《My Life Reset Simulator》 Chapter 1 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio [Ding! Life reset simulator activated!] Without touching it, Xu Yuan phone¡¯s screen suddenly lit up, and a black-and-white box popped up. Xu Yuan¡¯s bloodshot eyes moved away from the computer and picked up the phone to take a look. ¡°A virus?¡± His first reaction was that a rogue software was acting like a rogue. He used the most primitive method and shook his phone. Then he found that the page was still the same. He thought of fixing it after work, so he didn¡¯t pay much attention and put down his phone to work. It was already the third night of overtime for Xu Yuan. Only his computer was still lit up in the pitch-black office. His hands were numb as he typed on the keyboard. His tired brain was screaming for a strike, but he kept telling himself that he could not stop! The rate of increase in housing prices was so fast that it surpassed the speed of the rocket launchers. If he did not work hard, he wouldn¡¯t have even been able to afford a toilet! This year was his third year after graduation for Xu Yuan. It was also the third year of his 996 work schedule (9 am to 9 pm for 6 days a week). Although it was hard, this was the highest level job that a non-famous university graduate like him could find. Xu Yuan was not satisfied with this two-point, one-line job. He only stayed in the big city because he did not want his parents to be disappointed. After all, for parents who had been farming for their entire lives, it was an honor for their children to be able to stay in the big city. They could brag about it to everyone. Moreover, in order to let their only son take root in the city and marry a wife, the two elders sold their home and went out to rent a house. They gave all their money to Xu Yuan to pay the down payment. However, this big city was not so easy to stay in. The two elders sold everything they had and even insisted on doing part-time jobs after they retired. Unfortunately, the down payment was still short of more than 100,000 yuan. Xu Yuan wished that his parents would not humbly go to their relatives to borrow money, so he worked overtime day and night just to reduce their burden. Although the company¡¯s strength was not bad, the leader at the top was good at playing games. They were all talk and no do. There would always be no bonus and a stack of award certificates. They would be happy to talk about anything other than promotion and raises. As for the distribution of shares, it was a pipe dream. Xu Yuan could only be done in another way. In order to earn a little more money, he had to write web novels as a part-time job. However, his energy was limited. His modest results were barely enough to buy a few packs of cigarettes. Now that it was late at night, Xu Yuan was extremely tired. All the bad things rushed into his mind. Every time he thought of the down payment that he had painstakingly collected, and the more than ten years of mortgage waiting for him, the pressure was like a shadow, which also followed him. The dull and depressing life was like the work at hand, as if there was no end to it. The ambition to do something big before graduation was ruthlessly crushed by life. ¡°Live¡± and ¡°Life¡± only differed by one letter, but it was like a natural moat. Xu Yuan had a deep understanding of this. Thinking of this, he sighed heavily. The phone next to him seemed to have sensed something, and the screen¡¯s light was still flickering tenaciously. It was really annoying. Xu Yuan picked up the phone unhappily, and the screen¡¯s interface was still the [Life Reset Simulatorator] with black letters and a white background. There were a few lines of small words below: [Players can reset according to their own attribute points, simulate another life in a parallel space-time, and experience it in person.] [After a successful simulation, player can extract the corresponding abilities obtained in parallel life into real life!] [When you finish reading this sentence, it means that you have agreed to all the rules of this game. ¡°Player¡± has been changed to ¡°Host¡±!] [Dong dong dong! Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the novice gift pack. You will get three chances to simulate a new life!] [Please make the most of it!] Xu Yuan¡¯s body shook violently! The last few words were not displayed on the screen, but the mechanical voice sounded in his head! He was a web novel author himself, so how could he not understand what this situation meant! He held his phone again and carefully read the rules. As expected of a hooligan game, the conditions of the binding system were also so hooligan. Now, he was going to say hi to fate-changing and Bye-bye to trash life! He could not wait to click the ¡°Restart¡± button. Then, the option to draw ten consecutive talent cards popped up! He opened it and took a look. Ten random talent options lined up neatly on the screen. [Unexpected Surprise: Random Attribute + 1] [Beautiful Life: Beauty + 2, Physique-2] [Popular Person in Class: Easy to get along with classmates ] [Rider: Learn how to ride a bike easily ] [Experienced Driver: You and your family won¡¯t get into a car accident] There were a total of ten options. Xu Yuan was to choose three out of these strange prompts. While Xu Yuan was still not clear about the rules of the game, he decided to familiarize himself with things first. Then, the interface changed again, providing 20 attribute points and giving four options to Xu Yuan. [Appearance], [Intelligence], [Physique], and [Family Background] Xu Yuan tried to click on the plus sign behind each option and found that it could be allocated according to his will. However, the maximum value of the four options added together was 20. Of course, the higher the value, the better. However, he browsed the game page several times, but there was no hint on how to increase the attribute points. He could only make do with 20 attribute points. After completing the attribute distribution, the simulation life would begin simulation [0 years old, 1 year old ¡­ x years old]. As for the specific age, it would be calculated according to the talent he chose and the attribute distribution. Xu Yuan skimmed through the operating guide and nodded while holding his chin. He roughly understood the rules of the game. In conclusion, he would be in charge of his own world! This was simply a god-given skill. Xu Yuan was overjoyed, and he quickly began his first life! He returned to the home page and began to simulate a new life according to the prompts. When he was in the talent options, Xu Yuan had a slight hesitation. After a simple thought, he chose: [Experienced Driver: You and your family won¡¯t get into a car accident] [Traveler: You like to travel] [Independent at 30: Family Background + 2 at 30] Xu Yuan thought that he understood the meaning of the talents drawn and chose the most free and unfettered [Traveler]. As for [Experienced Driver] and [Independent at 30] was for the safety and wealth of his family. It was simply perfect! Next was 20 points of attributes. Faced with the four attributes, Xu Yuan suddenly hesitated. He touched his face. To be fair, he was not ugly, and could even be said to be a little handsome. When he was in school, there were even female classmates who secretly sent him love letters. Since it was a simulation of life, then he would first choose the simplest way to earn a living by relying on his face! After all, his foundation was not bad. When a person had a good-looking face, without superior intelligence and a good family background to protect him, he could only become a fish that was at the mercy of others. With this in mind, Xu Yuan divided the 20 points evenly among [Appearance], [Intelligence], and [Family Background]. As for [Physique], with money, looks, success, and fame, his feet did not even need to touch the ground. It should not matter if his feet were a little lower. After completing all his choices, Xu Yuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and prepared to start resetting his life! He decisively clicked the [Start] button! Chapter 2 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Xu Yuan held his phone and licked his dry lips. He tried hard to suppress the excitement in his heart. He was just an ordinary man. He suddenly had the opportunity to change reality. His first reaction now was whether his simulated life could change the current situation. First, he had to solve the urgent need for a down payment. After all, making money was everyone¡¯s simple and urgent wish. Xu Yuan did not feel like he was an exception, so he generously admitted this. Then, the system started running, and the phone screen turned black. At the same time, Xu Yuan¡¯s vision also turned black. It was as if he had entered the world of his consciousness, and his surroundings were chaotic. A monotonous mechanical voice sounded, as if it came from all directions, wrapping Xu Yuan within it. [At the age of 0, you have become a fetus in the belly of a famous movie star.] [During the delivery process, your umbilical cord wrapped around your neck and your fetus was not in the right position, causing your mother to have difficulty giving birth. The chief surgeon asked if your father wanted to save the child or save the mother.] [Your father loved your mother deeply. After careful consideration, he could only bear the pain and give up on you, choosing to save your mother.] [Your fetus died in your mother¡¯s womb¡­] [Simulation Score: 0.] [Simulation Reward: None.] [Do you want to synchronize your life immediately?] ¡°Synchronize my *ss!¡± Xu Yuan exclaimed inwardly. Xu Yuan felt speechless. What was the point of synchronizing his life that ended before he even opened his eyes? Not to mention the mortgage, even his own existence would be erased! He almost did not catch his breath. He hurriedly chose the ¡°No¡± button in the darkness. There was a tear in the darkness in front of him. Xu Yuan seemed to have woken up from a dream, and he suddenly bounced up from the table. The familiar office was empty. The clock on the wall indicated that it was 3:45 am. Xu Yuan lifted his arm which had been numbed by the pressure. The flashing computer in front of him pulled him back to the real world. He quickly got up and went to the pantry to pour himself a glass of ice water. He raised his head and gulped it down. ¡°Cough, cough, cough! Well, that was scary. This life simulation is quite interesting.¡± Xu Yuan coughed twice and revealed a surprised smile. Then, he wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and sat back at his desk. Although the first simulation of life ended quickly, Xu Yuan still managed to gather useful information. He touched the red mark on his face that had been caused by lying his head on the table. Whenever he began to simulate a life, Xu Yuan would be the same as falling asleep in the real world. Even though life was like a dud in the system just now, it disappeared before it could shine. It was so fast that it caught people off guard. However, in the real world, he experienced a short sleep. Xu Yuan made a guess based on his years of reading online novels. Regardless of whether he chose to the life of the simulator or not, when the game started, he would just fall asleep in real life until the game ended. In other words, with his limited vitality, he could spend a very small amount of time and cost to complete a few lifetimes! Xu Yuan suppressed his excitement and reviewed the first simulation of his life. For example, just now, after the end of the simulated life, the system mentioned the [Simulation Score] and [Simulation Reward]. The so-called [Simulation Score] was the rating after the end of the simulated life, and the simulation reward was distributed according to the score. As for what the reward would be, it had to be verified in the next round of practice. Thinking of this, Xu Yuan placed one leg on the table and looked at the ceiling with a frown. He was curious about what kind of reward it was. Would it be a convenient skill? Or was it an endless amount of money? The system seemed to have heard the doubts of Xu Yuan, and the phone on the table vibrated again, and a new interface popped up. Xu Yuan hurriedly picked it up and looked at it: [The system will randomly give different talents or other rewards, and these rewards can be brought to the real world, or used in the next simulation.] The system¡¯s explanation was like a bucket of cold water. He finally understood the rules of life simulation! The problem of attribute points that he had previously cared about could be improved by completing the simulation and experiencing life. Some talents could also be used repeatedly through rewards. In other words, he had more than three talents! He knocked his head and lectured himself. ¡°You can¡¯t become a fat man with just one bite. Even if you want to simulate life, you have to take it step by step. Otherwise, if you take too big a step, you¡¯ll end up pulling your balls!¡± Xu Yuan was now clear. Due to his initial attribute points, the simulated life in the early stages might be a little ordinary, but it would be different in the later stages. After understanding this point, he was ready to start the second simulation game. At this moment, the words on the screen changed again. [ Announcement: Please remember the synchronization rule. The the life simulator is not just a game, but the entrance to a different parallel world.] [You can go to that world to experience an extraordinary life, and develop a new path on the predetermined path of life. Optimize that life, and bring back a higher reward.] Upon seeing this, Xu Yuan tapped on the screen helplessly. ¡°Can you say all these rules in one go? Why take so long?¡± If it wasn¡¯t for his cleverness just now, that 20-something-year-old Xu Yuan would have laughed his head off. Xu Yuan took two deep breaths and calmed himself down. Then, he clenched his phone again. He had learned from the previous lesson and was ready to start the second life simulation! The phone screen once again jumped to [Talent Draw]. It was still random 10 options, and it was different from what he saw last time. After thinking about it carefully, he decisively chose [Blessed Embryo: Initial available attribute points + 1] [Independent at 30: Family Background + 2 at 30] [Perplexity Immunity at 40: Intelligence + 2 at 40] Last time, because of his Physique attribute was 0, he was directly stillborn. This time, he had to ensure his body was healthy. After all, the body was the capital of the Revolution! He had already wasted one of the three chances. The second time, he did not ask for anything else. He only asked for steady progress to obtain the reward! In order to allow him to live longer, he made a wish and used half of his attribute points to strengthen his physique. [Physique] : 10 This time, he no longer wanted to rely on his face to make a living. Instead, he steadily simulated an ordinary life. For ordinary people, whether their face was good or not was not the main issue. Therefore, he only clicked 3 for [Appearance]. Xu Yuan would be satisfied with an ordinary look. Next, according to Xu Yuan¡¯s plans, he allocated 4 points to [Intelligence]. Adding the attributes of [Blessed Embryo], the total was 5. He wanted to avoid being cheated before he started his business. Now that society was so complicated, he might be cheated into selling his blood and kidneys. Only by being cautious could he live for a long time. The remaining 3 points were all placed on [Family Background]. This time, other than his good health, the rest of his attributes were normal. After getting everything ready, Xu Yuan moved his thumb to the [Start] button. He decisively pressed it and carried out a second simulation of life! Chapter 3 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio With a perturbed mood, the second simulation of life began. Xu Yuan entered the consciousness world again, and the familiar female voice sounded again. [0 years old: You Were Born, it¡¯s a boy] [2 years old: The City You¡¯re in has an infectious disease among young children. You survived because of your strong Physique.] Xu Yuan felt a little relieved that he had survived. [6 years old: You Started Primary School and became the champion of the sprinting competition.] [¡­] [10 years old: You drink milk every day, and you grew out of your pants very quickly.] [12 years old: You¡¯ve gone to Junior High School.] [14 years old: You ran into gangsters fighting on the streets, and it was very shocking. A weird switch seemed to have turned on inside you.] Xu Yuan¡¯s face was full of question marks. He had started to mingle with society at the age of 14. He did not know if he would be able to live to the end of his life. He continued to read. [15 years old: You prepared for the middle school exams. You focused on preparing for the exam. You cut off contact with your friends and entered a sports college.] [17 years old: Your friend was wounded. You climbed over the wall to send him off. Your class teacher caught you.] [19 years old: You got first place in the college entrance exam, and you went to a famous sports college.] [¡­] [24 years old: You Were a late bloomer, and you were chosen to represent the provincial track and field team.] ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little too late? I was chosen at an age where other athletes are already retiring?¡± Xu Yuan complained inwardly. [25 years old: You got first place in track and field, and became a hero in your hometown.] [26 years old: You returned home with a ruptured Achilles tendon. You were hired by high school as a sports teacher.] Life was full of ups and downs, but at least you had a secure job. [28 years old: Your family arranged a blind date with a female nurse.] [30 years old: You won the lottery. Your family¡¯s situation has improved.] [32 years old: Your daughter was born. She weighs eight and a half pounds.] [35 years old: A foreign celebrity was arrested for rape, and the celebrity happened to be your wife¡¯s favorite. Your wife broke down on the spot.] [37 years old: You found out that a homeless man on the street was your childhood friend.] [40 years old: You published a paper on physical fitness, and a university professor came to ask for advice.] [46 years old: Another late bloomer. You became an assistant assistant to an associate professor.] [¡­] [60 years old: Retired, but rehired by School.] [66 years old: Collapsed at work, died without a cause.] [Current Simulation Score: 61] [Current Simulation Reward: blue talent ¡°Excellent life¡±] [Excellent Life talent: As long as your Physique is greater than or equal to 1, you will not die before the age of 50. You can also bring it to the next life simulation.] [Do you want to simulate this new life?] Although the idea of a sports life was very different from Xu Yuan had planned, at least he had lived past the average life span and passed the satisfactory mark. It was much better than being stillborn. Moreover, the talent [Excellent Life] was exactly what Xu Yuan needed. In the future, when allocating talent, there would be no need to worry about the problem of a short life. When faced with such a silly and ordinary life, other than being the friend of a homeless person, there was nothing to regret about Xu Yuan. There was no need for him to go through it again to rewrite one of the items. The system seemed to be able to read the thoughts of Xu Yuan and immediately responded. [The host is currently using the Beginner¡¯s Gift Pack. Regardless of whether or not you experience a simulated new life, you will receive a reward!] Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan let out a long sigh of relief. The second simulated life was not what he wanted. Only the final reward was moving. Therefore, he was very satisfied with the result. His attitude towards the system had also changed. He decisively chose the [No] button and refused to experience the life of an athlete. A white light tore a hole in the darkness. Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, straightened his back and sat up. Now, he had one last beginner¡¯s experience left. Xu Yuan secretly calculated how to maximize the benefits.. He crossed his arms and stared at the dull computer screen. The items that needed to be processed were still in place, and there was not a single extra word on the form. The reason why he worked here so miserably was because he was poor. Now, every business needed capital, but the original family could not provide much help, and he might have to spend more than ten to twenty years to complete the original accumulation. He had once Xu Yuan and thought of making a lot of money so that his parents could live a good life. Unfortunately, most of the ways to make money quickly were written in the criminal law. Otherwise, it would be mortgaging a house, usury, or selling kidneys. But a person only had two kidneys. If he sold them, he would not be able to grow them, so it wasn¡¯t a long-term solution. In the Life Simulation, one could set attributes. Among the four attributes, one¡¯s Appearance and Family Background were given by others. If one did not bring them with him when he was alive, he would not bring them with him when he was dead. It was the most elusive and difficult to grasp. Only the knowledge brought by Intelligence, no matter which world one was in, would always be in one¡¯s mind and could be used repeatedly. As expected, knowledge was power! Xu Yuan had an idea. He opened the simulation of life¡¯s homepage for the third time. He first took a look at the blue level talent [Excellent Life]. With this talent, Xu Yuan could be half at ease. Then, 10 random talents popped up. Xu Yuan quickly browsed through them and his eyes suddenly lit up! [Fountain of Ideas (Blue): You have rich inspiration and a strong writing ability that supports the inspiration. Your creative level has greatly increased.] This talent skill was related to writing. It was the path of knowledge that Xu Yuan had chosen. He did not hesitate and happily chose [Fountain of Ideas]. In addition, if he wanted to earn money, he had to start accumulating wealth earlier. He had to give some support to his youth! Xu Yuan decisively chose the second talent: [Lucky Youth (Green): When you are young, your luck will be 15% higher than the average of your peers.] In addition, [Excellent Life] had just enough for three talent skills. Perfect! After choosing the innate skill, he Xu Yuan and began to allocate attribute points. [Intelligence]: 12 [Appearance]: 4 [Family Background]: 3 [Physique]: 1 He had placed more than half of his points on [Intelligence]. He was really going to rely on his superior Intelligence to create wealth! After choosing, he did not hesitate and immediately pressed the [ start] button! [0 years old: You were born, you¡¯re a boy.] [2 years old: You can already read 500 words, your relatives and neighbors all praised you as a genius.] [5 years old: You begged your mother to buy you a whole set of Andersen¡¯s fairy tales.] [¡­] [11 years old: The teacher is reading your excellent composition on the podium, and you awkwardly hide under the table.] [13 years old: The outbreak of the influenza, caused the school to be closed for two months.] [14 years old: The students encouraged you to participate in the ¡°New Concept Essay Competition¡±, and you won the top prize.] [16 years old: You released your first novel, ¡°Black Wall¡±, and received widespread praise from the readers. There were many publishing houses looking to cooperate with you.] Xu Yuan nodded his head in satisfaction. The youth became famous, and everything was developing in a good direction. It was going perfectly. Just as he was about to continue to scroll down, he frowned slightly and realized that there had been a major turning point in his life. He was caught off guard! Chapter 4 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio [18 years old: You have become very popular. The famous copyright agent, Lei Yong, has found you and signed a cooperation contract with you.] [19 years old: You have been duped. All the copyright has been taken away. Your pen name has been banned. You have been banned by the publishing industry. You have been crying at home.] When he saw this, Xu Yuan could not help but feel speechless. He knew that his good days were over and that his life was about to go downhill. [23 years old: You¡¯ve lost your lawsuit. You didn¡¯t accept the verdict, and was going to file an appeal.] [24 years old: You¡¯ve been slandered by Lei Yong. You¡¯ve become socially infamous.] [29 years old: You¡¯ve failed in your lawsuit again. You¡¯ve been hurt so badly that you can¡¯t recover from it. Because of the internet violence, you don¡¯t dare to go out to work. You¡¯ve been eating at home and waiting for your death. Your parents felt sorry for you. They said that they could understand what you¡¯re going through.] [35 years old: You always shut yourself at home. Your parents became impatient and urged you to go on blind dates and get married.] [36 years old: You went on more than a dozen blind dates without success. You are already a famous Old Fox in the blind date market. Your parents couldn¡¯t maintain the mortgage and moved back to their hometown in the countryside.] [40 years old: You married into a neighboring village and took your wife¡¯s last name. Your wife is unruly and fierce.] [43 years old: Your wife is pregnant. For the sake of your child, you decide to change your appearance and fight for your child.] [44 years old: The child is not yours. You were forced out of your house by your wife and Old Wang. You have nothing left.] [51 years old: You felt ashamed and did not go home. After your divorce, you wandered around and eventually froze to death under the street lamps of an unknown street.] [Current Simulation Score: 50] [Do you want to simulate this new life?] Xu Yuan felt very down when the simulation ended. Under the blessing of the green level talent [Lucky Youth], his youth was very happy. His friendly classmates and teachers gave him enough confidence. It was also because of this that he had never seen the evil of the human heart, which was why he was easily defeated when he reached adulthood. With the help of the [Excellent Life], he barely lived past the age of 50, but for him in this life, living was the most painful thing. He seemed to see a happy childhood, a successful youth, but the rest of his life was gloomy and miserable. In this life, he was supposed to be a widely praised writer, marry a well-read wife, and have a happy family, but because of the evil copyright agent¡¯s persecution, he ended up in poverty for half of his life. In the end, he died miserably on the streets. The copyright agent divided his entire life into two completely different parts. In the first half of his life, he was considered very successful. The key point was when he was 18 years old. Xu Yuan knew that if he knew what he was doing and had a clear goal, then it would be very practical. Although he had become famous too early in the parallel world, and because of the pride of the literati and the pressure of reality, he was willing to degenerate his entire life and was forever trapped in the heart of a sinister person. However, he had already experienced the cruel beating of society in the main world. He was no longer a flower in a greenhouse, so this little setback was really not enough. On the contrary, Xu Yuan would allow him to have superb writing skills and a known path in life! Xu Yuan was clear. If he wanted to obtain something, he had to take the initiative to attack. This was the last chance given by the Beginner¡¯s Gift Pack. He could not always focus on the rewards given by the system. Instead, he had to create his first bucket of gold and complete the initial accumulation of capital! Xu Yuan secretly cheered himself on. He gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, decisively pressing the [Yes] button! [Sleep begins, a new journey in life officially begins!] The system reminded him as if it was just a formality. There was no time for Xu Yuan to prepare at all. He was already in the conscious world, so his physical body in real life would definitely be lying on his desk and dozing off this time. Xu Yuan did not give him time to care about his cervical vertebra and lumbar vertebra. He did not know how long he would sleep after experiencing life. He did not know if he would sleep until his colleagues came to work in the morning. When they saw that he was unconscious, they would send his body directly to the hospital. Without waiting for him to think, the black color of the conscious world gradually turned gray. Suddenly, countless slides appeared in the void, surrounding the side of Xu Yuan. They were full of happy lives in parallel worlds. He was born into an ordinary but harmonious family. In kindergarten, the gentle teacher always praised him for Xu Yuan. Every day after school, he would be rewarded with a small red flower, which caused the children to be envious. In primary and junior high school, his grades in Xu Yuan were excellent. His classmates all regarded him as the object of their longings and rushed to read his composition. Xu Yuan also received a lot of encouragement because of this. After going to college, Xu Yuan not only earned enough for four years of tuition, but also paid the mortgage to buy a house, and moved to a big city with his parents. It was the true pride of his parents. The happiness of Xu Yuan in a parallel world was almost always brought about by literature. Before signing the contract, Xu Yuan even felt that he was the happiest person in the world. ¡°Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!¡± Xu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. The cream cake burned with ¡°18¡± shaped candles. Around the big round table, there was a circle of laughing people clapping and singing birthday songs. At this time, a gentle-looking middle-aged woman walked over and put on Xu Yuan¡¯s birthday hat. She laughed and congratulated, ¡°Xu Yuan, happy 18th birthday!¡± Xu Yuan inherited the memories of the parallel world and recognized that she was his mother in this parallel world. And these people in front of him were his classmates, friends, and teachers. They were all gathered together to celebrate his birthday. He was not so outstanding in the main world, nor was he so popular. His parents were busy doing part-time jobs and often forgot his birthdays. Xu Yuan would just buy a bag of instant noodles and two sausages and made do with it. Suddenly seeing this scene, Xu Yuan¡¯s eyes could not help but feel moved. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and said emotionally, ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± ¡°Xu Yuan, hurry up and blow out the candles!¡± his father beside him said. ¡°Huff.¡± Xu Yuan puffed up his mouth and blew out the candles on the cake. Amidst the applause and blessings, the lights in the room lit up. Xu Yuan was surrounded by so many people for the first time. He scratched his head in embarrassment. ¡°Thank you for attending my eighteenth birthday¡­¡± Halfway through his sentence, Xu Yuan suddenly choked. 18 years old¡­ wasn¡¯t that the year he was cheated by the copyright agent? Why was the timing to experience this new life so subtle? Xu Yuan said inwardly, ¡°I hope everything is still in time, otherwise it would be equivalent to crossing the tribulation.¡± Thinking that if he didn¡¯t succeed this time, his fierce wife and cuckold would be waiting for him later, Xu Yuan had butterflies in his stomach. ¡°Xu Yuan, what did you wish for?¡± Mrs. Xu asked with a smile. ¡°I¡­¡± he stuttered and made up a wish at random. ¡°I hope that my book will sell well and earn a lot of money to buy you a house.¡± Hearing this, Mrs. Xu could not stop smiling. Her heart was blooming under the bright sunlight. ¡°Wow, my Xu Yuan is so mature. I believe that your wish will come true. After all, you have Mr. Lei¡¯s help.¡± ¡°Wait, who are you talking about?¡± Xu Yuan¡¯s mind went blank. Mrs. Xu did not see her son¡¯s cold expression. She turned to look at the fat man in the guests seat and said, ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Lei Yong. He is now your copyright agent. With him helping you, I can be rest assured!¡± Chapter 5 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Xu Yuan looked at the fat man in the guest seat, who was faking a smile, covered his chest with his hands, and breathed hard. He complained to himself, ¡°Mom, it would be much better if you donated your heart than give it to Lei Yong. At least it might benefit society. It was this fat man who ruined your son¡¯s reputation!¡± According to the prompt of the simulator, Lei Yong had put some overlord terms and some terms, which made Xu Yuan sell himself to Lei Yong, in the contract that Xu Yuan just signed. Not only did his best-selling first effort become Lei Yong¡¯s money-making tool, but all the words published within five years, including the IOU, and the copyright, would all go to Lei Yong. Any profits generated from Xu Yuan¡¯s works would not belong to him. That was just like a mother, who went through a difficult pregnancy for ten months, and lost her child after she raised her child for eighteen years or more. Her child was made to somewhere else to be a slave and the money he or she earned went to someone else. Anyone in this situation would die of anger. In the parallel world, Xu Yong was young and stubborn. He had insisted on going to court, but in the end, he lost miserably. His parents had not seen much of the outside world, either. When they heard Lei Yong¡¯s name, they believed him completely, so they signed the contract without hesitation. Then, it would cause a tragedy for the rest of their lives! ¡°What should I do now?¡± Xu Yong started a brainstorm, and he stood there motionlessly. Xu Yuan¡¯s mother stared straight at Lei Yong. She poked Xu Yuan lightly with her elbow and said, ¡°Xu Yuan, go and cut a piece of cake for Mr. Lei. He must be really helpful for you.¡± Lei Yong was a well-known person in the publishing circle. He was the person with the highest status at the dinner table. The others also chimed in. They urged Xu Yuan to be sensible and try to leave a good impression on Lei Yong. They had been invited to participate in Xu Yuan¡¯s 18th birthday, so they must be quite kind to Xu Yuan. They would be sincerely happy for Xu Yuan¡¯s success and naturally did not want Xu Yuan to neglect that man who might be helpful for Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan did not expect the test to come so quickly and so directly. He clenched his hands under the table and smiled at Lei Yong. Xu Yuan repeatedly reminded himself that he should not alert the enemy. If he angered Lei Yong and Lei Yong gave him a hard time in advance, he would not be able to turn the situation around. He had to calm down first. Thinking of that, Xu Yuan obediently cut a piece off the cake, which was the biggest one. He carried it with both hands to Lei Yong and said with a smile. ¡°Mr. Lei, this is for you. In the future, I would be needing instructions from you.¡± Lei Yong patted his bulging stomach and said, ¡°I don¡¯t eat sweets.¡± Xu Yuan still had a smile on his face. He thought to himself, ¡°if you don¡¯t eat sweets, you should have told us earlier. What a waste of time!¡± Xu Yuan¡¯s mother tried to smooth things over and said with an awkward expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Lei. What do you like? We¡¯ll go prepare for you right away.¡± Lei Yong was not polite at all. He pushed the cake away, stood up, and said. ¡°The contract has been signed. I attended the birthday party too. You should just write!¡± With that, Lei Yong walked out with his head up. Xu Yuan¡¯s mother and father went to see him off respectfully. They did not dare to straighten their backs, which were like shrimps. They respectfully sent him out of the door. When Xu Yuan saw his parents being so humble, he felt very uncomfortable. But what was even more uncomfortable was that he already signed the contract. When thinking about it, he felt really sick. Why did he start his life after signing the contract! Before he opened his eyes, Xu Yuan had already inherited the memories of the first half of his life, as well as his previous writing experience. These could be said to be the greatest treasure of his life. As for other things such as netizens arguing about which of Lamborghini and Ferrari was better and the prices keeping falling on the stock market, he could not care less. He did not want to remember such useless information. After Lei Yong left arrogantly, Xu Yuan became quite worried. The entire birthday party became boring. Everybody left after the meal. After that, he followed his parents back to their cramped rented apartment. After saying good night, he returned to his room. Although he had already made some money from writing his own book, his parents, who had lived half of their lives frugally, wanted to save up this money. Once they had enough money for the down payment, they would buy a house in the city. This was too similar to life in the original world. In fact, it would be even more miserable in the future. Xu Yuan had seen everything, so his fighting spirit couldn¡¯t help but be even higher. What could be confirmed now was that his way to book publishing had been cut off. Lei Yong was a black-hearted copyright dealer. He would not let Xu Yuan go just because he had a good attitude. If Xu Yuan continued to write physical books, it would only benefit others. But the only skill Xu Yuan could rely on to make a living was writing. He had to first get out of the current predicament before he could start earning money. At this moment, he unconsciously took a look at the bookshelves. Xu Yuan liked writing so he naturally liked reading as well. The bookshelves were filled with the books he had read. He had read domestic and foreign classics, ancient and modern novels, as well as famous popular literature. Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes and carefully scanned the shelves. He found that some familiar books were not on the shelves. Although Xu Yuan couldn¡¯t remember all the names of the books that he had read, he had inherited the memories of the first half of his life and found that in the parallel world he had no impression of many of the books that were really popular in the original world. Xu Yuan then had a sudden inspiration. He seemed to have grasped the key. Xu Yuan looked at the computer on the small desk. It was bought by Xu Yuan in the parallel world with his first payment. It was probably the most expensive electrical appliance in the entire rental house. He opened the web page to search for the titles of the books he remembered. As expected, the search engine told him that no relevant information had been found. Some books did not exist in this parallel world at all. When he knew the result, Xu Yuan was somehow mixed. He was happy that he could take a shortcut and become a porter of the good books, bringing the famous books from the original world for his own use. What made him worried was that his pen name and copyright were all in someone else¡¯s control. Xu Yuan did not know what he should do now. How could he find a way out for himself while being shackled? Should he take part in the Nobel Literature Prize selection and write a world-famous book? According to the life in the simulator, Xu Yuan would not only be cut off by Lei Yong, but would also be condemned by netizens who did not know the truth, making him embarrassed in public. If Xu Yuan became the winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, there would be an official platform to help him. Even if Lei Yong was audacious in the extreme, he would not dare to make a reckless move. Could he write a copy of Mo Yan¡¯s ¡°Big Breasts and Wide Hips¡±? ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible!¡± Xu Yuan shook his head and stopped thinking about that. Every year from September to January 31 of the following year, the Nobel Prize in literature would accept recommended candidates, but he could not recommend himself. Although the 18-year-old Xu Yuan was already somewhat famous, he was not good enough to cause a stir in the literary world. No one would recommend him, who was so young, and the Nobel Prize for Literature had such a long time span. Even if Xu Yuan was selected, his reputation might have already been stained by Lei Yong. After all, no one liked to make money on their knees, and Lei Yong was the same. Xu Yuan now needed to break through the blockade of the publishing industry. He wanted to make a lot of money fast. He had better make enough money and attract a large number of fans before Lei Yong ruined him! When thinking about it, Xu Yuan anxiously walked around the room. He wanted something that spread fast, had a big impact and had no publishing problems. Well, it should be only online novels. Chapter 6 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Xu Yuan exclaimed that the idea of writing online novels was excellent! In an instant, he even thought of a pen name. ¡°I should be Mr. Shu !¡± Xu Yuan wrote these words on the paper in satisfaction, which was his pen name from the original world. After all, Lei Yong entrapped Xu Yuan, not Mr. Shu. Online novels that were separated by a screen provided another kind of protection for Xu Yuan. Once the direction was determined, he should determine the subject. There were many types of online novels, such as science, military, tomb-robbing, farming and some other kinds. There were so many choices, which made Xu Yuan hesitate. He first ruled out science or military fiction. The main reason was that the audience for these two subjects was relatively small, and they were very professional. Although Xu Yuan had talents and could write really fast, there was too much information that needed to be looked up in the early stages of these two subjects. It really did not meet the need to earn quick money. The subjects of tomb-robbing and farming were not bad but it was very difficult to make a stir with one book. It might take several years of continuous writing to get results. However, Xu Yuan did not have so much time to waste there. After all, this unreliable system would end at any time, voluntarily or passively. It was not a good thing for Xu Yuan if it would take him a lot of time. The more important thing was that Xu Yuan discovered that some online novels of the two worlds were connected. Every time he thought of a suitable subject, he would search online to avoid being sued for plagiarism. Unknowingly, Xu Yuan kept busy from 9 pm to 12 pm, but he still could not find a suitable subject. He pinched the space between his eyebrows tiredly and felt kind of frustrated. Even if Xu Yuan had opened his eyes a little earlier, he could have continued to write original articles in the parallel world instead of considering the unfamiliar and somehow familiar way of online novels. The author who should have been in high spirits was now sitting in front of the table, struggling to find a different path. What a pity. Xu Yuan let out a long sigh and said, ¡°I am so unlucky.¡± He suddenly had an inspiration and stood up. The stool suffered too much force and fell straight down. ¡°Bang!¡± The wooden stool smashed onto the floor. The sound was particularly clear in the quiet night, causing the neighbor downstairs to curse in dissatisfaction. ¡°What are you doing not sleeping at night? Busy hanging yourself? Do it quietly!¡± The place he rented was filled with all kinds of people. It just so happened that the person downstairs was the one who liked to scold harshly. However, Xu Yuan was not angry at all. The sentence that he was muttering to himself just now suddenly gave him inspiration. It reminded him of a very popular Fantasy in the original world ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. He quickly searched, and his fingertips were almost rubbing sparks on the keyboard. He discovered that this article did not exist in the parallel world! Table would turn so one had to be humble. What a well-known saying. Wasn¡¯t it the current situation of Xu Yuan? Xu Yuan had become famous at a young age. Originally, he had a bright future, but now, he was cheated into signing a contract to sell himself to Lei Yong and earn money for others. His life was also in Lei Yong¡¯s hands. His life, which had just begun to improve, was about to fall to the bottom. The main character in the book, Xiao Yan, was in the same situation. He was praised by the clan as a genius but then became a loser. He was even humiliated by his fiancee publicly breaking off the engagement and was laughed at by everyone. However, Xiao Yan did not become depressed because of this. He made a three-year promise. Then he met his mentor by chance. After training hard, he finally returned to his peak. Table would definitely turn. Xu Yuan slapped the table and cheered up. He felt his blood boiling and his entire body filled with energy. What was even more amazing was that Xu Yuan simply went through Netland and found that the subject of fantasy had a wide audience. There were a lot of articles, which could make the readers¡¯ eyes dazzle, but very few of them were top-notch. Perhaps because this subject was an old one, most of the authors followed the template step by step. He found few new ideas. This kind of market environment was just right for ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± to enter. After all, in the original world, the final draft of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± had more than five million words. In the three years of serialization, it had received 130 million hits, and its cumulative sales had exceeded three million copies! Until now, there had been very few novels that had broken this record. However, because it was a novel with a million words, which was too long, it was criticized by the readers for its poor writing style. Now, in the parallel world, with the bonus of the talent [Fountain of Ideas], Xu Yuan could be optimized on the basis of the original text. After all, the content itself was very topical, so it didn¡¯t need too much embellishment. Xu Yuan was very confident that as long as it was published, it would definitely be popular! ¡°But isn¡¯t five million words a little bit too much?¡± Xu Yuan wrote down the number on the paper and found that there were six zeros behind it! He picked up the cup of water and silently calculated the amount. Just take it as if the duration of his stay was one month. Five million words divided by thirty would be a hundred thousand words, which meant that he had to write a hundred thousand words per day! ¡°What the f*ck?¡± He almost choked to death on his own water. ¡°Holy sh*t! I can¡¯t even finish with eight arms!¡± Although he liked ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± very much, he had to cut out some of the contents in order to prevent himself from being exhausted to death. Fortunately, the early part of the original article was very attractive to readers. He only needed to speed up the pace a little and leave some interesting jokes about Hai Bodong and others. Enough jokes could trigger the discussion of the readers, making it convenient for the second spread and saving a lot of effort for Xu Yuan. The most important thing was that with fans, Xu Yuan could turn the article into intellectual property, games, movies, and television copyright, which all would benefit him. This would definitely make Xu Yuan earn money when just lying in the bed. Xu Yuan nodded his head in satisfaction. Although before that, he had to work hard as a bee. As long as he did not die from writing, he would write until he died! He walked to the window and took a deep breath, suppressing his upset feeling. Without any delay, Xu Yuan immediately started writing. First, he tried to finish the outline of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. The first three chapters were the key to attracting readers. The main character, Xiao Yan, had inexplicably become a loser from a genius, which set the suspense. Although he had been looked down upon, he still had the gentle and kind childhood sweetheart, Xiao Xuner with him. Originally, he thought that life would continue to be so mediocre. He never expected that his arrogant and cold fiancee, Nalan Yanran, would come and break off the engagement. Nalan Yanran acted rashly and relied on the faction of the Misty Cloud sect behind her to forcefully break off the engagement without giving the Xiao clan any face. With great anger, Xiao Yan directly divorced his wife and made a three-year promise! Lines of words seemed to have been prepared in Xu Yuan¡¯s mind long ago, waiting to be printed with both hands of him. The monotonous keyboard sound was like a piece of simple music, sounding alone in the quiet night. When the sun was about to come out, Xu Yuan stopped writing and sat on the chair to stretch. After completing the first three chapters, he opened the largest and most-visited Netland, took two minutes to register an author account, and sent out all three chapters at once. Then he just started to wait for feedback from readers. Chapter 7 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± was released successfully, but Xu Yuan was not complacent. On the contrary, he knew very well that he should try some other things. He was very confident about the results of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± because the process of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± was fast, and the reading threshold was low. It was a simple and easy-to-understand novel. The readers would feel pleased after they finished reading it. And also they would feel excited through the whole process. However, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people¡¯s eyes. This was a parallel world, so Xu Yuan could not guarantee that the popularity of the novel would be the same as that of the original world. If the work was not satisfactory because of the environment, then it was not ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± that was wrong, but the world. The first goal of Xu Yuan was to make money quickly, so he could not just wait for the results of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. In order to reduce the risk, Xu Yuan also had to find a new path for himself. When he was writing ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± just now, he found that his writing was very good, and his thinking was agile. He didn¡¯t stop even after writing 10,000 words. He was as smooth as silk. This made him think back to when he was moonlighting as an online writer in the original world. He had to think really hard for just one plot. It was really tiring. Now that he had such good writing skills, it would be a pity if he didn¡¯t settle down and make a difference. Xu Yuan once again thought of a good book in the original world, ¡°Lord of the Mysteries¡±. In the original world, Lord of the Mysteries, which was also a Fantasy had received a lot of praise with its grand worldview, rigorous logic, and meticulous foreshadowing. It had raised the threshold of online novels by itself. Xu Yuan still remembered that when he read the first hundred chapters in the past, he read them intermittently and wanted to quit. Compared to other online novels, ¡°Lord of the Mysteries¡± was too slow to catch on. Even readers who liked it would calmly say that it would make new readers quit easily. But when it gradually entered a good state, he finished the first hundred chapters and reached the climax of the last chapter. All the foreshadowing in front of it was stopped. Thinking back to the shock at that time, Xu Yuan felt still excited. If he wanted to make the picky bookworms his audience, ¡°Lord of the Mysteries¡± was the best choice. Xu Yuan looked out of the window at the gradually dispelled darkness, and the sun slowly rose from the horizon. He clenched his fists and said, ¡°If I want to make money, I have to make a lot of it! I want to shock all the audience of the Fantasy market!¡± On the other side. In the editorial department of Netland of Yanlos. Cai Pingtong yawned as he walked to the office and leisurely sat down. At the same time, he pressed the start button of his computer and took out the small steamed buns in his briefcase. The small steamed buns were no longer fluffy and round after Cai Pingtong took them to work by subway. They became meat pies, leaking oil all over his bag. However, Cai Pingtong was already used to it. He bit off half of one bun with one bite, picked up the cup on the table, drank last night¡¯s water and swallowed the bun. He was the least eye-catching editor of Netland, and he was in charge of Fantasy. In the past two years, the stories related to fantasy were very similar. Not only were there no new ideas, but they were also nicknamed by the authors as ¡°trash stations¡±. The results of the first work were great and all the people looked up to it. The authors at the waist knew that he was not capable enough, so they would deliberately avoid the subject and write about other subjects. Only new authors would not care about the market and rush forward with their heads down. Moreover, the threshold for fantasy subjects was low. Most new authors would first choose to practice with fantasy. As a result, the editors in charge of fantasy were as busy as bees every day, but they still could not find out a good piece. Cai Pingtong had long been numb. He had given up struggling and went to work every day like he was entering a factory to deal with screws. There was always a new article, and the new article was always like the last one. It would not be unusual for this position to be replaced by a robot one day. He sighed helplessly, swallowed the last mouthful of steamed bun, and began his boring work today. ¡°Hey! Look at me. There are 300,000 words today, and it is already on the list! It¡¯s not a waste of my time urging him every day!¡± the city-life editors outside the office desk said excitedly. ¡°Wow! Another potential guy! Congratulations! Keep urging him!¡± ¡°Hey, come and look at this. It¡¯s not very well written, but it¡¯s very innovative. He must be promising!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so envious of you guys. You¡¯ve found new people again. I haven¡¯t found only one this week.¡± ¡°Just cut it, you had signed quite a few writers last week. I¡¯m so envious.¡± The editors in charge of different subjects were exchanging experiences. Only editors of Fantasy were so quiet that it seemed like they were not there. The new intern editor next to them was so jealous. It was as if there was a cat scratching him. His eyes were so red that he was going crazy. Cai Pingtong looked at him casually and smiled. He said to the intern editor, ¡°Young man, calm down. You¡¯ll get used to it after staying for two more days.¡± The intern editor said unhappily, ¡°Brother Cai, look at the editors of other subjects. They¡¯re all signing contracts and their performance bonuses are rising. We can only get base pay. Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± ¡°Well, young man, you have little experience indeed.¡± Cai Pingtong put on the airs of a veteran. He seemed not to care about this at all. He just looked at the intern with his expressionless face. Seeing that he could not explain it to him clearly, the intern rolled his eyes and buried his head in searching for potential writers. Cai Pingtong smiled and shook his head as if he could see himself in this intern. When he came here for the first time, he also wanted to find some good writers and make a lot of money, but after reading too many boring novels, he had already accepted reality. Fantasy was these authors¡¯ trash station, and the editors¡¯ retirement house. The old themes would not disappear, but they would not thrive again. Cai Pingtong sighed again, calming himself down to accept the torture of the new day. At this moment, in the blink of an eye, Cai Pingtong saw a different article. It was different from those failed articles and the beginning was very attractive. He looked at it a few more times, and his eyes gradually lit up. ¡°Mr. Shu, Battle Through the Heavens?¡± Cai Pingtong muttered the name of the article. It was a pen name that had been registered last night. It had only been published with three chapters this morning, and it was a completely new one! Logically speaking, Cai Pingtong would just skim those novels quickly. But his heart now was beating particularly fast. He took a deep breath and quickly reread the three chapters. ¡°Holy sh*t!¡± Cai Pingtong¡¯s eyes lit up completely. He excitedly pulled the intern editor beside him. ¡°Xiao Li, come and take a look at this article! Be quick!¡± The intern editor called Xiao Li looked at him in confusion and moved closer to his computer. Gradually, Xiao Li stopped frowning. He smiled and said, ¡°Brother Cai, no wonder you¡¯re not in a hurry. It turns out that you¡¯re hiding something! Where¡¯s the rest of the novel? Why are there only three chapters?¡± Xiao Li stared at the screen in surprise. He found that there were only three chapters of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±, but there were already readers urging for updates! The privilege of having readers urging for updates as soon as an article was published was usually enjoyed only by great authors who had accumulated fans. Some online novel readers might not be able to find this novel when there were only three chapters! ¡°This Mr. Shu is just a genius, Brother Cai. Why are you still not moving? Be quick, get in touch with him!¡± Xiao Li¡¯s voice attracted the attention of the other editors in the office. They thought to themselves that it was impossible that even fantasy could be popular. They came over and wanted to watch the excitement. The moment they saw the article clearly, they said at the same time, ¡°Awesome!¡± Chapter 8 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Amazing! It¡¯s been years since I saw such an impressive beginning.¡± ¡°Why can a newcomer get so many hits? I¡¯ve been an editor for a few years, but this is the first time I¡¯ve seen such an excellent writer!¡± ¡°Wow, a new Fantasy-novel hotshot! I love this novel, and I want to read more, but why are there only three chapters?¡± ¡°Tsk, judging from his writing style, I¡¯m sure that he can even win awards if he focuses on traditional literature. He shouldn¡¯t have chosen online literature. It¡¯s such a waste!.¡± ¡°The rhythm of the plots and the writer¡¯s narrative ability are impressive. I¡¯m just wondering if this novel is written by an anonymous hotshot.¡± All the editors in the office crowded the narrow aisle in front of Cai Pingtong¡¯s desk, tiptoeing to see how amazing ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± was. These editors had read at least 800 online novels. After reading this one, however, they could not help but exclaim in admiration. The Fantasy-novel department was always like a deserted place. Now, however, it suddenly became the most crowded place in the office. Cai Pingtong was so astonished that he hadn¡¯t come to his senses yet. Cai Pingtong stared at the screen in a daze. His eyes widened, filled with disbelief. Xiao Li said in an envious tone of voice, ¡°Congratulations, Brother Cai! I think this is an excellent novel!¡± Another senior editor added, ¡°Xiao Li is right. I think this novel has a very creative beginning, which makes it interesting enough. We can try to focus on grooming him! Cai¡­ Cai, what¡¯s wrong? Say Something.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ well¡­ groom him! Yeah, we need to groom him!¡± Cai Pingtong stood up from his chair. At this moment, Cai Pingtong was like a withered blade of grass that had suffered from a drought for a long time. He instantly stood up as if he had suddenly come back to his life. His blood was running through his veins like a wild horse, making his cheeks flush red. The other editors in the office had not seen Cai Pingtong so excited for a long time. After all, they could not even remember how long had passed since the Fantasy-novel department signed a new contract last time. ¡°Thank you all for your reminder! I¡¯ll go prepare to sign the contract right away! No! I¡¯ll show it to the leader first and apply for a higher salary for him!¡± Cai Pingtong rubbed his hands and walked around in circles excitedly. He was completely different from what he was like just now. Instead of being calm, he was very excited at the moment. He finally found a writer who had great potential. He was tempted to give the best resources to Mr. Shu so that he could groom him well. Then, Cai Pingtong rushed into the leader¡¯s office like a gust of wind. On the other side. Xu Yuan had completed the outline of Lord of the Mysteries. It took him two hours just to figure out 22 Sequences and 220 Beyonder professions. Fortunately, he had a good memory. If he missed any one of them, there would be a huge loophole. However, Lord of the Mysteries was worthy of being a phenomenal success. There were around 50,000 words in the outline. After finishing the outline, Xu Yuan did not hurry to sleep. He stood up and walked around the room, relaxing his stiff back and sore fingers. Then, Xu Yuan entered the online novel forum. He wanted to study the trend of the online novel market and those popular topics on various websites before making appropriate adjustments to his two works. Xu Yuan was good at analyzing the trends of online novels. He browsed through the forum and found that the topics that were most discussed were Wuxia and city-life-themed novels. Their popularity was a lot higher than that of the other topics. As for Fantasy novels, most of the readers gathered together to reminisce about the past. They missed those wonderful fighting plots and mocked the current boring online novels. Besides, they would also ask one another to recommend interesting novels to them. The rest of the content was about the supporting programs for new writers on various online novel websites. They put numerous advertisements on these websites. However, from the topics they mentioned, one could figure out the main theme of each website. There were many Fantasy novels. Writing a Fantasy novel was actually like building a house according to traditional features. Maybe one was able to build a house, but it remained a problem whether he or she could do it well. In short, there were lots of great business opportunities in Fantasy novels, but no one could grasp it. In order to integrate faster into this world, Xu Yuan posted a question in the forum, trying to get some help. Its title was ¡°May I ask all the hotshots here how long does it take the editors to review the manuscript? When can I sign the contract?¡± Xu Yuan¡¯s tone was very modest. One could tell that he was a newcomer who had just entered this industry. Such questions were raised in this forum every day. Every time, however, there would be some kind-hearted writers who were willing to answer them. After all, this was exactly how these people became experienced online writers. Those who had just posted their novels online understood well the uneasiness and uncertainty. They just hoped that someone could answer their questions. ¡°Netland? Oh, it¡¯s too difficult, man. They are very picky about writers. You gotta have excellent writing, plotting, and character designing skills.¡± ¡°Hello, my friend. You are a new writer, right? I¡¯ve only got one thing to tell you. Run, now!¡± ¡°Netland reviews manuscripts very quickly. Those who write well will be contacted by the editors the next day. Normally, each contract you sign is worth 100000 yuan at least. And you have to do it under the condition that your novel is popular. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to take your time.¡± ¡°Rookies are not recommended to publish their novels on Netland. You can go to Migens. It¡¯ll be easier for you to reach the standard there. At least you can get a full attendance bonus.¡± ¡°Yeah, what he says is true, dude. I failed three novels on Netland. If I had chosen another website, I could earn some money to pay for my food, at least.¡± ¡°If you can persist in writing your novels, you might be able to be successful one day.¡± Numerous replies popped up on the screen as if they were telling Xu Yuan to give up. He frowned and scrolled through the replies one by one. Xu Yuan looked at these kind replies and could not help feeling very depressed. Although he knew that the competition on Netland was very intense, it was a lot more intense than he had imagined. Among these replies, there was one saying ¡°Netland is those hotshots¡¯ wonderland. It would be a waste even if you create a new account.¡± Just then, a message popped up on the website of Netland. Xu Yuan clicked on it, feeling a little insecure. The message said that Xu Yuan could sign the contract with the editor immediately, and the title of the message was especially highlighted in bold type, telling him that he was invited to sign the contract with Netland as a ¡°Level-S Writer¡±. Xu Yuan could tell that the editor thought highly of him very much. He knew that his novel must have been valued, but he didn¡¯t know what ¡°Level-s Writer¡± meant. Therefore, Xu Yuan asked in the post, ¡°What does ¡®Level-S¡¯ mean on Netland?¡± After Xu Yuan pressed the ¡°send¡± button, the whole world seemed to pause for two seconds. Numerous notices of replies were flashing just now. But now, they were all silent. Xu Yuan bent over to see if he had kicked off the Internet cable. Suddenly, the notices sounded again! ¡°Level-S is the highest level on Netland. The editors will pay great attention to you and treat you as the NO.1 writer. Well, I heard about it from others!¡± ¡°Oh, man, you¡¯re amazing. You just published a ¡®Level-S¡¯ novel. What¡¯s the title of your novel? I¡¯m going to read your masterpiece.¡± ¡°LMFAO. I kept blah-blah talking, trying to offer some help, and it turns out that I¡¯m just a stupid clown.¡± ¡°Oh, hotshot, can you please tell me the secret of signing a contract with Netland? My novel has never been chosen before¡­¡± ¡°You must be an expert in showing off, man. No one is as good as you at showing off!¡± ¡°Well, a hotshot is just pretending to be a noob here. He¡¯s making fun of us. Let¡¯s go, guys.¡± Amidst the compliments and jealousy, Xu Yuan found some explanations for ¡°Level-S¡±. Xu Yuan felt much more relieved now. It seemed that ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± was highly valued by Netland. Probably because the editors thought that he would refuse to sign the contract with them, they were willing to offer him the treatment that only those famous writers could get. Just as Xu Yuan was about to reply to the message, another message popped up on the website. It was from the editor. Chapter 9 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio In just a few hours after Xu Yuan¡¯s Battle Through the Heavens was published on Netland, it suddenly went viral like a clap of thunder exploding in the readers. The number of hits exceeded 30,000. With the updates of just three chapters, it had rushed to the second place on the rookie list and was rapidly approaching the first place. After all, to enter the rookie list, a writer had to update chapters of at least 100000 words. The writers kept writing novels from dusk until dawn every day just to attract the readers with more updates. Only days of views were able to ensure that they got into the list. Three chapters were not supposed to make a writer enter the list. Even the readers felt that it was very strange. It was the first time that they had encountered such a situation. One after another, the readers urged the writer to update the following chapters in the comments section. There were even some rich people who donated a lot of money, trying to encourage Xu Yuan to update more content. ¡°It¡¯s not enough at all. Why hasn¡¯t the author updated the following chapters?¡± ¡°You are not supposed to take such a long break, man! Can you be a little more diligent? Remember your duty as an author, will you?¡± ¡°He writes a divorce letter directly? It¡¯s been a long time since I saw such a cool male lead last time. Did he get beaten up after breaking off the engagement? I¡¯m too curious. Hurry up and update your novel!¡± ¡°Where is the writer? It¡¯s been three hours and fifteen minutes since he updated the last chapter.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gone too far, guys! The writer needs to take a break as well! Well, take a break and quickly update the following chapters, dude. You¡¯d better do it as fast as you can.¡± ¡°Look at me, man. Look at my empty stomach. I need you to feed me with your novel!¡± In the editors¡¯ office, Cai Pingtong stared at the amazing data and had goosebumps all over his body. He was so excited that his body trembled. He held his face and laughed secretly. ¡°Finally, I have met an awesome writer. The future is mine now¡­¡± It had been a long time since Cai Pingtong communicated with the new writer last time. Cai Pingtong felt a little strange communicating with him. With an extremely humble attitude, he sent a private message to Mr. Shu as the executive editor. ¡°Hello, distinguished writer. I am your editor, Cai. Your new novel is very popular with the readers. May I ask if you have any manuscripts left? In order to attract the readers, please update the following chapters as soon as possible.¡± Cai Pingtong was like a pupil who was talking with his teacher. He carefully examined the words he wanted to say and repeated them three times before pressing the ¡°send¡± button. The colleague who passed behind him said in a mischievous tone of voice, ¡°You¡¯re too humble. What if the writer steps on your toes?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Cai Pingtong snorted. ¡°If he can maintain his good performance, I can even worship him every day!¡± At first, Cai Pingtong¡¯s colleague wanted to laugh at him for being a coward, but when he saw the number of clicks on the screen rising like crazy, he swallowed in envy. After a long while, he gave a thumbs up and said, ¡°Take care of him well. If we want Fantasy literature to regain its former glory!¡± ¡°I know! I know!¡± Cai Pingtong said with a bright smile on his face. The appearance of ¡°Batte Through the Heavens¡± made Cai Pingtong completely give up his indifferent attitude. He suddenly became pleased and excited. When he spoke, his voice rose an octave. However, Cai Pingtong¡¯s mood was not accurately conveyed to Xu Yuan by the text. After skimming through the message quickly, Xu Yuan found that it was a private message from an editor who urged him to update the following chapters. Before he could reply, he was bombarded by the private messages from the readers urging him to update the following chapters. Xu Yuan looked at the readers who were clamoring for the following chapters and could not help laughing. ¡°Well, in that case, I¡¯ll let you know how fast I can be!¡± Xu Yuan crossed his fingers and cracked them. It seemed as if he was tightening every screw on the instrument. Then, Xu Yuan placed his hands on the keyboard. His fingers danced like dragons and phoenixes. They moved so fast that only their shadows could be seen. If the keyboard was on a piano, he was like a pianist who was playing the accelerated version of ¡°Wild Bee Dance¡±. If someone stood behind him at this time, he or she would probably be so shocked that his or her jaw would drop to the ground. Even though Xu Yuan had not rested for the entire night, his current 18-year-old body was in excellent condition. Breathing in some fresh air would make him feel a lot more energetic. He was totally different from what he was like in the main world, where staying up all night would obviously make him feel that his life was becoming shorter and shorter. Xu Yuan¡¯s strong body made him even more passionate. From the morning till dark, apart from having meals and going to the toilet, he hadn¡¯t taken a rest for a single second. When Xu Yuan¡¯s mother saw that her son was working so hard, she thought it was Lei Yong who was encouraging Xu Yuan. Therefore, she did not want to disturb him. Instead, she smiled and prepared the three meals for him. Xu Yuan kept writing his novel until eight o¡¯clock in the evening. In just one day, he had written 30000 words, which meant he had updated a total of 15 chapters. Xu Yuan relaxed his sore wrists and numb fingers. Then, he rubbed his eyes. ¡°Thirty thousand words a day is really a difficult challenge,¡± Xu Yuan thought. ¡°Fortunately, I don¡¯t need to think too much about the plots. All I need to do is focus on how to express my feelings. If I¡¯m writing ¡®Lord of the Mysteries¡¯, I¡¯m not likely to do it so fast.¡± Xu Yuan stood up and relaxed his stiff back. It was not any easier than working hard in the company. If it was not for the fact that he could make more money than before, he definitely would not have accepted this job. Xu Yuan twisted his waist and moved his hips. He listened to the sound of bones cracking and exhaled the air that had accumulated in his chest for a long time. Then, he sat back down in front of the computer. At this time, the readers who were supposed to be off school and work were waiting in front of their phones for updated chapters. At the same time, they were discussing the extremely popular topic, ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±, on the online-novel forums. There were even readers who analyzed whether ¡°Mr. Shu¡± was an anonymous account of a hotshot based on the writing styles, plot settings, and character settings of the first three chapters. At this moment, discussions about ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± occupied the front page of all the forums and became the most popular online novel of the day. Hoping to gain more popularity, Xu Yuan released another five chapters, which made the discussion even more heated. ¡°Wow, five chapters in a row. Is the writer¡¯s keyboard on fire now?¡± ¡°Ha! Finally! I¡¯ll take a look first!¡± ¡°Oh, man. You finally remembered your password, didn¡¯t you? If you hadn¡¯t appeared here today, I would have searched the entire Internet for you.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you guys noticed the speed of the writer¡¯s hands? This dude is faster than the superman!¡± ¡°Five chapters in a day is really a challenge for the writer. I allow you to take a two-minute break, bro. Then, go back and continue writing your novel. I want to read more!¡± The reader¡¯s enthusiasm was as strong as usual. Probably because Xu Yuan ¡°generously¡± released five chapters. A new post about ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± appeared on the forum. It was ¡°the speed of Mr. Shu¡¯s hands¡±. However, voices of praise and voices of opposition always appeared at the same time. ¡°You¡¯re writing so fast. I¡¯m sure that you have missed the quality of your novel. You know that a good novel needs to be polished repeatedly, right?¡± ¡°No, no, no! Don¡¯t tell me that I¡¯m the only one who thinks that these chapters are monotonous? The words are too superficial. Can you come up with any better words, dude?¡± ¡°Yeah, he has no respect for literature at all. His novel will definitely be a piece of sh*t!¡± ¡°If the writer updates many chapters a day, the chapters will be boring. And if he only updates several chapters, they will be great. So, which one do you guys choose? I will definitely choose the latter one.¡± Xu Yuan looked at these comments and curled his lips in disdain. ¡°This reminds me of the question that whether one should choose a bar of chocolate that tastes like shit or a piece of shit that tastes chocolate.¡± he thought. ¡°Why do you have to choose one of them? This kind of question is stupid! Couldn¡¯t you please choose a bar of chocolate that tastes like chocolate?¡± Thinking of this, Xu Xu curled his lips and directly released ten more chapters that he just finished. Then, a look of indifference appeared on his face. At the moment, the readers were once again stunned by such astonishing news. Chapter 10 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Wow, this is like a slap on the haters¡¯ face. You rock, dude!¡± ¡°Please keep doing this. I like it!