It was supposed to be a peaceful night run, but on his way home, he happened to encounter Duan Xiaolou, the girl to whom this body had once confessed its feelings. It seemed she was also out for a night run.
It was not easy, after all, how many young girls these days focus on exercising?
The girl had once stunned Ren He during the twilight moments after school, standing in the evening sun. Now, with her earphones in and wearing a white sports hoodie, she had an astonishing effect on Ren He again, like a fleeting glimpse of a night-blooming cereus exuding a delicate fragrance.
Everyone seems to have someone in their youthful memories who is so stunning that they would feel she is peerlessly elegant even when standing in a crowd; if they could become a hero, probably every young boy would be willing to venture to the ends of the earth for her. No matter how much time had passed when you saw her again, you would say, "Ah, it's her..."
Duan Xiaolou seemed to be just such a person.
When Duan Xiaolou saw Ren He, her eyes lit up, "I knew we lived in the same compound but never encountered you before. Are you... out for a run?"
Ren He wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, "Yeah, just trying to stay fit and healthy, casually running."
"Are you really planning to go to a sports academy? I think it's only the ninth grade, it's not yet time to decide the direction of our lives, and if you want to train, you can still do so in high school," Duan Xiaolou had also heard the recent school rumor: Ren He was planning to go to a sports school because his grades were too poor.
Ren He was startled for a moment, it was the first time someone had asked him this question to his face. He thought for a moment and said, "That's not true, just getting some exercise. It's late, let's hurry back home."
"Mhm," Duan Xiaolou seemed surprised that Ren He wanted to end the conversation so quickly, but she smiled lightly, "Okay, then see you at school tomorrow!"
She watched Ren He's figure running into the night, disappearing around the corner of a nearby residential building, and Duan Xiaolou felt a strange sensation in her heart—as if Ren He was a bit different. But she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
...
Capital Journalism Group, the review room.
"Hey, hey, come look, there's a strange submission here," a young editor with black-framed glasses called out to his colleagues, "Let me read it to you, it's pretty interesting, like a nursery rhyme! 'At the start of man, His nature is good, Nature is similar, It's habits that make it different...'"
When he finished reading, the colleagues became interested, "Is this a nursery rhyme? It sounds intriguing, but why send it to us? We don't publish this kind of stuff."
"It's well-written but seems a bit too simple. If you say it's an ancient poem, it's not really one either, at most it's a catchy rhyme."
"Forget it, let's pass it to the children's publication subsidiary of the group, we can't let a good piece go to waste."
A middle-aged editor who had been silent and thinking after hearing the Three Character Classic suddenly spoke up when everyone agreed to pass it to the children's publication, "Li, wait a minute, let me have a look at it."
After he got it, he immediately went to the managing editor's office at the back. He knocked on the door and a resonant voice from inside said, "Come in."
Mid-aged editor: "Elder Zhou, we've received an interesting submission, would you take a look?"
The young editors outside exchanged glances. No way, such a submission was taken to the managing editor for review? They knew their managing editor, Zhou Wumeng, was a towering figure in the media industry, renowned for only reviewing extraordinary works.
This submission was interesting, but stunning? Hardly.
Zhou Wumeng, hearing what the middle-aged editor said: "Oh? Let me see it."
```
He took the thin sheet of paper from the middle-aged editor's hand and read it out, "At the start, humans were inherently good..." As he read, Zhou Wumeng suddenly put on his presbyopic glasses and continued to look.
Seeing his chief editor put on glasses, the middle-aged editor knew there was hope, because this was the signature move of the Capital Journalism chief editor when he came across a good manuscript! The middle-aged editor said softly, "I think, this piece, might even qualify for inclusion in elementary school textbooks! Li and the others are too young to understand the true significance of this manuscript, so I think you should take a look."
Zhou Wumeng had already finished reading and was rubbing his temples, seriously pondering, "Finally, a phenomenal representative work has appeared among children's literature, profound in meaning, perhaps in the future every household will use this as the first lesson in childhood education! Schedule it for the third edition's headline tomorrow, pay the manuscript fee at the rate for Class A poetry, and then communicate with the author to see if we can secure the rights!"
The middle-aged editor was taken aback; he had thought the piece might be very influential, but he had not expected Elder Zhou to elevate it to such a high status so swiftly! The Three Character Classic, you might say, does not seem profound at first glance to a newcomer. However, a discerning elder would immediately realize upon seeing it that it masterfully transforms children's education into an easy-to-learn three-character verse, with profound significance!
The middle-aged editor quickly nodded, "Okay, I'll contact them right away!"
Zhou Wumeng thought for a moment and then said, "Never mind, I'll call myself."
...
Just when Ren He thought the Three Character Classic had sunk without a trace, he suddenly received a call from someone claiming to be Zhou Wumeng, the chief editor of the Capital Journalism Group. As soon as Ren He heard the name Capital Journalism Group, he knew it was no mistake.
"Hello, may I ask if this is Ren He?" Zhou Wumeng asked.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Hello, hello, I am Zhou Wumeng, the chief editor of the Capital Journalism Group. I have received your manuscript, the Three Character Classic, and I'd like to know, did you create this independently, and do you still have the rights?"
"I do," Ren He replied with suppressed joy, "I created it independently."
"Sorry, you sound quite young, may I ask how old you are?"
"15 years old, a junior high third-year student," Ren He said with a smile, knowing the other party would surely have such doubts.
"A junior high third-year student..." Zhou Wumeng was stunned; he never imagined that the author of the work he so admired was simply a junior high student. He regained his composure and continued, "We'd like to purchase all domestic and international publishing rights for the Three Character Classic, would you be interested?"
"Royalties only, not selling outright," Ren He answered crisply.
Zhou Wumeng understood; though the other party was just a middle school student, he was clearly aware that the rights to his Three Character Classic were not worthless, and he had full confidence. No wonder he had sent it directly to Capital Journalism - from the start, he had intended to back his rights journey with the support of Capital Journalism Group!
"Here's the thing, I will personally make a trip to Luoyang next week to discuss the rights cooperation with you. Tomorrow, your Three Character Classic will be featured in the third edition's headline of the Capital Daily, and I will also bring your manuscript payment directly to you, is that okay?"
"That's fine," Ren He agreed. So far, the communication between the two had been very smooth. As the leading force in the country's paper media, Capital Journalism Group indeed provided the best platform for him to earn his first bucket of gold.
After hanging up with Zhou Wumeng, Ren He lay on his bed. In this second chance at life, he did not necessarily aim for wealth and fame; he just wanted to walk the path of regrets from his previous life once more and accomplish all the things he had wanted to do but hadn't!
To him, literature was just a means of survival, not a dream.
When Ren He fell asleep, he dreamt that he was wearing a white ski jacket, goggles in place, with snowboards on his feet. With a slight movement of his body, he surged down from the peak of a snow-capped mountain, his silhouette gracefully flitting through the white world, snow waves parting on either side, the wind making way for him!
Somehow, the scene shifted and he suddenly saw a girl standing in the sunset on the snow mountain, indescribably beautiful.
```