Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student-Chapter 174 - 130: Is That the Right Attitude?
"Turning my story into a novel?"
Shen Qiushan shook his head with a smile: "There’s nothing much to write about my story."
"However, I do have a book that I want to publish."
What Shen Qiushan was referring to was, of course, the book rewarded to him by the system, "Three-Body Civilization."
At first, the book is hard to get into, but once you do, you’ll find it truly is a masterpiece.
As a science fiction novel, it fully exercises the imagination while also having a certain theoretical basis, such as curvature drive, gravitational slingshot effect, and so on.
Moreover, the novel’s interpretation of human nature is also very profound.
After reading it several times, Shen Qiushan felt that the novel was not suitable for serializing online and was more appropriate for traditional publication.
Originally, Shen Qiushan wasn’t in a hurry to proceed with this matter, after all, he wasn’t lacking money at the moment.
But since Chen Min brought it up, Shen Qiushan casually mentioned it. It would be great if they could collaborate, but if not, he would look for other publishers.
"You have a book?"
"One you wrote yourself??"
Chen Min looked at Shen Qiushan in astonishment.
"Yes."
"Just something I wrote for fun."
Shen Qiushan shrugged with a smug face, but inside he was very expectant, eager to see Chen Min’s shocked expression after reading the novel he "casually wrote."
"A novel?"
"Yes."
"What genre is it?"
"Science fiction."
Upon hearing the words science fiction, Chen Min noticeably furrowed his brow. The traditional publishing industry is already quite cold.
And the science fiction genre is even more so!
In Chen Min’s impression, the best-selling sci-fi novels in the country haven’t even reached 100,000 copies, and that was from the golden era of traditional publishing.
In recent years, as far as Chen Min recalls, there haven’t been any noteworthy sci-fi novels at all.
In fact, you could say that there aren’t any decent sci-fi authors in the country!
This genre is a vacuum area in the country; no novel has truly become a blockbuster.
And here comes Shen Qiushan, a newcomer, who wrote a sci-fi novel.
"Do you have any writing experience?"
Chen Min asked curiously.
"Does online novel count?"
"Of course."
Chen Min nodded in agreement, even more curious: "So, you’ve written novels online?"
"Yes, it’s still being serialized."
"But it’s about to finish."
Unlike other authors who have to type word by word, Shen Qiushan had a completed novel, so his update speed was very fast.
The novel started serialization in March, and it is already nearing its end, set to conclude by the end of this month.
"Wow, that’s amazing!"
Chen Min was quite shocked.
Shen Qiushan is a top student in college entrance exams, meaning he must have been very diligent in his studies.
Under such circumstances, the fact that he’s still serializing a novel online is indeed incredible.
As the chief editor of a publishing house, Chen Min is also very familiar with online novels.
At first, the line between online writers and traditional writers was very clear and there was even a hierarchy of disdain.
Traditional writers often looked down on online writers.
But now, the line has become blurred because excellent online novels get published and sell very well.
In fact, many best-selling books are primarily released online first.
As a result, as the chief editor at a publishing house, Chen Min often "scans the rankings" on major sites, looking for works with publishing potential.
"What platform is it serialized on, mind sharing the book’s title?"
Chen Min asked again.
"Penguin Novels."
"Yes, it’s this one."
Shen Qiushan casually opened the Penguin Novels app to show his novel.
Chen Min’s gaze fell on Shen Qiushan’s phone, and then he was completely stunned: "This, this book is written by you?"
Due to often scanning rankings on various sites, Chen Min had seen "I Really Didn’t Want to Reincarnate" quite some time ago.
Not only had he seen it, but he had also communicated with Penguin Novels about traditional publishing, but the price asked by Penguin was too high, and they didn’t reach an agreement.
However, this book left a deep impression on Chen Min because its achievements were outstanding, dominating the city category rankings on Penguin Novels for a long time.
"Chief Editor Chen, have you read this book?"
Chen Min’s reaction didn’t seem to be staged, so Shen Qiushan asked with a smile.
"Yes, I’ve read it, and I even talked with Penguin Novels about publishing..."
Chen Min recounted his communication with Penguin Novels.
Shen Qiushan had only been making casual conversation, never expecting Chen Min had actually talked with Penguin Novels about publishing.
Yet, as the author, he knew nothing about it!
Wutong, that unreliable guy! How could he not mention something like this to me?
Shen Qiushan cursed inwardly.
However, thinking it over, the person Chen Min interacted with should have been from the rights department. He asked, and that was indeed the case.
All books serialized on Penguin Novels have their rights managed by Penguin’s rights department, while regular editors merely act as messengers.
And Penguin’s rights department didn’t agree to the pricing offered by Chen Min’s publishing house, presumably feeling it was too low or getting better offers from other companies.
Fine, let them handle it!
Publishing really doesn’t bring much money, especially for Shen Qiushan now, it’s just a drop in the bucket.
"No wonder you’re the top achiever in the liberal arts of the college entrance exam."
"All your novels sell so well!"
Chen Min sighed, then took out her phone and said, "Let’s add each other on WeChat, and send me your science fiction novel to take a look."
"However, science fiction is a niche category, and it’s quite difficult to get published."
"OK!"