¡± ¡°The author has some backup manuscripts, right? Otherwise, it¡¯s impossible for him to update 15 chapters a day. Even robots are not as fast as him!¡± ¡°The guy above me is too naive. If a writer wants to be a popular writer on Netland, it¡¯s useless for him or her to just focus on the speed. The readers require high quality. If the writer has a large number of manuscripts, once they fail to meet the standards, all his or her efforts will be in vain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. When my friend wrote novels, he had to modify the plots based on the feedback of the readers. He didn¡¯t dare to store too many chapters.¡± ¡°But ¡®Mr. Shu¡±s speed is unbelievable! I don¡¯t even dare to urge him to update more. I¡¯m afraid that he¡¯ll throw another ten chapters in my face.¡± ¡°Could it be a new novel that Netland has been writing for a long time? But why was it published on a new account?¡± In terms of Xu Yuan¡¯s updating speed, the people on the Internet had different opinions. This was a novel that had provoked a heated discussion right after it was released. Even the author was worth discussing, which was unprecedented in the history of Netland. At this time, Cai Pingtong¡¯s face was full of joy. He did not expect that after he urged Mr. Shu in the morning, he suddenly released another fifteen chapters, which had shocked all the readers. As an editor, he was so happy that he couldn¡¯t help applauding for his speed. The intern editor, Xiao Li, came over with a smile. ¡°Brother Cai, are you happy now? Not only does Mr. Shu write his novel well, but he also updates his novel quickly. Now you don¡¯t think your life is meaningless, do you?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Cai Pingtong¡¯s eyebrows almost jumped out of his face. ¡°According to Mr. Tree¡¯s updating speed, Battle Through the Heavens will be put on the shelves in less than a week!¡± If the online novel was put on the shelves, it meant that the readers would be charged for the following chapters. Thinking of this, Cai Pingtong could not help but feel a little worried. After all, they had just introduced this system to Netland. In the past, in order to attract readers, those novels were always free. Many readers had gotten used to reading novels for free, so they couldn¡¯t accept the sudden charging. Then, they gave up reading novels. At that time, Netland had lost one-third of its readers. Fortunately, the remaining readers were willing to accept it. They respected intellectual property and paid for it, so they were willing to accept Netland¡¯s new rule. Later, other online-novel websites began to imitate Netland, which ended the era of free online novels. Although the public had gradually accepted the payment model, whether they were willing to pay for the novels still depended on the writers¡¯ writing skills and the quality of their novels. They had to be good enough to attract the readers. Based on his experience, Cai Pingtong gave a mid-level evaluation of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. It would be a miracle if this novel was able to retain around 20000 readers in the early stages, such was already an impossible task for a rookie. At least, during the past few years, Cai Pingtong had only seen one or two rookies who did better than Mr. Shu. Those were very talented online novel writers, which was a blessing from the heavens. Cai Pingtong did not dare to ask for anything else. He only hoped that ¡°Mr. Shu¡± could keep it up. In order to motivate ¡°Mr. Shu,¡± Cai Pingtong sent a private message to Xu Yuan again. ¡°Hello, Mr. Shu, this is Cai.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± Xu Yuan replied very quickly. ¡°I have good news for you, Mr. Shu. We have already discussed your novel. The chief editor said that he would give priority to you. He will give you the resources you need and focus on publicizing ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. If the later chapters are popular enough, we will publish books and adapt it for television or films. We hope that you will keep working hard.¡± ¡°I see, thanks.¡± Cai Pingtong was stunned by Xu Yuan¡¯s arrogant attitude. He slowed down his typing speed and became very discreet about his replies. ¡°Well, if there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand, feel free to ask me, such as the development of the plots or the preferences of the readers. I¡¯ve been a fantasy editor for about eight years, and I¡¯ve been grooming new writers since Fantasy novels were at the peak of their popularity. You gotta be careful with online literature. Ha! It seems like I¡¯ve said too much. In short, we¡¯re in this together, and I¡¯ll do my best to help you, at any time.¡± ¡°Thank you. I got it.¡± These five simple words instantly ended Cai Pingtong¡¯s instructions. He had never contacted Mr. Shu before, so he did not know what his character was like. He was worried that if he said too much, he would make Mr. Shu feel irritated. After being an editor for so many years, Cai Pingtong felt this was the first time that he had faced a writer who acted like an emperor. He rambled on and on about a whole bunch of words, but he only got a reply saying ¡°I got it¡±. But now, ¡°Mr. Shu¡± was like Cai Pingtong¡¯s boss. ¡°You can be as arrogant as you want,¡± Cai Pingtong thought. ¡°As long as your novel is popular, it doesn¡¯t matter how arrogant you are to me. I¡¯m very willing to serve you.¡± Actually, Cai Pingtong had misunderstood Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan wasn¡¯t an arrogant person. He just wanted to save more time to write his novel. On Netland, a novel was usually required to have more than 150,000 words to be put on the shelves. Xu Yuan had to hurry up and get it on the shelves within four days. Xu Yuan was worried that Cai Pingtong would keep giving him instructions because he was a rookie, so he replied, ¡°I¡¯ll contact you in four days.¡± Then, Xu Yuan closed the dialog box and focused on writing his own novel. Three days later, Xu Yuan rubbed his messy hair and twisted his neck. He stared at his manuscript with satisfaction, thinking that his days of efforts finally paid off. Thanks to the speed he had trained in the original world, he had written a manuscript of 150000 words in just three days, which did not include the chapters he released every day. Xu Yuan opened Cai Pingtong¡¯s private message dialog box. ¡°Editor Cai, I¡¯ll send you the manuscript. Please check it out.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Cai Pingtong hurriedly replied. This was the first time ¡°Mr. Shu¡± had taken the initiative to ask Cai Pingtong for help. When he saw the 150000-word manuscript, Cai Pingtong¡¯s mouth was wide open. At the moment, one could even stuff an egg into it. The rhythm of the plot was very good, and the plot settings were impeccable. Cai Pingtong¡¯s blood went hotter as he read the chapters. He was lost in them, and the uncertainty about ¡°Mr. Shu¡± in his heart completely disappeared. ¡°Mr. Shu, you did a great job!¡± ¡°If it¡¯s convenient for you, I¡¯ll just publish them directly. According to the schedule, they¡¯ll be put on the shelves tomorrow.¡± Xu Yuan sprawled on the bed. He held his phone and browsed the homepage of the online-novel forum while replying to Cai Pingtong¡¯s messages. Xu Yuan saw that ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± had occupied the first place on the rookie list for four days in a row. It ranked first in both the number of recommendations and the number of clicks. It took an impressive lead. The comments below were varied. Some readers were arguing with one another over a plot. Although Xu Yuan had made up his mind to use ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± as a stepping stone in exchange for the first money he made. However, when he saw that so many people liked the novel he wrote, he could not help but feel proud. In order to make money, Xu Yuan could only take his time. As for the following books and films, those would appear in the future. After so many days, Xu Yuan felt that his spine was about to break. He was to put his novel on the shelf. In order to make the readers willingly pay for it, he had even arranged for a big fishing hook in the last chapter, which was to attract more readers. Chapter 11 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Before the article officially went on sale, Xu Yuan waked around the neighborhood for laps on purpose. The environment of the neighborhood was relatively bad. To make it worse, the only three trees in it had been spoiled by the naughty children nearby. Now all their leaves were gone. The flower bed that was supposed to be planted with shrubs was now planted with a few half-dead green onions instead, with puppies that were not chained fertilizing them. Be that as it may, there were grandpas and grandmas that could be seen everywhere in the neighborhood gathering together to enjoy the cool weather. They played cards and made small talks among themselves. Some of them could be seen waving their bamboo-woven fan. All these adding up, the summer vibe was already there. Xu Yuan deliberately came at the time when the residents would come out to take a walk after dinner. He had spent a few days in a row typing words at home. It was as though he was in jail. He knew that he would go crazy if he did not get some fresh air outside. Among the crowd, Xu Yuan easily spotted Aunt Feng. Usually, if he saw Aunt Feng talking to people with high spirits, he would act cautious and stay away from her. The last thing he wanted to do was meet her. To him, Aunt Feng had a special ability. She could comment on any breathing creature that walked past her. It would be a waste of her talent if the neighborhood committee did not invite her to check on everyone¡¯s information. However, today, for the first time ever, he sat down not far from her in order to hear some casual conversations from her. ¡°Well, did you hear about that kid from the Xu family? The kiddo from Unit 3. He was signed by an impressive writing company. He is going to be a great writer!¡± Xu Yuan listened attentively. He did not expect that he would be the subject of her speech. There was but one Xu family in the entire neighborhood. ¡°That¡¯s amazing. I saw his mother buying fish and meat every day. I think she was trying to provide him with more nutrition.¡± Another aunt added. ¡°That¡¯s right. Another writer is rising to prominence. It¡¯s reasonable to feed him better, or else there¡¯s not much higher he can rise.¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s right. These two days, his mother has been in a quite good mood. I wonder what kind of masterpiece her son has created at home!¡± Xu Yuan laughed coldly. These aunties had a magical charm with their words. It was just that their words were half-happy and half-ironic. No one could tell if they were envious or jealous. When he sensed that the aunties were shifting their subject to his mother, Xu Yuan coughed lightly in an attempt to interrupt them. They did not notice when Xu Yuan arrived behind them. They did not know how long Xu Yuan had been listening to them either. The aunties all had awkward expressions on their faces. Only Aunt Feng seemed to be fine as she warmly greeted Xu Yuan. ¡°Xiao Xu, I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time. It¡¯s rare to see you come down here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been working at home for a few days and I just wanted to come down and take a walk.¡± ¡°Look at him, this kid is so hardworking. He can already earn money to support his family at such a young age. Oh right, my granddaughter is from the same school as you. If you have nothing to do, you can do your homework together!¡±Aunt Feng changed the topic. Strictly speaking, Xu Yuan was still a student preparing for the college entrance examination. However, because Lei Yong was too honorable, he asked for two days off from school. Aunt Feng had made it clear. She aimed to bring her granddaughter and Xu Yuan closer in the most critical year. That meant that her granddaughter was doing not so well at school. Hearing this, the rest of the aunties did not want to lose in the competition either. They rushed up to explain how outstanding their granddaughter or grandson was, expressing their willingness to study together with Xu Yuan. For a moment, they were just gossiping about the food of Xu Yuan¡¯s family, and now they treated him as a delicacy, not willing to let him be snatched away from them. Xu Yuan did not expect them to be so open about such things. Eighteen-year-old high school students were already considering starting a relationship. No matter what he said to call them off, they would not listen to him. Each of them was as bold as a soldier. There was simply no stopping them. ¡°Hahaha, I suddenly remembered that I still have something to deal with. You guys have a good time!¡± Xu Yuan said and ran downstairs. He was leaning against the gray wall at the top of the stairs, and his chest was heaving up and down. After such a commotion, he finally came back to life. That little bit of frustration disappeared under the fierce attacks of these aunties. All of this was because of the release of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± today. Xu Yuan was not an over-confident person. He would always base his observation on data. Be that as it may, he felt that nothing was completely right or wrong. In such a complicated mood, he returned to his room and opened Netland. He wrote a few simple comments before releasing the first chapter that charged. Cai Pingtong was equally agitated at this moment and so were the followers of Battle Through the Heavens. They were well-versed in the rules of Netland and were all wondering if this book would be able to maintain its previous good results after it was released. The moment the new article was released on the website, the number of subscribers continued to rocket. At first, everyone seemed to be waiting for this moment. The numbers that kept climbing were dazzling. At one point, Cai Pingtong even forgot to breathe. He was so nervous that he kept sipping water in his cup. He didn¡¯t even know when it went empty. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. After reading the last 200,000 words of Battle Through the Heavens, he estimated the number of subscribers would rise to 40,000. and this was the best result he could have expected. But what Xu Yuan could do was completely beyond his expectation. In the end, the number of subscribers slowed down when it hit 100,000. Cai Pingtong breathed in a breath of cold air as he watched. 100,000! The first time it was released, the number of subscribers was already 100,000! Not to mention that it would increase intermittently later on. Even the editor-in-chief had never seen such a scene before! The other editors watched this scene with their mouths wide open. It would be a lie to say that they were not envious. If no one was watching them, their jaw would have dropped to the ground. 100,000 words was a terrifying number! It was possible that writing a million words might not even reach this result by the end of it! Mr. Shu actually did it on the first day! The screenwriter who did not follow up for various reasons also quietly opened the first chapter of the book at this time. Those who followed up on the article could not wait to read the following chapters. In terms of selecting good timing, Mr. Tree was an absolute expert! At the same time, in the online article forum, the miraculous results of Battle Through the Heavens had also stirred up a storm of discussion. ¡°F*ck, no way. Just when the first chapter was released, 100,000 people rushed to spend money on it. This really looked like some made-up sh*t.¡± ¡°Are you stupid? Who can pull it off in such a short time? They are not that rich.¡± ¡°What makes them so addicted to the book? I wasn¡¯t even this punctual on double eleven. Did they just leave the website open the whole time?¡± ¡°Haha bro, you don¡¯t seem to be a stan of this book. You¡¯ll understand why if you check out the last chapter before the following chapters were released.¡± ¡°Is it that magical? I don¡¯t believe it. I¡¯m here to judge.¡± Being kept in suspense by some netizens, the rest of them couldn¡¯t help but contribute to the views and subscription of the book even if some of them were just here to delight themselves. With their help, the number of subscriptions rose again and climbed to another peak! Chapter 12 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Neat!¡± Cai Pingtong blurted out a word when he saw the spot where Xu Yuan finished his chapter. It was not without reason that Battle Through the Heavens garnered 100,000 subscriptions on the first day of its release. It had broken the website record! Xu Yuan was stuck at the spot where Xiao Yan went to the Cloudtop to fulfill the three-year agreement. All the stories began when Nalan Yanran recklessly broke off the engagement. After that, Xiao Yan discovered that Sr. Yao¡¯s soul was hidden in the ring his deceased mother left him. He was finally able to work out the reason why he had become a loser. It turned out that Yao Lao, who was sleeping in the ring, had been feeding on his reiki, causing his cultivation progress to move backward. For that, he had been the subject of taunting and teasing for three years. For what was worth, Yao Lao felt that he had owed Xiao Yan. So he became his teacher and taught Xiao Yan everything he knew. He taught Xiao Yan how to refine medicine, how to cultivate reiki, and how to collect Blue Flame. The two of them had gone through ups and downs and almost had themselves killed on some occasions. On the way, they even met Hai Bodong and Yun Yun, and other powerful people. The loser who had once been looked down upon by everyone gradually rose to prominence. Finally, he had returned as a king and was ready to fulfill the agreement he had made with Nalan Yanran three years ago. Of course, Nalan Yanran also fell in love with Xiao Yan¡¯s other identity. The readers simply loved so much about the plot and could not stop reading on! Although Xiao Yan was definitely able to defeat Nalan Yanran, who had once humiliated him, what was actually involved in the process was simply exhilarating. It was to the extent that many people were waiting for the author to charge for the article. It was better to say that charging for the article gave the author even more motivation and allowed him to finish the rest of the article! So, following the 100,000 subscriptions, there was another wave of generous rewards! Xu Yuan looked at the data and finally nodded his head in satisfaction. He did not expect the data on the first day to break the website record. The editor-in-chief even personally sent him a congratulatory message. At the same time, he also brought Xu Yuan some good news. In the midst of the fans throwing money to celebrate the book¡¯s release, the title of silver leader had been snatched away! Although it was not Xu Yuan¡¯s first time writing stories online, he was still not very familiar with the rules of the parallel world¡¯s websites. He was also not very clear about the title of a fan, so he made some time and went online to search for it. As everyone knew, Netland also had a complete set of titles for the fans of works. It was to let the fans use more practical actions to support the books they liked. On a scale of one to ten, the ranks of fans included: apprentice, disciple, deacon, branch leader, hall master, protector, elder, sect leader, grandmaster, and alliance leader. These titles could only be obtained by spending real money on books. Many authors had to be grateful when they had fans who were at the level of an elder. They had to write a few hundred words to express their gratitude, not to mention having a sect leader or a grandmaster. Throughout the entire website, there were very few books that had a grandmaster-level fan. The sect leader only existed in the legend. However, the legend actually happened for Xu Yuan. There was a big fan named ¡°Freya¡±. On the first day that ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± was released, he directly donated 10,000,000 gold, which was equivalent to 15,000 dollars! And this was only a one-time reward! The appearance of this big shot had once again broken the record of the highest reward on the website! It was a great addition to the topic of Battle Through the Heavens. ¡°This Freya is so rich. She just transferred 15,000 dollars. Isn¡¯t she worried about the fact that the story may have a bad ending?¡± ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a platinum leader. Can I request to be her friend?¡± ¡°She¡¯s so generous. I¡¯m so goddamn jealous of her. Oh my god!¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be jealous about? Mr. Shu¡¯s article is worth this price. If I was rich, I would also be a platinum leader no matter how much it would cost me!¡± ¡°Stop bragging if you don¡¯t have money. Just do your best to support the book. For me, I¡¯ll just donate 800 dollars as a small gift.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have that much money. I mean, I¡¯ll put in 300 dollars.¡± Just like that, the inexplicable competition began. The readers were like a bunch of aimless sheep. When a rich man took the lead, they would try their best to follow the rich man and support him. Some of them would donate money, while others would gain the book more views. Xu Yuan sat in front of the computer with an old-fashioned calculator in his hand, calculating how much money he would earn today. Thanks to Freya¡¯s leadership, Xu Yuan had calculated that the reward was already as much as 30,000 dollars! This was a number he could not even dream of getting in the original world! Just this reward alone was enough to break the first day¡¯s sales of Netland, not to mention the following earnings in the future. Many authors were so envious that they could not eat well. Although Xu Yuan could not get all of it, 15,000 dollars was still not a small amount for him! After receiving so much money from the readers, it would be inappropriate of him if he didn¡¯t say anything. Therefore, he decided to show up in the comments section to thank all the fans for their tips. Just as he was about to send the message, a friend request popped up, interrupting his train of thought. At this moment, in the villa in the upscale residential area of Yanlos, a beautiful lady was holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a phone in the other. She was lying on the leather cushion on the balcony, replying to the message in an elegant manner. ¡°Excuse me, Miss Tingfu.¡± The door clicked open. An old man stood at the door respectfully and slightly bowed to the girl¡¯s back. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Uncle Bai?¡± Wan Tingfu put the coffee cup aside and said without turning her head. ¡°It¡¯s time to go shopping with Miss Emily. The car is already downstairs. Look¡­¡± The butler called Uncle Bai saw that Wan Tingfu was still in her pajamas. He immediately lowered his eyes and waited for Wan Tingfu¡¯s order. ¡°No, I¡¯m not going.¡± Wan tingfu waved her hand impatiently. ¡°Emily¡¯s taste is so bad. She only recognized a few branded bags. Shopping with her is a waste of my time!¡± She sniffed and waved her hand to tell uncle Bai to turn her down. Eve after uncle Bai gently closed the door, her eyes still did not move away from the phone, staring fixedly at the account that used the withered tree as the profile picture. ¡°Hello, Mr. Shu, your profile picture is really interesting.¡± Wan Tingfu¡¯s eyes contained a smile and her thin lips were slightly opened. Just by looking at the style of the profile picture, she felt that Mr. Shu should be a sentimental young man. She then looked at her own gem crown profile picture. Anyone who was slightly more careful would be able to tell that this was a live-action shoot. Wan Tingfu never hid her identity as a tycoon on the Internet. What she liked the most was to have people pursue her and please her. Previously, she liked to hang out in the live streaming and music circles. Each time when those streamers saw ¡°Freya¡± popping up on their channel, they were immediately exhilarated because they knew she might come with a generous tip. That was why they would butter her up even before she started to tip them. As a result, there were many accounts created to imitate Freya¡¯s name. The people went out of their way to tease those insignificant live streamers who were greedy for money. Such behavior not only damaged the reputation of ¡°Freya¡± but also deprived Wan Tingfu of one of her few hobbies. What was originally a one-on-one service had now turned into a play between the live streamers and anyone whose screen name was Freya. For them, they would play up to anyone who shared this name. Such behavior made Wan Tingfu feel deeply bored. So she shifted to the online literary circle. And coincidentally, she met the mysterious and interesting ¡°Mr. Shu.¡± Chapter 13 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Wang Tingfu paid the editor for Mr. Shu¡¯s contact information. But she didn¡¯t get to be happy for two minutes before she got angry and threw her phone on the soft pillow. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why isn¡¯t he replying to me? Does he not know my identity?¡± Wang Tingfu hugged the doll and pouted her lips. Two minutes later, she scooched over and picked up the phone. Mr. Shu still did not reply to her message. He was exactly the same as the withered tree in his profile picture. He remained silent as though he was a dead man. ¡°Damn it, could it be that the editor lied to me?¡± Wang Tingfu felt indignant. ¡°I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson!¡± The singer that Wang Tingfu had tipped before would spend every minute chatting with her. The singer even took the initiative to say good morning and good night to her and greeted her at each meal. It was just like what a dog would do to its owner. What the singer wanted was to build a good relationship with her so that she could support him in the competition with other streamers. Wang Tingfu had grown accustomed to this kind of interaction where she tipped the streamers while they spoke everything in her favor to please her. Now that she met Mr. Shu, everything was completely different. She could not believe her own eyes. She immediately texted Cai Pingtong on WeChat by sending an audio message. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why isn¡¯t Mr. Shu replying to me? Did you not tell him who I am?¡± Cai Pingtong was also confused when he received the message. He thought that it did not make sense for Mr. Shu not to reply to her message because she was exceedingly rich. ¡°Miss Freya, Please wait a moment. The phone might not be with him. Let me figure out a way to reach him.¡± Cai Pingtong frowned in confusion. Could it be that Mr. Shu doesn¡¯t know who Freya is? It shouldn¡¯t be. Freya had the same profile picture and screen name on WeChat and Netland. If Mr. Shu so much as paid a little attention to the silver leader, he should know about Freya. He then immediately contacted the person stuck on top. ¡°Mr. Shu, a netizen called Freya is looking for you. Have you received her message?¡± Xu Yuan did not read the whole sentence. He only saw the word ¡°Freya¡± and casually replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about Norse mythology.¡± ¡°No, no, no.¡± Cai Pingtong was rather speechless on the inside. It looked like Xu Yuan had completely forgotten about the silver leader¡¯s screen name. That was why he ignored Freya. He immediately explained, ¡°Freya is the silver leader of your book! The rich woman who donated 150,000 dollars to your book on the first day!¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t give my contact information to others if it¡¯s not important.¡± Xu Yuan was too busy typing to have time to get upset. Cai Pingtong was shocked by how calm Xu Yuan appeared. He had shared the author¡¯s contact information with the rich fans before, but he had never seen a man like Xu Yuan, who was so indifferent and aloof. ¡°It¡¯s a woman! A woman!¡± Cai Pingtong emphasized. Xu Xu was so annoyed by him that he had to respond to him. ¡°What was wrong with that person being a woman? A woman would only delay his work progress,¡± he thought. Then he said casually, ¡°Tell her I¡¯m busy.¡± Cai Pingtong was so angry that he laughed instead. ¡°Mr. Shu, my big man, Freya gave you a tip of 1,500 dollars. I¡¯ve seen her tipping other people. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s not short on money. Moreover, she has reached out to the chief editor for your contact information. Please do me a favor and chat with her. She is a lady. Can you please reply to her message?¡± He had done his best to speak well of Freya. A person like she should never be taken for granted. Xu Yuan was not a fool. He sure understood the meaning of his preach. He was now in a parallel world, so he would develop a few relationships with others as possible because it was unknown whether they could be brought back to the original world or not. It was better to do something practical, and earning more money was the way to go. He stopped in his writing to thank the readers and replied, ¡°Alright, I got it, I¡¯ll reply to her message right away.¡± ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Shu. She is a girl, make sure you are nice to her.¡± Although he had already promised Cai Pingtong, when he was drinking water, he changed the friend request mode on his WeChat from not requiring verification to requiring verification. Previously in the original world, he also wrote articles online, but there had never been any readers who would shoot him private messages, let alone a benefactor like Freya. As a result, he did not even know who was texting him when the conversation was well underway. Then, Xu Xu clicked open Freya¡¯s account with the red dot and realized that she had already said two sentences by herself. ¡°Hello, Mr. Shu. Your profile picture is really interesting.¡± ¡°Does it come with any particular meaning?¡± ¡°What are you doing, typing again?¡± ¡°Mr. Shu?¡± Xu Yuan remembered Cai Pingtong¡¯s words. She was a girl, so he had to act like a gentleman. ¡°Hello, Freya. The profile picture was taken at the green belt downstairs. It doesn¡¯t come with any particular meaning actually.¡± He explained everything in one sentence. It wasn¡¯t because Xu Yuan was a frigid man. The truth was that he wanted to disguise himself as a man like that so that the one talking to him would gradually lose interest. Other than appreciating his work, he didn¡¯t want to have too much interaction with other people. After replying to the message, Xu Yuan opened Freya¡¯s moments. He found that it was as exquisite as a dating app. It was filled with all kinds of scenic photos and exquisite meals, or selfies of people wearing beautiful clothes, but they would never show their faces. He also saw the diamond crown that Freya used as her profile picture. It was shining on her head, but her face was still hidden. As Cai Pingtong said, she was definitely a rich person. After a simple scan, he placed his phone on the table and continued to work on his thank-you note. Even after seeing how rich she was, he still would not give up his identity as a frigid man. Because when two people of different social classes chat, one would always seek to please the other, which was inevitable. He did not come to the parallel world to be a pushover like this. ¡­ On the other side of the same city, Wang Tingfu moved from the soft cushion on the balcony to the dreamy princess bed. She grabbed the phone in her hand and her eyes suddenly widened in disbelief! ¡°Are you serious? Was that all you planned to tell me?¡± Wang Tingfu had never felt that chatting would involve so many skills. In the past, it was always others who would deliver long speeches to please her. They wanted nothing more than to list out all their past achievements to attract her attention. It was already the first time she could take the initiative to talk to someone! This damn frigid man was really an expert at making things awkward. He didn¡¯t even know how to chat with a girl. Wang Tingfu wasn¡¯t really trying to hear his answers. She was waiting for him to take the initiative to say something to her. ¡°What makes you think you can be so proud of yourself? You¡¯re nothing but a story writer. You really bored me as hell!¡± Wang Tingfu cursed in a low voice. Then she said, ¡°Give back the money to me!¡± It was the first time Wang Tingfu felt her money was ill spent. She thought it was better to just throw it into the river. Uncle Bai was all about Wang Tingfu¡¯s manners as a lady. When he heard Wang Tingfu cursing, he immediately went upstairs and knocked on the door. ¡°What happened? Miss Tingfu? Who made you upset again?¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be upset about!¡± Wang Tingfu said in an indifferent and exasperated tone. ¡°I just met a damn frigid man!¡± Chapter 14 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Uncle Bai caught a glimpse of Wan Tingfu¡¯s silk nightdress. Its soft fabric outlined her curvy body. Each of her movements was full of charm. On top of that, she had a cheerful face, and her little pouty mouth made her particularly cute when she was angry. Most importantly, Wan Tingfu wore very few clothes at home, which made uncle Bai embarrassed. He did not dare to raise his head and look at her every time. But in reality, he also became interested in the ¡°Straight guy¡± that Wan Tingfu mentioned. After all, Wan Tingfu used to be the one who made a fool and made fun of others. It was always others who were angry at her, and no one could make her mad. Uncle Bai did not dare to ask Wan Tingfu about this matter unless she took the initiative to tell him. He could only stand at the door quietly with his head lowered, hoping that Wan Tingfu would not vent her anger on others. ¡°Uncle Bai, you don¡¯t have to stand here. I¡¯ll call you if there¡¯s anything!¡± Wan Tingfu waved her hand and told uncle Bai to walk out. ¡°Yes. But Miss Tingfu, pay attention to your manners.¡± After saying that, Uncle Bai closed the door and quickly left this place where he might get in trouble. Only Wan Tingfu was left in the room. The quietness did not calm her down. On the contrary, the more she thought about it, the more displeased she felt. ¡°Sh*t!¡± She picked up her phone again. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have spent my money if the character called Xiao Yan in your fiction was not like my Prince Charming!¡± Wan Tingfu tried to open the friend circle of Xu Yuan¡¯s WeChat and found that it was completely empty. It was not because he had blocked her, but because this boring straight guy had never sent a single friend circle. Compared to her remarkable life, his was simply dull! Being bored was the feeling that Wan Tingfu could not stand the most. Since she could not continue chatting on WeChat, she quickly went to Netland, thinking of rewarding another newbie. To her surprise, Mr. Shu specially wrote a chapter of testimonials about hitting the shelf. He sincerely thanked the readers for their support. ¡°¡­ Dear readers, I¡¯m very grateful to you for your support for ¡®Battle Through the Heavens.¡¯ The success of this new fiction can not be achieved without your support. I especially want to thank Freya for giving me confidence and enough motivation to persevere. I¡¯m grateful to you, and I will definitely pay more effort in the future to bring more exciting stories to you!¡± Wan Tingfu stared at the last paragraph for a long time, and most anger in her heart seemed to have subsided. She covered her mouth and laughed. And she suddenly felt that Mr. Shu was not so dull as he appeared. He had her contact information, and he could say as many pleasant words as he wanted. Yet, he chose to add such a paragraph at the end of his testimonials of hitting the shelf. Was it because he was shy? Or was he just doing his routine job? What Mr. Shu had done successfully attracted Wan Tingfu¡¯s interest. Because of his last paragraph, Freya¡¯s Crown of Silver Leader was more well-known. Freya finally enjoyed the admiration of everyone. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s not so boring.¡± Wan Tingfu hugged her pillow and thought happily, ¡°Sure enough, I can only see one side of him through the internet. If there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯d better meet him offline.¡± She looked at the image of the withered tree and happily hummed a song. ¡°I¡¯ll let you stay on my friend list for a longer time.¡± ¡­ On the other side, the good results of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± became famous in the online literature circle. It had almost become a legend on Netland. It had been a trending topic since the fiction was serialized. It was warmly discussed on the online literary forum about the author on top of the work itself. For example, ¡°Divination of the release date of Battle Through the Heavens¡± or ¡°Ten secrets you have to know about the new legendary Mr. Shu.¡± The online marketing accounts were like the flies smelling the food, wishing to dig out everything about the author. Unfortunately, the information Xu Yuan left on the internet was pitifully so little that there was nothing much for them to dig. But now, the discussion had escalated to the point of occupying the front page. No matter how many times it was refreshed, there were only discussions about ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± on the front page, which was unprecedented! However, this legendary achievement not only shocked the online literature circle but also irritated the nemesis of the online novel, traditional literature. In the office of Changing Publisher in Yanlos. Lei Yong looked at the increasing number of views of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± with disdain, and his heart was filled with jealousy and hatred. The more he looked at it, the angrier he got. He slapped his phone aside and growled, ¡°How can someone read such a childish thing? They¡¯re just a bunch of ignorant people!