novelRona Chapter 1618 Finding Another Fool
Chapter 1618 Finding Another Fool
Online discussions about the "manager's appearance" have only intensified.
On the third day, it climbed from seventh to third on Weibo's trending topics list. The number of voters exceeded five million, and the proportion of those who chose "unbearable to look at" continued to rise. Various jokes and photoshopped images flooded the internet.
Dingqi.com couldn't sit still any longer.
The operations director personally called Qin Hao, his tone almost overly sincere: "Mr. Qin Hao, we'd like to discuss something with you—could you make a brief appearance? No need for a live stream, just a short video, thirty seconds is fine. Don't worry, we'll keep things under control and won't let you be the subject of malicious comments."
Qin Hao's answer was straightforward: "No."
"Teacher Qin Hao, please listen to me—"
"I'm listening. The answer is still no."
Less than half an hour after hanging up, the film company called again. This time it wasn't General Manager Wang, but a female manager from the public relations department, her voice as sweet as milk tea with three packets of sugar: "Mr. Qin Hao, we would like to invite you to participate in an online interactive event, via video link. You may wear a mask—"
"If you're already wearing a mask, what's the point of showing your face?"
"Uh...that makes sense." The other person hesitated.
"So no need. Thank you."
It's down again.
Qin Hao tossed his phone onto the bed and rubbed his temples.
Zhou Mei, who was scrolling through Weibo nearby, couldn't help but peek over when she heard him turn down two offers: "Why don't you go? What's the harm in showing your face?"
Do you know what species diversity is?
"what?"
"Millions of people online are guessing what I look like. Once I show my face, regardless of whether I'm handsome or not, there's always a group of people who will say, 'That's it?' and then start making personal attacks. Another group will bombard me with private messages, asking for autographs, photos, and for me to retweet their posts. What's even scarier is the third group—they'll start digging into my past, digging up things like how I got 59 on a math test in third grade."
Zhou Mei's eyes widened: "You got a 59 on your elementary school math test?"
That's not the point!
Hahahaha—
Qin Hao rolled his eyes.
Zhou Mei finished laughing, leaned closer, and rested her chin on his shoulder: "Alright, alright, if you don't want to go, you don't have to go. Why are you so nervous? Anyway, whether you're handsome or not, I'm the one who has the right to comment."
Her breath tickled Qin Hao's ear as she spoke.
Qin Hao turned his head and glanced at her.
"The way you're talking makes it sound like I have some kind of shameful secret."
"It's a secret," Zhou Mei said with a grin, drawing circles on his arm with her finger. "My secret."
Qin Hao didn't reply, but pulled her close, resting his chin on the top of her head.
His phone vibrated again, and he glanced down at it—it was the operations director again.
Shut down the computer directly.
-
The next morning, Qin Hao left the hotel and planned to take a stroll around the neighborhood.
Just as I stepped out of the revolving door, a person stood up from the flower bed next to me.
Qin Hao paused for a moment.
Zhao Lanxin.
"Mr. Qin Hao, could I have a few minutes of your time to talk?" She took two steps forward, her tone filled with eagerness, like a real estate agent meeting a hesitant client.
Qin Hao stared at her for two seconds.
"You're really persistent. You blocked my number, but you came all the way to the door." He glanced towards the hotel lobby, then looked back: "How did you know I was staying at this hotel?"
Zhao Lanxin did not avoid his gaze.
"Although you blocked me, Zhou Mei and I are still good friends. She hasn't blocked me on her WeChat Moments. Although she didn't tell me which hotel she was staying at, I narrowed it down to a certain area based on some of the exterior photos she posted, and then I checked all the hotels in the area before I saw you coming out of this hotel."
Qin Hao remained silent.
He had to admit that while Zhao Lanxin's character wasn't great, she certainly had a knack for getting things done. The fact that she could trace his hotel from just a few photos on her WeChat Moments was something only a few people could do.
“Okay.” Qin Hao took two steps into the lobby, then stopped and looked back at her. “Three minutes. Get to the point.”
Zhao Lanxin's eyes lit up, and she immediately followed.
The two sat down on a sofa in the hotel lobby. A waiter brought over two glasses of water, but neither Zhao Lanxin nor Qin Hao touched them.
Knowing time was running out, Zhao Lanxin skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Mr. Qin Hao, I would like to sign an editing contract with you."
