I vividly remember the first time my book hit the shelves at the beginning of 2017, when my submission unexpectedly passed the contract review, and I boldly decided to write full-time.
Back then, because there was no computer at my parents' home, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to write if I went back, so I stayed alone in a tiny 10-square-meter rental in Wenzhou, typing away. It was very cold at the beginning of that year, and I assured my parents that I would receive the manuscript fee at the beginning of the month, but the first month's payment of over a thousand was delayed, and I didn't get it. At that time, I only had about a hundred yuan on me. Being in an unfamiliar place and afraid of telling my parents—they might think I had been scammed by the website and disagree with my decision to write full-time—I stayed there.