Oh my, such a good price. A million per month isn't a small amount! Previously, our website was only sold for 2,400,000 yuan. Now, a month's advertisement is worth one million, but he actually rejected it… Yang Zhiqi felt depressed. But even though this was what he thought, he didn't dare to say it. In the end, he only helplessly said, "OK. Currently, I don't have any more good news. Do you have any orders, Young Master…"
Hong Dali nodded and said, "Yup. Oh, speaking of which, that five are Great God-level authors now, right? It should be quite interesting meeting them. Let's do this. Organize an end-year meeting for Zhong Dian this week. Find a good time and ask those authors with good results to attend!"
He thought for a while and added, "Those who are qualified to attend will have their expenses reimbursed. Also, we will give them Chu Zhongqin or Jiang Ruoyu's autograph! Yup, there's also photo-taking with them too."
"OK, I understand!" Upon hearing Hong Dali's suggestion, Yang Zhiqi's eyes lit-up.
This idea of organizing a year-end meeting for authors was really good. This could not only increase the interaction between authors and editors but was also a great gimmick! Those who attended could even get this year's most popular celebrity's autograph and take pictures with them—this was basically a gift from the heavens!
Thinking of this, Yang Zhiqi totally kneeled down to Hong Dali. "Young Master, I'm fully impressed with your idea!"
…
Over the next few days, along with "I Am a Singer" and Unexpectedly!'s popularity, the entire online literature industry was in an uproar!
Speaking of which, those online bookstores that expanded to a certain extent all had annual meetings to boost the relationships between established authors and the bookstore, and also to increase interaction between them as well. There was nothing much in this actually, but along with the news released from Zhong Dian, the whole online literature industry was astonished.
The legendary secretive Young Master would be appearing on Zhong Dian's annual meeting! They could obtain rewards from him! Although the money might not be a lot, the most important thing was the power of the Young Master himself! As long as Young Master took a liking to them, they would become the sixth Great God in the Zhong Dian website!
Truly a Great God who could earn over a million a year!
Not only that, those who attended the meeting could also obtain the autograph and take a picture with the current top celebrity!
Picture taking and autograph! They were all authors who wrote novels, how could they not be familiar with the standard methods used in their novels? A poor writer met with the current most popular celebrity due to destiny and fate, fell in love, got a promotion, became a CEO, married the celebrity, and attained the pinnacle of life. Thinking about this, wouldn't they become agitated?
Therefore, Zhong Dian's first annual meeting after was convened in a blaze. It was only the second day after Hong Dali's inspection of Zhong Dian, 2:00 PM on Saturday.
When Hong Dali brought Tang Muxin, his nine lackeys, Li Nianwei, Zhang Cai, Chu Zhongqin, Jiang Ruoyu, and the rest to the venue and entered, Director Yang Zhiqi instantly shouted, "Young Master has arrived!" His voice was so high-pitched that it sounded like a eunuch's.
"Greetings, Young Master!" Once they entered, the five Great Gods of Zhong Dian website stood in front. Front left to right were respectively: Dark Dragon of the Universe, Drunk Venom, Ultimate Sky Limit, Treasure Slayer, and Smile of the Vagrant. At their back was the other smaller gods of Zhong Dian website, and behind them was the staff of Zhong Dian website.
From this arrangement, one could tell that Yang Zhiqi did indeed spend a lot of effort.
It wasn't difficult for the staff from Zhong Dian website to see Hong Dali. Therefore, there was no need for them to steal this opportunity from the authors.
As for these authors, being able to be the first to see Hong Dali would definitely make them touched. Once they were touched, it would be difficult for the people from other online bookstores to snatch them away—with Young Master Dali, this God of Fortune here, the authors would only join other online bookstores if their heads were kicked by a donkey.
"Oh my, hello, hello, everyone!" Once Hong Dali entered the room, he raised his right hand up high, like the head of the Nazis. "Reward! Everyone 2,000!" 
Then, the various authors saw what exuberance really meant—the male lackey behind Hong Dali immediately carried forth a gigantic chest. Once it was opened, they could see 100 yuan stacks of valued cash piled inside. Then, two female lackeys each carried a cash counting machine and came up…
Swisssh— The entire lounge was filled with the sound of the cash counting machines counting money. There were at least 200 plus authors who attended the meeting—2,000 yuan per person would add up to 400,000 in total. Plus those employees, at least 500,000 were given out just like that…
"Thank you, my Lord!" The authors all kneed down, totally conquered by him.
What was called a nouveau riche? This was what a true nouveau riche was like! Just tips alone were worth 500,000. He gave it away without even batting an eye!
After finishing tipping everyone, Hong Dali laughed cheerfully and walked up and shook hands with everyone. "Oh my, you must be Dark Dragon of the Universe? Not bad, not bad, your 'God Slayer' was quite entertaining!"
Dark Dragon of the Universe didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Young… Young Master, my novel is 'Endless Universe'…"
"It's same, it's same, hahaha!" Hong Dali normally didn't remember the author of the novels that he read. Thus, he made such a mistake right at the start. Even with his thick skin, he couldn't help but blush. "It's quite well-written! Reward, 10,000!"
A male lackey instantly placed a stack of cash in Dark Dragon of the Universe's hands.
Hong Dali didn't forget to remind: "Everyone, remember. This guy is a nouveau riche! Later, remember to ask him to treat you all to a big health care[1] later!"
"Sure!" Everyone replied.
Tang Muxin lightly pulled on Hong Dali's sleeve and softly asked, "Dali, what does big health care mean?"
