It’s natural to feel nervous in an unfamiliar environment, especially when sneaking around like a thief, slipping quietly into a building, and then being questioned by the receptionist—this made David Thompson even more anxious. Looking up, David Thompson finally saw the name of the unit on the eighteenth floor: [Deyun Publishing House]. It turned out to be a publishing house.

“I’m here to see the chief editor of your publishing house.”

“So you’re looking for Editor Martinez. May I ask if you have an appointment?”

“Yes!”

“Then, little brother, what’s your name? Let me check for you.”

“Brian Carter, ‘Su’ as in awakening, ‘Shi’ as in release, and ‘Chen’ as in morning.”

“Appointment at 8:30, right on time.” The receptionist called the chief editor’s office, exchanged a few words, and then pointed out the direction for Brian Carter to go in. Chief editor’s office. Knocked on the door.

“Come in.” It was a woman’s voice—was it the secretary? Pushing the door open, the chief editor’s office was grandly decorated, the overall tone was purple, a violet color, serious yet not lacking in elegance.

There was no secretary in the office. Instead, a beautiful woman in her thirties sat in the chief editor’s chair. She had delicate eyebrows and alluring eyes, her face cold, dressed in a dark brown professional outfit that wrapped her curvy figure. From her elevated position, her cleavage was quite visible, and you could also see the edge of a purple badge. However, because she was sitting, the folds at her waist revealed a patch of fair skin.

[Deyun Publishing House · Chief Editor · Olivia Martinez]

“I thought it would be Mr. Brian Carter, but I didn’t expect it to be little brother Brian Carter instead.” Olivia Martinez’s smile was beautiful, like an iceberg melting. The mole at the corner of her mouth, combined with her sparkling eyes, was very captivating.

“I don’t think my age should be an issue.” Brian Carter.

“Heh, it’s not an issue at all. Both of you, please have a seat,” Olivia Martinez said, inviting them.

Brian Carter and David Thompson sat down on the sofa.

“Editor Martinez…”

“Brian Carter, you’re the same age as my daughter. Calling me Editor Martinez is too formal. Just call me Aunt Martinez, and I’ll call you Little Brian, is that alright?”

“Then I’m honored, Aunt Martinez.”

“What’s there to be honored about? If you keep saying that, Little Brian, Aunt Martinez will get upset.” Olivia Martinez deliberately put on a stern face, but after hearing Brian Carter call her Aunt Martinez, her tone and expression softened a bit.

Suddenly, she changed the subject: “Little Brian, the person next to you isn’t your Little Girlfriend, is she? How about introducing her to Aunt Martinez?”

Before Brian Carter could speak, David Thompson blushed and waved her hands repeatedly, “Um… no, we’re classmates. I’m just accompanying Little Emily here.”

“Oh,” Olivia Martinez drew out the word, making David Thompson lower her head in embarrassment.

“Alright, Little Brian, let’s chat later. Aunt Martinez needs to confirm first: did you really write ‘Wukong Biography’ yourself?”

“Of course. Copyright infringement can get you thirty years in prison. I’m still young—I don’t want to go to jail. Besides, Aunt Martinez, you probably already checked online before this.”

“Mm, Aunt Martinez just wanted to confirm. Then let me ask: do you still hold the simplified and traditional Chinese publishing rights for ‘Wukong Biography’?”

“Yes, I still have them!”

“Good. Since you call me Aunt Martinez, I won’t treat you unfairly. I’ve prepared a contract for you: fifty yuan per thousand words. Your ‘Wukong Biography’ is a hundred thousand words, so you’ll get five thousand yuan.” Although the literary industry in this world is developed, fifty yuan per thousand words is already quite good for a newcomer, so Brian Carter nodded in agreement.

“Here’s the contract. Since you’re under eighteen, you’ll need a guardian’s signature. You can take the contract home and discuss it with your parents first.” Olivia Martinez handled things as neatly as her tied-up hair.

“Okay.” Brian Carter put the contract into his backpack.

“Aunt Martinez is publishing something? What’s ‘Wukong Biography’?” With her big, cat-like eyes wide open, David Thompson looked on with curiosity.

“You didn’t know? Of course, it’s Little Brian’s book being published. This is the manuscript Little Brian wrote.” Olivia Martinez’s words left David Thompson a bit stunned. Publishing a book—for a middle schooler, even writing a six-hundred-word essay is hard enough, let alone publishing a book. She hurriedly took the stack of A4 paper.

‘Wukong Biography’—what a strange name. Is it about Sun Wukong?

As one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China, ‘Journey to the West’ is known by everyone. Every summer, the CCTV adaptation is rebroadcast, so what’s left to write about? And surely it’s not in classical Chinese!

With these thoughts, David Thompson continued reading—

Chapter One

The four of them walked to this place, but ahead was a dense forest, and there was no path.

“Wukong, I’m hungry. Go find something to eat.” Tang Seng sat down on a rock in a grand manner and said.

“I’m busy. Can’t you find it yourself? …It’s not like you don’t have legs.” Sun Wukong leaned on his staff and replied.

“You’re busy? Busy with what?”

“Don’t you think the evening glow is beautiful?” Sun Wukong said, still gazing at the sky. “Only by looking at this can I keep going west every day.”

“You can look while you search, as long as you don’t bump into a tree.”

…