Chapter 30

Thanks to the training during this period and the improvement in physical fitness from that ethereal state, just as he was about to fall on Cheng Fei, Liu Meng, in a panic, supported himself with one hand.

Looking up, their heads were only two fingers apart.

This sudden closeness made Liu Meng quite nervous, his face flushed and heart racing, while Cheng Fei, the little girl, was sleeping soundly. It seemed that even in her sleep, she sensed something approaching, her long eyelashes fluttering, and a smile even appeared at the corner of her mouth, looking very cute.

Her small lips pursed, as if the sleeping girl was savoring some delicious treat. With her rosy lips so close, Liu Meng's breathing quickened, and he hurriedly moved away, nimbly jumping back.

It was like a thief who had just stolen something, feeling a bit embarrassed and very nervous.

Cheng Fei, seemingly sensing the airflow, pursed her lips but continued to sleep soundly.

Liu Meng secretly let out a sigh of relief and left the bedroom.

He originally planned to go back to the dormitory directly, but then he felt a bit uneasy. Both girls were drunk, and it wasn't safe. Fortunately, there was a small living room outside the room.

He wasn't very sleepy, so he turned on the computer and continued writing his novel. After about an hour, he felt a bit tired, so he went online to relax a bit.

Looking at the homepage of Dianyan Chinese Network, a large novel was prominently displayed in the center. Clicking on it, he saw that many readers were leaving comments, eagerly awaiting updates. The number of comments reached 120, indicating that the number of readers was more than expected.

Dianyan's Sanjiang Pavilion had just conducted an interview with the famous author Yan Yu, which was very popular.

"Journey to the Ethereal" was just gaining momentum, and it was a popular time for Xi Xuan.

Perhaps due to the excitement in his head, Liu Meng suddenly wanted to try his hand at it. Because of the butterfly effect, no one could be sure if this world would still develop in the same way as before. It might flop, or it might spark a craze for historical fiction.

Thinking about this, he didn't hesitate. With about 1 million words in reserve, he decided to upload them slowly, guiding the readers' reading direction and cultivating a fan base for historical fiction.

A popular work could cultivate a large number of readers.

Since this was the starting point for the development of online novels, it was better to lead the trend than to wait for it.

He quickly registered as an author, and thinking of a certain "Three Fat" in the future, he decided to use the pen name "Three Fat."

He silently said to himself, "Older Brother Yueguan, I'm sorry, you won't have the chance to publish this book, but with your writing skills, you are destined to become a great author."

When he became popular, he would find a way to help Older Brother Yueguan.

He named the book "Return to Ming." He had always thought the original title of Yueguan's book was too vulgar, so he changed it.

Summary:

By a twist of fate, Zheng Shaopeng, a nine-time reincarnated good person, returned to the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty.

It was a colorful era, with the evil of the Eight Tigers in the capital, the brilliance of the Four Great Talents of Jiangnan, the philosophy of the great scholar Wang Yangming, and the eccentric Emperor Zhengde. The protagonist, who stumbled into this world, had to navigate through various characters to shape his own destiny.

The conflicts between the Eastern and Western Factories, the story of the imperial inspector clearing out corrupt officials, the campaigns against the Japanese pirates, the Tartars, the Duzhang Man, and the Portuguese, the lifting of the maritime ban, and the migration to Siberia... exciting stories unfolded one after another.

He directly uploaded 10,000 words, enough to give readers a feel for the story. 3,000 words were too few. After doing all this, Liu Meng felt quite excited, but the work was still under review, and he couldn't see how many readers would notice it.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He was confident that the book would be a hit, so why not maximize the benefits? At least he could take the initiative. Thinking about this, he quickly registered on Huandao Book Alliance and uploaded the chapters, with 11,000 words, 1,000 more than on Dianyan.

After doing all this, he was still quite excited. He then opened the BBS of his university and searched for the ID "Old Master," which belonged to Professor Kong Jidao. He found that this old man had posted many interesting articles on the emotional section. Reading a few, he found them quite amusing.

Since he couldn't sleep, Liu Meng suddenly felt inspired and wrote an article: "My Love Strategy with the Six Eccentrics of Jiangnan."

It was about the love stories of the eight roommates, with some artistic embellishments. Life itself was a very interesting story. Returning to 2004, looking back at the ten years of their emotional experiences, it was truly a colorful journey.

After doing all this, he finally felt a bit sleepy and fell asleep on the sofa.

...

Baixi, whose real name was Li Xi, had been working as an editor at Dianyan Chinese Network for less than three months and was still in the probationary period. During the National Day holiday, he volunteered to stay and work, as there were still authors publishing new books that needed to be reviewed and readers reading.

He had just prepared a bowl of noodles, the sour and spicy aroma filling the air, making his mouth water. Opening the backend of Dianyan, his job was to review every new book, which he enjoyed very much, finding it both fun and engaging.