"Big health care means…" Hong Dali's head was full of sweat. "It refers to a high-quality health care center!" Seeing that Tang Muxin was going to ask further, Hong Dali hurriedly shook the next person's hand. "Oh my, you must be Drunk Venom. Your novel is really well written—my favorite thing to do in class is to read your novel. It helps to lighten my spirits! Reward!"
Another 10,000 yuan.
And so, he shook five person's hands, giving out 50,000 in total…
The other authors were all envious and jealous, but there was nothing they could do. These five author's novels were really well-written. In just a months' time, the bookmarks for their novels all exceeded 100,000, and the number of orders per chapter[2] exceeded 20,000. They were well liked by readers. The other authors really had to admit that these five people deserved this treatment.
After all the authors had shaken hands with Hong Dali, it was time for his speech.
Then, Hong Dali went on stage and spoke a single sentence, "Today, you guys have come to my territory. I have nothing much to say but for you all to enjoy yourself tonight. Everything is on me!" Then, he went down the stage.
The sound of applause erupted from below.
Probably since the history of applauding, this was the loudest. Quite a number of people's hands were red from clapping, truly meaning it… Speaking of which, if you saw the God of Fortune standing in front of you in real life and talking to you in such a manner, you would definitely clap till your hands were red too! 
For the remaining time, the editors and authors interacted with each other and improved their relationship. Li Nianwei, Chu Zhongqin, Jiang Ruoyu, and the other celebrities give out autographs and took pictures with them—since the first performance of 'I Am a Singer' had finished, Jiang Ruoyu resolutely signed a ten-year contract with Caiwei Entertainment, preparing to root herself here for good.
Next was the speech by Director Yang Zhiqi, then Director Zhang Wenyang, then the Chief Editor…
But there was a common characteristic—their speeches were all very short. It could even be said that they only used a few breaths of time to finish them. Then, all that was left to do was to celebrate and enjoy.
Out of those speeches, Zhang Wenyang's was the most unique. "At the start, we were making all kinds of loss due to advertising. Now, other people came to advertise on our website, but what did our Young Master do? He directly rejected! Using his words, he's using this website to squander, not to earn money. Yet, in the end, all of the advertisements ended up in Turkey Bookstore. At that time, they laughed at us for being prodigal. Now, look again. A lot of famous authors came to our website because of the high reward and payout. As for Turkey Bookstore, because they had too many advertisements, the readers couldn't stand it and came to us."
"Now, Turkey Bookstore lost a lot of site traffic while our website's site traffic shoot up like a rocket. What is this called? One sentence from Young Master is worth more than a 100,000 strong army!"
…
In the next few days, the entire online literature industry erupted!
Other bookstore's author's group chat—
Author one: "Have you guys seem the annual meeting for Zhong Dian website? It was totally amazing, wasn't it! Damn it, they directly carried over a chest of cash to give out tips for everyone!"
Author two: "I saw it, I saw it. Those images are too classic. What the heck, Young Master's back view was too handsome to watch!"
Author three: "Are you guys for real? I have only heard of it. Does any of you have a picture for me to see?"
Author two sent over a photograph.
Author three: "What the heck, this is totally a God-level nouveau riche, a battle-level nouveau riche amongst the God-level nouveau riches!"
Author four: "You guys actually have the leisure to chat here. Shouldn't you guys hurry over there to start a new novel, what are you guys waiting for?"
Author one to hundred: "I almost forgot till you mentioned it. This can't wait, let's go, let's go now!"
Turkey Bookstore reader's chat group—
Reader one: "What shit is this? This stupid website's advertisements are getting more and more. Just this while, seven to eight advertisements have popped up. How are we supposed to read like this!?"
Reader two: "Who still reads at Turkey now, everyone has gone over to Zhong Dian. You guys haven't seen their annual meeting photos, right? What the heck, I'm totally envious of them. Even the Goddess Li Nianwei was there! Autographs! Picture-taking together!"
Reader three: "I saw them too, Young Master directly asked his lackeys to bring a chest over to give out tips. It was too amazing to look at, that female lackey even brought two cash-counting machines there!"
Reader: "Those tips are only a little money. You guys don't know yet, right? Now, on Jian Bao website, the offer for one autograph from Goddess Li Nianwei has reached 50,000 and is still rising!"
Reader three: "50,000?!"
Reader four: "And at this price, there is also no stock! Goddess Li Nianwei's autograph! Ever since she debuted, has she given anyone signatures? No, right? There are only these 200 plus autographs in the whole world. You can think of its value then."
Reader two: "Then, the price for her autograph must be incredulous now, right?"
Reader four: "Not only that, do you know what she wrote? She wrote 'Young Master's Li Nianwei,' these seven words!"
Reader three: "Sob sob sob, my Goddess, sob sob sob…"
Reader four: "Stop crying, hurry up and go over there to read their novels. I heard that there will be another annual meeting in the next half of the year, and the nouveau riche readers can also go. It's said that they can obtain Goddess's autograph too, but this time it will only be her name."
Reader five: "The nouveau riches can go, too?"
Reader four: "Damn, the big nouveau riche has come! Hurry up and go there to start reading. If you give out enough tips, you can attend the annual meeting, too! The crucial point is that there are more good novels there than in Turkey!"
Reader five: "I see. Understood!"
[1] Refers to finding prostitutes
[2] Readers have to pay for each chapter they read


