I PREFER HU LEI

Hu Lei thought that she would be able to relax once the matter of the conference was concluded. Unfortunately, it was not the case. Over the next three weeks, she had to attend numerous teleconference meetings with Zhong Feng. Moreover, she had to catch up on her other responsibilities, so she had to stretch herself thin.

When things started to wind down in Etude Technologies, she thought that she would finally be able to get a full night of sleep. Unfortunately, that dream was not meant to be realised. The call that crushed her hopes came from her editor.

"Hello, Mr Bo Qian." She spoke into the phone with enthusiasm.

Her happiness could be attributed to the fact that Zhong Feng had released her from work for the rest of the week. Moreover, she was ahead of all her writing. This meant that she could do nothing for the entire weekend. What could be better than that?

"You seem to be in a good mood." A laughing male voice responded.

"It has been a good day and the rest of the week is going to be even better." Her joy was palpable.

"Then, I must be the bearer of more good news. The discussions concerning a TV series based on The Queen of the Apocalypse have concluded. Your book is going to be turned into a show." Bo Qian's voice betrayed his excitement.

Hu Lei did not respond with the expected joy.

"That's good. It seems that I will get a lot of money." She spoke in a wry tone.

"Don't be like that. Do you know how many novelists dream of this moment? Moreover, it is rare for a fantasy-action book to be turned into a drama. You should be jumping up and down." Her editor spoke in a rebuking huff.

The poor soul was always enthusiastic about his work. He was the type who always put in his best foot forward and all his emotions into each task. Hu Lei could only sigh because she did not have the strength to be mean to this puppy.

"What do I have to do?" Her tone was still dejected.

She knew that there was no way her publisher would allow her to sit down and enjoy the money coming in. The tears in her heart drowned all hope of a restful weekend. If she had known this would happen, she would have ignored the call.

"There is a little work to be done. But it is not a big deal for a prolific and successful author like Little Ninja Cat." He said in a flattering tone.

Hu Lei's face darkened immediately. She hated hearing the penname she had chosen when she had published her first novel. She had been seventeen and had been looking for an outlet when life had gotten a little tough. Luckily or unluckily, her first book had become a hit. The name had stuck with her, and Bo Qian would not hear anything about changing it.

"You know using that name is not achieving the effect you want." She spoke with underlying annoyance.

Bo Qian laughed awkwardly.

"That is not important right now. We have much to do. Can we meet tomorrow?" He asked.

Hu Lei had never met anyone in person who knew of her as Little Ninja Cat. When she had started out, she had not planned on revealing herself. However, once she decided to move back to Supreme City, she had informed Bo Qian and was prepared to own this identity, regardless of the poorly thought-out name.

"Is it really necessary to meet?" she still wanted to delay the inevitable for a little longer.

"You have avoided all meetings with everyone for five years. This cannot be delayed any longer. Anyway, you will only be meeting with me for now." Bo Qian spoke strictly.

The next day, Hu Lei appeared in a small teahouse in the city. She found a seat in a corner where she could look at the door discretely. She had arrived earlier than the planned time so that she could be mentally prepared for the meeting. She also did not want to be the person

Shortly after she ordered her ginger tea, Bo Qian came through the door. Like most people, Bo Qian had an active social media life, so she had checked him out in the past. He did not look like a typical editor. He was quite young, probably in his late twenties. His hair was dyed blond, and his face was reminiscent of a pop star.

Hu Lei could not help imagining a boy band with Furukawa Shun and Bo Qian. They would properly be popular. She smiled to herself before waving discretely at the awkward-looking guy, staring at each person in the café with a curious eye. If he kept it up, he might be arrested.

He looked confused for a moment before approaching her. He observed her for a moment before his face lit up. Hu Lei did not stand up or greet him, but he did not seem offended. If anything, he looked too excited to notice anything.

"You are Little Ninja Cat?" He sat down opposite her and asked the rhetorical question.

"I prefer Hu Lei." She responded with a frown.

"You look nothing like I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I imagined a tall woman with a doggish face. If I did not know you were female, I would probably look for a huge man." He responded seriously.

Her face darkened. She had always known that this person was not normal, but what went on in this strange human's mind?

"Don't get me wrong. It is not like I was hoping that you were ugly or a man. It is just that most authors with pennames choose an identity that is completely opposite with their actual selves." He continued with an apologetic look.

Hu Lei chose to not continue talking about her penname. She did not want this stain on her life to be dissected. She could not even bear to have it mentioned.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked directly.

"I actually wanted to have a look at you. But not in a suspicious way of course." Bo Qian's awkwardness did not fail to make the conversation entertaining for Hu Lei.

"Please continue. Do not think too much, or we will be here until the next millennium." She said with a light chuckle.

"We need to increase the interest towards The Queen of the Apocalypse before the show begins. This means we must market the author. Since you have never appeared in public before, we can use this to create more interest from the public." He seemed to get more excited.

"And you wanted to see me to determine the best way to market me." She spoke deprecatingly.

Bo Qian laughed uncomfortably because it was true. He felt a little ashamed about being overly happy about Hu Lei's attractiveness. He had only been joyful because he would not need to work too hard to draw a lot of attention.

"It is business. The more people are interested in you, the more TQA will be more popular again. And then, the interest will encourage investors to put in more resources and better actors will be interested in the show." He explained himself earnestly.

"I understand. I will cooperate. This could be interesting after all." She smiled brightly in a way that caused Bo Qian to feel uncomfortable.