Chapter 23

The day after signing the contract, Luoyang logged into his newly registered Weibo account.

There was already a verified badge on Weibo, which the Star Novel Network had specially applied for on Luoyang's behalf. The verification information read: "Bai Yiqingcheng, author of Star Novel Network, representative work 'Wushuang.'"

Since Luoyang never initiated the creation of any book fan groups, the website had specially set up this Weibo verification for him to provide a platform for interaction with his fans. As for Luoyang himself, he was no longer surprised by the existence of Weibo in this world.

The moment he logged into Weibo, the message notifications started flashing non-stop.

"Big Bai, I'm your loyal fan..."

"Are you really Big Bai? I love the 'Wushuang' you wrote!"

"Big Bai, can you update 'Wushuang' a bit faster..."

"Will the main characters of 'Wushuang' end up together in the end?"

Private messages, @mentions, and comments—there were probably a few hundred of them. Some were discussing the plot, some expressing admiration, and others asking about the ending of 'Wushuang.'

Now, Luoyang finally understood what it was like to be an internet celebrity. Checking his follower count, he saw that it had already reached several thousand in the blink of an eye.

After all, this Weibo account had only been verified for a little over an hour. To gain so many followers in such a short time was truly impressive in a superpower with a population of over 6 billion.

Luoyang couldn't possibly respond to every private message, so he could only pick out the most important ones to reply to.

For an author like Luoyang, who didn't actively manage fan groups, Weibo was still quite important. It was a crucial platform for promotion and a practical platform for interaction, so Luoyang took Weibo quite seriously.

"Hello everyone, I'm Bai Yiqingcheng."

Luoyang posted his first Weibo, and soon many comments appeared below, easily garnering hundreds of likes.

"Feeling the presence of a god up close!"

"First row ever! Big Bai, I want to bear your children!"

"I want to be part of the tour group, come and trample me, everyone..."

"Only those who haven't blacked Big Bai can like this, those who have blacked him are not allowed to..."

"Big Bai, your official opening statement is quite something!"

"Add p183749475, sister is lonely."

Most of these comments had little value, or rather, people were just looking for some fun. After posting his Weibo, Luoyang quickly shifted his attention to the news about "Next Queen" online.

...

"Through a grand national audition, semi-finals, and fierce elimination and competition rounds, the top 100 of the fourth 'Next Queen' have finally been decided! This year's competition is filled with strong contenders. Who will claim the throne of the next queen? Fly Dragon TV will premiere it globally on October 10th, and we look forward to seeing you there!"

As soon as he clicked into the entertainment section, Luoyang saw this headline news, with bold purple text that looked very impressive.

Below the text was a huge poster featuring the top 100 contestants of this year. Luoyang searched for a while before finding Liu Qin in the second row on the right.

"The competition is really intense."

Previously, when the top ten in Jiangsu Province were decided, Liu Qin was the undisputed first place and the strongest contestant from Jiangsu. But among the national top 100, Liu Qin's presence was clearly weakened, barely maintaining a leading position.

Luoyang couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

Because he knew very well that if Liu Qin wanted to become famous through "Next Queen," the top 100 was just the beginning.

Before the top 100, the competition videos would only be shared online and wouldn't have a significant impact on reality.

Only when the top 100 competition began would it air on Fly Dragon TV, broadcasting nationwide, allowing the contestants to truly appear before the national audience.

Liu Qin's current fame was entirely due to those few classic original songs. To lock down the championship of "Next Queen," these were clearly not enough.

Scrolling down, Luoyang saw many profiles of the top contestants from various provinces. As he was browsing, a news item caught his eye.

"Next Queen contestant Liu Qin injured during dance practice, may affect her withdrawal from the competition."

This was a minor news item, taking up a negligible amount of space, but Luoyang's face instantly turned grim upon seeing it. He immediately called Liu Qin.

"Beep beep beep..."

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

"****!" Luoyang, angry, stood up and kicked the chair.

——

The next morning, Luoyang went to the counselor's office alone.

"Counselor, I want to take a leave," Luoyang said straightforwardly when he saw Counselor Xu Jie.

Counselor Xu Jie seemed surprised that Luoyang would ask for leave just a week into the semester. He looked at Luoyang and asked, "Do you know it's the beginning of the semester, and the administration is checking very strictly?"

"Sorry, my friend is injured."

Luoyang originally planned to leave for Nanling immediately, but since it was just the start of the semester, he thought it best to take leave to avoid any issues with the school.

"Okay."

To Luoyang's surprise, the counselor agreed to his leave request after hearing that his friend was injured. He took out a leave form from the drawer and asked, "How long do you need?"

"Uncertain."

"Uncertain?"

"My friend is injured, and I need to make sure she's okay," Luoyang said patiently.

Perhaps Luoyang's maturity impressed the counselor, who wrote and approved a two-week leave form: "I'll give you two weeks. Spend more time with your friend, and try to come back after two weeks, or it will be hard for me to explain."

Luoyang looked at the counselor in surprise, took the leave form, said thank you, and left the office.

Outside, Luoyang took a taxi to the high-speed rail station.

The high-speed rail station was bustling with people. After checking in, Luoyang boarded the high-speed train and sat down, then started calling Liu Qin again.

This time, after a few rings, the call finally connected. Liu Qin's voice was weak, as if she had just woken up: "Luoyang?"

"Which hospital?"

"What?" Liu Qin seemed a bit confused, not quite following Luoyang's pace.

"I'm asking which hospital you're in," Luoyang repeated.

"How did you know I'm in the hospital?" Liu Qin, regaining her senses, asked in surprise.

"I saw it in the news, saying you were injured during dance practice... and it might affect the competition."

"Those lousy media always exaggerate... Wait, Luoyang, you're not coming over now, are you? Didn't you just start the semester?"

"I took a leave."

"Ha ha ha, Luoyang, you're amazing. You're already pulling this stunt in your first week of freshman year," Liu Qin teased.

"Don't give me that crap, tell me which hospital you're in," Luoyang said irritably. This jerk had made him worry all night, and now she was acting like nothing happened, which was really frustrating.

Liu Qin laughed: "I'm at the First Hospital of Nanling. Are you taking the high-speed train?"

"Yep."

"Then take bus number 3 directly to my place after you get off."

Luoyang was surprised that she knew the bus routes in Nanling so well. He grunted and said coldly, "I'll take a taxi."

——

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