Chapter 34: The Literary Rising Star Competition (1)

Ye Ye suddenly felt a pang of guilt and stammered, "I, I... that is my birthday."

"Oh?" Leng Mohan curled his lips into a smile, then looked deeply at Lin Yan and said, "Then let's change it to another set of numbers that I have always remembered."

"Huh?" Ye Ye stared at Leng Mohan in a daze.

"198743. I have always kept this set of numbers in mind, and aside from these, I can't seem to remember any others. Once you get used to one set, it's hard to change it," Leng Mohan said, his gaze fixed on Lin Yan.

Lin Yan looked up at him, stunned, only to find him staring intensely back at her. She hurriedly looked away, feeling as though his eyes were a whirlpool threatening to pull her in.

"Habits are a lifetime commitment, aren't they, Yan Yan?" Leng Mohan smiled faintly.

Lin Yan stood rooted to the spot, her hands clenched tightly. Was he saying that because he was used to it, he couldn't change it—implying he had grown accustomed to her as his wife?

Was he telling her that he had no intention of replacing her for the rest of his life?

This sequence of numbers was Lin Yan’s birthday, as well as their wedding anniversary and the day her sister went abroad. It was a date etched into her soul.

Lin Yan did not eat dinner that night, nor did she stay downstairs until the end. As soon as Leng Mohan finished speaking, she ran upstairs, fleeing in a panic.

She never found out who changed the door's password, but in the end, it was indeed changed to that sequence: 198743.

From that day on, Leng Mohan left home and did not return for an entire week. Meanwhile, the news about the woman named Ziyan had vanished from television; it was as if both of them had evaporated into thin air.

Lin Yan sat blankly in front of her computer, her mind in chaos. She tried several times to write something, but she ended up deleting two thousand words for every thousand she wrote. The plot, which had initially begun to take shape, was now unrecognizable after all her edits.

Just then, the little penguin icon in the corner of her screen began to blink. Lin Yan clicked it open to see a message from "Soaring Across Thousands of Miles": "Yan Yan, come to the group chat. There is something to discuss."

Lin Yan usually kept QQ logged in while writing, but she always muted the group chats; she felt that if she kept checking them, she would end up chatting with the girls all day and never get any writing done.

Since her editor had personally summoned her, it must be something important. She opened the group and saw lines of text scrolling by at a frantic pace. The different fonts and colors made her dizzy.

Xiao Lan: "This event is absolutely amazing!"

Fan Luo Jin: "I know, right? We’ve known each other for years but only online. This event will finally let us meet in person."

San Luo Yi Ye Kong Cheng: "Let's go shopping together when the time comes!"

Bi Xia De Huan Xiang: "Yes, please! I love shopping. I've been a shut-in writing at home all day; I'm practically molding away."

The girls in the group were incredibly excited. Lin Yan squinted, reading through the chat history, feeling completely lost.

Finally, "Soaring Across Thousands of Miles" spoke again.

Soaring Across Thousands of Miles: "Most of the submissions for the romance novel competition have been turned in and published, and the reception has been excellent. To encourage everyone to create even better works, the website is organizing this event so you can enjoy life outside of writing. The event will last for three days and cover three locations. I hope all participating authors will be able to join."

Meng Meng: "Yay! I will definitely be there!"

Bi Xia De Huan Xiang: "So, dear editor, may I ask, who is covering the expenses for this event?"