¡± No wonder Lei Yong would be jealous. With 100,000 hits, it meant that 100,000 people were reading this novel. If it was published in a physical book, 100,000 people would buy it. If someone could achieve such a result, he would be able to do whatever he wanted in the publishing circle. The entire publishing house would treat him as a superstar. Thinking of this, Lei Yong was so irritated that he gritted his teeth. Why wasn¡¯t there such a talent under him? They were all useless idiots! ¡°Hey! I¡¯m talking to you. I told you to search for some information a long time ago. Can you do it or not? If you can¡¯t, get lost!¡± Lei Yong angrily shouted at his assistant beside him. His assistant, Zhong Jie, instinctively trembled and turned his head, saying fawningly, ¡°He¡¯s a newcomer. There¡¯s too little information about him. I just found something about ¡®Mr. Shu¡¯. Please take a look.¡± He handed the tablet to Lei Yong with both hands, not daring to breathe loudly. Zhong Jie could not remember how many times he had helped Lei Yong search for online information about the authors. His boss did not support the authors to finish their work every day. Instead, he had an eye on the online literature circle and searched for whoever was popular. Then, he contacted them and bought the copyright from them. Logically speaking, such successful authors should be trained well after being signed. But Lei Yong did not do it. He looked down on online writers from the bottom of his heart. He felt that what they wrote was just not presentable and that it was a waste of paper and ink to print it out. He held their copyrights in his hand and made full use of whoever he had signed. In the end, he threw them into the corner like trash, leaving them alive or dead. Anyway, Lei Yong had the contract in his hands, so he was not afraid of being sued by the other party. Most online writers would be happy to see their work published in a book. Many of them fell for Lei Yong¡¯s scheme in a muddle-headed way. There were often desperate writers who came to protest with banners at the entrance of Changing Publisher. But this was nothing to Lei Yong. ¡°Even a dog will find it sooner than you if I give it a piece of meat!¡± Lei Yong glared at Zhong Jie with disdain and slowly took the tablet. As soon as he saw the name, Lei Yong¡¯s small eyes suddenly widened. Zhong Jie raised his eyes and peeked, wondering if Lei Yong had undergone surgery to open the corners of his eyes. Then, Lei Yong jumped up from the chair excitedly and walked around the room with his big belly. ¡°How can it be him? How can it be him?¡± Lei Yong held the tablet with disbelief on his face. ¡°He actually has the ability to write web novels?!¡± Lei Yong looked at the familiar face on the ID photo, then looked at the actual name following it. It really was Xu Yuan, who carried a cake for him like a lapdog just a few days ago! Chapter 15 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°D*mn it! This brat didn¡¯t work hard on his physical book. Instead, he actually deprived himself of writing the web novel! I¡¯m definitely going to sue him until he loses all his money!¡± Lei Yong was like an angry leopard. Even the thick hair pomade could not make him appear less wrathful. To begin with, he had a bad temper, and he would attack indiscriminately when he was irritated. Zhong Jie, standing at the side, did not know why Lei Yong was so mad, but he knew that the best way to deal with this situation was to keep silent and pretend to be invisible. ¡°I must teach him a lesson and let him know my power!¡± Then, Lei Yong took out his cell phone and dialed Xu Yuan¡¯s number. ¡°Hello, who¡¯s that?¡± Xu Yuan¡¯s greeting was indifferent and polite, which meant that he did not have Lei Yong¡¯s phone number. Lei Yong, who was used to being flattered, had never received such an attitude before. Hence, he immediately got angry. He said with a sinister sarcastic tone, ¡°Xu Yuan! This is Lei Yong. I¡¯m calling specially to congratulate you on the success of your web novel!¡± Xu Yuan did not expect that the person who called him would be Lei Yong. If he had known earlier, he would not have answered it. He could only say perfunctorily, ¡°Mr. Lei, you are mistaken. It¡¯s my cousin who registered this username with my ID card. Nevertheless, I will accurately pass on your congratulations to him. Thank you!¡± Lei Yong was rendered speechless by this reply. Before he could make another move, Xu Yuan hung up the phone. Lei Yong tried to call again, but there was only a busy tone. Xu Yuan had blocked him?! ¡°You dare to hang up on me?¡± Lei Yong widened his eyes indignantly. He stared at the tablet screen without blinking and realized that he could do nothing about the clumsy excuse that Xu Yuan had just made up. Since Lei Yong always pressed others with their contracts, he knew the drawbacks of the agreement better than anyone else. He had signed all Xu Yuan¡¯s copyrights for five years, which was true. If Xu Yuan dared to break the contract, he could sue him right away. However, there was a layer of barrier between the internet and reality. Although everyone knew that Xu Yuan was definitely talking nonsense, they didn¡¯t have any evidence. It was impossible to spy on him every minute. Even if Lei Yong had obtained the copyrights of all the screen names under Xu Yuan¡¯s ID card, Xu Yuan could still change his identity information to his father, mother, or cousin, who might not even exist! In short, Lei Yong had miscalculated this move. His furious scolding scared Zhong Jie at the side, making him not dare to make a sound. Zhong Jie wished that he had never entered this office. At this moment, Lei Yong noticed Zhong Jie, who was trying his best to avoid being seen. He quickly walked up to Zhong Jie, grabbed his arm, and dragged him to the computer. ¡°Contact the marketing account. I have to screw this b*stard up!¡± Lei Yong was unwilling to let Xu Yuan take advantage of the loophole. Since he couldn¡¯t do anything to that brat, he would ruin the entire online literature circle. Anyway, the web novels were all tacky things. ¡°Wh¡­ What?¡± Zhong Jie was confused. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand what I¡¯m saying? Is it your first day at work?¡± Lei Yong said sarcastically. ¡°Find some Internet Marketers and ask them to write something! Ruin these online novels that are stealing my business!¡± Online novels and traditional literature were enemies. Many traditional literature authors despised online novels. They thought that their writings had no meaning. They were full of multiply words with no technical content. However, online literature was more widely spread than traditional literature. Therefore, the more people read it, the more income they would get. This caused the conflict between online and traditional literature to become bigger and bigger. Lei Yong¡¯s publishing house leaned toward traditional literature. Sometimes, to sell the new books in his publishing house, he would defame the online novels for a while, then praise the traditional literature, and sell the books as a matter of course. Zhong Jie had helped him with all these things. He quickly contacted the resources that specialized in this kind of work, Live Water Marketing Group. ¡°What¡­ What should I do after getting in touch with them?¡± Zhong Jie smiled bitterly. ¡°The new book has only been out for a few days, and there are no negative topics¡­¡± Lei Yong glanced at Zhong Jie with disdain. He felt that this person only knew how to make money but couldn¡¯t do his job. ¡°Do you think the negative topics are rocks on the ground waiting for you to pick up? Just create some! Do you want me to teach you hand-in-hand?¡± ¡°Okay¡­ No, I mean¡­ Since the influence of ¡®Battle Through the Heaven¡¯ is so great, we can just say¡­ say that it will have a negative impact on the children¡¯s study. Moreover¡­ Moreover, the fighting and killing plots in the novel involve vulgar violence, so it will definitely mislead the children. This will definitely cause many parents to be agitated! Then, they would help to resist the online novels. What do you think, Mr. Lei?¡± What he said was suitable for Lei Yong¡¯s taste. He felt a little better and nodded while leaning against the back of his chair. ¡°Alright, at least you have some brains.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Zhong Jie smiled dryly and repeated what he had just said to the head of the marketing account. He told them to prepare the manuscript immediately and try to force the author to apologize. Therefore, under Lei Yong¡¯s arrangement, that night, the marketing account on Microblog quietly released an article named ¡°The values of online novels are poisoning our children by propagating violence!¡± The first paragraph of the article pointed out that the battle elements in ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± were distorting the values of young people and misleading them into thinking that violence could solve everything. The following content seemed to accuse the entire online literature circle of having no content. Still, it used ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± as an example. From the writing style to the expressing core, it belittled ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± to nothing. Between the lines, it hinted at the author¡¯s bad intentions in writing this novel with particular metaphors, indicating that the author was writing it simply for money. Xu Yuan had no idea that such a severe accusation had popped out while he had done nothing. He received a kind reminder from his readers and immediately opened the article. He thought that all the accusations were groundless, and he knew that he was being targeted. Xu Yuan knew that there was a great deal of controversy about the online novels, so he had been cautious when choosing the topic. He tried to avoid topics like supernatural, suspense, and grave robbing, which were quickly captured by others. However, he had not expected that fantasy could not escape the slander of those people. He had also discovered that after the article targeting him was issued, suddenly, many denunciations of online literature appeared on the front page of Microblog. ¡°When online literature enters the classroom, which should be responsible for the physical and mental health of students?¡± ¡°A primary school student gets angry for being caught reading a web novel in class and beats up his teacher!¡± ¡°Boycott! Online literature is not qualified to become a substitute for traditional literature!¡± These articles criticizing online literature seemed to have been blown by the wind. Overnight, they spread across various social media sites as if they were afraid that the children¡¯s parents would ignore them. All kinds of deliberately exaggerated article titles described reading online literature as an unpardonable evil. The number of Xu Yuan¡¯s private messages also significantly increased at night. A large number of Internet Marketers suddenly appeared. From Xu Yuan¡¯s parents to his pets, they cursed Xu Yuan with sharp tongues, not showing any mercy! Although many fans argued with reason and defended Xu Yuan, they seemed to be insignificant under the organized and planned siege of Internet Marketers. Chapter 16 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°Finally, someone thinks as I do. The popularity of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ is inexplicable. Its starting point also degenerated¡­¡± ¡°The main character cheated so obviously. Xiao Yan could pick up a treasure even after falling down and skip several levels consecutively. If he was a supporting character, he could only upgrade step by step. It was obvious that the author brought in his own imagination. It had no connotation.¡± ¡°The content is too violent. The characters started fighting each other when they had disagreeable conversations. This would misguide children!¡± ¡°Our school explicitly forbade students from bringing their cell phones. However, children in my class secretly read novels in class. I have confiscated quite a few cell phones in a row. The learning atmosphere in class is a complete mess.¡± ¡°Hem, the performance of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ was indeed good. But how many of the people tipping are minors who don¡¯t have any financial ability? Writing online novels is really a lucrative business. Binding a pupil is the same as binding the family.¡± ¡°The authors¡¯ writing is pretty good. It would be good for him to write something connotative. Instead, he wrote all about fighting, killing, and love. It¡¯s not healthy.¡± ¡°Every decent girl would fall in love with the main character. Women are not that shallow. Can the author treat the female characters properly? Don¡¯t let love carry their minds so easily. It¡¯s so disgusting!¡± Xu Yuan frowned slightly as he saw the negative comments online. The discussions on the Online Novel Forum were also biased. Whether it was praise or criticism, it would cause an intense debate. The exchange of verbal arguments was no better than the verbal war in real life. The war without smoke spread from the headline article to the online forum. Finally, the war intensified on Microblog. Xu Yuan found that the headline account that published the first article had one hundred thousand fans. Although the account was not considered a big shot on the internet where we-media was everywhere, the dissemination of the article surprisingly wide and fast. The marketing account belittled online novels in the whole article. It even quoted the famous saying, ¡°the strong youth makes the country strong¡±, to elevate their starting point to the national and future level. It alluded that online novels led by ¡±Battle Through the Heavens¡± were poisoning the minds of teenagers. The article even implicitly accused ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± of targeting teenagers¡¯ money and making a lot of it. It aroused the hatred of the rich to the extreme at once. Although many people did not participate in the scheme, they were affected by their emotions. Then they criticized ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± online too. ¡°He is really good at creating Internet Marketers. They thought their ways of thinking were unique when they were used as a tool.¡± Xu Yuan sniffed. Although he had never studied marketing, he witnessed several instances of online attacks in the original world. He took the perspective of a bystander and saw clearly inside this mess. In this whirlpool of online criticisms, the commander of the marketing account created conflicts, and Internet Marketers disseminated conflicts and stirred up emotions. Some ordinary people did not know that they were carried away by emotions. They thought they were righteous. There was a trader behind this seemingly inexplicable online attack. It was hard to distinguish between the two sides in this debate because the side that started with justice did not necessarily have true justice. At first, Xu Yuan summed up a rule. Whoever benefited from this scolding battle had a seventy percent chance of being the trader. However, another unique feature of the online battle was that the public opinion fermented too quickly. It was hard to constrain the emotions that were out of control. If one was not careful, one would be dragged into it. And if the situation was too messy, one would not be able to see the benefited ones clearly. After Xu Yuan finished reading the marketing account attacking him, he could not help but applaud. It must put a lot of effort. The article was written very delicately. It did not mention the ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±, but the article talked about it entirely. He relied on writing to make a living, so he understood the charms of words. Substituting one thing for another was often intangible. ¡°Well, I was treated as the outstanding one as soon I uploaded my novel.¡± Xu Yuan sighed and left the room to pour himself a glass of water. The contents in these marketing accounts might not be true, but they were what everyone wanted to see. Xu Yuan was still a newcomer in this parallel world. He only got one book on the list, so his words carried little weight. It was useless even if he wanted to make a statement. But Xu Yuan was not worried. Someone was even more worried than him. When he was sitting in his chair and circling around in boredom, he got another WeChat message. Cai Pingtong indeed took the initiative to contact him. ¡°Mr. Shu, the public opinion on the internet is getting more and more intense. Do you need us to help you make a clarification statement? It can hedge against the negative news and reduce negative impacts.¡± ¡°No. It would only make things worse,¡± Xu Yuan replied calmly. Cai Pingtong had not encountered such a situation for a long time. He only watched it from a distance before. In the past, Fantasy was insipid. It could not even reach the edge of popularity. He was in disarray and did not know what to do at the moment. While he was overwhelmed, Mr. Ma, the chief editor walked into the office. He had a bald head. The wrinkles on his forehead were like the waves on the surface of a lake. His face looked like a barometer, and anyone could tell how he felt. ¡°Cai and Liu, come to my office,¡± he stood at the door and called. Then he turned around and headed back to his office. Cai Pingtong knew why Mr. Ma called him. He glanced at Liu Fu who was also called and forced an awkward smile at him. Liu Fu was amused by him. He put his arm around Cai Pingtong¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cai. You¡¯re not fighting alone! Mr. Shu is still waiting for you to protect him!¡± Cai Pingtong felt Liu Fu¡¯s concern completely. He straightened his back to cheer himself up. Suddenly, his heart was surrounded by a sense of mission. After all, he and Mr. Shu were in the same boat at the moment. ¡°Thank you, Liu. I got it!¡± They entered the office side by side. Mr. Ma put his hands under his chin and asked them to sit down with a solemn look. ¡°I believe you have seen the negative comments about ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ on the internet. I called you here to discuss this matter.¡± After saying that, Mr. Ma looked up at Liu Fu. A similar situation had happened to a book that Liu Fu had followed up before. He was the most experienced in the entire editorial department. That¡¯s why Mr. Ma called him in together. Cai Pingtong was also sitting upright, staring at Liu Fu with a pair of eager eyes. Liu Fu cleared his throat and said, ¡°First, we must protect the author¡¯s information to prevent the fury of the netizens from reaching and affecting the author¡¯s real life. Second, we should appease the author¡¯s emotions so that the negative news on the internet does not affect his work.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s okay. Mr. Shu is calmer than anyone else.¡± Mr. Shu¡¯s feeling is the least of Cai Pingtong¡¯s worries. ¡°Then¡­ based on the experience of my previous book, we should cut out the inappropriate contents in the novel and cut off the criticism. So those netizens would have nothing to say.¡± Chapter 17 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio ¡°You mean that you want to make a big change? This isn¡¯t fair, right?¡± Cai Pingtong stood up and immediately objected. He had been reviewing the web novel for so many years. The content of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ was already very reserved. It did not involve explicit content or politics. The main character, Xiao Yan, was also an active and upward-looking person. There was no problem with the world view that he conveyed. He retorted, ¡°There is no need to change the content of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯. It is completely the fault of that marketing account. If we continue to tolerate them, it will only make them think that we are easy to bully and become even worse!¡± Liu Fu did not expect Cai Pingtong¡¯s reaction to be so great. He bitterly smiled and said, ¡°This was how I had solved my problem earlier. Although the author got arrested, his book is at least still intact. There is no problem with the copyright that was sold earlier too.¡± The book that Liu Fu was in charge of previously did not have any big problems. The plot was wonderful, and it gained a large number of readers¡¯ favor. Unfortunately, the one with problems was the author himself. The author had privately created a fan group and often chatted with the readers in it. Over time, the readers¡¯ infatuation with the characters turned into admiration for the author. In the end, they became the author¡¯s gun, shooting wherever he pointed it at. The literary circle became a crazed fan circle, often trampling on other books. This caused other readers to be dissatisfied, and then they quarreled with them online. Then it escalated to real life, and just in time, the author wrote an extra chapter to give back to the readers and spread it in the group. The words in the extra were so wonderful that every time Liu Fu thought of it, he felt that it was a pity for such a good writer to have dug his own grave. In the end, the author was most probably poor out of his mind. Behind the website editor¡¯s back, he had secretly contacted a publishing house to print his book. He even included that extra chapter and openly sold it on the Internet. One had to know that it was illegal to publish a physical book without a license number. To make matters worse, other readers caught wind of this. No one knew who had reported the author. In the end, the fans¡¯ conflict ended up sending the author to prison. He was sentenced to two years. Fortunately, the website where the novel had originated from had suppressed the matter of the author¡¯s imprisonment, and the copyright that Liu Fu sold was not affected. There was no delay in the animation and film production. Currently, Liu Fu¡¯s desk still had the original character design on it, it was used to remind himself to monitor the author from time to time. Although Mr. Shu himself did not have any black spots this time, the trolls on the internet were like mad dogs when they bit people. Who knew what kind of tricks they might pull? As such, to be safe, Liu Fu¡¯s suggestion was to endure. Cai Pingtong also knew about this matter, but he just couldn¡¯t swallow his anger. He knew that if he really bowed down to pressure and admitted his mistake, then whether or not ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ was wrong wouldn¡¯t be so important. In the future, if anyone mentioned ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ again, their first impression might be that it had worthless, violent content. This was very disadvantageous to the subsequent copyright acquisition of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯. ¡°But Cai, you have to think clearly. We don¡¯t know when this wave of public opinion attacks will pass. Are you sure that the author¡¯s heart is strong enough to survive this? The bad reputation of online novels will also have an impact on our website. ¡± ¡°I know that they are using ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ to attack the origin of web novels, but we are not wrong. Why should we admit it!?¡± ¡°Cai, you have to put the big picture first. Otherwise, if the matter blows up and the higher-ups want us to shut up and reorganize again, the losses will be too great!¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Stop arguing!¡± Mr. Ma could not stand it anymore. He slammed the table and interrupted the two. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you to come here to quarrel!¡± Since the Boss had spoken, the two immediately shut their mouths. After all, no matter how much they said, Mr. Ma was the one who would make the final decision. The office was silent for two minutes. Mr. Ma looked up at the two of them and snorted. ¡°You¡¯ve said so much, but you still haven¡¯t gotten to the main point. To think that both of you are senior editors.¡± He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and then said, ¡°First of all, I feel that this is a case of the shot hitting the bird that pokes its head out. Someone is targeting ¡®Battle of the Heavens¡¯, so we can¡¯t just tolerate it.¡± ¡°Second, the propaganda of violence mentioned in those articles is also untenable. The essence of the novel is to promote the spirit of fighting and competition, and there are many ways to compete in the first place, so clinging on to this point is clearly an excuse!¡± ¡°Finally, it¡¯s even more ridiculous to say that web novels affect students¡¯ grades! Reading web novels in class is a student¡¯s personal behavior, how many such children can there be in a school? They¡¯re simply generalizing this concept to suit their point!¡± With that, Mr. Ma took another sip of his green tea. Cai Pingtong understood what he meant and immediately followed up with a resolution. ¡°I have the same thoughts as Editor-in-Chief! If we tolerate it repeatedly, it will only make those people think that we are easy to bully.¡± Although he didn¡¯t know who ¡°those people¡± were, when he got emotional, he wanted to create an enemy for himself, even if it wasn¡¯t a physical one. However, Mr. Ma had sharp eyes. He pondered for a moment, then said, ¡°The results of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ have been so good. It will definitely attract the envy of others. It has already proved its value to us by attracting 100,000 readers to subscribe to it. If we can¡¯t even protect the good books on this website, then we will only end up being manipulated by others in the future. This time, we definitely can¡¯t hold in our frustration!¡± The reason he was so stubborn was not only because of the good results of the web novel, but also because the author Xu Yuan was a newcomer, a student who had just come of age. It could be said that his life was still a blank sheet of paper without any black spots. In addition, the starting point had always been large websites. Many small websites were eyeing the author covetously, wanting to poach him. If they couldn¡¯t keep the author, then they wouldn¡¯t even have the last bit of competitiveness. For the sake of long-term considerations, they had to fight back in this war of public opinion! ¡°Cai, immediately contact Mr. Shu. Tell him to relax and write as much as he wants. We will help him with the rest! Liu, make the arrangements. Let the authors in your hands also speak out and defend the right to survive of web novels. Hurry up!¡± Mr. Ma methodically made the arrangements. Unlike those marketing account handles and trolls, the fans of web novel authors were all living people. If they could persuade these readers to come to their aid, they would definitely be able to redeem their reputation! ¡°I¡¯ll go right away!¡± Cai Pingtong turned around and went out to contact Xu Yuan. Liu Fu looked at Mr. Ma meaningfully and reminded him, ¡°Editor-in-Chief, I¡¯m not opposed to going against them head-on, but according to my experience, the result this time might not be very good.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Mr. Ma nodded. ¡°The best opportunity to refute that we missed¡­¡± He paused and said seriously, ¡°This time, the other party is obviously attacking on a large scale. It will definitely affect us, so we should salvage as much reputation as possible. The purpose of my doing this is to give the authors an attitude.¡± ¡°Let them know that writing online novels is not a shameful thing! What cannot be compared to traditional literature? Bullsh*t! Elite melodies and folk songs are never opposites!¡± Chapter 18 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Mr. Ma finally spoke out the words smoldering in his bosom over the years. The pushing out of traditional literature by online literature was something that every online literature practitioner could empathize with. Liu Fu was so surprised that he was speechless at first. Then, he shook his head and laughed. ¡°You are worthy of the title of editor-in-chief. I¡¯ll make the arrangements right away.¡± After Liu Fu finished his words, he couldn¡¯t wait to go to the office and convey the leadership¡¯s thoughts to others. However, as they had expected, the negative news didn¡¯t get clarified because of Netland¡¯s actions. Instead, it turned into a debate contest between online literature and traditional literature. Among those netizens, some people specifically requested to ban ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± because it was the cause of all this. ¡°What? ! I can¡¯t believe someone actually talks about banning ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯? !¡± In the upscale villa area of Yanlos, Wan Tingfu, who was enjoying her supper, suddenly saw the negative news of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± and looked at the vicious comments of the netizens below. It seemed that the author had killed their entire family. Wan Tingfu angrily smashed her fork into the plate, scaring the ladybro, Guan Shu, next to her to hide from her. The butler, Uncle Bai, came forward and wiped the soup that splashed on Wan Tingfu¡¯s hand clean. Then he asked calmly, ¡°Miss Tingfu, what¡¯s wrong? Did that straight man make you angry again?¡± ¡°These rubbish marketing accounts dare to spout a lot of nonsense after receiving some unconscionable dirty money! How dare they call my favorite novel a pest!¡± Wan Tingfu¡¯s eyes were filled with flames of anger. The ladybro sitting on the side was confused. ¡°Sister Tingfu, isn¡¯t your favorite novel ¡®Thirteen Questions of the Heavenly Palace¡¯? Have you stopped shipping a couple recently?¡± ¡°The author of ¡®Thirteen Questions of the Heavenly Palace¡¯ was caught in the police station. His book is not so interesting as his life, so I haven¡¯t read it,¡± Wan Tingfu said. Uncle Bai interjected, ¡°But before, you still thought that the author of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ was very boring and you were angry at that time. Why are you defending him now?¡± Wan Tingfu humphed and said, ¡°I always concern myself with facts and not with individuals. ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ is indeed well written. People should look at things dialectically.¡± Hearing this, Uncle Bai nodded. The ladybro sitting on the side looked at them who were talking to each other, but she still didn¡¯t get a clear understanding of the question. ¡°What is ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯? Who has upset Wan Tingfu again?¡± she wondered. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Which one of you tell me?¡± the ladybro said helplessly. The butler bowed and said, ¡°Miss Guan Shu, actually, some time ago, Miss Tingfu¡­¡± While they were explaining, Wan Tingfu clicked into Xu Yuan¡¯s WeChat frame and took the initiative to send a message of concern. ¡°Mr. Shu, are you okay?¡± Wan Tingfu asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you for your concern.¡± Xu Yuan replied. Xu Yuan had long known that there would be a day when he would be cyberbullied, but it came earlier than he had expected. He even knew that the mastermind was Lei Yong, but he intended to play it cool and was not prepared to fight back immediately. Therefore, he slighted Cai Pingtong and Wan Tingfu who were concerned about him. Wan Tingfu waited for two minutes, and the smile on her face faded. ¡°¡­ Then what?¡± she said to herself. She raised her delicate little hand and patted her phone hard. When she saw the full signal in the upper right corner, she asked curiously with her pretty eyes wide-open, ¡°How dare he not respond to my messages? Why would he do this to a beauty who cares about him?¡± Guan Shu heard about the situation from Uncle Bai. She did not ridicule Wan Tingfu for calling herself a beauty because she was indeed worthy of it. Instead, she curiously moved closer to the phone. She covered her mouth and said, ¡°Wow, that¡¯s really a straight man¡¯s answer. Does he have no desire to communicate with you?¡± ¡°How is that possible!¡± Wan Tingfu pouted and rolled her eyes at her. ¡°Ah, yes, yes, yes. He is crazy.¡± Guan Shu coaxed her kindly. ¡°Tell me what he did, so I can help you analyze it.¡± ¡°Hem, at least you still have a conscience. It was just yesterday. The novel that I liked was on the shelves. I saw that it sold well, so I helped a little and gave a gratuity. However, today¡¯s article was filled with mudslinging against it. That¡¯s going too far. Obviously, someone is jealous,¡± Wan Tingfu said. Guan Shu was actually asking about the author, not the maligned press release. But since she had already said that she would help analyze it, she looked over the so-called maligned press release. After thinking for two minutes, she said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed well organized. What those marketing accounts said and the following replies are similar.¡± ¡°Yeah, why isn¡¯t he in a hurry at all!¡± Wan Tingfu said anxiously. She looked at it again and still felt uneasy. She decided to care a little more. If Xu Yuan still gave a cold response, she would ignore him! ¡°Mr. Shu, you must have been targeted by someone. Don¡¯t pay attention to those boring people. Your book is very good. Those people don¡¯t have any artistic talent. It¡¯s normal that they can¡¯t appreciate it,¡± Wan Tingfu said. Wan Tingfu knew XuYuan¡¯s habit, so she waited patiently for another two minutes, but her phone didn¡¯t ring. Just as Guan Shu thought that Wan Tingfu had been ignored again, her phone rang. ¡°Miss Freya, thank you for your concern. I was sorting out the plot of my new book just now, so I didn¡¯t have time to explain it to you properly. I¡¯ve read all the negative news on the Internet, and it didn¡¯t really affect me. After all, I¡¯m not money, so I can¡¯t be liked by everyone. Moreover, something had happened before I started writing the web novel, so I know who did it and why he did it. Thank you for your concern, I have to go prepare the new book,¡± Xu Yuan replied. It was the first time Wan Tingfu received such a long string of replies, and she was so happy that she couldn¡¯t find her bearings. The main point was instantly diverted by Xu Yuan. She asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s the name of your new book? Can you tell me about it?¡± Xu Yuan thought that the new book was not a secret. If he didn¡¯t satisfy Wan Tingfu¡¯s curiosity now, he would definitely be pestered again. ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®Lord of the Mysteries¡¯. Please look forward to it,¡± Xu Yuan said. ¡°Wow, he¡¯s so awesome!¡± Wan Tingfu praised. She held the phone and giggled like a little fan. Guan Shu had never seen Wan Tingfu like this before. She could not help but ask in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re angry at one moment and then laughing at the next. What¡¯s going on now?¡± ¡°What to do now?¡± Wan Tingfu sneered. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s time to fight back! No one has ever dared to look down on the things I like!¡± Hearing that Xu Yuan was preparing a new book, Wan Tingfu definitely wanted to clear these obstacles so that he could focus on preparing. After all, no author had ever been so attractive to Wan Tingfu. She waved her hand and said to Uncle Bai, ¡°Uncle Bai, I¡¯ll leave it to you. You must find out who¡¯s behind this. As for the marketing accounts taking advantage of others¡¯ misfortune, contact my father¡¯s company to deal with them. Also, don¡¯t forget about the legal team. Sort out the comments that are part of the rumors. I¡¯m going to sue them to death!¡± When she heard this, Guan Shu could not help but shiver. That was because the literally means of the word ¡°death¡± Wan Tingfu just said was what she really meant. These marketing accounts basically started a rumor at zero cost. However, it was costly and laborious to bring them down, so most people did not have the time to waste on them and were unable to speak out about their grievances. However, Wan Tingfu was different. She had money and time. With just a word, people would come and help her. If she did not force the people behind her to the surface, she would definitely not let this matter rest. ¡°Good luck.¡± Guan Shu observed three seconds of silence in her heart for those who spread rumors. Chapter 19 Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Yanlos, Century Plaza. This was the edge of the entire city. Once a boss had invested money to build a plaza here, hoping to boost the economy of the suburbs. However, the surroundings were filled with unfinished buildings, and no one moved in at all. Century Plaza and an office building next to it were also abandoned because of this. Weeds grew everywhere, making it seem like an abandoned Buddhist temple. Bad characters of all kinds gathered here. A man in a black hoodie, who was about twenty-five years old, parked the accumulator vehicle downstairs. He hurriedly jumped off the vehicle and rushed into the office building. He did not take the elevator. Instead, he climbed to the third floor through the safe passage and did not have time to put down his bag that was slung across his shoulder. He ran excitedly into the office in the corner. ¡°Brother Wei, Brother Wei, good news! Our efforts have paid off. Someone has already boycotted ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ and requested for it to be banned!¡± he yelled. ¡°Well done! Ah Mao, give me the data quickly!¡± a voice replied. Behind the desk sat a short man who was impeccably attired. He looked like a child who had stolen an adult¡¯s clothes. If he hadn¡¯t heard the sound, Ah Mao would have thought that there was no one in the office. He took out a folder from his bag and respectfully pushed it in front of the short man, before standing at the side excitedly awaiting his praise. This was the headquarters of the Live Water Marketing Group. The short man¡¯s name was Wei He, and he was the boss of the entire group. Although the word ¡®Group¡¯ sounded very scary, its scale was only equivalent to a studio. After all, they were working on the Internet. One person could control 100,000 Internet marketers and make money by maliciously smearing others. Wei He held the folder and looked at the data on it. He couldn¡¯t help but nod. ¡°The four or five marketing accounts that we operate have achieved good results. Just two simple articles have stirred up the emotions of the netizens. The results are much better than the last time.