Su Zelin has always understood the principle of remembering those who helped you, so in his past life his relationships were solid. Sometimes when he encountered a problem, others would offer help even before he asked.

For different people, you have to cater to their preferences.

For instance, Zhou Fuliang enjoys tea culture, so this time, Su Zelin brought him a few pounds of top-grade Yunnan tea cakes, which delighted Dean Zhou immensely.

While drinking tea and discussing tea scriptures, the old and the young nearly became close friends over the tea.

The dean’s wife was puzzled, as she really didn’t understand what was so good about tea, especially why men loved it and were so particular about it. Even the boiling of the water had three different stages mentioned in ancient texts; the ancients drank it this way, it’s said to be accurate.

The dean’s wife didn’t understand, thinking her husband’s tea-drinking was becoming obsessive, not expecting that an eighteen-year-old tea enthusiast would also be so obsessed.

When the two drank Gong Fu tea, she didn’t participate, instead went to the kitchen to cook.

Their relationship was already very good, so whenever Su Zelin came over for tea, he would casually have a meal there.

The golden tea flowed smoothly down the cups, with the aroma of tea filling the living room.

As Su Zelin poured a cup of tea, he said, "Dean Zhou, in fact, there’s something else I’d like to ask for your help with."

"Oh, let’s hear it."

Dean Zhou took a sip of tea.

"The book I published under the company name is selling well; the first edition is sold out, and Xinhua Bookstore has taken a liking to it. Now we’re going to print the second edition, with five times the print run of the last edition. I’d like to ask Dean Zhou to write a preface for guidance."

Some books have two prefaces, these are the articles placed before the main text.

The one written by the author is called the foreword, usually simply explaining the general content, reasons for writing, etc. The preface written by someone else is an introduction to the book’s ideas and features from a third-party perspective.

The person writing the preface could be a close friend within the author’s circle or an elder mentor, usually someone with some status.

Frankly, it’s like putting someone else’s name in the book for commercial mutual endorsement. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

For published books, it gives the effect of being recommended by a famous person.

The person writing the preface also gets a presence in the book, a way to refresh visibility, and if it’s for a bestseller, it’s quite a prestigious thing.

Thus, Su Zelin’s words were modest; his book was indeed a bestseller now, with many willing to help write a preface, so it wasn’t about asking Zhou Fuliang for help but achieving mutual success.

Why didn’t he ask Zhou Fuliang to write a preface for the first edition?

At that time, Su Zelin feared the sales wouldn’t be great; he was just after the copyright of those sentences and didn’t expect it to be such a hit.

The original loafer thought he’d lose money, but now he was gaining from it, and due to self-publishing, the copyright earnings were quite high, quite a pleasant surprise.

Actually, it’s not surprising that it became a bestseller; those golden phrases stood out in the vast network, indicating they resonated with readers.

And whether a book sells well hinges greatly on reader resonance.

"Of course!"

Zhou Fuliang nodded without hesitation.

Such mutually beneficial and win-win situations had no reason to be refused.

For someone like him, having a name in a meaningful bestseller was more satisfying than making a profit.

"Then I must thank Dean Zhou."

Both parties were delighted, the atmosphere became even more harmonious.

"Ding dong, ding dong..."

The doorbell rang.

"Is it Qiu Wen?"

Su Zelin casually asked.

Usually, not many people came to Dean Zhou’s house, especially during a tea meeting with him, and since it was around lunchtime, the only person he could think of was Yan Qiuwen.

Yan Qiuwen was Zhou Fuliang’s niece, frequently coming over to borrow books, and because she studied at Zhejiang University, the couple occasionally invited her over for meals.

No wonder Qiu Wen considered him a friend, this young man’s IQ was genuinely high.

He not only guessed it was Yan Qiuwen but did so the moment the doorbell rang, his thinking speed was unparalleled.

"Yes, Qiu Wen just said she was coming to return books, so I asked her to join us for a meal, as you know each other anyway."

"Then I’ll get the door."

Su Zelin stood up and walked to the door.

When the door opened, sure enough, it was Yan Qiuwen standing outside with a pile of philosophy books in her arms.

When Yan Qiuwen saw Su Zelin, she wasn’t surprised at all.

She found it quite normal that Su Zelin would appear at her uncle’s house.

The genius girl had analyzed the loafer’s personality traits; he was adept at managing interpersonal relationships and wasn’t the type to burn bridges.

Besides, her uncle, being the dean of Zhejiang University, was highly esteemed. This connection was significant for Su Zelin’s current network, so naturally, the two would maintain a relatively close contact.

Moreover, the black Santana sedan parked downstairs, with its body tagged with "New Era Flagship Digital Experience Center Finance Branch" words, could only belong to Su Zelin.

"Qiu Wen, what a coincidence."

Su Zelin noticed something.

He had already coincidentally met Yan Qiuwen three times at Zhejiang University.

The first time was when he just acquired the old computer shop here, coming over for the contract signing with the previous owner.

The second and third times were at Zhou Fuliang’s house.

"Yes, it’s quite the coincidence."

Yan Qiuwen was puzzled as well.

Logically, the probability of these three coincidental meetings between her and Su Zelin was remarkably low.

People who study philosophy do not believe in the mystical.

However, she found it somewhat mysterious indeed.

After greeting her uncle and aunt, Yan Qiuwen went into the study, placed back the previous books, and continued searching for others she hadn’t read.