Campus Ace Girl-Chapter 326 - 327 ’Da Hui’ Real Fire! Grey Phenomenon
Huang Mao squinted. "The goddess is indeed gorgeous, and the girl next to her is not bad looking either!"
Having been a punk in the past, Huang Mao was prone to drooling whenever he saw a beautiful woman, so a certain lewd expression inevitably appeared on his face from time to time.
Just then, Gu Mingzhu and her friend happened to pass by and saw Huang Mao fawning over the magazine.
Gu Mingzhu tightened her lips and stared at Huang Mao.
Her friend quietly warned, "Mingzhu, stop looking. People like him are dangerous."
Huang Mao, feeling belittled just for admiring a pretty girl, stuck a toothpick in his mouth. "People like me? What kind of person did you mean? The kind that drags young women off the street?"
Gu Mingzhu screamed, "Scumbag!"
"Mingzhu, stop it! Why do you even bother with such a scoundrel?" her friend said, dragging her away.
Huang Mao was rather upset. Was he a scumbag just for admiring a beautiful woman?
"Heh," Huang Mao chuckled to himself. This girl really thinks too much of herself. Sure, she’s pretty, but can she compare to my goddess? Put them together, and she pales in comparison, looking all petty. She’s just a bit fairer and more delicate, that’s all. As if I, Huang Mao, haven’t seen beautiful women before!
Huang Mao, still with the toothpick in his mouth, expertly tore the magazine cover in half. He tossed the part with Gu Mingzhu into a dirty gutter.
Heh, she calls me a scumbag? I wouldn’t even give her a second look.
Having pocketed ten million in prize money, Huang Mao, following Zhou Yunchen’s advice, bought a house outright a few days later. He planned to keep working on big projects with Boss Gu and Boss Zhou while also learning a few more characters. Then, he would find a young and pretty wife and lead a flourishing life.
As for Gu Anxi, she was his unattainable dream.
Huang Mao was pragmatic. If he couldn’t have her, then he’d just wish her well. He felt quite fulfilled with his current life. He had even brought some of his former gang members who wanted to go straight to Beicheng, offering them the opportunity to work with him. Boss Zhou was also willing to pay them annual salaries of around two hundred thousand yuan.
While Huang Mao was full of motivation on his side, Gu Anxi and Bo Xichen’s New Year’s issue of the magazine was selling like hotcakes on the other.
The sales were skyrocketing, breaking Jia Ren’s previous sales records, especially with it trending all day. This gave "Big Grey Wolf" another wave of promotion. Now, with a greater sense of immersion, readers became even more obsessed.
Major media outlets dubbed it the "Da Hui Phenomenon."
Da Hui was truly a hit!
Bo Jin was also very effective; within a month, he had cleared all the hurdles, and the first volume of "Da Hui" was launched before the Lunar New Year.
The first print run of three million copies sold out completely.
The price was very affordable at 20 yuan per volume, and it was snatched up within a day of its release.
Major sales websites and physical stores were nearly paralyzed, once again demonstrating the power of the "Da Hui Phenomenon."
Seeing this business opportunity, Bo Jin immediately ordered a reprint of five million copies, to be released during the Spring Festival.
This bold move made many in the publishing industry burn with envy. They started making bets:
"Isn’t this too many?"
"Da Hui’s readership is only so large. Can they all be converted into buyers?"
"Just watch, they’ll definitely end up with a ton of unsold stock."
"I think so too. Let’s wait and see."
Of course, some were optimistic, believing the copies would sell out eventually...
Gu Anxi didn’t pay much attention to the buzz from the outside world; she had been rather busy recently. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Chen Shu invited Gu Anxi for another meal because she had officially been promoted to deputy editor-in-chief, and her superiors highly valued her.
Chen Shu was an elite in her field. While she had a personal liking for Gu Anxi, a significant part of her motivation was to maintain their professional relationship for long-term cooperation.