¡± Ah Mao had been waiting for the leader to say this. He patted his chest and said, ¡°I have been chasing after ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ for a long time. I am the clearest about the weak points in it! I know what the people who are jealous of its results are thinking, too!¡± If one had to say, Ah Mao was one of the people who were jealous. In essence, his job was no different from that of a web novelist. They both produced content that the public liked to read and then benefited from it. However, the work of web novelists was simpler. They were only responsible for the readers. Everything they wrote was fiction. The emotions about the characters would not allow the readers to bring them into real life. However, Ah Mao was different. He wrote marketing copies which seemed to bring up some phenomena, but in fact, were trying to sow discord, describing the world as either black or white. They had received similar jobs before, although the target was not online writing, but a person. It was the girlfriend of a certain male in an idol group. That male artiste had debuted in a talent show. He had been marketing himself as someone from a poor family and worked hard, so he had attracted a large number of female fans who were overflowing with love for him. However, not long after he became famous, he began to expand his sights. He had seen women of all kinds in the entertainment industry and wanted to break up with his girlfriend, whom he had met when they were young. Because of this, he was ruthless to that girl while entangled amongst his female fans. It was not until this male artiste was caught by the paparazzi on a date with a fan in an underground garage that the girl found out that her boyfriend had cheated on her. Then, she had exposed her identity as his girlfriend on the Internet and released their chat logs, causing that male artiste to be unable to redeem himself. It was supposed to be a simple scene of a scumbag man cheating on his girlfriend. However, the male artiste¡¯s company would definitely not stand idly by. They quickly found the Live Water Marketing Group and asked them to go to the girl. they discredited her identity as a victim and exposed her personal information, home address, and work unit. Then, they helped the male artiste play the victim card, leading fans to harrass his ex girlfriend. This caused the girl to be so stressed out that she committed suicide by cutting her wrists. As for whether she was saved or not in the end, Ah Mao did not care after receiving the bonus, as if this matter had nothing to do with him. After reporting his work, Ah Mao stood in the office and did not leave, rubbing his hands expectantly. Wei He glanced at him and said, ¡°What are you standing here for? Are you waiting to eat candy?¡± Ah Mao didn¡¯t eat candy. He wanted money, so he kindly reminded, ¡°Brother Wei, while the data is good, hurry up and ask for money!¡± When he said this, Ah Mao was full of confidence and thought, ¡°Who cares if you¡¯re an online writer with 100,000 subscribers. You¡¯re still miserable because of me. You probably don¡¯t even know who to cry to right now.¡± After being reminded by him, Wei He slapped his thigh. ¡°Luckily you reminded me. It¡¯s time to ask Lei Yong for money. He didn¡¯t give me all the money from last time!¡± He picked up the phone on the table, licked his lips, and was about to call Lei Yong. At this time, an unfamiliar number called first. Wei he stared at the number and thought it was a business call. Without thinking, he picked it up. ¡°Hello, Living Water Marketing Group, this is Wei He.¡± ¡°So you are Wei He.¡± The sweet female voice sounded like the sunshine in spring, which melted his heart. It sounded like it belonged to a great beauty. Wei He raised his eyebrows and immediately straightened his back, making a thin and long bubble voice, ¡°I am Wei He, May I know who you are?¡± ¡°Ha, I¡¯m looking for you! Now I order you to immediately put away your marketing number and stop discrediting ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ and Netland!¡± Wei He, who was still having a wet dream a second ago, was provoked by this order. He smiled wretchedly and said, ¡°Miss, what do you mean? Why don¡¯t you explain it to me in person? Hehehe.¡± Wan TingFu on the other side of the phone was disgusted by his greasy voice. ¡°This is my advice to you. You can ignore it, but just you wait!¡± After saying that, she hung up the phone. Wei He threw the phone on the table and said mockingly, ¡°Are you trying to scare me? Little girl, if you have the ability, come to me and I¡¯ll show you how powerful I am.¡± Ah Mao¡¯s curiosity towards the caller was overshadowed by Wei He¡¯s greasy smile. He tugged at the corner of his mouth and urged, ¡°Brother Wei, we haven¡¯t gotten down to business yet!¡± ¡°Buzz, Buzz, Buzz ¨C¡± Wei He¡¯s phone rang again. ¡°It¡¯s not over yet!¡± He hmphed twice. The curse words were already on the tip of his tongue. When he saw the caller ID, his face instantly turned pale. His phone suddenly turned into a hot potato. ¡°S-southeast Media?¡± He stuttered. This media company was consuming the cream of the crop. They had taken over the distribution of the entire Southeast region¡¯s culture, entertainment, media, publishing, and other industries. They represented the official management of the Southeast region¡¯s cultural environment. Normally, it would be wishful thinking for Live Water Marketing Group to get close to Southeast Media. However, now that they had taken the initiative to call, an ominous cloud hung over Wei He¡¯s head. The worst thing was that he had to answer the call. ¡°Hello, how can I help you?¡± The female voice that he had just heard two minutes ago sounded again. ¡°Wei He, do you still remember my voice?¡± Wan Tingfu¡¯s cold voice was no longer the honey of spring, but the cold wind of winter, which made Wei He tremble. Chapter 20 - What Is This? Chapter 20 What Is This? ¡°Wei He, do you still remember my voice?¡± Wan Tingfu said coldly. The familiar voice made Wei He¡¯s heart instantly turn cold. He knew that he had gotten himself into big trouble and wished that he could slap himself. He held his phone and smiled apologetically. ¡°I remember, I remember. May I know why the leader of Southeast Media called?¡± Wan Tingfu said sternly, ¡°Are you still pretending to be ignorant? Do you think that no one knows what dirty things you¡¯ve done?¡± ¡°The country is cleaning up the internet environment, and you still dare to commit crimes against the wind, huh?¡± A few simple words made Wei He shiver with fear. ¡°About that, madam¡­ We¡­¡± ¡°Cut the crap. Do you need me to teach you how to do it?¡± ¡°No¡­ no need¡­ no need, madam, I¡­¡± ¡°By the way, who paid you to defame ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Lei Yong! Lei Yong from Changing Publisher, we¡­¡± ¡°If you know what to do, then do it, do you understand?¡± ¡°I¡­ I understand¡­ I¡­¡± Before he could finish, the other side had hung up the phone. He didn¡¯t even have the chance to say a whole sentence. Wan Tingfu hung up the phone and proudly shook her head. Her long black hair was like silk blowing in the wind. Uncle Bai gently put down the phone receiver and helplessly looked at the assistant beside him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Secretary Zhu. Our lady is too capricious. I¡¯m really sorry to disturb you at work.¡± Secretary Zhu waved her hand shyly and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Miss Tingfu is concerned about the internet environment. She can also be considered to share the chairman¡¯s worries.¡± Wan Tingfu was the daughter of the chairman of Southeast Media. If she wanted to find the source of the unscrupulous marketing account, someone would give her the results without her even waving her hand. Basically, when she gave the order, the technicians in the company traced the source immediately. Wan Tingfu ran to the company without stopping. She originally wanted to teach Live Water a lesson, but the other party was so wretched that she could not communicate with him. Wan Tingfu decided to take a dump. She knew that when dealing with people like Wei He, if she didn¡¯t give him a one-time warning, he would come back like a locust in summer. And Wei He¡¯s reaction made Wan Tingfu very satisfied. She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the city scenery made of concrete and steel. Her smart eyes looked at a certain part of the city. She clapped her hands and smiled. ¡°Mr. Shu, let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to repay the favor you owe me!¡± On the other side, Wei He¡¯s mood was not as beautiful. He seemed to have rusted his joints as he slowly placed his phone on the table. He still had not recovered from the conversation just now. Seeing that he was like an idiot with his mouth half open, Amao asked suspiciously, ¡°Brother Wei, what¡¯s wrong? Did someone call to scold you?¡± His heart was only filled with salary and bonus. He could not help but urge him again. ¡°No matter what, Brother Wei, you can rest assured with the money in your pocket. Don¡¯t bother with those blabbermouths. They don¡¯t know anything except to scold people.¡± ¡°What do you know!¡± Wei He burst out and scolded, ¡°You still think it¡¯s pretty, don¡¯t you? You still dare to walk around in front of me after creating such a big mess!¡± Wei He¡¯s eyes were wide open as he picked up the document on the table and smashed it on Amao¡¯s head. Amao was caught off guard and was stunned on the spot with a blank expression. ¡°What¡­ What Happened to me?¡± he said aggrievedly. Wei He gnashed his teeth and said, ¡°Do you know that you¡¯ve offended someone that you shouldn¡¯t have offended? Why are you still standing here? Are you waiting for me to tell you what to do?¡± Amao really didn¡¯t know what had happened. He didn¡¯t just stand there and do nothing when he went out. After a while, he asked with a bitter face, ¡°What¡­ What should I do?¡± Actually, Wei He didn¡¯t know what to do either. He had been scared out of his wits just now and only cared about agreeing. How would he know how much the other party wanted them to do? But in front of his subordinates, he could not say it out loud. He thought for a moment and thought that the person who called was Southeast Media. His company¡¯s misdeeds on the Internet could not escape the other party¡¯s eyes. It was better for him not to have any wishful thinking. He had confessed everything that needed to be confessed. If his account was gone, he could keep it. If his company was gone, he could open it again. If he went in, there would be nothing left. Wei He thought for a moment, then picked up the pen on the table and threw it at Amao. He said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m feeding you for nothing! Delete all those articles that smeared Netland and apologize to ¡®Battle Through the Heavens!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go right away! I¡¯ll go right away!¡± Amao nodded repeatedly. He did not dare to stay any longer. He did not know what that phone call had told Wei He, but from Wei He¡¯s reaction, he knew that he was a big shot that Wei He could not afford to offend him. If a small fry like him, were to be slightly negligent, he might become discarded cannon fodder. His fingers trembled as he pressed the button to turn on the computer. First, he deleted the article that was defaming ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯. Then, he contacted the head of the Internet Marketers and asked them to delete all the comments that should be deleted. Finally, he began to stir up all the ink in his stomach, he sincerely wrote the article that was used for apologizing. At this moment, Lei Yong still did not realize the extent of the matter. He lay comfortably on the office sofa and happily swiped his phone. His assistant, Zhong Jie, came in with a cup of coffee and gently placed it where Lei Yong could reach it with a raise of his hand. ¡°How much sugar did you put in?¡± Lei Yong asked casually. ¡°One sugar cube.¡± ¡°Not enough, not enough!¡± Lei Yong sat up with his big belly in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m in a good mood today. Give me six more!¡± Zhong Jie rolled his eyes in his heart. He thought to himself, ¡°How good would it be if you just drank the sugar water? You only know how to act pretentious every day.¡±. He went straight to the pantry to get the whole can of sugar cubes because he knew that although Lei Yong had declared to the public that he did not like sweet food, as long as he was in a good mood, half a bag of sugar could be rolled down. Lei Yong took a sip of coffee. His thick and short legs were together, and he pried the tip of his toes proudly. ¡°Humph, the boy who made the wish still wants to play tricks with me. I¡¯ll make him cry without any mercy! Have you written the letter of condolence that I asked you to write?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Zhong Jie replied. He took the tablet over. On it was the threat letter that he had written and handed it to Lei Yong. ¡°Dear Xu Yuan, Hello. I¡¯ve read the news on the Internet recently. As your friend, I¡¯m very sorry, but as I¡¯ve reminded you before, you shouldn¡¯t give up traditional literature to write online literature. After all, the environment on the internet is too chaotic. You might not know when someone will treat you as a thorn in the side. But my dear friend, I won¡¯t hold any prejudice against you because of the negative news on the internet. I will protect you. We are still the closest partners.¡± After reading this paragraph, Lei Yong said with disgust, ¡°So mushy.¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t write it more intimately, our intentions of threatening Xu Yuan will be easily discovered, so this is the only way,¡± Zhong Jie explained. If Xu Yuan himself saw this article, it meant that Lei Yong wanted him to give up online writing and obediently return to the publishing house to create value. Otherwise, if he left Lei Yong¡¯s protective umbrella, Xu Yuan might lose everything. ¡°Forget it, forget it. This will work too. Let him know who is the big tree that he should rely on!¡± Lei Yong sneered and continued to flip through Weibo messages. But gradually, the corner of his mouth that was raised fell down. Lei Yong stood up from the sofa in surprise. The coffee was spilled all over him. He stared at his phone and said in horror, ¡°How could this be?¡± Chapter 21 - The Secret Background Chapter 21 The Secret Background ¡°What the hell is going on? What are these good-for-nothings doing?¡± Lei Yong held his phone tightly, revealing a row of teeth stained yellow by coffee. He was so fierce that he looked like he was going to eat someone. The coffee that was poured on his body was still steaming, but he did not feel hot. All his attention was on the direction of public opinion. All the blood in his body rushed to his brain. His pair of red eyes trembled rapidly, almost piercing through the phone screen. ¡°How could this be? How could this be!¡± Lei Yong roared at the sky unwillingly. His fat limbs were curled up, like a round meatball rolling around in the office. He could not believe that the black draft he had spent money to buy had all turned white! When he was unaware, the marketing accounts suddenly turned their guns. They were all apologizing to Netland, and ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±? There must be a reason why these marketing accounts would refuse to make money! But Lei Yong did not know the exact reason. The unknown made him instinctively afraid. He stumbled and fell onto the sofa. Zhong Jie quickly came over to support him and used a towel to dry the excess coffee. Then, he took the phone from the shocked and stiff Lei Yong. He wanted to see what content could make him so afraid. ¡°They¡¯re apologizing? They even said our names?¡± Zhong Jie couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Blackmailing a competitor was considered a basic operation of online marketing, but there was an unwritten rule, which was that the employer would never be sold out if something happened. Because once sold out, the reputation of the marketing company would completely collapse in the industry. Perhaps even if this was the only marketing company left in the world, no one would be willing to cooperate with it. Even if someone spent a lot of money to buy the information, the information that was published on the surface would only be some groundless rumors. There would definitely be no concrete evidence. However, for a marketing company like Huo Shui Marketing, which directly put the employer¡¯s name in bold capital letters, and directly said that they had accepted Lei Yong and the money from Changing Publisher, this was simply shocking in the marketing world! Zhong Jie did not know what kind of stimulation the people of Live Water Marketing had received, but their apology was written with true feelings. He could even feel the agony of the author. He was just short of recording a video to kneel down and apologize. ¡°That¡¯s insane! Brother Lei, what do we do now?¡± Zhong Jie immediately felt that things were bad, and the direction of public opinion changed. They would suffer as much as the Netland website was attacked, or even twice as much! The reputation of the publishing house was collapsing because of Lei Yong¡¯s shameless manipulation! He turned around and shook Lei Yong, who was lying on the sofa. He found that Lei Yong had rolled his eyes and had fainted out of anger. Fat people¡¯s blood vessels tended to accumulate fat, which caused the blood flow to become narrow. When emotional excitement caused the blood flow to accelerate, it was very easy for the weak blood vessels to burst. Zhong Jie shook it hard twice, but Lei Yong still did not respond. He shouted anxiously to the outside of the office, ¡°Someone help, send Brother Lei to the hospital!¡± On the other side, in an old residential area in Yanlos. Xu Yuan sat in front of the computer and took a sip of tea. The bitter fragrance lingered on the tip of his tongue, driving away the chaotic consciousness. The tea was the best quality earl grey sent by Cai Pingtong. In order to soothe Xu Yuan¡¯s broken heart from the Internet trolls. Although Xu Yuan himself didn¡¯t care about it, he browsed through the comments online in a relaxed and happy manner. But gradually, Xu Yuan found that the muzzle of public opinion had suddenly changed. He looked at the mad dog who was scolding people suddenly turning into a docile chihuahua. He took another sip of tea and exclaimed, ¡°The change of face is really faster than the change of weather.¡± The marketing account that had taken the lead in accusing ¡°Heaven Breaker¡± of corrupting the youth suddenly deleted the article and even wrote a thousand-word apology article, it clearly described ¡°Lei Yong spent money to buy a troll army,¡± ¡°Why did Lei Yong spend money to buy a troll army,¡± and ¡°What did Lei Yong used to spend money to buy a troll army for?¡±. It focused on Lei Yong signing the copyright to make a wish, but did not give him the resources required to make a wish. This led to the process of making a wish being forced to write a web article, arousing the deep sympathy of the netizens for Xu Yuan. At the same time, the netizens who knew the truth also knew Lei Yong¡¯s despicable means, especially the netizens who had once cursed ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. After learning that they had been used as a gun, the crowd immediately became infuriated. ¡°Damn it, who is this Lei Yong! He is so cunning and treats the netizens as fools. If I buy another book from Changing Publisher, I will be struck by lightning!¡± ¡°I knew that I had been tricked! Xu Yuan was innocent. He was tricked and yet he could not retaliate. He is so pitiful!¡± ¡°Wow, so the author Xu Yuan is the genius author who published his first novel ¡®Black Wall¡¯ at the age of sixteen. I was wondering why he did not publish a book after that. So he was tricked by a villain!¡± ¡°Sob sob sob, I was wondering why ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ was written so well. Turns out that the main character, Xiao Yan was Xu Yuan himself. He was struggling to survive in the crevice and managed to create his own world. Sob sob sob. I will always love ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯!¡±. ¡°Support ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯!¡± ¡°I will go to the Netland website now and reward them. I will use my actual actions to support them!¡± ¡°I will go too!¡± The news of the reversal spread very quickly on the internet. Within three hours, it had rushed onto the hot searches on Microblog. (Please correct the name of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±) was placed at the top of the popular searches. Immediately after that, there was a large ¡®hot¡¯ word! More than 100 million people had browsed the article, and 80 million people had participated in the discussion, becoming the top article to be published on the Internet! With the support of current affairs news, Battle Through the Heaven¡¯s reputation grew once again. Even those who did not read online articles were curious to register on Netland, wanting to see how well the online articles at the center of the Whirlpool were written. Ve The average subscription of ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± had doubled again, becoming a legend that Netland online articles could not break! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Xu Yuan Drank the his cup and scratched his cheek. He tried hard to recall what he had done during this period. It seemed that he had only persuaded the editor and Freya not to pay attention to the online news, and the rest seemed to have really done nothing. It was strange. Why did these marketing accounts suddenly surrender? ¡°Could it be that they have a conscience?¡± Xu Yuan muttered to himself. ¡°Do marketing accounts have a conscience?¡± After a moment of doubt, Xu Yuan still could not think of anything. He was not a person who liked to get into a dead end. Since he could not think of anything, then forget it. After all, it was not an important matter. The sky outside the window gradually darkened. The lights of thousands of houses lit up. Xu Yuan knew that it was time for dinner. He walked out of the room with a teacup in his hand. His parents had just placed the dishes on the coffee table. When they saw their son coming out, they had a normal smile on their faces. Fortunately, the two of them did not use their smartphones, so the overwhelming internet had no effect on them. ¡°You must be hungry. Come and sit down.¡± Mr. Xu greeted his son with one hand, turned on the television with the other, and pressed the news channel. This was his unshakable habit. The dignified female newscaster was holding a manuscript and broadcasting the cultural news: ¡°Next, please listen to the news of this city. The state has taken action, the Southeast Media has taken the lead, and they have dealt a heavy blow to the unscrupulous marketing accounts. Live Water Marketing has been rectified and fined.¡± ¡°The NPC representative, Wan Ru, has put the revision of the new copyright law on the agenda. Please see the detailed report¡­¡± When he heard this, Xu Yuan pricked up his ears. He had heard Cai Pingtong mention that Freya¡¯s real name began with Wan, and this representative of the National People¡¯s Congress¡¯s name also began with Wan. Xu Yuan raised his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes as he thought, is there really such a coincidence in this world. Chapter 22 - A Date Before Leaving Chapter 22 A Date Before Leaving After dinner, Xu Yuan returned to his room. He was now writing furiously every day. The furthest he had walked was from his room to the kitchen. It was as if he was in prison. If it were any other day, Xu Yuan¡¯s parents would have been worried that their son would have a problem holding in his room. They would have dragged him downstairs to take a walk. However, things were different now. They knew that Xu was completing his masterpiece in his room and could not be disturbed, so although they felt sorry for him, they would still cooperate with him. The first thing Xu Yuan did when he returned to his room was to text Cai Pingtong. ¡°Cai, do you know Freya¡¯s real name?¡± Cai pingtong replied almost instantly, ¡°Her name is Wan Tingfu. I especially did some research for you. This fan is incredible! I also found out that her father is the chairman of Southeast Media! I told you to serve the big boss well. It¡¯s not too late to realize things now!¡± Xu Yuan looked at this half-joking paragraph with a mixture of feelings. He replied, ¡°Have you seen the news today? Live Water Marketing has been rectified and the revision of the new copyright law has been put on the agenda. It was proposed by Representative Wan Ru of the National People¡¯s Congress¡­¡± ¡°F*ck, I was wondering why the public relations of Netland suddenly created a miracle. So it was the big boss of the fans who made a move!¡± Cai Pingtong¡¯s envy overflowed through the words. ¡°Awesome, Mr. Shu! No wonder you¡¯re not anxious at all! So there¡¯s a big boss behind it!¡± Xu Yuan did not expect things to develop like this. Back in the original world, not only did he have to do everything himself, he also had to take the blame for his boss and get scolded occasionally. Now, even when he was lying down, someone had solved the problem. Thinking of this, a relaxed smile appeared on Xu Yuan¡¯s face. He crossed his hands behind his head and rested his feet on the table, thinking to himself, ¡°It feels pretty good to be a gigolo.¡± Previously, in order to save time, Xu Yuan had sealed himself off from the outside world and kept his words to himself. Now that he thought about it, it was indeed very unfair to Freya. ¡°Mr. Shu, it¡¯s still not too late to go and thank the big boss!¡± Cai Pingtong reminded him out of goodwill. The big boss fan who had power and money were simply the noblemen in the author¡¯s life. Xu Yuan had been very lucky. He treated the big boss fan indifferently. He was actually able to get someone to help solve the problem. If it were any other author, they would have been abandoned by the big boss fan long ago. Xu Yuan also knew that he owed a big favor, so he agreed and opened Freya¡¯s WeChat. At that moment, the voice of the system sounded in his head. (Greetings, dear host. We have detected that you have passed the turning point of the parallel world. Your future life is unimpeded. This experience will end in three weeks. Please complete the follow-up arrangements as soon as possible.] Xu Yuan was suddenly stunned when he heard that. He stared at the half-written text on the computer. ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± was already at the final stage. With the current speed, it was more than enough to finish it in three weeks. He had almost finished the outline of the other book, ¡°Lord of the Mysteries¡±. There was nothing to worry about anymore. However, he could not publish it himself. After sitting in front of the computer for a long time, he finally typed a few words with his nimble fingers. ¡°Miss Freya, are you free on Monday in three weeks? I¡¯d like to have dinner with you.¡± Although it was strange to arrange dinner with someone for three weeks in the future, wishing to be stuck in a room without knowing the day or night might cause one to lose track of time, so it was better to set the schedule in advance. After waiting for about two minutes, Freya replied, ¡°No problem, you can decide the time and place.¡± Her cold words seemed to have switched her role with wishing, but in fact, in the high-end villa, Wan Tingfu was rolling on the bed in excitement. Guan Shu was worried that she would be kicked off the bed by her happy little hooves, so she stood aside early and teased, ¡°It¡¯s just a meal, do you have to go to such lengths!¡± ¡°Shu, you don¡¯t know how aloof Mr. Shu was before. I thought he was going to play dead again! Humph, he still obediently came to ask me out for a meal!¡± Wan Tingfu jumped off the bed and ran barefoot to the cloakroom. ¡°Quick, help me choose what to wear on my date.¡± She took a set and gestured at it in front of the mirror. She felt that it was inappropriate, so she threw it aside. Guan Shu felt that she must be possessed. Although Wan Tingfu an exceptional beauty, her suitors could go around Yanlos twice. Dating was like a game to her. She had never seen her so serious before. ¡°Hey, Hey, you haven¡¯t even met Mr. Shu. You haven¡¯t even said a few words to him. Why are you so serious?¡± Guan Shu couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. She reminded, ¡°He¡¯s an otaku who stays up all night writing. He might have a bun on his head, his face is swollen like a steamed bun, and his dark circles are scarier than a panda¡¯s! I advise you not to expect too much!¡± Hearing that, Wan Tingfu¡¯s hand that was hanging in mid-air hung down, and the wine-red dress she was holding was thrown to her feet. Just as Guan Shu thought that her words were workin, Wan Tingfu picked up the dress and casually hung it to one side. ¡°Shu, why are you so shallow? You judge people by their appearance. I think that Mr. Shu¡¯s ability to write ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ already proves his inner qualities! Moreover, don¡¯t you think¡­¡± Wan Tingfu paused for a moment. It was unknown what she had thought of, but her cute face suddenly turned red, she said shyly, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that Mr. Shu is very similar to Xiao Yan? For him to be able to create such an attractive main character, it is definitely not just an empty talk¡­¡± This manner clearly showed that she was moved. Seeing her shy manner, Guan Shu suddenly understood why a celebrity would have a representative work. Wan Tingfu had not even met the real person and she was already moved by her emotions. Guan Shu knew that no matter how much she said, the other party would not listen, she took off a pink and purple dress and said to Wan Tingfu, ¡°Doesn¡¯t the heroine of ¡®Battle Through the Heavens¡¯ always wear purple? You have light skin, you can try this color.¡± Wan Tingfu happily took the dress and said, ¡°Good idea, thank you, Shu!¡± Three weeks later, at the capital of gods hotel. This was a hotel famous for its design. Its style was mainly based on Norse mythology. From Afar, it looked like a solemn temple. It was also one of the best hotels in Yanlos. A single dinner might be worth a month¡¯s salary for an ordinary person. A taxi stopped at the door, Xu Yuan, opened the door, and got out. He was wearing an exquisite custom-made suit. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the price was not cheap. While he was tidying up his sleeves, he looked at the door of the high-end hotel, thinking that it should be enough to treat Wan Tingfu to a meal here. Then he strode into the hotel. The waiter respectfully opened the door for him and led the way. ¡°Sir, do you have a reservation?¡± ¡°Xu Yuan,¡± said Xu Yuan. The waiter seemed to remember all the reservations in his mind, and directly took Xu Yuan to a seat by the window. ¡°There¡¯s another lady coming, so we¡¯ll order later,¡± Xu Yuan said, putting the menu aside. Just then, an attractive female voice rang out. ¡°No need to wait, I¡¯m already here.¡± Chapter 23 - The Farewell Chapter 23 The Farewell Wan Tingfu wore a light blue dress, revealing a pair of lovely shoulders. Her seaweed-like hair fell down, and her swan-like neck was faintly discernible. Her small, palm-sized face had a cherry-like mouth that seemed to open slightly, and her pair of heroic almond-shaped eyes were filled with a smile. She was gentle yet proud, and her unique temperament directly stunned the waiter beside her. The hand that was holding the teapot was suspended in the air, like a modern statue. Xu Yuan pointed at the table beside her, coughed, and said, ¡°Miss Wan, please have a seat.¡± Wan Tingfu was holding a Chanel handbag as she leisurely sat down. She smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Shu has good eyesight. He recognized me at a glance.¡± ¡°Just call me Xu Yuan.¡± He pushed the menu in front of Wan Tingfu. ¡°Let¡¯s order.¡± Wan Tingfu didn¡¯t even look at the menu. She pushed the menu back with one hand. First, she told the waiter the names of a few dishes. Then, she said to Xu Yuan, ¡°Their sea urchins are not bad. Xu Yuan, do you want some?¡± Xu Yuan had never been to such a high-class place. Since Wan Tingfu had suggested it, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to order. He simply ordered the same dish. ¡°Xu Yuan. How did you know that I like this hotel?¡± Wan Tingfu rested her chin on her hands, pursing her lips as she waited for the Xu Yuan to say the answer she wanted. ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t,¡± Xu Yuan said honestly. ¡°I just saw that your online name is Freya, the goddess of love and magic, so I chose this hotel with a Norse mythology theme.¡± Wan Tingfu was overjoyed when she heard that. She clapped her hands and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been using my online name for so long, and you¡¯re the first one to understand the meaning. It¡¯s not a waste of all I¡¯ve done for you.¡± She didn¡¯t mean to mention it. After all, to others, such as Cai Pingtong, helping Xu Yuan to get rid of the marketing account was a huge favor. But to Wan Tingfu, it was just a snap of her fingers. She wasn¡¯t someone who wanted her favor to be returned, so she said it casually. However, Xu Yuan was a person who could distinguish between gratitude and hatred. He stood up, smoothed the wrinkles on his clothes, and said solemnly, ¡°Miss Wan, the reason I invited you to dinner today is to thank you for your help. Thank you for helping me clarify.¡± This solemn look gave Wan Tingfu a fright. The atmosphere suddenly became serious, making her extremely nervous. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t be polite. I¡¯m helping you mainly for the book¡­ Yes, you¡¯re better at writing than anything else.¡± Wan Tingfu felt that this reason was very convincing. Changing the topic, she asked, ¡°How¡¯s your new book coming along? Is It also a fantasy? Is it the sequel to battle with the Firmament or a companion piece?¡± Xu Yuan sat down again, and Wan Tingfu kept asking him questions. He opened his mouth but didn¡¯t say anything. After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan asked, ¡°Tingfu, do you believe that people can be reincarnated? Experiencing different lives in different parallel worlds¡­¡± Wan Tingfu did not understand the meaning of the Xu Yuan at first. Looking at the unusually serious expression on Xu Yuan¡¯s face, she suddenly felt that she had to treat it seriously. She frowned slightly, after thinking for a while, she said, ¡°Is it a subject related to the new book? It sounds very good.¡± Xu Yuan¡¯s eyes dimmed for a moment, but they soon returned to normal. He smiled and said, ¡°Sort of¡­ then if a person suddenly appeared in front of you and told you that he lived in another world, what would you think?¡± ¡°Haha.¡± Wan Tingfu covered her mouth and laughed. Although she didn¡¯t believe in such nonsense, there was a writer who relied on his imagination sitting opposite her, so she followed Xu Yuan and said, ¡°I should ask him to take me on an adventure. Is it the plot of the new book?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her half-joking attitude made the Xu Yuan hesitate. The disappointment in his heart was like the fog of early winter. It wasn¡¯t heavy. As long as he waited until the sun came out, it would disappear quickly. Unfortunately, Wan Tingfu wasn¡¯t that Sun yet. Because the Xu Yuan would return to the main world tomorrow. After he left, the Xu Yuan of the parallel world would follow the path of the web novelist that he had created, and replace him as the person that Wan Tingfu worshiped. But in the end, it was not him. The Xu Yuan still held the outline of the Master of Secrets in his hand. He originally wanted to leave it to Wan Tingfu as a parting gift before he left. Unfortunately, Wan Tingfu said that she wanted to follow the protagonist on an adventure, but if this happened in real life, Wan Tingfu would definitely think that the Xu Yuan was indulged in imagination and could not distinguish between reality and fantasy. Xu Yuan regretfully shook his head and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Never mind. I might be stuck in my writing, so I wanted to hear other people¡¯s opinions.¡± He looked up at Wan Tingfu. Her pair of black gem-like eyes were staring at him seriously and she was very engrossed in listening. Being treated seriously by someone, no matter who it was, they would feel touched. Xu Yuan smiled and blurted out the words of praise, ¡°The dress you¡¯re wearing is really beautiful. The blue color suits you very well.