Urging for updates? That doesn't exist for Yang Yi. He still follows his own pace for updates, splitting a day into two time slots to release two chapters—that's the limit of his ability.
It's not that adapting a TV series plot into text is particularly difficult. If it were just words, Yang Yi could easily update several chapters a day. But this novel requires a large number of illustrations to help readers understand the storyline and character images! Drawing those illustrations takes a lot of time! Two updates a day is already plenty of work!
Besides, Yang Yi doesn't like spending too much time on drawing and writing novels. He has a life, he has Xixi, he has music... and, well, there's that coffee shop he's been worrying about.
"Boss, another mocha!" Sure enough, another customer was calling out.
"Okay, hold on!" Yang Yi helplessly snapped out of his thoughts, deftly brewed a cup of coffee, and brought it over.
After the semester started, the once-obscure little coffee shop began to get lively. Even though not many students came through the back door, the sheer size of the university's student body meant that a few dozen people a day was enough to keep Yang Yi busy!
And some customers didn't just leave after finishing their coffee. Some came with friends and chatted for hours, while others treated the coffee shop like a study room—buying a cup of coffee, then retreating to a quiet corner to read and study, sitting there for an entire morning or afternoon.
Bothered by the coffee shop's music? No, they'd have their own earphones in, listening to their own songs!
Yang Yi didn't really mind these people taking up space. He didn't care whether the coffee shop made money or not, so why would he worry about such issues? He just felt that with more customers, he had less time for himself. When it got busy, he didn't even have a moment to daydream.
Yang Yi kind of missed the days when he'd only get two or three customers a day. That was great—no need to rush making coffee, no need to rush washing cups. Most of the time, he'd sit alone in the shop, eyes closed, listening to music.
Now, if Xixi weren't at kindergarten, he probably wouldn't have time to spend with her either, right?
Yang Yi brought the coffee over, returned to the counter, and sat down. He furrowed his brow slightly, thinking to himself: "This won't do. I need to figure something out."
What if he hung a sign at the door saying he only accepted two or three customers a day? No more coffee sold beyond that.
But then again, he wasn't that big of a deal. What reason did he have to turn people away? Yang Yi felt that idea wasn't right.
What about raising prices? Sell the most expensive coffee and make people think twice?
But Yang Yi didn't want to become a profiteer serving only the wealthy! Besides, he didn't want to shut out music lovers like Lu Xiaoshu and Miao Chuan, who couldn't afford expensive coffee. He'd even considered lowering prices at one point!
None of these ideas seemed feasible.
Then Yang Yi suddenly thought of Yan Xiaopei—or more accurately, her flower shop. That woman was shrewd; she hired college students as part-timers, paying them much less than full-time employees.
Of course, Yang Yi didn't want to exploit college students or hire cheap labor. But hiring one or two staff members for his shop didn't seem like a bad idea!
"I could offer a higher salary. As long as the employee is hardworking and reliable, money isn't an issue," Yang Yi mused.
He began to envision the scene: someone working the counter for him, while he, the boss, lounged in a booth, reading a newspaper and listening to music. If he wanted coffee, he'd just go to the counter and make himself a cup.
How awesome would that be?
...
Around the time *Prison Break* was released, another book by Yang Yi quietly appeared on the shelves of major bookstores.
*Xixi's Bedtime Stories*—a ridiculous name from a dad who loved to mess with his kid. Clearly, it held no appeal for readers.
Of course, Sahara Publishing had done some promotion beforehand. But since they'd never ventured into children's books, their marketing copy still played to an adult audience. Quite a few of Yang Yi's fans had caught wind of the news, but they had no intention of buying a book meant for kids.
In fact, when word spread among the fan community that Yang Yi had written a collection of fairy tales, many dismissed it as a rumor, a prank!
"Come on! Yang Yi writing fairy tales? That's a fairy tale in itself!" someone sneered smugly, and many chimed in agreement.
That wasn't entirely off base. The impression Yang Yi gave his readers matched his own persona: a burly, retired soldier, skilled in both writing and martial arts, perhaps aloof and taciturn, but definitely not the type to tell stories in a childlike tone.
Even though the themes of his recent two books had started to slightly darken his image, they were still a far cry from fairy tales.
So, *Xixi's Bedtime Stories* flopped on its first day. It only managed to sell a few copies thanks to its rich color illustrations, which caught the interest of a few kids who happened to pick it up.
By the end of the day, Sahara Publishing tallied national sales at just a few thousand copies. Compared to record-breaking titles like *Bright Sword* and *Soldiers'突击*, this book was a total disaster!
Fu Jun had taken Yang Yi's fairy tale project seriously. Before its release, he—being a father himself—had taken a sample copy home for his son to read.
His son loved it!
Then his wife read it with their son and loved it too...
Later, Fu Jun read it himself and found it quite enjoyable. So, he had an inexplicable confidence in Yang Yi's book, even thinking it might work wonders—after all, its readership could span ages and genders!
But reality slapped him hard.
"Haven't notified Yang Yi yet?" Fu Jun asked Mr. Lu during a meeting.
"Not yet. Boss, do you want me to call him now?" Mr. Lu misunderstood.
"No, no, don't tell him!" Fu Jun waved his hand. "I checked his new book *Prison Break* on Qiyue's website. It's really well-written. Even with just two chapters, it's got me itching to know why Michael would be crazy enough to rob a bank, and then not make a quick getaway, but dawdle around and get caught by the police!"
"I think there's deeper meaning in it," Mr. Lu said. He'd read it too and had long become a loyal fan of Yang Yi.
But Fu Jun wasn't looking to discuss *Prison Break*. He tapped the table and said, "*Prison Break* is doing great. It surpassed *Yu Zui* on its release day! That's because Qiyue's promotion is solid!"
"We need to reflect on ourselves. Where did we fall short? How did you guys manage to sell such an interesting fairy tale book by Yang Yi into what? The worst sales in the publishing house's history?" Fu Jun said, frustrated.
A few department managers opened their mouths but didn't dare speak up: the publishing house had actually seen worse sales—like the autobiography the boss himself had proudly written, which barely sold a few copies.
"Go back and think hard. What's lacking? Go see how other children's book publishers handle promotion and sales! I'll give you a week. I want to see sales, sales!" Fu Jun shouted, waving his fist.
"And the online bookstore—ramp up promotion for this book too. I think more people will buy it online..."
No need to guess—everyone probably already knew who the new maid, ahem, waitress, was, right?