Chapter 0029: Warming Feelings
After shopping with his sister-in-law for a while longer, Li Bin could no longer resist Wen Lan's insistence. Once she had bought him two casual outfits and a pair of new Adidas sneakers, the two of them returned home, somewhat tired.
As Li Bin grew more familiar with his sister-in-law, Wen Lan, he discovered she wasn't as unapproachable as he had imagined.
On the contrary, once Wen Lan had accepted him, she was not only casual and generous, but also a bit clingy.
Even in the middle of the mall, Wen Lan would intimately hold Li Bin's arm. When Li Bin would sometimes take her hand directly, Wen Lan would just blush and give a sweet smile, showing no trace of resistance or discomfort.
Moreover, under Li Bin's combined emotional and financial offensive, Wen Lan's way of speaking with him had become much more frank and unrestrained.
Their relationship warmed up rapidly. By the time they left the mall, they were already as close as real siblings.
Wen Lan appeared cold and proud on the outside, but she was somewhat lonely inside. Under Li Bin's sincere care and thoughtful attention, Wen Lan became more and more dependent on him, acting more and more like a little bird nestling against its protector.
"Brother-in-law, I wish you weren't my brother-in-law..." Back at home, as they walked upstairs chatting and laughing, Wen Lan suddenly said to Li Bin with a hint of melancholy.
Li Bin froze for a moment, immediately sensing a different emotion in her words. He smiled and teased, "If I'm not your brother-in-law, then what am I to you? If I weren't your brother-in-law, I might never have even met you, silly girl."
"It'd be even better if you were my real older brother! Hee hee..." Wen Lan stuck her tongue out at Li Bin, her smile a little forced.
"It's the same thing. From now on, I'll be your real older brother, and you can just treat me like one," Li Bin said with a smile. Looking at his sister-in-law's beautiful and lovely, slightly mischievous face, his heart stirred even more.
"Ugh, I'm so tired from shopping, and I'm all sweaty. I'm going to take a shower." Wen Lan gave a sweet smile, then turned and walked into her bedroom.
Li Bin checked the time, it was already past three in the afternoon. In another hour or so, his parents-in-law and wife would probably be back. He figured there wasn't enough time to spark any romantic flames with his sister-in-law, so he went back to his room, turned on his computer, and casually opened his author group chat to watch the other authors talk.
Kongkong: Today's recommendation list is out, and I've advanced again! This new book selection is full of big shots, it's so tough.
Gou Tounen: Boss Kongkong is awesome! To actually make it to the new book selection!
Xiao Feizhai: God Kong is awesome! This book is going to make you a legend!
...
Li Bin watched as a bunch of newbies in the group fawned over an author who had advanced to the third round of the trial recommendation, and he couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
The recommendation system on Qifei Chinese Net was based on a promotion structure.
The first recommendation was usually arranged around the 50,000 to 100,000-word mark.
But there was a huge gap even within this. Authors and works that the editors favored were often placed in prominent recommendation spots, accompanied by cover images, which gave them significantly higher exposure.
Works that the editors didn't favor were only given inconspicuous text links with just the book title for a recommendation.
In this environment, nearly twenty books from the same batch would compete.
They were ranked based on reader collections and reading duration.
Those at the top of the rankings could advance to the next round of better recommendations.
This "New Book Selection" was the third round.
Li Bin had been writing for two years but had never been fortunate enough to get this recommendation.
For Li Bin, this recommendation was simply a distant, unattainable dream.
Even the book that was a minor hit last year, earning him over a hundred thousand yuan, only made it to the second round, the "New Book" recommendation, before being eliminated.
If Li Bin hadn't persisted in writing it to five or six hundred thousand words, gradually building up a readership, he would have thought the book was complete garbage that no one wanted to read.
However, it turned out that his book was the best-written and had the best performance among its batch.
Unfortunately, it later ran afoul of a government crackdown. Just as it hit a million words, the book was abruptly banned.
Li Bin, furious at the time, went to ask his editor why his book was banned. The editor just casually replied, "All books in this category are being banned. You're not the only one. What's so strange about it? This is a national directive. If you've got the guts, go argue with the government."
The editor's words left Li Bin speechless. The book he had worked so hard on for over half a year, which had just started to take off, was gone just like that. Li Bin was back to square one, having to start all over again.
In a fit of anger, Li Bin posted a protest on the forum, presenting a well-reasoned case for his innocence. But this not only failed to get his book reinstated, it also made the editor hold a grudge against him. Now, Li Bin couldn't even get a contract signed!
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