Chu Ge's rented apartment was quite a distance from the upscale coffee shops in the city center. For most online writers who rarely left their homes, living in the suburbs or the city center made little difference; the biggest difference was the significantly cheaper rent.
After a quick bowl of fried noodles, he returned to his apartment. It was almost dark, and the small living room was rather dim.
It was a two-bedroom apartment. Neither bedroom was lit, but from one of them came the rapid clicking of typing. The rhythmic clatter of fingers danced in the dim light, drifting into the equally dim living room. The presence of voices only amplified the emptiness and deathly stillness of the apartment.
That was Chu Ge's writer friend, sharing the rent.
This friend had a rather archaic name: Zhang Qiren. Chu Ge had posted the roommate ad on a writer's forum, intending to find a writer friend to mutually support each other. Zhang Qiren was also looking for a place, and the two hit it off immediately, living together for almost half a year.
In the end, it turned out that all the mutual support was just empty talk.
"Have you eaten?" Chu Ge asked casually.
A reply came from inside: "I just made something quick, then suddenly Quan Si felt like she needed to pee… Hey? You're back at this hour because your blind date went wrong?"
"It went wrong, just like your Quan Si." Chu Ge pushed open his door, about to go inside.
The typing next door finally stopped, and a thin, bespectacled man appeared at the door, scrutinizing Chu Ge's blind date look with a click of his tongue: "Our Chu-ge actually has a bit of Daniel Wu's style, how would you rate the woman?"
Chu Ge replied irritably: "Zero points." Giving full marks, not zero, basic procedure.
Zhang Qiren quickly gave him a "I understand" look, quite regretfully: "You didn't even take a picture for your brother to admire…"
Chu Ge remained silent, thinking to himself that if he really took a picture, you'd probably say, "Where did I find some online picture to fool you… How could there be such a beautiful woman on a blind date?"
Zhang Qiren asked, "What's the reason this time? Household registration? Money? House?" Chu Ge glanced at him, then suddenly laughed, "Because we're unemployed." Zhang Qiren's grin froze, his voice suddenly rising, "These frogs in a well don't know anything! Things change, don't underestimate... uh, are you still considered young?"
Chu Ge didn't answer the last question, only saying, "So keep it up, swim to the west bank of the river soon."
Zhang Qiren nodded, "By the way, Brother Chu, my new book goes on sale tomorrow, remember to recommend it!"
"Don't forget, I remember."
"Thanks in advance... I... I'm a little panicked." Zhang Qiren unconsciously rubbed his hands, whispering, "The recent data... seems pretty bad."
Actually, he had mentioned his data several times already. Chu Ge also felt a chill run down his spine, but could only repeat the encouragement he'd given several times before: "Don't be a coward. This thing is unpredictable. Some people see it's incredibly popular but have few subscribers, while others see it as niche but have a lot of die-hard fans... Anyway, it's a matter of life or death, being nervous won't help..." Zhang Qiren forced a smile: "Yeah, who cares? Whether it lives or dies, it's like this. If it's popular, it'll be a hot model; if it's not... I'll be the hot model!"
Chu Ge: "...Have you ever thought that maybe you're not popular because you're too lewd?"
"As if you're not lewd yourself. Who wrote a book about twin sisters last time..."
"That's why I'm not popular either."
"So, will you still write about twin sisters?"
"Yes."
"...We're all like that." Zhang Qiren had something on his mind, so he didn't talk much more. The two went back to their rooms. Chu Ge made a cup of tea, sat down at his computer desk, opened a document, and didn't move except to go to the bathroom.
This was Chu Ge and Zhang Qiren's daily routine.
If it weren't for Chu Ge's blind date bringing up some real-world topics, the two of them wouldn't even chat like this often. Despite living together, they were more accustomed to communicating online.
A common scene was them sitting side-by-side at the fast-food restaurant downstairs, eating while simultaneously chatting amongst themselves in their author group chat… as if they knew each other's avatars better than their own faces.
Chu Ge wondered if continuing like this would cause him to lose his ability to speak… His rambling, incoherent speech in front of Gu Ruoyan today was partly due to his unease with normal communication…
Ugh, why am I thinking about her again?