"I have to squander; otherwise, won't it be a waste of my parent's talent at earning money?" Hong Dali answers a reporter's question matter-of-factly. 

Just after the interview ends, Hong Dali opens the Great Prodigal System's interface and looks at the various good stuff displayed in it. Stroking his chin, he mumbles to himself, "I just need to squander 200 billion yuan more to exchange for the blueprint of the core technology, Engine Destruction, found in the strongest humanoid mecha weapon, Neo Granzon. Looks like I'll have to work harder!"

"I want to splurge! I want to squander!"


Half an hour later, Xiang Wan and Fang Yuanyuan rushed to the restaurant that Hu Bandao had reserved.
It was a famous hotpot restaurant in Jin City.
When non-locals came to Jin City, they would usually eat hotpot as their first choice of food.
Apparently, it was the same for Hu Bandao.
When Xiang Wan arrived there, she saw that there were also another two male authors besides Hu Bandao.
They introduced their own pen names and exchanged greetings. Since they had heard about each other's pen names before, it didn't take long for them to be familiar with each other. 
The only thing that surprised them was the fact that Xiang Wan brought along her editor.
"Miss Editor, do you need a strong and healthy male author like myself in your female genre website?"
"What's the use of having you there?" Fang Yuanyuan was someone who could joke around without a problem.
"I can write and I can eat!"
"My apologies, I only want authors who know how to fall in love!"
"That's great! I know how to handle eight girlfriends at a time!"
"That's savage! Our website won't be able to support such an appetite!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Xiang Wan thought about it after listening to them chatting. "Are you also here to attend the Annual Awards Ceremony? If I remember correctly, you're not an author affiliated to our websites, aren't you?"
Hu Bandao gave a smile. "Your memory's very good! I'm not, but my two brothers here are."
Xiang Wan replied, "Then why are you here?"
"I came to meet my friends, of course!" Hu Bandao laughed and put an arm around one of his friends' shoulders. "I'm here because of him!"
Xiang Wan's mouth twitched.
Before she could say anything, that friend of his was already protesting.
"Stop your bullsh*t!" He turned to Xiang Wan. "This fellow is here because of a woman!"
Xiang Wan asked Hu Bandao with a smile. "You have a girlfriend now?"
His friend exposed Hu Bandao, making him feel a little embarrassed. "Yeah, we got together recently… She got invited for this event, so I came to see her. Of course, it's mainly because I also wanted to see my buddies!"
"That's too fake! We don't believe it!"
"…"
Xiang Wan couldn't help but feel amused after seeing them bantering around with each other.
"Your girlfriend's also an author? Who is she…?"
Hu Bandao smiled mischievously. "She's from the same website as you."
"Really? Who? What's her pen name? When did you two get together?"
This was too surprising!
This fellow's girlfriend was also from the same website as her.
She didn't even hear any rumors at all.
Xiang Wan was very curious, but Hu Bandao just gave a mysterious look.
"It's a secret! Anyway, I'm preparing to stay in Jin City for a few days. I'll introduce her to you soon; I'll see if you'll get a shock."
"Hah, stop giving excuses! Why didn't you bring her along?"
"She's busy! She's with a bunch of women, and it's not convenient for me to hang out with them. That's why I came to look for my brothers!"
"…"
Did that mean that she's a 'guy'?
Xiang Wan teased him. "Dates are more important than pals, huh?"
Authors were basically nerds or otakus. The moment they stepped out of their home, they tend to behave warmly, spoke loudly, and talk a lot. If they hadn't reserved a private dining room, they would surely receive a complaint from other patrons!
Hu Bandao sniffed the air for a few times and suddenly turned to ask Xiang Wan. "What's that scent on you?"
"Ah?" Xiang Wan was confused for a moment. "What do you mean? I didn't use any perfume today."
"I can smell something. There's a smell of the osmanthus flower, I think?" Hu Bandao clicked his tongue. "Did you especially put on perfume just to see me?"
"Hur, you think too much!" To prove that the smell had nothing to do with him, Xiang Wan took out the thing she had with her. "See this? It's an osmanthus sachet!"
It was a gift from Bai Muchuan.
The last time she set off for the Capital, she had left it in Jin City.
When she came back and saw it, Xiang Wan could not bear to leave it again and kept it in her pocket.
"But Hu Bandao, your nose… are you born in the year of the dog? How could you smell it?"
"Hahaha, it's my specialty!" Hu Bandao stretched out a hand. "This sachet looks exquisite. Let me take a closer look at it. I might want to get my girlfriend one as well…"
Xiang Wan rolled her eyes and gave him a disdainful snort.
"This is the only one of its kind! Where are you going to buy it?"
Hu Bandao replied, "Are you looking down on me, brother?"
"…"
He called her 'brother' again!
He behaved as if he was very familiar with her!
Nevertheless, Xiang Wan noticed that compared to the last time she met Hu Bandao at the Capital, there were some changes in him.
Hmm, from what she could tell, he seemed like a lovestruck man. 
They were friends, after all. Xiang Wan passed the sachet to let him have a look.
"Here you go! It's handmade! You really can't get it anywhere."
Hu Bandao took it with a look full of envy. 
"So it's handmade. No wonder! It didn't look like any ordinary sachet… This is clearly a sachet made with love! Come on, tell me, who gave it to you?"
Knowing that they wanted to tease her, Xiang Wan didn't bother with them.
"You want to know?"
"… Of course!"
"Secret!" She returned an answer similar to the one he gave. 
"Do I know him?"
"Maybe… you might have heard his name!"
"Ah!" Hu Bandao showed a shock-filled expression. "Quick, tell us? Is he also an author?"
"Hurhur! Ask some more!" Xiang Wan showed a mischievous smile. "I'll leave you hanging in the air!"
"… Ah, you've turned into a terrible person! Not to be trifled with!"
They chatted happily and ate hotpot together.
Hu Bandao did not reveal who his girlfriend was.
Xiang Wan did not tell them anything about her relationship with Second Young Master Mu either.
When they left the restaurant, Hu Bandao walked Xiang Wan and Fang Yuanyuan to where they parked their car.
After some hesitation, he said, "There's something I couldn't say earlier since it's not convenient…"
"What is it?" Xiang Wan smiled. In actual fact, she had guessed what he wanted to say.
"You're quite popular recently. There are a lot of things about you circulating around!"
"I can't believe you also know about it! Hur, bad news always spreads faster than good news."
"Don't worry! Let me ask you something, I just wanted to encourage you and nothing more."
Hu Bandao gestured her a thumbs-up to show his support and smiled at her in a half-joking, half-serious manner.
"This is actually a sign that you will be popular!"
"…"
Xiang Wan did not know if she should feel glad or troubled.
"Aye, you've not been in this industry long enough." Hu Bandao sounded a little like he was making a heartfelt remark. "Unless your works will forever be unpopular and not gaining much attention, you will only see the beautiful sides of everyone. They will behave like angels; they will console and encourage you to write your next novel… However, the truth is, the moment you've become popular or once you've shown signs of a rise in your popularity, hur, rest assured that there are already countless of people who are prepared to put you down!"
"Hahahaha! This is really interesting." Xiang Wan laughed as well.
Hu Bandao showed a serious expression.
"I'm serious about this. As long as there are benefits to gain from, there will be competition. This is a hardship most people would experience and need to overcome while on the path to success. Good luck, brother!"
"Thank you!" Xiang Wan smiled at him but showed a strange look. "However, there are also people who did not seem to go through all that. For instance, Second Young Master Mu?"
"… Him?"
Hu Bandao dragged the last word and cleared his throat.
"Well, that's because he's so good that he's not human; he's a legend!"
"…"
When they went home, Xiang Wan's mood had gone heavy.
Even though Fang Yuanyuan completely agreed with Hu Bandao's opinion regarding this matter, she still consoled her with all kinds of strange stories in the industry by explaining how such obviously planned out rumors might not be such a bad thing after all…
"Even though it's not a good thing, you should look towards the bright side! At the very least, because of all these dramas, many people start to learn about you, right? Surely you'll gain one or two people who will like your work after all these?"
"…" Come on, who wants to be dissed and frowned upon by others every day? she thought.
"You're just saying that because it's not happening to you!" Xiang Wan argued and sat down lazily.
"Alright, alright, let's chill for a second!" Fang Yuanyuan held her shoulders and coaxed her like a kid. "Take a bath and rest earlier today. You need to look beautiful tomorrow, so you could blind them with your beauty, okay?"
"Mm." Xiang Wan nodded.
She got up to look for her pajamas and took off her coat.
However, when she felt her pocket, she suddenly realized…
"Where's my sachet?"
Xiang Wan's heart sank.
She searched through every pocket as well as her bag.
"Oh no! I think I left it at the hotpot restaurant!"
They kept chatting earlier at the hotpot restaurant. Xiang Wan couldn't recall any memory of where she had placed her sachet.
When she lost something, her Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior would come to play.
She kept recalling what happened earlier repeatedly. Her mind was chaotic!
She sent a message to Hu Bandao to ask about her sachet.
However, his reply disappointed her since he said he didn't see the sachet.
Xiang Wan quickly went back to the hotpot restaurant only to find that another group of customers took the private dining room already…
The employees of the restaurant told her that they didn't see any sachet when they cleared the table.
Xiang Wan was crestfallen and appeared to be down in the dumps while she walked out of the restaurant.
…
When she got home, it was already late in the night.
She called up Bai Muchuan with a heavy heart.
"Sir Little Bai, I lost the sachet you gave me!"
"Why do you sound so upset?" Bai Muchuan did not ask what happened but consoled her instead. "It's not an important thing, anyway. I'll ask Nanny Li to make you another one!"
"It's different. That sachet… is very important." Xiang Wan ruffled her hair and felt very frustrated. "Why am I so careless?"
"Don't think about it anymore! If you lost it, it only means that it's not meant to be yours."
"…"
"Rest earlier. Aren't you going to be busy tomorrow?"
"Alright." Xiang Wan looked like a petulant kid as she held the phone. "I actually wanted to cry my heart out when I called you. Seems like I can't do that anymore!"
"Hur! Why are you behaving like a little girl?" Bai Muchuan laughed since he knew Xiang Wan wanted him to comfort her. "I'm having dinner outside," he sighed, "otherwise, I would have listened to you cry."
Dinner?

