Chapter Nine: Curious Nan Li

In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed since Zhou Chen arrived in this world.

During these two weeks, he had completely integrated into this world and his new identity. In particular, after several instances of deep intimacy with his wife, Nan Li, their relationship had grown rapidly. In private, Nan Li had even asked him several times if he had been triggered by something, noting that his recent changes were indeed quite significant. However, when Zhou Chen asked if she was satisfied, Nan Li’s answer was straightforward: aside from housework, she was very satisfied with everything else. During this time, apart from working and writing his novel, he spent all his remaining time with his family, especially in the evenings, telling stories to Chaochao and chatting with Huanhuan.

His novel had been uploaded for twelve days, reaching nearly one hundred thousand words. The metrics were decent, but still some distance away from becoming a hit. Zhou Chen was not anxious; after all, he was a newcomer with little traffic, and a novel with only one hundred thousand words could only attract so many people. He had great confidence in his work—as long as the word count increased, it would surely take off. His editor, however, thought his novel, "The Great Feng Watchman," was excellent and suggested he slow down his updates to secure more recommendations before the official launch, insisting that it would definitely succeed. But Zhou Chen felt he should launch as soon as possible. His writing speed was fast, and he rarely encountered bottlenecks when following the plot. Facing such a headstrong writer, the editor had no choice but to sigh and let him have his way.

Sunday.

After finishing her chores, Nan Li saw Zhou Chen still clattering away at his keyboard in the study and felt a sense of helplessness. Since he started writing his novel a short while ago, their family hadn't gone out for activities for two consecutive weekends, save for yesterday when she took Huanhuan and Chaochao to the library. While she thought it was a positive and ambitious thing for her husband to earn extra money through writing, she felt he shouldn't give up his rest time for it. Most importantly, she wasn't sure if he actually had the capability to succeed.

She walked into the study. "Honey."

Zhou Chen looked up and asked, "What is it, Lili?"

Seeing the serious look on his face, the words Nan Li meant to say faltered. Instead, she asked softly, "Honey, how is your novel coming along?"

Zhou Chen replied, "It's only over a hundred thousand words. It will be ready for launch in half a month. By my estimates, the results should be good, and I'll be able to make money."

Over the past half-month, with over a hundred thousand words written, the plot had unfolded, his following was growing, and his reputation was gradually building. Although it hadn't launched yet, he had already received several hundred tips, including one from a "Grandmaster" tier donor. Thus, Zhou Chen was very confident that he would definitely earn money after the launch. It might not be as huge a hit as in his previous reality, but he expected to earn at least tens of thousands, perhaps over a hundred thousand, in the first month.

"Is that so?" Nan Li was skeptical. In her view, this was Zhou Chen's first time writing a novel, and success wasn't that easy to come by, but she couldn't bear to dampen his enthusiasm. "Honey, what is the name of your novel?"

Hearing this, Zhou Chen’s heart tightened. "Why are you asking?"

He didn't know what other web novel authors thought, but as far as he was concerned, he didn't really want his loved ones to know what he was writing, as it felt rather embarrassing.

Nan Li said, "I'm just asking. If my husband's novel becomes a hit, I want to help you advertise it."

Seeing that Nan Li genuinely wanted to know, Zhou Chen told her. After all, it was just a novel, not something shameful.

"The Great Feng Watchman? What a strange name."

Just then, Zhou Chen’s phone rang. He picked it up and saw the caller was Yan Peng.

"Lili, it's Yan Peng."

Nan Li said, "He must be looking for you to play ball again. Go ahead. Going out to play is better than being cooped up at home all day." She was very dissatisfied with that mistress and her daughter, but she had no ill feelings toward Yan Peng and had never stopped her husband from associating with him.

As soon as Zhou Chen answered, Yan Peng's eager voice came through. "Brother, what are you doing? Let's go play ball. I've already got the gear ready."

"Alright, see you at the usual spot."

He had been writing for a while and was feeling a bit restless; Nan Li was right, going out to clear his head would be good.

"Honey, since you're going out to play, you probably won't be back for lunch. I'll take Huanhuan and Chaochao to my mom's place."

"That works. Yan Peng and I will eat out." Zhou Chen nodded. In his memory, he and Yan Peng had a very good relationship; they often played ball and ate together. They weren't brothers-in-law by blood, but it made little difference.

"By the way, honey, didn't you say you wanted to invest in that... coin? But I saw that the 400,000 I gave you hasn't been touched yet?" Because they were very close, they knew each other's phone passwords. Nan Li had checked his phone and saw no transaction records, hence her question.

"Oh, I'm still observing. In a few days, when the time is right, I'll buy in. Don't you worry, Lili. I promise you, within three months, I’ll upgrade our lifestyle—you deserve to be driving a luxury car."

Zhou Chen sounded heroic. The reason he wanted to earn money wasn't for himself—after all, he would eventually return to his original reality—but for Nan Li and their children. He wanted them to live better lives so they wouldn't end up being bullied like in the drama. If it weren't for them, with his personality, he wouldn't be in such a rush to chase big money.

"You really know how to talk. My car hasn't even been bought for that many years. Whether you make money or not doesn't matter, I just hope you don't get obsessed. I still feel that earning money through steady work is more reliable." Although Nan Li was ambitious, she felt investing in virtual Bitcoin was less reliable than buying stocks.

Zhou Chen hugged Nan Li and said confidently, "Lili, with me here, I will make sure you live as well as anyone else. Just wait and see."

"Alright, stop with the sweet talk. Go play ball; I need to get things ready for Huanhuan and Chaochao."

"Okay, honey."

Zhou Chen truly loved his current family—it was relaxed, happy, and filled with love. He truly hoped it could stay this way forever.

As Zhou Chen dressed and prepared to leave, Huanhuan ran over. "Dad, Mom said you're going to play ball with Uncle. Take me with you!"

After half a month together, Zhou Chen had grown truly fond of the cheerful, kind, and cute Huanhuan. Under their indulgence, she was indeed like a little princess.

"We're going to play ball, why do you want to come?"

"It's at the sports center anyway! Ask Uncle to bring Yan Ziyou along. While you guys play, we can go do something else."

"I want to go too! I want to go too!" Chaochao jumped up, shouting to make sure he wasn't forgotten.

"This?"

"Honey, just take them. You haven't taken them out to play in a long time. At the sports center, with Huanhuan and Ziyou watching over, Chaochao will be fine."

Zhou Chen thought about it; Huanhuan and Ziyou were already in the fifth grade, and Chaochao was very sensible and wouldn't run off. He immediately called Yan Peng back and asked him to bring Yan Ziyou. Yan Peng hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed.