Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student-Chapter 180 - 134: Who Is That Vixen?

The two of them arranged to meet at a Western restaurant near Sanjiang University.

Chen Min didn’t mention bringing her children along, and Shen Qiushan also tacitly didn’t bring it up.

After all, whether discussing work or something else, bringing children is inconvenient.

Since it was dinnertime and also the day for new students to register, many parents were staying in the area, so the usually average business at the Western restaurant was nearly full.

Shen Qiushan and Chen Min were seated by the window near the entrance, and whenever someone came in or out, the beckoning cat sensor on the shelf would play a cartoonish "Welcome."

A bit noisy, yet somewhat childlike.

Their greetings after meeting were once again interrupted by the "Welcome" sound. Chen Min smiled and shrugged, "If I had known, I wouldn’t have chosen this place."

Shen Qiushan picked up his coffee and took a sip, "Sister Min, shall we get straight to it?"

Chen Min nodded with a smile, "Alright, let’s get straight to it."

"Your book ’Three-Body Civilization’, I think it’s quite good. I wanted to discuss a possible collaboration with you."

"Is the manuscript finished?"

"Yes, it’s done."

"How many words?"

"880,000."

"That long?"

"Isn’t longer better?"

"Uh..."

Chen Min lifted her head to look at Shen Qiushan across from her, instinctively adding, "I meant the book!"

"What else?"

Shen Qiushan looked innocent, as if he didn’t understand a thing.

With his remark, Chen Min’s cheeks turned slightly red. A woman like her, attractive and experienced in the professional world for years, had heard all sorts of dirty jokes. During social gatherings, clients or some well-known male authors would even intentionally tell her dirty jokes.

Some just enjoyed the play of words, while others indeed wanted something to happen with Chen Min.

Chen Min had long developed her own tactics for handling these men, but this time, Shen Qiushan’s sudden "drive" caught her off guard, and crucially, she managed to catch it steadily.

Now, Shen Qiushan pretended to be pure with clear eyes, making it seem like she was the one who started the topic.

If Shen Qiushan were just an oily old man, Chen Min wouldn’t have reacted much. But to her, Shen Qiushan was like a younger brother, exceptionally good-looking on the outside.

This gave off a vibe of an "older woman" teasing a "younger brother."

"With 880,000 words, it’s best to divide it into two parts, or better yet, three parts in total."

Chen Min composed herself and brought the conversation back on track.

"Three parts, I’ve already divided them."

"Alright."

Chen Min nodded slightly, looking at Shen Qiushan again, and said seriously, "Let’s discuss the royalty, how much do you hope to earn?"

This question from Chen Min seemed normal, but in fact, she was testing Shen Qiushan, firstly to see how he evaluated the value of his work.

Secondly, she deliberately used non-professional conversational language. If the person sitting opposite were a somewhat famous writer, Chen Min wouldn’t use "royalty" but would directly discuss "royalties."

Knowing Shen Qiushan came from an online writing background and had no prior publishing experience, Chen Min wanted to test whether he understood the ropes.

However, Shen Qiushan simply replied, "I want 20% in royalties."

"Hmm~"

Chen Min almost spat out her coffee. At the last moment, she clenched her teeth tightly and then picked up a napkin from the table to wipe her mouth.

"Younger Brother Shen, do you know what a 20% royalty means?"

After composing herself, Chen Min asked with a serious expression.

According to the current market, when a publisher collaborates with an author, the author’s royalties typically float between 5% to 15%.

If you’re an unknown rookie writer, you generally only get 5% of royalties.

Even top-tier authors in the country usually get about 15% royalties, with only a few top-tier authors at the pinnacle possibly getting more than 15% in royalties.

But collaborating with these top authors involves a lot more than just royalties; there might be guaranteed payments and other additional terms.

So, Shen Qiushan asking for a 20% royalty is entirely the treatment of a top-tier author.

Yet, he is just an "online writer."

Although he’d achieved some success on the Penguin Novels website, he hadn’t proven himself in the physical publishing realm.

Strictly speaking, he was still a newbie.

Before coming, Chen Min intended to sign a publishing cooperation agreement with Shen Qiushan at a newbie’s price.

But Shen Qiushan made an outrageous demand!

"I believe ’Three-Body Civilization’ deserves a 20% royalty."

Shen Qiushan said confidently.

"Every author thinks they’ve written a masterpiece, but whether it’s a masterpiece isn’t for the author to decide, nor the editor."

"It’s the readers who decide, the market decides."

At this moment, Chen Min already adopted a negotiating stance; she subconsciously crossed her hands together, staring intently at Shen Qiushan.

"Sister Min, being the first reader of ’Three-Body Civilization’, what do you think of this book?"

Shen Qiushan asked slowly and steadily.

"Hmm..."