At this hour?
Out of reflex, Xiang Wan looked at her phone.
"… Hey?" Bai Muchuan quickly clarified. "Don't overthink this. I'm with Cheng Zheng!"
"Uh!"
Xiang Wan was speechless for a moment.
"If you're with Cheng Zheng, that's all the more reason for me to overthink about it!"
The two were always at loggerheads.
However, to think that they would actually come out for dinner together, at this hour?
"Fine! Enjoy your meal, I'll hang up now!"
"Bye! Goodnight!"
"Goodnight!"
…
The moon that shone on Jin City was also shining on the roof of a certain restaurant in the Capital.
There were three people talking when one looked inside an exquisite looking square window.
One of them was Bai Muchuan while the other was Cheng Zheng.
The third was an unfamiliar woman.
Just two days ago, the Intelligence team of Serious Crime Division One got hold of some information that the remaining Dark Clan members might carry out some illegal activities in the Capital.
Almost at the same time, Cheng Zheng received a call from his professor who taught him when he studied abroad.
That professor had also provided advice and assistance to Cheng Zheng in the previous case.
He told Cheng Zheng that one of his female students returned to their country and asked him to take care of her. They had hence, arranged to meet up in the restaurant.
Cheng Zheng went to meet her.
He also brought Bai Muchuan with him.
This was because his professor had told him over the phone that she knew something important related to a case, and it would be best to meet face to face to talk about it.
The young woman was his Junior by the name of Miao Zichen, who was a lively and pretty girl. She had brought along the professor's message and a piece of shocking news.
She told them that there was a certain western influence that was financing the Dark Clan's remaining members and was preparing to create a major case that would shake the world.
Their professor learned of such news from the local police in the country he was staying.
They only knew the name of their operation—Heaven's Wrath. Other than that, there were no other clues.
"Dark Clan? I can't believe that there are still some of them out there."
Cheng Zheng muttered to himself softly and nodded.
"Heaven's Wrath? What is that?"
"I don't know." Miao Zichen shook her head. "None of us knew what it is all about."
She continued in a serious tone, "Senior Cheng, our professor said that you must not reveal his identity and involvement in this matter!"
"Mm." Cheng Zheng nodded. "Of course."
Miao Zichen smiled. "I never expected that the environment back here would be so complicated too."
Cheng Zheng did not continue that topic but glanced at her instead before asking another question. "How long are you going to stay here?"
"I'm staying here for good." Miao Zicheng laughed. "Will Senior Cheng help recommend a job for me?"
Bai Muchuan was quiet as he listened to them talking to each other.
Somehow, he felt uneasy after hearing that.
It was the twelfth month of the Lunar Calendar and about another 20 days to go until the Lunar New Year.
When would the operation called Heaven's Wrath take place and what was it all about?
How would they shake the world? he thought.
…
Jin City.
The first day of the Annual Awards Ceremony. It was raining.
The sky was gloomy along with persistent light rain.
The world looked like it was covered in a gray tone. 
In the morning, Xiang Wan was working hard on her chapter for the day.
Around half-past two in the afternoon, she took her gown and followed Fang Yuanyuan to the hotel.
It was pretty chaotic at the hotel.
Most female authors, who just wore their pajamas and stayed at home most of the time, were all dressed up in gorgeous gowns for the event.
The company had specially engaged professional makeup artists to put on makeup for the authors, and they worked like a production line…
There were also professional hairstylists to style their hair before they move to another seat to get their makeup done. The female authors had to move around the rooms in their gowns.
It was a sight to behold since there were various kinds of looks, stature, figures and gowns!
The atmosphere was lively and crowded. Xiang Wan was also affected by the joyous mood.
A bunch of female authors surrounded Fang Yuanyuan while they chatted with her. Xiang Wan walked over and greeted several authors whom she did not know.
Although there were a lot of drama and rumors surrounding her, most authors were actually easygoing and friendly. No matter how they thought about her, when they introduced themselves, they would still smile at her.
Fang Yuanyuan was someone who knew how to hold a good conversation. From the moment she entered the room, the laughter in the room never ceased.
It seemed like everyone surrounding her would never cease to talk. 
"Have you seen the publicity posters they're using for advertisements? There will be a lot of celebrities coming here tonight…"
"Yeah! Xie Wanwan, Chen Yifan, Miaozi; they are all A-List celebrities… The most important thing is my hubby, Ye Lun is also coming! Ah! I'm so happy!"
"… Your hubby?"
"You're right! Hahahaha!"
"Hahahaha… I'm not a fan of Ye Lun. I'm a fan of Second Young Master Mu. I wonder if the event this year invited him."
"Don't think about this anymore! Since when have you ever seen Second Young Master Mu attend any event?"
A group of people were chatting excitedly when they heard two knocks on the door.
More female authors came into the room.
"Why hasn't anyone met him before?" There was a mocking laugh in the shrill voice of a female author. "Isn't Second Young Master Mu the top fan of a certain popular author on our website?"
…


Aspiring author Xiang Wan was deemed hopeless by her family and better off married when her fourth novel still did not do well. 
Just as she started to doubt herself and wonder if she should continue to pursue her dream as an author, things take an unexpected turn when a dazzling guy appears before her and she was taken away by the police as a prime suspect of a murder case.
A murder had taken place and the details were eerily similar to her mystery novel. 
From then on, her life turned topsy-turvy.
...........
Translator Review:
This is a novel encompassed with mystery, ethics, family ties, and romance. Of course, the highlights of this book are the murder cases. 
Although it’s a modern setup where none of the characters have a system or any other cheats, the Author managed to delight me with her writing, creative plots and a good pace without dragging her story. 
I marvel at the way the Author links up the clues and plot to explain the individual cases as well as paving the way to unravel the huge conspiracy behind the individual murders. Romantic plots are light-hearted so readers could take a breather from the plots of gruesome murders.
Frequency of release:  1 chapter/daily

For new authors like me, the reader's comments give us support. Reviews give us direction, and collection gives us motivation.

So what is collection? Collection is the number of people that add our stories in their libraries. It is a way for authors to gauge whether their story is popular or not. There is a hidden truth that most readers don't know about the "Collection" count on Webnovels. 

