Chapter 167: Chapter 167: The Prankster Alliance (Part 1)
Phoebe Lockwood entered the women’s restroom, took out her phone, and made a call. She immediately shouted into the phone, "AAAHH! Mom, I can’t take it anymore! You have to help me figure something out!"
"Sweetheart, what’s wrong?"
"Mom, you know people in publishing, right? I want to publish a book! I want to write a love story! I want to get my book made into a TV series! I’m going to crush that bitch under my heel and wipe that smug look off her face!"
"Oh, sweetheart, don’t be angry. Come home early from work today. Mom will make you something delicious, and then we can sit down and talk about this properly."
Phoebe Lockwood bit her lip hard, her eyes blazing with fury. The resentment in her heart threatened to plunge her into an abyss.
...
「June 2nd arrived quietly.」
As soon as dawn broke that day, Claire Sinclair’s left eyelid wouldn’t stop twitching, and she had a constant feeling of unease.
The sight of the white laptop on her desk, however, inexplicably eased most of her anxiety.
’Sure enough, only her computer could bring her comfort...’
Claire Sinclair walked over and slipped Little White into its bag; she would be taking it to work with her today.
As soon as she arrived at the office, Editor-in-Chief Summers gathered everyone for the monthly meeting.
The heads of each department gave their reports in turn, and finally, it was Henry Hartwell’s turn to speak.
Henry Hartwell glanced at Claire Sinclair and made a grand announcement: "The film rights for ’Senluo,’ which Claire Sinclair wrote for the last issue, have been secured. Our newspaper will be partnering with Rosebirch Film Company to produce the film adaptation. We’ll aim to finish filming before the year is out, in time for a release during the New Year’s holiday slot."
The New Year’s holiday slot???
It wasn’t just Claire Sinclair; her colleagues were also staring in disbelief.
Weren’t all the New Year’s holiday movies critically acclaimed commercial blockbusters? Could Claire Sinclair’s article really compete with those films?
Editor-in-Chief Summers, however, remained very calm. "Hanson, I’ll leave this in your hands. Claire Sinclair, you’re very talented. Keep up the good work."
Suddenly being called on, Claire was a bit flustered. "I’ll keep doing my best! Thank you, Editor Hartwell and Editor-in-Chief Summers, for your support and encouragement!"
Henry Hartwell looked at Claire Sinclair and said earnestly, "You’re picking up the formalities quickly. But don’t get arrogant. Pride comes before a fall. Never forget why you started."
She hadn’t expected him to serve up such a heavy-handed pep talk in front of so many people, but Claire Sinclair wasn’t embarrassed, just a little sheepish. "Teacher Hartwell, I’ll keep that in mind."
Henry Hartwell nodded and turned to Editor-in-Chief Summers.
"Ms. Summers, I propose that we feature a narrative-style article in our paper every month. Times are changing, and readers’ habits are becoming more diverse. What they want to read shouldn’t be constrained by old formats."
"That’s a good proposal, but narrative pieces are difficult to write. It’s not that I think you all lack writing ability, but rather that you may not have enough life experience yet. If we’re going to add this section, I suggest we solicit submissions online. For one, it allows us to interact with our readers. For another, it gives aspiring writers a chance to showcase their work. And thirdly, it can serve as a classy counterpoint to all the trashy web novels out there. What do you all think?"
"I think that could work!"
"As long as we don’t have to write them, anything’s fine!"
"Haha, works for me! Let’s get submissions from online!"
Everyone seemed to be on board with the proposal, so Editor-in-Chief Summers said, "Alright, Hanson, I’ll leave this matter in your hands as well."
Henry Hartwell nodded. "Alright."
There wasn’t much else to discuss. Editor-in-Chief Summers gave a brief summary and then concluded the meeting.
Everyone returned to their workstations to get back to work.
