Chapter 46: The Eccentric Middle-Aged Fat Man

"Lin Yi, why has your phone been turned off for the past few days?" Liu Yan asked with a resentful look, rubbing his red and swollen cheek.

"I've been immersed in filming these past few days, so I turned my phone off," Lin Yi made up a casual excuse.

In truth, he wasn't immersed in filming at all. He had turned it off because he was being driven crazy by the endless bombardment of phone calls from his head teacher and school administrators.

"Then do you still remember the novel you're writing?"

"Of course I do. Didn't I schedule the advance chapters in the backend properly?"

"Then do you know that your chapters have all run out?"

"My chapters have run out?" Lin Yi's face was filled with shock; he clearly remembered having plenty of reserved chapters in the backend.

"You haven't updated for ten whole days, Lin Yi!" Liu Yan said with the look of someone whose soul had left their body.

What could he possibly do with an author like this?

"Ten days? Has time really passed that quickly?" Lin Yi smacked his lips.

Filming on campus felt like returning to high school, where the passage of time went completely unnoticed.

Every day was a repetition of the same routine: filming, eating, sleeping, filming, eating, resting...

Liu Yan: ......

"Hurry up and write to update. You've been on hiatus for so long that your readers are coming to your house to look for you. It's a good thing you weren't home."

It was that serious?

Lin Yi's eyebrows twitched.

"Alright, alright."

"Let's leave it at that for now then."

"Mm."

After the call hung up, Lin Yi packed his luggage, shared a round of hugs with Eddie Peng and Ni Ni, and embarked on the journey home.

After dropping off the grid for half a month, Lin Yi was no longer a hot topic. He seemed to have vanished, disappearing entirely from the public eye.

Only his loyal base of readers would occasionally visit his Weibo and novel comment section to... pay their respects to him.

Lin Yi sat in his seat feeling completely relaxed. Next to him was a... middle-aged chubby man with a round, chubby face that looked quite comical.

Feeling Lin Yi's gaze, the middle-aged chubby man turned his head and asked enthusiastically, "Young man, are you heading to Hunan Province too?"

Lin Yi: ......→_→

Did you expect me to be taking a flight that wasn't direct?

"Mm."

"What a coincidence, me too."

Lin Yi: ......

Lin Yi didn't want to engage with the chubby man, but the man was simply too enthusiastic, making it hard to brush him off.

"Young man, are you still a student?"

"Mm."

"What year in college?"

"Not in college yet, starting this September."

"Oh! What a coincidence! My son is starting college this September too."

"Let me tell you, that chubby son of mine actually scored over 400 points on the national college entrance exam. Usually, he only scores around 300. When I asked him how he managed to perform so well, he said he just guessed a lot of multiple-choice questions correctly. Haha, looks like the smoke from our ancestral graves finally started puffing at the crucial moment!"

The corners of Lin Yi's twitching slightly. Have I... encountered a complete eccentric?

What is there to boast about with that?

"Oh right, young man, what was your score on the college entrance exam today?"

"Over 700 points."

"Over 700 points! I never would've guessed you were a top student!"

"Young man..."

"Young man..."

......

Whoosh~

The plane landed.

Lin Yi fled in panic, hurried out of the airport, hailed a taxi, and made his immediate escape.

Fulin Passenger Transport Terminal.

"What a coincidence, young man, we meet again."

Lin Yi: ......What a sin, what kind of bad karma is this!

Haiyuan City.

Lin Yi fled in panic once more. Without a shred of attachment or hesitation, he grabbed his suitcase and ran.

Outside the Haiyuan City Passenger Station.

The chubby man stared boredly at the exit gate.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he watched Lin Yi stumbling and rushing frantically in his direction.

They brushed past each other.

The chubby man turned his head to watch Lin Yi's retreating figure.

"Son! What are you looking at?" The middle-aged chubby man walked up, patted his son's shoulder, and curiously looked in the direction his son was gazing.

"Dad, I just ran into the top scorer from my exam room."

"Top scorer? Which one?"

"The one rushing away with a suitcase," the chubby man pointed at Lin Yi and said.

"Damn, what a coincidence, me too! I was just talking to him earlier!"

Huayan International Music.

"Yoga, now is the ideal time for you to release a new album."

"The hype around 'Your Answer' has died down, and for this past month's gap, there are no top-tier or first-tier singers releasing new albums. As for October, Faye Wong and Jay Chou are rumored to be coming out with new songs," Lin Hong leaned against the sofa and said earnestly.

"Mm, then let's release it."

At this moment, the timing was indeed favorable for him.

Besides, he really couldn't delay any longer.

He had already promised his fans that he would release a new album soon; he couldn't possibly go back on his word.

"Alright, then I'll go confirm the schedule with the company! You can start getting ready now!" Lin Hong patted Yoga Lin's shoulder and strode out of the room.

Yoga Lin immediately logged into Weibo.

"A new album is on the way. Are you all ready?"

Along with the message, Yoga Lin uploaded a video lasting just over a minute, showing him recording "Waste" in the recording studio.

Of course, this was only a small fraction.

If he uploaded the whole thing, it wouldn't be fun anymore.

"Checking it out! Is little Jiajia releasing a new album?"

"Jiajia, you're finally releasing a new album! Sob sob sob, I'm so moved."

"Jiajia's voice is still as amazing as ever."

......

"Son, you're back?"

"Mm." Lin Yi put down his suitcase, took a sip of water, and asked with concern, "How is Dad recovering?"

"Pretty well. The doctor says it's gradually moving in a positive direction."

"Right, I almost forgot," Wang Xin slapped her forehead helplessly, stood up and walked toward the bedroom, returning a moment later with two cards in her hand. "These are the rewards from the government and the school respectively. Since you weren't home, I accepted them on your behalf."

Rewards?

There were rewards too? Even though he didn't apply to Tsinghua or Peking University, the school still gave him a reward?

Lin Yi had originally thought that by doing what he did, he wouldn't receive the kinds of rewards bestowed upon top scorers in past lives.

He felt a pang of guilt.

But it quickly vanished.

"Mom, you keep this money. I don't need it."

"Don't you need money for food, clothing, housing, and transportation in college? Take it quickly."

"I have money. Oh right, Mom, I want to discuss something with you. I'm planning to buy an apartment in Hunan Province so you and Dad can move over there to live."

With the song "Your Answer", Lin Yi had made a fortune and had the capital to buy property.

"Where did you get the money?"

"I earned it, of course."

"Sigh, son, I don't know if I should say this." Wang Xin sat on the sofa with a worried look on her face.

"Go ahead, Mom, I'm listening."

"Actually, your mom thinks you should have applied to Tsinghua or Peking University back then. They are top-tier institutions, after all, and it would have been a huge benefit for your future."

"Mom, I actually know all that. But... I just wanted to spend more time accompanying you."

"Son, you really don't need to. You should choose the path that is most beneficial to your life. Your dad and I don't want your future to be delayed because of us."

"I'm doing very well right now," Lin Yi held his mom's hand tightly and said earnestly, "School is just a starting point, not the destination. Trust me, Mom, by attending Hunan University, I will definitely live a life just as brilliant."

PS: Regarding the matter of university applications, the author doesn't want to repeat the explanation. Different perspectives naturally lead to controversy, so let's end this topic right here.

Two extra chapters for recommendation votes, one extra chapter for collections; these will be made up later.