The Collection count is the number one killer of new authors. Killing would be an extreme word for it, more like…the number one "reason" why authors drop their stories.

Why? Because a story that no one reads is a dead story. 
------------------------------------------

Xandarx: You guys have any idea how to build mercenary?

WWFire: Money can answer most of things.

Elyon: If all else fails USE LOLIS.

WanderingQi: I got flamed for introducing a loli in my novel LMAOO!

Elyon: Who is that heretic?

WanderingQi: And all my collections dropped by like 200 lol.

Elyon: Give me the name and I'll set LittleSister loose on him.

Madreader: @WanderingQi 200? Really?

WanderingQi: Yea, I dropped a lot. Made me go on hiatus and considering dropping the entire novel.

WWFire: Do u lewd the loli?

Elyon: Are you sure it's the loli's fault? I don't believe it.

WanderingQi: No. I made the system take the loli form lol.

Elyon: That doesn't make any sense.

Murakami: I bet it was those MILF lovers.

Elyon: Having a loli system gives you brownie points. Maybe you did something wrong?

Murakami: Loli Grand Summoning.

WWFire: That is highly possible will lead to lewd the loli path.

Madreader: @WWFire loli lewd path will achieve top ten ps ranking.

Elyon: Adding lolis will guarantee that you get high ratings it's a fact.

WWFire: What a dilemma of lewding the loli. #lolialwaysright

Elyon: Yes.

Madreader: @WanderingQi you must've added them late.... after absorbing the 1 percent loli haters.

WanderingQi: Haha, it was added in the beginning. Well, near the beginning. But then again, I'm also a scrub author.

Madreader: @Elyon Probably his dao of lolis is low.

Elyon: @Madreader sir my respect to you have increased by ten points.

WanderingQi: What is your dao? "The dao of lolis."

Elyon: The Dao of lolis is a passive. It just boost your skills. It allows you to freely give lolis head pats and hugs without making them run away.

WanderingQi: Favorability +1 towards lolis

Elyon: Yes +2 to charisma. Oi oi I'm not a lolicon SMH <-- member of the Lolita no Touche Faction.

[A/N: Let me say it loud and clear! I, AM, NOT, A, LOLICON. Don't listen to the authors of Webnovels, they are besmirching my good name especially Zenith. Hmmph! I saw your comments while I was sleeping. Don't make me catch you later!]

WanderingQi: I'm a trash author, but I think it works lol.

Elyon: Fellow trash author hello.

WanderingQi: Hello.

Elyon: *Shakes hand*

WanderingQi: *shakes hand* Nice to meet you fellow trash author!

Elyon: It's good to see you too fellow trash author!

Murakami: *looks in disdain at the trash discovery writers*

WanderingQi: We can continue to write junk food novels for the masses!

Elyon: Yes, give them diabetes, kidney stones, and gallstones.

WanderingQi: Haha.

Elyon: Haha! cheers to trashy authors.

Murakami: Kek.

Elyon: Wtf is this nonsense? I posted that I'll be taking 2 days vacation and I get 3 collections? What kind of logic is this? *is considering taking an extended vacation*

Murakami: Goes on hiatus, collections shoot through the roof.

Elyon: *goes back with 1k collections feels good man*

Murakami: Kek.

Rychil: @Elyon you also write smut?

Elyon: AHEM!

Rychil: I thought you're a pure and innocent person.

Elyon: I am pure and innocent. *nods*

Murakami: Rychil you are trolling me.

WWFire: *suddenly posted a real loli with big muscles.*

Elyon: Aargghhh! My eyes! What is seen cannot be unseen.

Rychil: *laugh emoticon*

Elyon: OMG! She has Ladybeard with him?!

The authors in the discord chatroom once again descended into procrastination mode, and some of them failed to write their chapters for the day. Another normal day in the discord chatroom.






------------------------------------------
Author's Thoughts

When I first started writing, I was unaware of the importance of collection. I just want to write my story so that people can read it. But, after posting it in this platform called Webnovels, you tend to learn about things that make you change your perspective.

When I got my first ten collections, I was very happy. I thought that this number will continue to rise as I write my story. Then my senior authors started talking about collection count and I found out that my collection/view count is way "toooooo looooooooow".

Mmm, thinking back, it was one of the most depressing days of my life as a new writer. I only got ten collections after writing so many chapters and I thought that, how can people not love my story? It's so awesome, so epic, so fabulous that they will be pestering me instead to release more chapters. 

Authors are like that. They think that their stories are the best. The most beautiful, the most exciting, the most engaging, the most…so on and so forth. Unfortunately, in the face of reality, all of "THESE" crumble.

That day, I stared at my collection and asked myself. Why did they add it? Is my story interesting enough? Did my drop-dead, gorgeous, sexy body passed through the walls of space and time, and forced them to reconsider to add my story to their libraries?

For them to survive my story that had been labeled as… a story that will make people want to stab their eyes for the horrible grammar, tenses and sentence structures, breaks my heart.

To this day, I still don't know the answer. But, I'd like to believe that these ten silent readers of mine are there because they genuinely loved my story. That was enough, that was more than enough for me.

Silent readers is a term used by some of the authors in Webnovels. They are the people who love to read stories, add them to their libraries, but don't give comments or leave reviews. They're just there. Silently reading, silently supporting their favorite authors with their presence. 

We appreciate these readers, but you know…we want you to talk to us too. We want you to say something. We want you, to make your presence known. 

Do we really have to say "Please notice me Senpai?".

My friend, sleepteddy, said a few words before about improving his grammar for the sake of his reader's mental health. Believe it or not, some of the authors worry about our reader's mental health as well (Sleepteddy and I are the perfect examples of responsible authors!)

My beloved readers, I'm not telling you this so that you will avoid removing stories in your libraries. No, that's not the reason why this chapter was written. I want you to know that every time you remove a story from your library, somewhere out there, a new author is facing a heartbreak (LMAO! Guilt-tripping eh?)

A small snippet is needed to show you, how a decrease in collection count affects new authors. 
(Some of the conversations here was made up…or was it?)
------------------------------------------
A Certain Story Teller: We ain't genius authors mate we're just amateurs. I'm not crying TWAT! TWATS!

A Certain King: *kicks the chair next to him* Damn it... I knew I had a problem with character connections.

A Certain Chat Killer: I'm depressed, please give me a shoulder to cry *cry emoticon*

A Certain Story Teller: BOI WE THE DEPRESSED DUO.

A Certain Hateful Person: *sings* Hello Darkness my old friend…I've come to talk with you again.
------------------------------------------

Mmm, I'm surrounded by these kinds of authors. Can you think of my mental health whenever you remove a story in your library?

Joking aside, I do believe that a good story will always have fans waiting for the author to upload the next chapter everyday. If a story is interesting enough, then having a big collection count is just around the corner.

