Chapter 97

He was a young man writing in a hotel room outside the campus, unaware of how much time had passed. He had already written to the third chapter — "Midnight Song." In this chapter, the great thief Xiao Shiyi finally made his official appearance, marking his first appearance in this world:

【Feng Siniang stood up, about to close the window, when a song suddenly drifted in on the evening breeze. The melancholy and heroic song was strangely familiar. Xiao Shiyi!... The wine jug on the table was empty, and a man lay lazily on the bed, his face covered by a pillow. He wore a set of blue cotton clothes, washed until they were almost white. A blue cotton belt was loosely tied around his waist, and a knife was casually stuck in it...】

It must be said that this method of introducing a character by their voice before their appearance is widely loved by many writers, such as Wang Xifeng in "Dream of the Red Chamber" and the monk who sweeps the floor in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils."

Mr. Gu Long used the melancholy song to introduce Xiao Shiyi, not only to employ this classic technique but also to lay the groundwork for Xiao Shiyi's character and the tone of his life.

Outwardly, he was suave and wild, but inwardly, he was lonely and desolate. How could such a man not win people's affection, to the point where Mr. Gu Long himself couldn't resist asking in the novel, "If you were Feng Siniang, would you love him?"

At least Liu Jingting was very fond of Xiao Shiyi, as evidenced by his efforts to create a similar character.

This is also a significant feature of Mr. Gu Long's works. Compared to the masters Liang and Jin, his protagonists are often more likable and more appealing to readers. Whether it's the great thief Xiao Shiyi, the thief king Chu Liuxiang, the flying dagger Li Xunhuan, the four-eyebrowed Lu Xiaofeng, or the Central Plains' Red Dot and Ximen Chuxue, they all seem to easily capture a large fan base of both male and female readers. Some critics believe that the characters in Mr. Gu's works carry a strong sense of individual loneliness characteristic of the industrial age, and they have a clear pursuit of personal liberation, making it easy for readers to empathize.

However, Liu Jingting didn't agree. He believed that the reason Mr. Gu Long's characters had so many fans and such magnetic personalities was not because they challenged postmodernism or protested against the lonely and desolate world, but because—each and every one of them was so damn suave and so damn powerful!

Either they were the owners of luxurious villas, typical rich and handsome strongmen, or they were carefree great thieves with private yachts and various beauties. Without experiencing their lives, one wouldn't understand that melancholy and loneliness are actually high-level emotions.

Xiao Shiyi was the most efficient and accurate thief in five hundred years, yet his clothes were washed until they were almost white. He even had to put the bill on credit when he invited someone to eat beef noodles.

The greatest thief in the world, living such a simple and humble life. This sentiment, this moral pursuit, how could anyone resist giving it thirty-two likes?

Too many readers lack sufficient resistance to such a chivalrous hero who robs the rich to help the poor, bullies the strong, and is loyal to his friends. The key is that he is both suave and melancholy, casually tying a cloth belt and hanging a knife, singing a sad song, like a lone wolf from the north...

So, when Liu Jingting wrote about Xiao Shiyi's appearance, he immediately stopped. The opening was already enough. He logged into the website, then directly posted the three chapters to Lu Yichou's email, took a break, stretched his shoulders, and then turned off the computer to sleep.

...

At the same time, Liu Jingting could sleep soundly, but his colleague Xue Muliang was still busy.

The new book "Sad Forest" had been on the market for nearly thirty hours. With the addition of the pre-sale of fifty thousand copies, it sold over two hundred thousand copies on the first day, once again proving Xue Muliang's unparalleled popularity. In comparison, Han Shuo's "When the Boy" with sales of less than one hundred thousand copies seemed less impressive.

Around 3:40 AM, Xue Muliang posted a microblog: "Your fighting power is too terrifying, scaring me awake in the middle of the night (fearful face)! 300,000, are you trying to secure the top spot on this year's sales chart? Oh, oh, never mind what I said."

He still managed to be cute and silly, showing off and boasting, and possibly trying to mislead his competitors.

After playing with the reviews for about an hour, he spent another half-hour writing an emotionally rich new book statement—of course, he wouldn't post it on the microblog. Since his articles were paid by the word, he hadn't written long blogs for a long time. Later, as an editor and boss, he valued his words even more, as he saw them not as words but as silver.

...

Like Xue Muliang, Yi Shui'an was also awake, but not because of work. She had been suffering from insomnia.

Today was her big day, and she should have been happy. Indeed, she was very happy. Although she had only known her new husband for a short time, she felt a rare accuracy. Despite only a few days of interaction, she had keenly observed that he would be a good husband. He knew how to maintain the lawn, how to care for a pot of flowers, and how to keep a fish tank. He had excellent carpentry skills and could make very exquisite desks and chairs. Additionally, he was a great cook.

