Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 29: New Story, New - (Please Favorite, Please Support)

Chapter 29: Chapter 29: New Story, New Chapter (Please Favorite, Please Support)

In the following days, while Xue Yang was at school, Lin Xi would stay home and study diligently. When he returned, she would gather all the difficult problems she had encountered that day and ask for his help. Besides attending classes, Xue Yang was also looking for ways to earn money.

Lin Xi was making rapid progress, and Xue Yang naturally didn’t fall behind.

After Lin Xi gave him that flash of inspiration, he began to look into it. Compared to his major in finance, it was clear that photo editing could earn him money much faster.

It didn’t take long for Xue Yang to find related part-time work online—editing photos for online stores.

Currently, a new way of shopping was quietly emerging: Taobao online stores. (The timeline for this story is 2014.) However, most people still didn’t know much about this industry. Only some in the younger generation enjoyed shopping this way, but it was also apparent that this industry had the potential to replace brick-and-mortar stores in the near future.

The process was straightforward: merchants would send Xue Yang the photos they needed edited. He would edit them and send them back. If they were satisfied, they paid him.

The pay wasn’t much—only about three yuan per photo. Still, it was a good start. Sometimes, he had to edit as many as thirty photos in a single evening. That was enough to cover their food expenses for the day.

Meanwhile, without Xue Yang’s knowledge, Lin Xi had found a novel-writing website and registered a pen name, "Surrounded by Mist," using Xue Yang’s identification.

*A wisp of mist winds about, all worldly dust is but trivial!*

Lin Xi loved this phrase and yearned for a life just like it, surrounded by mist. To her, the most important thing in life was having the one you love by your side. Three meals a day, even if they were simple, were a beautiful thing.

After finishing her preparations, she followed Xue Yang’s outline and typed a 10,000-word opening on the computer. When Xue Yang returned from his evening class, she excitedly showed it to him.

"Xue Yang, what do you think? How did I do?"

Xue Yang didn’t say much at first, simply turning to the computer and starting to read.

"The concept is ingenious, and you’ve done a great job choosing where to expand. The writing is dynamic, with plenty of twists and turns that make it compelling. It’s very good."

His praise was as sweet as honey to her, and the exhaustion from her long day vanished.

Lin Xi rested her head on Xue Yang’s broad shoulder and swayed slightly. "Xue Yang, I know you’re going to say I should focus on my studies, but don’t worry. I’ll only take two hours a day to flesh out your outline. I’ve already looked into it. After signing a contract, I’ll just need to post about 4,000 words a day. It won’t affect my studies."

"Xue Yang, I really love writing. Please, let me do this!"

Xue Yang paused, taken aback. "You wrote this based on my outline?"

No wonder the story seemed so familiar.

"Yeah, didn’t I tell you before? The story in your outline is fantastic, and I wanted to write it out for everyone to see. Is something wrong? If you’re worried about copyright, it’s fine. I used your ID to register the account, so there won’t be any issues..."

"That’s not what I meant. What are you thinking?"

"Then..."

"I never finished that outline. I can’t continue it now, so I don’t want it anymore. I’ll give you a different one."

"Okay. But this story is really good. Are you sure you don’t want it anymore?" Lin Xi sounded a little disappointed.

Xue Yang shook his head. "What good is a story if you can’t finish it? It’s better not to start at all than to end up with a botched ending."

Lin Xi gave him a thoughtful look, then turned to the computer and deleted all ten thousand words. "Alright, the old story is gone. I’ll be waiting for your new outline!"

Xue Yang patted her head. "I’m sorry, Lin Xi. You wasted so much effort. It must have taken you a long time to type those ten thousand words."

Lin Xi always understood him quickly, saving them from many potential arguments.

"It’s fine. I should have talked to you before I started writing. Anyway, you owe me a new outline. I’m going to earn money and support you!"

"It’s more like I’ll be supporting you," Xue Yang laughed. "Go on, get back to studying. I don’t have any photos to edit tonight, so I’ll draft a new story outline for you."

He didn’t use the computer, instead taking out a fresh notebook and beginning to sketch out a new story.

"Roger that! As you command!"

Lin Xi went back to her sea of practice problems. Xue Yang was right. Studying could be a happy thing, and it was twice as effective when the person you loved was right beside you. The thought of attending the same university as Xue Yang made her feel that any hardship she endured now was worth it.

Before they knew it, it was almost midnight. They usually went to bed punctually at eleven, and Lin Xi was yawning frequently.

"Lin Xi, the new story won’t be ready so quickly. It’s getting very late. You should go to sleep first."

Lin Xi couldn’t help but let out another big yawn, but she stubbornly insisted, "If you’re not sleeping, I’m not sleeping either."

"Be good. Staying up late is bad for your skin."

Hearing that, Lin Xi immediately grabbed her clothes and went to take a shower.

After her shower, she lay on the bed and pulled both blankets over herself.

"Are you cold, Lin Xi? If you are, I’ll go buy another one tomorrow."

The weather was getting colder; it could snow any day now. As someone from the south, Xue Yang had never seen the first snow of the north.

He had originally planned to watch the first snow of his life with Chen Ying, but now...

His gaze fell upon Lin Xi, who was clumsily arranging the blankets.

She said, "I’m warming up the blankets for you, so you won’t be cold when you get in later. Having a smart and adorable beauty like me warming your bed for you... you must be thrilled, right?"

He was touched but also amused. Does this little Xiao Naimao not know she automatically rolls into my arms every night after falling asleep?

But Xue Yang didn’t expose her. Instead, he said, "Well then, thank you very much, my smart, cute, beautiful, and kind-hearted beauty."

Lin Xi blushed and hid under the blankets.

Xue Yang wrote until just past one in the morning before finishing the new story outline. All it needed was a few more rough details fleshed out, and then Lin Xi could start writing. Even as it was, though, the outline was solid.

Closing the notebook, Xue Yang stretched his shoulders. Lin Xi had fallen fast asleep. Buried under two blankets, she had evidently gotten a little warm, as her long, straight, fair legs were boldly sticking out from under the covers.

A hint of pink was faintly visible.

Xue Yang abruptly averted his gaze, grabbed his clothes, and went to take a shower.

The shower left him feeling warm all over. The moment he lay down on the bed, a slightly cool body, as if seeking a source of heat, pressed up against him.

Xue Yang smiled faintly, instinctively pulling her into his embrace as he drifted off to sleep.

...