At five in the afternoon, many readers, having finished work or school, saw the book titled "To Live" recommended at the end of "Douluo World." Their curiosity piqued, they began searching for it at nearby bookstores.
In many bookstores, "To Live," being the featured book of the week, was placed in the most prominent position. Consequently, readers found it immediately upon entering and purchased it directly.
At the Longwen Pavilion Data Statistics Office, by the afternoon, many bookstores had already sold out their first print run of "To Live." The initial print run was twenty thousand copies, distributed across bookstores nationwide. This meant each bookstore received only a few dozen copies. Many stores, having sold out early, were still receiving a continuous stream of customers inquiring about "To Live."
"Editor-in-Chief, the book 'To Live' is currently out of stock in all major bookstores. There's a severe shortage. Should we consider a reprint?" an employee responsible for book distribution anxiously asked the Editor-in-Chief in his office.
"You're saying 'To Live' is sold out? Didn't this book only go on sale this week?" the Editor-in-Chief asked, momentarily stunned and disbelieving.
"Yes, it went on sale today, but now all our bookstores nationwide are out of stock. We need to reprint it immediately," the employee explained urgently.
"Print it! Inform them to add another fifty thousand copies!" the Editor-in-Chief decided after a moment's thought.
The current book market wasn't thriving. Many books only managed to cover their printing costs, and most authors now paid for publication rights themselves. Although Longwen Pavilion was the largest novel publisher in the country, they only managed to stay afloat through the works of established authors. Therefore, they were constantly looking for ways to nurture promising new writers, which led to their weekly featured author mechanism. However, previous featured works had only sold moderately. Selling the initial twenty thousand copies during the promotion period was already considered an excellent performance. Unexpectedly, "To Live," which was only released today, had sold out all twenty thousand copies in less than half a day. This was a terrifying pace, comparable to that of literary giants.
In the traditional literary world, an author's reputation was paramount. If an unknown author and a famous author released books simultaneously, the unknown author would inevitably sell less. However, today, "To Live" was an exception. They hadn't anticipated that an unknown newcomer would have their book completely sold out on the very first day of its release. The speed was almost unimaginable.
...
Wang Shu, having returned to Hangcheng, immediately enrolled in a driving school. He felt it was necessary to obtain a driver's license, as driving without one was illegal. Even though his driving skills were excellent, possessing a license was the mark of a good citizen.
After registering and paying the fees, Wang Shu was assigned a dark-skinned and overweight instructor. They then proceeded to the practice ground.
"You three, come here and watch closely. I'll only say it once," the instructor declared arrogantly.
Practicing with Wang Shu were two other students: a man and a woman. The woman was plain-looking, but her makeup skills were decent enough to make her face appear more alluring. The man had dyed yellow hair, wore tight pants and slip-on shoes, exuding a "spirited youth" aura. Even Wang Shu had to marvel that whether on Earth or in this parallel world, "spirited youths" seemed to be an indispensable demographic.
After a brief explanation, the instructor sauntered off to chat with another female instructor. Wang Shu and the other two students were left to exchange bewildered glances.
"You guys didn't understand, did you? Let me teach you. I've been driving around since I was fourteen. My skills are better than any instructor's. Pretty impressive, right?" The yellow-haired man confidently plopped himself into the driver's seat and addressed Wang Shu and the girl.
"Beautiful lady, you sit in the passenger seat, and I'll teach you properly," he continued, his eyes fixed on the girl next to Wang Shu.
The girl looked somewhat embarrassed, glanced at Wang Shu, then lowered her head and moved to the passenger seat.
"Kid, are you getting in or not? If not, get out of the way. Be careful I don't crash you to death!" Seeing Wang Shu hesitate, the yellow-haired man impatiently yelled.
"I'll pass. I'm afraid I'd die even faster," Wang Shu replied with a smile, a hint of mischief in his voice.
The girl in the passenger seat was already pale with fear.
"Kid, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. Get lost and cool off," the yellow-haired man said, displeased by Wang Shu's remark.
Wang Shu shook his head helplessly and walked towards the resting area. He didn't dare to gamble his life on this young man. He immediately recognized the latter as a reckless troublemaker. If he tried to show off in front of the girl and did something absurd, it would likely lead to a funeral. He wasn't ready to die; he had spent so much money to get his life back, and losing it to this "little yellow hair" would be utterly worthless.