A gem will always shine once it is discovered, so it's just a matter of time, a bit of luck, and pray to the RNG GODS that your novel will be featured on the trending and daily updates list.

For new authors, their first 100 collection is a milestone. This gives them the assurance that there are people, somewhere out there, that are reading their story. The second milestone is 500 collections, then next 1,000, then 5,000, and finally 10,000.

The moment a story hit a collection count of 10,000, the authors can give themselves a pat on the shoulder because they had crossed a certain threshold. It means that a small minority of people deemed their story to be worth reading.

Of course, it doesn't stop there. There is a certain author in Webnovels that I know that have…millions in his collection.

Perhaps, someday, some of the authors in the discord chatroom will also reach that milestone. Until then, we just have to keep writing, keep improving, and keep making exciting stories that will make people "Want to ADD our stories in their libraries."

Have you ever wondered what your favorite Authors in Web Novels do during their free time? Don't forget that Authors are humans too and they have their own quirks and opinions. 

How can those Domineering CEO's that you love to read even compare to the manliness of our drop dead gorgeous authors who cries like little babies when they are stressed out and can't write anything due to Writer's Block!? Cultivation Chat Group can't even compare! 

Join our fearless Author Elyon as he show you a world filled with Frustrations, Stress, Anxiety, and Procrastination! 

WELCOME to The Webnovel Writer's Chatgroup!
--------------------------------
Meet and greet some of the aspiring authors of Webnovels. Join us on discord!
 https://discord.gg/sBHSFVm

P.S The Cover Drawing is not mine. I just find it nice so I used it. Full credits go to the owner.

Shadowrun is a table top RPG that is not unlike DnD, just more modern.
Please check up on the history of the game Shadowrun: Dragon Fall for obscure references or the table top game if i forget to explain the the Authors notes. If I fail to mention anything please let me know!
League is the one of, if not the most, popular MOBAs on earth. All my lore comes from the official Riot Games wiki and maybe some old lore cause it was more interesting to me. 

Any other things that you wonderful people would like to ask please leave a comment and let me see if I can respond.

"Brother Monogatari," Seiji confidently told her his novel’s planned name.
"This name... isn’t quite as eye-catching as I’ll Die if I Don't Become Handsome," Saki remarked. "I hope that its contents are as outstanding as you say."
"You’ll have to see for yourself," Seiji said with a chuckle. "I’m going to call my home now and have Shika-chan... my relative send you the draft."
"Alright, I’ll be waiting."
They ended the call on that note.
Seiji instantly called Shika-chan and had her email a copy of his draft to Editor Yoshizawa.
All he could do now was wait. He was confident that Editor Yoshizawa would definitely call him back again today!
Saki instantly received Seigo Harano’s draft. She immediately began perusing it.
As a professional editor, Saki had strict standards for story drafts. If it couldn’t attract readers within a set word count, she would unhesitatingly give up on it, no matter who the author was.
And if she finished reading a draft from start to finish, then that basically meant the draft had passed her standards, and she would objectively give a review based on her impression.
She had given Seigo’s Become Handsome short story a review of "quite an attractive story" after one quick read-through.
Very few stories could actually receive such a good review from her on the first read-through!
Saki Yoshizawa’s strict standards were by far the highest in Thunderbolt Literature’s editing department.
When she was still a newbie, she had the astonishing feat of having criticized a young, formerly successful author to the point of making them break down in tears. And after she became more familiar with the line of work and increased her standards, she received the exaggerated nickname of "Wall of Disappointment."
All her coworkers had witnessed her rejecting newcomers’ drafts before and criticizing them to the point of despondency or leaving them in tears.
Even veteran authors would be nervous when sending her their drafts, and some even went to the point of specifically requesting editors other than her if possible.
The head editor had lectured her several times about it—he had tried to tell her to be "gentler" with the authors, and not break them.
At any rate, the nickname of "Wall of Disappointment" was no joke. If a draft could successfully get past this "Wall," it was considered a type of glory in the authors’ circle, just slightly behind that of receiving the head editor’s praise.
All the drafts that successfully passed this "Wall" would have good results after publication, better than the average results of drafts that didn’t pass this "Wall’s" standards. That’s why even though the authors always complained how Saki was too strict, she was still viewed as an important employee by the editing department.
All her coworkers believed in her ability and believed that she would eventually become an editor team leader, although this would depend on luck—the luck of receiving an excellent draft.
Saki had processed many good stories, but none were wildly popular hits yet, so she lacked absolutely convincing result. This meant that she was right on the border between an excellent editor and a famous editor known by everyone—she was barely on the wall.
Saki herself didn’t mind too much. She was just going through Seigo’s draft as per normal, using her own standards.
After she quickly read through the first page, she paused for a moment.
Instead of reading the next page, she started over again from the beginning and read again while paying close attention to every detail!
This was something she had never done before.
Saki didn’t even notice the change from her normal behavior, because all she could think of was the story she was reading right now.
This story was completely different.
It had a totally different writing style from Become Handsome, but it was just as excellent... no, even better!
The writing quality was quite high, and compared to Become Handsome, the part where it stood out the most was that it was something "fresh!"
At the very least, Saki felt that it was a fresh type of story, as she had never read such a style of light novel before.
This story seemed like a real-life romantic comedy at first. However, it was also mysterious and mystical, and there were also serious and elegant elements in the novel.
"Monsters; the abnormal; the unexplained; mystery... Brother, which word do you prefer?"
"The world may not be pure black and white, but black and white do exist and will always exist."
"Those that wear masks are humans; those that don’t wear masks are inhuman."
"Sister, don’t run around, something bad will happen."
...
Saki was drawn to sentences like these. As she quickly skimmed through the draft, she felt a strong compulsion to read further.
And when she read it again in more detail, she got addicted and lost herself in the words.
She was so lost in the story that she didn’t even hear one of her coworkers calling out for her, as her eyes were glued to her computer screen.
Saki’s female coworker thought it was rather strange. Just what was the famous "Wall of Disappointment" so busy reading?
She got curious and went over to Saki’s side to take a look at Saki’s computer screen.
A novel... when she tried reading it, Saki’s coworker also got lost in the story.
Who wrote this story? It was so well written.
Amazing!
Saki’s coworker forgot what she originally wanted to do and stood next to Saki, dazed, and read the story together with her.
This attracted another coworker’s attention.
Several editors came over as well, looked at the screen in curiosity, and were likewise attracted by the story.
When the head editor arrived at the office, he was astonished to see so many editors clumped together in one spot.
What was going on?
He walked over to the gaggle. "What are you guys doing?"
There was no response.
The head editor frowned at this and repeated his question in a louder voice.
The editors finally regained their senses and were sheepish to notice that their boss was standing beside them.
"Head editor, we’re reading a draft... it’s incredibly well written! The author is..."
The editors looked at Saki, unsure.
"The author is Idle Dimension by the Shore," Saki said, giving Seigo Harano’s pen name.
"Idle Dimension by the Shore... The person who wrote Become Handsome?"
"That author!? This is a totally different style from Become Handsome!"
"Can he change styles? Or is this his real style!?"
Idle Dimension by the Shore was a brand-new author who managed to rank #6 with his first short story.
This was an excellent result, so all the editors in the department had remembered this author’s pen name.
This might be an incredible newcomer... no, not might—this was definitely an incredible newcomer!
There was no doubting it anymore: his stories would definitely become bestsellers! All the editors who'd just read his draft shared this belief.
How long was it since the last time that all the editors would crowd together in front of the same computer screen to read a draft together?
The newer editors didn’t have such a memory, and only some of the veteran editors could recall... that the last time must have been about five years ago?
"Let me take a look," the head editor said in a solemn voice.
Saki stood up and let the head editor sit down in her seat.
The head editor’s name was Souzo Hattori. He was about fifty years old. His hair was greying, and his face was lined with deep wrinkles. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses and had dark gray eyes.
He went to the beginning of the draft and began reading with a sharp expression.
He read one page, two pages, three pages...
And stopped right there, took off his eyeglasses, and rubbed his eyes.
"Ten years... it’s been ten years since I’ve last had this feeling while reading a light novel." Souzo sighed as he put on his eyeglasses again.
Ten years... could it be, Souzo was comparing it to that story!? All the editors were astonished.
They all believed that this story was quite good, but they didn’t expect that Head Editor Hattori would actually compare it to that story from ten years ago.
That story not only became a huge hit in Sakura Island, it even became popular in many other countries and began a new legend for its generation!


