ROBEPTQ chapter 45

Bai Sijun had been away from Hongtu for almost half a month. Besides going to pack up his things, he had no contact with Hongtu. The chief editor didn’t show any intention of keeping him, just waiting for him to leave after the one-month notice period. His other colleagues didn’t understand the specific situation; they only knew he went to guard Mei Yuchen’s writing and didn’t express excessive concern.

Since he hadn’t formally resigned, Bai Sijun didn’t leave the various work groups on WeChat. However, when he opened WeChat, he couldn’t help feeling annoyed seeing the pinned messages on the screen. So, he un-pinned each work group one by one and then set someone with a strawberry ice cream cone avatar as a priority.

He stared at the phone screen, involuntarily smiling. At this moment, a head suddenly appeared, and a curious big cat asked, “Who are you chatting with? Why are you so happy?”

“No one,” Bai Sijun quickly put away his phone, not wanting Mei Yuchen to discover him staring at his avatar. However, at that moment, his phone vibrated twice. He subconsciously glanced at Mei Yuchen beside him, and indeed, he had a dark face, his eyes almost piercing through his phone.

“I wasn’t chatting with her just now,” Bai Sijun hurriedly explained. He opened the WeChat interface and handed it to Mei Yuchen, saying, “Here, I was just setting a priority.”

After seeing the strawberry ice cream cone as the priority, the big cat’s expression visibly relaxed. He hummed lightly, “Reply to her message.”

Bai Sijun found it amusing. Mei Yuchen’s anger came and went quickly, just like a child. It didn’t match his appearance of a thirty-something adult. But what he found even more amusing was himself; he never knew his survival instinct could be this strong.

He raised one hand to playfully pinch Mei Yuchen’s face, and with the other hand, he leisurely replied to Liang Ru’s message.

[Bai Sijun: What’s up?]

[Liang Ru: I’m under a lot of pressure, seeking comfort QAQ]

Back when Bai Sijun was with Liang Ru, he didn’t let her handle many miscellaneous tasks. Now that he had left, he could imagine Liang Ru’s workload suddenly increasing.

[Liang Ru: Are you busy lately?]

[Liang Ru: Do you have time in the afternoon?]

[Liang Ru: I’ll treat you to bubble tea]

[Liang Ru: Hehehe.jpg]

Days without work were easy to confuse with weekends. Bai Sijun didn’t realize it was a weekend because he had been living a relaxed life. He was about to ask Liang Ru where to meet when Mei Yuchen suddenly said, “Let her come over.”

“Again?” Bai Sijun said, “Are you going to bully the poor girl again?”

Mei Yuchen raised an eyebrow, “This time is different.”

“How is it different?” Bai Sijun asked.

“Last time was a warning,” Mei Yuchen paused, “This time is asserting dominance.”

Bai Sijun couldn’t resist this time. He helplessly said, “You’ve had enough.”

“Bai,” Mei Yuchen circled his waist, leaning his chin on his shoulder in a coquettish manner, “I don’t want you to go out alone with other people.”

This time, Bai Sijun had no way to resist. He sighed, “You’ve caught me, and I have no way to resist your coquetry.”

Mei Yuchen chuckled softly, biting his earlobe, “But I only act this way with you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Bai Sijun surrendered, “You only act cute with me, and I deserve to spoil you.”

He picked up his phone again to reply to Liang Ru.

[Bai Sijun: Come to find me in the afternoon.]

[Bai Sijun: Do you remember the address?]

[Liang Ru: What address? I’ve never been to your place, Bai Ge.]

Bai Sijun sent her a location.

[Bai Sijun: Mei Yuchen’s place. You’ve been here before.]

[Liang Ru: !!!]

[Liang Ru: You guys are living together??!]

[Bai Sijun: …Sort of.]

[Liang Ru: Shows a motherly smile]

[Liang Ru: Smiling.jpg]

Bai Sijun furrowed his brows, not understanding the meaning of Liang Ru’s message. Mei Yuchen, on the other hand, also raised an eyebrow and asked, “What does ‘motherly smile’ mean?”

Bai Sijun shook his head, “I don’t get it.”

But Bai Sijun knew Liang Ru definitely didn’t mean anything by it. He could only guess, “Maybe she doesn’t know that this smiley face makes people feel unpleasant.”

