The surveillance showed that after Jiang BaiYan walked into the study, he first looked around casually like an ordinary guest, curiously glancing at the scenery and decorations. Then, like most people, he became curious about the bookshelves.
The simple bookshelves had two large sections. One section contained reference books of all kinds. He exclaimed in surprise twice, then went to look at the other section.
This section didn't have many books. Two layers were used to display ornaments, while the others each layer contained novels she had written herself, which were: "White Cat Detective", "The Hiding Child", "Demon Doctor", "Rose, Gold and Killer".
Among them, "White Cat Detective" had a total of sixteen volumes, which was currently the most.
He didn't even glance at "The Hiding" which he had starred in, but stood in front of the White Cat series for a long time. Then he reached out and took the folder at the very edge.
The folder had a sticky note on the book with the words "White Cat". Inside were her manuscripts.
Jiang BaiYan was very focused. He flipped open the folder directly to the thirteenth volume.
The manuscript of "Pudding and Gems".
He looked around cautiously for a moment to make sure she wasn't nearby, then took out a sticky note from his pocket and silently looked at it for a while before slipping it into the pages and casually putting the folder back.
Jian Jing paused the surveillance, got up and took the folder, found the note, and thought for a moment.
Both versions of her had written the “White Cat Detective” series, there was no doubt about that. Based on her memory, the content of volumes 1-9 was almost identical, the only difference was that this world's version had been edited, while hers was the original draft.
After finishing volume 9, she stopped writing because of the high school entrance exam. The Jian Jing in this world completed volumes 10-16 afterwards.
Jiang BaiYan was particularly concerned about "Pudding and Gems", volume 13, which she had no memory of at all.
As for the sticky note.
Jian Jing looked down and inspected it. It was a yellowed piece of paper with a simple cartoon cat sketch. It wasn't particularly good looking or poorly drawn, just a very ordinary doodle.
Why did Jiang BaiYan tuck this sticky note in here? Was it related to the story?
But "Pudding and Gems" was about a stolen gem case!
A wealthy merchant had purchased an expensive emerald which then went missing. After reporting it to the police and searching everywhere, several suspects were identified but the gem was nowhere to be found.
Just as the police were at a loss, someone reported that the thief was the grocery store owner from the next street over.
The police were very puzzled, but when they arrived at the small shop, they did indeed find the missing gem in with the candy, mixed in with many other gem-shaped candies.
The grocery store owner was arrested, but his son didn't believe it and cried alone in the park.
The white kitten happened to pass by, heard his story, and promised to help find the truth.
What was the truth?
It turned out there was a stray cat in this neighborhood who usually dominated over the residents and was familiar with every household. The grocery store owner's son often fed the stray cat dried fish, and every time the cat ate dried fish, the boy would eat the best gem-shaped candy sold in the store.
Perhaps this made the cat misunderstand and think humans liked to eat this stuff, so one day, wanting to repay the kindness, the stray cat brought an actual gem to the boy as a gift.
Not realizing it was a real gem, the boy thought it was candy and casually tossed it into the candy jar.
The ending was of course the owner being found innocent and released, and the boy adopting the stray cat.
That stray cat was named Pudding.
However, despite "White Cat Detective" being Jian Jing's famous work, it was published as young adult fiction, and the mystery element wasn't very strong. The story was also a bit frivolous.
Who would just leave a gem sitting on a table instead of locking it in a safe? Of course, if she remembered correctly, she started writing this story at 13, so expectations couldn't be too high.
The question was, what was there in this flimsy story for Jiang BaiYan to care so much about?
How was this related to him at all?
He wasn't the grocery store owner's son.
Lost in thought, the system silently appeared: [New mission released]
[Mission name: Pudding's Secret (Long-term)]
[Content description: What secrets could a cute little kitty have? This is a long-term mission without time limit.]
[Rewards and penalties: Based on mission completion status]
Jian Jing: "???"
This was the first time a long-term mission appeared, and it was such a strange mission at that. Pudding's secret? It hid the dried fish under the sofa, or pulled out Daddy's hair tie?
Was it referring to the Pudding in "Pudding and Gems", or a meowing Pudding?
She was completely confused about why there would be such a weird mission.
"System, no hints?"
[This is a long-term mission, the host can investigate slowly.]
Alright then. Jian Jing temporarily put the mission aside and continued her previous train of thought.
Other than the manuscripts, she had also placed two more things on the bookshelf.
A greeting card from Saint Angelica and a poster with a heart drawn on it.
However, Jiang BaiYan barely glanced at them, not looking more or looking less, going straight for the White Cat series. It seemed these two items had no relation to him.
That was good then.
Jian Jing still remembered the man she encountered at the cemetery. He was well dressed so she couldn't see his appearance, but his build and gait didn't match any memories.
In other words, it was probably not someone close to her.
She had paid attention to the property security guards, and none of them had scars on their hands.
Was he still monitoring her?
"Rose, Gold and Killer" had been on shelves for so long, yet there was no movement at all.
She couldn't figure out the thought process of perverts.
*
The "Murder Hospital" chapter of Ghost House Adventure officially aired in July as it was longer and a rare overseas filming, so it counted as a special chapter.
Even with just the trailer released, many viewers already booked their calendars. When it started airing, the viewer count directly jumped to six digits, with densely packed barrage comments making it impossible to open them.
This wasn't surprising. Domestic CS games used laser tag which was also exciting, but inevitably couldn't match the real experience of live ammunition. The immersive environment and real monster battles with real weapons, calling it explosive was no exaggeration.
