594: Chapter 594 is not very respectable.

Just as the security guards cleared a half-meter interview area at the entrance, the media, who had been waiting for a long time, simultaneously thrust their voice recorders inside.

"Lin Que! Lin Que, look here!"

"Student Lin, Chairman Xue gave you the four characters 'Pen Power of a Thousand Juns' at the end. Can you share your thoughts on that?"

"Was your answer regarding the 'person being seen' at the end of the defense prepared in advance?"

The camera flashes were almost pressed against his face.

The security personnel tried to block the crowd while urging the reporters to step back, but their voices were quickly drowned out by the crowd.

Lin Que paused in the middle of the corridor.

He did not retreat, nor did he rush to leave.

He waited for the security guards to separate the reporters in the front row before choosing the voice recorder closest to him to respond.

"Chairman Xue's original words were: 'The younger generation is to be regarded with respect, their pen power is of a thousand juns.'"

His voice was not loud, but it was clear enough.

"These eight characters do not belong to me alone."

The female reporter in the very front immediately pushed her voice recorder half an inch forward.

Lin Que looked into the camera.

"The reason 'qin opera' could reach the public's vision is due to the power of the land of Muchuan Town itself."

"The patrol line walked for twenty years, the opera singing for thirty years, and that stele behind the east wall."

"Those details did not need me to invent them."

"All I received was permission to enter the scene."

"Whatever Muchuan Town handed to me, I tried my best to write it accurately."

The corridor went quiet for a brief moment.

Someone immediately followed up:

"Then, does Student Lin have confidence in winning the final award?"

Lin Que answered very crisply.

"What needed to be submitted has already been submitted."

"The rest is up to the judges to decide."

There was no feigned modesty, nor the excitement of a young man who had achieved fame early.

A veteran reporter in the back row who had been covering the cultural beat for over a decade pulled back his voice recorder and lowered his voice to tell his colleague:

"This kid is truly steady."

The person beside him nodded.

"I have interviewed quite a few middle-aged writers, and none of them are as steady as he is."

Three minutes later, the security guards finally re-established the cordon.

The reporters were separated by two meters, and a path was finally cleared in the corridor.

Lin Que was just about to leave.

A business card was handed over from the side.

It was hot-stamped and embossed, with very firm edges.

"Student Lin Que, excuse the intrusion."

The voice was gentle but struck at just the right moment.

Lin Que turned his head.

A man in his early forties was standing beside him, wearing a dark gray suit with a Huanyu Group work badge pinned to his lapel.

Jiang Chengxun.

"Head of the Youth Content Center at Xinrong Culture, Jiang Chengxun."

He handed over the business card very low, his posture polite, yet his gaze was very steady.

Lin Que took the business card and glanced at it.

Jiang Chengxun did not beat around the bush.

"I will only say one thing."

"Xinrong is very interested in your work."

"Today, I am only leaving a business card. After the Kunpeng Award results are publicized, if you are willing, we can sit down and talk about long-term cooperation."

"The first-year guarantee, channel distribution, and annual book list application will all be handled according to Xinrong's top-tier standards."

He paused for half a second.

"Specific terms can be discussed later."

"I came here today just to express the group's attitude."

"What Xinrong has always valued is not a specific manuscript, but the person who holds the pen."

The ears of several reporters nearby pricked up instantly.

As soon as he finished speaking, a light laugh came from behind to the left.

"General Manager Jiang, you move fast."

A middle-aged man in a navy blue suit squeezed into the crowd with two assistants.

The assistants were carrying document bags with the logo of Huanyu Publishing Group printed on the cover.

The moment the words 'Huanyu Publishing Group' came out, the noise in the corridor dropped significantly for a moment.

During the recent turmoil surrounding the Kunpeng Award, Huanyu had just stepped back from the center of public opinion.

Now, they were standing in front of Lin Que again.

The man extended his hand.

"Student Lin, Vice President of the Content Strategy Department of Huanyu Group, Qin Zheng."

"General Manager Qin, I've long heard of you."

Jiang Chengxun did not respond; he just turned slightly and put his hands behind his back.

Qin Zheng's gaze was fixed entirely on Lin Que.

"Xinrong's long-term plan is indeed solid."

"But what young authors lack most is not waiting slowly, but explosive power."

His speaking speed was faster than Jiang Chengxun's.

"As long as your next long-form work passes the review of Huanyu's first-tier projects, the first printing resources can be reserved according to a plan of 500,000 copies."

"Physical channels, e-commerce promotion, film and television development, and overseas copyrights will be promoted simultaneously by the group."

He took a half-step forward, his tone lowering.

"As for the advance royalties, Huanyu can offer thirty percent more than any competing product."

"I have brought the framework agreement; you can look at it now."

The camera zoomed in instantly.

Chen Jiahao's mouth was open, unable to close it for a long time.

Sun Qiming looked at Jiang Chengxun, his expression slightly darkened.

Xu Changge stood by a pillar, quietly watching Lin Que.

But in his gaze towards Lin Que, there was a little more confirmation.

That person was indeed worthy of such a scene.

Lin Que casually tucked Jiang Chengxun's business card into his shirt pocket.

His movements were steady and natural, showing neither haste nor any lack of courtesy.

Subsequently, he looked at Qin Zheng.

"General Manager Qin, perhaps your information hasn't been synced yet."

Lin Que's tone was very flat.

"After the Fu Zhi Yao Competition, Qinglan Students can already enter the docking scope of national publishing support."

