Chapter 99

【ps: With nearly 9,000 recommendations, reaching 10,000 would be a symbol of quality for readers. I'm asking for more recommendations, hoping to reach 10,000 soon!】

"Yezhi, is Tongyan in a relationship? Is it with Old Song's daughter, Song Rao? Didn't you notice any signs before?"

Tian Zini's barrage of questions became the last straw that broke Ye Qingzhu's fragile nerves. She had been enduring it all, but finally, at this moment, she burst out, after a brief silence.

"Ye..."

"Tian Zini, I don't owe you anything. Why should I be your spy and monitor Tongyan every day? I have my own life, I need to study, I need to... Don't ever ask me to do this kind of thing again!"

"Click!" Tian Zini was stunned by the sound of Ye Qingzhu hanging up the phone. Yezi actually swore!

After hanging up, Ye Qingzhu buried her face in her knees and cried uncontrollably. No one would hear her at home, as her parents were in the hospital. She had just returned from the hospital. Tomorrow was her 17th birthday, and her father wanted to celebrate it properly, but his condition had worsened. Ye Qingzhu took her father to the hospital alone, and her mother only found out after work and came to the hospital to relieve Ye Qingzhu.

The doctor said that it was very difficult to cure her father's illness, and they could only try to extend his life, asking her and her mother to be mentally prepared. She understood what mental preparation meant. The two most hated phrases for patients' families are "You need to be mentally prepared" and "We have done our best." The first one still holds a glimmer of hope, while the second one means complete despair.

Fortunately, it wasn't at the point of despair yet. "Dad, you must hold on. You said you wanted to see me graduate and wear my graduation gown. You said you wanted to see me bring my boyfriend home for you to see. You even said if he treats me badly, you would break his legs. You can't go back on your word!" Ye Qingzhu clasped her hands together, hoping some deity in the sky could help her.

After waking up in the morning, Tongyan remembered that he seemed to have sent a message to Song Rao last night. He quickly got up to check his QQ but received a message from "I'm by your side," which read, "Did you send it to the wrong person?" This made Tongyan extremely embarrassed. He hadn't realized that the sweet words he intended for Song Rao had been seen by a book fan. How could he maintain his grand image now?

Tongyan sent an "apology" emoji to "I'm by your side," admitting his mistake. However, "I'm by your side" didn't respond, so Tongyan let it go, assuming she didn't take it seriously.

Tian Zini wasn't indifferent; she was just more concerned about Ye Qingzhu. Given Yezi's good temper, she must have encountered something very frustrating to swear. Therefore, she was trying every possible way to understand Yezi's current situation. Love is precious, but friendship is equally important to her.

Since the 10th, Tongyan had been a bit restless, refreshing the author's backend every one to two hours to check if his royalties had been paid. By the morning of the 11th, the status of the royalties finally changed from "preparing to pay" to "paid." So, he saved his manuscript, rode Shan Shan's bicycle to the Agricultural Bank of China, and said, "I want to withdraw money!"

"How much?"

"7,000!" Tongyan said proudly, 7,000 yuan, all earned by typing one word at a time!

After withdrawing 7,000 yuan, he still had over 100 yuan left. Tongyan didn't leave but stayed in the bank hall, counting his 7,000 yuan royalties over and over again, like a nouveau riche. Then he counted out 1,000 yuan and put it in his pocket, taking another number.

"Is it you again?"

"Yes, this time I want to deposit money." Tongyan handed over the remaining 6,000 yuan.

"Are you kidding me? Why not just withdraw 1,000 yuan then?"

Tongyan laughed awkwardly, "No, no, I've never seen so much money before, so I wanted to take it out and look at it."

For someone good-looking, even bank tellers are more lenient. The teller sister smiled, took Tongyan's money, and started processing the transaction. Tongyan added, "Oh, right, I also want to set up online banking."

"Do you want to bind it to your phone? This way, you'll receive a text message every time money is transferred in or out."

"Not for now, I don't have a phone yet."

