On College Road in San Francisco, the streets where people come and go are mostly young faces. On this sunny weekend, even academics who spend all day in laboratories and libraries will choose to relax and go out on the streets to hang out with friends.
In the cafe on the corner of the street, a young man dressed as a waiter was carrying a plate and walking through the corridor next to the coffee table. Underneath the jet-black hair is a clean and handsome face, and the black eyes look a bit deep and inconsistent with his age, as well as tired, which is completely opposite to the sunshine outside the window.
Soon, he met a pair of green eyes.
"Do you have to go?"
Bathed in the sunlight that crossed the eyebrows of the window, her blond hair was so dazzling. There was retention written in his watery eyes, but he was destined to be unable to respond to that retention.
Li Ming looked away evasively, sighed, and gently placed the coffee cup on the table.
"I'm sorry, Louise. Something happened at home, and I can no longer afford to study abroad..."
His father is a doctor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has been influenced by his father's work since he was a child, and he has an unusual talent in science. He himself also has a strong interest in natural science. In addition to writing related books, he occasionally writes his own books.
After finishing high school, he was admitted to San Francisco State University with excellent TOEFL and SAT scores, majoring in bioengineering. However, just before the last year of graduation, bad news came from home.
Three years ago, for the expensive tuition fees for studying abroad, his otherwise honest father took a sum of money that he shouldn't have received and helped someone he shouldn't have... In fact, this would be nothing in normal times, but he happened to help. The person involved was Director Li from the Materials Research Institute.
A week ago, a document suddenly came down from the superiors, ordering the leaders of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to conduct a thorough investigation of rats in the institute. Director Li of the Institute of Materials was fired and a large number of borers were found along the tails of the rats. It seemed that because the Nobel Prize nominee was involved, the superiors took this matter very seriously and even alerted the Discipline Inspection Commission.
What was originally a small problem was magnified. If his mother hadn't used the family's savings to ease the relationship, his father would not have been suspended from work for investigation, but behind the bars of a prison. In order to settle this matter, the family spent more than 600,000 yuan.
The family has no money for him to study outside...
The girl called Louise had a mist in her eyes.
"Do you have the heart to give up the studies you have studied for three years and... forget me?"
Li Ming did not dare to meet the unyielding gaze and spoke softly.
"Sorry, you are a good girl, but I am not good enough for you."
Just working odd jobs in a cafe was not enough to support him in his last year of study.
Upon 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 directly into Li Ming's eyes.
"I have already signed up for you, and I have read what you wrote. You are fully capable of competing for this opportunity!"
"This is?" Li Ming was stunned, looked at the newspaper, and read along the lines of the headline.
[Futureman’s technology is practiced by Warner Bros. to create the world’s top VR science fiction masterpiece, now open to the world for submissions!]
However, what attracted him was not the title, but the lines below the title.
[The submission language is limited to Chinese and English, and the genre is limited to science fiction. This essay competition will select 10 works, and Futureman Technology will sign contracts with these 10 winners and buy their adaptation rights for US$1 million. If the work has not been published, Future People Technology promises to facilitate its publication.
The submission deadline is one week, and there is no limit on the number of words. There is no restriction on whether the work has been published before, as long as the copyright certification materials can be provided.
Those who are interested can submit their contributions through the official website of Future People!]
$1 million, if you have this money...
Li Ming's heart was moved, but then he shook his head.
With such an attractive bonus, I'm afraid science fiction writers all over the world will try it out. He was just an amateur writer. Although he had shared his works with fellow writers on science fiction forums and published articles in magazines in his hometown, he could not muster the courage to participate in such a world-class competition.
Even if you submit your manuscript, you will probably be buried among the snowflakes of paper.
"Are you going to give up?" Louise stared into his eyes.
"This is not a matter of giving up or not." Instead of betting on this probability, it is better to buy a lottery ticket.
"So you don't even want to try?"
That voice was like a heavy hammer that shattered the hesitation in Li Ming's chest.
yes…
Am I afraid to even try
Obviously I have arrogantly said that I want to become a world-famous writer, have my works translated into twelve languages, and stand on the Hugo Award podium! However, now, the opportunity is in front of me. Faced with the opportunity that may change my destiny, I don't even have the courage to reach out...