Qin Hao leaned back on the sofa and didn't say anything.
“Of course, I understand your concerns.” Zhao Lanxin spoke a beat slower than usual, as if deliberately making each word carry weight: “Don’t worry about that. You won’t receive a single penny from beginning to end, and we will serve you wholeheartedly—I’ll handle all the trivial matters such as publicity and promotion, copyright coordination, and reader maintenance. You just need to focus on writing.”
Qin Hao raised an eyebrow.
Free services, and they even pay you to provide them?
"A thousand pieces of gold to buy a horse's bones?" he said.
Zhao Lanxin did not deny it. What she wanted was Qin Hao's name; with that name on her side, it would be much easier to sign other authors in the future.
“That sounds very impressive,” Qin Hao said.
Zhao Lanxin's lips curled up slightly.
“However,” Qin Hao continued, “I don’t need editors, nor do I need anyone to serve me. Your offer isn’t attractive to me.”
Zhao Lanxin's smile didn't fade, but her eyes changed.
"Teacher Qin Hao seems to have some misunderstanding about me—"
“No, not at all.” Qin Hao interrupted her, his voice soft but firm: “I’ve been on Xing for several years, and I know exactly what kind of person you are. So, you don’t need to come back. No matter the conditions, I won’t sign a contract with you.”
After he finished speaking, he stood up.
There was no handshake, no pleasantries, and he turned and left.
Zhao Lanxin sat on the sofa, watching Qin Hao's back as he walked through the lobby, into the elevator, and disappeared behind the closed metal doors.
People were coming and going in the hall, and no one noticed the woman in the navy blue suit.
She picked up the untouched glass of water on the table, took a sip, and put it down.
We'll see.
-
When Qin Hao returned to his room, his phone vibrated as soon as he turned it on—it was a WeChat message from Zhou Mei.
"Honey, I'm staying at Zhan Qiao's tonight to pick up some things. I won't be going back to the hotel."
It was followed by three kissing emojis.
Qin Hao replied with "Be careful," added three more hearts, then put down his phone, turned on his computer, and started typing.
After sending the message, Zhou Mei tossed her phone onto the bed, burrowed into the covers, and couldn't stop smiling.
"Okay, okay, all done." She shouted towards the bedroom door.
Lin Zhanqiao leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Honey~ Be careful~" She mimicked Zhou Mei's sweet, coquettish tone, her voice even more cloying than nail polish: "Three kisses and three hearts, tsk tsk tsk, it's so sweet it's giving me diabetes."
Zhou Mei blushed, but refused to back down: "You're jealous?"
"I'm jealous of you? Hahahaha—" Lin Zhanqiao laughed so hard she slapped the doorframe. "Let me tell you, the expression you used when you sent that message just now was exactly like that of an eighteen-year-old girl experiencing her first love. Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd never been in a relationship before."
"I'm enjoying myself! Do you understand what enjoying yourself means?" Zhou Mei threw back the covers and sat up, pointing at Lin Zhanqiao: "No wonder you've been with He Han for so many years, you're just as clueless about romance."
"Who says I'm clueless about romance?" Lin Zhanqiao said fiercely.
After laughing and joking around for a while, Lin Zhanqiao went to the dressing room to change her clothes, intending to go out to see He Han. Zhou Mei followed her in, rummaging through the clothes and giving her suggestions, saying this one looked good and that one was too plain, and they spent a long time arranging her outfit.
Just as Lin Zhanqiao picked up her bag to leave, Zhou Mei suddenly called out to her.
"Wait a moment."
She bent down and rummaged through the bedside table drawer, pulled out a small, square box, and quickly stuffed it into Lin Zhanqiao's bag when she wasn't looking.
"Be careful, okay?" Zhou Mei winked at her.
Lin Zhanqiao glanced down at the contents of her bag—a box of small balloons with a cartoon character smiling at her printed on the packaging.
Her face flushed red instantly.
"Zhou Mei!"
"What's wrong?" Zhou Mei asked innocently.
"I met with He Han to discuss work! It's not as dirty as you think!"
"Tch—" Zhou Mei drawled, "Hypocrite. You dare say you two haven't done anything inappropriate for children in your spare time?"
Lin Zhanqiao was speechless for a moment.
“No? Last time you stayed at his hotel until 2 a.m., and you told me—'We talked for a long time about creative ideas'?” Zhou Mei made a quotation mark gesture, with a “you’re kidding me” look on her face.