¡± ¡°Really¡­ really¡­¡± Wan Tingfu blushed again. She had wanted to listen to Guan Shu¡¯s opinion and choose a purple dress, but on second thought, it seemed like she was trying to please him. Wan Tingfu had her own pride, so she changed into a light blue dress before she left the house. The dress was not carefully chosen, and it did not even match her hairstyle. However, when she heard her Xu Yuan praise her, Wan Tingfu¡¯s heart felt like it was dripping with honey, and the sweetness slowly filled her heart. ¡°Your suit is also very tasteful,¡± Wan Tingfu replied with her lips pursed. She could not help but take another look at her Xu Yuan. Before she came, Wan Tingfu recalled Guan Shu¡¯s words. She was worried that her Xu Yuan would be in a very bad state, but she did not expect him to have such good taste and to be very clean. His face was still childish, but his eyes were full of maturity, completely different from her previous suitors. Just as the atmosphere was getting more and more ambiguous, the waiter served plates of delicious food. The alluring fragrance served as a mediator. The two ate and chatted until nine o¡¯clock in the evening. Xu Yuan originally wanted to send Wan Tingfu back, but Wan Tingfu¡¯s butler was waiting at the door early. He saw her to the car and then took a taxi home. The taxi stopped downstairs at 10 pm. Xu Yuan looked up and saw that the living room light was still on, but Xu Yuan¡¯s parents must have gone to bed by now. The light was specially left for him. Whether it was in the main world or the parallel world, his parents¡¯ concern for him had not changed. There was even food left on the coffee table, but Xu Yuan knew that he would not have the chance to eat. He quietly returned to his room, hung his suit jacket by the bed, and sat in front of his computer to open the start screen. As ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡± was nearing its end, he sent the rest of the draft to Cai Pingtong, asking him to help him update it. After flipping through the comments for a while, he returned to the table uneasily. He moved the mouse to the unfinished Lord of Mysteries Folder, and he had already written the part where Zhou Mingrui transmigrated into Klein. Wasn¡¯t this a perfect match for his transmigration? ¡°I hope Wan Tingfu can understand.¡± Xu Yuan laughed and shook his head. He packed the documents and sent them to Wan Tingfu, then quickly turned off his computer and lay on his bed. He closed his eyes, and the long-lost world of consciousness wrapped around him. Chapter 24 - Second Life Simulation Chapter 24 Second Life Simulation Wan Tingfu woke up in the following morning and found the documents that Xu Yuan had sent her. She opened it and saw that it was the outline and the beginning of ¡°Lord of the Mysteries¡±. Logically speaking, other than the author and the editor, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone else who saw it. Xu Yuan had actually sent all of it to her. After Wan Tingfu finished reading the beginning of ¡°Lord of the Mysteries,¡± a smile unconsciously bloomed on her face. The plot of ¡°Lord of the Mysteries¡± was really related to transmigration, but it seemed a little different from the transmigration that was mentioned by Xu Yuan. Wan Tingfu felt a sense of loss for no reason. She touched her heart and then opened the front page of Netland to catch up on the update of ¡°Heaven Breaker¡± on time. As usual, the new chapter was hung in the most conspicuous place on the Netland¡¯s homepage. The first page of the advertisement in the middle was also ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. It seemed that the entire website was not affected by the bad reviews, it was still blatantly pouring resources to ¡°Battle Through the Heavens¡±. Wan Tingfu clicked on it as usual. Recalling the date last night, she could not help but laugh. There seemed to be no change between her and Xu Yuan, but there also seemed to be a change. At six o¡¯clock in the morning, Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes. The yellowish ceiling stunned him for a few seconds. He stared at the moldy and green corner of the wall and sat up. He was now in an unfamiliar room, and his body was covered with a white blanket that reeked of disinfectant. Xu Yuan pinched his back and it was as hard as paper. Then, he looked around and saw that there were empty beds on both sides, and there were also shelves for hanging bottles. It seemed like he was in a clinic. According to his previous experience, Xu Yuan had been in the parallel world for more than two months, but he had only slept in the main world. Xu Yuan sat up and looked at the faint sunlight in the sky. With the sizzling sound of frying oil downstairs, white smoke with the aroma of fried dough sticks squeezed in through the window. He walked to the bedside and looked down. He found that the office building of the company was facing this side. Then, Xu Yuan looked at the time on his phone. It was eight o¡¯clock in the morning. When he simulated his life, only four and a half hours had passed in the origin world. At this time, a sound came from the stairway. Xu Yuan turned around and saw his colleague Shen Bowen walking up with fried dough sticks and soy milk. He was slightly surprised to see Xu Yuan standing there. ¡°Xu Yuan, you¡¯re awake!¡± Shen Bowen trotted over to Xu Yuan. ¡°You scared us to death. I thought you were dead!¡± Xu Yuan scratched his head in embarrassment and said with a silly smile, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why qam I here?¡± Shen Bowen handed the fried dough sticks and soy milk to Xu Yuan. ¡°I was the first to reach the office in the morning, and I saw you lying on your desk. I saw that you were asleep, so I wanted to call you, but no matter how hard I pushed you, you didn¡¯t wake up! I thought that you had suddenly died after working overtime, so I quickly called Brother He.¡± The ¡°Brother He¡± that Shen Bowen mentioned was Xu Yuan¡¯s superior, He Zhuang. He didn¡¯t do anything practical at all, and his skill in bluffing was unprecedented. According to Shen Bowen¡¯s description, He Zhuang rushed to the company as soon as he received the call, but he didn¡¯t send Xu Yuan to the hospital immediately. Instead, he stuffed Xu Yuan into the small clinic opposite the company, Shen Bowen was allowed to observe. It would be best if he could wake up. If he could not wake up, it would not be too late to send him to the hospital. ¡°Is He Zhuang not afraid that something might happen to me?¡± Xu Yuan asked in shock. He was an employee of the company after all, yet he did not send him to the hospital when he fell at his workplace. Instead, he hid it from him. This was too cold blooded! Shen Bowen did not grasp the main point. He just nodded and said, ¡°But I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re alright. You woke up normally. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?¡± He turned his head and said, ¡°I feel a little uncomfortable!¡± ¡°Then do you want to take a leave? I¡¯ve brought the note for you. Do you need me to accompany you?¡± Shen Bowen took out two pieces of folded A4 paper from his pocket and gave one to Xu Yuan. It seemed that he was already prepared to accompany him to the hospital. He looked at him with a mixture of feelings d said, ¡°No need. I can go by myself. You can help me bring the note back.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Shen Bowen watched as Xu Yuan signed the note, tore off half of it, and packed his things to go back to work. Before he left, he left Xu Yuan with deep-fried dough sticks and soy milk. After he left, Xu Yuan settled his medical expenses and took a taxi back to his rented house. He Zhuang¡¯s method was really disappointing, but Xu Yuan had more important things to do, so he didn¡¯t have time to dwell on these things. The first thing he did when he returned home was to lie on his bed and wait for the score of this life simulation. (Simulation Score: 75 points (slightly famous online writer)] (Simulation Points: The maximum number of points used increased by 5 points. Currently, the total number of points that can be added is 25 points. You have a chance to refresh your points.] [Talent Solidification: You can choose two of the top ten talents and bring them into the next reincarnation world.] That is: [Fountain of Ideas (Blue): with this rich inspiration and the powerful writing power that supports it, your creative level has greatly improved.] (Lucky Youth (Green): When You¡¯re Young, your luck will be 15% higher than the average of your peers.] Xu Yuan listened to the results that the system reported next to him and nodded in satisfaction. His two months of hard work in the parallel world had not been in vain. He had avoided the tragic fate of being cuckolded and freezing to death on the streets. When he thought about how he had been praised for his writing and how beautiful fans had taken care of those who got in his way, he was still a little unsatisfied with his wishes. If it were not for the incident in the morning that had disrupted his rhythm, he would have been even happier at this moment. Moreover, the balance in his bank card reminded him that this was not a dream. The payment that should have made to Xu Yuan, the writer, had really appeared in his card! In just two months, he had earned 300,000 yuan from the readers¡¯ tips alone, not including the payments after that. This time, not to mention the down payment on the house, even buying a house in full was not a dream! He thought that he had finally gotten rid of the social animal life of staying up late and working overtime. He Zhuang¡¯s cold-bloodedness had little effect on him. However, he was just a pitiful person struggling in his job. However, Xu Yuan was not a short-sighted person. A mere 300,000 yuan was still far from his initial capital accumulation. Since he was taking a day off from work today, there was no time to delay and start the next life simulation! Xu Yuan circled the room, closing the doors and windows, and checking whether the valves for water, electricity, and electricity were closed properly. Finally, he lay down on the bed and covered himself with a blanket. [The three beginner experiences have ended. The first life simulation has officially begun!] ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said confidently, and then he could not wait to close his eyes. This time, he did not need to use his phone anymore. The life simulation could be completed directly in the consciousness world. Ten random talent options were arranged neatly in front of him. [Commandment: Do not gamble or take drugs.] [Physiological Hygiene (Green): Immune to all sexually transmitted diseases for life.] [Ancestral Pill (Blue): Unknown function.] [Zeus: Increased chance of participating in the Olympics.] As expected, there were still many unknown talents among these half-baked options. Xu Yuan took a closer look and found that there were quite a few related talents among them. It seemed to have a hint for the upcoming simulation of life. He pondered for a moment and chose three talents that he felt he could use. Then he entered the attribute allocation! Chapter 25 - The Heir Chapter 25 The Heir Xu Yuan chose three related talents: [God of Cuisine (Blue): You have a strong talent in cooking. In the field of gourmet food, you pursue the highest level of skill.] [Excellence (Green): You pursue high prices and high quality. It¡¯s worth it.) (International Student (Green): You studied abroad since you were young, received overseas education, and have an international outlook.] Three out of ten random talents appeared related to each other, so Xu Yuan decided to take a gamble. , The basic points had also increased to 25, and the distribution of (Appearance), [Intelligence], [Physique), and (Family Background) was even more free. Xu Yuan was still allocated 5 to (Appearance), a middle value. [Intelligence]: 6 [Physique]: 6 (Family Background]: 8 In his second life, Xu Yuan was born into a family of culinary arts. He did not have to worry about food and clothing since he was young, and he went abroad to study at a young age, studying at the Francis Bleu Culinary School. Moreover, as an outstanding graduate, he had received many offers from top restaurants. As long as he was willing to stay abroad, he would definitely make a great achievement. However, he already had a plan in mind and it was to go home and inherit the family restaurant, the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. Xu Yuan¡¯s grandfather parallel world had once been the head of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. He had once turned this place into a three-star Michelin-standard restaurant. He had even hosted a state banquet, which represented the national standard for receiving important guests. This kind of life where there was a royal chef position waiting to be inherited from his family at birth was very interesting to Xu Yuan. He gladly accepted it and decisively pressed the start button. He closed his eyes and prepared to start a new journey in life. Xu Yuan was in a daze. There was a blurry gap in front of him with a gentle light. Just when he was relaxing, he suddenly felt a jolt under his body, as if the whole world was shaking. He suddenly opened his eyes, a gentle woman¡¯s voice came from above his head, ¡°Dear passengers, our plane has a more obvious jolt because of the influence of the airflow on the flight path. Please sit down and fasten your seat belt. The restroom will be temporarily closed. Thank you for your cooperation.¡± Xu Yuan should be holding the boarding pass in his hand. ¡°Franca, Twiser.¡± He was on the plane heading home. Realizing this, Xu Yuan leaned his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes to digest the memories of the parallel world. Although it was indeed as the system had suggested, his life was very comfortable. He was also the only son that the family had high hopes for. However, the year he went abroad to study, his grandfather, who loved him the most, suddenly passed away. The power of the family split into two factions, both wanting to be in charge of the family. Because of the internal strife, the family members were forced to take sides. Those who wanted to be neutral would be framed and pushed out of the power struggle. Therefore, both sides, for their own interests, would use all kinds of plots and tricks to gain power. The only person who was still neutral and was able to escape from the evil hands was Xu Yuan. Because he was abroad all year round, every time the family members forced him to express his stance, he would use ¡°Tai Chi¡± to fool them. In addition, he was the only son and the most qualified heir. Both sides wanted to rope him in. As a result, Xu Yuan became a hot commodity. As he was in the center of the tornado, it was almost impossible for him to be alone now. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the plane is landing at Twiser Airport. It¡¯s 19 degrees Celsius outside and the plane is taxiing. For your safety and the safety of others, please don¡¯t stand up or open the luggage rack¡­¡± The gentle voice of the air stewardess sounded again in the broadcast, interrupting the train of thought of Xu Yuan. The luggage had already been checked in advance. Xu Yuan opened his eyes and waited for the plane to land in peace. UU As soon as he got off the plane, he turned on his phone. His email, text messages, WeChat, QQ, and all kinds of communication software popped up the moment he turned on his phone. It was almost like a violent debt collection. When he Xu Yuan, he took a closer look and found that most of them were from his classmates and teachers, as well as messages from various restaurants. ¡°Xu, please forgive my rudeness, but your hometown doesn¡¯t even have a decent Michelin restaurant. There¡¯s no stage for you to show off when you go back. It¡¯s still not too late to come back now. Our restaurant chain will always be open to you.¡± ¡°Dear God, my dear Xu, as your closest friend, I hope that you will seriously consider it again. The teacher has already found a good place for us to work. Come work with me. We are still the closest partners!¡± ¡°Mr. Xu, Rothem Park Hotel welcomes you to join us¡­¡± Xu had heard of this Rothem Park Hotel. It was a world-class five-star hotel and was the ultimate goal of many culinary students. To think that it would actually send an invitation letter to a student who had just graduated. This meant that Xu Yuan of the parallel world was indeed very outstanding. Most of the messages were urging him to stay. There were even five private emails sent by the school¡¯s leaders urging Xu Yuan to reconsider. If he was not satisfied with the conditions given, the school could still help him acquire better offers. Unfortunately, none of these could get Xu Yuan to change his mind, because there were more important things waiting for him at home. The internal strife in the family had led to the neglect of the management of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. The restaurant¡¯s star rating had plummeted. It once had been a three-star restaurant, but now, it wasn¡¯t even a one-star. Even the hygiene conditions were questioned because the kitchen was lazy, causing a large number of customers to be lost, and it was on the verge of bankruptcy! Xu Yuan put aside his good piety and insisted on returning to the country in order to save his grandfather¡¯s hard work and let it return to its peak! He had already made up his mind. Xu Yuan lowered his head and walked all the way back to his messages. Twiser¡¯s airport was too big. He leisurely walked while looking at his phone. There was still about a hundred meters to the airport¡¯s exit No. 5, he had only replied to half of the messages. Xu Yuan shook his sore fingers and continued walking forward. At this time, an eye-catching banner appeared above the crowded heads. ¡°The heir to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant, Xu Yuan, please come back and take charge of the restaurant!¡± The passersby looked sideways, and even the bodyguards who were maintaining order turned back frequently, wanting to see what kind of heir was so ostentatious. The forehead of Xu Yuan was full of cold sweat. He really did not know what was in the head of the person holding the banner. He put on a mask and a hood over his head, trying his best not to attract attention. He slowed down his pace and approached the banner. Before he closed in, he heard the sound of an argument. ¡°Manager Wei, your banner is too exaggerated! The young master doesn¡¯t like to attract attention. This is not a good time for advertisement, either.¡± ¡°Master Zhan, you don¡¯t understand. Our Royal Court Banquet Restaurant used to be a three-star restaurant. The return of the leader is the day of his rise. We must advertise it and teach the others a lesson!¡± ¡°Unreasonable! Put it away!¡± ¡°No! Don¡¯t touch my banner!¡± Hearing this series of conversations, the corners of Xu Yuan¡¯s mouth twitched. This power struggle could really be staged anywhere. Chapter 26 - The Pick-up Person Wit Chapter 26 The Pick-up Person With a Hidden Blade in His Smile The two¡¯s argument attracted more onlookers. The words on the banner were noticed by more people. Xu Yuan hid in the crowd of onlookers and observed the two people who came to pick him up. The man who insisted on making a high-profile advertisement was wearing a suit and looked to be in his thirties or forties. His sunken cheeks were beautifully sculpted, and his pointy chin that could be used as an awl had a few small mustaches attached to it. If he had two horns on his head, he might have been snatched away by a wolf. His name was Wei Heji, and he was a collateral relative of the Xu family. As for how collateral, in the memories left behind in the parallel world, Xu Yuan was not clear about this relationship. In any case, it was like even if a person had attained Dao or even if a chicken or dog ascended to Heaven, they would not be able to reach the level of Wei Heji¡¯s collateral relationship. However, because he was very ambitious, Wei Heji had relied on his job to become a waiter at Royal Court Banquet before Xu Yuan had gone abroad to study. Due to his glib tongue, he had managed to make the difficult guests become docile and obedient. This hence attracted Grandpa Xu¡¯s attention. Only after Wei Heji had made some achievements in the restaurant did he reveal his identity as a relative. Grandpa Xu saw that he was not opportunistic, was capable and had many ideas. Gradually, he began to value him and now he was promoted to the role of Assistant Manager. The one who was arguing with him was Grandpa Xu¡¯s eldest disciple, Zhan Long. He had followed Grandpa Xu back when Royal Court Banquet was still a street stall and was now Head Chef of the restaurant. During the crucial period when Grandpa Xu had passed away and Xu Yuan was out of the country, Zhan Long acted as the temporary manager. He worked hard for the restaurant, and his hair was already completely white at the age of 50. He was someone whom Xu Yuan could trust. After observing for a moment, he saw that the two of them were arguing non-stop. The quarrel quickly turned into a physical conflict. Royal Court Banquet was welcoming its successor back to the country. However, instead of advertising this, its staff started fighting at the airport. If word got out, they would be a laughingstock. Xu Yuan quickly pushed aside the crowd and walked out, pretending to have just seen it. ¡°Uncle Zhan, Uncle Wei, what are you doing?¡± Zhan Long and Wei Heji were stunned when they saw him. In their impression, the young master¡¯s image was still that of a young and inexperienced youth. The person standing in front of them now, although his appearance was not outstanding, had a mature and steady temperament like a great bell. His eyes were smiling, but it was as if they were a sharp sword that had already seen through the two of them. Zhan Long¡¯s old face revealed a gratified smile. He threw away the eye-catching banner and walked quickly to Xu Yuan, grabbing his hands and sizing him up. As he looked, he could not help but nod. ¡°Young Master, I almost didn¡¯t recognize you!¡± ¡°After all, we haven¡¯t seen each other for four years. Uncle Zhan, it¡¯s been hard on you during this period of time.¡± Xu Yuan smiled. ¡°No, it¡¯s not hard at all. I have hope now that you¡¯re back. It¡¯s really¡­¡± Zhan Long¡¯s eyes welled up, and he couldn¡¯t continue. For the past four years, he had been supporting the restaurant all by himself, but in the end, he was unable to split himself up. He wanted to take care of both ends, but in the end, he didn¡¯t manage to do either side well. Royal Court Banquet was in an uncontrollable decline. Zhan Long was anxious with this in mind. Now that he saw Xu Yuan, his heart was filled with guilt and joy. In an instant, all sorts of feelings interweaved, and he couldn¡¯t say a word. Wei Heji took the opportunity to throw down the banner and squeezed between the two of them. He clapped his hands and smiled obsequiously. ¡°Young Master, you still remember me. I¡¯m so happy. Now that you¡¯re finally back, the restaurant can be saved!¡± Unlike Zhan Long, who was so excited that he could not speak, Wei Heji¡¯s facial features squeezed together like a failed bun. Although he tried his best to hide his emotions, Xu Yuan could still see a trace of unpleasantness in his eyes. ¡°Ha, this is interesting,¡± He thought to himself. He had just gotten off the plane, and the two teams entrenched in the hotel were already competing in the open and in the dark. He raised his head to look at the so-called welcoming banner, and then at Wei Heji who was trying his best to smile. ¡°Uncle Wei, isn¡¯t this banner a little too much?¡± Xu Yuan nonchalantly teased him. Wei Heji licked his lips, smiled and said, ¡°I was too excited when I heard that you were coming back. I really didn¡¯t know how to arrange the welcoming ceremony, so I wanted to help you build up your momentum first. Please don¡¯t take offense! You don¡¯t know that the situation in the restaurant these two days isn¡¯t very good. We really need a highlight to attract attention¡­¡± At this point, he glanced at Zhan Long and revealed a forced smile with a hint of fear. He continued, ¡°Please don¡¯t blame me. For so many years, we have tried all kinds of methods, but we haven¡¯t been able to turn the tide. I have no other choice. Young Master, if you are unhappy, feel free to punish me. I will accept it!¡± The corners of Xu Yuan¡¯s mouth curved into a smile, but there was not a trace of emotion in his eyes. Wei Heji¡¯s eloquence was indeed impressive. He had lowered his posture and set his goal high. After this speech, one would think that some feudal evil was reprimanding his servant! ¡°Haha, Uncle Wei, I know your painstaking efforts. Don¡¯t stand here. Let¡¯s go back to the shop first,¡± Xu Yuan said lightly. ¡°The car has long been prepared! This way, please!¡± Wei Heji threw the banner aside and led Xu Yuan to the garage. Wei Heji naturally became the driver, letting Xu Yuan and Zhan Long sit in the back row. Xu Yuan didn¡¯t understand why Wei did this at first. If he wanted to build a good relationship with him, the best time would be beside him in the car, but he actually gave the seat to Zhan Long? His question was explained ten minutes later. Because Zhan Long was really too excited, he couldn¡¯t even speak clearly. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to compose his emotions, and he kept sidetracking, reminiscing the glories of when Grandpa Xu was still alive. It was easy for people to miss the past when they were old. Plus, Zhan Long was a chef and he didn¡¯t need to talk back in the kitchen, so he definitely didn¡¯t have Wei Heji¡¯s level of performance. Wei knew this, so he boldly gave the position to Zhan Long. He then lowered his head and acted like he was doing his best, hiding himself well. In a short 30-minute drive, Xu Yuan had a rough understanding of the two. The car stopped in front of a restaurant in the downtown area, the golden sign of ¡®Royal Court Banquet¡¯ had long faded. There were gray traces of rain marks on it, and the paint on the wall was peeling off, like a huge patch. The restaurant was in the most crowded neighborhood, but it was so quiet in front of the door that it couldn¡¯t even compare to the snack stand next to it. ¡°Young Master, we¡¯re home,¡± Zhan Long lamented. There was a big lock that was as long as an arm hanging on the door. The shiny lock was even newer than the doorknob. Zhan Long took out a key to open the door and walked in with Xu Yuan. The situation inside the restaurant was even worse than the situation outside. Not to mention the customers, there wasn¡¯t even a waiter in sight. Speaking of which, as long as there was a person in the restaurant, it wouldn¡¯t be necessary to lock the door in broad daylight. ¡°How can there be no customers?¡± Xu Yuan asked. Zhan Long had inherited this from Grandpa Xu. Even if he were to open a small restaurant, it wouldn¡¯t be empty. How could he manage a restaurant like this!? Xu Yuan happened to hit on Zhan Long¡¯s sore spot, making him feel ashamed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Young Master. I¡¯m useless. I almost closed down the restaurant!¡± Chapter 27 - Throw Away the Old Recipes, I Want to Study New Dishes! Chapter 27 Throw Away the Old Recipes, I Want to Study New Dishes! ¡°What do you mean by closing down? Uncle Zhan, your culinary skills are not bad, how come there aren¡¯t any customers?¡± Xu Yuan asked doubtfully. Although he had just begun to experience this life, the memories he inherited still retained their flavor. Grandpa Xu had relied on his superb culinary skills to turn Royal Court Banquet into a three-star restaurant. Zhan Long¡¯s lineage was the same, so it shouldn¡¯t have been such a miserable scene. When it came to cooking, Zhan Long felt even more ashamed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Young Master. I really had no choice. In the beginning, a few new restaurants opened in the vicinity, and they offered discounts, resulting in a loss of customers for us. In order to increase their competitiveness, other old restaurants also used the anniversary gimmick to lower their prices. We had no choice but to follow suit with discounts.¡± ¡°But no matter how much discount we offered, the cost was still there. The price war lasted longer than we imagined. During that period, the turnover of the stores was negative. Later, in order to lower the cost price, the purchasing chef bought some cheap ingredients. He didn¡¯t expect to be complained by customers that they were not fresh and was unhygienic. Gradually, it became like this¡­¡± Without waiting for Zhan Long to continue, Wei Heji interrupted, ¡°Young Master, Please don¡¯t blame Master Zhan. Although the purchasing chef was his disciple, Master Zhan kicked him out as soon as the incident happened.¡± After listening to him, Xu Yuan rolled his eyes in his heart. These words sounded like he was helping Zhan Long to clear his name, but in fact, it was convicting Zhan Long¡¯s mismanagement. After all, he was the head chef and was in charge of the kitchen. He was to blame for the procurement problem. Furthermore, the procurement itself was a lucrative job. Whether or not his disciple had filled his own pockets when buying cheap ingredients was a big question mark. What¡¯s more, the buyer was Zhan Long¡¯s disciple. Whether this had anything to do with Zhan Long was also a question mark. Wei Heji wanted to make Xu Yuan think this way. He and Zhan Long had fought for a long time and did not have an outcome. Now that Xu had come back, he could not only use him to chase Zhan away, but he could also gain Xu¡¯s trust to become the only right-hand man. When that time came, Xu Yuan alone holding onto a restaurant that was about to go bankrupt would be impossible. Wei would be able to buy it into his pocket at a low price and become the true master of Royal Court Banquet! Thinking of this, Wei Heji could not help but grin. He could only lower his head to the lowest point possible to avoid being seen by Xu. Zhan Long¡¯s head was also bowed very low. His white hair reflected a sliver of light under the dim light. ¡°Young Master, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He did not refute. Other than apologizing, he really did not know what to say. Xu Yuan did not respond immediately. He looked around the hall with his hands behind his back. Although the floor of the restaurant¡¯s hall was clean, it was polished to a crisp. The reception desk was also very clean. However, when Xu raised his head slightly, he saw that the crystal chandelier above his head was covered with a layer of sticky black ash. The light was dim and gloomy, bringing with it an uncomfortable sense of oppression. It seemed that no one had cleaned the floor for a long time. Xu Yuan raised his hand and made Zhan Long straighten his back. ¡°Let bygones be bygones. We have to move on. The most important thing now is to keep the business going.¡± ¡°But¡­ My craftsmanship is not up to date with the times.¡± Zhan Long hesitated. ¡°Many customers say that the taste of my food is simple. I am really¡­ Powerless.¡± Before the hygiene problems in the restaurant, some customers were quite critical of Zhan Long¡¯s craftsmanship. They said that the restaurant had been rigidly sticking to a cookbook, as if they going to bring it along with them into their grave. This was a huge blow to Zhan Long. A chef who had lost his confidence would feel that everything tasted bitter. Xu Yuan took out a thick cookbook from the stack of cookbooks at the front desk. He simply flipped through two pages. They were indeed mediocre dishes. They could be eaten anywhere outside of Royal Court Banquet. Without innovation, their core competitiveness was not strong, and it was only a matter of time before they would be eliminated by the market. However, he was not as distressed as Zhan Long. ¡°I learned to make new dishes in France. Throw away these old recipes first. I¡¯ll study new dishes immediately. Uncle Zhan, help me make the preparations.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Zhan Long and Wei Heji said in unison. Throw away the recipes, and not keep any of the old dishes. Was he going to make a whole new recipe book? ¡°This¡­ Young Master, you just came back¡­ The shop isn¡¯t well prepared¡­¡± Zhan Long walked around helplessly. There had been no customers in the shop for a long time. The kitchen was so clean that even rats didn¡¯t come. Suddenly, Xu Yuan said that he was going to start cooking. Zhan Long had been idle for so long that he didn¡¯t know where to start from. He could only suggest, ¡°Young Master, what do you think about starting tomorrow? You just got off the plane and haven¡¯t eaten yet, right?¡± Wei Heji retorted, ¡°Master Zhan, why do you always discourage the young master¡¯s enthusiasm?! The young master went abroad to further his studies for four years just to inherit the master¡¯s mantle. Not to mention new dishes, even the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast wouldn¡¯t be a problem for the young master!¡± Although he was flattering Xu Yuan, he was already laughing wildly in his heart. He only felt that Xu was too naive. He was like a pile of scrap metal that thought that after being plated with gold overseas, it would really have the weight of gold. He even boasted shamelessly that he wanted to develop new dishes. It was simply ridiculous. ¡°Zhan Long, a chef for decades, could not do anything to the restaurant. With you, a little brat who has studied cooking for a few years? I¡¯m dying of laughter!¡± Wei Heji mocked him secretly. He stared coldly at Xu asking Zhan for the kitchen key. Zhan Long saw Xu Yuan¡¯s firm attitude and was troubled, ¡°Young Master, look, you haven¡¯t eaten yet since you got off the plane. Why don¡¯t you go back and rest first? I¡¯ll do the research and development after I¡¯ve bought the ingredients tomorrow, okay? This kitchen hasn¡¯t been used for a long time, and I still have to clean it up.¡± Xu Yuan also felt that this was the reason, so he nodded. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll go out and buy some ingredients. We¡¯ll just make do with cooking and eating in the restaurant.¡± SO He entered the role very quickly. How could the heir of the majestic Royal Court Banquet eat in another restaurant? Even if he were to boil water and eat dried noodles, he had to do it in his own restaurant so that he wouldn¡¯t be laughed at by others. Hearing this, Zhan Long was moved to the point of tears. He felt that the young master really had backbone and perseverance. Zhan Long¡¯s confidence in reviving Royal Court Banquet was doubled! Wei Heji saw that the atmosphere between the two was getting increasingly harmonious and couldn¡¯t help but come up to show off. ¡°How can we trouble Master Zhan and the young master with such a small matter like buying ingredients? You guys rest, I¡¯ll go.¡± In fact, he was just saying it for the sake of saying it. Because Zhan Long was a chef, he had his own standards for buying ingredients, and never relied on others. Usually, if Wei Heji said this, Zhan Long¡¯s first reaction would be to refuse, and then he would make the trip himself. Wei said this just to make a good impression. But this didn¡¯t work on Xu Yuan. Xu, who had been smiling gently a second ago, immediately changed into a cold expression. ¡°Then go ahead, Uncle Wei. We¡¯ll wait for you here. Hurry back.¡± Wei Heji was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face almost disappeared. One had to know that the restaurant was in the downtown business district. There were not many residents nearby. The nearest grocery store took ten minutes to get there by taxi. The sun was so hot outside that he did not want to go out at all. At this time, a man with a toothpick in his mouth suddenly pushed the door open and came in, shaking his fierce face and saying, ¡°I heard that your place has reopened. Bring me a bowl of barbecued pork rice!¡± Chapter 28 - Provocation, the Chef from the Opposite Side is Looking for Trouble! Chapter 28 Provocation, the Chef from the Opposite Side is Looking for Trouble! ¡°Give me a bowl of barbecued pork rice!¡± The fat man in flip-flops had his hands in his pockets and a toothpick in his mouth. He snorted disdainfully. He was tall and sturdy, and he blocked the door like a wall. He came very suddenly, so much so that Xu Yuan and Zhan Long did not react in time. However, Wei Heji¡¯s mouth twitched slightly. The person who came was called Shan Zicai. He was the owner and chef of the Barbequed Pork Rice restaurant across the street. He used to be Zhan Long¡¯s classmate. Because Zhan Long had always been very outstanding, he had always been suppressing Shan Zicai. This caused Shan to hold a grudge against him. Especially after he knew that Royal Court Banquet had declined, he would come to find trouble whenever he had nothing better to do. He was even better at humiliating people than he was at cooking. After Zhan Long saw who it was, his brows instantly knitted into a knot. If it were any other time, he would have directly kicked Shan Zicai out and told him to get as far away as possible. But with Xu Yuan in front of him, it was not good for him to flare up. He could only suppress his anger and say, ¡°Head Chef Shan, we¡¯re not opening today. Please go back!¡± ¡°Not opening today? You talk as if you really can open a restaurant.¡± Shan Zicai spat the toothpick on the ground. ¡°You can¡¯t even make a bowl of barbecued pork rice. Old Zhan, if I were you, I would have found a crooked tree and hanged myself. But before you hang yourself, how about you transfer the shop to me? I¡¯ll give you a few more dollars!¡± ¡°Please get out!¡± Zhan Long shouted angrily. Shan Zicai smiled even more happily. It was as if he had just seen Xu Yuan. ¡°Why are you so angry? Oh my, are you the heir to Royal Court Banquet?¡± Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve heard of me?¡± ¡°Your Royal Court Banquet made a fool of itself at the airport today. The video has even been posted online. Who doesn¡¯t know that its heir has returned? I¡¯m rushing here to broaden my horizons. How is it? Can you cook barbecued pork rice?¡±? Shan Zicai raised his chin and continued to provoke him. How could Zhan Long endure his humiliation of Xu Yuan? He stood between him and Xu and said angrily, ¡°Get out! Don¡¯t you have any food at your house? You¡¯re not welcome here!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve eaten too many delicacies and I want to eat some pickles for a change of taste,¡± Shan Zicai teased. ¡°Old Zhan, your young master hasn¡¯t said anything yet. What are you pretending for? Why, are you in charge of Royal Court Banquet?¡± His words were so cruel that Zhan Long was unable to defend himself. It made Wei Heji laugh at him. He almost clapped his hands in satisfaction. Xu Yuan saw that Zhan was at a disadvantage, so he put his left hand on Zhan¡¯s shoulder and stopped him. ¡°Uncle Zhan, let me talk to him.