Chapter Forty-Four: This Is Not Something You Can Envy
Chen Qi walked purposefully into the Conservatory of Music. Perhaps because of his attire, he drew an extraordinary number of glances. Nearly everyone who passed by looked at him with curiosity or bewilderment, as if, like that taxi driver earlier, they were trying to guess which celebrity he might be.
Who else dressed like this? Only big-name stars would go to such lengths to be mysterious.
It was unclear whether it was the general quality of these university students or simply their lack of interest in celebrities, but although they were curious, no one came forward to ask questions or strike up conversation.
Unaware that his outfit had caused a misunderstanding, Chen Qi, thick-skinned as he was, paid little mind to the stares. As he walked, he glanced around as though searching for something.
Before long, he spotted a female student with shoulder-length hair, sitting beneath a tree on the lawn not far away, engrossed in a book.
He paused for a moment, then headed straight toward her.
Anyone still able to concentrate on reading outside must be a top student.
And top students were exactly what he needed!
He approached her, greeted her politely, and asked directly if she was a student at the Conservatory, and if she knew how to compose music and such.
Upon receiving an affirmative response, he immediately stated his purpose: he wanted to learn.
Hearing Chen Qi declare his intention so matter-of-factly, the short-haired girl was momentarily stunned, unsure how to react.
Were male students these days really so blunt in their attempts to strike up conversation? The topic was dull enough, but to not even show his face? Was he hiding because he was too unattractive?
She smiled politely, shook her head, and refused this stranger’s rather impolite request.
In this setting, who would naively believe he truly wanted to learn something?
However, just as she was shaking her head, Chen Qi continued with the rest of his statement.
He was willing to pay tuition—five hundred yuan a day.
The girl, still in the middle of refusing, froze in disbelief, her beautiful eyes wide as she stared at Chen Qi, half-convinced she’d misheard.
Five hundred yuan a day?
Was he serious?
“Of course I’m serious,” Chen Qi replied, his tone certain.
The girl was dumbfounded, staring at him as if he were an alien, unable to process the situation for a long while.
What was this? A pie falling from the sky?
Even if such luck existed, how could it possibly land right on her head?
Five hundred yuan a day! That was nearly two weeks’ living expenses for her!
“If you’re worried, I can pay today’s tuition in advance,” Chen Qi added, sensing her suspicion. He promptly took out three hundred yuan and handed it over. “This is for this afternoon’s half-day lesson.”
She looked at him in astonishment and, after a long moment of hesitation, finally accepted the money, still unsure.
“So… what do you want to learn?” she asked.
“Let’s start with numbered musical notation. We’ll try one day, and if your teaching is good enough, I’ll come back tomorrow. Oh, and I’m a complete beginner.”
Tomorrow as well?
Having just regained her composure, the girl was stunned again by this remark.
She felt almost frantic inside.
Who on earth was this? What was he up to? Was this some new kind of scam?
While she was still in shock, Chen Qi had already sat down beside her.
“Are we studying here?” she asked dazedly.
“I don’t mind,” Chen Qi said casually.
She stared at him for a few seconds, then said nothing more, quickly took out her phone, found some materials online, and began to teach, though somewhat awkwardly at first.
Chen Qi listened attentively by her side. Whether the basics were genuinely simple or the girl had made them particularly easy to grasp, he found it manageable.
The lesson lasted over three hours.
“That’s enough for today,” Chen Qi said, noticing it was getting late and taking the initiative to end the session.
The girl remained silent, watching him a little nervously.
“Give me your number, I’ll contact you tomorrow,” Chen Qi said.
Hearing this, the nervous girl suddenly brightened and quickly recited her number.
Her joy was not only from unexpectedly getting a well-paid job, but also because her teaching had been recognized.
At this stage in her life, nothing brought her more happiness than being acknowledged by others.
“Alright, I’ll call you tomorrow. I’m off,” Chen Qi said, saving her number and rising to leave.
She watched him go, only realizing afterwards how surreal the whole thing was.
She’d given a three-hour lesson to someone whose face she hadn’t even seen—and taken three hundred yuan for it?
Who would believe such a story? Anyone else would probably assume she’d run into a scammer.
After standing there for a while, she suddenly laughed to herself and left as well.
She knew he wasn’t a scammer.
She trusted him.
