Qiu Wuji's stay here has been ridiculously long. Not only has he been away for so long, but he also showed no sign of wanting to go back. That afternoon, he even went back to driving lessons full of energy.
It's said that Zhu Mengmeng couldn't wait to gather a whole carload of people and directly offered a high price for a female instructor to teach Qiu Wuji alone in her car.
Chu Ge was surprised that such a thing was possible now. He didn't know if it was progress or the power of money. Anyway, when he was learning to drive, four burly men were crammed into one car, and the training car was a beat-up Volkswagen Santana with a broken air conditioner. He learned in the sweltering heat, drenched in sweat, and the smell inside the car was unbearable.
Qiu Qiu's improved driving environment was certainly a good thing, so Chu Ge didn't bother with that and continued writing.
However, while writing, he couldn't help but wonder if the dignified and aloof Sect Master was missing her disciple.
Sect Master Qiu had no time to think about her disciple; she was already overwhelmed by the elders who had come to investigate.
"Sect Master! I heard you've taken on a disciple?"
"Sect Master, where is this young master? I'm in charge of the sect's internal and external defenses, and I haven't seen anyone leave."
"Sect Master, shouldn't we postpone the disciple-taking discussion? Let's all discuss it together first?"
"Sect Master, I heard he hasn't made his life tablet yet? This…"
"Sect Master…"
"Stop 'Sect,' I can barely recognize this character anymore!" Qiu Wuji slammed his fist on the table.
The elders: "…" We're talking, not writing, so how can you not recognize this character… The Sect Master is acting strangely.
Qiu Wuji mentally punched Chu Ge a hundred thousand times. It's all this jerk's fault, causing me so much trouble… Then he thought back to the trouble he caused Chu Ge when he ran away. Not only did he force him to revise his manuscript, but the guy was broke back then, and with a new mouth to feed, he almost had to pawn his pants…
So everyone wants to experience what the other went through back then, is that it?
Qiu Wuji's heart softened, and he calmly said, "I have my own plans regarding accepting disciples; you needn't concern yourself with that."
"But Sect Master..."
Qiu Wuji said seemingly casually, "Chu Ge's origins are mysterious, seemingly aligned with the Heavenly Dao. The future prosperity of our sect depends on him, not me. Keep this in mind, and don't spread it."
The elders were shocked!
An incarnation of the Heavenly Dao?
The Child of the Heavenly Dao?
Considering this person's inexplicable disappearance, everyone's minds raced.
It did seem somewhat possible; otherwise, with the Yunji Sect's heavy defenses, even someone more powerful than Yan Qianlie couldn't simply vanish here without leaving a trace...
So they were unwilling to shed blood. Is the blood of the Heavenly Dao something to be spilled carelessly?
Oh dear, thinking about it this way, could it really be...?
But here's the question: if it truly relates to the Heavenly Dao, Sect Master, is it alright for you to just casually leak this secret?
Seeing the looks on everyone's faces, Qiu Wuji slammed his hand on the table: "If I don't tell you, you're all noisy; if I do, you think I'm loose-lipped, right?"
"Uh, well..."
"Whether he's related to the Heavenly Dao or not, even if he himself is the Heavenly Dao, it's still the same! I've even taken him as a disciple!" Qiu Wuji waved his hand domineeringly: "Go back, keep this a secret, and don't say another word! If you meet him in the sect in the future, just treat him like an ordinary disciple and offer him some guidance."
"Yes..." Everyone obediently withdrew.
Qiu Wuji watched their backs as they left, thinking to himself that he had now cooperated in perfecting Chu Ge's situation.
Even though he was in someone else's puppet show, he willingly played along.
Thinking about it, a smile crept onto Qiu Wuji's lips again.
Jealous of himself?
A little... Qiu Wuji didn't believe that if Chu Ge also learned to create real clones, and then he became intimate with that clone, wouldn't Chu Ge be jealous watching from the sidelines?