Lin Zhanqiao's ears turned bright red.
"That time...we were really talking!"
"Okay, okay, let's talk." Zhou Mei waved her hand, her tone full of teasing. "Anyway, I put the balloon in your bag. Whether you use it or not is up to you. Just don't come crying to me later saying He Han is a jerk."
"you--"
Lin Zhanqiao stomped her foot in anger, but dared not argue any further—if the argument continued, Zhou Mei might say something even more outrageous. She grabbed her bag and fled.
The door closed behind me.
Zhou Mei smiled at the empty doorway for a while, then picked up her phone and scrolled through her chat history with Qin Hao.
Three kisses and three hearts.
She laughed again, pressed her phone to her chest, and rolled around on the bed twice.
-
Lin Zhanqiao arrived at He Han's hotel, swiped his card to go upstairs, and when he pushed open the door, He Han was still sleeping.
The curtains were drawn tightly, making the room pitch black, and the air conditioner was set to 20 degrees Celsius. He Han was huddled under the covers, with only half of his head and a tuft of messy hair showing.
“He Han.” Lin Zhanqiao walked to the bedside and nudged him.
no response.
She pushed again, this time with a bit more force.
He Han mumbled an "Mmm," turned over, and went back to sleep.
Lin Zhanqiao sighed helplessly, went to the bathroom to get a toothbrush and squeeze out the toothpaste, then returned to the bedside and pulled back the covers.
"Get up and brush your teeth."
He Han shivered from the cold air and finally opened one eye. Seeing Lin Zhanqiao standing by the bed with a toothbrush in her hand, he mumbled something indistinctly, slowly got up, and sauntered toward the bathroom.
Lin Zhanqiao followed behind him, leaning against the bathroom door frame.
“When you meet Uncle Fan later, you must stand firm.” She lowered her voice, as if imparting important information: “But you can’t offend him, after all, we’ll still be cooperating in the future. Understand?”
He Han, with a toothbrush in his mouth, mumbled an "uh-huh," almost spitting out the foam.
"I'm serious."
“I know—” he muttered, foaming at the mouth.
Lin Zhanqiao watched his retreating figure, her lips pursed slightly. This guy, he's incredibly bright when he's writing, but in social situations he's practically clueless. And Uncle Fan, that cunning old fox—she was genuinely afraid He Han would be sold out and still be counting the money for them.
-
At 2 p.m., He Han sat in a booth at a coffee shop, opposite Uncle Fan.
Uncle Fan was wearing a dark gray polo shirt today, with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and the watch on his wrist gleamed under the light. He stirred his coffee slowly and deliberately, as if he were stirring some bargaining chip on a negotiating table.
"Teacher He Han, I'll get straight to the point." Uncle Fan put down the stirring stick and placed his hands on the table, folded over each other. "As long as you sign a contract with Dingqi.com, I can arrange an apartment for you, and I can also fund the establishment of your own studio. If you have any additional needs, just write them down. As long as it's within my power, I'll do it without hesitation."
He Han ran his finger along the side of the cup.
This apartment and studio, stacked together, carry considerable weight. Uncle Fan laid out all the conditions that countless authors in the industry dream of, leaving no room for hesitation.
But He Han didn't rush to express his opinion.
He picked up his coffee, took a sip, put the cup down, and looked at Uncle Fan.
"Is President Fan offering such generous terms because he values me, or is it because his negotiations with Lao Qin broke down, so he's settling for second best?"
Uncle Fan's expression didn't change, and he didn't even blink.
"Of course, it's because I admire Professor He Han's talent." He said this with a sincere tone, as if he were making a vow: "Although Professor Qin Hao's works are indeed slightly better than yours in terms of achievements, in my opinion, Professor He Han is also a very top-notch writer."
He Han gave a noncommittal smile.
"A little bit better"—that's a skillful way to put it, acknowledging the gap while portraying it as negligible. But what's the truth? The data for "Sword Comes" far surpasses He Han's works, a fact well-known within the industry.
However, Uncle Fan's words did make him feel a little better.
He's not someone with high material needs; his income from writing online novels over the years has been enough to live on. But the feeling of being respected is different.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
“I appreciate Mr. Fan’s kindness.” He Han pushed his coffee cup forward slightly, his tone calm. “However, I think it’s best to maintain the current situation for now.”