Mei Yuchen snorted, not saying anything. However, Bai Sijun could read from the big cat’s expression that he was going to bully the poor girl again.

Liang Ru arrived at Mei Yuchen’s villa in the afternoon. This time, she didn’t get lost and even thoughtfully brought some fruits. Bai Sijun went to the door to greet her, expecting her to be mentally exhausted due to work. To his surprise, she had rosy cheeks, full of spirit, and showed no signs of being overwhelmed by her job. Instead, she even seemed a bit excited in her words.

“Bai Ge, why do I feel like Mr. Mei’s yard is a bit different?”

“I planted some flowers and plants when I had nothing to do.”

“Domesticated!” Liang Ru gave a thumbs up. “In capital letters—domesticated!”

“…”

As usual, Mei Yuchen didn’t bother to come to the entrance to welcome her. Bai Sijun went to the fridge to get a bottle of orange juice for Liang Ru and then ushered her into the living room.

“Teacher Mei… good!” Liang Ru corrected herself in time, then sneakily stuck her tongue out at Bai Sijun.

Mei Yuchen glanced at her indifferently, then continued to focus on typing.

“How’s your new book going?” Liang Ru casually said, “With Bai Ge accompanying you, inspiration must be overflowing!”

Mei Yuchen slightly frowned and lifted his eyelids to give her an expressionless look. He always had a sense of distance when dealing with outsiders. Bai Sijun felt similarly oppressed and uneasy when he first interacted with him. Knowing that Liang Ru was afraid of Mei Yuchen, he wanted to ease the atmosphere. However, when Liang Ru said, “Heh heh,” and laughed twice, carefree, she added, “Bai Ge, Teacher Mei can’t be bothered with me.”

Bai Sijun found it strange. Although Liang Ru was cheerful, she wasn’t the type to put on a brave front. Why did he feel her cheekiness had increased? It wasn’t in a derogatory sense; it was as if her mental strength had become stronger. Bai Sijun could only assume it was a change brought about by work.

“It’s okay, don’t mind him,” Bai Sijun said. “How’s work been recently?”

Liang Ru immediately put on a sad face, pouting, “I really want to resign.”

Bai Sijun was somewhat surprised, “Is it that bad?”

“I’m busy with graduation, and the chief editor wants me to work five days a week. I can only take leave for emergencies. I just don’t want to do it anymore.”

“It’s partly because of me,” Bai Sijun said. “If I were still there, you’d have an easier time.”

“Even if you were still there, I’d have this much work when I officially start. I really want to find a rich second-generation and get married directly.” Liang Ru said with a look of despair, “By the way, Bai Ge, why did you suddenly only take care of Teacher Mei? Did you completely abandon the Literary Master series and Teacher Qi?”

“Yeah,” Bai Sijun nodded. “He’s more important.”

Liang Ru chuckled, resulting in Mei Yuchen giving her a scrutinizing look. She didn’t hold back and met his gaze, saying, “Teacher Mei, you can’t let down our Bai Ge.”

This time, Mei Yuchen finally deigned to open his precious mouth and asked, “What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Liang Ru hastily waved her hand. “I’m just wishing you both happiness… Oh no, I wish your new book sells well.”

Mei Yuchen inexplicably glanced at Bai Sijun, apparently as clueless as Bai Sijun about what was going on with this girl. Going along with her words, he replied, “I won’t let him down.”

Liang Ru’s face wore a peculiar smile. She sighed dramatically, “That’s good. Seeing how close you are, I feel relieved.”

Mei Yuchen raised an eyebrow, “You know we’re together?”

Just as Bai Sijun was getting an uncomfortable feeling, he hadn’t had a chance to intervene, and Liang Ru continued, “Yes, I found out when I came last time.”

Mei Yuchen said mildly, “We weren’t together last time.”

Bai Sijun: “…”

Mei Yuchen glanced at Bai Sijun with slight surprise.

“Cough, cough!” Bai Sijun coughed loudly twice, forcibly interrupting Liang Ru’s words. “Uh, have you encountered any problems at work recently? Now is a good time to ask.”

Liang Ru was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and replied, “No major issues… Just that Hongtu launched a themed submission, and I’m bombarded with consultation calls every day.”