"The School of Liberal Arts also has its own submission mechanism. How to proceed in the future, I will decide based on the situation of the work."

Qin Zheng's extended hand paused slightly.

Lin Que continued:

"But before the final results of the Kunpeng Award are announced, I will not discuss any business cooperation."

The words were spoken clearly.

Neither ambiguous nor sharp.

After hearing this, Jiang Chengxun nodded and did not press further.

Qin Zheng, however, smiled.

"Understood."

He signaled his assistant to put away the document bag first.

"National special support can provide standardized processes, public channels, and endorsements for works, with a steady rhythm and clear boundaries."

He paused.

"But Huanyu can put physical bookstores, e-commerce promotion, film and television development, and overseas copyright negotiations into the same resource table."

"Once a work has market potential, its speed of dissemination will be completely different."

"Student Lin Que, the market does not wait for anyone."

"Some resource windows will not stay in place forever."

"After the results are announced, there will only be more people looking for you, and the scheduling and conditions may not necessarily be as clean as they are today."

This sentence sounded polite.

But it carried pressure.

Lin Que looked at him.

"General Manager Qin."

"If a cooperation would be withdrawn at any time because I take a few more days to think, then it was never meant for me from the beginning."

The smile on Qin Zheng's face froze for half a second.

The eyes of the reporters watching nearby lit up suddenly, and their voice recorders pushed forward another half-inch.

Jiang Chengxun spoke up at this moment.

"Student Lin makes a good point."

"Our Xinrong proposal has no window period."

"Whenever you feel it is appropriate, you can contact us at any time."

He stepped aside, yielding the path.

But Qin Zheng did not retreat.

"Student Lin Que, I will say one last thing."

He took a half-step forward.

His voice was lowered, but the recording equipment was too close for anyone to miss it.

"The chips you have in your hand now are heavier than you imagine."

"Two of Jian Shen's workshop students made it into the top ten today, and the influence of New Tide is also obvious to all."

"But you are independent of the New Tide system."

"You already possess the conditions to establish an independent author brand."

"Huanyu is willing to configure resources with 'Lin Que' as the core, allowing your name to have a complete market expression."

"There is no need to be defined by any existing labels from the outside world."

As soon as this sentence was spoken, the atmosphere in the corridor changed instantly.

Lin Que understood clearly.

Qin Zheng put resources, independent labels, and Jian Shen in the same sentence, clearly wanting to force him to take a stance in public.

You are not independent enough, you still need to prove yourself.

Come, we will help you.

The price?

That is to hand over the pen.

...

A dozen voice recorders were pointed at him.

Lin Que paused.

When he spoke, his tone remained restrained.

"Thank you for your kindness, General Manager Qin."

"However, regarding my relationship with Senior Jian Shen, I will only say one thing."

"Literature is not a commercial track; there is no such thing as being parallel, nor is there such a thing as being categorized into one."

"Whether a work can stand on its own depends on the text itself."

"Not on making someone out to be someone else's shadow."

He stopped for a moment.

"I respect Senior Jian Shen and also acknowledge that I have been influenced by many good works."

"Every author should face readers based on their text."

"Putting the relationship with a senior on the negotiating table has no meaning for me."

The corridor was quiet for a moment.

Chen Jiahao almost couldn't help but applaud from the periphery, but was pressed down by Dan Yi.

Xu Changge lowered his eyes, and the corners of his mouth moved very slightly.

Qin Zheng's smile finally faded.

The assistant behind him had already reopened the document bag and pulled out a printed framework agreement.

"Student Lin Que, you can familiarize yourself with the framework of the plan first; formal procedures will, of course, be discussed after the results are announced."

Jiang Chengxun frowned slightly, about to speak.

Lin Que raised his right hand, pressing down gently with his palm towards both sides.

The movement was very small.

Jiang Chengxun stopped.

Qin Zheng also stopped.

"The two of you."

Lin Que said.

"The defense was prepared for a long time."

"I am already hungry."

This sentence was very light.

Like a joke.

But it gave everyone a way out.

Jiang Chengxun was the first to retract his posture.

"Yes, yes, yes, absolutely."

"Student Lin Que, please rest first; we will contact you via email later."

Qin Zheng raised his hand to signal his assistant to put away the document bag, but his gaze still fell on Lin Que.

"You don't have to look at the agreement, but let me leave the project materials with you."

"After the results are publicized, I hope Huanyu..."

Before Qin Zheng finished his sentence, a laugh suddenly came from outside the crowd.

The miscellaneous noises in the corridor were abruptly suppressed by this laughter.

The reporters turned their cameras in unison.

Outside the cordon, the crowd voluntarily parted to make a path.

A man in a dark suit walked over quickly.

He was holding a folder, as if he had just rushed over from another venue.

He was followed by a young woman and a middle-aged man, but both of them deliberately lagged half a step behind.

Jiang Chengxun's gaze tightened.

Qin Zheng's hand also dropped.

Lin Que saw who it was, and a faint smile flashed in his eyes.

The man walked to the middle of the three, first glancing at the framework agreement in the hands of Qin Zheng's assistant.

Then, he looked at Jiang Chengxun and Qin Zheng.

"You two picked a very precise time."

"The Kunpeng results haven't been publicized yet, and commercial contracts have already been delivered to a student who just came off the defense stage?"

His smile was still there, but his tone was not soft at all.

"This, isn't that a bit indecorous?"

...