Uncle Fan did not show any disappointment.
He even smiled.
“It’s alright, Mr. He Han, take your time to consider it.” He stood up, took a business card from his pocket, and placed it on the table. “Contact me anytime when you’ve made up your mind.”
He Han nodded, without taking the business card.
Uncle Fan left the coffee shop, stood at the door, took out his phone and glanced at it, the smile still on his face.
Undermining someone's foundation is never a one-time thing. Today was just a small test. With enough effort, things will eventually loosen.
-
When He Han returned to his hotel room, Lin Zhanqiao was already there.
She sat at her desk, flipping through her notebook without looking up. He Han stood behind her for a while, then bent down and rested his chin on her shoulder.
What are you thinking about?
"Work." Lin Zhanqiao turned a page: "What did Uncle Fan say?"
"As you said, I neither offended anyone nor agreed to anything."
"Okay, that's good." Lin Zhanqiao responded without asking any further questions.
He Han didn't bring it up again. He walked around to the opposite side of the desk, sat down, and turned on his computer to start writing. The two of them did their own thing, occasionally exchanging a word or two, living a tacit and uneventful life.
As evening approached, it started raining outside the window.
At first, it was just a few scattered drops, making a pattering sound against the glass. Before long, it turned into a torrential downpour, with rainwater streaming down the window and blurring the neon lights outside into patches of light.
Lin Zhanqiao got up to close the window, but was hit by a gust of cold wind and shivered.
“It’s raining heavily,” she said.
He Han looked up at the window.
"Why don't you stay tonight?" he said.
Lin Zhanqiao's hand stopped on the window handle.
She turned to look at He Han, her eyes lighting up.
In her view, leaving at night and leaving the next morning are completely different concepts.
“Okay,” she said, her voice slightly softer than usual.
He Han didn't notice the change in her expression and had already lowered his head to continue typing.
Lin Zhanqiao closed the window and sat back down at her desk. She picked up her notebook, but couldn't concentrate on a single word. Her fingers unconsciously turned the pages, her mind already wandering elsewhere.
She thought of the box of small balloons in her bag.
Zhou Mei's smug face surfaced.
hateful.
Then I thought—it's not that bad.
That evening, the two did some shameless things after work.
It's still raining.
-
The next morning, when Lin Zhanqiao left He Han's hotel, the rain had stopped.
She stood at the hotel entrance, took a deep breath of the post-rain air, then took out her phone and called a car to go home.
Once home, she stuffed all her toiletries into her makeup bag. She also removed the pillowcases and put the pillowcases and pillowcases into a plastic bag. She then pulled out two sets of clothes and a pair of slippers from the closet and crammed them all into her suitcase.
She dragged her suitcase out the door, hailed a taxi, and returned to the hotel.
He Han opened the door and saw her standing in the corridor with her suitcase, and paused for two seconds.
"This is……"
“Since we’ll be coming here from time to time, we should bring some daily necessities. The things in the hotel aren’t as convenient as the things at home,” Lin Zhanqiao said with a smile.
He Han's lips twitched.
He stepped aside, and Lin Zhanqiao dragged his suitcase into the room, starting to lay out the items one by one—toothbrushes were inserted into cups, pillows were placed side by side on the bedside table, and skincare products took up most of the sink.
He Han stood at the door watching this scene, his smile a little stiff.
"You...don't need to bring so much stuff, do you?"
“If you’re going to stay somewhere, it has to be comfortable.” Lin Zhanqiao hung the last piece of clothing in the closet and clapped her hands: “Alright, much better now.”
He Han hummed in agreement, turned around, picked up his phone, and glanced at the time.
"Oh, right, I'm meeting an old classmate this afternoon, so I have to go out."
"Oh, go ahead." Lin Zhan didn't even look up, adjusting the height of his pillow.
He Han changed his clothes and went out.
But he did not leave the hotel.
He went to the front desk, took out his ID card, and booked another room.
The room was at the back of the hallway, a size smaller than his old one, but it didn't matter. He closed the door, turned on his computer, and started typing.
Quiet.
No one spoke, no one asked what he was writing, no one rummaged through things next to him, and no one took up too much space on the sink.
All he needed was this—a quiet, independent space where he wouldn't be disturbed.
I typed for three hours, and the word count was twice as many as usual.
