Chapter 85

【PS: The second chapter might be a bit late because I spend most of my time commuting from the company to home. I won't hide it; I really don't have any drafts saved. I'll start writing as soon as I get home~~】

At noon, in Dorm 121.

Zheng Jing lay on the bed, speaking in a low, humble voice, "Xiaotong, Brother Tong, I was wrong, I really was wrong!"

The matter had been clarified. After Tong Yan wrote the love letter for Zheng Jing, he actually copied it himself. However, when he compared it to Tong Yan's original, he found his handwriting was truly terrible and there were three or four misspelled words, making it impossible to present. So, just before the action, he switched to Tong Yan's version but forgot to sign his name.

Seeing Tong Yan too angry to speak, Zheng Jing cautiously asked, "You didn't mention me to the teacher, right?"

Wang Ping said from the side, "If Tong Yan had said anything, you would have been called to the office this morning."

Qi Delong chimed in, "Exactly, exactly."

Tong Yan snorted, "Although I didn't say anything, I promised Old Song that you won't harass Jiang Xin anymore."

"Ah! How could you promise that? This is my first love! Ow!" Zheng Jing sat up in excitement but forgot he was on the lower bunk, hitting his head on the bed frame. He rubbed his head and wailed, "I won't give up!"

"Unrequited love isn't love. What can you do even if you don't give up? Jiang Xin handed the love letter directly to her teacher. Do you really think you have a chance?"

Tong Yan ignored Zheng Jing, lay down on the bed, and covered himself with a blanket. He had to write more that night, so he needed to nap at noon.

For Tong Yan, this love letter incident was just a small episode in his high school life. The people involved were hardly affected. After a few days of sulking, Zheng Jing returned to his gossipy, talkative self. If there was any change, it was that every time Tong Yan passed by Class 3 on his way to the restroom, there was an additional pair of eyes in the classroom—filled with restraint, passion, and a hint of regret.

In the evening, when Tong Yan opened the author's backend, he received the news that his book had been accepted for the Sanjiang Pavilion recommendation. This meant that in half a month, it would really be going on sale. Tong Yan was already eagerly looking forward to it.

On January 1, 2006, the first day of the year, Tong Yan's book was featured on the Sanjiang Pavilion. The editor ZENK's comment for Tong Yan was, "A cool man and a cute panda, this father-son duo's journey in a different world is filled with bold and unrestrained imagination, making it a rare and excellent fantasy novel in recent times, highly recommended!"

Tong Yan also opened a single chapter, pleading with his readers to temporarily hold their monthly votes until the book went on sale, while also hoping they would cast their Sanjiang votes for "Raging Thunder." The last time "A Soldier's Wild History" was on the Sanjiang list, it was too immature and had no competitiveness in the rankings. This time, "Raging Thunder" was the hottest contender on the current Sanjiang list, and Tong Yan was determined to become the top of the Sanjiang list.

The number of followers for "Raging Thunder" had already reached 8,100, with a large proportion of them meeting the voting criteria. Compared to other novels on the list, "Raging Thunder" was the most popular, and the benefit of having a large reader base was evident. Just half a day after being recommended by the Sanjiang Pavilion, "Raging Thunder" had a significant lead over the second place with 270 votes, nearly three times the number of the second place. At this point, Tong Yan was no longer worried.

With the start of the new week, thanks to the homepage recommendation from the Sanjiang Pavilion and the boost from being the top of the new book list, "Raging Thunder," which had been hovering around the 15th place on the weekly click list for half a month, finally made its first appearance on the homepage's weekly click list and stabilized at the 9th place. As for the weekly recommendation list, it was still outside the top 20 and not on the homepage, indicating that his loyal readers were still few.

At this time, the top of the click list was still "Beast Blood Boiling" by Jingguan. This book had just opened its VIP section, meaning it was now on sale and could earn royalties.

"Beast Blood Boiling" was indeed unrivaled in popularity. On its first day of going on sale, it received over a thousand monthly votes, placing it in the top five of the overall list and making it the undisputed first among new books.

This performance was quite impressive. Tang Jia San Shao, a rising star, had his "Only I Am Immortal" as the top new book in monthly votes when it went on sale, but it was only 11th on the overall list. In the same month, "Evil God's Legend" by Yun Tiankong, one of the eight major professional authors of Qidian, was 14th on the overall list. As a new book, the strength of "Beast Blood Boiling" was probably only comparable to "Evil Wind Ode" by Xuehong, which went on sale in May.

There was no doubt that "Beast Blood Boiling" would be the top new book in monthly votes. Its followers had already broken 20,000 half a month ago and might now be around 30,000 to 40,000. Tong Yan continued to browse and found that a science fiction novel called "Desire Emperor" had over 300 votes, making it the second new book. This was the first book by the author Long Lin Dao, and the situation was somewhat similar to Tong Yan's.

The third new book in monthly votes was a historical fiction novel called "Unscrupulous Emperor" by the veteran author Ao Wu Chang. He had written two or three books before, with only "Nüwa World" being relatively famous. However, "Unscrupulous Emperor" was performing even better, with over 200 monthly votes, not far behind "Desire Emperor" and ranking around 20th on the overall list.

Every month, dozens of new books go on sale, and only these three were currently putting pressure on Tong Yan.

Tong Yan was very anxious. It was the first day of the month and the first day of the year. Readers were eager to cast all their saved monthly votes. The top book on the monthly vote list, "Only I Am Immortal," already had nearly 2,000 votes. He wondered how many votes would be left for him by mid-month.

It was his first time, so he was naturally anxious. Therefore, he repeatedly added requests for monthly votes at the end of chapters, hoping it wouldn't be too awkward. He was determined to be in the top five, and if possible, he would also strive for the top two, as there was a difference of 1,000 yuan! Money was now the biggest motivation for Tong Yan to write.

As the final exams approached, the students' enthusiasm for studying grew. Tong Yan was no exception, but his passion for "Raging Thunder" was even greater. Despite the heavy burden of exam preparation, he still spent over an hour each day writing and often analyzed the monthly vote rankings. Sometimes, he would explain the situation to Old Liu, who was his only listener.

His roommates all advised him to take a break for a few days and write after the exams. Tong Yan didn't know how to explain concepts like going on sale and monthly votes to them, as they didn't even understand the concept of paid content. They thought the website paid writers to maintain their writing and had no idea where the website got the money to pay them. So, in response to their well-intentioned advice, Tong Yan could only say, "No, I can't!"

The novel must be written, and updates cannot be interrupted!