On San Francisco's Academy Road, the streets were filled with young people. On this sunny weekend, even the genius students who spent all day in the laboratory and library would choose to relax and walk around with their friends.
In a cafe on the corner of the street, a young man dressed as a waiter walked through the corridor next to the coffee table. Under the jet black hair was a clean and handsome face. His black eyes looked a bit deeper than his age, as well as a sense of exhaustion that was the complete opposite of the sunlight outside the window.
Very quickly, his eyes met with a pair of green eyes.
"Do you have to go?"
Bathed in the sunlight through the window, the blonde hair was so dazzling. The watery eyes were filled with the urge to stay, but he was destined to be unable to respond.
Li Ming looked away, sighed, and gently placed the coffee cup on the table.
"Sorry, Louise. Something happened to my family, and they can't afford for me to study outside … "
His father was a doctor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was influenced by his father's work since he was a child, so he had an unusual talent for science. He was also full of interest in natural science. In addition to reading related books, he would occasionally write by himself.
After finishing high school, he was admitted to San Francisco State University with excellent TOEFL and SAT scores and majored in bioengineering. However, in the last year of graduation, bad news came from his family.
Three years ago, for the sake of the expensive tuition fees, his honest father accepted a sum of money that he shouldn't have accepted and helped a person he shouldn't have … In fact, it wasn't a big deal normally, but the person he helped was Director Li of the Materials Research Institute.
A week ago, the higher-ups suddenly ordered the leaders of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to thoroughly investigate the rats in the institute. Director Li of the Materials Research Institute was arrested and found a large number of rats. It seemed that because it involved the Nobel Prize nominee, the higher-ups attached great importance to this matter, and it even alarmed the Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The original small problem was magnified. If it weren't for his mother using the family's savings to smooth things over, his father would not only face suspension, but also prison. In order to settle this matter, the family spent more than 600,000 yuan.
The family no longer had money to support his studies outside …
The girl named Louise's eyes became misty.
"Don't tell me you have the heart to give up three years of studying and … forget me?"
Li Ming said softly, not daring to meet that unyielding gaze.
"Sorry, you're a good girl. I'm not good enough for you."
Working part-time in a coffee shop was not enough to support him in his final year of school.
Hearing his answer, the sadness in Louise's eyes was replaced by determination.
"I don't want your apology!"
After saying that, she slapped a newspaper on the table and looked straight into Li Ming's eyes.
"I've already signed up for you. I've read your novel. You definitely have the ability to compete for this opportunity!"
"This is?" Li Ming was stunned. He looked at the newspaper and read the few lines of words on the headline.
However, what attracted him was not the title, but the words below it.
[Submissions are limited to Chinese and English, and the genre is limited to sci-fi. This essay contest will select 10 works. Future Technology will sign with the 10 winners and purchase the adaptation rights at a price of 1 million USD. If the work has not been published, Future Technology promises to facilitate the publication of the work.
The deadline for submissions is one week with unlimited word count. There is no restriction on whether the work has been published before as long as proof of copyright is provided.
Interested parties can submit through Future Technology's official website!]
1 million USD, if he had this money …
Li Ming was tempted, but then he shook his head.
With such an attractive prize, all the sci-fi writers in the world would try out their manuscripts. He was only an amateur writer. Although he had shared his works with his peers on sci-fi forums, although he had published articles in magazines in his hometown, he didn't have the courage to participate in a world-class contest.
Even if he submitted his manuscripts, it would be drowned in the snowflakes of paper.
"Are you going to give up?" Louise stared into his eyes.
"This is not a question of whether or not to give up." Rather than gambling on the probability, it was better to buy a lottery ticket.
"So you don't even want to try?"
That voice, like a hammer, shattered the hesitation in Li Ming's heart.
Yes …
I don't even dare to try?
I had once arrogantly said that I would become a world-famous writer, that my works would be translated into twelve languages, and that I would stand on the Hugo Award stage! But now, the opportunity is in front of me. Faced with the opportunity to change my fate, I don't even have the courage to reach out …
"I …"
Louise looked at him with shining eyes and held his hand, using her warmth to convey her courage. "I've read your novel, and it was the first time I was fascinated by science fiction. You know, I never used to watch those things. "
"Thank you."
