Chapter 264: Chen Jianhai, the Gentle White Moonlight

Although the entrance tickets for this dining area at the Nanjiang Beer Festival won't be very expensive, the fan base of Qiao Ni, Dao Dun, and the others is quite large, and almost everyone in the kitchen is a streamer. If all these fans come to meet them in person, the ticket costs borne by the hotel will be substantial.

However, Wen Zifan was currently in absolute admiration of Chen Jianhai, executing his ideas and suggestions without question. So, as soon as Chen Jianhai finished speaking, Wen Zifan promptly replied:

"Okay, boss, I'll take care of it right away."

"Good!" Chen Jianhai nodded in satisfaction, then, thinking it over, he spoke again with extra caution:

"Remember!"

"Absolutely! Under no circumstances should you advertise in Qiao Ni's live stream!"

"If anyone asks in the live stream, just say that Qiao Ni is going abroad for training and can't participate in this dining event."

"Got it?"

"Understood, boss," Wen Zifan confirmed.

"But should you maybe talk to Qiao Ni, so he doesn't get any wrong ideas?"

"Don't worry about Qiao Ni; this is also his idea," Chen Jianhai said.

After hanging up, Chen Jianhai let out a long breath.

Da Bo,

This is as much as I can help you.

Just make sure your dad doesn't find out about this event...

...

In the hotel lobby,

Chen Jianhai sat in a nest chair, with the blue sea behind him, holding his phone in his left hand and gently pressing his chin, a look of contemplation and tranquility on his face.

"Click~!"

The framing was perfect!!!

In a secluded corner of the hotel lobby, Tang Tangtang took a deep look at Chen Jianhai and swiftly sketched on her touchscreen device.

As she drew, she muttered softly to herself:

"Furrow the brows just a bit~"

"Make the eyes a bit sadder..."

"Add a faint bitter smile at the corners of the mouth!!!"

With just a few strokes,

The rough and tough Chen Jianhai transformed into a gentle and affectionate white moonlight!

Although he was still the same person, his aura completely changed!

Initially, Tang Tangtang introduced Chen Jianhai, this rich second-generation character, to advance the plot and let the protagonist show off, face slaps, and woo girls.

But who would have thought,

In a male harem manga, the first character to go viral wasn't the tsundere young lady, but this white moonlight rich second-generation!

As her work gained more traction,

More and more readers were drawn in, and more girls started reading the manga.

The rich second-generation character's popularity soared,

After she drew the scene where "the rich second-generation bravely protects the tsundere young lady alone, fights six delinquent boys, and is eventually rescued by the protagonist's team, delivering the young lady safely back to her room before quietly leaving with his wounds," 

the rich second-generation character skyrocketed to the top spot on "Dongdama Manga Network's" most popular male characters list!

Meanwhile, the protagonist dropped to the seventh spot on the most hated male characters list on "Dongdama Manga Network"!

This turn of events left Tang Tangtang bewildered!

She truly couldn't understand,

How could such a great scene, designed to highlight the protagonist's bravery, heroism, and chivalry, end up causing such an uproar across the internet?!

What was more terrifying, the discussion boards were almost entirely dominated by fans of the rich second-generation character,

With fans of the protagonist and fans of the rich second-generation hurling insults at each other, creating an intense you-die-I-live atmosphere.

The work's discussion rate and fan engagement levels were breaking records daily,

Even attracting many people who came specifically to watch the heated arguments in the comments section.

Faced with such a massive fanbase for a character,

Tang Tangtang could no longer treat the rich second-generation as a mere tool character.

Just as she was hesitating on how to balance the screen time between the protagonist and the rich second-generation,

A notification popped up:

"Dear artist, congratulations! Your manga 'Adolescent Wolf Boy's Sweet Romance with the Descending Love Interest' has reached 3,000 fan interactions and will receive a super popular manga recommendation at 14:00 today. Please ensure regular updates if the work is ongoing."

I've made it to the all-channels recommendation!!!

Tang Tangtang's breath almost stopped, staring in disbelief at her phone.

But then, another notification popped up:

"Dear artist, congratulations! The character 'Rich Second-Generation' from your work has surpassed 10,000 popularity points as voted by readers and will receive a 'Dongdama Manga' character spotlight on January 4th at 00:00. Please contact the site artist to provide additional character information and details. Artist: Jiujiu, QQ *********."

Tang Tangtang was dumbfounded.

A spotlight for the rich second-generation character?

Anyone opening the Dongdama app would see the character automatically pop up, which was the second-best recommendation after the all-channels recommendation!

Tang Tangtang didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In a harem manga,

The breakout character isn't the protagonist, nor one of the three female leads, but a male side character??

How is this even fair!

...

At the island coffee shop

"Xiao Lang, do you really have to leave?"

"Or could you leave Ji Chi behind for me!"

"If neither of you are here, I'll be at a loss alone..."

In the coffee shop, Feng Di wore a woeful expression, pleading with Xiao Lang.

On the coffee table between them, ten bags of carefully mixed seasonings were neatly arranged.

Xiao Lang shook his head with flair and said:

"Don't try to persuade me."

"If you keep trying, I might just take you with me too!"

The Nanjiang Beer Festival isn't just a beer fest; it's a BBQ haven.

It's also Xiao Lang's prime opportunity to make a fortune.

In a few days, Xiao Lang would take his kidneys and chicken wings back to Nanjiang to recruit, find suppliers, and prepare for the Beer Festival business.

He wouldn't be able to manage the island's business,

So he simply left Feng Di with 10 packs of ancestral secret seasonings to keep the BBQ running on the island.

"Lang Ge, I know you're generous."

Feng Di looked at the seasonings on the table, almost in tears.

"But I've only ever watched you grill skewers. I've never done it myself; I haven't even skewered the meat..."

"Even though you gave me the seasonings, I can't grill the meat properly!"

He was just a daytime coffee seller and a nighttime beer, drinks, and mineral water vendor,

Grilling skewers was not his thing.

"That's simple!"

"I'm short on staff anyway, why don't you come with me!"

Xiao Lang patted his leg, playing the big brother role to the little brother, patting Feng Di on the shoulder.

"You'll get a share of the earnings!"

Seeing Feng Di's hesitant look, Xiao Lang earnestly said:

"This lousy coffee shop of yours would have gone under long ago without Hai Ge's money propping it up."

"I see you idling in the shop every day, not making much progress. Join me in grilling skewers, and you'll get a new car within a year!"

Feng Di was tempted, but still hesitated,

"The coffee shop is my dream… If I just give up on it…"

Xiao Lang, tired of his hesitation, cut him off:

"The Nanjiang Beer Festival is only 10 days. It's not like you have to shut down your shop. What's there to be excited about!"

"It's settled then!"

"You'll come back to Nanjiang with me for BBQ and make big money!"