Translator: _Min_ Editor: Caron_
On Academy Drive in San Fran, young and energized faces filled and crowded the street. On this lovely weekend, even the most hardworking students who spent the majority of their days inside the library and lab decided to spend some quality time with their friends outside.
At a coffee shop at the corner of the street, a young-looking barista hustled between the coffee tables. Under his black hair was a clean and handsome face. His black pupils were profoundly unsuited to his age and had a deepness contrasting the brightness outside the window.
His eyes quickly met with a pair of green eyes.
“Do you have to leave?”
Bathing in the sunshine scattered through the window, her blonde hair was bright. Her watery eyes expressed a longing for him to stay, but he couldn’t respond to her message.
Li Ming dodged her eyes, let out a sigh, and gently put the coffee cup on the table.
“Sorry, Louise. Something happened to my family and they can no longer afford to support me studying aboard…”
His father was a Doctor at the Han Academy of Science. His father’s work inspired him from an early age and he possessed an extraordinary talent in science. He had always been interested in science. While reading relevant science books, he also wrote articles.
After completing high school, he was admitted to San Fran State University from his excellent TOEFL and SAT scores and he majored in bioengineering. However, close to the end of graduation, bad news came from his family.
Three years ago, to cover his expensive tuition, his father, who was humble and honest, collected a sum of money that shouldn’t be collected and helped a person who shouldn’t be helped… Normally speaking, it wasn’t a big deal, but the person he got involved with was Director Li at the Material Science Research Institute.
A week ago, the higher-ups suddenly ordered the Han Academy of Sciences to thoroughly investigate the rats in the system; Director Li was immediately sacked along with a large number of others. It seemed to be related to the Nobel Prize-winning nominee, which received scrutiny from the top and even alerted the Commission for Discipline Inspection.
The original minor problems were magnified. If his mother hadn’t used up their family savings, his father wouldn’t just be facing an investigation but would already be thrown in jail. In order to settle the matter, the family spent six hundred thousand already.
The family had no money to support him anymore…
The eyes of the girl called Louise slowly became wet.
“Are you going to give up three years of school and give up… on me?”
Li Ming was afraid to meet her determined eyes. He quietly said,
“Sorry, you’re a good girl. I’m not good enough for you.”
Working part-time in the coffee shop wasn’t enough to support him in his last year of school.
Upon hearing his answer, the sadness in Louise’s eyes was replaced by determination.
“I don’t need your apology!”
Then she slapped a newspaper on the table and stared directly into Li Ming’s eyes.
“I already signed you up. I read the novels you wrote before – you have the ability to compete in this!”
“This is…?” Li Ming paused for a second as he looked at the newspaper and read its headline.
<Future Technology partnering with Warner Brothers to create a world-class virtual reality sci-fi masterpiece. Now accepting scripts worldwide!>
But what attracted him wasn’t the headline; it was the following sentences.
<Submission of languages is limited to Chinese and English, genre limited to science fiction. The contest will select 10 works. Future Technology will sign with the 10 winners and pay 1 million USD to purchase their adaptation rights. If the work hasn’t been published, Future Technology promises it will facilitate its publication.
The deadline for submission is within one week with an unlimited number of words. Works that have been published are not excluded as long as proof of copyright is provided.
Interested parties can submit their scripts on Future Technology’s official site!>
[One million US dollars, if I have this money …]
Li Ming was moved by the opportunity, but he then shook his head.
With such an attractive price, all the sci-fi authors around the world would try for it. He was just a casual writer. While he shared his work on sci-fi forums before and although he had published his work in magazines back home, he had no courage to compete in this world-class competition.
Even if he did submit his work, it would be forgotten in the flood of submissions.
“Are you just going to give up?” Louise gazed at him.
“This isn’t about giving up or not.” Rather than gambling on the probability, it was better to buy the lottery.
“So you’re not willing to even try?”
Her voice smashed the hesitation in Li Ming’s chest.
[That’s right…]
[Am I afraid to even try now?]
[I arrogantly said that I want to become a world-famous writer, have my work translated into 12 languages, and stand proudly atop the Hugo Awards podium! Now, however, an opportunity is in front of me and in the face of an opportunity that may change my destiny, I don’t have the courage to reach for it…]
“I…”
Louise watched him. She held his hand and gave him the courage through her warmth. “I saw your novel. It was the first time I was fascinated by science fiction. You know, I never read those types of stories before. ”
“Thank you.”
Looking back at her encouraging eyes, Li Ming’s eyes no longer had any hesitation. A bright expression returned to his face and he dropped the tray in his arms.
“Go now. I’ll tell your boss that you quit.”
“Mhmm.” Li Ming nodded sincerely and ran out.
He only had one week, so every second was valuable. After he dashed back to his apartment, he slammed the door shut and locked himself in the small room. He dragged out a paper box from under his bed that held countless scripts he wrote before.
There were short stories and long publications.
He opened his computer, forced himself to enter “the zone” in the shortest amount of time, and placed the scripts in front of him.
He knew if he submitted a casual script to the contest, he had no chance of winning at all. But were these scripts useless? No! It was because of these scripts that his perspective on sci-fi was consolidated. Every single word contained within these scripts were written with his heart. just like the bricks that built the skyscraper in his heart.
In that week, he locked himself in his room. Aside from going to the washroom and eating, he didn’t leave his room at all. His fingers typed furiously on his keyboard, leaving shadows behind. Without any other thought in his mind, he felt his mind was flowing.
The scenes appeared in his stories before; now he just needed to piece them together into a complete picture.
And gamble on his destiny.
Finally, when the seventh ray of sunshine scattered through the blinds, he typed the last period, looked up with his panda-like eyes, and stared at the clock on the wall.
Five hours left before the deadline. He did it!
He copied and pasted the story before he clicked submit. 300 thousand words in a week far exceeded his limits, but when he managed to complete this feat, he only felt calm and at peace.
“Name: Time Curtain
“Submission Completed”
Regardless of the outcome, he already exerted all his efforts. He just wanted to turn off the light and sleep.
But before he could walk to the bed, he dozed off on the table…
Two weeks of dreadful waiting.
Finally, he received an email from Future Technology. With inexplicable and complicated emotions, he clicked on the email with trembling fingers.
When he saw the first line of words on the email, his heartbeat stopped.
<Congratulations, your novel has been selected. Out of 170281 submissions, your work has been chosen. Please feel proud of yourself.>
His eyes teared up.
His mother taught him from a young age that men shouldn’t cry easily. But despite knowing that, tears uncontrollably rolled down and splashed onto the floor.
He took out his phone and called Louise.
“Meet me at the coffee shop… I have something I want to tell you in person.”
There was a long silence over the phone.
“Wait for me.”
Louise hung up.
He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and his weariness was swept away. He pushed open the door and bathed under the bright sunshine once again. Under the blue sky and white clouds, it felt somewhat reminiscent to him. Everything on the street shifted from black and white to color; he saw the beauty of life again.
He stopped a taxi.
When he got into the taxi, he called his mother to tell her not to worry about his tuition. It wouldn’t be much longer before he would receive a large sum of money. Not only could he afford his tuition and living expenses, but he could also send money home… [Don’t worry, it wasn’t unclean money. It was my reward.]
The taxi stopped at the coffee shop.
The moment he got out of the car, he saw a youthful and beautiful figure.
Louise hopped on him and buried herself in his arms.
“Don’t say anything. If you have to leave… I’ll go with you.”
“No, no need.” Li Ming shook his head as he stared into her eyes.
“Why?” Louise’s eyes were immediately filled with tears of sorrow.
“Because…” Suddenly, his face was covered with a beautiful smile. “I won!”
The two tightly embraced each other. Tears rolled down, but they weren’t out of sorrow.
Thank you, thank you for supporting me till the end…
“You bastard, I thought…” Louise punched him tearfully.
Li Ming let her tears and fists hit him on the chest. Tears also rolled down his face, but he was smiling.
“Future Technology invited us to the signing and ceremony on Coro Island. They’ll provide us with the tickets. Louise, will you go with me?”
“Yes, I will!”