In terms of personal character, he always maintained a childlike heart, was humble and sincere, and his emotions were particularly weighty. Occasionally, he would show a humorous side. One could say that entrusting her life to such a man was an absolutely regret-free choice. However, Yi Shui'an still suffered from insomnia, but this insomnia did not rise to the level of a loveless marriage. It was more of a mood, an involuntary flow of emotion. As a writer, Yi Shui'an never restrained such emotions that could bring her inspiration.

She thought of Guilin, the grasslands, the green mountains and clear waters, the snow-capped mountains and flying horses, and the young man who, despite his youth, was exceptionally talented and eloquent...

Yi Shui'an knew that there was no other possibility. The age difference and the boundless potential the boy showed in his writing made her deeply aware that it was impossible.

The former was a natural chasm, and she was unwilling to make any attempt. The key was the latter. In his previous works, Gu Yongsheng had already shown a genius-level creativity. Given time, he would undoubtedly shine even more brilliantly. Such a person could not be bound by anyone.

She decided not to continue thinking about this and went to sleep.

...

Some people stayed up late due to work, some due to heartache, and of course, some woke up smiling from a happy dream.

Zhao Kan, a student in Class 3, Grade 1 of Yuehe No.1 High School, had been smiling all day since the morning. Apart from a few roommates, no one knew what had happened to him.

Early in the morning, just as Liu Jingting returned to the dormitory from the hotel, Zhao Kan poked his head out of the covers and greeted him warmly, "Tingting, you're back?"

Liu Jingting shivered and said, "Are you still asleep?"

"I'm awake, I'm awake," Zhao Kan said, actually sitting up with the covers still wrapped around him. "I've been awake for a long time."

"Didn't you know that sleeping in is the least you can do to respect a holiday?"

"I wish I could be like them," Zhao Kan pointed to Yu Xiaoshu and Sun Xinyang, "sleeping so soundly and carefree, but, sigh, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Busy, after you left, I've been busy. I didn't even get a good rest on New Year's Day."

"Busy with what?" Liu Jingting took off his shoes and clothes, preparing to catch up on sleep, but he could see that Zhao Kan was very lonely, so he continued the conversation half-heartedly.

Zhao Kan didn't mind his lack of interest and said with a mix of pride and self-satisfaction, "Didn't I tell you I wrote a book review of Gu Yongsheng's work?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then I tagged Gu Yongsheng himself."

"Uh-huh."

"And he replied to me, and it was a retweet reply!"

"Uh-huh."

"Tingting, do you know what that means?"

"What?"

Zhao Kan shook his head with a hint of helplessness, "It means I'm famous now."

"Congratulations." Liu Jingting had already snuggled into his covers.

Zhao Kan continued without any self-awareness, "After Gu Yongsheng retweeted my post and said 'well-written,' it's clear he read it carefully. To be honest, Tingting, I wasn't surprised. After I finished writing, I was a bit surprised myself. Those insights, I can't even recapture them now. I read my post several times and felt that I was really, really good."

"You're a talented writer."

"If it were before, I might have thought you were mocking me, but now I don't. Because if you gained 221 followers in a day and were tagged 500 times, you'd have this confidence too. I didn't expect to become so famous so quickly. For the whole day, people kept leaving comments and tagging me. I had no choice but to reply and explain."

"There aren't many celebrities like you left." Liu Jingting said this to humor Zhao Kan, but he couldn't help but think, "I once gained 200,000 followers in a day and was tagged over 1,000 times. How does that compare?"

"Mainly because it was New Year's Day, otherwise I couldn't have handled so many comments. To be honest, now I have to be careful when I go out, or I'll be recognized and it will be very troublesome."

"Put on some sunglasses."

"I thought about it, but Xiaoshu and Xinyang think that as a high school student, wearing sunglasses all the time isn't good. It would make other students feel distant and might make the school think I'm some kind of delinquent."

"That is a problem, but if you focus on your studies and politely decline the fans' enthusiasm, they should understand, right?"

"Ha ha..." A strange laugh came from Yu Xiaoshu's bed, and Liu Jingting couldn't help but laugh too.

Zhao Kan didn't mind, took out his phone, opened the microblog, and sighed, "I got twenty more tags today. I won't chat with you guys anymore."

Liu Jingting held back his laughter and whispered to Yu Xiaoshu, "How long has he been obsessed?"

Yu Xiaoshu, still half-asleep but smiling, said, "A whole day and night. I and Xinyang even thought about throwing him out while he was sleeping."

They both laughed quietly, and Liu Jingting said meaningfully, "Fame can be a dangerous thing."

...

Qianhong was also on holiday today, but the boss, Lu Yichou, still had the habit of getting up early. He ran around the neighborhood park, exercised, went home, took a shower, had a simple breakfast, and then opened his work email on his phone. There was a VIP email reminder, and the sender was Gu Yongsheng. Lu Yichou quickly opened the email.

The opening of Gu Yongsheng's new book was right there! (To be continued. Please search for Piaowen Academy for better and faster updates!)

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