During the three hours of teaching, he had maintained a perfectly polite distance and, apart from course-related questions, hadn’t spoken to her about anything else. She’d also noticed that when he saved her number, he labeled it “Conservatory of Music.” He didn’t even seem interested in her name.
...
After leaving the Conservatory, Chen Qi stopped by a large supermarket nearby to buy some fruit, vegetables, and other essentials before taking a cab back to his rented apartment.
What surprised him was that, on his way home, he received a call from Shen Mowen.
He’d heard from Xu Bunan about their collaboration and had called specifically to check in.
Surprisingly, Shen Mowen seemed rather supportive of Xu Bunan’s decision to resign and start a business.
During the call, Shen Mowen again offered to lend him some money or invest in their venture.
Chen Qi firmly declined.
No need—really, no need!
Seeing how determined he was, Shen Mowen didn’t insist, though Chen Qi could sense from his tone that he wasn’t very optimistic about their prospects; still, Chen Qi didn’t mind.
During the call, he remembered to ask an important question he’d forgotten before.
“Uncle, how much debt do my father and the others owe in total?”
To his surprise, Shen Mowen didn’t know either.
“…The exact amount, I’m afraid, only your father himself knows.”
Hearing this, Chen Qi said nothing more, exchanged a few polite words, and hung up.
Back in his apartment, Chen Qi cooked a simple dinner, then continued copying out his unfinished novel, working late into the night before finally falling asleep.
The next day.
He got up early again, contacted the same music teacher as before, and headed straight for the Conservatory, not returning until nightfall.
For the next few days, his life followed this exact routine, his schedule remarkably regular.
Unbeknownst to him, Friday was fast approaching.
That was the day “Immortal World” would go online.
Perhaps knowing that Chen Qi was unfamiliar with these procedures, the website editor sent him a message that evening, reminding him about the launch the next day and sharing some important notes.
...
After carefully reading the editor’s notes, Chen Qi logged into the site to check on “Immortal World’s” statistics.
What he saw startled him.
In the book’s achievement section, a slew of new achievements had appeared.
“A Thousand Words, a Thousand Gold.” “Mad Update Achievement.” “Longing Eyes Achievement.” Achievements for over a hundred thousand favorites, over a million clicks, and so on.
The list was so long that Chen Qi had trouble taking it all in; by the time he finished, he could only half-understand what some of the achievements meant.
He scrolled to the top to see the latest achievement.
Over two hundred thousand favorites, achieved just yesterday.
Even someone as unfamiliar with the literary world as he was knew that was an impressive number.
Next, he checked the reader discussion board.
At the top was still the post celebrating the most generous supporters.
Curious, he clicked on the fan leaderboard. The Silver League had not grown, but several new Alliance Leaders had joined, and the number of smaller contributions was too high to count.
He got a general sense of the book’s popularity before closing the page and continuing his work.
...
The next day.
Friday.
Once again, Chen Qi set out early for the Conservatory.
This time, however, he brought his laptop.
Meanwhile, as he left home, the discussion board for “Immortal World” was beginning to buzz with activity.
Neither readers nor authors had forgotten the significance of this day.
Fifteen updates in one day!
That was what the author himself had promised.
Given the novel’s compelling content, the website’s major promotion, and enthusiastic word-of-mouth, “Immortal World” was currently experiencing tremendous popularity.
In terms of sheer buzz, “Immortal World” was the most talked-about book on the site.
“I think its first-day subscriptions could hit twenty thousand!”
“Twenty thousand is a bit high—fifteen thousand is a sure thing.”
“Wow, those numbers are terrifying! I’m so jealous!”
“Don’t be. Jealousy won’t get you anywhere. Could you write something this good? Could you update at such a crazy pace? Do you have the nerve to not add chapters even when you hit the Silver League?”
“Hahahahaha…”
The authors’ chat groups were lively with discussion.
Everyone was eager to see how high the book’s first-day performance would go.
Many authors were both envious and impressed by Chen Qi’s ten-chapter updates.
If nothing else, just the speed of his output was enough for them to look up in awe.
They knew he must have a stockpile of drafts, but to hold back half or even an entire book before publishing required extraordinary discipline.
If it were them, they’d be too impatient to hold back even at a hundred thousand words, let alone half a book.
As noon approached, anticipation grew among the authors.
Books launching on Friday all had their VIP channels activated at exactly twelve o’clock.
Half an hour left...
Ten minutes...
Five minutes...
Finally, the clock struck twelve.