SED Chapter 14: Bro, My Happiness Depends on You

"Cartoon drawing?"

Su Nuo, just coming out of the kitchen, curiously walked over to the coffee table and looked at the drawing. He asked, "Hey, this is pretty good, isn’t it? Yueyue, can you tell Uncle who these animals are?"

"This is the Ugly Duckling, this is the Guinea Fowl, this is the flying Goose..."

Xiao Yueyue pointed at each one, introducing the animals on the paper to Su Nuo, "These little animals were all invited home by my dad!"

The little girl’s face was full of pride as she spoke.

"The Ugly Duckling?" Su Nuo picked up the drawing of the Ugly Duckling, "It really is ugly. Third brother, who did you get to draw this? Isn’t it too ugly and an eyesore for Yueyue?"

"Hmph, Uncle Fatty is bad, the Ugly Duckling is not ugly!" Xiao Yueyue pouted and said discontentedly, "The Ugly Duckling will grow up to be a beautiful swan, and swans are not ugly at all!"

"The Ugly Duckling turns into a swan?" Su Nuo looked bewildered, "What is this nonsense?"

"This is the story Dad told me last night!" Xiao Yueyue said proudly, "Uncle Fatty, don’t look down on the Ugly Duckling!"

Not only Su Nuo, but even Song Qingshan and Bai Liansheng were puzzled.

Liu Zixia sat on the sofa, smiling at the three of them, "I told her a little story before bed last night, one I made up myself."

"You made it up yourself?" Su Nuo looked incredulous, "Don’t tell me, you drew these animals too."

Liu Zixia nodded naturally.

"No way, third brother!" Song Qingshan couldn't stay calm, "All these years in college, you never mentioned you could draw!"

"So what?" Liu Zixia shrugged, "If it weren't for that video on Today's Headlines, you wouldn't know I could write songs either!"

Well, he does have a point!

Song Qingshan looked at the amazed Su Nuo and Bai Liansheng and fell silent.

As the living room fell into a brief silence, Song Qingshan's phone rang.

When Song Qingshan checked the caller ID, his amazed expression turned to excitement: "Hey, Xiaotong, are you up? Have you had breakfast yet? Want me to bring some over?"

"Lianjie, what's up with the boss?" Liu Zixia asked curiously, seeing Song Qingshan's look of overflowing hormones, "Is he dating?"

"More than just dating, he’s crazy in love!" Bai Liansheng sighed, "She’s our senior from the Cultural Management major, Wang Xiaotong. The two are inseparable!"

"Third brother, you have no idea, the boss has only been dating Senior Wang for two months and he’s already become a wife-doting maniac." Su Nuo complained, "He tortures Lianjie and me, the single dogs, to death."

"Is it that bad?" Liu Zixia was shocked. He knew Song Qingshan's dominant personality, no way he would become henpecked, right?

"What? Xiaotong, you said that guy specifically asked for you to talk to him?"

While the three of them were discussing Song Qingshan's relationship, Song Qingshan, who was on the phone, suddenly raised his voice, "Who does he think he is? Wait, I’ll be right there!"

"Third brother, Lianjie, Fatty, I have to go, you guys stay here."

Hanging up the phone, Song Qingshan black-facedly greeted Liu Zixia and the others, heading for the door.

"Boss, hold on a minute!"

How could they not know Song Qingshan's temper after living together for four years in the same dorm? Seeing Song Qingshan’s stance, he was clearly going to pick a fight and had to be stopped!

"Third brother, why are you stopping me?" Song Qingshan shook off Su Nuo's hand from his arm, "I really have something to do, I’ll come back at noon and treat you to lunch."

"What's the matter? Tell us clearly first." Bai Liansheng blocked the door with his small frame, "You look like this, you’ll scare Xiao Yueyue, how can we let you go?"

Song Qingshan turned around and saw Xiao Yueyue hiding behind Liu Zixia, looking at him timidly.

"Ugh!"

Song Qingshan took a few deep breaths, calmed down a bit, and said, "Xiaotong is having some trouble. She works as an editor at Yihua Publishing House. Last month, she was assigned to the children's department, in charge of publishing children's books."

"Yihua Publishing House?" Su Nuo exclaimed, "Sister-in-law is impressive!"

Yihua Publishing House is a large-scale publisher in Beijing, mainly publishing modern novels, poetry, children's books... it ranks in the top five among all publishers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Working at Yihua Publishing House is a testament to Wang Xiaotong's capabilities.

"Last week, the head of the children's department asked Xiaotong to approach He Bishu to secure the publishing rights for his new children's book. But that guy hinted that only if Xiaotong had dinner and sang with him would he consider signing with Yihua. Xiaotong was furious and walked away."

Song Qingshan clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, "Originally, Xiaotong had given up on signing He Bishu's new book. But that guy complained to the head of the children's department, saying Xiaotong was late, had a bad attitude, and no sincerity. Now he’s specifically asking for Xiaotong to negotiate again!"

"He Bishu?" Bai Liansheng frowned, thinking for a while, "Isn’t he the bestselling children's book author who wrote 'The Little Bear Story Collection'?"

"Yes, that's the scumbag!" Song Qingshan’s brows shot up, "I can’t believe a children’s author could be so shameless!"

"Dad, mom told me stories from 'The Children's Story Collection.'"

Xiao Yueyue suddenly peeked her little head out from behind Liu Zixia, saying, "But I think the stories dad tells me, like 'The Ugly Duckling,' are better."

Slap!

Su Nuo clapped his hands, "Boss, does sister-in-law have a task from the publisher? If so, why bother signing He Bishu's book? Can’t she sign third brother's fairy tales instead?"

This chubby guy really was an optimist. How could a no-name compare to a bestselling author?

Even if good wine needs no bush, does the publisher have the guts to take such a gamble?

Shaking his head, Liu Zixia was about to say something when Song Qingshan, who had been fuming, suddenly looked at Liu Zixia intently, making him feel uneasy.

"Third brother, my happiness depends on you this time!" After a long pause, Song Qingshan finally said.

"Boss, you can't be serious, right?" Liu Zixia smiled wryly. What kind of people are these, so idealistic?

"Serious, more serious than a needle!" Song Qingshan placed his right hand on Liu Zixia’s shoulder, "Third brother, let’s go find Xiaotong now."

Scratching his head, what else could Liu Zixia say?

Though compared to He Bishu, he was still a no-name, the fairy tales stored in Liu Zixia's mind were the bestsellers on Earth, how could they fail in this world?

No way!

"Alright, wait a minute, I’ll bring those drawings too."

Liu Zixia nodded. If they were going to do this, they would do it right. After all, it's just fairy tales. Being the best contemporary fairy tale author, he was in!

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