Wang Yiying had called mainly to ask Yan Xiao for a short story.
As for the novel Fortress Besieged, that would take a little longer.
Meanwhile,
on the twelfth floor above The Speaker's editorial offices, editor Lin Feng had just opened the email Wang Yiying had sent him.
Lin Feng and Wang Yiying had been classmates at university.
Lin Feng had great faith in Wang Yiying's taste and literary judgment.
Even so, reading her email, he found it hard to believe.
The best novel of the past decade, bar none...
Isn't that a bit too much praise? Lin Feng wondered as he downloaded the attachment and opened it to read.
He had only read one sentence when Ma Liang suddenly came up behind him and gave him a smack.
Smack.
Lin Feng jumped in fright, nearly overturning his desk.
Ma Liang was startled by his reaction too. He jerked backward, tripped, and landed butt-first in the office chair behind him.
Luckily, the chair was facing him. Otherwise, he would have landed hard enough to split his backside into eight pieces.
Lin Feng turned around, saw that it was Ma Liang, and complained, "Come on, buddy. Aren't you a little old for these stupid games?"
Ma Liang sighed too. "Why are you getting more and more jumpy? Has the lonely bachelor met the big bad wolf?"
Lin Feng refused to back down. What's wrong with being single? Isn't being single pretty great? With that thought, he borrowed a line from Yan Xiao's book. "Let me tell you, I don't envy married men like you one bit. Marriage is a place where those inside want out, and those outside want in."
He paused, then continued, "To put it more poetically, those inside the fortress want to get out, and those outside want