Looking back at the encouraging eyes, there was no longer any hesitation in Li Ming's eyes. The bright expression returned to his face, and he put down the tray in his arms.
"Go, I'll tell your boss that you quit."
"Mhmm." Li Ming nodded gratefully and ran out of the coffee shop.
He only had one week, and every minute and second was precious. He rushed into the apartment, slammed the door, and locked himself in his ten-square-meter room. He took out a cardboard box from under the bed, which contained countless manuscripts that he had written.
There were short stories, medium stories, and even long stories.
He turned on the computer, forced himself to get into the zone in the shortest amount of time, and placed the manuscripts in front of him.
He knew that if he used these manuscripts that were similar to his essays to enter the competition, he would have no chance of winning. But were these manuscripts useless? No! It was these manuscripts that established his view of science fiction. Every word here was infused with his blood and sweat, like bricks, piling up the building in his heart.
For a week, he locked himself in his home, and other than eating and going to the bathroom, he never left his room. His fingers left afterimages on the keyboard, and there was no distracting thought in his mind. At this moment, he only felt that his thoughts were flowing like a spring, without a trace of stuttering.
These plots had appeared in his novels before, and now, what he needed to do was to put these scattered pieces of paper together into a complete jigsaw puzzle.
Betting on his own fate!
Finally, when the seventh ray of sunlight passed through the gap of the curtains, he typed the last period, raised his panda eyes, and looked at the clock on the wall.
Five hours until the deadline. He did it!
He copied and pasted the manuscript, and then pressed the enter button to upload. Three hundred thousand words in a week had already exceeded his limit. However, after completing such a magnificent feat, his heart was as calm as the surface of a lake, without a trace of ripple.
Regardless of success or failure, he already did it, and he did his best. He just wanted to turn off the light and have a good night's sleep.
But before he walked to the bed, he laid on the table and fell into a deep sleep …
Two weeks of sleepless waiting.
Finally, he received an email from Future Technology. With an indescribably complicated feeling, he clicked on the email with his trembling fingers.
When he saw the first line of the email, his heartbeat froze.
At this moment, his eyes were moist.
His mother taught him from a young age that men should not easily shed tears. But even knowing this, the tears still rolled down uncontrollably and dripped onto the floor.
He took out his phone and called Louise.
"At the coffee shop … I have something to say to you."
There was a long silence on the other side of the phone.
"Wait for me."
With this sentence, Louise hung up the phone.
He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and the exhaustion on his face was swept away. He pushed open the door and bathed in the bright sunshine again. The blue sky and white clouds actually made him feel nostalgic. Everything on the street was dyed from black and white movies, and he saw the beautiful side of life again.
He stopped a taxi.
After he got in, he called his mother and told her not to worry about his tuition. Soon, he would receive a huge sum of money. Not only could he pay for his tuition and living expenses, but he could also send money home to support his family … Don't worry, I didn't do anything bad. The money is clean, it's my royalties.
The taxi stopped in front of the coffee shop.
As soon as he got out, he saw the youthful and beautiful figure.
Louise threw herself at him and hugged him.
"Don't say anything. If you must go … I will go with you to Hua."
"No, no need." Li Ming shook his head and looked into her eyes.
"Why?" Louise's eyes were filled with tears of sadness.
"Because …" Suddenly, a charming smile bloomed on his face. "I was selected!"
The two hugged each other tightly. The tear rolled down, but it was not sadness.
[Thank you, thank you for supporting me until the end …]
"You bastard, I thought …" Louise's fists punched him as she cried.
Li Ming let the raindrops and the rain-like fists hit his chest. His face was also covered in tears, but he still had a smile on his face.
"Future Technology wants me to sign a contract on Coro Island and attend the award ceremony. They promised to reimburse us for two tickets. Louise, are you willing to go with me? "
"I'm willing!"
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