Qiu Wuji was so angry she almost blew up her meditation room, but she couldn't break through the barrier again anytime soon.
"Guards!" Qiu Wuji's furious voice echoed faintly through the sect's mountains: "Go to the sect's secret treasury, retrieve the Xuanwu Phosphorous Crystal and the Chaotic Void Shuttle, and activate the Heaven and Earth Reversal Array!"
The sect elders turned pale with fright: "Sect Master, you...you're going to undergo tribulation? This...this isn't the time yet!"
Qiu Wuji gritted her teeth: "Why isn't it the time? I'm going to undergo tribulation!"
Isn't it all about ascension?
Is there any difference between the Immortal Realm and that strange world of square-grid typing magic weapons?
Qiu Wuji was busy planning her breakthrough, and Chu Ge, unsurprisingly, suffered from insomnia that night.
He wondered if Qiu Wuji, in her current state of "seeing through reality," still had the ability to influence her thinking with what he was writing?
Whether or not it did, she would probably notice, right?
Posting that sentence felt like opening Pandora's box—a mix of tension and excitement. I kept imagining Qiu Wuji about to unleash a murderous rage, tossing and turning, unable to close my eyes.
Even a gust of night wind made me wonder if Qiu Wuji was about to appear, sending chills down my spine as I looked out, only to find nothing.
Thank goodness, he can't just appear anytime soon, or I'd be in real trouble!
Around 2 AM, I couldn't lie down any longer, so I got up and continued writing.
I posted that chapter in a rush, without even checking for typos, and I completely forgot to promote Zhang Qiren's chapter. Zhang Qiren's book is going to be available at noon today, and as a friend, it's only right to give him a boost. Ideally, I should post another chapter in the morning and promote Zhang Qiren's at the end.
But I just sat there dumbfounded for ages, my mind a complete mess, utterly clueless about how to continue.
The whole outline is ruined; what am I supposed to write?
After a moment's hesitation, Chu Ge opened the book review section. He was initially too afraid to read it, thinking the female lead's sudden change of heart would be met with a barrage of criticism. But when he opened it, he was stunned.
The book review section was mostly positive… though this kind of praise left Chu Ge with a strange feeling.
"That's right! A woman like Qiu Wuji, wanting a low-level disciple, I thought her character was going to collapse. Thank goodness, it's salvaged."
"Exactly, we can't build a harem too quickly. Slow conquest is more satisfying."
Chu Ge couldn't help but switch to an alternate account to reply: "How is it too fast? Even if it doesn't end there, just thinking about the protagonist is just setting the stage, right? They're not even in love yet, it's not even close to happening."
"That's true... but what can you expect? The author is a harem writer, so this makes it feel like it's going to happen quickly. Anyway, it'll have to end eventually."
"Yeah, it just feels too fast."
Chu Ge was furious: "Imagine something that hasn't even happened yet and then say it's too fast? You guys are something else! What if it doesn't end?"
"How could that be? Didn't you read the author's last book...? Want to bet on whether it'll end or not?"
Chu Ge: "..."
If it were before, Chu Ge wouldn't dare make that bet.
Originally, of course it would end...
But now...
He looked up and thought for a long time, then suddenly chuckled.
Suddenly, it dawned on him that writing a story where Qiu Wuji and the protagonist have no connection might actually be a good thing… He realized he'd misunderstood something.
Shouldn't the most important aspect of storytelling be suspense, keeping the audience guessing what will happen next? Now everyone's already assumed what's going to happen, even already accepted the outcome—where's the suspense then?
The main storyline might be okay, at least the romance is unpredictable, leaving only the process as an attraction. That's not impossible, but it doesn't feel right, like having a limp.
Anyway, Qiu Wuji won't let him write it the way he originally did, so he might as well rewrite the outline, thus escaping everyone's guesses. It's not like he can't write other stories.
The worst consequence would be a flop, and he's done that before.
The frustration from agonizing half the night vanished, and Chu Ge laughed, replying with two words: "I've taken the gamble." Without waiting for a reply, he logged off.
What the bet was didn't matter.
What mattered was escaping the prison he'd built for himself. —Just like Qiu Wuji stepping out of that sky.
Chu Ge simply posted a separate chapter: "Organizing the outline, taking a day off, and incidentally promoting a book."
