Chapter 1388: 1388: Multitalented

Chapter 1388: Chapter 1388: Multitalented

“Do you really think so?” Dai Shulan asked with a look of surprise.

“Yes, parents have been through it all, they tend to be more realistic and truthful. I’ve noticed this from my own parents,” Luo Ziling sighed before continuing, “Since you’re willing to tell me all this, I have no reason to mind anything now.”

“What do your parents do?” Dai Shulan asked curiously, “From what you’re saying, their love story sounds quite extraordinary.”

“Indeed, it is,” Luo Ziling said with a wry smile: “Because their love story is so remarkable, I grew up never seeing my mom, not to mention living with her. I only met her after I came to the Capital to study at Yan University.”

Dai Shulan was extremely shocked, staring blankly at Luo Ziling.

“I think I’ve guessed something.” Dai Shulan then cracked a smile and said, “Your mom must be a wealthy princess, who fell in love with your dad and wouldn’t marry anyone else. But her family didn’t approve of her being with your dad, so they tried to break them up.”

“You’re pretty smart.”

Dai Shulan smiled again, sipped her coffee quietly, and said nothing more.

Luo Ziling slowly stirred his coffee and began to ponder the day’s events.

Dai Shulan’s parents were just ordinary government agency workers, each heading some department, but such department heads without even an administrative rank are nothing in a place like the Capital where division-level officials are a dime a dozen.

Compared to people like Cao Jianhui, Dai Shulan’s status is far behind; one could say she is merely a commoner’s school beauty.

Her relatives, much the same, include Teacher Wu Xiaozhen who is also from a teaching background.

It’s fair to say that Dai Shulan’s family is just a very ordinary, moderately well-off household, the likes of which are far inferior to the families of Li Jiaqing and Lu Weiguang.

Considering this, Luo Ziling curiously asked Dai Shulan, “If that’s the case, how come you didn’t accept the pursuit of some of the young masters at school?”

When Teacher Wu Xiaozhen mentioned arranging a match between him and Dai Shulan, Luo Ziling had done some research on her background.

He knew her family was average but she had a good character. In the two years at school, many boys had tried to woo her, including the likes of wealthy heirs like Lu Weiguang. Lu Weiguang had pursued Yang Qingyin at the same time he expressed interest in Dai Shulan, but with no success.

Dai Shulan gave off an impression like a gracefully delicate orchid, with very little scandal associated with her.

Thus, Luo Ziling was very surprised and astonished when he heard her words.

Since Mr. and Mrs. Dai wanted their daughter to find a man with a good family background, perhaps even marry into a wealthy family, why didn’t they pressure Dai Shulan before?

“They are not as good-natured as you are, nor as capable, and certainly, they’re not as handsome,” Dai Shulan said with a bitter smile before adding, “Once, Teacher Wu asked me what I thought of you. I said you were quite an outstanding guy and that many girls in school were crazy about you.”

She paused, then continued, “Even beautiful girls like Yang Qingyin, Luo Yuqing, and Ouyang Huihui are willing to chase after you proactively. How could such a guy not be outstanding?”

“I understand, Teacher Wu only talked to your parents about this after knowing you had a good impression of me?”

Dai Shulan nodded lightly.

“Alright, it’s no big deal anyway. We already know each other, and since we’ve cleared things up, that’s that,” Luo Ziling smiled, extending his hand to Dai Shulan, “We’ve known each other for a while. School Sister is beautiful and very talented; I’m happy to be friends with you.”

“Having such a handsome friend makes me quite happy too,” Dai Shulan understood what Luo Ziling meant, smiled, and shook hands with him, then said, “It seems that laying out everything at our first meeting was a wise choice.”

“Now that we’ve cleared the air, let’s not bring up these matters again.” Luo Ziling released Dai Shulan’s hand and smiled, “By the way, I heard you’re a legend in the Chinese department at Yan University. You write novels, and you’re quite good at it.”

“You know about that too?” Dai Shulan seemed very surprised, “Even my roommates don’t know I’m writing!”

“You’re writing on one of the most reputable online novel sites, your ID is Mr. Dai, and you’ve even signed a big-name contract,” Luo Ziling said, smiling playfully at Dai Shulan, “Tell me if I’m wrong.”

“It seems you have quite a few resources at your disposal to have uncovered this secret I’ve purposely concealed,” Dai Shulan laughed, “Are you interested in me, so you had someone dig up this information?”

“Men are always interested in beautiful women.” Luo Ziling said mysteriously, “I truly didn’t expect you to be so talented.”

Seeing Luo Ziling’s interest, Dai Shulan couldn’t hide her excitement, “We’re not wealthy, and I’ve always loved writing, so I thought I would write some stuff in my spare time to earn some manuscript fees. It’s easy to enter the world of online literature; I had nothing to do during the summer vacation of my college entrance examination year, so I tried writing a novel. Unexpectedly, it became an instant hit. When it went on sale, subscriptions soared above ten thousand, and then I signed a big-name contract.”

“The manuscript fees have to be more than your parents’ annual income, right?”

“Indeed, they don’t have as much as I do combined, but I haven’t told them. I’m saving all my manuscript fees for emergencies,” Dai Shulan said, then somewhat bashfully made a request to Luo Ziling, “I hope you’ll keep this secret for me, don’t tell anyone else about my writing.”

“What, you think writing online novels is something disgraceful?”

“No,” Dai Shulan shook her head, “I just want to write without distractions.”

“When can I enjoy reading your masterpiece!” Luo Ziling wasn’t actually a fan of online novels, especially women’s online novels, but he was curious about the content of Dai Shulan’s work.

“The book I’m currently working on is a historical time-travel novel, and it’s not in the women’s genre, it’s slotted in men’s. There are very few female authors who write historical novels targeted at men. As for those who have achieved success and signed big-name contracts, I should be the only one,” Dai Shulan said, then mysteriously told Luo Ziling, “My book is being marketed for various rights by the website. My editor told me that the print book rights have been almost finalized, and the film and television rights are also being negotiated with several major companies.”

“You’re so talented!” Luo Ziling couldn’t help but admire the girl in front of him.

“I’m even thinking, once the film rights are settled, and the screenplay preparations are underway, I would try for a role in it.”

“Are you planning to take on a cameo or the lead role?”

“I want to play the second female lead because she’s my favorite character, although her story is a tragic one,” Dai Shulan replied.

Listening to Dai Shulan say this, Luo Ziling couldn’t help but feel a stir in his heart.