13: See the depths, the Namiya General Store!

Facing Shen Qingqiu's request, Lin Que simply smiled.

"Teacher, that essay has already been handed in, and I don't have a draft here either."

Of course he had it.

The entire story was in his head, ready to be recounted at any time.

But he didn't want to.

He quite enjoyed this feeling—

Enjoying the sensation of the whole world being full of curiosity about you, yet unable to get what they want.

Especially when this expression, a mix of desire and helplessness, appeared on Shen Qingqiu's face, which was usually as cold as frost.

The little bit of mischievousness in the depths of his heart was greatly satisfied.

"Is that so..."

Shen Qingqiu's eyes dimmed, that flash of disappointment vanishing in an instant.

She returned to her usual businesslike demeanor:

"I understand. You go back first.

Remember, even if you don't pursue a path in literature, don't slack off on your studies!

If you dare to fall out of the top twenty in the class during the next monthly exam, you'll see how I deal with you!"

"Understood, Teacher."

Lin Que stood up, gave a polite response, and turned to walk out of the office.

Watching his retreating back, Shen Qingqiu leaned against the back of her chair and wearily rubbed the space between her eyebrows.

She felt that in every conversation with Lin Que, she was always trying every means to see through him, control him, and guide him.

But the result was always her being led by the nose by him,

and in the end, she would gain nothing, leaving herself mentally and physically exhausted.

This student was simply her nemesis.

...

After school in the afternoon, Lin Que did not go straight home.

He boarded a hover-bus bound for the city center.

At noon, his parents had called him, their excitement and trembling voices clearly palpable even through the signal.

They had confirmed that the money was real.

Then, these two people who had never set foot in a high-end residential area in their lives,

slipped into the sales office of the city's most expensive real estate development, 'Cloud Palace,' like thieves, and were nearly scared into running out on the spot by the housing prices inside.

Ultimately, they chose 'Xisheng Mansion,' which was also a high-end development but had a unit price half that of Cloud Palace.

At this moment, they were being led by a saleswoman to view a 140-square-meter, fully furnished three-bedroom apartment.

Lin Que let them decide for themselves; if they liked it, they should buy it, without worrying about the money.

As for himself, he had another, more important matter to attend to.

Finding a studio that truly belonged to him.

His requirements were simple:

Quiet, private, top-tier security, and convenient transportation.

Preferably a high-end studio apartment.

Commercial and residential dual-use, keycard access, where neighbors never interacted with each other.

He filtered through his phone and finally locked onto a location.

"SOHO Future City."

The newest CBD core area of Jiang City, surrounded by skyscrapers, frequented by urban white-collar and gold-collar workers.

Most importantly, there were many apartment layouts there,

and the security was famously strict, which perfectly met his requirements.

After getting off the bus, Lin Que walked into the SOHO Future City leasing center.

The person responsible for receiving him was a young girl.

When she saw the No. 1 Middle School uniform on Lin Que, her professional smile stiffened for half a second, but it quickly returned to normal.

"Hello, student. How can I help you?"

"I want to rent an apartment to use as a studio."

Lin Que got straight to the point.

The girl was taken aback for a moment, but she still maintained an impeccable professional smile:

"Alright. The starting price for our small units is five thousand per month. Do you have a budget range?

Or, did your parents entrust you to come and take a look first?"

Lin Que didn't answer but directly tapped on the holographic model of the development.

His gaze swept past the lower-floor listings, and his finger finally stopped on several red-marked apartments on the top floor.

"Take me to see these."

The girl's smile remained, but her tone held a hint of a formulaic reminder:

"Student, these are our flagship units. The monthly rent is eight to ten thousand,

and according to company policy, signing a contract requires providing identification and credit references. If you are just visiting..."

Before she could finish, Lin Que had already looked up and was calmly watching her:

"I know the rules. If the place is suitable, we can sign the contract on the spot."

"Now, can you take me to see them?"

His tone was indifferent, yet it carried an air of certainty.

The girl met his gaze, and her heart skipped a beat.

That was not the look an ordinary high school student should have.

Calm, profound.

She hesitated for half a second, and her tone became much more respectful:

"Of course, sir. Please follow me!"

Lin Que followed her to see three apartments and finally arrived at one located on the 28th floor.

Sixty-eight square meters, south-facing.

It had a massive floor-to-ceiling window that offered a panoramic view of most of Jiang City's night scene.

