Chapter 36: The Literary New Star Competition (3)

Lin Yan was trembling with indignation. She had always kept to herself and acted with propriety, so she could not fathom what she had done to offend this literary heavyweight. She had once admired Ziqing, who specialized in complex, intricate harem and court intrigue dramas, while Lin Yan focused on realistic contemporary romance. There was absolutely no conflict of interest between them. She simply could not understand why this senior author was targeting her so viciously.

Her hands shook so violently that she felt she could no longer type.

"Soaring Miles: Enough, everyone. Why are we all making wild guesses? Talk of insider deals or pulling strings is completely baseless. The judges for this competition are highly respected writers from the Provincial Writers' Association. Who could possibly pull strings here?"

Once Soaring Miles posted this, Ziqing fell silent, apparently going offline as her status icon turned grey.

Furious, Lin Yan simply muted the group chat. Out of sight, out of mind.

Just then, a private message from Soaring Miles popped up.

"Soaring Miles: Yan-Yan, Ziqing is still just a young girl. Don't take it to heart."

Lin Yan sneered. So being a "young girl" gave someone the right to spout baseless accusations? She was certainly over eighteen; surely she was old enough to be responsible for her own words and actions?

Despite the rage bubbling inside her, her reply to Soaring Miles remained detached.

"Yan-Yan: It's fine."

"Soaring Miles: You must participate in this event; we are all waiting for you. It’s settled then. I’m going offline to grab a bite to eat."

With that, Soaring Miles’s icon went dark instantly.

Lin Yan was speechless.

She shut down her computer and called Li Ran. She vented her frustration by tearing into Ziqing, and Li Ran joined in with even more fervor, cursing the girl even more harshly than Lin Yan had. Finally, Li Ran added, "You have to go to this event. Go see what that 'great deity' is really like—see if she’s even as pretty as you. Go show them what you're made of."

Lin Yan laughed, chiding her over the phone, "You’re hopeless. What does one’s appearance have to do with whether their writing is good? You always focus on such useless things."

"Useless? Appearance is very useful! Which man these days doesn't look at a woman’s face?" Li Ran’s voice on the other end sounded a bit garbled.

"What are you doing?" Lin Yan asked, curious.

"Oh, stop it, I’m not talking to you anymore. My Liu Yang is hungry, I need to go feed him before he decides to eat out again," Li Ran said, breathless. Before Lin Yan could respond, the line went dead.

Lin Yan held the phone, dazed; the device was actually running hot. She could only talk to Li Ran like this, and usually, her phone was quiet as a grave. But Li Ran had never hung up on her first before—they usually chatted for ages. What was going on today?

She muttered to herself, "What’s wrong with eating out? Leng Mohan comes home stuffed after eating out every single day."

No sooner had she muttered the words than she realized the implication, her face flushing a deep, explosive red. As it turned out, that "eating" wasn't the kind of eating she had meant.

"Actually, I’ve never been full from eating out," a low voice suddenly echoed from behind her.

Lin Yan turned around to see Leng Mohan looking travel-worn. He was holding a suitcase, his suit jacket draped over his elbow, and his tie hung loosely around his neck, clearly having loosened it before coming upstairs.

"You..." Lin Yan stared at him blankly, her face as red as a tomato.

She didn't know when he had walked in. She could only stare at him, dazed. It had only been a week, yet it felt as if they hadn't seen each other for a century. Apart from his business trips, he had always been home every day. But this time, he had vanished for a week alongside Ziyan, and seeing him reappear now, Lin Yan felt an overwhelming, heavy sensation in her heart.