Having fulfilled his promise to Zhang Qiren, the last bit of worry disappeared, and Chu Ge completely relaxed, stretching his limbs as he walked out of the room.
The door to the next room was closed, with light faintly seeping through the crack.
Zhang Qiren, as expected, was still awake.
Chu Ge completely understood… the book was going to be published during the day, and the pressure was immense; it was perfectly normal to be tense and unable to sleep.
Besides, writers were used to staying up late; the quiet of the night often brought more immersion and inspiration, so writing until midnight was quite common.
He knocked on the door: "Want to go out and get something to eat?"
Zhang Qiren mumbled, "Just had instant noodles… want some? Hey, come in, what are you doing standing outside?"
Chu Ge pushed the door open and immediately saw Zhang Qiren chatting with someone on QQ.
"You're pretty carefree, aren't you? I thought you were typing something, but it's just nonsense." Chu Ge walked over and glanced at Zhang Qiren's screen. The chat window had a girl's profile picture. "Holy crap, you're actually thinking about picking up girls?"
Zhang Qiren replied nonchalantly, "Who knows if it's a guy or a girl? Taking it seriously is a losing proposition. Just trying to relax. Am I supposed to just stare at a document like that?"
"True." Chu Ge watched Zhang Qiren relax.
The girl on the other end was saying, "My mother passed away."
Taking advantage of the situation, he said, "Want me to come over and keep you company?"
"I have a boyfriend."
"I have a mother." Zhang Qiren sent the message, then blocked her in one swift motion.
Chu Ge: "..." Zhang Qiren turned his head: "Don't look at me like that. I know you just want a white chicken... oh no, I mean, you want a late-night snack. How about poached chicken?"
"What poached chicken at this hour? Let's just have a bowl of wontons." Chu Ge walked out, laughing, "Didn't you just eat instant noodles?"
Zhang Qiren chuckled: "You're troubled. Even if you just ate eighteen baskets of steamed buns, I'd still eat some with you."
Chu Ge was somewhat surprised: "I didn't realize you could read minds?"
"Read what mind... I saw the chapter you posted. You were fine this evening, and suddenly you wanted to organize the outline. Is there a problem with your subsequent ideas? Knocking on my door at this time, what else could it be but to discuss ideas?"
That's right, Chu Ge came to talk to his writer friend about his subsequent ideas. The initial purpose of sharing an apartment with a writer friend was for this, and this was likely the first time they'd done so in the past six months, aside from giving each other feedback on their new books.
Zhang Qiren seemed to have thought of this as well, and couldn't help but chuckle. He put his arm around Chu Ge's shoulder as they walked: "Having a friend who doesn't forget to promote my chapters even when I'm on hiatus... I think the meaning of this cohabitation is more important than talking about writing."
Chu Ge agreed, feeling that having a friend who was anxiously waiting for publication but was still willing to stay up late to have snacks and discuss ideas was the most important thing.
The two went to a roadside stall outside the apartment complex, skipping the wontons and getting some grilled skewers, each ordering a bottle of beer.
"To be honest, even though I'm not very good at this, I think your book really needs a change in approach," Zhang Qiren said, clinking glasses with him. "Including what we said before about sisters flying together, I loved it, but in the end, that's all I remember. Now with this book, all I want to see is when you're going to seduce that female sect leader. I skipped all the protagonist's struggle scenes. Is that what you want?"
Chu Ge looked at the bubbles in his glass: "What if it flops? Am I just a young model?"
Zhang Qiren pursed his lips, a hint of unease in his voice.
It's easy to joke around, "If I don't become famous, I'll be a young model."
However, after countless days and nights of torment, sitting in front of the computer for over ten hours a day, suffering from cervical spondylosis, tenosynovitis, and sciatica, who would want to see their sales plummet and go unnoticed?
Even Zhang Qiren, right before his book's release, was filled with anxiety. Who could be so carefree? Especially with Chu Ge's book already showing an upward trend, could he really afford to give it up?
He could only manage a weak reply: "Look at me, it flopped so badly even dogs wouldn't look at it, but I still insisted on no female lead." Chu Ge glanced at him.
Actually, Chu Ge knew that Zhang Qiren really couldn't afford to flop this time.