Chen Min hesitated for a moment. She initially thought it would be a bargaining on price, but unexpectedly, Shen Qiushan threw the question back at her.

"I acknowledge this book; otherwise, I wouldn’t be talking about cooperation with you, Younger Brother Shen."

"But as I just said, your or my acknowledgment doesn’t actually mean much. Only recognition from readers and the market can bring real value."

Chen Min continued, "Younger Brother Shen, as a new author, I can confidently tell you that aiming for a 20% royalty split is out of the question, let alone for a science fiction novel like this."

"In my impression, it’s been a long time since a science fiction novel sold over 100,000 copies domestically..."

Chen Min was interrupted halfway through her words by a waiter bringing the dishes.

They ordered two portions of steak, a vegetable salad, and a small snack.

Once the waiter left, Shen Qiushan picked up the knife and fork, cutting the steak in front of him while saying, "Sister Min, do you think it’s possible to sign an agreement like this, linking the royalty rate with sales numbers? For example, if it sells 100,000 copies, the royalty is 10%; if it sells 500,000, it’s 15%; if it sells one million, it’s 20%, and so on."

"Of course, it’s possible."

Chen Min agreed very readily because their publishing house adopts this kind of tiered royalty agreement when working with some best-selling authors.

The more books sold, the higher the royalty split the author receives.

This approach is actually welcomed by publishers, especially when collaborating with some well-known authors. If you give a high royalty contract directly, and the book doesn’t sell well, the publisher is likely to lose money.

"Great, let’s discuss the specific royalty percentages corresponding to the sales figures!"

Shen Qiushan also knew that, as a newcomer, demanding a high royalty split right away was unrealistic, so he already thought about adopting the tiered royalty model on the way here.

If even this was not agreeable to Chen Min, then he would just move on to the next publisher!

After all, there are plenty of publishers out there.

Outside the window, on the commercial street.

A small group consisting of four women and one man was particularly eye-catching.

Especially the four girls walking at the front, with each being more beautiful than the last, directly becoming a bright scenic line on the commercial street.

Almost every passing boy would take a second look, and some boys walking with their girlfriends had their ears pulled because they were distracted.

The four-flower group consisted of Shen Yanran, Lin Jiayu, Fang Xiaoya, and Shen Yanran’s roommate, Chen Jiahuan.

The boy following them naturally was Shen Yixiao.

The reason they gathered was simple: Shen Qiushan did not keep his appointment with the two kids. Coincidentally, Lin Jiayu, their little aunt, contacted the two and suggested having a meal together.

Shen Yanran and Chen Jiahuan got along well, so she brought her along too.

Fang Xiaoya, this scheming "little stepmother," naturally didn’t want to miss a chance to bond with Shen Yanran and Shen Yixiao, insisting on joining the meal, and she even took the opportunity to host, offering to pay, under the guise of welcoming them.

Since there was still time, Lin Jiayu suggested taking Shen Yanran and the other two for a stroll around the school’s commercial street to get familiar with the environment around the school.

"Yanran, what important thing does your father have, not even joining you for your first meal at school?"

Fang Xiaoya was very curious about Shen Qiushan’s whereabouts.

Let’s hope it’s not secretly going out on a date with another woman. When Shen Qiushan registered today, weren’t there many young girls taking pictures with him? One of them is even a WeChat friend of Fang Xiaoya, who posted it on her Moments, calling him the most handsome uncle she has ever seen!

Fang Xiaoya also browsed the school’s forum. There were several posts about Shen Qiushan, with titles like "Encountering Shen Qiushan registering" and so on.

But in the replies to the posts, many girls were praising "Old Shen is so handsome" and "Uncle Shen is stunningly handsome" and things like that.

This gave Fang Xiaoya, this "little stepmother," a substantial sense of crisis.

"He said he was going to discuss work, and I didn’t ask further."

Shen Yanran wasn’t too concerned about what their dad was doing. She was still immersed in the joy of being in a new environment and was very curious about the shops on either side of the commercial street.

And at this moment, a casual glance, she saw a familiar figure.

Uh...

Dad?!

Of course, Shen Yanran recognized her own father, who was sitting right there in the western restaurant on her right.

Almost at the same moment, Fang Xiaoya also noticed Shen Qiushan sitting inside the western restaurant, along with the "vixen" opposite him!

"Indeed, he’s sneakily gone out on a date!"

"Who is that vixen?"

Fang Xiaoya, like a little wife who caught her husband cheating, stomped her feet angrily.

"Huh?"

"Brother-in-law, is he really out on a date?"

Lin Jiayu, holding a corn cob in her fingers and nibbling it like a little hamster, stopped in surprise and looked at her brother-in-law inside the shop.

Walking beside her, Chen Jiahuan was dumbfounded because the "vixen" Fang Xiaoya mentioned was actually her own mother!