Hongtu had a public phone line for inquiries about submitted manuscripts. Originally, this phone was placed on Bai Sijun’s desk, and he had been answering consultation calls for over four years. Now that he was gone, without thinking, the responsibility had definitely fallen on Liang Ru.

Bai Sijun said, “You can use a set response, like asking them to check the website for updates.”

“Yeah, I’ve been saying that, but saying it too much is annoying.” Liang Ru pursed her lips, suddenly remembered something, and said, “Oh, by the way, at XX Novel Website, that short story competition, Teacher Qi voluntarily withdrew.”

This was somewhat unexpected for Bai Sijun. It seemed that his pretentious intimidation of Qi Jun had played some role.

“If he withdrew, then so be it.” Bai Sijun smirked. “Anyway, that competition doesn’t have much value.”

“That’s true.” Liang Ru nodded. “But this time, Teacher Qi is likely to participate in the selection for this year’s Xingmu Award.”

The Xingmu Award accepts submissions until the end of August each year, announces the shortlist in early October, and finally reveals the winners at the end of October. The award categories include not only suspense but also mystery and science fiction, making it a highly prestigious literary award in the domestic literary scene.

Bai Sijun subconsciously glanced at Mei Yuchen. Although he continued to look at the computer screen with lowered eyes, his typing hands paused, indicating that his attention had been drawn by Liang Ru’s words.

Bai Sijun asked Liang Ru, “Did Qiyun say this himself?”

“No,” Liang Ru denied, then teasingly said, “since you are no longer responsible for Teacher Qi, Guess who is responsible for him now?”

Bai Sijun furrowed his brows. Among the more experienced editors in the company, Zhao Lin was the one he guessed, saying, “Sister Zhao?”

“No.” Liang Ru wagged her index finger, “It’s the chief editor.”

This was indeed a surprise.

Because the chief editor’s job usually involved decision-making tasks such as setting themes and final reviews, they generally wouldn’t personally work with authors.

Liang Ru continued, “So everyone is speculating that Teacher Qi will compete for the Xingmu Award this year.”

“Didn’t he receive a nomination before?” Bai Sijun said uncertainly. “After writing for so many years, he definitely wants to win an award.”

“Of course, after all, he’s a writer cultivated by Hongtu, and the chief editor definitely hopes he wins an award too,” Liang Ru said.

Liang Ru chatted with Bai Sijun about some gossip in the company, complained about some trivial matters at work, and then said her goodbyes as she looked at the time.

Bai Sijun originally intended to accompany her to the subway station, but she insisted there was no need, and he didn’t want to insist further.

When she left, Mei Yuchen, breaking his usual habit, actually came to the entrance. Liang Ru seemed a bit surprised and said, “Teacher Mei, you don’t need to see me off.”

Mei Yuchen, without much expression, handed his phone to Liang Ru, saying, “Add me on WeChat.”

Bai Sijun: “…?”

Mei Yuchen: “Tell me what Bai and you talked about.”

Liang Ru: “I will definitely tell you everything!”

Bai Sijun: “…”

Bai Sijun wasn’t worried about Mei Yuchen bullying Liang Ru now. He could almost imagine the look of the once “good sister” confidently selling him out to Mei Yuchen, and then when Mei Yuchen finding out about the small lie he told Liang Ru, this big cat would come to “bully” him again.

Bai Sijun resigned himself to the situation, recollected his thoughts, and returned to the living room with Mei Yuchen. Mei Yuchen resumed typing on his laptop, while Bai Sijun hesitated for a moment before asking, “Mei, do you plan to participate? In this year’s Xingmu Award.”

The Xingmu Award didn’t set a participation threshold, so even relatively unknown authors could submit their works. This had the advantage of occasionally discovering dark horse writers, but for those who already had a reputation, it was not very favorable. Because if they made it to the shortlist but lose to a new writer, it was not a good look. Therefore, authors who had won the Xingmu Award usually never participate again unless they were extremely confident in their work.

Bai Sijun hadn’t thought about it in this direction before, but when he heard that Qi Jun intended to participate, he couldn’t help but think of what the chief editor had said to him. With the current rumors outside that Mei Yuchen was running out of talent, if he could win the Xingmu Award again…

He didn’t want Mei Yuchen to bear more pressure, but there was still a small expectation in his heart.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Mei Yuchen smiled faintly and said, “I’ll participate.”