Morning.
After his usual morning exercise, Fang Yi washed off the sweat clinging to his body.
Breakfast was a simple bowl of white rice porridge, paired with golden, crispy egg pancakes and a bit of salty pickled vegetables — simple but absolutely divine.
Once he'd finished eating, Fang Yi returned to his room, picked up a pen, and began drafting the outlines for Parts 3 through 8 of Ghost Blows Out the Light.
Talk was cheap. With complete outlines for the remaining six volumes in hand, people would take him far more seriously.
Compared to writing the actual chapters, outlining was much faster. In less than three hours, he had everything neatly done.
He glanced at the clock. Exactly 10:00 a.m.
Fang Yi calculated the timing — if he left now, it would be just right.
Biking from the Anchor Chain Factory neighborhood to Dingmao Road would take at least half an hour.
After all, he had an appointment at 11 a.m. to discuss the contract. And he wasn't about to show up at the exact last minute — unless he were truly swamped, that kind of punctuality would be seen as disrespectful or careless.
This was his first real payday. He couldn't afford to mess it up.
After tidying up and organizing his things, Fang Yi tucked the Ghost Blows Out the Light manuscripts and outlines under his arm and headed out.
Youlan Café was a famous spot in Jiangzhen back in the day — in fact, it was the very first café to open in the city.
When it first launched, curious locals had crowded around just to see what a "Western-style coffee shop" looked like. Over time, it had become a sort of cultural landmark.
Its quiet, literary atmosphere made it perfect for meetings like this, so Fang Yi had chosen it as the venue.
Half an hour later, he pulled up in front of Youlan Café on his bike.
After parking and stepping through the door, a refreshing wave of cool air conditioning washed over him.
Nice.
At this time of day, the café was nearly empty.
Understandable — with coffee starting at 20 yuan a cup, most ordinary folks would rather not.
Fang Yi casually ordered a glass of orange juice and found a seat by the window.
He had only waited a few minutes when a Santana with a Shanghai A license plate slowly pulled up outside.
A man and a woman stepped out of the car.
The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, dressed in a crisp suit with his hair perfectly slicked back. That had to be Yang Zhen — the editor-in-chief from Hongyan Publishing, the one who had contacted him the day before.
The woman, on the other hand, was dressed more casually, with a bit of an artsy vibe. She seemed about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, not exactly stunning, but she carried herself with an unmistakable scholarly air.
The two of them walked into the café and looked around. Their eyes quickly landed on Fang Yi.
Well, there wasn't much choice. Aside from the staff, Fang Yi was the only customer in the entire downstairs area.
"Maybe he's not here yet. Let's sit and wait," the woman suggested.
Yang Zhen, however, didn't respond. Instead, he stepped forward, eyeing Fang Yi with a mix of curiosity and uncertainty. "Are you Mr. Fang Dayong?"
"Good morning, Chief Editor Yang. Fang Dayong is my pen name. My real name is Fang Yi," Fang Yi replied with a warm smile as he stood and offered a handshake.
They shook hands briefly. Yang Zhen looked a little surprised. "To be honest, you're much younger than I imagined."
The woman came over as well, blinking in disbelief. "You're the Fang Dayong?"
In her mind, the author of Ghost Blows Out the Light was supposed to be a middle-aged man — maybe with glasses, serious on the outside but secretly witty, someone in his forties at least.
At the very least… thirty?
How could it be this clean-faced, sharp-eyed young man sitting in front of her?
Especially considering how rich the book was in folklore, customs, and culture, and how polished the writing was. It just didn't fit.
"And you are…?" Fang Yi raised an eyebrow and glanced questioningly at Yang Zhen.
"Oh, this is Miss Li Jie from the editing department of Rongshuxia Literature. She's one of your fans. When she heard I was coming to Jiangzhen, she insisted on tagging along."
Oh, Annie Baby, huh?
That name rang a bell. She was a rising star in the world of literary fiction — a representative figure of the "small bourgeoisie" writing style. Guo Xiaosi was a diehard fan of hers, to the point of mimicking her writing tone and narrative style completely.
He'd even once made a pilgrimage to the Rongshuxia office just to see her in person.
"Feel free to order whatever you like," Fang Yi said with a wave of his hand, acting nothing like a freshly graduated high schooler.
They all sat down. Li Jie kept staring at him.
Seeing this, Fang Yi chuckled. "What? Feel like your mental image of me has been shattered?"
"Yeah…" Li Jie sighed. "I honestly thought you'd be an older guy. Turns out you're just a little brother."
Fang Yi: ???
Little brother?
I swear if I whip it out right now…
Forget it. She's not even hot enough. Not worth it.
At that moment, Yang Zhen glanced at the thick stack of papers on Fang Yi's left and asked, "Mr. Fang, are these the original manuscripts?"
"They are!" Fang Yi replied, pushing them forward. "The handwritten drafts for the first two volumes, plus the outlines for the next six."
The moment Yang Zhen heard the part about the outlines, a gleam flashed in his eyes.
Outlines meant security. Even if Fang Yi dropped the ball later on, they could still find someone to ghostwrite the rest based on his plans.
"Would you mind if I take a look now?" Yang Zhen asked with a smile.
"Go ahead," Fang Yi said, more than happy to oblige.
He had zero doubts about the quality of Ghost Blows Out the Light. The more Yang Zhen read, the better the bargaining power he'd have when it came to price.
Hearing that the stack contained the first two volumes' full manuscripts, Li Jie's eyes lit up as well.
She was dying to read them — but this wasn't the right setting. She held back, and instead turned to chat with Fang Yi.
"Mr. Fang, how do you know so much about folk traditions and culture?"
If he were an elderly professor, it would've made sense.
But this was a young guy who didn't even look twenty yet. That made her very curious.
It's worth noting that although Baidu's search engine had just launched this year, it was nothing like it would become in the future — no Baidu Encyclopedia, no Baidu Answers. At best, you could search for websites. Knowledge acquisition in this era was still extremely limited.
"Because I come from a long line of Mojin Xiaowei — tomb raiders!" Fang Yi replied with a perfectly serious face, suppressing a grin.
Mojin Xiaowei?!
Seeing the deadpan look on his face, Li Jie couldn't even tell if he was joking or being dead serious.