Study System: I'm a 38-Year-Old Student-Chapter 181 - 135: Uncle Shen, What Do You Think of My Qualifications?
"What, what’s the situation here?"
Chen Jiahuan turned to look at Shen Yanran. Although the two of them got along well, everything was happening too suddenly.
Roommates turning into sisters?
"Yeah, there’s an extra brother too."
Chen Jiahuan turned again to look at Shen Yixiao, but he was completely oblivious to Shen Qiushan in the western restaurant; this "brother" was busy on the phone with his girlfriend.
During dinner, she had already learned that Shen Yixiao had a girlfriend.
The two of them started dating back in high school, and during the walk from the canteen, he was almost always on the phone with his girlfriend, looking quite loving.
"My dad and your mom, this..."
Shen Yanran looked at Chen Jiahuan with a stunned expression; she was obviously flabbergasted too.
Unexpectedly, her dad and Chen Jiahuan’s mom must have met during the day.
And by the evening, they were out on a date together!
The development was way too fast!
"Shen Yixiao, stop calling!"
Shen Yanran turned and glared at her brother, who had been on the phone.
"Oh, what’s wrong?"
Immersed in his phone call, Shen Yixiao turned his head with a bewildered look.
"Just look!"
Shen Yanran pointed at the western restaurant.
Shen Yixiao followed the direction of her finger, then couldn’t help but exclaim, "Wow, Dad is dating again!"
"Huh?"
"Xiaoxiao, why did you add ’again’?"
Lin Jiayu quickly caught the keyword from her nephew’s mouth and asked with a curious look.
"Well, not really."
"I was just guessing randomly."
Of course, Shen Yixiao added "again" because he thought of his homeroom teacher Chen Xiangyu.
However, as his dad went to college, their relationship probably ended too, especially since neither of them had admitted anything before.
And Shen Yixiao was an adult now, he roughly understood that his dad and Chen Xiangyu probably had that legendary "card-playing buddy" relationship.
"Baby, my dad might be secretly dating."
"I’ll hang up now!"
Shen Yixiao briefly explained the situation and ended the call with Luo Yao.
Luo Yao, who had enrolled at Beijing Art College earlier than Shen Yixiao by a week, had already started her military training.
The two, due to long-distance, talked for over two hours daily, and shared videos, pictures, and updates on Kuaiyin.
For the two young people, the long-distance relationship didn’t seem as daunting as described online.
Inside the western restaurant.
After negotiating for a while, Shen Qiushan and Chen Min reached an agreement.
For sales below 100,000 copies, Shen Qiushan gets a 5% royalty. Over 100,000 copies, he gets 8%. Over 500,000 copies, he gets 12%.
If the sales exceed 1 million copies, Shen Qiushan will get 15% royalty!
Sales over 3 million copies earn him 20%, over 5 million copies earn him 25%, over 10 million copies earn him 30%!
And 30% is the highest rate.
Because the publisher’s profit is limited, typically, if a book is well-managed, the publisher’s profit can reach between 30 to 40%.
So, the maximum they can offer the author is 30%!
This limits their profit margin to the extremes.
Of course, the publisher’s profit is mainly linked to the book’s price and sales volume.
The higher the sales, the higher the profit margin.
Because when sales are high, the cost per book is lower; it works similarly to car manufacturing.
Initial investment stays constant; the more books sold, the lower the average cost per book.
And if more books are sold, prices at the printing factory could also be reduced; printing 10,000 copies and 1 million copies definitely won’t cost the same.
While negotiating, neither noticed the situation outside the window.
Once the agreement was reached, Shen Qiushan only then noticed that he and Chen Min were almost like gorillas at a zoo.
"Ahem, Sister Min, look outside."
Chen Min was busy eating steak. She hadn’t had a bite while busy negotiating.
After hearing Shen Qiushan’s words, she instinctively turned her head and met her daughter’s eyes.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Chen Min put down her fork and waved at the kids outside.
No need to think twice; this group of kids definitely misunderstood.
Shen Qiushan chuckled and teased, "These kids surely think we’re on a date!"
"Absolutely, you can tell by their expressions!"
Chen Min shook her head slightly.
While they spoke, the kids waved in by Chen Min were already entering the western restaurant.
Shen Qiushan and Chen Min were seated at a table for six; suddenly five kids joined, leaving no spare seats.
Shen Yixiao asked the waiter for a separate chair and sat on the side of the table.
"Mom, what’s going on with you and Uncle Shen?"
Once everyone was seated, Chen Jiahuan couldn’t help but ask.
"What else could it be? It’s definitely work-related."
"Your Uncle Shen has a novel about to be published!"
Chen Min replied calmly.
"Huh?"
"Publishing?"
All five kids immediately turned their gaze towards Shen Qiushan.
In their eyes, publishing a novel seemed like a very impressive thing.
Whether it makes money or not is another story, but it’s undoubtedly prestigious.
For example, Shen Qiushan previously wrote novels online, achieving great success. Yet, both Shen Yanran and Shen Yixiao rarely shared this with others.
Because the threshold for publishing online novels is very low; registering an account is all it takes, and others might not find it impressive.
In many people’s minds, online novels are considered vulgar and unrefined.
But once your work is published and turned into a book, that’s different.
People regard you as a bona fide writer, which is very impressive.
"Uncle Shen can write books?"
The most surprised person was, of course, Chen Jiahuan. The other four were aware of Shen Qiushan’s online novel writing, with quite an impressive achievement.