Shen Qiushan immediately added Chen Min as a WeChat friend and then sent over the first volume of "Three-Body Civilization."
Shen Qiushan was cautious and didn’t send the entire book over since there was no trace of this novel in this world.
Chen Min glanced at the book title and modestly said, "I rarely read science fiction novels, and my understanding of this category is limited."
"So you don’t need to take my evaluation too seriously."
Chen Min was essentially giving Shen Qiushan a heads-up since she believed that reaching the publishing level for science fiction novels was really challenging.
If she didn’t know that Shen Qiushan had very bestselling works online, Chen Min might have directly refused by claiming the publisher doesn’t accept science fiction works.
And now, although she decided to take a look at what Shen Qiushan wrote, she didn’t have high hopes.
"Feel free to criticize, Chief Editor Chen."
"You’re the expert, after all!"
Shen Qiushan could naturally detect the underlying message in Chen Min’s words, and he shrugged with a smile.
In his heart, he silently muttered: If you really find this book poorly written, then you might not be worthy of being a chief editor.
The two walked around the campus, chatting and laughing, almost like a couple who just dropped off their kids.
Only, they both looked younger than most parents.
Especially Shen Qiushan, who appeared to be just in his early thirties, resembling more of an uncle or brother figure than a student’s parent.
While Chen Min was one of those financially independent women who willingly spent money on herself, and although she was already 41, she didn’t look her age at all.
The first impression she gave was that she was just a few years older than Shen Qiushan.
Chen Min’s car was parked outside, and the two walked back to the main entrance of the school.
Shen Qiushan went to the welcome center of the School of Journalism and Communication to retrieve his suitcase.
Chen Min waved goodbye to him and left the school.
"Who was that?"
Just as Shen Qiushan was about to head to the School of Electronic Information to register, a familiar voice suddenly spoke up behind him.
Shen Qiushan turned his head and saw a familiar face.
His second sister-in-law, Lin Xiamo, had somehow already stood behind him.
Today, she was wearing a French-style square-neck puff sleeve top with a vintage floral pattern that was bright yet not vulgar, paired with high-waisted wide-leg trousers, which made her legs seem even straighter and longer.
She still gave off an aura of aloof and stunning beauty.
"Momo, what are you doing here?"
Shen Qiushan looked at Lin Xiamo with suspicion.
She was the vice principal of Sanjiang High School, and it was September 1st; she should have been busy at school today.
"I’ve been transferred to work at Sanjiang University."
"I’m with the Youth League Committee currently."
In fact, Lin Xiamo had been working at Sanjiang University for a week, but she didn’t tell Shen Qiushan and was planning to give him a surprise.
What she didn’t expect was when they first met at Sanjiang University, Lin Xiamo caught Shen Qiushan walking around the campus, chatting and laughing with a woman.
Someone who didn’t know better might have thought they were a couple!
"That’s great!"
"With you, Yanran, and Xiaoxiao at the school, we’ve got a solid backer now!"
Shen Qiushan chuckled and teased.
He wasn’t particularly surprised that Lin Xiamo could be transferred to work at Sanjiang University.
Because at a previous gathering, Lin Moxuan had already mentioned that he was planning to work things out for Lin Xiamo to transfer to Sanjiang University.
Though Sanjiang University wasn’t under the Sanjiang City Education Bureau, Lin Moxuan, as a key figure in the bureau, could easily orchestrate such a matter.
It’s indeed a society of connections.
"I’m here for work."
"Not to be anyone’s backer!"
Lin Xiamo rolled her eyes at Shen Qiushan. Her position was Deputy Secretary of the Youth League Committee, and her rank was still at the official level.
It seemed like a lateral transfer, but in reality, it was a promotion!
Because typically, the Deputy Secretary of the Youth League Committee at Sanjiang University would be at the deputy division level.
In fact, the recently retired Deputy Secretary was at the deputy division level, but since Lin Xiamo had just been promoted to the official level, a cooling-off period was necessary.
During this time, as long as she didn’t make any mistakes, Lin Xiamo’s rank could naturally be elevated another level.
Having a well-connected father truly makes a difference!
"You haven’t told me who that person just now was?"
Lin Xiamo asked again, probing further.
"The parent of Yanran’s roommate. I ran into them while dropping Yanran off."
Shen Qiushan explained, but then quickly realized that something was off about Lin Xiamo’s demeanor.
Why was she suddenly so interested in Chen Min’s identity, and with such a questioning tone!
"Momo, do you think that’s the right attitude?"
"It feels like you’re exercising authority on behalf of your sister!"
Shen Qiushan casually teased.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiamo’s cheeks flushed slightly. From her perspective, it was quite understandable why she felt the way she did earlier.
She had been working at Sanjiang University for a week, and since starting her job, the main focus of the Youth League Committee was the freshmen welcome activities.
She had been planning to surprise Shen Qiushan, only to find him strolling around the campus happily with another woman.
How could she be in a good mood!
However, earlier, even Lin Xiamo herself hadn’t realized she was a bit out of character.
Now, faced with Shen Qiushan’s questioning, Lin Xiamo naturally felt a bit guilty, but having been in the system for so many years, she knew the best way to handle unanswerable questions was to change the subject.
So, Lin Xiamo asked, "Where’s Pipa? Didn’t he come to report?"