Of course, there's a little bit of jealousy... so what's so strange about being jealous of yourself...? But that's only half the reason; the other half is just to tease Chu Ge.
Otherwise, what, do you expect me to cook and massage your shoulders for you like I did over there? Dream on!
This is Yunji Sect! Not your run-down rented room! Over there, I listened to you; here, you have to listen to me, hmph!
Ugh... how long will he need to rest before he can come back?
......
Chu Ge can't go back over there anytime soon, but I unexpectedly received a "promotion" at work.
The editor suddenly approached: "Chu Ge, Chu Ge, do you want to sign a long-term contract?"
Chu Ge stared at the "Chu Ge, Chu Ge" opening, a little dazed. He couldn't quite remember if the editor had said it first and Qiu Qiu had picked it up, or if Qiu Qiu had spontaneously adopted it. In any case, the feminine, cutesy tone reminded him again that the person opposite him was a female editor…
Lin Wuyang didn't know about long-term contracts, thinking they meant "promotion," and had even joked about it with Chu Ge… Actually, they were quite different.
For a time, this was even resisted by authors because it meant signing a contract for someone else, not just a single book, with the revenue share remaining unchanged. Signing such a contract seemed to have only negative value—where was the promotion in that?…
However, due to the Schrödinger's effect of preferential recommendation resources, and because it was a necessary prerequisite for subsequent contracts with higher revenue shares, the resistance eventually vanished, like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey, and it became perceived as a "promotion."
This is why editors ask you "Do you want to sign?" It truly requires a choice: power or the future, nothing more.
Chu Ge was lost in thought.
If it were before, he wouldn't have needed to consider it at all; he would have signed immediately. This ladder was the only way to advance further, to gain the honor and revenue sharing of a top author—that was almost every author's dream, and he was no exception.
In the secular world, who doesn't know who...? But now, it seemed less important, because his purpose in writing had changed... from making money or becoming famous, to weaving his own real world.
There truly was such a world, one he had just explored.
That world allowed cultivation... and he had already begun cultivating.
Could the immortals really seek these things?
Does controlling the Heavenly Dao of a world still require these things...? He could already extract gold and silver from that world and turn it into money; buying a car and a house, why would he need to be self-reliant? But the couple never considered that direction because their true pursuit wasn't in that way. Buying a car and a house was about being different from normal people in every way; otherwise, if Old Zhu had given them a car, they could have just accepted it…
It's not that they're being pretentious, it's just that it's truly meaningless.
Given things like this, why bind themselves with a contract… What do reputation and profit sharing matter anymore? Chu Ge thought for a long time, finally smiled slightly, and typed: "I'm not signing anymore, little sister, mwah~" The editor clearly hadn't expected this answer, and was stunned for a moment before asking, "Why? You said you'd come to the annual meeting, how can you come if you don't sign this..."
"Because I might not have another book, what's the point of a long-term contract for me?"
"No next book!" The editor was shocked: "You've just started to take off! With this book building up your popularity, the next one will be even better. How could you suddenly consider not writing anymore at a time like this? Do you have a fortune?"
Chu Ge made an excuse: "Because writing is too tiring, little sister. I'd rather save some money to do something else."
The editor accepted this reason and replied: "You..." "It's just that I'm tired from typing, a bit burnt out, like my period, it'll be fine after that. Maybe I should take a couple of days off to rest... Anyway, I'll send you the contract template first, fill it out yourself." Chu Ge felt the editor was really nice to him, so he didn't refuse outright and accepted the template, smiling, "Thanks, Miss. By the way, why did you suddenly think of sending me this?"
"I've been saving them all up, your performance is already good enough," the editor said. "Also, recently someone has actually asked about your copyright prices. Hmm, although this has nothing to do with long-term contracts, if handled well, it might be related to a top author..." Chu Ge was taken aback, not caring whether it was related or not. It's only been a few days, and people are already asking about copyrights? Is Old Zhu really that efficient?