I thought I was going to skip this chapter, but I still managed to finish it...
From the beginning of December to the beginning of January, I was extremely busy. I didn't even take my weekly day off, using it to build up a stockpile of drafts, which I then quickly used up. It was a truly miserable experience.
The annual meeting ended last night, and there's basically nothing else to do outside. It's mostly about things that have been dragging on for a long time and need feedback, which can all be resolved online or by phone.
Because I managed to write a chapter yesterday in a spare moment, and I have a draft of another chapter, I thought everything would return to normal today, and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. But I was so naive.
My plan is this: after the annual meeting, I'll have a late-night snack with some people, go back to sleep around 1 a. m., and get up half an hour early today, at 8:30 a. m., go to the hotel's buffet restaurant for breakfast, then come back to think about the plot and write, trying to finish writing before 12 p. m., or at least most of it. Then I'll check out, have lunch, go to the high-speed rail station, and go home, using my phone to finish or revise the rest along the way.
The plan successfully included checking out of the hotel, going to the high-speed rail station, going home, and having a late-night snack, breakfast, and lunch.
Well, I ate my midnight snack until 1:30, and after showering I went to bed around 2:00. I thought I could still get 6 and a half hours of sleep, which was okay. But then, at 5:00 AM, the hotel suddenly called to wake me up.
A wake-up call service? I was jolted awake from my dream; I almost had a heart attack.
Although my English isn't good, I could still tell it was a wake-up call. I wanted to curse, but I held back, unplugged the bedside phone, and tried to fall asleep while I was still sleepy.
Was that the end of it? No, a minute later, just as I was drifting off to sleep, the phone rang again.
That's when I realized, damn it, there's a telephone over there on the desk, so I quickly ran over.
On the way there, the phone stopped ringing, then rang again—the third wake-up call... I was fully awake then. I dialed back and yelled at them, then picked up my phone and asked the Author' group at this year's annual meeting what had happened.
Then, the group suddenly became active, and many people replied to me, saying they had all received wake-up calls and were almost going crazy.
It was later discovered that the hotel reception had confused the China Literature team with other teams. That other team needed to leave early or participate in activities. So, the hotel made a wake-up call to most of the China Literature Author ' rooms between 5:00 and 5:30 AM...
I'm the kind of person who has a hard time falling back asleep once I'm fully awake, and my sleep quality is terrible. I tossed and turned in bed for more than two hours, unable to fall asleep. But then I remembered I still had to write, so I got up before 8 a. m. After a while, I went downstairs for breakfast and came back to try and think about the plot, but my mind was completely blank, like it was filled with mush. I had absolutely no ideas.
I struggled to sleep and couldn't think straight until after 11 pm before finally recovering a little. I managed to organize the plot, but after only writing 500 words, I had to check out and leave. I started feeling sleepy on the way, sleeping on the bus and the high-speed train until I got home. When I finally woke up, I realized I was running out of time. My first instinct was to ask for leave, but then I thought, since I already had the plot in mind, I can try writing it, however much I can manage. As it turned out, I was in a pretty good state of mind, and not only did I finish writing it, but I also had time to revise it and even managed to write this one chapter.
However, I probably won't be able to write anything tonight. I'm a bit sleepy now, so I won't have any drafts saved up. If you see "update first, then revise" tomorrow, please don't be surprised. If it's a few minutes late, please don't worry.
Finally, on a side note, the first time I competed for the monthly ticket ranking was during the Arcane era, which should have been around the time of Aob iye. Back then, I was young and impetuous, and I said some strange things, which I regretted afterwards. So, I set a rule for myself: when I post a chapter, I only talk about myself and don't mention others.
I managed to do it most of the time, and I hope everyone can learn from me (laughs). Whether it's in this chapter or the book review section, just talk about Mysteries, don't talk about other people or other books.
Of course, this excludes those related to the First World, Arcane Arts, Martial Arts, Destruction of Fortune, Ravens, and Bandits.