My System Forces Me to Live off Women-Chapter 69 - 67: Like a Minion Outside the Web Novel Summit
October 14, 7:50 AM.
Wuzhen Qingshui Vacation Hotel, the main hall is noisy.
Not only were all two hundred seats occupied, but many photographers and journalists also surrounded the podium.
A large line of text was prominently displayed on the screen;
"2121 Dong International Network Literature Week Opening Ceremony."
The first two rows in the venue had about thirty seats, each with a name tag on the chair.
In the front row, there were leaders from relevant official departments, as well as heads or representatives from network literature platforms like Endpoint, Tudu, Didao, and Cat. There were also famous network literature writers like the eldest son of the Sun family, I Eat Rice, Little Mischievous Silkworm, and the Chatty Houlin.
The second row had Zhao Qingge, Ouyang Youquan, Ye Mei, Hu Yinhong, and other members of the Writers’ Association, literary critics, or experts and scholars with some engagement in network literature research.
The third row was for media friends.
The fourth row consisted of invited second-tier network writers.
The fifth row represented the cultural industry.
The sixth row...
Li Peifeng? Li Peifeng was sitting in the last row! He was purely there to make up numbers for the cameras.
"What a lousy conference, do I really need to be here in person?"
Li Peifeng felt a bit impatient and flipped through a small booklet given to him by the staff before the meeting, which contained the conference schedule,
On the 14th, after the opening ceremony, you can visit the exhibition of China’s network literature development achievements on your own—hmm, today shouldn’t be too busy.
On the 15th, network authors, various network novel platforms, and critics will start a three-way roundtable discussion on the development of network literature—tomorrow Old Zhao and I need to be busy.
On the 16th, there will be a summit dialogue on how to strengthen the international dissemination of network literature—writing a summary draft.
On the 17th, the closing ceremony will be held—leave for home that day!
"Time, oh time, can we fast forward a bit? Skip directly to the 17th?"
Li Peifeng had a bit of a headache because besides this work, he also had to complete a lecture draft on network literature creation within these days, which he would need when returning to school. But now he hadn’t even started, and the updates for the novel "Matriarchy" couldn’t stop.
Write the draft, write the draft, type out the words, type out the words!
"Network literature has reached a critical stage of transformation and upgrading. It must shoulder the historical mission of cultural power construction bestowed by the era and contribute to the communication and mutual learning of world civilizations and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, so it must......"
Li Peifeng’s head hurt even more because the opening ceremony had officially begun.
From the official spokesperson on the podium, wearing black trousers and a white shirt, who spoke so steadily, he could already sense how boring this meeting would be—probably even more boring than boring.
"Cruel, I’ve once again encountered the essence of life."
Li Peifeng sighed. Although he was impatient, it was work after all. He picked up his computer, selected some tasks, and started taking notes. Old Zhao would definitely ask him for them later, so he couldn’t just mess around during the whole meeting.
"The purpose of holding the Dong International Network Literature Week this time is to further focus on the international dissemination of network literature, discuss high-quality development paths, and promote network literature to quickly become a world-class cultural phenomenon. Now, I will report the ’Development Report on International Communication of Dong Network Literature,’ which contains detailed data on the development of network literature in 2121. Currently, the size of network literature users has reached 605 million..."
"It truly is a waste of life!"
Li Peifeng turned into a ruthless recording machine, typing away on the keyboard, but his mind was completely elsewhere during the meeting.
Doing such repetitive, insignificant work that he didn’t enjoy at all felt terrible.
Now he was having some doubts about whether he wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in the future because after doing so, it would likely be even more boring. Could he endure it?
Is pursuing a Ph.D. just for the sake of it really worthwhile?
He hadn’t even written his master’s thesis yet, which required 50,000 words excluding references and citations.
Let alone his doctoral thesis, which required 150,000 words excluding citations, and he still needed one more CSSCI paper to meet the graduation requirements, which he wasn’t sure if he could rush through, damn it!
The desire to escape the Earth grew even stronger...
"Little brother, you’re typing really fast."
"It’s okay."
A gentle and charming female voice came from the chair to his right, pulling back Li Peifeng’s wandering thoughts and causing his typing hands to pause. He instinctively responded while turning his head slightly to glance over.
That one glance filled his heart with regret, and the plum blossoms seemed to fall all over Nanshan!
Auntie, how can you be so ugly?!
The woman beside him looked to be in her forties, with fleshy double eyelids that seemed recently cut, a pointed chin that definitely had bone shaved, and cheeks filled with hyaluronic acid that were super swollen.
Even just this was tolerable for Li Peifeng, but she had to put on an expression like an 18-year-old girl, looking at him with shy tenderness.
"What misfortune have I done to encounter this wrongful case?"
Li Peifeng was so shocked by her ugliness that he couldn’t speak, just nodding while closing his laptop.
Packing up, he took it, and left.
For such a level of unsightliness, it’s best not to talk to her. Even giving her another glance would be an insult to her.
Li Peifeng didn’t want to insult this auntie, so he didn’t even feel like attending the meeting and directly dashed away.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Only that auntie was left, stomping her feet in embarrassment and quietly calling out, "Come back!"
"Poo~ hahaha~"
People around, who witnessed this scene, couldn’t help but chuckle, adding some joy to the otherwise dull conference hall.
"That handsome guy is probably not coming back."
"You have too much charm, he couldn’t handle it."
...
Li Peifeng didn’t go far, just went to the restroom around the corner outside the hall.
Originally, he didn’t want to stay in the hall either, and he had taken enough notes to get by, but being shocked by such ugliness, he decided to step out and relieve himself for a moment.
"No idea when this lousy meeting will end!"
After pulling up his pants and washing his hands, Li Peifeng left the restroom. Passing by the entrance of the hall, he saw the main speaker still spouting nonsense, making him even more reluctant to re-enter.
"Old Zhao seems to listen quite attentively."
He inadvertently glanced and saw Zhao Qingge in the front row taking notes, and his gaze softened.
But then he saw those renowned network literature figures beside her, representatives of network literature platforms, and other notable attendees. He also recalled how he could only sit in the last row without even the qualification to attend, sneaking in there thanks to Zhao Qingge. During the meeting, he had to turn into a typing machine and got stunned by that wrongful lady, all these thoughts intertwined...
Instantly, a surge of anger rose in Li Peifeng’s heart.
"Damn it, being twenty-three this year, at the web literature summit, I’m standing outside like a servant!"
"Li Peifeng, selling a film and television copyright makes you think you’re something? In reality, you’re still nothing! You failure!!"
After hesitating for a moment, Li Peifeng turned back towards the restroom but entered a stall with a divider this time. Hanging his laptop on the door and locking it, he shouted fiercely in his mind.
"System, I want to cheat, no wait... I want to draw a lottery!"
A few days ago, while completing an impromptu task on a nonstop flight from the capital directly to Hangzhou, Li Peifeng earned two chances for a lottery draw.
He initially planned not to draw for a while, considering he was in a foreign place that didn’t feel as safe as home. He worried that a lottery draw might cause anomalies that people would notice. Moreover, with just two chances, the odds of both being duds were high. Li Peifeng wanted to save up more, ideally hoping for a five-draw combo.
But now... to hell with it!
