Lin Yuan naturally didn't understand the series of psychological activities that Gu Xi was going through. Not long after he left, the phone rang, coming from an unfamiliar number.
Following the usual routine, he hung up.
The other party called for the second time.
It seemed not to be a harassing call. Lin Yuan thought for a moment and decided not to hang up again. He answered, "Who is this?"
"Hello!"
The voice on the other end said, "Are you Mr. Chu Kuang?"
"I am."
"Hello, Mr. Chu Kuang. I am Wei Long, the chief editor of Tribe Literature..." The other party proudly introduced himself.
Lin Yuan swallowed.
Wei Long naturally didn't know how special his name sounded: "Our Tribe Literature is preparing to organize a short story event. We will invite thirty short story writers to compete on the same stage, and you are one of our invited guests."
"Not interested."
Lin Yuan planned to continue collaborating with "Interesting Reads."
He felt that the 200,000 yuan per piece offered by Silver Blue Library was not low. Although the Tribe Literature platform was convenient, it lacked payment for contributions.
"Please don't rush to refuse."
The other party hurriedly said, "All the writers participating in our event will receive a reward of 100,000 yuan. In addition, on this basis, if your work can enter the top three, we will also provide bonuses. The first prize is 300,000 yuan, the second prize is 200,000 yuan, and the third prize is 100,000 yuan."
Bonuses?
Lin Yuan was intrigued.
The third prize had a fee of 100,000 yuan, plus the initial 100,000 yuan for the invitation, it seemed comparable to Silver Blue Library. If he could get the second or even the first prize, there would be even more bonuses!
Although it wasn't guaranteed money...
Lin Yuan felt that, considering the quality of the stories he had on hand, entering the top three shouldn't be a big problem. After all, the short stories in his hands were all masterpieces.
There was a chance.
Seeing Lin Yuan not speaking, the other party guessed that Chu Kuang was interested and raised his tone: "Please rest assured, for the results of the competition among the thirty writers, our Tribe Literature will not interfere. The final top three will be entirely decided by the readers of our Tribe Literature!"
"The rules?"
Lin Yuan was considering participating.
The editor named Wei Long said, "The rules are simple. We do not limit the genre, but we restrict the word count. The final word count of the submitted works must not exceed 10,000 words. After all, the competition is for short stories, and online readers do not have the patience to read lengthy articles. In my personal opinion, it's better not to exceed 5,000 words..."
Paused.
Wei Long continued, "After receiving the submissions from all the writers, our Tribe Literature will promote them officially. The reach of this promotion is definitely larger than that of traditional paper magazines..."
Lin Yuan pondered.
The readership of Tribe Literature was indeed extensive, determined by the nature of the platform itself. They had a user base that surpassed any magazine. Their approach was to consider how many users could be converted into readers.
"I won't hide it from you."
Wei Long smiled and said, "Originally, we planned to directly pay the writers to participate, but considering that this event might imitate the format of the music industry's season charts and exist for a long time, we finally adopted this format. I wonder what your intention is?"
"I'll think about it."
Lin Yuan replied like this, but in his heart, he already had a basic idea.
The other party also guessed this, so he said, "Alright, is this number in your contact list? I'll add you as a friend. Later, I'll send the email to your contact list. If you have any thoughts, please submit your work by the end of this month because the official selection will officially begin early next month."
"Okay."
Lin Yuan hung up the phone.
Actually, "Interesting Reads" has also invited Lin Yuan to contribute.
Because "The Gift of the Magi" gained immense popularity, boosting the magazine's sales significantly, the magazine is interested in establishing a long-term collaboration with Lin Yuan.
However, now it seems that the activities in the tribal literature scene are more financially viable.
Lin Yuan doesn't feel a strong sense of belonging to the Silver Blue Library. After all, he signed with them for his works, not as a person. He has the right to choose his publishing platform, which is why he chose the tribe literature platform when he first uploaded "Artificial Beauty."
...
During the Chinese New Year, Lin Yuan, leveraging his sister's luck, drew five short stories at once. Currently, he has used two, leaving three stories to choose from.
"Let's go with this one."
Decision-making shouldn't be too agonizing.
Because, no matter how Lin Yuan thinks about it, the remaining three stories are all good. The specific achievements depend on the readers' tastes.
However, Lin Yuan's task is not just choosing one of the stories. He also needs to tweak the novel's background to make it more fitting for a certain era on Blue Star—
Because the system provided five original stories.
So, "The Gift of the Magi" is Lin Yuan's own adaptation, including converting currency and changing the background, among other things.
In comparison, Lin Yuan's first release, "Artificial Beauty," doesn't have a specific historical background, requiring less modification and making it easier to write.
The system explains this:
Excessively complex adaptations, the system can help with, but for stories like "Maggie's Gift," which is only a few thousand words, Lin Yuan needs to do it himself.
Lin Yuan doesn't resist this.
A person has over a hundred billion brain cells; modifying a few thousand words won't kill many cells and adds a sense of participation.
And indeed, that's the case.
Although he doesn't know how many brain cells he specifically lost, Lin Yuan, when he returns to his residence at night, completes the story background in less than two hours, with one hour dedicated to research.
Being rigorous in such matters is never wrong.
As for writing the original version, that's just a twenty-minute affair.
After finishing the novel, Lin Yuan doesn't immediately send it to Wei Long's email but plans to send it over in a few days.
Sending it on the same day would expose the fact that he has a backlog, wouldn't it?
Turning off the computer, Lin Yuan gets ready for bed.
...
While Lin Yuan is preparing to rest, at the desk in an apartment, Gu Xi is nervously waiting for a friend's call.
Suddenly, the phone rings.
She quickly answers, "How is it?"
"Miss Gu, I struggled for a while, but I managed to find out for you. You have to treat me to a big meal later."
"I'll treat you!"
"Consider it a bit of conscience. The person you inquired about is Lin Yuan, indeed a sophomore in the Composition Department this year."
"What else?"
"Lin Yuan is a relatively quiet person. It's said that he's not in the best health, but classmates have a good opinion of him. They say he has a good personality and never conflicts with anyone. That's all I know."
Gu Xi: "..."
Someone who never conflicts with classmates, but he had a conflict with me. I must be really unpleasant.
"By the way."
The friend asks, "Why did you inquire about Lin Yuan? It's not like you, Miss Gu, who always sets high standards."
"I'm not interested in his body..."
Gu Xi sighed, "You won't understand. Can you give me advice? Tell me how to win someone's favor?"
"Of course, appeal to their interests."
"But I don't know what he likes."
"In my experience, ninety-nine percent of people like money. Of course, I'm talking about people like me who are vulgar."
"He's not vulgar at all."
Gu Xi sighed again, "If only he liked money... he can't possibly like money..."
How could a god-like person like money?