He Han leaned back in his chair, stretched his fingers, and was in a good mood.
But this good mood didn't last long.
Around 9 p.m., he finished writing a chapter, saved the document, turned off his computer, and prepared to go back to his original room.
The moment I opened the door, there was a person standing at the end of the corridor.
Lin Zhanqiao.
The two people stared at each other across the corridor, which was more than ten meters apart.
Lin Zhanqiao spoke first.
"Did you book this room?"
He Han opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"You said you were going to see an old classmate." Lin Zhanqiao's voice was as flat as a stagnant pool: "So you booked another room in the hotel."
"I--"
"You think I'm in your way."
"No, I just need a quiet environment—"
"Quiet?" Lin Zhanqiao laughed, a laugh more like a grimace. "If you think I'm noisy, just say so. No need for this excuse of seeing an old classmate. Do you find it difficult to say 'You can leave' to me?"
He Han's voice rose: "I didn't want you to leave, I just—"
"You just can't stand me living there!" Lin Zhanqiao's voice suddenly rose, and a row of motion-activated lights in the hallway snapped on. "Fine, I get it. You let someone stay overnight because it was raining. You asked me to move in because you were too embarrassed to refuse. From beginning to end, you never considered—"
She paused for a moment and took a deep breath.
"Fine, let's break up."
The fruit bag slipped from my hand, and the apples rolled all over the ground.
Lin Zhanqiao turned and left.
He Han stood in the corridor, watching the apples that had rolled away on the ground. The lights went out and came on again and again.
He didn't chase after them.
-
At 11 p.m., Qin Hao's phone rang.
It was Zhou Mei calling.
"Zhan Qiao and He Han broke up."
Qin Hao had just finished writing a chapter and was about to take a shower when he heard this, and his hand froze in mid-air.
"what?"
"They had a big fight, a really bad one. Lin Zhanqiao is drinking here right now, crying her eyes out."
Qin Hao rubbed his temples.
Where are you?
"I'm at Zhan Qiao's house."
"Okay, I understand. You take good care of her. I'm going to find the other mentally challenged person."
Qin Hao hung up the phone, sighed, grabbed his coat, and went out.
On the other side, Zhou Mei put down her phone, turned around and went to the kitchen to pour Lin Zhanqiao a glass of warm water. Lin Zhanqiao was curled up on the sofa, clutching half a bottle of red wine in her hand, her eyes as red as a rabbit's, and her makeup was completely ruined.
"Look at you, so pathetic." Zhou Mei shoved the water into her hand: "Drink this."
Lin Zhanqiao didn't take it, but instead took another sip of red wine.
“He told me to stay, and I thought he meant the same thing.” She choked up, “But he booked a hotel room behind my back; he never intended to be in the same room with me at all—”
"Alright, alright." Zhou Mei sat down next to her and put her arm around her shoulder. "Men, they just think differently than us."
"Then why didn't he tell me? Why did he lie to me?"
Zhou Mei didn't respond.
She couldn't answer that question.
It's raining again outside the window.
Qin Hao took a taxi to He Han's hotel, asked for the room number at the front desk, and went upstairs to knock on the door.
The door opened.
He Han leaned against the door frame, holding a bottle of beer in his hand. The main lights were off in the room, only the computer screen emitted a faint blue light.
“Come in.” He stepped to the side, his voice hoarse.
Qin Hao walked in and glanced around—the suitcase was still there, and Lin Zhanqiao's things were still on the sink, but she was gone.
"You broke up?" he asked.
He Han didn't say anything, but took a swig of beer.
"Couldn't you have booked a different hotel? Or at least a different floor?"
"How could I have known it would be such a coincidence? I ordered food from the waiter, and she just happened to see me and follow me over."
Qin Hao sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at He Han.
"You're quite the drama queen."
He Han gave a wry smile and twirled the beer bottle in his hand.
"I know I did something wrong. But she brought her whole house here—pillows, slippers, skincare products… I panicked when I saw that. I need my own space, but I didn't know how to tell her."
"So you chose the stupidest way."
"Um."
There was a few seconds of silence.
Qin Hao took the beer from his hand and took a sip himself.
"Alright, finish this bottle and stop drinking. We'll talk about it tomorrow when you're sober."
He Han didn't move.
The rain outside the window was getting heavier, pattering loudly against the glass. (End of Chapter)