Chapter 18: Do You Have No Heart?

Chapter 18: Do You Have No Heart?

That entire day and night, Kuku stayed locked in the office.

She was a dedicated worker; how could she think about going home while reviewing manuscripts!

Her colleagues had all praised her dedication today, saying it was no wonder she had discovered a treasure like Dora B Dream.

Kuku smiled silently, focusing intently on the manuscripts.

Though she knew deep down that signing Dora B Dream was a stroke of incredible luck—he had just happened to submit to her.

But as long as she didn’t say it out loud, that kind of luck could also be considered a form of skill, right?

Besides, maintaining such a good relationship with Dora B Dream had taken every ounce of her persuasive ability and effort!

Anyway, she was still a top editor under Maple Tree Publishing with Dora B Dream as one of her authors, making other editors envious.

After working through the day and night, Kuku finally decided to get a good rest and naturally planned to go home.

She sent a text to the chief editor, saying she was exhausted from overtime reviewing manuscripts and would be resting at home, so she’d be late tomorrow.

Note: She was reviewing Dora B Dream’s new manuscript for “Dragon Clan.”

—That was her justification for being late!

After sending the message, Kuku locked the office door and headed home to rest.

But once lying in bed, she found herself unable to fall asleep for a long time. Her mind was filled with the image of Uesugi Erii.

Through Dora B Dream’s words, she had unconsciously constructed Erii’s image in her mind. That image stimulated her brain, making it impossible to sleep no matter how groggy or tired she felt.

Perhaps it was just the result of staying up too late, Kuku thought.

She had experienced this before—when she pushed herself too hard late at night, she had the same symptoms.

So she forced herself to clear her mind and close her eyes. Eventually, she drifted into dreams.

Yet, unexpectedly, even in her dream, the image was still Uesugi Erii. As for Nono Chen Motong... who was that? She didn’t know!

In the dream, Uesugi Erii and Lu Mingfei lived happily together and even held a grand wedding.

At the wedding, Chu Zihang and Xia Mi stood as bridesmaids, while Nono sulked sadly to the side.

orz... That emoticon was so vivid!

As a guest at the wedding in the dream, Kuku couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

She slept soundly until dawn, then got up, washed up, cooked herself some instant noodles, and hurried to catch the subway to the company.

While riding the subway, she checked her phone and saw an early morning reply from the chief editor:

“No worries, good job. Rest up. When you wake, send me the manuscript, and I’ll work overtime with you.”

Kuku sneered inwardly. She could almost hear the scheming from the subway. Ha!

But upon arriving at the office, she still took the initiative to send the third volume of “Dragon Clan” to the chief editor through Qiu Qiu.

Of course, this was not submission to the chief editor’s authority. Kuku would never admit that!

She told herself it was simply her strong desire as a reader to share the work.

“‘Dragon Clan’ Volume Three maintains the standard of the first two volumes; it’s a fine commercial piece. Who wouldn’t want to share such a work?”

Yes, exactly so!

Kuku gave herself what she considered a profound and accurate analysis of her feelings. After receiving a simple “Okay” from the chief editor via Qiu Qiu, she replied immediately, “Thanks for your hard work, boss!”

The chief editor responded, “Same to you! Keep reading!”

Kuku: “Okay! Don’t worry, boss, today I’ll do my best to finish the manuscript!”

She opened the document on her desktop and continued from where she left off yesterday.

Before she knew it, she was completely absorbed. Forget about finding loopholes, spotting flaws, or correcting typos—those were long gone from her mind.

Dora B Dream’s novels were always polished to a high degree; such mistakes were rare. Spending time on them was a waste of energy.

Better to focus on reading, evaluating quality, estimating potential success, and devising marketing strategies.

Kuku thought this to herself.

Time flew by, and it was already noon.

She reached Volume Three of “Black Moon Tide.” She skipped going to the cafeteria and instead called a nearby restaurant for delivery.

Even while eating, her eyes remained glued to the computer screen.

As she read, she came across Erii’s line: “We are all little monsters, and one day the righteous hero will kill us.” Suddenly, her mind blanked, and a sense of foreboding gripped her.

She kept reading deep into the night, the plot becoming increasingly tense.

The third volume was so lengthy! She had no choice but to stay up again.

When she was too exhausted, she gave up going home and just curled up on her office chair, falling asleep in her clothes.

Before sleeping, she noticed the chief editor’s office light was still on. She wasn’t the only one working overtime tonight.

It was rare for someone the chief editor’s age to show such interest in youth novels.

Her sleep was restless, and before dawn she woke, washed her face, and sat back down to continue reading.

Unconsciously, half a day passed again. By afternoon, she had finished.

She had scrolled to the very end of the novel document. Sitting at her desk, she felt dazed.

How could this be?

She had finally escaped Nono’s shadow, finally found a character she liked, and finally encountered such a beloved Erii...

And yet, it ended like this?!

The first volume had Lao Tang, the second had Xia Mi, the third had Erii...

Each volume’s characters were more beloved, yet the cuts were sharper!

Why did it have to end this way?!

Fuming, Kuku opened the chat window with “Big B Teacher” and sent a string of question marks.

“Big B Teacher” was Kuku’s nickname for Lu Anzhi. He forbade her from calling him “B Teacher,” so she insisted on adding “Big.”

Dora B Dream wouldn’t see it anyway.

To her surprise, Dora B Dream was online and quickly replied with a simple question mark: “?”

Kuku’s heart sank further, and she sent: “!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Big B Teacher: “?”

Kuku: “Why did you have to kill off the little monster?”

She naturally used “little monster” to refer to Uesugi Erii, even though that phrase appeared only sparingly in the text.

Erii’s line had touched her deeply.

Big B Teacher: “For money!”

Kuku: “?”

Kuku: “!”

Kuku: “Do you have no heart?!”

Big B Teacher responded with an ellipsis.

Kuku: “So you can’t make money unless Erii dies?”

Big B Teacher: “I have no idea.”

Kuku thought to herself, no wonder Big B Teacher was called a dog author—his skill in delivering those cuts was becoming more refined.

She didn’t want to talk to Dora B Dream anymore for now. Instead, she messaged the chief editor: “I’ve finished reviewing. The manuscript is approved.”

Chief editor: “Detailed comments?” It’s normal for Dora B Dream’s manuscript to pass.

Kuku: “Detailed suggestions are good. Please proceed with printing and promotion as soon as possible.”

Now, she just wanted “Dragon Clan” Volume Three to be published quickly.

And she hoped someone would send the dog author a box of blades!

Once again, thanks to Xia’s brilliant reward.

(End of chapter)