Gaining a New Title

Jie²: >NO! NO! NO!<

Jie²: >NO! NO! NO!<

Jie²: >NO! NO! NO!<

A barrack of "No"s formed on Yang Yun's screen one after another in seconds to make sure that he got the message. His brows scrutinised in displeasure. She was so unreasonable and stubborn ever since they started exchanging conditions.

"No, this one is unreasonable ever since she started to write that novel." He murmured angrily. "Or how else would I have to do this?"

They had found an agreement for almost every point but the one about her meeting some fans. As her novel was now on the front page gathering attention everywhere, he expected some influx to gather, so sooner or later she had to go out to meet fans. As an author, it was essential to go out and sell her book. Every author would die to put their name and face out for the world to see. So why is this one so different in all aspects?

Yun: >Are you ashamed of your book?<

Jie Jie was struck by that question but unhesitatingly answered:

Jie²: >Of course not! Love belongs to everyone!<

Did he think she was ashamed of her work because it involved two men? Of course not! She was an emissary of free love! World peace for everyone! Hmpf!

Yang Yun seriously had no idea what she was talking about. He never took a closer look at her novel.

He didn't even know it was about a same-sex couple. He had only seen the title and some of the summary. And the synopsis, apart from a tiny tag that had a slang known only by real fans of the genre, showed no sign of the theme of the work. That was obviously to prevent censorship and to keep as many haters away as possible.

Of course, all the precaution was now all in vain because the story was on every significant ranking of the site now! As they spoke, the one million donations camouflaged as blessings had brought the novel out of the dark and into sight of almost every user of the site. By nature, humans were curious, so the viewership rose by the second. Every comment, be it negative or positive, counted as much as the other.

Most people were only cluelessly taking notice of it and skimming through, others though, made wild guesses and started to imagine conspiracy theories. As of now, almost everyone has found out that this one was unlike any other story on the front page; thus it made even more enormous waves.

All of that, of course, had nothing to do with Yang Yun and Shin Jie Jie at this moment. They were still in a deadlock.

Yun: >I made concessions at almost every one of your requests, so why can't you make any now? It almost feels like I am the one getting paid.<

"Uh..." This prickled Jie Jie's conscience. He was right, and he did make many concessions on her behalf, allowing her to take some days off, allowing her to write less than he had set out for at first. Not to mention that he was fine with her keeping her job, not asking for details as to why she was so adamant on continuing it despite him already covering all her costs.

While the two of them were discussing, she never managed to see through his motives, but she knew for sure that this guy was loaded. The fastest concessions he made were all regarding money as if he wasn't concerned about it at all. If the money weren't sent out in the first place, she would have thought he was a scammer.

He was such a big meat pie! Before he gets angry and takes everything back, she should be a little bit less stubborn? It wouldn't be wrong to know someone like him, whose profile description literally screamed 'future prospects'.

As Jie Jie was about to step down and explain to him her reasons as to why she would prefer to stay hidden, he had sent another message:

Yun: >Or, are you that hideous?<

You are hideous! Your whole family is hideous! ò__ó

Jie²: >I am comfortable with my looks, thank you for your unnecessary concerns, Mr. Yun. I just don't like crowds.<

In anger, she typed without thinking. Actually, people said she was good looking, ok? She got praises not only from her mother or friends but also from strangers sometimes. Also, what does that even have to do with her meeting fans? A person's looks shouldn't be the factor whether or not they can go public, ok? Skills were the defining factor, skills!

Yun: >Fine. We can work with that.<

Jie²: >Really?<

Yun: >Yes.<

So easily persuaded? Jie Jie couldn't make out this guy who was sometimes hard and sometimes soft.

For Yang Yun things were easy. He mistook her words for real, thinking that she was like many artists suffering from certain conditions like the fear of crowds or going outside altogether. He had met some authors with exceptional writing skills but possessing the worst conversational skills at the same time. They were gods with pen and paper, but once they were put in an everyday situation, those people were helpless like children.

In this one's case, he wasn't attaching many thoughts to the whole thing, just going through all the points he usually goes through when signing with an author. That's why he made concessions that easily. The primary point was to get this person to write as much as possible. That's why he started with a higher word count and a tighter schedule than average. He was prepared for her to negotiate and skimp on the amount, but even then it was still inside the scope of his tolerance.

Yun: >You may have to meet with one or two people in the future thought.<

Like his sister Catherine.

Jie²: >Just keep my identity and my name enclosed.<

This was the most important part. She wanted none of her real name or face attached.

As Yang Yun was finally convinced that this person must be a hardcore shut-in with social disorders, he readily agreed. He never expected any profit to be made from this deal anyways. That's the main reason he gave in so many times - contrary to his character as a businessman.

Yun: >Alright, I will send you a file with the points we have agreed upon. Sign it, and send it back to me. Afterwards, our deal will be established.<

Jie²: >Yes, Boss Yun! Ó u Ò<

An imaginary voice in his head sounded.

*Ding, you have gained a new title!*

Yang Yun: . . .