¡± This was the outcome that Zhan Long did not want to see the most. He knew that Xu was young and impetuous, and he might not be able to withstand Shan Zicai¡¯s provocation and fall for his goading. Moreover, Xu was learning western food, and his abilities in cooking barbequed pork rice was unknown. More importantly, Shan Zicai¡¯s best dish was Barbequed Pork Rice. If Xu Yuan got targeted by him, he could really pick out the bones in an egg. ¡°Young Master, don¡¯t fall into his trap!¡± Zhan Long reminded him in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Uncle Zhan. Just watch me.¡± Xu Yuan smiled and walked around him to Shan Zicai. Although he knew that the other party was tricking him and waiting to ridicule him, he had no choice but to accept the challenge. Xu Yuan looked at the fat man in front of him who didn¡¯t have a neat appearance. He glanced at Wei Heji who was watching the show and smiled at him. From Shan Zicai¡¯s words just now, Xu learned a very crucial point ¡ª Shan Zicai had come after seeing the video on the Internet. It meant that the appearance of Wei Heji holding a banner at the airport had spread, and many people knew that the heir to Royal Court Banquet had returned to the country. Just as Wei Heji had said, his advertisement was very good. Now everyone knew what they should know and what they shouldn¡¯t know. Wa W . After the public debate in his previous life, Xu Yuan knew how terrifying the internet was now. If the news of Royal Court Banquet drove people away again, there would really be no room for a comeback. For the sake of reputation and dignity, he had to make a bowl of barbecued pork rice. ¡°But our restaurant is special today. All the ingredients have to be bought on the spot. Can you wait, customer?¡± Xu Yuan generously revealed the situation of the restaurant. ¡°Of course I can wait! Old Zhan, make me a pot of tea.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Shan Zicai sat down on the sofa beside him. His legs were shaking non-stop. He was really starting to act like a boss. Although Zhan Long was already in his fifties, he had trained his tendons and muscles over the years. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to tear Shan Zicai apart. Xu Yuan raised his hand and stopped him. He kindly advised, ¡°Uncle Zhan, he is a guest. We are a restaurant. It is a basic rule to satisfy the needs of the guest.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Zhan Long had never considered Shan Zicai as a ¡®person¡¯, let alone a guest. But Xu Yuan¡¯s words were indeed very reasonable. Only then did Zhan Long realize that he had been blinded by emotions for a long time and had ignored the reputation of the restaurant. He was convinced and said, ¡°I understand, Young Master. What materials do you need? I will go and prepare them right away.¡± ¡°No rush. I¡¯ll go to the kitchen to take a look first.¡± Xu Yuan walked to the kitchen with his hands behind his back. As soon as the kitchen door closed, Zhan Long immediately said, ¡°Young Master, let me do it.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Xu waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯ll do it. I can¡¯t lie to the customer. I guarantee that the end product will be genuine. However, it might be difficult for the customer to wait a little longer.¡± His confident smile made Zhan Long dare not say anything more. He stood aside obediently and helped him out. Xu Yuan was not just bragging. When he heard the words ¡°barbecued pork rice¡¯, he already had a plan in mind. Fortunately, although there were no customers, the kitchen was very clean. There was also a good piece of pork shoulder meat in the fridge, as well as eggs, onions, and all kinds of condiments. He squatted in front of the fridge and suddenly said, ¡°There is a famous dish called ¡®Dejected Rice¡¯. Have you heard of it, Uncle Zhan?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Zhan Long did not react for a moment. ¡°De-what rice?¡± Xu Yuan smiled but did not answer. Instead, he asked, ¡°Have you heard of Master Xing?¡± Zhan Long asked seriously, ¡°Is he a chef?¡± Hearing his answer, Xu Yuan¡¯s smile deepened. He had never heard of the ¡®Dejected Rice¡¯ that could make the people who eat it cry. It seemed that there was no Master Xing in this parallel world. Without such a master comedian, the people of this world were really pitiful. However, it was convenient for Xu Yuan. ¡°The ingredients are complete. There¡¯s no need to prepare anything else. As for this meal, Uncle Zhan, you know that barbecued pork needs to be cooked slowly. It will take at least two hours. No matter what, you have to keep that fat customer here. He will not be allowed to leave until he eats!¡± This was not him trying to make things difficult for others. It was an objective fact. The restaurant where Shan Zicai worked at sold barbecued pork rice. He knew this better than anyone else. Zhan Long looked at the gradually setting sun outside the house. It was almost time for dinner, and this was also the time for the barbecued pork rice restaurant to serve customers. He immediately understood Xu¡¯s meaning. He smiled and said, ¡°Young Master, don¡¯t worry. I will use all kinds of methods to keep him here. I won¡¯t give him the chance to go back to his restaurant¡¯s kitchen!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he had a wicked smile on his face as he ran toward the hall. Xu Yuan placed the pork shoulder meat on the chopping board. With the bonus of his talent, he was like a butcher cutting a cow. He already knew exactly how to deal with this piece of meat. Chapter 29 - Shocked the Head Chef for a Hundred Years! Chapter 29 Shocked the Head Chef for a Hundred Years! Zhan Long was inspired by Xu Yuan and was determined to make Shan Zicai stay. He stood at the corner of the hall and turned to look at the smug Shan Zicai. The latter was shaking his legs, grabbing a handful of melon seeds from somewhere and munching on them. His feet were covered in the skin of the melon seeds. In the past, when there was no business in the shop, Zhan Long would also clean up the floor and reception desk. After all, this place had been carrying his decades of hard work. If it weren¡¯t for the chandelier that needed to be cleaned by someone, he wished he could climb up and clean it up himself. He could only clean up the place. It was as if as long as he cleaned up Royal Court Banquet, its glory would always be there. Now, seeing that the ground he had painstakingly wiped clean was dirtied by Shan Zicai, Zhan Long gritted his teeth. If not for Xu Yuan, he would have gone out to teach Shan how to be a person and teach him with his fists! Zhan took a deep breath and rubbed his cheeks hard to relax the muscles on his face. Then, he walked up to Shan Zicai with a sad face. He stood three steps away with his head lowered, and his two hands hugged each other shyly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you trying to chase me away again?¡± Shan Zicai spat and spat the melon seeds on the coffee table. ¡°If you had the magnanimity and style of your young master, you wouldn¡¯t have gotten to where you are now.¡± Zhan Long held his breath and said in the most dejected voice he could muster, ¡°The ingredients in our kitchen are not fully prepared, and many things have to be bought on the spot. Customer, why don¡¯t you go back first and come back tomorrow to eat?¡± Shan Zicai¡¯s favorite thing was to go against Zhan Long. Since Zhan had asked him to come back tomorrow, he would insist on eating today. ¡°I have plenty of time. I want to eat barbecued pork rice today.¡± He gloated as he stared at Zhan Long¡¯s even uglier expression. He stuffed a handful of melon seeds into his mouth. Zhan sighed helplessly. ¡°This is¡­ You also know that barbecued pork needs time to roast slowly. Look, the sun is about to set. Once it¡¯s done, it can only be served as supper. Why don¡¯t you go back first? We¡¯ll inform you when it¡¯s done. What do you think?¡± ¡°What? I¡¯m sitting here now. Do you think I¡¯m here to make a reservation?¡± Shan Zicai said contemptuously, ¡°You guys aren¡¯t the same as before. You¡¯re still putting on airs with me. Old Zhan, don¡¯t dawdle here. Quickly go to the kitchen and help your young master with the fire. I¡¯ll wait here!¡± Zhan Long did not flare up, contrary to his usual behavior. He was still patient as he advised, ¡°But I¡¯m worried that you won¡¯t be able to wait and order takeout. It will ruin the eating experience of our barbecued pork rice.¡± The more he spoke, the more impatient Shan Zicai became. ¡°You¡¯re only saying this since you can¡¯t make a good dish. I promise I won¡¯t eat anything else until I eat the barbecued pork rice! Hmph, I¡¯ll wait here today and see what kind of barbecued pork rice you can cook.¡± Zhan Long smiled triumphantly. ¡°Then the person who runs away is worse than pigs and dogs?¡± ¡°Worse than pigs and dogs!¡± Shan Zicai felt that he had the upper hand at this moment, and he was very pleased with himself. Facing any provocation from Zhan Long was like watching a kitten or dog baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. His resentment that had been suppressed for many years exploded today, and so he dared to invovle himself in any kind of trouble. Zhan Long saw that he had foolishly taken the bait, and he could not hold back his smile. He quickly told Wei Heji to serve Shan Zicai well, and that he absolutely could not let him escape. He immediately ran back to the kitchen. ¡°Young Master, I have successfully kept Shan Zicai. If he doesn¡¯t wait, he will be worse than pigs and dogs!¡± Zhan Long held his belly and laughed. Xu Yuan had just washed out the pork shoulder meat when he replied without turning his head, ¡°Very well, let him wait.¡± After saying that, he placed the meat on the chopping board. Zhan Long did not receive any instructions and so stood straight at the side and waited for orders. Seeing that Xu Yuan was about to start, he stretched his neck out curiously, wanting to see what was going on. He saw Xu delving into his inner core and raising his palm high. With a ¡°Clang¡± sound, the metal chopping board shook violently. The pork shoulder meat that had been hit trembled twice, and then it was hammered densely like raindrops. Zhan Long¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at Xu Yuan¡¯s wonderful palm technique. He was so surprised that he forgot to breathe. Xu¡¯s palm struck the pork shoulder meat one after another. It seemed to have no effect, but its strength rose from the inside, and the fascia inside the meat that affected the taste was all arranged in an array. The pork shoulder meat would originally have a kind of crispy and tender taste. But after adding the skillful beating, this made the fat between the muscles blend with each other, hence achieving the perfect taste of soft but not soft, crisp but not hard! Based on Xu Yuan¡¯s stance, it would not be too much to say that he had gone to study abroad in the Wudang Martial Arts Academy! He hammered the meat for a full fifteen minutes, and in the middle, he did not stop for a breather. Zhan Long felt his hands ache as he looked on. ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡± Xu Yuan picked up the pork shoulder meat and looked at it. There was no change in its appearance. The whole piece of meat looked like it had just been taken out of the refrigerator. However, as a professional, Zhan Long knew that the inside had undergone earth-shaking changes! After the meat was processed, it was time for the most important marinade. Xu Yuan glanced at the complete set of seasonings. As there were no customers in the shop, many of the seasonings were still in bottles and had not even been opened. Zhan Long seemed to have finally found a place where he could use them. He quickly took out a fist-sized bottle of sauce from the cabinet and said, ¡°Young Master, I brought this barbequed sauce back from Huang Lian. It¡¯s a secret sauce made by an old chef who has been cooking barbequed pork rice for forty years.¡± Famous chefs loved precious sauces as much as diamonds loved jewelers. Moreover, when it came to secret recipes, sauces were hard to come by. Zhan Long had to visit the old chef several times to get such a small bottle. Normally, he would never use this sauce on Shan Zicai, but now that it was related to the first time Xu Yuan was cooking, he had to give it up no matter how reluctant he was. With a good sauce, as long as Xu did not roast the meat into charcoal, the taste would not be too bad. This could be considered as his escort for Xu Yuan. Xu took the sauce bottle, opened the lid, and a strong, fresh and sweet fragrance wafted into his face. It was indeed a bottle of good sauce, and even Zhan Long only had such a small bottle, which was enough to prove its rarity. However, this taste was obviously lacking for Xu Yuan. He closed the lid and returned it to Zhan Long. ¡°Thank you, Uncle Zhan, but I still want to make this barbequed sauce myself.¡± The sauce was the same as traditional Chinese medicine. The sauce was the same sauce, but the secret was in the ratio. A little more and a little less would make a big difference. Xu Yuan knew this well. The ready-made barbecue sauce was indeed good, but it was not the taste that he wanted. ¡°Uncle Zhan, help me find soy sauce, oyster sauce, seafood sauce, cooking wine, garlic, and¡­¡± Zhan Long very nimbly helped get the required ingredients at the side. He even helped to chop the garlic into small pieces. He was a top chef helping out, and such thoughtfulness saved Xu Yuan a lot of trouble. Xu nodded in satisfaction. He opened the sauce bottles one by one, opened the fire to boil the sauce, and poured one bottle after another into the pot. It seemed to be casual, but in fact, every drop was within his estimation. Zhan Long stood at the side to see clearly, too shocked to close his mouth. Chapter 30 - Fusing Chinese and Western Cooking Chapter 30 Fusing Chinese and Western Cooking Xu Yuan marinated the meat with sauce, straightened his back and looked around. Barbecued pork needed to be roasted slowly over an open fire. There was also a wood stove in the kitchen, but Xu Yuan was going to use a western style cooking method ¡ª slow roasting over a small flame. He had completely retained his knowledge of the parallel world, and with the addition of his system talent, he was very confident in his cooking skills. He lit the stove and stared at the high-quality fruitwood burning, leaving behind bright fireworks that quietly emitted heat in the stove. At this time, Wei Heji barged in. ¡°Young Master, is the barbecued pork rice ready? The customer is rushing us.¡± Xu Yuan unhurriedly laid the charcoal together. ¡°You can¡¯t eat hot tofu in a hurry. Tell him the stove is already lit, and it will be ready soon.¡± Zhan Long added, ¡°And then tell him that he¡¯s worse than a pig and dog if he leaves.¡± After that, he and Xu Yuan looked at each other and smiled, waiting to see Shan Zicai make a fool of himself. Wei Heji noticed the two¡¯s actions, and alarm bells went off in his heart. His goal was to become Xu Yuan¡¯s right-hand man and trick him by taking advantage of Royal Court Banquet¡¯s bankruptcy. Zhan Long and Xu¡¯s close relationship was the last thing he wanted to see. He ran out to spread the word, and in less than two minutes, he ran back to the kitchen. Like a camera, he watched Xu and Zhan , to prevent the two from getting along well without him knowing. Xu Yuan looked at him suspiciously. ¡°Uncle Wei, what are you doing in the kitchen? Go outside and serve the guest.¡± Wei Heji panted. ¡°The guest said he didn¡¯t need to be served and let me do as I please. I thought of coming over to take a look. After all, this is the first time the young master has cooked since he returned to the country. I want to witness this important scene for the old master. After all, the old master has graced me with his kindness, and we are family!¡± Xu Yuan didn¡¯t even know how to answer that. The family restaurant was about to go bankrupt. It wasn¡¯t like it was wiped out. Xu Yuan had other relatives, but it was only because they couldn¡¯t be at the airport to pick him up today. Wei Heji said it as if he was all alone and without family, and that he only had the most collateral relative possible to rely on. He continued to tend to the fire and didn¡¯t say anything. The atmosphere suddenly cooled down considerably, and the only sound in the kitchen was the crackling of the firewood. It was so awkward that it made one pinch their toes. The thick skin that Wei Heji had cultivated could not help but turn red. He could only tactfully retreat to a corner that was not a hindrance. On one hand, he wanted to prevent the relationship between the two of them from getting better. On the other hand, he wanted to see what Xu was up to. Xu Yuan did not express any opinion about him staying here. It was as if he did not notice him at all. Outside, Shan Zicai was urging him to hurry up. On the other side, Xu Yuan hummed a little tune and put the meat on the skewer. When he carried it into the stove, he covered the bonfire with a layer of firewood ash, making the sparks even smaller. The two people beside him stretched their necks and looked at what he was doing. They were at a loss. When Zhan Long was the head chef in the past, he had to consider the speed of the dishes. When he made barbecued pork, he had to prepare it in advance, but he would not use such a small fire to roast it slowly. To put it bluntly, the temperature of a few candles was higher than this. He thought that Xu wanted to teach Shan Zicai a lesson and hence deliberately prolonged the roasting time. But that was not it. The Western style of cooking that Xu Yuan had learned in France happened to have a technique of slowly roasting over a slow fire. It could fully lock the moisture in the meat and form a rich and fragrant juice. It was a combination of Chinese and Western cooking methods, it was no wonder that Zhan Long and the others found it strange. At this moment, Xu Yuan took a deep breath. He rose from the ground and concentrated his energy in his inner core. His powerful hands tightly held the end of the roasting fork and placed the meat over the fire. Since there was no place to hang the skewer in the stove, he had to carry it the whole time. Zhan Long stared at the sickly fire and could not help but pucker his lips. With such a low temperature, a piece of barbecued meat would probably be roasted until the second half of the night. Xu Yuan would definitely not be able to bear it if he were to carry the skewer the whole time. He said with concern, ¡°Young Master, it¡¯s too tiring for you to carry it the whole time. Why don¡¯t I do it?¡± en ¡°No need.¡± He rejected Zhan and turned over the side of the roast meat. Zhan Long could not dissuade him and could only retreat to the side. Wei Heji did not forget to add fuel to the fire. He scolded, ¡°Master Zhan, did you really not help when the young master said that he didn¡¯t need it? If I knew how to cook, I would definitely go and help now. I would definitely not just stand by and watch!¡± Zhan Long did not argue with him. He wanted to go up and help Xu Yuan, but he had just been rejected, so he could only stand there and struggle. The corners of Xu¡¯s mouth curled up slightly. His feet were flat and steady, and the veins on the back of his hands that were holding the barbecue fork bulged out. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the barbecue fork in his hands seemed to have turned into a silver spear, dancing back and forth over the fire. The sparks in the fire seemed to listen to his commands. Whichever side the barbecued meat was on, the sparks would be brighter. Xu Yuan¡¯s hands carried the wind. It was as if he was not barbecuing the meat, but dancing with the spear. The barbecued meat juice dripped onto the fire and made a sizzling sound. A wisp of fresh and fragrant white smoke floated out of the stove, making Zhan Long and Wei Heji¡¯s forefingers move. They could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. ¡°It smells so good,¡± Wei praised. He had worked at the restaurant for four or five years, but he had never smelled such a tempting meat fragrance. His saliva could not help but flow out. Xu Yuan held the meat and roasted it for about ten minutes, until the surface of the BBQ was stained with a layer of oily red, with a little bit of charred brown. ¡°Okay, just roast it slowly now.¡± Xu hooked his hand and said, ¡°Uncle Wei, come over and help me hold it.¡± Wei Heji pointed at himself in disbelief. ¡°Me? Young Master, did you call me wrongly? I don¡¯t know how to cook.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t call you wrongly. Just hold it up. There¡¯s no skill involved.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Wei Heji still wanted to find an excuse to avoid it, but the words he said to Zhan Long were still ringing in his ears. Now that Xu needed his help, if he tried to avoid it, he would be viewed as saying one thing and doing another. It was really not worth it. He was reluctant, but he had to take the roast meat from Xu Yuan¡¯s hand with a smile on his face. He held it up like a guard. ¡°Uncle Zhan, help me cook the rice. Help me find these seasonings. After mixing the black braised sauce, it¡¯ll be almost done.¡± After Xu Yuan finished speaking, he started the fire and poured half a bottle of soy sauce into the pot. Zhan Long dug out the materials Xu needed from the refrigerator. Among them, there was one material that he would never use for making barbecued pork, but the cooking process from before had already proved Xu¡¯s strength. Even though he was full of question marks, Zhan Long expressed his support. The kitchen was bustling with activity, but Shan Zicai was sitting on pins and needles in the hall. It was dinnertime now, the time for guests to arrive at the barbecued pork rice restaurant. He, a head chef, did not go back to cook. Instead, he was sitting in someone else¡¯s restaurant and was waiting to eat ready-made food. The front desk had already made several calls urging him to go back, but Shan Zicai would be worse than a pig and dog if he left. If it was someone else who had made such a stupid bet with him, Shan Zicai would definitely not care about it, but the person he had made a bet with was Zhan Long. Even if he were to not work today, he would wait until that barbecued pork rice was eaten and then ruthlessly ridicule their craftsmanship. Only then would he be able to get rid of the hatred in his heart! ¡°Just you wait!¡± Shan Zicai gnashed his teeth in hatred. Right at this moment, a strong fragrance wafted out from the corridor behind him. Xu Yuan walked out with a small clay pot in his hands. It was the barbecued pork rice that Shan Zicai had been waiting for! Chapter 31 - Delicious, So Delicious That Im Crying! Chapter 31 Delicious, So Delicious That I¡¯m Crying! Xu Yuan removed the lid of the small casserole. Next to the oil-glistening red roasted pork were greens. In the middle was a half-cooked poached egg that was glistening under the light. At the bottom, the white rice was sizzling as it cooked. Shan Zicai knew that only by having perfect control over the heat would the roasted pork rice served to the table make such a perfect sizzling sound. ¡°Please have the Beside-oneself Rice,¡± Xu Yuan said as he put a pair of chopsticks at the side. Shan Zicai was so hungry that his chest was almost pressed against his back. He was almost drooling, but he did not want to be seen through by Xu Yuan. Even though his eyes were almost stuck to the bowl, he still said disdainfully, ¡°It¡¯s just roasted pork rice, why name it the Beside-oneself Rice? What¡¯s the use of having a fancy name anyway? With your speed of serving customers, if you were in our restaurant, you would have been fired a long time ago!¡± Shan Zicai secretly told himself that no matter how delicious the rice was, he would say it was not delicious and scold the cook to death! He would not give Xu Yuan a single cent since the latter dared to starve him! He was brewing profanity in his stomach when he scooped a piece of roasted pork with the spoon in his hand and put it into his mouth. He pushed his tongue against it in disgust. With just a gentle squeeze, the broth contained in the roasted pork exploded in his mouth. Along with its scalding temperature, it flowed to every corner of his mouth! The taste and texture of the roasted pork far exceeded Shan Zicai¡¯s imagination. He took a deep breath and the meat simply slid down his throat. ¡°Good¡­¡± He covered his mouth the minute words of praise were about to slip out. Then, Shan Zicai ate another piece of meat to keep his mouth busy. A voice in his heart kept telling himself, ¡°Curse! Curse him! I¡¯m here to find trouble, not to spend money! Quick, tell him it¡¯s not delicious! Quick!¡± But when the words reached his mouth, the fatty meat in his mouth slipped into his stomach again. His mind was completely focused on eating that he could not curse at all. His ugly appearance was all seen by Xu Yuan. ¡°Customer, how is the taste?¡± Xu Yuan asked with a smile. At this moment, Shan Zicai was like a pig that was eating. He only cared about eating while he moved his head. It was hard to tell if he was nodding or shaking his head. However, his terrible table manners had already betrayed his thoughts. Wang Yun shot a glance at Zhan Long, indicating for the latter to take note of Xu Yuan¡¯s cooking skills. Zhan Long could not help but clap! Shan Zicai¡¯s satisfied look had already explained everything. His previous doubts about Xu Yuan had instantly disappeared. Rather, he was even surer in his heart that Xu Yuan could revive the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant! Wei Heji stood at the side in a reserved manner. His gaze was unconsciously attracted by the casserole as he watched Shan Zicai eat up half of the food in the casserole. As Shan Zicai ate, he suddenly stopped. When he raised his head again, his face was covered in tears. The tears were like a curtain of rain hanging on his fat face and his snot was almost flowing into his mouth. He looked at Xu Yuan with tearful eyes. Shan Zicai¡¯s cheeks were bulging as his mouth was still full of roasted pork that he had yet to chew and swallow. He said in a daze, ¡°Why am I crying¡­¡± Xu Yuan thought to himself, ¡°You¡¯ve found your conscience, huh.¡± Zhan Long¡¯s voice rang in his ears, ¡°Young master, what is going on?¡± Zhan Long was shocked. He had never heard of roasted pork rice that could make people cry. Could it be that not only had Xu Yuan gone to Wudang, but he had also gone to Hogwarts without telling them? Xu Yuan smiled and explained softly, ¡°I put onions in it.¡± It was a simple statement. Xu Yuan did not hide anything about the ingredients. Since he dared to say it, he was not afraid that Shan Zicai would learn his secret recipe. Such an open mind made Shan Zicai feel complicated. He understood that there was a huge gap between himself and Xu Yuan. Shan Zicai admitted that he was inferior to Zhan Long in every aspect. However, he had worked hard to develop roasted pork rice, focused on it only. From the fact that his restaurant only sold roasted pork rice and that his restaurant was popular with just that, it could be seen that Shan Zicai was very confident in his cooking. He had once thought that his roasted pork rice was invincible. At least in Twiser, no one could beat him. But now, such thoughts have been forcefully smashed into powder by Xu Yuan. It was like a sudden slap to the face had shattered his beautiful dream and made him understand what it meant when it was said that there would always be someone better. He had been hard on himself in the past just to pursue the peak of excellence in cooking. He had thought that if he could make this dish, roasted pork rice, to the peak of its excellence, it would not be a waste of his life as a cook. Unexpectedly, to think a bowl of roasted pork rice could make him convinced. To be defeated by this perfect taste, he had not suffered a loss! Zhan Long watched as Shan Zicai held the casserole in a daze while the latter¡¯s tears were constantly dripping in the bowl, and couldn¡¯t help but curiously ask: ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Shan Zicai realized that he had lost his composure. He raised his head and wiped his face with his sleeve. Then, he pretended to be relaxed and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just remembered something sad.¡± Seeing him so emotional, Zhan Long was really afraid that his next sentence would be ¡°I recalled the taste of my mother¡¯s cooking¡±. Just thinking about the scene made him feel goosebumps all over his body. Then, he turned his head to look at Xu Yuan and asked him what to do next with his eyes. Xu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back. He watched as Shan Zicai finished the remaining half of a bowl of rice until only the layer of oil at the bottom was left. Then, the latter put down the casserole in satisfaction and patted his full belly. ¡°It¡¯s already very late, so please leave after you¡¯ve finished eating,¡± Xu Yuan said these words bluntly to send the guest off. Shan Zicai licked his lips and said, ¡°How much is a bowl?¡± ¡°388 yuan, cash or card?¡± ¡°What? 388 yuan?¡± Before Shan Zicai could question the price, Zhan Long and Wei Heji both exclaimed in surprise. Although Xu Yuan had used the best shoulder meat of a black pig, a simple bowl of rice with a piece of meat, a poached egg, and two pieces of small greens were simply not worth more than 100 yuan. Xu Yuan was asking for a bit too much. Zhan Long¡¯s heart skipped a beat. It was not easy for the restaurant to have some income, and now Shan Zicai was probably going to make use of this opportunity to make a big fuss again. His first reaction was to block in front of Xu Yuan to prevent Shan Zicai¡¯s spit to splatter on Xu Yuan. He did not expect Shan Zicai to nod repeatedly after hearing the price as he muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not expensive. This meal is worth it. The price is very reasonable!¡± Zhan Long and Wei Heji thought they had heard wrong. They looked at each other at the same time to confirm that what they had heard was the same. They were instantly dumbfounded. In their impression, Shan Zicai regarded the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant as a thorn in his flesh. How could he accept the price of 388 yuan for a bowl of roasted pork rice so easily? Just how delicious was the meal made by Xu Yuan? The two were full of questions. Zhan Long even pinched himself to confirm that this was not an illusion. Shan Zicai ignored their surprised gazes and went straight to the front desk to swipe his card and pay 388 yuan. Before he left, he did not forget to give Xu Yuan a thumbs up. After a sigh of admiration, he pushed the door open and left. ¡°Take care,¡± Xu Yuan saw him off in a well-mannered manner. Then, he clapped his hands and called back the souls of the two, ¡°I haven¡¯t wasted my time after all this. Pack up and let¡¯s prepare the new dish for tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhan Long looked like a youth burning with excitement. He was so excited that his eyes were burning. Although Wei Heji was also smiling, he was getting increasingly fearful of Xu Yuan. He knew that Xu Yuan¡¯s skills would definitely be the stumbling block for him to buy the restaurant! Chapter 32 - The Only Signature Dish, Display It! Chapter 32 The Only Signature Dish, Display It! Xingfu Residential Area on Dedong Street. It was only two streets away from the business district where the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant was, but it was a twelve-year-old district. The old eight-story buildings formed a sharp contrast with the high and bustling office buildings as if they were two different worlds. To make it convenient to take care of the restaurant, Zhan Long rented a small house with two bedrooms and a living room here. He had spent his whole life focusing on the restaurant and had sparsely taken care of his family. After his daughter had gotten married and formed a family, his wife moved in with his daughter to take care of their little grandson. Since then, he had lived alone in Xingfu Residential Area. When he had nothing to do, he would go to the restaurant to clean. Anywhere his arms could reach was cleaned to the point there wasn¡¯t a single speck of dust. It seemed that doing so would make him feel better. To make the follow-up work easier, Xu Yuan simply moved into Zhan Long¡¯s rented house. Wei Heji felt a headache when he saw that the two were on good terms, but he was also reluctant to empty a room in his new house for Xu Yuan to live in. So between the two options, Wei Heji chose the new house and went home early. Xu Yuan followed Zhan Long back to the rental house. The two had brought the rest of the roasted pork back home and had also bought some cold dishes downstairs. Then, they started drinking beer as they ate. In the beginning, Zhan Long had felt that he had wronged Xu Yuan and insisted on buying materials back home to cook at least three dishes and a bowl of soup for him. However, when he saw Xu Yuan downing a bottle of beer with his sleeves rolled up, Xu Yuan looked so unlike the heir of the hotel that he let go of the idea. ¡°Young master has really changed,¡± Zhan Long picked up a piece of roasted pork and said as he ate. ¡°How so?¡± Xu Yuan was very curious about what he was like in the parallel world. Zhan Long looked up at the light as if he was looking at the moon and reminiscing about the past, ¡°I remember that before you went abroad, you wore a pair of black-framed glasses and always had a book in your arms. Back then, I had told Master that you might be more suitable to be a scholar than a chef.¡± Under the effects of the roasted pork, tears welled up in Zhan Long¡¯s eyes. He covered his face and said, ¡°Master was extremely worried. He had been very sad after sending you abroad. He was worried that he had helped you choose a path that you didn¡¯t like, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Fortunately, you did your best and studied very hard.¡± Speaking of Grandpa Xu, Zhan Long couldn¡¯t help but cry. Xu Yuan hadn¡¯t expected that a piece of meat would be so powerful, and he could only pat Zhan Long on the shoulder. Zhan Long cried for a while and Xu Yuan waited at the side for him to calm down. Suddenly, he said, ¡°Uncle Zhan, I¡¯ve decided to build the restaurant into a three-star Michelin restaurant.¡± To get a Michelin star rating, the restaurant needed a complete set menu that included nine courses, namely the appetizer, main dish, soup, fish, meat, carbs, cold dish, dessert, and drinks. Now, the main dish of the restaurant, the Beside-yourself rice, was available. As for the other courses, they were a piece of cake for Xu Yuan. With four years of overseas study experience and talent, wasn¡¯t all just easy to come by? The only problem was that the star rating still needed to be famous enough to attract the attention of gourmets. The Royal Court Banquet Restaurant had fallen from its peak, and it would be a hundred times harder to rebuild its glory. ¡°But we only have the roasted pork¡­ The Beside-yourself Rice now. Young master, do you have any ideas about the other dishes?¡± Zhan Long asked. Zhan Long was in full agreement with the revitalization of the restaurant. He could not wait to prepare the dishes that Xu Yuan had in mind. Xu Yuan raised his hand and said, ¡°There¡¯s no rush for the new dishes. We can¡¯t bite off more than we can chew. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll display the Beside-yourself Rice first to attract some returning customers. Then, we¡¯ll introduce the new dishes one by one to maintain a sense of freshness. Once we¡¯re the hot topic, we won¡¯t have to worry about fame.¡± Xu Yuan already had in mind a comprehensive plan for the future development of the restaurant. His goal was for the restaurant to return to the three-star Michelin standard, and not just bring it back to life after almost going bankrupt. Therefore, he had to think about the road ahead from the very beginning. ¡°I see!¡± Zhan Long let out words of admiration as he sized up Xu Yuan with an appreciative gaze. To think the rigid young man had been reborn after a trip abroad. He seemed to have changed into a different person. The maturity in Xu Yuan¡¯s eyes even made him, a middle-aged man in his fifties, full of admiration. Zhan Long could not help but start fantasizing about the beautiful future that Xu Yuan had in his vision! ¡°If the restaurant can successfully obtain the star, then young master, you will be qualified to participate in the Bogus International Cooking Competition! With your strength, young master, you can definitely obtain good results!¡± The Bogus Cooking Competition was known as the ¡°Culinary Olympics¡±. To be able to participate in this competition was the dream of the world¡¯s top chefs, and it was the highest honor. Xu Yuan had heard of this competition, but he hadn¡¯t thought that far ahead. Facing Zhan Long¡¯s admiring gaze, he raised his head and looked at the clock on the wall. The hour hand was about to overlap at the position of 12. After toiling for half a day, Xu Yuan was already exhausted. He finished his beer and said, ¡°Uncle Zhan, let¡¯s rest early. We have to open the restaurant tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll go clean up your room right away!¡± In less than ten minutes, Zhan Long tidied up a room for Xu Yuan. Being already very sleepy, Xu Yuan fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. The next morning, Wei Heji waited for them at the entrance of the restaurant on time. as Since he had gotten off the plane, Xu Yuan had seen Wei Heji¡¯s bitchy actions. He was somewhat afraid of the latter, but Xu Yuan had to admit that such people would sometimes help him out. So he pretended not to know anything and maintained a friendly relationship with Wei Heji. In the morning, the three cleaned up the restaurant and grilled the meat, waiting for customers to come. Unexpectedly, the first customer was Shan Zicai! He was like the little match girl as he stood at the door shyly, ¡°Are you open today? Give me a bowl of Beside-yourself Rice!