This is an unparalleled literary miracle!"

Arthur suddenly jumped up from his chair, even accidentally knocking over the tea on the table.

He glanced at his watch; he had only two hours left before his flight to Paris for the International Publishing Summit.

Without the slightest hesitation, Arthur ripped off his tie and hysterically yelled at his assistant outside:

"Cancel! Cancel my flight to Paris! Book me a flight to Beijing right now, the earliest one, in half an hour!"

The assistant was dumbfounded: "Mr. Arthur? The Paris summit is a top-level event!"

"To hell with the Paris Summit!" Arthur's face flushed with excitement as he waved the manuscript in his hand. "I'm going to China! I want to see this genius named Lin Yuan! If we can't get the global exclusive publishing rights to this book, Penguin Random House is the biggest idiot in the entire publishing industry! Book the tickets now! Immediately!"

Thirty-six hours later, at the foot of the Tianxing Entertainment Building.

Before those sour old critics in China could even figure out how to write their next scathing article, a black, extended Bentley pulled up smoothly in front of Tianxing Entertainment.

Old Arthur hadn't even had time to adjust to the time difference. With dark circles under his eyes and his clothes somewhat disheveled, he clutched the printed manuscript tightly in his arms and stormed into Lin Yuan's office with four top lawyers and the copyright director.

"Mr. Lin! Praise be to God! I've finally met you!"

As soon as Arthur entered, he bypassed all formalities, excitedly grasped Lin Yuan's hand, and even adopted an almost humble, pleading posture:

"I'm Arthur, the editor-in-chief of Penguin Random House! Pride and Prejudice is a masterpiece! If you're willing to entrust us with the exclusive publishing rights across all channels in Europe, America, and globally, we can offer the highest royalty rate in the industry ever! The initial print run will start at 500,000 copies! We need this masterpiece!"

The public relations manager and legal director of Tianxing Entertainment, who were standing next to them, were completely dumbfounded.

This is the uncrowned king of the European and American publishing industry! Normally, it's harder than climbing to heaven for domestic writers to get a column in Penguin Random House, but now this editor-in-chief is like a crazy fan, traveling halfway around the world to beg for a contract?!

Lin Yuan sat in his office chair, calmly sipped his tea, and smiled faintly: "Mr. Arthur, I heard that your country's *The Times* previously criticized me for not understanding aristocratic elegance?"

Arthur's expression changed, and he slammed his fist on the table in righteous indignation: "That's just a bunch of blind idiots spouting nonsense! I can go back to the US right now and issue a statement: anyone who dares to question this work is questioning the aesthetics of the entire English literary world!"

Half an hour later, the two parties reached an agreement on a near-astronomical royalty clause.

Two weeks later, a new book titled "Pride and Prejudice" exploded onto the global book market with unstoppable force!

The Western literary world initially responded with ridicule and arrogance. However, when the first readers and extremely discerning literary critics opened the book with a sense of amusement—

The entire Western literary world fell completely silent.

In just 24 hours, "Pride and Prejudice" topped the Amazon Books Real-Time Bestseller List in an almost brutal fashion!

The incredibly precise 19th-century English accent, the satire of the hypocrisy and arrogance of the aristocracy, and the extreme bittersweetness of every eye contact and every misunderstanding resolved between Darcy and Elizabeth have captivated countless overseas readers!

Long queues stretching hundreds of meters formed outside bookstores across London as readers went on a buying spree.

"My God! Is this really a work written by a 22-year-old young man from the East? The elegance of the language and the portrayal of human nature are simply as if it were written by a master who traveled from that era!"

"Mr. Darcy's first proposal in the rain, which was rejected, and his final confession in the morning mist, were simply the most thrilling tug-of-war I've ever seen in romantic literature! I was completely overwhelmed by the sweetness!"

"My prejudice against Lin Yuan of the Dragon Kingdom is as ridiculous as Elizabeth's prejudice against Mr. Darcy! He's not an opportunist at all; he's a literary genius!"

Meanwhile, domestic social networks were plunged into a devastating frenzy and upheaval.

The top three trending topics on Weibo were instantly monopolized:

#Lin Yuan's Pride and Prejudice#

#Penguin Random Editor-in-Chief Rushes to China Overnight to Secure Contract#

#Slapping the face of the Western literary world#

Domestic netizens and book fans, holding their newly arrived hardcover editions, were completely bewildered when they saw the three large characters "Written by Lin Yuan" on the cover:

"Holy crap!! You old bastard, are you split in personality?! One minute you're making Mao Mao cut off his flesh, Long Kui jump into the furnace, and Jing Tian shorten his lifespan in 'Chinese Paladin 3,' and the next you're writing a world-class, elegant, classical sweet romance novel?!"

"The entire internet was wearing helmets to guard against him throwing out more toxic material, and then he just dumped out a masterpiece that could be recorded in the annals of world literature?! How does his brain work like that?!"

"Mr. Darcy was instantly won over, and the entire internet's prejudice against Lin Yuan also became 'wonderful'! This book shouldn't be called 'Pride and Prejudice,' it should be called 'Lin Yuan's Pride and the Prejudice of the Entire Internet'!"

"Where are those 'veterans' who previously criticized Lin Yuan for lacking depth and only writing fast-paced dramas? Come out and show yourselves! He casually wrote a romance novel that swept through the Western literary world, and a former British editor-in-chief personally flew over to beg him for a contract. Can you do that?!"

The comments section was filled with laughter and praise, with jokes and witty remarks about how satisfying it was to see someone's face slapped in the face.

At this moment, in the living room of the Gu family mansion.

Holding the newly arrived deluxe edition of "Pride and Prejudice," Mrs. Gu sat on the sofa, admiring it with eyes full of pride and joy, like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law.

"Oh my, Lin, that child is not only polite, but his writing is also superb! Darcy, although he was a bit arrogant at first, has done so much quietly; he's a true gentleman!"

Gu Zhiwan, nestled beside her, munched on an apple while sourly complaining, "Mom! You were criticizing him for being heartless when you watched 'Chinese Paladin 3' the other day!"

Mr. Gu sat at the tea table, slowly sipped his tea, glanced at the business newspaper in his hand, and suddenly added:

"Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures offered exorbitant prices this morning for the film rights to this book. But Lin Yuan just called me and flatly rejected it."

Gu Zhiwan was taken aback: "Why did you refuse? That's a big Hollywood studio; their offer must be very high!"

Mr. Gu raised his head, revealing a profound and unfathomable smile: "He said that the copyright is in his own hands, and if we want to make this movie, he won't give the female lead to anyone but you."

Gu Zhiwan abruptly stopped biting into the apple, her face flushing red to the roots of her ears. Her heart felt like it was filled with cotton candy, the sweetness spreading wildly, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up in a smile.