"I… "
Louise looked at him with piercing eyes, held his hand, and conveyed her courage with warmth, "I read your story. It was the first time I was fascinated by science fiction. You know, I have never been fascinated by science fiction before. Don’t look at that stuff.”
"Thanks."
Looking back at the encouraging eyes, there was no hesitation in Li Ming's eyes this time. The sunny expression returned to his face, and he put down the tray in his arms.
"Go ahead and I'll tell your boss that you quit."
"Yes." Li Ming nodded gratefully and ran towards the door of the coffee shop.
There is only one week, and every minute and every second is so precious. He rushed into the apartment, closed the door, locked himself in his small room of more than ten square meters, and took out a cardboard box from under the bed, which contained countless manuscripts he had written.
There are short stories, medium stories, and even long stories.
He turned on the computer, forced himself to enter the state in the shortest possible time, and placed the manuscripts in front of him.
He knew that if he entered the competition with these manuscripts that were similar to essays, he would have absolutely no chance of winning. But are these manuscripts useless? No! It was these manuscripts that established his view of science fiction. Every word in it has been integrated into his hard work, just like bricks, piling up the building in his heart.
For a week, he locked himself in his home and never left his room except to eat and go to the toilet. His fingers traced the afterimage on the keyboard without any distracting thoughts in his mind. At this moment, he only felt that his thoughts were flowing like a fountain, without any lag.
These plots have appeared in his novels before, and now, all he has to do is to piece together these fragmentary pieces of paper into a complete puzzle.
Bet on your own destiny!
Finally, when the seventh ray of sunlight passed through the gap in the curtains, he struck the last full stop, raised his panda-like eyes, and looked at the clock on the wall.
There were five hours before the deadline, and he did it!
Copy and paste the manuscript in, and then hit the Enter key to upload. One hundred thousand words of text in one week was beyond his limit. However, after completing such a feat, his heart was as calm as the surface of a lake, without a trace of ripples.
[Title of work: "Iron Curtain of Time and Space"]
[Upload successful]
Regardless of success or failure, he has already done it and tried his best to do it. All he wanted now was to turn off the lights and have a good sleep.
However, before he reached the bed, he lay down on the table and fell into a deep sleep...
Two weeks of sleepless waiting.
Finally, he received a receipt email from Futureman Technology. With indescribable complex emotions, he clicked on the email with trembling fingers.
When he saw the first line of the email, his heartbeat froze.
[Congratulations, yours has been selected. Among 170281 entries, your work stands out, please be proud of yourself.]
At this moment, his eyes were moist.
His mother taught him since he was a child that men should not shed tears lightly. But despite knowing this, the tears could not help but fall down and drip onto the floor.
He took out his cell phone and called Louise.
"In the cafe... I have something I want to say to you face to face."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time.
"wait for me."
After leaving these words, Louise hung up the phone.
After taking a shower and putting on clean clothes, the fatigue was wiped away from my face. Opening the door, he was bathed in the bright sunshine again, and the blue sky and white clouds actually made him feel a bit nostalgic for a long time. Everything on the street was colored from old black-and-white silent films, and he saw the beautiful side of life again.
hailed a taxi.
After sitting on it, he called his mother and asked her not to worry about his tuition fees. Soon he will be able to get a huge sum of money, which can not only pay for tuition and living expenses, but also send a sum of money home to subsidize his family... Don't worry, he didn't do anything bad. This money is very clean and is my royalties.
The taxi stopped in front of the cafe.
As soon as he got out of the car, he saw the young and beautiful figure.
Louise threw herself on him and hugged him.
"Don't say anything. If you must leave... I will go to China with you."
"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 broke out on his face, "I was selected!"
The two hugged each other tightly, and the tears fell, but they were not of sadness.
Thank you, thank you for supporting me until the end...
"You bastard, I thought..." Crying, Louise punched him hard with her fist.
Letting the raindrops and small fists beat on his chest, Li Ming's face was also stained with tears, but his expression was still smiling.
"Futureman Technology hopes that I can go to Coro Island to sign a contract and attend the award ceremony. They promised to reimburse us two air tickets. Louise, are you willing to accompany me?"
"I do!"(.)