Should he buy a phone? Tongyan thought about it but decided against it. Phones are expensive, and he didn't have much use for one.

After returning to Wumei Bookstore, Tongyan used online banking to recharge 100 yuan worth of起点coins to his起点account, officially becoming a proud legitimate reader. He didn't read many books, so this amount would last him for a while.

There were only four days left until school started. "Raging Thunder" had been maintaining a minimum of three updates per day, rising to eighth place on the monthly ticket chart with a total of 1,250 votes. The number of votes in ten days had already exceeded the total for January. The average and peak subscriptions were 3,680 and 4,508, respectively, indicating a substantial increase in royalties for February.

However, one issue had been repeatedly mentioned in the book review section: the chapter unblocking problem.

"Raging Thunder" had been on the shelf for nearly a month, but no VIP chapters had been unblocked. Other novels usually started unblocking VIP chapters after about half a month.

The book fan "Yunshan You Meng" posted seven consecutive reviews in the book review section, all centered on one point: "Why hasn't Wujie Da Da unblocked the VIP chapters? How can we support you?"

The comments below were numerous, including both ordinary users and VIP users. Unblocking VIP chapters was a trend on起点, and no one found it unusual. If you didn't unblock, people would think you were different.

Tongyan didn't want to argue too much with the readers on this issue. He wouldn't openly state that he wouldn't unblock and tell those who didn't want to read to go away. Even if some were non-paying readers now, he hoped they would become legitimate paying readers when they could, supporting the web novels that had given them a great reading experience, just like he did.

So, Tongyan wrote in a comment under "Yunshan You Meng": "If one day you become a web writer, you will understand why I don't want to unblock. The pressure I bear, the amount of work I put in, and the effort I make make me believe that my writing deserves to be paid for. I'm not taking advantage of anyone."

At the same time, I hope that when readers have the ability, they can support the works they like through subscriptions. Without the 4,000+ paying subscribers, no matter how much they like this book, they would only be able to read the first 200,000 free words. Without subscriptions, I wouldn't write the subsequent stories. I put in time and effort, and I need a return.

Tongyan didn't write these words in a single chapter to avoid causing more resistance from readers. However, this comment was still highly upvoted and widely read, as it was the first and only time Wujie Da Da explained why he didn't want to unblock VIP chapters.

Most readers in the group, such as "Yixiao Jimuchou," "Nayinian Huai Nian," and "Xiaoxiao Shu Tong," supported him. Regardless of whether Wujie Da Da unblocked or not, they would always subscribe to the latest chapters. The higher the subscriptions, the more motivated Wujie Da Da would be to write more, making them even happier. As a deputy moderator, "Woben Xiaozhang" even wrote a long review to strongly support Wujie Da Da.

Some readers opposed, claiming they would no longer support the book. Some said they would find pirated versions to read the subsequent stories, while others thought the author was greedy and not worth supporting.

Some VIP users who hadn't subscribed yet started subscribing from the first VIP chapter after seeing no hope of unblocking.

However, after Wujie Da Da expressed his views, "Yunshan You Meng" never appeared again in the book reviews. No one knew that this college student was planning to write a long novel to challenge Wujie Da Da: "When I become a web writer, I'll make everything free for readers. Let's see what you can say then! I'm just that generous!"

When the topic of unblocking VIP chapters finally settled down, a book review caught the attention of the deputy moderator "Woben Xiaozhang."

The review was simple, just one sentence: "Respected Mr. Wujie Da Da, hello. I am Lin Qingyi from Taiwan's Xin Chang Publishing House. I would like to discuss the publication of the traditional Chinese version of 'Raging Thunder.' Please add my QQ number 241190226 (ps: Everyone can add it, but it's a group number)..."

【ps: Thank you to Lu Han Tianhe, Xiaoxiao Shu Tong, Bai Yu Zhi Zun, Qing Shan Luo Xue, Zhou Hao, 18991899, Jiu Long Dao Wang Mo, Feng Duo Yong Heng, Meng Jun Er Dai, Shuyou 150420085812944, and He Diao for your support!】

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