Chapter 91

【ps: Thanks to Xiaoxiao Shu Tong, Jiulong Island Wang Mo, Lonely Wildman, ddjhjffy, Zhou Hao, Dàyé Isn't a God, Yuan Ding № San Sheng, and Reader Tian Huang for your generous donations~】

Tong Yan's hand was also a bit numb. While his cousin was reading the VIP chapters, he took the opportunity to rest and ponder whether he should unlock the VIP chapters in the future.

According to the default rules of Qidian, after a novel goes on sale for ten to fifteen days, one chapter would be unlocked, and then one chapter would be unlocked periodically as a reader benefit. However, there were also authors like Huabiao who insisted on not unlocking any chapters. Tong Yan learned from him that "Guo Po Shan He Zai" had already surpassed 3,000 high subscriptions, while the number of favorites was still less than 10,000. If he had unlocked the first VIP chapter early, it would have been impossible to achieve such results.

Emotionally, Tong Yan was more in favor of Huabiao's approach. For the same chapter, those who read it first had to pay, while those who read it later got it for free. Was that fair to the readers who paid first? Wouldn't that discourage the enthusiasm of VIP readers?

However, if he didn't unlock the chapters, some people would definitely say he was too stingy and only cared about money. Brother Huabiao almost received such complaints every day.

Forget it, if he was going to be called stingy, so be it. Tong Yan decided to follow Huabiao's example and not unlock the VIP chapters. All the work was the result of hard labor and sweat; charging for it was only right!

After Liu Ming finished reading, he said with lingering interest, "Your book is really well-written. I'm already hooked. I'm not just saying this because you're my brother; it's really better than many of the books in my store."

Tong Yan glanced at the bookshelf filled with web novels. "Maybe it won't be long before my book appears in your store in this form. When that happens, you have to keep a copy for me; I want to collect it."

Tong Yan wasn't sure if his book would be published. If not, he would have to settle for a pirated physical copy.

Tong Yan had already finished writing two chapters. He checked them and uploaded them to Qidian, noting at the end of the chapter that there would be another update later, and he hoped for more monthly votes.

Since "Furious Thunder" was uploaded, Tong Yan usually updated once or twice a day. With the strong push from the Three Rivers, he increased the frequency to twice a day to boost the click rate, but three updates in a day had never happened before.

Many readers were very excited when they saw the latest chapter. Of course, this was mainly because Tong Yan's recent plot was well-written, the pacing was good, and there were many small climaxes. Readers were eagerly anticipating the next plot developments, so they were easily excited by his promise of an additional update. Many readers who planned to vote for San Shao or Yan Nan were starting to waver.

After the update, Tong Yan packed up his laptop and prepared to leave. He had initially planned to leave the laptop with his cousin, but with so much free time in the evening, he couldn't resist writing more. So he decided to take it back, as long as he was careful around Shan Shan. His parents probably wouldn't be suspicious.

Since it was a holiday today, Tong Dad and Tong Mom came home early, wanting to ask about his exam results and whether they needed to prepare for his senior year tuition.

Tong Yan first gave them the good news. Based on the mid-term and final exams, his Chinese score was the best in the grade, which meant he could waive the tuition for his senior year. Hearing this, Tong Dad and Tong Mom breathed a sigh of relief. This would significantly reduce their financial burden, and they were proud that their son hadn't let them down.

Next came the bad news. "Dad, Mom, I ranked 12th in the class and 67th in the grade this time."

Tong Yan showed his report card to his parents. In a class of about 70 students, 12th place was still a top rank, but for Tong Yan, who had always been excellent, this was an unprecedented poor performance. Tong Dad and Tong Mom were initially a bit disbelieving. They took the report card and looked at it, trying to hide their disappointment. They encouraged him, "Xiao Yan, it's okay to do poorly this time. Learn from your mistakes, and you'll do better next time. There's only one year left until the college entrance exam, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Tong Yan's parents never put too much pressure on him. They had seen too many high school students driven to suicide by poor exam results and the pressure from teachers and parents. So although they were anxious, they never showed it.

Their words made Tong Yan feel better. "Dad, Mom, about the parent-teacher meeting after the semester starts..."

At Yangping No. 1 High School, parent-teacher meetings were held at the beginning of the second semester, right after the winter break. This was the second time, and the last time it was Tong Dad who attended. This time, Tong Dad offered, "Let your mom go. She can thank Teacher Song in person. It was thanks to him that the deputy director came to perform the surgery."

