Chapter 34: New Book

Chapter 34: A New Book

While waiting for Zhang Suxin and Xianxian, Lu Anzhi chatted with Kuku on his mobile phone.

He got straight to the point, typing on the Qiuqiu mobile app: "Editor-in-Chief, the business license is ready. We can start shipping the books."

Kuku, who had been appearing offline, instantly lit up: "Don't call me 'Editor-in-Chief.' Mr. B, aren't you just being sarcastic?"

Lu Anzhi: "Isn't it because I have a use for you now..."

Kuku sent an angry emoji: "t皿t. When you need someone, it's 'Editor-in-Chief,' but when you don't, you can't even be bothered to call me Kuku."

Lu Anzhi was speechless: "I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. What else do you want from me?"

Kuku: "When are you writing *Dragon Clan 4*?"

Lu Anzhi felt the editor had lost her mind. He typed: "*Dragon Clan 3* hasn't even been released yet, and you're already pushing me for *Dragon Clan 4*? Are you trying to work me to death?"

Kuku sent a message with aggressive momentum: "Yes! Working you to death! *Dragon Clan 4*! I want *Dragon Clan 4*! I've already predicted it, and my colleagues at Maple Under the Trees have all predicted it too: *Dragon Clan 3* is going to be a massive hit, exceeding the popularity of the first two installments by a wide margin. If *Dragon Clan 4* can keep the momentum going, wouldn't the popularity be explosive?"

Lu Anzhi sent an ellipsis: "..."

Kuku: "Also, most importantly, Erii! My Erii! Give me back my Erii! You'd better resurrect Erii in *Dragon Clan 4*."

Lu Anzhi replied immediately: "It's gone. That's what you get for pushing me so hard. Both *Dragon Clan 4* and Erii have been pushed out of existence by you. The next book is a new genre."

Kuku: "?"

Kuku: "Ah?!"

Kuku: "What the hell?!"

Kuku: "Are you serious or joking?"

Kuku: "You're lying, right?!"

Kuku: "Don't kid around, brother!"

...

Seeing that Kuku's messages were relentless, Lu Anzhi decisively put his phone away.

A little while later, Zhang Suxin arrived with Xianxian. Lu Anzhi went downstairs to welcome the mother and daughter inside. Xianxian was immediately captivated by the bookstore's brand-new environment, running around the bookshelves and asking incessantly, "What is this?"

Zhang Suxin told her, "These are bookshelves, used for displaying books."

"Mm-hmm."

The little one nodded, then went to show off to Lu Anzhi, pointing at a bookshelf: "This is for displaying books."

Lu Anzhi replied, "Right, it's for displaying books."

The little one went back to ask her mother: "What is this?"

Zhang Suxin: "It's a bookshelf."

Xianxian nodded her little head: "Mm-hmm, for displaying books. What is this?"

And so, it fell into a loop...

Zhang Suxin smiled helplessly at Lu Anzhi: "This little one just loves asking questions she already knows the answer to."

Lu Anzhi said, "As long as she's happy."

Zhang Suxin smiled: "She is happy."

After Xianxian had had her fill of asking, she went back to circling the bookshelves.

Zhang Suxin, wearing a large bag over her shoulder, took something out and handed it to Lu Anzhi: "Here, your business license. It's all taken care of."

Lu Anzhi took it and saw that the license had been professionally mounted in an elegant metal frame. Through the transparent glass, one could see the store name "Sanwei Bookstore," his own name in the legal representative column, the business scope, and the date of issuance.

"Thank you. You’re so thoughtful to have it framed for me," Lu Anzhi said sincerely. It was clearly Zhang Suxin who had done this; the agent would only have handled the paperwork and wouldn't have bothered with such details.

Zhang Suxin said, "Why are you being so polite with me? It was just a small effort. I was having my own studio's documents framed anyway, so I just included yours."

Lu Anzhi didn't say anything more. He placed the license flat on the table, took a photo with his phone, and sent it to Kuku via Qiuqiu.

Kuku had sent countless messages bombarding him, which he had ignored. While sending the photo, he said to Zhang Suxin, "The book distributors at Maple Under the Trees were just waiting for this license. Now that it's sent, they can arrange for the books to be shipped immediately. The only thing left before opening is to hire a few staff members."

Zhang Suxin had helped select the book catalog and was aware of the distribution channels. Seeing him send the photo, she nodded.

Her focus wasn't on what Lu Anzhi was doing, but on the phone: "This phone is really convenient. If it were before, we would have had to log into a computer and use email. Now, you just take a picture and send it."

Lu Anzhi nodded: "It's alright."

Zhang Suxin nodded without saying much. She thought Lu Anzhi was truly remarkable, with such forward-thinking vision that he had identified a phone that hadn't even hit the market yet, and had such an accurate understanding of 3G networks and broadband.

She thought that this must be what it meant to be a writer—knowing a little bit about everything to write such popular stories.

However, she felt too shy to say these compliments to his face. Zhang Xianxian could say "Daddy is amazing" at any time, but she wasn't Zhang Xianxian; she couldn't do that.

Lu Anzhi finished sending the photo and received a reply from Kuku. Zhang Suxin didn't look specifically, but she caught a glimpse of it by accident.

The reply read: "Received! Mr. B, what is the new book? You're really not writing *Dragon Clan 4* anymore?!"

Zhang Suxin was surprised and asked Lu Anzhi: "You're not writing *Dragon Clan 4*? You've already started a new book?"

Lu Anzhi nodded: "That's right."

Zhang Suxin found it incredible: "You're so fast!"

Xianxian, having finished her rounds, came over to them. Hearing Zhang Suxin, she joined in: "Daddy is amazing!"

Lu Anzhi replied: "Xianxian is amazing, too."

Xianxian nodded her little head vigorously: "Xianxian is amazing!" Although she probably didn't understand what exactly she was amazing at, that didn't stop her from saying it.

Zhang Suxin laughed: "You two are just busy complimenting each other."

Lu Anzhi then said: "Mom is amazing too."

Xianxian immediately followed up: "Mom is amazing!"

Zhang Suxin was left speechless and had to change the subject: "What is your new book about?"

Lu Anzhi replied: "*The Little Prince*. It's a fairy tale."

Zhang Suxin was slightly surprised: "A fairy tale?! Can you write those too?" She paused and asked, "Is it because of Xianxian?"

Lu Anzhi said: "Yes. After I met you and Xianxian at the restaurant that day, I was suddenly hit with inspiration. I started the fairy tale that very night back at the hotel. There are also a few short fairy tales, but since I have to work on another urban novel, I've put those aside for now."

"There's another novel?!"

Zhang Suxin was even more surprised. She wondered how Lu Anzhi's brain worked—how could he have so much inspiration? Novels were coming one after another, and he still found time to write an amazing song and complete the arrangement himself.

Lu Anzhi said: "Yes, it's about an online romance."

Zhang Suxin wasn't interested in that for the moment. She had just asked casually. Her mind was now caught by the fairy tale, and she couldn't help but ask: "Can I see the fairy tale you wrote?"

Previously, she had managed to resist reading *Dragon Clan 3*, but now, she was exceptionally curious.

What kind of book had Lu Anzhi written for his daughter?