As Wang Shu had predicted, before he even reached the resting area, he saw the "little yellow hair" perform a "launch start." The screeching sound of tires against the ground startled the instructor, who was engrossed in conversation with the female instructor.
"You damn brat, are you in a hurry to go to hell!" the instructor yelled furiously. However, after his outburst, he resumed his conversation with the female instructor.
After completing one lap, the yellow-haired man parked the car in front of Wang Shu.
"How was it? Didn't I tell you my driving skills are great?" the yellow-haired man boasted proudly.
Wang Shu simply smiled without a word.
"It's my turn to practice. You can get out now," Wang Shu said, walking up to the yellow-haired man.
The yellow-haired man reluctantly exited the car and opened the rear door to sit in the back.
"Have you ever heard of 'blade overtaking'?" Wang Shu asked, smiling as he looked at the rearview mirror after starting the engine.
"What's 'blade overtaking'?" the yellow-haired man asked, clearly confused.
"Then let me show you today!" Wang Shu declared, expertly controlling the accelerator and clutch. He then shifted gears, released the clutch, and the car shot forward. It sped onto a narrow road, its speed increasing rapidly. What made it even more precarious was that another practice car was already on that narrow road.
"Slow down! Stop! There's a car ahead!" The yellow-haired man was terrified. The car's speed was escalating, and the distance to the car in front was rapidly shrinking. If Wang Shu didn't stop soon, they would crash into it.
"Miss, quickly step on the auxiliary brake in front of you, or we'll all die!" the yellow-haired man pleaded emotionally, regretting getting into the car earlier. Now, he had encountered a reckless driver, and his life might be in danger today.
"Instructor! Help!" Seeing that Wang Shu was ignoring him and the girl in the passenger seat was frozen with fear, unable to reach the auxiliary brake, the yellow-haired man screamed for the instructor. However, Wang Shu's speed was too high, and the wooded area obscured the instructors' view of their situation. So, no matter how loudly the yellow-haired man shouted, the instructor couldn't hear him.
As they were about to collide with the car ahead, the yellow-haired man closed his eyes, bracing for impact. Suddenly, he felt the car lurch to the side. Unbuckled, he was slammed hard against the car door. The entire vehicle was now moving sideways.
"What's happening?" The yellow-haired man, utterly bewildered, opened his eyes to find the car moving on its side, one wheel at a time. It was effortlessly overtaking the car that had been in front of them.
"Holy cow, what kind of maneuver is that? Why didn't our instructor teach us this?" The student in the other instructor car, witnessing Wang Shu's car zoom past, exclaimed in surprise, wondering if their instructor had held something back.
After overtaking the other car, Wang Shu maintained a smooth trajectory for a short distance before bringing the vehicle back to a balanced position.
"You're amazing!" The girl beside him exclaimed, giving Wang Shu a thumbs-up.
"Hmph, just a parlor trick. I can do that too!" the yellow-haired man in the back muttered dismissively, seeing the girl's admiring gaze towards Wang Shu.
"Can you do this trick then?" Hearing the young man's continued defiance, Wang Shu slammed on the brakes and sharply turned the steering wheel. The car immediately executed a full 360-degree drift. The yellow-haired man, about to retort, found himself still spinning as Wang Shu continued the drift. The continuous spins nearly threw the yellow-haired man out of the back seat.
A minute later, Wang Shu finally stopped the car. The yellow-haired man in the back was now leaning out the window, vomiting. He continued to retch for a full five minutes, almost spitting up his bile.
"Brother, I'm defeated. Your driving skills are incredible!" the yellow-haired man said, still gagging, his voice filled with genuine admiration. He had originally intended to show off in front of the girl and perhaps charm her. Instead, his attempt to impress had backfired spectacularly. He truly couldn't understand why such a formidable driver was at a driving school.
"May I ask, are you retaking your test because your license was revoked?" the yellow-haired man, his curiosity overriding his nausea, asked Wang Shu.
"No, I don't have a license. This is my first time at a driving school," Wang Shu replied, chuckling as he saw the pathetic state of the yellow-haired man.