While eating the delicious noodles, he reviewed various new books uploaded by different authors, often finding them amusing. Today, he had already reviewed 103 new books, truly a world of wonders, with all kinds of creative ideas and writing styles, from the worst to the best. He even saw a fan fiction that almost made him spit out his noodles.

It was almost midnight, and another new book was added to the library, "Return to Ming." The title seemed quite cultured, contrasting sharply with the straightforward titles of most online novels.

Opening it, he was surprised. It started with a scene in the underworld, with a nine-time reincarnated good person being reborn. "What! Reincarnated into a dying scholar in the Ming Dynasty? Where's the excitement in that? The character Han Youniang is written quite interestingly."

The writing was good, and the expression was competent.

The opening was a bit strange, but the immersion was decent.

The conflict hadn't fully developed yet.

Moreover, it was a historical novel, while the current trend was fantasy, which had a large readership.

Historical novels? Maybe not. Most online readers were high school students skipping classes or idle teenagers hanging out in internet cafes.

Overall rating: Three stars.

This was a necessary part of the new book review process, to predict the potential success of a book to guide the editor's follow-up. The highest rating was six stars, and three stars meant it was worth following, but not necessarily.

If the word count exceeded 100,000, it would be reviewed again, usually determining the fate of the book.

...

Yelang, whose real name was Peng Yelang, was a history enthusiast, particularly fond of Ming history. He and a few friends had created Huandao Book Alliance. Although the online novel industry was tough and they hadn't found a stable profit model, his passion kept him going, and he was single. During the National Day holiday, he let his employees rest, and he was the only one monitoring the backend.

He cooked himself a simple bowl of noodles with two poached eggs.

He was a typical night owl, enjoying the quiet of the night, reading novels on the backend.

"Great, new content!" Peng Yelang heard a notification and excitedly opened the backend to check.

"Return to Ming," a novel about Ming history. Seeing the genre, Peng Yelang was immediately interested and couldn't resist opening it. He read it three times in a row, so engrossed that he didn't even notice his noodles getting cold. After finishing, he couldn't help but praise it: "Great idea, great writing!"

He quickly approved it and marked it with five stars, noting: "This has the potential to reach six stars!"

Closing the page, he was still excited and couldn't stop thinking about it. In just over 10,000 words, the author vividly portrayed a character, making her very endearing and well-written. It was clear that the author was not a beginner.

He searched for the author's name, "Three Fat," on Baidu, but found no useful information due to the common name. Adding the book title, he found a few results, but no other works.

It must be a pseudonym of an experienced author, Peng Yelang thought.

Wait, what? This book was also published on Dianyan Chinese Network at almost the same time. Peng Yelang checked Dianyan's updates frequently.

"Three Fat" published on both Dianyan and Huandao, with 1,000 more words on Huandao. What was the purpose? Peng Yelang was intrigued, thinking there must be a reason, but he couldn't figure it out.

Such a good book deserved a new book recommendation! Giving other recommendations would violate the rules, but he could recommend it on the forum.

His favorite historical genre, a masterpiece from the start, impossible to put down!

Peng Yelang gave it a grand recommendation.

Many bookworms were online, especially those staying up all night in internet cafes. Around midnight, after playing games, they would get tired and look for a novel to read.

Tian Ji and Luo Jinbao, two frequent truants, were staying up all night during the holiday. After a few rounds of CS, they were hungry and bought two bowls of noodles from the net manager, resting a bit before continuing.

They were both in their fourth year of high school at Sishui No. 1 High School, having failed the college entrance exam.

Those who got into college were treated differently in the village, praised as "university students" by everyone.

But they, the failures, were like rats in the street. At home, their parents sighed and scowled, and outside, neighbors criticized and relatives blamed them for bringing shame.

When the remedial classes started, they quickly escaped, feeling more disappointed than ever, spending more time in the internet cafe.

"Damn, if we had gotten into college, life would be much better. Liu Meng, that scoundrel, got into H University. His grades were even worse than mine when we entered high school," Tian Ji thought angrily while eating noodles.

Opening Huandao Book Alliance, he habitually checked the forum and saw a prominent recommendation for a new book. "What's this? Recommending a new book, must be crazy," he muttered, but still clicked the link, trusting the editor Yelang's credibility.

"Shit, history? Who wants to read that? I want to read about a hero who can defeat a million troops and have countless women. This guy is just a scholar, with a village girl for a wife. What's the point of being reincarnated as a scholar? At least he should be an emperor with three palaces and seventy-two concubines," Tian Ji complained, finding the genre unappealing.

"Are you reading this too? I just started, and it's quite interesting, but the protagonist is too low-key, no special powers. Let's see how it goes," Luo Jinbao said.

"This editor must be out of his mind, recommending this. 'Supreme God King' is much better, with a hero who can punch down an army and have eighteen women. Much more exciting," Tian Ji replied.

Tian Ji left a comment in the book review section: "Garbage, Three Fat must be the editor's relative, recommending such a lousy book!"

...

Brothers, this is a 3,700-word chapter. Recommendations and donations, please!