Chu Ge's fingers hovered over the keyboard, lost in thought. He wondered if he could add such a character to the book—a sophisticated, professional female office worker… But he was writing a fantasy novel, so this character would probably correspond to a high-ranking member of some sect, who would then be conquered and seduced by the protagonist… Hmm.
This is a bit troublesome because there's already a pre-existing female lead who bears a certain resemblance to this one—the sect leader of the protagonist's sect, one of the strongest cultivators in the world, already on the verge of ascension, and also the most beautiful woman in the land.
And the next stage of the story revolves around conquering her.
Yes, Chu Ge writes harem novels, and has a small, somewhat not-so-small reputation within the genre.
As a harem novel writer, Chu Ge knows very well that the key is to bring out the unique characteristics of each female character. This female sect leader is aloof, proud, elegant, and domineering, quite different from Gu Ruoyan. However, if he were to add a female white-collar worker-type sect member, it would become too similar, making it difficult to distinguish her features.
Let's stop overthinking and focus on writing this female sect leader well; she's the main female lead.
This book has only been available for a short time, with only two or three hundred chapters so far, and the plot hasn't fully unfolded yet. At this point, the protagonist, "Chu Tiange," is still a minor character. Due to an unexpected incident, he gained the sect leader's favor and was promoted directly from a lowly servant to an inner disciple. The sect leader even personally mentors him from time to time—this is the beginning of the protagonist's meteoric rise.
During this stage, the protagonist still regards the sect leader as his master and shows him great respect; the sect leader, in turn, only sees the protagonist as a promising talent and mentors him only occasionally.
As for how the protagonist's filial piety will turn sour, and how the sect leader will develop feelings for a younger woman, that requires a long-term plot design, but foreshadowing can begin now.
For example, start indirectly depicting the sect leader's psychology: sometimes feeling lonely, sometimes reflecting on what's missing in his long cultivation journey, wondering if his inability to ascend is due to something… and so on.
Why would a millennia-old monster, known for his abstinence and detachment, develop romantic feelings? These are all logical prerequisites.
Chu Tiange is putting in a lot of effort.
"Qiu Wuji opened the window and gazed at the moon. The moonlight, like water, gently sprinkled the earth, illuminating her perfect profile, hazy and dreamlike. She remained lost in thought for a long time, vaguely wondering if, after ascending to heaven, she would ascend to the moon? If so, would it simply be moving from one lonely place to another, an even lonelier one…?" Qiu Wuji's name is taken from Xin Qiji's poem: "A thousand miles of clear autumn sky over Chu, water flows with the sky, autumn without end," perfectly echoing the protagonist Chu Tiange's name—a testament to the artist's skill. If Chu Tiange is a projection of Chu Ge himself, then Qiu Wuji represents all of Chu Ge's expectations and fantasies about his ideal type, into which he poured deep emotion.
The reason he told Gu Ruoyan, "Sometimes a little less, but this month it's still over ten thousand words," is precisely because his previous books flopped, while this book's performance has been steadily improving—characters into which he poured his heart and soul naturally gain reader approval.
"For some reason, Qiu Wuji suddenly recalled Chu Tiange's smiling face. That sunny smile was so special in this world of self-interested immortals, it could brighten one's mood..." Chu Ge's fingers flew across the keyboard, the more he wrote, the more inspired he became. It was as if, with each word, he could see a beautiful fairy gazing at the moon through a window, lost and lonely.
He could even feel the cold wind seeping in from behind, chilling his spine.
Wait a minute... His window was in front of him, so why was he feeling cold?
Chu Ge turned his head, puzzled.
A cold glint flashed, and a long, dark blue sword was pressed against his neck, its piercing chill seemingly freezing even his soul.
Chu Ge stared in disbelief at the woman in ancient attire behind him, a sword held to his neck, her phoenix eyes fixed on his document with murderous intent.
The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds, or perhaps only a moment. Before Chu Ge could even process what was happening, he heard the woman say, word by word, "If you dare write that I've fallen for that disciple, I'll risk the world's collapse to take your dog's life!"
Chu Ge was dumbfounded: "Wait, who are you?"
The woman's gaze shifted from the document to the tip of the dark blue sword: "Qiu Wuji."
Chu Ge: "???"