Translator note: Apologies to the readers. This series is currently on hiatus. We ask for your understanding!
A 30-year-old Chinese NEET is reincarnated into the body of an otaku that choked to death on instant noodles. As he comes to grips with his new life, he realizes that this world is subtly different from Earth. The denizens of this world are far better looking, and this new world also possesses futuristic technology as well as mysterious Yin Yang masters! 
After reincarnating, he realized that he was endowed with a miraculous game-like system, which enables him to increase his own stats and transcend the limits of the human body. This system even has a game-breaking ability to save and load in real life!
In this new world that’s akin to a 2-D game, he just wants to enjoy life and head for a glorious future... However, he is quickly embroiled in a complex plot. Can he unlock his true potential and utilize his system to break the shackles that confine him and discover the truth about his previous body’s circumstances? 

You will get about five chapters today or more if you vote power stones up to top 20. There will be about 3 daily chapters now about 1,000 words or more each. Depends on the chapter.

On August 1st there will be a huge pa treon deal for advanced chapters. 

Discord: https://discord.gg/vRcGCsy

Important: I was talking to another popular R-18  author and I was thinking about changing the name of this novel. Since some people may confuse this story with Game of Thrones fanfic.

Here are some new names. 

Harem Kingdom Building 

Harem System 

Harem Overlord 

Etc.

You can also give me new names and whoever gets the most likes gets the name chosen. 

Remember top 20 and you get 5 or more chapters I promise now I have way more free time. I hope to get out way more chapters. Just know that most of the new chapters need to be edited by my editor who is now editing bulk chapters. 

Also I was thinking if anyone likes the cover art? I kind of want a cover art of some warrior/knight with long white hair setting on throne with a bunch of woman around him. Something that can be custom made will be nice. If you guys find a pic let me know. 

If you join discord you can always talk to me.

>>All non-chapters will be deleted. This chapter will be up so everyone can comment and join my discord<<

This will be the final authors notice. I will be putting up Ranks and Character list on the AUX section.

A college student is reborn in a fantasy world that is fused with Magic and Cultivation. Myths, Legends, and Mythical Creatures all exist in the world of Zareth. Clans and Kingdoms filled with Harem Lords roam these lands which are inhabited by the most radiant Maidens and Goddesses of all races. But this world is a brutal and unforgiving one, in which only the strong thrive. Dragons, Spirit Beasts, and an ancient darkness lurk in the shadows. 

Will he rise up the ranks and become a Harem God? Conquer the Divine Lust. 


Support: https://www.patreon.com/ghostybones

[Tags]: Overpowered MC, System, Anti-Hero,Harem,Monster Girls ,Reincarnation, Netori, Action, Kingdom Building, R-18, Extreme Gore, Harem, BSDM, NSFW, Dual Cultivation, Summoner, Mature, Sex, Dungeon ,Thrones

>WARNING!<  Incest, Mind-Control, Hardcore, Hidden Tags


Novel also being posted on Royal Road and Scribblehub.

"Anyway..."

Zhou Lei brushed that trivial matter aside, as he noticed some other weird thing besides this.

"Used one time?"

He was trying to recall the past four days that he obtained System, but no matter what, there was no instance of him using an item other than the three books he just used.

"It's a bug, maybe?" Zhou Lei nodded his head as he thought of this.

.....

The scientist entered the dark room, her two hands carrying plastic bags. No matter how advanced humanity got, they never seemed to have the intent to get rid of these.

The plastic bags were full of instant noodles and the like, seemingly for the scientist's dinner.

"The bliss of my lab...!"

The scientist seemed to miss her laboratory, even though she was only gone for about 5 hours, not even a tenth of a day...

"Now, what's happened with that kid?" The scientist said with a very wide smile. Her curiosity seemed to get satiated every time she checked out the person she put the chip in.

She's already returned the man with the exposed brain back to his family, with his head now intact. Of course, he now had mental defects, such as being a retard...

"Hmm? What?" She looked at every prompt that popped up on her computer.

"Host bought 23 books, accumulated debt of $11500."

"Host availed three freebies from the [Writing] section, namely [Master Author Book], [Idea Glasses], and [Author's Keyboard]."

"Host got two quests according to [Auto-quest] function. [Insult] option turned on."

"Oh, crap..." The scientist looked at the prompts with wide eyes as she adjusted her glasses.

.....

Zhou Zhenya felt weird as she lied on her bed. She recovered from a previous headache that she felt when she tripped inside her brother's bedroom.

"Ah..."

She could not remember what happened in the room except for the fact that she tripped inside.

As she sat up, she looked down at the tiles in her room and felt weirdly dissatisfied.

"These tiles... suck. I think I can do better."

As she uttered these words, she stood up to walk out of her room and retrieve both a hammer and a chisel...

"Wait!"

Zhou Zhenya hesitated for a moment as if something was bothering her in her mind.

"Where can I find these tools?"

.....

Zhou Lei looked at the computer and realized that it was turned on all this time.

"Ah! Wasting electricity." Zhou Lei reprimanded himself. "As a son in a middle-class family, I ought to remember to conserve electricity so that the bills won't be high."

