Fancy Me, Professor!

It was already Monday morning, another day to start the week as it is the first day of the weekdays.

Another busy day at the library, and Zhong Li and Yan Yan were encoding the newly submitted set of theses and dissertations. As they were encoding, Yan Yan read the abstract of one research that she was typing and found it interesting.

"Hey, hey… look at this."

Zhong Li then stopped for a moment, listening to what Yan Yan was saying.

***

There are various ways a person could read their favorite literature. The most common one is reading physical copies of the book by visiting the library or by buying the books from the bookstores.

If people opt for more convenience and wouldn't want to carry books, they could even buy or download from the internet—PDF versions of the books, or even audio versions of it.

There are a lot of ways in which a reader could read and since people now are interacting much with the internet or the online world, people also read in websites found in the World Wide Web.

Since people nowadays use technology and internet, people who love to read tend to read more online, giving other opportunities for people to work online as well.

In 2018, the digital economy welcomed new jobs as everyone began to work remotely (Bryce, 2020). With people usually turning to become a content creator in YouTube and other known content creating sites, content creation is a viable way of making ends meet for many people.

As said by Bryce (2020), when it comes to content creation, becoming a digital creator is one such job that is slowly starting to pick up and starting to gain traction.

In essence, these are authors that create content by writing their novels and uploading on the internet in order to make a living.

Moreover, compared to other mainstream professions such as game streamers and YouTube vloggers, digital authors have the advantage of having high flexibility and low barriers of entry.

They control their own schedule, they fix their own time, and most importantly, they are their own bosses (Bryce, 2020).

As stated by the content editor, Bryce (2020), there is no need for academic qualifications or any prior working experience when it comes to being a digital author.

Writing online do not require heavy equipment or overly priced items like in YouTube content creation. What the author only needs is a device where to write their story, their own ideas, and a story to captivate their future audiences.

To Bryce (2020), writing is just like singing or riding a bike. Once you learn it, a person will probably never forget how to do it. The biggest issue is only how well you do it. Talent plays a part, but hard work and knowledge plays an important role as well.

Because of this, people now read stories online and these stories are called Web Fiction.

***

"It speaks about Web Fiction," Yan Yan commented, looking at Zhong Li as she cocked her head to the side. "It's the kind you're reading from time to time, right? Like those cultivation novels or system novels I see you reading from time to time?"

Zhong Li furrowed his brows, noticing that Yan Yan was actually paying attention to him.

"You know… what my interests are?"

"Uh, yeah!"

Yan Yan even shook her head as if he had said something stupid.

"We're always together since we started working for the library. Of course, I notice things. Well, not that you notice about my interests. It's not a big deal."

With that said, Zhong Li just smiled as he got the research from her, further doing a quick scan as he was always fascinated with Web Fiction.

"I know more about you than you think," he mumbled, enough for Yan Yan to hear.

"Oh? Like what?"

Yan Yan was pretty obvious that she was interested. With a chuckle coming from Zhong Li, he just ruffled her hair as if she was a little girl, teasing her further with what he said next.

"Secret."

"You—!!"

At the same time, the door of the office of the Chief Librarian opened. With Wang Fang already back to work and with her getting out of the office as if to get a stretch, two of her student assistants stood up and gave her a small bow, greeting her.

"Good morning, Miss Wang Fang."

"Good morning," she greeted, already making way to their counter and leaned in closer to talk to them. "How are you two? Is there something that I missed while I was away?"

"Well, yes!"

Remembering that she was being teased by Zhong Li, Yan Yan blurted out something that she has learned about him recently, making him blush as he elbowed her side.

"Zhong Li is actually interested in Shu Xian! They often hang out with each other during break and he even had a little something for her during her birthday."

"Whaa—!!"

With his face red, he glared at Yan Yan and shook his head profusely, looking at their boss with a hint of embarrassment on his face.

"Yan Yan is saying nonsense. Don't listen to her, Miss Wang Fang."

However, Wang Fang only found the latter part interesting, her eyes blinking a few times as she heard that it was Shu Xian's birthday.

"Shu Xian's birthday? When?"

"Oh, last week," Yan Yan answered, a smile on her face as she answered. "It was also a few days after you took leave. Maybe… the following day!"

'The following day…' Wang Fang thought, remembering that it was also the day of her little sister's death. 'It's also the day of Yan Ran's day.'

With her suddenly silent as she thought that the coincidence is unusual, she furrowed her brows, maybe thinking too much about this.

She thought what if Shu Xian and Yan Ran are connected? However, there are a lot of cases having same birthdays. Besides, they saw Yan Ran's body that day—charcoal black.

With the thought saddening to her, she put her memories aside—however, the thought of Shu Xian having the same birthday as Yan Ran's still lingered in her mind.