Everyone was asking when this haunted house would open for business because they wanted to experience it themselves.
It received rave reviews domestically, and also caused a stir overseas.
Ghost House Adventure was introduced abroad last year and aired on overseas streaming sites. With simultaneous release this time, it also gained popularity with foreign audiences.
Especially the hidden message at the end, viewers tried every method to decipher it until a popular blogger reposted saying the answer was: [It's a Vigenère cipher, the keyword is xclub, super easy]
Everyone unanimously ignored the Versailles man's nonsense, but became curious about Jian Jing.
Many people left comments on review sites asking who she was, if she was an action star. Comments related to her accounted for over half of the total.
In other words, she alone overshadowed the other five combined.
Very aggro-drawing.
Next were Han Bo and Jiang BaiYan. The former earned goodwill through bravery, while the latter gained attention for his looks - although due to aesthetic differences, his fans were still mainly Asian.
Following closely was Coco, whose performance was great, but unfortunately, people inevitably make comparisons. In every aspect she was slightly inferior to Jian Jing, and the runner up was always forgotten.
Zheng Ke Yan remained very popular domestically, but was more average overseas. Fortunately, beauty was an eternal pass, so even without catching fire, some were into her looks.
Cao Yu was the most miserable.
Foreign audiences couldn't accurately get his so-called strategist persona. They admired individual heroism. Jian Jing was younger than him, smarter than him, a better fighter than him, and prettier than him - more to their taste.
So Professor Cao was ignored tonight.
Alas, the adult world was just that cruel. :(
Back to the main point, as the hype gradually fermented, one day, the system released a prompt:
[System: The host's reputation has made breakthrough progress in dissemination range. Limited pool unlock time -5 days/cycle]
Jian Jing: That's way too stingy!
Just 5 days from domestic to overseas?
[System: Please maintain your current fame level. If reputation drops, the original time will be restored.]
Before Jian Jing could worry, Kang Mu Cheng brought up overseas publishing with her.
Back three years ago, "White Cat Detective" had already been translated to Japanese and Korean for publishing. It did gain some attention in Japan and Korea at the time, but didn't make big waves.
There were plans to do the same for "Demon Doctor", but top translators' schedules were full, so it was postponed until starting up this year.
"This sequel was originally planned to be published in two volumes in the second half of the year, but it looks like the plan will have to change now," Kang Mu Cheng said as he personally delivered the manuscript. "The translation of the first volume is already complete. I'll get them to publish it as soon as possible to take advantage of the hype and open up the Western market."
Jian Jing flipped through the electronic manuscript. She thought the cover looked great, but basically couldn't understand whether the contents were good or bad.
"I'll go with whatever you say. I'm not too worried about this," she didn't dwell on it too much.
This made Kang Mu Cheng laugh instead: "You're really not nervous at all now, huh?"
"It's useless to be nervous. Whether the translation is good or bad, and whether foreigners will like it or not, isn't up to me to decide," Jian Jing's life was now richer and more colorful. Even she didn't have the same worries now as when Demon 2 was published.
Kang Mu Cheng heaved a deep sigh, not knowing whether it was relief or something else: "Since you think this way, I'm relieved. Oh right, the script for Rose Gold is already being written. Let them know if you have any thoughts."
Another script?
More meetings?
Jian Jing held her forehead and slumped into the pillow, complaining: "Why is there so much work? Didn't you say we were going on vacation?"
Was this a joke? She had been busy with Demon 2 matters in the first half of the year, then wrote Rose Gold, filmed a horror show, and finally made it to summer break, only to get more work?!
It was summer break!
Kang Mu Cheng chuckled helplessly: "We don't have to do it if you don't want to look it over. I just don't want you to regret it if the filming doesn't turn out well since it is your work, after all."
She was silent for a moment before murmuring: "You're right."
Seeing her like this made Kang Mu Cheng feel a little bad for some reason. He thought for a bit before asking: "So how about next Monday?"
"For a meeting? I don't want to go. Just have the screenwriter send me the script," Jian Jing was growing lazy about going out in the increasingly hot weather.
"For vacation," Kang Mu Cheng's lips curled into a smile. "I can finish up things this week. As for the script, you can look it over anytime with your laptop."
Jian Jing sat up straight in surprise: "Really going on vacation? Not to attend some event and casually play on the side like you usually do?"
Don't doubt it. Kang Workaholic in Chief was absolutely capable of doing something like that.
"No events," Kang Mu Cheng squeezed the bridge of his nose and promised: "Purely vacation. It's not like I haven't taken you on trips before."
Jian Jing relaxed: "Where to?"
"Where do you want to go?" he asked back.
She thought about it before tentatively saying: "Somewhere with fewer people, quieter, not too tiring, and good for summer."
Kang Mu Cheng made an affirmative noise. He immediately had an idea: "Remember Si Yingjie?"
An image of a smiling face popped into Jian Jing's mind, with a voice saying: "Little Jian Jing, Mu Cheng is busy so I'm here to teach you tennis."
"I remember him." Someone who appeared more than once in her past lives must have made an impression.
"He's been in low spirits lately and wanted to take some friends to an island for a few days," Kang Mu Cheng explained. "What do you think?"
Jian Jing felt a stir in her heart.
Si Yingjie was Kang Mu Cheng's good friend, an ironclad brotherly bond. She must have seen him many times. Perhaps Kang Mu Cheng was unwilling to tell her something that she could learn from Si Yingjie.
"Sounds good," she readily agreed. "I haven't seen Yingjie ge in a long time."
And so, the matter was settled.