So for the four of them, the fact that Shen Qiushan’s novel was going to be published was only somewhat surprising.
But for Chen Jiahuan, it was at the level of shock. Since her mom is the editor-in-chief at a publishing house, Chen Jiahuan has some understanding of novel publishing.
With the physical publishing market getting worse, the threshold for novel publishing has become increasingly high.
Unless you spend your own money to buy a book number and publish it yourself, that would be easier—just shell out the money and be done with it.
But if you go through the normal channels, it’s still pretty difficult.
So Shen Qiushan is not only an older exam top scorer, he can also get a book published, and he even has such great looks—he’s like a hexagon dad!
Chen Jiahuan, who has lacked fatherly love from a young age, began to envy her roommate, Shen Yanran.
"I’ve finished talking with your Uncle Shen, and if nothing unexpected happens, the novel will be published soon!"
Chen Min replied to her daughter with a smile.
"Brother-in-law, is it ’I Really Didn’t Want to Reincarnate’ that’s getting published?"
Lin Jiayu asked with an expectant face.
She’s a hardcore fan of "Xiaoyu’Er," so if the novel truly gets published, she’ll definitely buy two sets to support it.
"No."
Shen Qiushan shook his head, "It’s a science fiction novel."
"Science fiction?"
"Brother-in-law, you can actually write science fiction?"
Lin Jiayu was shocked, her beautiful eyes wide open.
Shen Yanran and Shen Yixiao, the sister and brother, were also quite surprised. They had never heard of their dad writing science fiction novels.
Next to them, Fang Xiaoya had little hearts flickering in her eyes.
Old Shen can write science fiction novels!
And it’s actually going to be published!
That’s amazing!
"I just wrote it casually."
"Don’t get your hopes up too much."
Shen Qiushan waved his hand nonchalantly and then shifted the topic directly, "Have you had dinner yet?"
"Or haven’t you eaten yet?"
"Old Shen, we’ve already eaten."
Fang Xiaoya chimed in, laughing, "Jiayu and I brought Yanran and Xiaoxiao to the commercial street to get a feel for the place."
Shen Qiushan nodded slightly. He had already known Fang Xiaoya’s little intentions because Lin Jiayu had mentioned it before, but at that time, he had just thought Lin Jiayu was joking and didn’t take it seriously at all.
However, things really did start to go in the direction Lin Jiayu said, because during the holidays, Fang Xiaoya would almost every day send Shen Qiushan a WeChat message.
Good morning, good night—that was just the basics. She would also actively share some of the trivial things in her life.
To use a term that young people today like to use, it would be: a simp!
It’s just that this matter is really too surreal.
After all, in reality, most simps are guys.
But Shen Qiushan and Fang Xiaoya’s situation was completely the opposite.
A girl simping for a guy.
And the two have the biggest age gap.
Fang Xiaoya is 20 this year!
Shen Qiushan is 38 this year!
The age difference between the two is exactly the age of Shen Yanran and Shen Yixiao.
A girl with a good figure, pretty looks, and a high educational background simping for a 38-year-old man.
Telling this story to anyone, they’d think it must be a scam!
It’s the same logic as a single older woman suddenly meeting a considerate, emotionally supportive, wealthy, and handsome domineering CEO.
However, such a thing really happened to Shen Qiushan.
During the holidays, Shen Qiushan had tactfully told Fang Xiaoya via WeChat not to waste her time on him.
As a result, this little girl clearly didn’t listen!
"Actually, eating a little more wouldn’t be a problem..."
Fang Xiaoya had just finished speaking when the little foodie Lin Jiayu murmured quietly.
"Jiayu, what do you want to eat?"
Shen Qiushan immediately asked with a smile.
"Um, maybe it’s better not to!"
"I’ve been trying to lose weight recently..."
Lin Jiayu responded hesitantly while glancing at the durian pizza promo picture on the wall.
Shen Qiushan knew this little sister-in-law well; she was a typical homebody with hobbies of two things: the internet and food!
"Miss, one durian pizza, please."
Shen Qiushan gestured to the waiter and then looked at Lin Jiayu again, "Is there anything else you want to eat?"
"Wasabi prawns!"
"Pan-fried basa fish!"
Lin Jiayu had evidently been to this restaurant before; she didn’t need to look at the menu to name the dishes.
Shen Qiushan glanced at the other kids, "If you can’t eat it all, just order drinks, we’ll go back to school together later!"
"Dad, I want the rose lime!"
"I want a caramel macchiato..."
It was past eight o’clock.
Shen Qiushan returned to the student dormitory.
However, as soon as he walked into dorm 618, the chubby Bao Beibei, who was pampered to the sky by his family, came up with a big smile.
"Uncle Shen, have a cigarette."
While speaking, Bao Beibei directly handed Shen Qiushan a pack of Huazi cigarettes.
"Something on your mind?"
Shen Qiushan didn’t take the cigarettes. Instead, he gave the chubby boy a look.
Showing affection without reason—is either treachery or theft!
"Uncle Shen, I want to confirm something with you."
"Is your daughter’s name Shen Yanran?"
Bao Beibei asked with a cheerful smile.
Shen Qiushan nodded, "Yeah, why?"
"So it really is!"
Bao Beibei’s eyes lit up, a bright smile on his face, as he puffed out his chest and said, "Uncle Shen, my family owns three houses in Hu City, two cars. My dad runs a company, my mom is a civil servant, my grandpa and grandma are both retired senior cadres. What do you think of these conditions?"