The decor was a minimalist industrial style, with cement-gray walls and black metal lines, which perfectly suited Lin Que's aesthetic.

"This is the one."

Lin Que was very satisfied.

"Very well, sir. The rent for this apartment is ten thousand per month, with one month's deposit and six months' rent upfront. Would you..."

The saleswoman specifically observed his reaction as she quoted the rent,

but Lin Que merely nodded:

"No problem, this is it! Let's sign the contract now."

A monthly rent of ten thousand was, in his view, just a necessary expense for his upcoming plans.

The girl was completely stunned by Lin Que's decisiveness.

A high school student in uniform, renting a ten-thousand-a-month apartment without even blinking.

Which family's young master was this, out to experience life?

After signing the contract and getting the keys,

Lin Que stood in the empty apartment, feeling the space that belonged to him.

He walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window.

The afterglow of the setting sun was gilding this steel forest with a layer of burning gold.

From today on, this would be his secret base.

The lair of the "Dream Weaver" and the sanctuary of "Jian Shen."

He opened his phone and skillfully placed orders on several top-tier online malls:

A latest-model custom desktop computer from "Hacker Domain."

A set of panoramic sound field speakers from "Court of Sound."

A fully automatic syphon coffee machine from "Grinding Time."

...

Utilizing this world's astonishingly efficient logistics network, he scheduled all the equipment to be delivered precisely the following afternoon.

Having settled all this, Lin Que finally went home contentedly.

The next day, Lin Que requested leave with a reason Shen Qingqiu couldn't refuse:

"Accompanying parents to handle important house-buying procedures, concerning a major family change."

In his newly rented apartment, he directed the deliverymen to finish installing and testing all the equipment.

The ergonomic chair enveloped his body as his fingertips lightly tapped on the mechanical keyboard.

Classical music flowed through the space, accompanied by the mellow aroma of Blue Mountain coffee.

At this moment,

Lin Que finally regained a bit of the composure and focus that belonged to the top-tier screenwriter of his past life.

Everything was ready.

He opened a brand-new document, took a deep breath, and typed two words at the top.

[Jian Shen]

Then, the book title.

[The Miracles of the Namiya General Store]

The main text began.

[At the fork in the road leading to "Green Moon," there is a general store.

Long ago, that shop did indeed sell general goods, but now, it sells cheap snacks and toys that children like.]

[The night is deep, and three men dressed in all black are running breathlessly into this alley.

They had just failed an indoor burglary and fled in a stolen beat-up car, only for the car to break down halfway.]

["What should we do? Let's find a place to hide first."]

[Their gaze fell upon the Namiya General Store, which had already closed for business.]

Lin Que's hands flew across the keyboard.

He didn't copy the original work entirely but made some localized modifications based on the background of this world.

For example, he set the story's location in a fictional small town called "Moon Bay Town."

The prototype for this town was an old urban area on the outskirts of Jiang City that was undergoing demolition and renovation.

This would give the story a greater sense of reality and immersion.

He was completely immersed in the world of creation.

Those warm, sorrowful, and miracle-filled stories flowed slowly from beneath his fingertips.

From the Olympic fencer to the girl with an unplanned pregnancy, and then to the boy who longed to become a musician...

Every soul trapped by life, reaching out to the general store for help through letters, was so vivid and real.

Lin Que wrote slowly and carefully.

When writing the human world is like a prison, he pursued speed and impact, using the most direct horror to bombard the readers' senses.

But in writing The Miracles of the Namiya General Store, he pursued the delicacy of emotion and the ingenuity of structure.

For him, this was another kind of challenge, as well as another kind of pleasure.

For an entire afternoon, he finished the first part.

"The Sound of the Harmonica in the Dead of Night."

Looking at those twenty-odd thousand words in the document, Lin Que nodded in satisfaction.

Next was the submission.

He logged onto the official website of New Tide magazine and found the entrance for online submissions.

He registered an account with a brand-new email address and solemnly filled in the two words "Jian Shen" in the Jian Shen column.

Then, he uploaded the document and clicked "Submit."

Having done all this, he leaned back in his chair.

He leaned against the back of his chair, his gaze fixed on the city's night view outside the window.

At this moment, he was no longer the Dream Weaver spreading fear,

but a counselor attempting to mend the regrets of the human world.

He just didn't know if this world, which had only just come into contact with fear, could understand this belated tenderness.