After all, Gu Anxi was currently a top-tier celebrity; any magazine featuring her would become a hit, and Chen Shu needed to keep Gu Anxi on her side.
Gu Anxi knew what she was thinking and smiled. "Ms. Chen, I probably won’t be doing any more cover shoots. Not just for Jia Ren, I guarantee I won’t appear on any other magazine covers either."
Chen Shu was both disappointed and relieved. She couldn’t help but ask, "Why not? The sales are excellent, and it could further open up the market, achieving a win-win situation."
Gu Anxi hemmed and hawed, "Things are strict at home."
It took a moment for Chen Shu to understand. She smiled. "Mr. Bo really cares about you, little girl. You should cherish him."
Gu Anxi lowered her head and sipped her drink, feeling quite embarrassed.
After dinner with Chen Shu, she drove herself to the university. She was now somewhat of a free agent in Beicheng, with no one supervising her, but she still habitually went to the university.
Many students at Beicheng University had bought physical copies of "Da Hui" and asked Gu Anxi for autographs. Sometimes, when Gu Anxi didn’t have time, she’d let them leave the books in the classroom with their names written on them, and she would sign some when she was free.
That day, when she went over, after signing a few books, she noticed one with a rather peculiar name on it.
It was none other than Professor Liu.
Is it just someone with the same name?
Gu Anxi signed her pen name. During the break, she deliberately took longer in the restroom to give them time to collect their books.
However, when she returned, she found an extra book on Professor Liu’s lectern.
Gu Anxi was taken aback. Professor Liu has such a girlish side to her?
Professor Liu had essentially revealed herself to be a huge fan of Great Author Rabbit, and everyone at Beicheng University knew it.
Naturally, Gu Mingzhu knew too. She returned home feeling particularly dismal.
Her "Pain of Youth," despite promotional efforts, had only sold just over 500,000 copies. This was already a remarkable achievement, yet Gu Anxi’s initial print run of three million had sold out instantly, with an additional five million copies being printed.
She was indignant. Five million copies—could they really sell all of them?
No matter whether they sold or not, Gu Mingzhu was deeply upset. She spoke to Tang Yuan listlessly.
Tang Yuan mentioned this to Gu Yuanshan in the evening. After a moment of thought, Gu Yuanshan said, "Mingzhu has always been the apple of the Gu family’s eye. She’s upset now because she’s been outshone. You should comfort her more."
Tang Yuan, looking exceptionally beautiful in her silk pajamas, rested her hand on her husband’s shoulder. "Mingzhu is being so resistant right now. Yuanshan, I think... perhaps that child shouldn’t come back just yet. Let’s delay sending out the invitations. I’m afraid Mingzhu won’t be able to handle this blow."
Gu Yuanshan mulled it over. Prioritizing the importance of the Anpu Company matter, he decided to let Tang Yuan handle this issue.
Gu Yuanshan himself had sincerely invited Zhou Yunchen to dinner twice. His impression after these two meetings was that his assistant, Shen Congwen, was already very capable, but this Zhou Yunchen before him was even more shrewd and worldly by far. He was impervious to persuasion, a master at deflecting. Even when facing him, the Family Head of the Gu family, Zhou Yunchen wasn’t very deferential.
Gu Yuanshan couldn’t help but feel anxious. However, no matter how anxious he was, Zhou Yunchen would attend the dinners but wouldn’t budge on the issue...
For the time being, Gu Yuanshan truly had no way to deal with him.
「In private, in the study.」
Gu Yuanshan swirled the tea in his cup and looked at Shen Congwen. "Do you think Zhou Yunchen has the authority to make the decision on this matter?"
Shen Congwen frowned. "It’s hard to say."
Gu Yuanshan stood up. "I feel there must be a powerful financial backer behind him. Congwen, I want you to go to Qingcheng personally and thoroughly investigate this Zhou Yunchen."
