After hearing such dismal sales data, Wang Jian spent the entire night sleepless.
32 copies, each priced at 10 US Dollars, with his 4% royalty.
He had made $12.8 on the first day from his debut novel.
And without any promotional campaign, could this be the highest sales day for "I'm a Great Mage"?
This amount of money wasn't even enough to cover the round trip bus fare!
He stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the homeless people huddled together below, almost seeing himself after finishing community labor.
The entire morning slipped away while Wang Jian was in a dazed state.
And he was even more out of it during the afternoon's community labor.
As the female politician on stage passionately discussed ethnic integration, Wang Jian's thoughts had drifted to Chinatown.
In the United States, was Sichuan cuisine more popular, or was Shandong cuisine?
He wondered if they were hiring apprentices there.
Would it be tiring to work as an apprentice?
It didn't matter; it would still be better than writing novels.
Because writing novels could really lose money.
As he was lost in thought, Wang Jian suddenly caught sight of Lily, the check-in officer, standing at the far left side of the stage.
Then, his attention sharpened instantly.
Oh no!
He had been thinking about the novel.
He had forgotten that he was supposed to babysit at the check-in officer's house tonight.
Writing a novel might be seen as a spiritual insult.
Babysitting for free could end up costing him everything.
At this moment, Lily also noticed Wang Jian looking at her from below the stage.
She, too, felt a wave of nervousness.
It seemed she would have to please him today.
Otherwise, who knew what might happen?
Suddenly, the sound of applause shook both Wang Jian and Lily.
The community labor was over, so was the evening's encounter about to begin?
Wang Jian was mentally preparing for what would happen tonight when he felt someone approach him.
He looked up to see Lily, her face expressionless, whispering quietly, "Still eight o'clock sharp, remember, don't be late."
Then she turned and walked away without looking back.
Wang Jian stood there a moment longer, then decided to go home and take a shower, change his clothes.
It was just a sign of respect for the opponent.
Two hours later, outside an apartment in Brooklyn.
Wang Jian, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, wore a struggling expression.
Inside the apartment, Lily had just changed into a black tight-fitting dress and mesh stockings, her feet in 10-centimeter high heels.
She stood before the mirror, looking at her fully prepared reflection, quietly muttering to herself.
"Lily, you can do this!"
"You've even sent little Gene to that scumbag, you can summon all your strength and dazzle this young boy."
"Make sure he doesn't go and tell before he turns 18."
Just then, the electronic doorbell rang.
Wang Jian, standing outside, felt his calves trembling slightly.
He wasn't inexperienced.
Why was he so nervous?
Inside, the sound of high heels clicked, as if striking his heart.
Then a fair, beautiful face peeked out from inside.
Wang Jian saw her and was slightly startled.
The check-in officer had applied such thick makeup that even the freckles on her face were completely covered.
The overtly feminine attire made Wang Jian's heart pound with fear.
Could the check-in officer possibly pull out a scouring pad from behind?
He had actually been trying hard all this time.
Suddenly, a crisp female voice interrupted Wang Jian's reverie.
"Come in," Lily said.
"Oh, oh," Wang Jian stuttered in response.
"Is little Gene not here?" he tried to make the atmosphere less awkward.
"Um, I sent him to my ex-husband's," Lily replied. "Would you like a drink?"
"You look very nervous."
"I'm fine," Wang Jian felt his underwear soaked with sweat. "A drink is fine."
Lily walked towards the kitchen with a catlike stride.
In a moment, she swayed back and forth as she returned, holding two wine glasses and a bottle of wine.
Wang Jian took the wine bottle, opened it, and then poured the wine into the two glasses.
Lily picked up one glass and gently swirled it.
She looked at the pale red liquid in the glass and seemingly unconcerned, asked, "How many more days?"
"37 days," Wang Jian replied.
Lily's heart settled, suddenly she flashed a smile.
And under the dim light, Wang Jian watched as this beautiful, young-at-heart woman smiled at him, his own spirits momentarily lifted.
Lily, holding the wine glass, moved closer to Wang Jian, her silk-stockinged legs slowly approaching.
Wang Jian's body trembled slightly as he turned his head to look at this woman who was thirteen years older than him.
At that moment, the air in the room seemed to solidify.
Then Lily poured the wine into her mouth, a little of the liquid escaping from the corner of her lips.
Next, she took Wang Jian's finger, gently wiped away the wine from her mouth,
and then slowly placed that finger into her mouth.
Wang Jian's breathing grew heavier and suddenly, with force, he pushed Lily down onto the sofa.
The next day.
Wang Jian opened his eyes to see the check-in officer beside him.
She also opened her eyes wide and looked back at him.
Neither spoke, and then…
Half an hour later,
"When doing community service, do not get physically close to me," Lily changed back into her blue uniform and said, "don't keep staring at me either."
"If, I mean if," she continued, "you can ask if I need a temporary nanny, understand?"
And Wang Jian, like a primary school student, sat upright on the sofa, listening as the check-in officer lectured like a teacher about various precautions.
Having been through this multiple times, Wang Jian had given up hope.
He would think about how to end this relationship after the community service.
Little did he know, Lily was thinking the same.
Only after Wang Jian had repeated Lily's instructions back to her was he allowed to leave the apartment and go home.
And perhaps having vented his frustrations, Wang Jian found that he didn't care so much about the novel anymore.
But life is full of disappointments. Just as he was peacefully watching TV, his phone suddenly rang.
Wang Jian answered the call, only to hear El's voice on the other end.
"It's all over, everything's finished," El said despondently, "I knew we shouldn't have come to Los Angeles for our first battle."
"Now, the rappers on the East and West Coast are battling fiercely. Even the Blood Gang won't support us in Los Angeles," he lamented loudly.
"What exactly happened?" Wang Jian was totally confused.
"Check the news on CNN," El said. "I hope it doesn't affect the launch of your new book."
With that, he hung up,
Leaving Wang Jian utterly bewildered.