When fate plays its hand
Posted on July 27, 2025 ยท 0 mins read
Listen to this chapter:

โ€œAre they really that scary? Iโ€™ll check them out as well!โ€

โ€œBelieve me, dude. You wouldnโ€™t dare eat tomato soup after reading them.โ€

โ€œWhy?โ€

โ€œThe answers are within the books.โ€

Two days later, โ€œChubbyreaderโ€ posted yet another status update. This time, his dad wasnโ€™t in the picture. He shared a picture showing the cover of Seven Days with a caption that read, โ€œI suddenly realized that the older generation had great taste.โ€

Seven Days rode the wave of online buzz and exploded onto the scene of young adult literature as a dark horse. Sure enough, the younger readers were hooked! In less than half a month, discussions on the book cropped up on forums and blogs; even a fan club was set up. Long-time readers of Mindy knew that they couldnโ€™t keep this hidden gem under wraps any longer!

At this point, fans of Seven Days started to wonder: Who was the author? The book was crazily popular, but why was there no news about the author at all? It was common for authors of best-selling books to grab attention by jumping on the bandwagon once their books appeared on trending topics. Seven Days had been on the top of trending topics multiple times, but the author was silent, as if they had ceased to existโ€ฆ No, as if they didnโ€™t have a phone.

Mindy truly had no idea about this. She had quit the internet years ago, and she didnโ€™t have social media accounts. Even her phone was an old-fashioned model. It wasnโ€™t that she couldnโ€™t use modern technology, but Mindy preferred the slower pace of olden times when people still used letters to communicate and took months or years to get to a place.

Mindy didnโ€™t want to be controlled by peopleโ€™s opinions online. Instead, she just wanted to write the stories she loved, so she distanced herself from the outside world. When Mindy blocked out the criticism and disapproval from haters, she also blocked out the applause and praise from fans. She ignored both the good and the bad.

After hearing all this, Miranda immediately pulled out her phone and searched for the title Seven Days. Sure enough, tons of news articles and information appeared on her phone, including recommendations from readers and reviews from experts. Of course, there were detractors and criticisms of the book as well. However, one thing was undeniable: Seven Days was on fire. It wasnโ€™t just popular, but it was almost an online phenomenon!

โ€œMom, youโ€™re amazing! I knew that you would make it!โ€ Miranda exclaimed.

Lionel snatched the phone and scrolled through the comments. โ€œWow, theyโ€™re all praising you! My wifeโ€™s a famous author now. Does that mean I get to be famous as the husband of a famous author?โ€

โ€œWellโ€ฆโ€ Miranda scratched her head. โ€œDad, youโ€™re already famous.โ€

โ€œHuh?โ€

โ€œItโ€™s just that your reputation isnโ€™t exactly goodโ€ฆโ€

In Seven Days, the ultimate villain turned out to be an unassuming physics teacher, modeled after none other than Lionel himself.

With the bookโ€™s success, everyone naturally became curious about the author. Warren seized the opportunity and arranged a book signing event for Mindy at Book Haven in Elgerson City. As soon as the announcement was made, the reception for this event went viral. Within two hours, over ten thousand people had registered for the event, shocking the entire publicity team. However, Warren wasnโ€™t the least bit surprised. โ€œIn this era of online content, going viral is just a by-product. Ultimately, the quality of content reigns supreme.โ€

The date for the book signing event was quickly set just three days away. Coincidentally, it aligned with Lionel and Mindyโ€™s plans to travel to Jandersville with Miranda.

The next morning, it was drizzling lightly when Miranda called for a cab. The driver helped load their luggage into the trunk, and the three of them entered the cab. At the bullet train station, they had another half an hour before boarding. Miranda pulled out some cakes she had prepared earlier for breakfast. Mindy didnโ€™t like overly sweet food, so the almond cake was just right for her.


Please let us know if you find any errors, so we can fix them.