I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

"It's okay, don't worry about it..."

Because I went home without saying hello to her several times before, and now when I think about it, I feel that I was too much.

"Well...I'll be leaving now. See you tomorrow."

Ye Hui said this and waved to me and left.

I stared at her back for a few seconds before realizing that I seemed to be bored.

"what..."

Following the principle of "when in doubt, play Hearthstone," I pulled out my phone and prepared to open the game, when a strange window suddenly popped up...

Oh, it turned out to be a call reminder. Because I hadn’t triggered it for a long time, I had forgotten that my phone had this function.

Even though it's displayed as [Stranger], the number looks familiar, so it must be Xiaoye... It's been so long, and I haven't saved her in my contact list yet. Thinking about it, it really is a sin... I'll save it later...

"Hey..."

I got on the phone.

"Sheji, you should have finished school by now, right?"

It was indeed Xiaoye's voice, but it didn't sound like he was looking to chat with me.

"Yeah, just about to go home...what's up?"

"Hmm... could you come to our office? We're planning to illustrate your novel, and here are a lot of designs. I'm wondering which one you like? It would be too much trouble to send them all to you..."

Are all publishers these days so polite that they even let authors choose their own illustrations?

"Whatever... I don't have any requirements for this..."

Besides, I don’t know where your company is.

"No... I think it's better for you to come and see it in person. Your competitor is so picky about choosing illustrations, so the editor-in-chief thought you'd be picky too, so she's taking special care of you."

...The opponent... is that guy? I didn't expect him to be not only a late-stage middle school student, but also a perfectionist?

"In that case...just tell me the address."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No wonder there is a famous saying "Experienced driver, please guide me".

I don't even know what buildings and attractions there are in this city, but as long as you tell the taxi driver the address, they will definitely take you there.

So...I am now downstairs at Xiaoye's company.

It looks very tall and...impressive, just like a certain talk show building I once saw on TV.

"Oh, that's fast."

Xiaoye is already waiting for me downstairs.

"Of course. After all, there are taxis..."

The fare is a bit expensive.

"Well, okay, come with me."

Then he took me to the elevator.

"Speaking of which...why do you have to do this kind of event? With all the competitions and illustrations..."

I asked Xiaoye with some curiosity.

"Of course it's all about performance... The competition among editors is still very fierce."

Oh...you're saying this in a very tired tone. It seems that Xiaoye is not doing this voluntarily...it's really hard.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Well..." Xiaoye led me to the desk, "Put everything here. I have something else to do, so I'll excuse you for now."

"Oh..." Before I could think of what to say next, she had already left quickly.

“I’m really busy.”

A voice suddenly appeared behind me.

"Um?"

I was startled by the sound.

When I looked back, I found that a female... employee? Probably also an editor... sitting opposite the desk was looking at Xiaoye's back and talking to herself.

"Oh." She seemed to realize that I was looking at her, so she smiled at me.

"You are the author Xiaoye is responsible for, right?"

He greeted me proactively, and he didn't look like a competitor...

"Yeah...Are you a friend of Editor Xiao...Ye?"

"Yeah, we're good sisters, but I haven't found an author as great as you...so my sales are average, that's why I'm so idle..."

He glanced down the corridor.

"Well, that's enough. Anyway, do your best."

After saying this to me, she turned to her post.

"........"

I didn't think about it anymore, but just buried my head in the illustrations.

Fortunately, I don't have a fear of making choices, otherwise I wouldn't be able to choose from so many styles of characters...

“They are all amazing...”

I muttered to myself.

I have to say that big companies are really powerful... How much does it cost to hire so many painters...

I suddenly found an extremely familiar painting... no, it should be said that it was a familiar style of painting.

This is obviously the first time I see it...but I always feel like I have seen the style somewhere before, is it déjà vu?

While I was thinking, another voice came.

"You have good taste. This painter is really great."

Extremely familiar.

That’s right…it’s the voice that keeps reminding me not to play with my phone on the road.

"Why...why are you here?"

I asked, looking at her in her school uniform.

By the way, that school uniform belongs to a very famous private school in this city.

"Of course I'm here... No, that's not my question, right? Why are you here? Are you here for a tour? Or... are you the author of a book?"

Seeing her puzzled look, I didn't decide to tell her the truth.

"Well, I was invited to come and visit. It's about that...raffle event."

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard the sound of choking water not far away.

So you were listening...

"Oh, so that's the city-only event... I guess not many people will attend..." She sighed, "But even so, you're really lucky."

"Um..."

I nodded.

"But I think you should stop looking at the character designs here."

"Huh? Why?"

For this illogical statement, I habitually choose to ask for the reason.

"Why?" Her expression suddenly became even more impatient than last time. "Are you really paying attention to the latest developments? This book is a rival to 'The Knights of Milok'."

...I almost forgot...

"Oh, so... you're here for a visit too?"

You are truly lucky...

"Me? I don't need any tour." She smiled a little proudly when she said this, "But I..."

"Okay, stop worrying and go pick a voice actor."

A pair of hands behind her suddenly placed on her shoulders.

She was a lady who looked steady and pretty, but gave people a sense of oppression... and she looked strangely familiar. I looked at the nameplate on her chest... One of the editors-in-chief... right?

"Oh, okay." She sighed, "See you next time..." and then turned to the corridor on the side.

The editor-in-chief seemed to glance at me quickly and then followed.

...I always feel like I shouldn't come today...

"Oh, you are very clever, young man."

The guy who just choked on water came up again.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

I don't think there's anything special about it.

"Do you know who the female student who just spoke to you is?" She changed her tone to a mysterious one.

"Who is it? Could it be the boss's daughter..."

Ha, how is it possible.

“That’s not the case…”

I knew it...

"She's the author of 'The Knight of Miroku'."

Indifferent insight

"Ah...it just feels...unreal..."

At this moment, I was sitting in the seat that originally belonged to Xiaoye, holding a full cup of instant coffee.

The coffee came from Xiaoye's...good colleague. She's a cheerful person, but in my opinion...she's not one to take her work seriously. People around her call her Xiaowen.

"Indeed, you two, as rivals, actually met here, and you don't even know each other's identities."

"Thanks to you, now I know..."

I don't know why, but we unexpectedly started talking... Don't you have to work?

"And I didn't want to be her rival. It's all your fault." I couldn't help but complain.

Why are you doing this activity? You even arranged opponents for the author without authorization...

"What do you mean by 'we'? It was clearly decided by the planning department. I'm just the editor..."

Seems to have some self-awareness.

"Wait..." I suddenly thought of something, "that thing I just had with that...that author..."

"You mean the editor-in-chief?"

She seemed to have a bad expression when she said this word.

"Oh oh, yes...Does she know who I am?"

"Well... logically she should know, since the author's information is sent when the contract is signed. But she might not remember it... What's wrong?"

"Um... I don't really want people to know that I'm writing a novel. It seems like it would be too troublesome..." He scratched his cheek embarrassedly.

"Oh... indeed. After all, I've made so much money. If people knew about it, I'd probably be invited to dinner."