Zhou Lei then sat down on the chair. It creaked a bit. The chair lowered as well due to the pressure from Zhou Lei sitting on it. However, this chair wasn't designed to be able to lower itself.

After this observation, Zhou Lei finally plugged in the keyboard on the port that the printer was once plugged in.

As Zhou Lei plugged in the keyboard, the lines that were surrounding the keys lit up and glowed like a rainbow, transitioning to a different color every few seconds. The cycle consisted of the colors red, yellow, green, blue, and violet, going in reverse after. 

It was a mesmerizing sight, especially for Zhou Lei who has only seen these kinds of keyboards in either commercials or banner advertisements on the internet. He also occasionally hears his classmates talk about their gaming equipment, particularly the keyboard.

After appreciating the view, he opened the browser and visited the most popular site for reading web novels, Webnovel. 

This site also had a counterpart for authors to write their own web novels, and it was called Inkslab.

Zhou Lei had an account in Webnovel, so as that site's counterpart, Inkslab would naturally let that account login on its site as well.

As it loaded, Zhou Lei tried to think of an initial premise to his novel.

"Hmm... what're the most popular genres? Reincarnating, systems..." Zhou Lei muttered to himself.

"Ah, I got it! How about... reincarnating with a system?"

After a realization of his irrelevance, Zhou Lei gets a life-changing system that enables him to redeem himself - in the most attention-catching way possible!

"System, I said to upgrade my intelligence."
"Are you sure you want to upgrade: Appearance?"
"I already said no!"
"Upgrade processing..."

-----

No regular updates.

Chapter 1. Starting again (1)

It was a happy atmosphere everywhere, all the people gathered were laughing and drinking like there was no tomorrow.

In this friendly and joyous occasion, there was only one man who wasn't drinking nor talking to anyone.

He had rough hair with a unkempt beard. He was the perfect image of a homeless person, just that his beard was somewhat short. 

Even when everyone was laughing and chatting, he was only drowning in his sadness. He wasn't even using alcohol to drown, his sad past and bleak future were enough to do that. 

He was just waiting for the reunion to end, so he can go home. He was also praying that no one will talk to him until the end.

But his prayers were not heard as a chattering girl started to make a conversation with him.

"Hey, Rei, now that I think about it, I hadn't asked but how's your life going"

"Ha, it's just going…..well" Rei replied meekly.

"Really, you are a popular writer back in college, right.How is your work these days?"

The girl voice was unintentionally loud this time attracting the gazes of all of his classmates.

"Yeah, you are pretty famous back then"

"You are called a 19 years old genius writer"

"Your first work was also a big hit. I have a copy in my home till now"

"You're also pretty popular with the ladies, always going on dates and late night bars"

His classmates started reminiscing about his once glorious past while waiting for his answer.

"Well, it's going pretty good for me. I am able to survive somehow" Rei answered with a awkward smile but he was cursing inwardly. 

'Damn you all! You all should probably know about what happened to me. You are just mocking me speaking about my past'

"Really, it's good that you're doing well"

"Yeah, being a writer is a hard job"

"A book can make your career while it can also destroy it"

"Yeah, we all are not like Shin, having three hit books in a row"

"Yeah talking about Shin, isn't he coming tonight"

His classmates every word was like needles piercing him in his heart, especially talking about Shin.

Shin was just like him, a writer but there circumstances were very different.

On one hand, Rei was once hailed as a genius writer but life had hit him hard, now he was barely surviving with his writing.

On the other hand was Shin, someone whose last three books have been a hit and he had also gotten a drama adaptation.

He was a eyesore for Rei since they didn't get along well.

Chomp! Chomp!

A sound of shoes hitting the ground came up. Everyone looked towards the sound. A man in a suit waved confidently to the crowd; it was none other than Shin.

"Hey, come here"

"How's life"

"How's it been going"

The reaction was different from when they Rei gotten here. There was more cheering, especially from the girls.

"It's the successful guy! I see you've been earning in millions"

"What do you mean? It's just enough to sustain me"

As he took a seat, various girls started eyeing him and talking him. Most of the girls here are approaching their 30s. It was the time when they were sensitive about things like marriage and for them, Shin was a perfect guy.

Shin was also clearly enjoying the atmosphere talking and laughing with those girls. Although some guys didn't like it, they can only shut their mouths as Shin was more successful than them.

After talking with the girls, Shin finally found Rei sitting in a corner.

He stood up from his seat and sat across from Rei and started talking with him.

Rei didn't want to talk especially with him but he can only give short answers to his questions.

"How's life going for you?"

"It's normal"

"Are you still writing?"

"Yeah, what can I do if it's not writing"

"Yeah, your passion for writing was always the same by the way, are you invited to the award ceremony this week"

The award ceremony Shin was talking about was the highest award ceremony for a author in this country in which only the top rated literature authors are invited.

Shin asking him that question was him just mocking him straight but Rei can't retaliate as he was in a disadvantage.

"No, you know I stopped writing literature works, right"

"Really, you were rather good at them. I still have the copy of your first book in my bedroom"

It wasn't like Rei had stopped writing literature but rather he can't find himself to write literature.

He can only survive by writing trendy fantasy novels.

"So, what are you writing then? Fantasy?"

"Yeah, I have been writing those"

"It must be hard because there are a lot of people writing fantasies"

"There are a lot but experienced authors can survive without any help"

"It isn't about how experienced a author he is but about how good of a work he can write"

Shin was now blatantly mocking Rei in front of everyone. He clearly knew that Rei don't have anything to retort with and he was the king now.

Rei truly didn't have anything to retort but he still wanted to say something, he was not a coward but before he could say anything, he heard the sound of shoes coming in.

Chlip! Chlip!

It was the sound of high heels and with the sound came a beautiful girl wearing a black dress which was neither short nor too long.

She had silky black hair and a pure smile was on her face.

She immediately greeted everyone after her arrival.

"Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you after a long time"

"Oh, it's Rin"

"Have you gotten more beautiful?"

"Another successful one is here"

The response was same as the time when Shin came but the boys were more enthusiastic this time.

Rin greeted them all and casually moved towards Rei's seat.

Seeing her come close to his seat made him remember the time when they were together in their college.

Those beautiful movements he had made with Rin are still fresh in his mind.

He thought that maybe Rin still hasn't forgotten about him but the reality was way different.

Rin did came his way but she didn't sit beside him but instead beside Shin and even kissed him on his cheek.

"Sorry~I was late"

"It's okay, you are not much late"

Shin said those words while glancing at Rei, he was clearly again mocking him.

Amidst the shocked expressions of everyone, Shin and Rin confirm that they are dating and will soon marry.

Rei didn't knew what happened after that, he was too sad and devastated to know anything.

He just remembered that he had drink alcohol for the very first time in a long while after that and didn't remember much.

His last thoughts were 'I wish I could reach the top of the world'.

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