Chapter 16: Interview with "Tender Sprout" Magazine

Chapter 16: Interview with Sprout Magazine

“I’ve decided that next time, I’ll go with Zhao Yang to take a look at that girl at City No. 1 High School who looks just like Zhao Min. I have a few elementary school classmates there. Back then, we all got along pretty well. I was better at my studies and often lent them my homework to copy.

Later, when we entered middle school, their families had money, so they got into City No. 1, while my family couldn’t afford it, so I went to City No. 2. After just half a year apart, they became model students, and I turned into a little troublemaker. This is the best example of how environment changes a person.”

...

No matter how heated the “Han-Bai controversy” gets online or in mainstream media, there are still people it doesn’t touch—like hardworking farmers, overworked office workers, and diligent students.

Far away in Guangdong Province, at City No. 1 High School, everyone continues to live their peaceful, ordinary lives.

So no matter how big the event or how famous the person, if it feels distant from one’s own life, not everyone will know or care.

Li Jingkun’s novel, “Whose Youth Walks with Me,” has been serialized for several months now. According to the feedback from Hu Yunying, the response has been quite good, and plans for a standalone volume are soon to be put on the agenda.

During this time, he kept in touch online with Hu Yunying and did a brief interview that appeared in the latest issue of the magazine. The gist of it went like this:

Editor Hu: Your novel’s really popular lately. Many readers have written to the editorial department, asking when the serialization will finish and when the standalone book will come out.

Li Tangwang: Haha, that question shouldn’t be directed at me—it should be for your editorial team, right? Haven’t I sent you all the content already?

Editor Hu: Ahem, okay, let’s skip that question for now—though many people also say they don’t really know much about you. Shouldn’t you introduce yourself?

Li Tangwang: I’m still in high school; like you, I enjoy reading and writing a bit of fiction. Nothing special about me. I don’t have “seven subjects in the red,” nor have I dropped out, haha.

Editor Hu: On the contrary, I heard your grades are quite good?

Li Tangwang: You used “heard” perfectly—you just heard it from me, didn’t you?

Editor Hu: (laughs) Some readers want to know: Are the stories you write true? Did many of them happen to you or your friends?

Li Tangwang: Is that reader a boy or a girl?

Editor Hu: Does it matter? What if it’s a boy?

Li Tangwang: Of course, it’s true. That’s just how I am—cool, right?

Editor Hu: And if it’s a girl asking?

Li Tangwang: Don’t ever believe what boys say.

Editor Hu: (laughs) Many readers are curious about what you look like.

Li Tangwang: Just how you imagine—handsome and talented.

Editor Hu: Would you mind if the editorial team revealed your handsome and talented looks?

Li Tangwang: Haha—of course, I would!

Editor Hu: (laughs) Why? Aren’t you handsome and talented?

Li Tangwang: But my looks have long overshadowed my talent—I don’t want readers to like me just because I’m handsome. I want them to like me for my talent.

Editor Hu: ...One reader also wants to ask: In real life, whose youth walks with you? I’ll tell you this reader is a girl.

Li Tangwang: What’s with this mysterious hint? Our “Sprout” magazine is youth literature aimed at underage middle and high school students.

Editor Hu: You said it yourself—it’s a youth literature magazine. Youth is about that hazy, beautiful feeling of awakening, right? And your stories are youth novels. This girl also said your romantic stories feel very real. Have you experienced a lot to write so well?

Li Tangwang: Talent, talent—that’s the talent I mentioned earlier.

Editor Hu: But you also said not to believe what boys say.

Li Tangwang: Haha, you win.

Editor Hu: You still haven’t answered my question: In life, is there someone who accompanies your youth?

Li Tangwang: I’ll say it again—school forbids early romance, classmates!

...

After this short piece was published, Hu Yunying said the response was enthusiastic; not only did many people leave comments on the Sprout forum about it, but even more readers wrote letters to the editorial department, saying they never expected Li Jingkun to be so funny in real life. They hoped for more interviews to learn more about him.

Of course, the most frequent request was for the editors to release his photo so everyone could see what this handsome and talented person looks like.

In truth, Hu Yunying and the editorial staff hadn’t anticipated such a strong reaction from this brief interview; it somewhat disrupted their plans. The standalone volume was already scheduled, with an initial print run set at 40,000 copies.

Compared to authors like Han Han and Guo Jingming, whose first print runs often reach hundreds of thousands, 40,000 seems rather modest. But Han Han, Guo Jingming, and the like are the rare few at the very pinnacle of the industry.

A 40,000-copy first print is already enough to classify an author as a bestseller.

Still, this enthusiastic feedback seemed like a good omen. Could the print run be increased?

Only two more serialization issues would tell.

...

After submitting the first novel, the second was slowly being drafted.

Even though it wasn’t rushed, four to five months had passed since the first, and by now, over a hundred thousand words were written—almost finished.

However, there was no hurry to publish; everything had to wait for the results of the first book.

To be honest, Li Jingkun knew he wouldn’t make much money from the first book since he was a new author. Yet, he hadn’t expected it to be so little.

Hu Yunying—the “boss” (young writers like Han Han often called her that because she was more than just an ordinary editor at Sprout; she now held an important position and would later become deputy editor-in-chief)—told him the print run was set at 40,000 copies, with the price around 19 yuan.

He did the math: royalties were 6%, so if all copies sold, he’d earn just over 40,000 yuan.

Having already received two advances totaling 5,000 yuan, that would leave about 40,000 yuan to take home.

...

This semester, Li Jingkun came to school riding his motorcycle, usually parking in the school lot and riding it home on Friday evenings.

Having a vehicle gave him freedom—he could go wherever he wanted without rushing, stopping to buy something or rest whenever he pleased.

Plus, with relatively few cars and motorcycles around, and no motorcycle bans yet, it was quite convenient.

Sometimes, on the way home, if he saw a milk tea shop, he’d stop to buy some for his younger siblings before continuing.

After riding for about twenty minutes, Li Jingkun passed the intersection by his middle school from his previous life. It was well past dismissal time, so there weren’t many students on the street.

He intentionally slowed down and looked into the intersection, and by coincidence, spotted a few familiar figures.

Among a group of girls playing nearby was his first love from his previous life.

He was stunned, stopped the bike, turned for a closer look, and sure enough, it was her—Fang Yueshan.

Signed, the first step of a thousand-mile journey; seeking investment and all kinds of support and encouragement~

(The End of the Chapter)