Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 79 Random’s Proposal

"Who says Europeans and Americans are face-blind to Asians?"

Wang Jian watched the luxury store’s patrons squint at him across the age gap.

And he noticed Lily next to him, looking a bit uneasy.

Remembering the rumors, he waved to beckon a store clerk and asked, "Is there somewhere more private we could go?"

The clerk, a little embarrassed, glanced at Lily in her casual attire and replied, "The VIP room requires a certain amount of spending and must be reserved for celebrities."

The spending wasn’t a problem, but a celebrity...

Like a Hollywood star?

Wang Jian thought for a moment, reckoning he wouldn’t visit here often, so losing face just this once wouldn’t hurt.

So, he said, "Would having published two bestsellers count?"

"We’ll need to verify that," the luxury store clerk gestured for Wang Jian to follow her.

Then, she pulled out an album full of photos.

Wang Jian saw that it was labeled "Authors."

The clerk flipped through it and asked respectfully, "Your name?"

"Wang Jian."

The clerk then started searching according to the directory.

After a brief moment, she compared the picture and smiled, saying, "Please, follow me."

She made a welcoming gesture and led the two through to a room behind the public area of the store.

Inside the room, apart from walls of mirrors, there were rows of sofas and coffee tables.

Lily, looking nervous, tugged at Wang Jian’s hand, momentarily at a loss.

Wang Jian, however, looked around in amazement and silently exclaimed, "So the legends are true!"

"Please have a seat," the clerk said, holding champagne for the two.

After Wang Jian and Lily sat down on a sofa,

The clerk brought out a catalogue of products and said, "These are all of this year’s new evening dress arrivals. Just indicate which ones you’d like to try on, and someone will bring them to you."

Wang Jian pointed at the champagne, "Is this all you have?"

"Of course not, this is the drinks menu."

He took another booklet and browsed through it, then said, "Mineral water, maybe?"

"As you wish," the clerk left swiftly and returned just as quickly.

Only, this time, she had two bottles of Voss mineral water in her hands.

Clearly unfamiliar with such experiences, Lily looked somewhat dazed by everything around her.

Until Wang Jian pushed the evening dress catalogue toward her.

"I think the red one would look good on you," Wang Jian suggested.

Lily glanced at the clerk, still feeling a little uncomfortable.

Wang Jian observed this and said to the clerk, "You can step out for now, I’ll call you when we need you."

"Very well, sir," the clerk pointed to a button on the table and added, "Just press here, and someone will be at your service."

Then, she left the room.

With the clerk gone, Lily visibly relaxed.

She looked at Wang Jian with surprise and asked, "How did you know about all this?"

"I once heard Mr. Stephen King mention it offhandedly," Wang Jian shrugged.

Lily cast a complex gaze at Wang Jian.

"What’s wrong, don’t you like it here?" Wang Jian questioned.

"No, it’s not that," Lily quickly averted her eyes and started flipping through the catalogue.

But whether intentionally or not, her eyes kept falling back on the red evening dress.

About twenty minutes later, Wang Jian pressed the button.

The clerk came in and noted down the numbers from the catalog one by one.

Then, pushing a row of evening gowns, he entered the room and respectfully withdrew.

Next, at Wang Jian’s request, Lily began trying on the evening gowns. ƒreewebɳovel.com

In the end, they chose a less revealing red long gown and a pair of white, high-heeled shoes with slender straps.

When it was time to pay, Wang Jian couldn’t help but sigh: exceptional service quality was matched with equally exceptional prices.

However, not wanting to upset the already anxious Lily, he kept this comment to himself.

Eight o’clock in the evening.

Lily, arm in arm with Wang Jian, appeared at Random House’s banquet.

This banquet was clearly a step down from the New York Times’ banquet.

Most of the attendees were authors from the back end of the bestseller lists.

Of course, the size of their egos was directly proportional to their fame.

Most people here were all smiles, socializing everywhere, with very few behaving as if they were the only sober ones in a room full of drunks.

At that moment, Tom, dressed in a tailcoat, came over with a big smile.

Beside him was his girlfriend of five years.

"Jian, it seems you are the target of this banquet," Tom whispered, casually sending his girlfriend to accompany the unsure Lily.

"Me? Are they really interested in publishing the sequel to ’Arcane Throne’?" Wang Jian asked, puzzled.

"Maybe there’s even more to it," said Tom. "Later, there should be some senior executives from publishing houses looking for you."

Sometimes, people can be quite unintentional in their actions.

While Wang Jian and Tom were discussing in low voices, the editor-in-chief of Random House appeared at the event.

He began by clinking his glass, speaking at length about the publisher’s accomplishments for the first half of the year, then wished everyone a pleasant dinner.

Then, the elderly white man headed straight for Wang Jian.

He greeted with a warm smile, "Welcome, Mr. Wang Jian, the superstar newcomer to the literary world of 1995."

Just from the way he perfectly pronounced his name, Wang Jian knew this old man had come prepared.

After exchanging a glance with Tom, he approached with a feigned smile and replied, "I must thank Random House for their support."

After two or three rounds of such meaningless pleasantries, the editor-in-chief finally suggested that they go to a room next to the banquet hall to discuss some matters.

Considering the number of pre-orders and deposits for ’Arcane Throne’ on the website, Wang Jian readily agreed.

So off they went, Wang Jian with Tom, and the editor-in-chief accompanied by two lawyer-like figures away from the banquet hall.

Lily looked on with concern as Wang Jian walked away.

Fortunately, Tom’s girlfriend kept talking non-stop, preventing Lily from doing anything rash.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent small room, Wang Jian and the editor-in-chief sat facing each other.

The editor-in-chief began, "I heard that Mr. Wang’s website is doing well, and you even have the ambition to step into the physical publishing industry?"

Wang Jian replied with a smile, "It’s mainly because our readers on the website are so enthusiastic that we’re sort of stuck riding a tiger."

"May I ask if ’Arcane Throne’ is in the line-up for physical publication?" the editor-in-chief inquired.

Wang Jian looked at him for a full half-minute then suddenly smiled, "How could I forget the agreement with your esteemed publishing house."

"But it seems a small publisher offered a 90% royalty share—I wonder if Random House is willing to enter a bidding war?"

"I’m just not sure if that small publisher, aside from selling to existing fans of the work, has any distinct advantages in terms of physical book distribution channels."

"But no matter how important those channels are, a 20% royalty share doesn’t compare to a 90% share, does it?" Wang Jian slowly sipped his coffee.

"What if the 90% royalty share and the 20% share don’t affect each other?"

The editor-in-chief stood up with a smile and said to Wang Jian, "I’m just an employee with three years until retirement."

"All I care about is Random House’s performance in these next three years because it affects my retirement fund."

"And the big shots on the board of directors will still have confidence in the prestige of the Big Six publishers in the coming years."

With that, he patted Wang Jian on the shoulder and walked out of the room.

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