It wasn't just about gratitude. With Tong Yan's grades dropping so much, Tong Mom, as a parent, would definitely want to have a serious talk with the homeroom teacher.

Tong Yan returned to his room early. There were still three hours until midnight, and writing another chapter was no problem. Even two chapters were possible. But just as he was about to take out his laptop, Shan Shan started knocking on the door.

Tong Yan put away his laptop and opened the door a crack. "What is it?"

"Bro, can I come in?"

"Let's talk here. I'm about to sleep."

"Okay," Tong Shan Shan said indifferently. "If you want to talk here, fine. Who is Song RAO?"

"Come in and talk." Tong Yan pulled Shan Shan inside.

"Tell me, what do you know?"

"Bro, are you dating someone?" Shan Shan asked directly, without answering.

It seemed this girl knew too much. "Answer my question first!"

"It's not much. I just saw a few drawings in your backpack, and they all had 'Song RAO' written on them. So I guessed those drawings were hers and that she gave them to you. Your relationship must be special. Could they be love tokens?"

"Tong Shan Shan, that's a terrible thing to do. How could you go through my backpack!"

Shan Shan ignored Tong Yan's accusation and asked curiously, "Bro, am I right? Don't worry, I promise I won't tell Mom and Dad!"

"Can I trust your promise?"

"Bro, if you don't trust your sister, who can you trust?" Shan Shan shook Tong Yan's arm, pouting.

"Alright, alright, I admit it. Those drawings were from your future sister-in-law." Tong Yan could have denied it, but since Shan Shan's evidence wasn't strong, he didn't want to keep too many secrets. He didn't want his sister to know about his writing, so he decided to share the story of Song RAO with her.

Shan Shan was excited. "Wow, my sister-in-law is so talented, her drawings are amazing!"

"Of course, with such an excellent brother, your sister-in-law can't be bad either."

"Is she pretty?"

"Of course, very pretty."

"How does she compare to me?"

"Sis, can you not embarrass yourself?"

...

Tong Yan shared one of his most important secrets with Shan Shan and was forced to tell her some details about their relationship. She was satisfied and went to bed, feeling as if she had just watched a romantic movie.

After sending Shan Shan away, Tong Yan entered his writing frenzy. His plot was flowing smoothly, and he had a detailed outline ready. In the quiet of the night, without the old Liu listening to the radio behind him and without the students getting up to use the bathroom, Tong Yan's writing state was excellent. He wrote non-stop for two hours, producing over 7,000 words. After checking, he split them into two chapters and uploaded them online.

Originally, Tong Yan had promised one more update. His fans waited from seven to eight, then to nine, and by ten, some were already getting impatient. By eleven, many were preparing to go to bed. But at 11:30, those who were still waiting saw two chapters update, which greatly exceeded their expectations. Although it was late, the volume was large, and they felt very happy. Some even voted with their saved monthly votes without reading the content, while most voted after reading the updates. The two chapters satisfied them greatly.

In the early days, web novel updates were very casual, with one update a day or a few days being common. However, with the implementation of the VIP payment system and the professionalization of web novel authors, the number of updates gradually became a measure of reader support.

Many readers liked "Furious Thunder," but Tong Yan's updates were usually just two chapters of 6,000 words. In contrast, Tang Jia San Shao and Jing Guan were now updating over 10,000 words daily. So readers who followed multiple books tended to vote for those who updated more frequently.

Now, Tong Yan finally got the hang of it. Four chapters in one day, over 10,000 words, was a huge boost for readers. The next morning, when Tong Yan checked the monthly vote rankings, he found that "Furious Thunder" had gained 50 monthly votes, including some readers who had voted all four of their monthly votes.

"Furious Thunder" jumped to the top 30 in the monthly vote rankings, leading "Ling Yun Zhi Yi" by a wide margin among the new books of the month, temporarily ranking fourth. It was still 100 votes behind "Wu Liang Huang Di" by Ao Wu Chang, with "Long Yu," "Du Cheng Chuan Qi," "Wan Ku Zi Di," and "Da Ming Xing Ai Shang Wo" in between.

At this moment, Tong Yan was full of fighting spirit. It was time for him to catch up one by one! In modern terms, it was time for the ones in front to clean their butts...