¡± Then he sat in the corner with his small casserole of rice and ate while crying. It seemed that he had really fallen in love with Xu Yuan¡¯s roasted pork rice. To think the first customer was Shan Zicai, Zhan Long simply couldn¡¯t be happy. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting all morning, so why did it have to be him? If only it were other customers. Young master, should I go and advertise now?¡± ¡°No need,¡± Xu Yuan stopped him, ¡°Uncle Wei has already done the advertising yesterday. We can just wait.¡± When they had come to pick him up from the airport yesterday, Wei Heiji had put up a banner at the airport. Not only was he trying to destroy Xu Yuan by overpraising him, but he also wanted to make Xu Yuan make a fool of himself before their former customers, thus completely defeating Xu Yuan. Just as Wei Heji had expected, while Shan Zicai was eating, old customers did come and stood at the door of the restaurant. ¡°Oh? The restaurant is really open. I thought it was going to close down!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this menu? There¡¯s only one dish, roasted pork rice, on it. Is it competing with the roasted pork restaurant across the street?¡± ¡°388 yuan per serving? Are they crazy?¡± More and more people gathered at the entrance of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant to watch the show, but it was as if the door was a barrier. They simply stood at the door and refused to enter. Looking at this, Zhan Long took it to heart, and worried, ¡°If the guests don¡¯t come in, what should we do?¡± Wang Yun smiled calmly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they will come in eventually!¡± Chapter 33 - The Social Media Influencers that Come Visit Cry From the Food Chapter 33 The Social Media Influencers that Come Visit Cry From the Food ¡°Sigh, dear viewers, I have suffered a setback in my live stream. To think the famous roasted pork restaurant isn¡¯t open! What a pity! Hmm? Why are there so many people standing in front of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant across the street?¡± A beautiful girl was standing before a camera as she talked to it while she walked. There were live bullet comments on the screen that were interacting with the streamer. ¡°Wow, Hua Qing, you don¡¯t have to go to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. It¡¯s a waste of time.¡± ¡°I agree with the comment before me. Although it used to be a Michelin three-star restaurant, it¡¯s getting worse with each generation. It¡¯s been down and out for a long time.¡± ¡°My house is nearby. No one goes to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant to eat anymore. It¡¯s expensive and the ingredients aren¡¯t fresh, so please don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I heard that the restaurant had been closed. Why did it suddenly open today?¡±. ¡°It¡¯s probably because they want to get all they can earn from their name as an old brand before closing down, right? Their method of reaping the customers¡¯ feelings is nothing new.¡± The netizens were all eager to persuade Hua Qing not to go to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. But Hua Qing had taken a bus all morning to Twiser just to visit the roasted pork restaurant. How could she leave without doing anything? That would be a waste of her bus ticket. She read the exhorting bullet comments of the netizens. It seemed that they were paying attention to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant from another perspective. As a social media influencer, whether it was good or bad attention, as long as it was not an issue of principles, they could use the topic to get some attention. Hua Qing grinned at the camera, ¡°My friends, since I¡¯m already here, I can¡¯t go back empty-handed. Today, Hua Qing will go to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. If you feel like I¡¯m going to suffer a loss, please type ¡®1¡¯ in the bullet comments. If you feel like I¡¯m going to get something good, please type ¡®2¡¯!¡± As expected, numerous ¡°1¡± filled the screen and floated past, but Hua Qing didn¡¯t care. As long as the live broadcast room was popular, she would be fine even to perform eating the large intestine of pigs raw. N me ¡°Then please follow me and let¡¯s go!¡± With that, Hua Qing walked to the entrance of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant, pushed aside the crowd, and entered. She found that compared to the hustle and bustle outside, the inside of the shop was extremely bleak. Other than the three staff members standing in front of the bar counter, there was only one customer in the corner. When the live broadcast camera swept over the person in the corner, the netizens in the live broadcast room were all stunned. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that the chef of the roasted pork restaurant across the street? I¡¯ve seen the advertisement for their shop before.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not in his own shop during the day, but is instead here in the opposite restaurant and crying?¡± ¡°What is he eating? He¡¯s putting spoonfuls of food into his mouth, is there anyone trying to snatch his food from him?¡± ¡°No wonder his shop is closed, so he¡¯s here!¡± Hua Qing did not notice Shan Zicai. Instead, the first person she lay her eyes on was Xu Yuan who was standing at the counter and smiling at her. He was wearing a white chef¡¯s outfit. He was simply just standing there, but a mature aura assaulted her face. His eyes were emitting a gentle light. Seeing this, Hua Qing couldn¡¯t help but blush. ¡°Strange,¡± Hua Qing muttered in her heart, ¡°He¡¯s not very handsome., so why am I blushing? By the way, he looks so young. Is he a helper?¡± Back when he was putting in the settings for the life simulation, Xu Yuan knew that it was too early for him to rely on his looks to earn a living, so he had set his appearance to be average. However, his mature and confident temperament made his appearance come with its own filter, adding a lot of points to his overall appearance. ¡°Boss, I¡¯d like to order,¡± Hua Qing said as she sat at a table. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ma¡¯am, there¡¯s only roasted pork rice in the restaurant today,¡± Xu Yuan smiled and spread the menu in front of Hua Qing. Even the snack cart at the entrance would try its best to vary its options. No one had ever heard of a restaurant that only made one dish a day. Even the roasted pork rice specialty store across the street had soup or desserts. Hua Qing was already certain that she would suffer a loss as she looked down at the menu. ¡°388?¡± She shouted in surprise, ¡°Isn¡¯t your meal too expensive?!¡± The netizens in the live broadcast room also expressed their surprise. ¡°Is the roasted pork made of gold, or is the rice made of gold? 388 is ridiculously expensive!¡± ¡°The boss of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant is really kind. To think he¡¯s even giving us a bowl of rice when he robbing us.¡± ¡°I told you. For a shop that is about to close down to suddenly open, it¡¯s most likely thinking of fleecing the flock. Miss Hua Qing, run!¡± ¡°Ridiculous¡¯ mum opened the f*cking door for ridiculous, this is just too f*cking ridiculously ridiculous! We can go to the price bureau and report them!¡± The live broadcast room was filled with righteous indignation. Their impression of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant turned extremely bad. Many people were advising Hua Qing not to try the dish but she had already sat down. Moreover, she had been holding her cell phone since she entered the door, taking pictures here and there, yet Xu Yuan had not shown even a trace of disgust. One had to know that a visiting blogger who did not eat would easily be looked down upon by the shop owner. For Xu Yuan to have such a gentle attitude, Hua Qing was actually quite touched. ¡°I¡¯ll have one serving!¡± She gritted her teeth and steeled herself. Although her heart was bleeding from the price, she still asked for a serving Hua Qing comforted herself, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I might only eat this once in my life anyway. I¡¯ll treat it as a reward.¡± Thinking of this, she glanced at Shan Zicai, who was crying in the corner. She seemed to suddenly understand why he was crying. He was probably crying over his money¡­ After a while, Xu Yuan brought a small casserole to the table, ¡°Please enjoy the Beside-yourself Rice.¡± The fragrance of meat rushed to Hua Qing¡¯s face the moment he lifted the lid. It was as if she had been placed in a meat forest. Hua Qing¡¯s saliva was secreting like crazy, and even though she was swallowing her saliva continuously, she was still drooling. She lowered her head and looked at the glistening roasted pork in front of her. Suddenly, she felt that her disdainful attitude before had been too stupid. She eagerly held the spoon and mixed the yolk of the poached egg with the rice. Then, she filled her mouth full of rice and roasted pork to the point her small mouth was about to burst. Following this, tears flowed down her cheeks. Although the way she ate was not elegant, it was very immersive. Watching her eat, even the netizens felt a craving for it. However, they still didn¡¯t think that the food at the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant was delicious. Instead, they thought that Hua Qing had great acting skills and manners. They did not expect that one day, they would give a social media influencer that was visiting random shops a good review about her acting skills. ¡°Look, she¡¯s crying because of her heartache over her money. Just how terrible is the taste?!¡± ¡°But her crying is comparable to Liu Ruoyin eating roast duck. I¡¯ll give her 100 points for her acting skills, full marks without fear of her getting too proud.¡± ¡°How about considering starting a crying drama training class? You¡¯ll definitely earn more than being a social media influencer now.¡± Hua Qing could no longer care about interacting with the netizens now. She had never eaten such delicious roasted pork rice before. The tears that she could not help but shed were tears of happiness! ¡°It¡¯s so delicious!¡± Hua Qing resisted the urge to scrape the bottom of the pot. She licked her lips and praised. Xu Yuan did not seem surprised by this comment. He continued to smile and said, ¡°Thank you for your approval.¡± Hua Qing wiped the tears off her face. She smacked her lips and said, ¡°I want two more portions. One for here and one for takeaway!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but everyone can only buy one portion of the Beside-yourself Rice every day. If you like it, please come back tomorrow.¡± As soon as Xu Yuan said this, the bullet comments in the live broadcast room instantly exploded. ¡°Did I hear wrong? I¡¯ve heard of the real estate purchase limits, but never of purchase limits on roasted pork! Does the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant even know how to do business?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a conspiracy! This is absolutely hunger marketing!¡± ¡°But the dishes still have to be attractive for hunger marketing to work, right? Hua Qing wants a second bowl after eating one serving, so the roasted pork must taste good!¡± ¡°When I have money, I will definitely buy a phone that will allow me to smell the food!¡± ¡°Oh my God, can someone tell me how delicious this roasted pork rice is?!¡± Chapter 34 - Bet! The Taste of the Roasted Pork Rice Is a Mystery Chapter 34 Bet! The Taste of the Roasted Pork Rice Is a Mystery With Hua Qing¡¯s way of eating, let alone the netizens in the live broadcast room, even the customers standing at the door could not help but want to come in and spend their money when they smelled the fragrance of the roasted pork rice. The originally quiet restaurant suddenly became lively. The customers who had only gathered to watch the show all expressed their desire to try the Beside-yourself Rice. With that, Zhan Long and Wei Heji were so busy they almost couldn¡¯t manage. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we don¡¯t have enough people in our shop, so I¡¯m going to help. Please help yourself.¡± Xu Yuan¡¯s politeness made Hua Qing stare in infatuation. She raised her hand to grab him and said coquettishly, ¡°Handsome, my home is very far from your place. Seeing that I¡¯ve gone to such trouble just to come here once, why don¡¯t you sell me an extra serving? I¡¯ll help you promote it. How about it?¡±. Xu Yuan gently took Hua Qing¡¯s hand off his arm and pointed at the many customers behind him, ¡°There¡¯s a limited amount of the Beside-yourself Rice available, so I¡¯m sorry.¡± After saying that, he turned around and walked into the kitchen, leaving no room for discussion. Hua Qing pouted unhappily, thinking that since she could no longer have the delicious Beside-yourself Rice, she definitely could not let go of the potential to become popular. For an outdated old restaurant to start anew that its food was so delicious that it could make people cry., this topic would be a heatedly discussed one! She had been a social media influencer for two to three years. As a web-savvy king, she naturally knew what the key to getting poplar online was. Hua Qing moved her hand and changed the name of the live broadcast room to ¡°After This Meal, My Face was Wet with Tears!¡±. Instantly, the number of viewers in the live broadcast room soared. In just ten minutes, 10,000 people had poured in, which was more than the original number of viewers. The surge in popularity made Hua Qing extremely happy, but before she laughed, she held it back and the corners of her mouth flattened from its upward curl before dropping down. ¡°Why isn¡¯t the streamer crying? What? She¡¯s already cried?¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking too highly of yourself. To think you¡¯re treating crying from the food as a selling point!¡± ¡°How much did the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant pay you? I, Sha-Xian Delicacies, will give you double! Forgive me for being blunt, but the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant really can¡¯t compare to the Sha-Xian Delicacies.¡± ¡°No wonder you didn¡¯t listen when everyone advised you not to go to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. So you¡¯re only here because they paid you. I¡¯m going to unsubscribe from your channel, goodbye!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless person. Just advertise if you want to, why make it sound so fresh and refined when it¡¯s not?¡± The live broadcast room was suddenly filled with curses. The netizens unanimously thought that Hua Qing and the boss of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant were secretly colluding and treating them as fools. However, Hua Qing did not explain anything to them at this time. After all, her exaggerated description of the roasted pork rice as a delicacy would not change the stereotypical impression of the netizens. Now, what she could do was find a few people to taste the dish in person to prove her innocence. Hua Qing opened WeChat and clicked into the chat group called ¡°Million Subscribers Tomorrow¡±. This was a chat group for little social media influencers like her. There were more than 100 members in the group. Usually, everyone would share some delicacies in the group, which would be used as material or to attract jealousy. When they were free, they would also make an appointment to have a meal together, appearing in each other¡¯s live broadcasts and videos as a collaboration, attracting the other party¡¯s fans. It was noon now and there were not many people online, but Hua Qing still wanted to draw a few lucky old friends to help her. ¡°Brothers and sisters! The roasted pork rice at the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant is damn delicious you¡¯ll ascend to Heaven with a bite. Don¡¯t miss it. Anyone who¡¯s nearby, please come over quickly. The numbers they are serving are limited today. If I am the only one who has eaten it, I will be sad!¡± Soon, a reply came very quickly. ame ¡°Oh, the roasted pork rice from the shop opposite the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant, right? I¡¯ve had it before. It¡¯s not bad, but it¡¯s not as good as you said.¡± She wondered if the person was even awake. He did not even read the place clearly. Hua Qing corrected him, ¡°It¡¯s not the shop opposite, it¡¯s the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant! 388 yuan for a bowl, and very worth the price!¡± Once the price was out, the group immediately became lively. ¡°Is this girl crazy? 388 a bowl, are you eating dragon liver or phoenix gall?¡± ¡°When did Hua Qing get so rich? Don¡¯t forget about us when you¡¯re rich!¡± ¡°If this is an advertisement, just show it to the netizens. Don¡¯t drag us down with you, okay? We know each other quite well, so there¡¯s really no need to do something like this.¡± The ridicule in the group was no less than in the live broadcast room. Hua Qing frowned slightly and bit her lower lip stubbornly. She didn¡¯t believe that she wouldn¡¯t be able to find someone to come over and try the dish! Fortunately, she was cute and there were some fans who liked her face. Hua Qing immediately found someone to get a photo of her crying face when she had been eating just now, and posted it in the group. ¡°If I¡¯m lying, I¡¯ll have negative subscribers! I cried the moment I took the first bite! I¡¯m not lying!¡± ¡°Aiyo, it¡¯s just an advertisement. There¡¯s no need to be so serious. You look very good when crying, and your advertisement is quite successful.¡± A group member called ¡°Zui Fengchun¡± was the first to comment. His real name was Peng Chun, and Hua Qing had eaten with him offline once. He was a very slender boy. Previously, She did have a good impression of him, thinking that they could be friends, but now, seeing that he was saying in such a sarcastic way that her advertisement was good and was still firmly believing that the roasted pork rice wasnt¡¯t good, Hua Qing was furious. ¡°@Zui Chunfeng, that¡¯s a bit harsh. I think Hua Qing¡¯s crying is very real. Besides, about six years ago, I went to the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant to have a meal. It was indeed very delicious. At that time, it was the only three-star Michelin restaurant in the country. I¡¯m very interested in this roasted pork rice.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying yourself that it was six years ago. The Royal Court Banquet Restaurant has long declined and long lost its abilities. How dare they advertise for just a serving of roasted pork rice? Hehe.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know the saying that a starved camel is still bigger than a horse? Besides, Hua Qing has personally tasted it. I believe that she is not advertising and that the taste of the roasted pork rice will definitely not be bad!¡± ¡°You make it sound like you have personally tasted it. Even if you praise the dish to the Heavens, Hua Qing will not give you a single cent of her advertising fee!¡± ¡°Hey! Me and my bad temper. If you are not convinced, let¡¯s meet offline! If the roasted pork rice isn¡¯t good, I¡¯ll send a red packet of 388 yuan in the group chat, and I¡¯ll even send you another one individually! If It¡¯s good, you¡¯ll treat me every time you see me in the future. How about that?¡± ¡°Fine! I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± Before Hua Qing could react, another group member ¡°Guang Ni¡± had already scolded Peng Chun. Hua Qing had eaten a meal with ¡°Guang Ni¡± before as well. He was a very straightforward university student who was two years younger than her. He used his spare time as a streamer to earn some pocket money. Hua Qing had always had a good impression of him. ¡°Okay, when will the two of you arrive? I¡¯ll wait for you in the shop!¡± ¡°Right away!¡± ¡°Ten minutes!¡± Looking at the replies, both of them were not far from the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant. Perhaps it was because they were close to the restaurant that they had a better understanding of it, which was why they firmly believed in their own views. This bet caused quite a number of group members who had been watching to appear in the group. Either way, they were only watching the show. No matter which party lost, they would not lose anything. If Peng Chun won, they would even get a share of a red packet. No matter which way the bet went, they would not lose anything. As such, they appeared in the group and cheered for the two to test the poison for them. Being very good at finding opportunities, Hua Qing immediately said, ¡°I will watch the challenge of the two for the whole process. Welcome to my live broadcast, ¡°After This Meal, My Face was Wet with Tears!¡±. It¡¯s going to be a wonderful show!¡± Chapter 35 - Tricky Customers Here to Be Proven Wrong Chapter 35 Tricky Customers Here to Be Proven Wrong Although Guang Ni and Peng Chun said that they would arrive soon, they claimed that they had been delayed halfway, one quoting that he had made a mistake at work, the other quoting that his teacher had given him a task. Hua Qing supported her head with her hands and sat in the restaurant for the whole day, insisting on waiting until they arrived. Each person could only order one portion of the roasted pork rice. She couldn¡¯t order another serving even though she had the money, so she simply occupied a table by herself. She held her head and watched as Xu Yuan bustled in and out of the shop. No wonder it was said that serious men were the most handsome. Watching Xu Yuan, Hua Qing was somewhat infatuated with his temperament. She didn¡¯t feel tired even after watching him for a whole day. She sat there until six o¡¯clock in the afternoon when Guang Ni and Peng Chun finally arrived. ¡°What took you guys so long?!¡± Hua Qing hurriedly went up to them. ¡°If you were to come any later, the restaurant would have closed. Hurry up and order.¡± Peng Chun made the tips of the thumb and the forefinger touch while his other three fingers raised, and said in a sarcastic tone, ¡°Hehe, maybe someone¡¯s afraid of losing, so they purposely dragged it out until now.¡± Guang Ni acted as if he did not hear anything and walked straight to the counter, ¡°Hello, I want two servings of roasted pork rice.¡± Zhan Long handed over the menu and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but our restaurant limits the order of roasted pork rice such that each person can only order one serving a day.¡± Although the two had watched Hua Qing¡¯s live broadcast and were mentally prepared before coming, when the waiter said so matter-of-factly that the roasted pork rice was limited, Guang Ni was still a little surprised. He pointed behind him and said, ¡°I ordered one for him. Each of us will have one serving.¡± At this moment, Xu Yuan came out of the kitchen. Seeing two more guests, he said helplessly, ¡°Sorry, but there¡¯s only one serving left. Who would like to have it?¡± Without waiting for Guang Ni to ask Peng Chun, Hua Qing stood up and said, ¡°One is fine too. The bet can be settled by just tasting it. Please serve it first.¡± Xu Yuan nodded. He felt that this was a good idea and turned around to go back to the kitchen to prepare. Peng Chun interrupted him, ¡°No! I want two portions!¡± He firmly believed that Hua Qing was working with the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant and was trying to trick them into spending an absurd amount of money here. Since he was already here and could not avoid spending the money, then it would be a waste not to find fault with them. He curled his lips and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the rules of your shop. Each person gets one portion a day. We have two people, so we want two portions! Otherwise, you¡¯re deceiving your customers!¡± Peng Chun was like an arrogant rooster as he held his head high, his nostrils facing Xu Yuan. He also emphasized the word ¡°person¡±, clearly taking advantage of the loophole in the restaurant¡¯s rules and displaying his unreasonable troll personality. Such a customer was obviously here to find trouble. Zhan Long came out from the counter to mediate the situation, but he was stopped by Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan said expressionlessly, ¡°If you¡¯d like us to make it now, it might take two hours. If you don¡¯t think it¡¯s a problem, feel free to order two servings.¡± Xu Yuan hoped that this would make the two give up on the idea. After all, who would wait two hours for a bowl of rice that¡¯s taste was unknown? He was used to working overtime in his original world and hadn¡¯t expected that he still had to work overtime just to inherit the position of the imperial chef here. He was very displeased about it. ¡°I¡¯ll wait!¡± Peng Chun said the two words that Xu Yuan didn¡¯t want to hear the most. Xu Yuan scratched his head irritably and said, ¡°Fine, wait.¡± After saying that, he turned around and went back to the kitchen. As if he had won some great battle, Peng Chun arrogantly found a table by the window and propped up his chin as he looked at the bright lights on the street. Guang Ni and Hua Qing looked at each other and sat together with him. Hua Qing said unhappily, ¡°A bowl of rice has quite a few pieces of meat. It would¡¯ve been enough for the two of you to share. Although I think it¡¯s worth waiting for two hours, you¡¯re obviously finding trouble with the chef!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a bowl of rice. Why make it as if no one has eaten it before? If the taste is really that good, why do they still need those gimmicks to gain attention? I just can¡¯t stand their arrogance!¡± Peng Chun snorted. He said these words at a volume that did not avoid Zhan Long, who was at the counter. It was as if he was purposely saying it for him to hear. Hua Qing was so embarrassed that she shrunk her toes as she placed her index finger on her lips, ¡°We¡¯re still in the restaurant! Keep your voice down!¡± Peng Chun said unyieldingly, ¡°Do they only want to hear good things and not dare to accept criticism? I will say it! And you two! If you lose later, don¡¯t go back on your word, or I¡¯ll put you on the Internet!¡± ¡°Okay, okay!¡± Hua Qing said impatiently, ¡°If you weren¡¯t so hard to deal with, you would have had a taste long ago. When you cry after eating it, I¡¯ll see what you have to say!¡± The two of them had been arguing since they sat down, while Guang Ni sat quietly at the side like a patient audience that was waiting for a performance. At this time, a meat fragance wafted out from the kitchen and interrupted the two quarreling people. Hua Qing had been sitting in the shop for a whole day inhaling the smell of roasted pork, but she was far from having enough of it. She inhaled another deep breath of the fragrance. It was the first time Guang Ni had smelled such a fragrant smell. He could not help but be a little curious about what the chef was doing in the kitchen. How could he create such a seductive smell? It was like the hands of a witch that carried an irresistible magic power and lured people into the depths of the forest. Guang Ni stood up and walked in the direction where Xu Yuan had left in. Zhan Long quickly stopped him, ¡°Sorry, dear customer. The kitchen is off-limits. No one is allowed in.¡± Upon hearing this, Guang Ni seemed to have suddenly woken up from a dream. He scratched his head awkwardly and quickly returned to his seat. Peng Chun did not let go of the opportunity to mock him. He crossed his arms and said, ¡°Look at you, like you haven¡¯t seen the world. Just this fragrance, it¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s nothing!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, his stomach rumbled. It was like a short fart sound, causing Guang Ni and Hua Qing to cover their mouths to stifle their laughter. Peng Chun covered his stomach with a red face, ¡°What? Have you never seen someone with a hungry stomach before?! We¡¯ve been waiting for almost two hours! How can the restaurant run with such low efficiency!¡± From the moment he entered the shop, he had been like a battle rooster. His stamina was depleting the fastest as he had been finding fault with everything. As such, when he smelled the fragrance, he was also drooling crazily, and his Adam¡¯s apple kept moving up and down. Finally, after waiting for a full two hours, Xu Yuan brought out two seemingly ordinary casseroles. When he opened the lid, the fragrance was like an overbearing flood that instantly enveloped the people at the table. In the silent restaurant, only the sounds of the people swallowing their saliva could be heard. The sounds were like the croaking of frogs in a paddy field that sounded one after another. Peng Chun¡¯s sounds were mixed within as he struggled to maintain his last bit of stubbornness. Guang Ni did not stand on ceremony at all and took the lead to taste the roasted pork. The moment the food entered his mouth, his body suddenly froze. Tears instantly gushed out of his eyes like a fountain. ¡°It¡¯s too delicious!¡± Guang Ni mumbled with food in his mouth, ¡°Is this really a dish that can be cooked by a human? It¡¯s simply made by the hands of God!¡± He was not sad at all. He lowered his head and wolfed down the food, not having the time to interact with his two companions. Hua Qing looked on enviously. When Peng Chun saw Guang Ni¡¯s exaggerated reaction, he rolled his eyes in disdain. He admitted that the aroma of the roasted pork rice was very overbearing, but things that had a strong aroma might not taste good. ¡°You really know how to act!¡± He snorted coldly. He then scooped up a piece of meat and slowly chewed on it. Chapter 37 - Making the Second Dish Chapter 37 Making the Second Dish Before dawn the next day, a large number of people had already driven to Twiser for a bowl of the legendary roasted pork rice. At six in the morning, Xu Yuan woke up early just to buy fresh beef. He and Zhan Long strolled through three markets before they managed to buy fresh ox meat that was still warm. Then, the two went to the seafood market and bought a few arm-long grouper mantis prawns. These mantis prawns were known as the king of mantis prawns. The grouper mantis prawns were especially hard to come by, but Xu Yuan just so happened to find them. He felt like even God was helping him. ¡°Young master, this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of the combination of mantis prawn and beef. What exactly do you have in mind?¡± Zhan Long asked in confusion. Xu Yuan smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°There¡¯s no rush. You¡¯ll know soon enough.¡± The movie ¡°God of Cookery¡± did not exist in the parallel world. Since Zhan Long did not know about the Beside-yourself Rice, he certainly did not know about the Juicy Beef Balls, which was the second dish Xu Yuan was going to make! The two of them went to a few more markets and finally bought the iron bars that would be used to pound meat. Only then did they rush back to the restaurant. Before the car even stopped at the door, Xu Yuan could see many people surrounding the door. There were about a hundred of them. If it weren¡¯t that they were calm, they would have looked like they were here to collect a debt. ¡°Hey! When is your chef coming?¡± A customer asked unhappily. He was here because he had watched the live broadcast. He had been standing from seven in the morning until half-past eight, but still hadn¡¯t seen the chef he was waiting for. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a little annoyed. Wei Heji comforted him kindly, ¡°Our restaurant opens at nine o¡¯clock. The chef will be here soon. Everyone, please wait a moment.¡± Now that the restaurant was under the control of Xu Yuan, he did not dare to let anyone in without permission. He could only stand at the door. However, he could not stop cursing Xu Yuan in his heart. If he was the one who had mastered the secret recipe of the Beside-yourself Rice, he would definitely mass-produce it. The customers could eat as much as they wanted! As long as they were willing to pay, there was no limit to the supply! At this time, Xu Yuan pushed through the crowd and walked to the door. Wei Heji rushed over and grabbed him as if he had seen his savior, ¡°Young Master, you¡¯re finally here. Everyone is waiting for you! Hurry up and start cooking! Everyone, please come in!¡± Saying that, he started to greet the customers, but Xu Yuan turned around and stopped him, ¡°Wait a moment, I still have something I haven¡¯t done.¡± Then he pulled Zhan Long into the restaurant and blocked Wei Heji and the customers outside with the door. About 15 minutes later, Xu Yuan opened the door again, and behind him, Zhan long held up a sign that he put at the front door with a ¡®thud¡¯. Under a picture of the Beside-yourself Rice, there were a few words that had been written clearly. Zhan Long cleared his throat and read out loud, ¡°The roasted pork rice takes a long time to make. To ensure that all customers can eat it, the restaurant has issued a few rules.¡± ¡°First, everyone is limited to one serving and one serving only.¡± ¡°Second, the food may only be eaten here and no takeout is available.¡± ¡°Third, the restaurant refuses to work overtime.¡± ¡°Fourth, no bargaining.¡± ¡°Fifth, this restaurant only serves roasted pork rice for now. We are developing the second dish, so please wait patiently.¡± These few strict rules caused the customers at the entrance to discuss. Especially Peng Chun and Guang Ni, who were in the crowd as well. The ¡°refuse to work overtime¡± rule was obviously aimed at them. Moreover, Xu Yuan had made some other improvements to the rules with this rule as the foundation. How was this a restaurant? It was more like a soup kitchen. They were customers, not refugees who were begging for food. It was incomprehensible that there were so many rules to follow just for a meal! The customers were instantly shocked by these rules. They had never seen such an insolent restaurant! A few of the group members who had promised to bring food for others in the group yesterday were calling to inform their friends that takeout was unavailable. If they wanted to eat, they could only come in person themselves. ¡°It¡¯s just a small restaurant, but there are so many rules. We¡¯re here to eat, not to beg for food! Are you guys doing business or not?¡± A customer shouted unhappily. e SO The other restaurants kneeled and begged for customers to come. They offered discounts and constantly improved the quality of their service. No customer had ever seen a restaurant that operated like the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant, plus they were selling at an extremely expensive price! Was the restaurant treating them as fools that were rich and easy to push over? The customers¡¯ desire to go in was instantly reduced by half. The customers who had been full of anticipation stood at the door hesitantly, not wanting to be the fool who would stand out. Xu Yuan took no notice of the reactions of the people. He simply followed his own rhythm and said loudly, ¡°It takes time for the roasted pork to be prepared. If you can wait, please come in.¡± Then he gave way at the door. Following this, a few guests entered the restaurant. The people who stopped in place widened their eyes and looked at the backs of these people. They felt that there were three big words written on their backs: ¡°To be deceived!¡± ve Xu Yuan and the other two followed closely behind these customers. They sat them down and took their orders. Xu Yuan then marinated the roasted pork in the kitchen, mixed the sauce, and handed the follow-up steps to Zhan Long. After that, he walked back to the restaurant. At this moment, the customers sitting in their seats had impatient looks on their faces. Each of them was like a firecracker that had been lit and the fire was at the end of the fuse. As for the onlookers outside the door, they were all waiting to watch the show, curious to see if the fools would be so angry that they would destroy the restaurant after eating the roasted pork. Xu Yuan looked around and found that the situation today was very similar to yesterday. Yesterday, because of Hua Qing¡¯s eating broadcast performance, some onlookers had come to spend their money. However, the people who were here today did not seem to be as easy to deal with as those that came yesterday. No matter how fast it was, the roasted pork would need to be roasted for another half an hour. The customers who had entered might leave before the food arrived. If that happened, the little popularity that they had accumulated yesterday would disappear overnight. That would be too miserable. mon Xu Yuan frowned and thought for a moment. Then, he snapped his fingers and said, ¡°No, I have to think of a way to distract their attention.¡± Wei Heji happened to hear this when he walked to Xu Yuan¡¯s side. He asked curiously, ¡°Young master, what are you going to do?¡± Xu Yuan looked at him and suddenly said with a fake smile, ¡°Uncle Wei, thank you for your hard work. Please help me move a sturdy table and bring me another chopping board!¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Wei Heji asked. ¡°Don¡¯t ask. Just help me move it over first!¡± Xu Yuan pushed him and asked him to go to the kitchen to get the things. After a while, Wei Heji moved a table and a chopping board out of the kitchen. As if he was giving instructions to a driver who was reversing a car, Xu Yuan ordered Wei Heji, who was carrying the things, to move left and right. Finally, he decided to place the table in the middle of the dining room, making sure that every customer could see him. Then, Xu Yuan placed the beef he had bought just this morning on the chopping board and placed his hammer on the left and right of the meat. Sure enough, the impatient customers all looked over curiously. They watched as Xu Yuan stood before the chopping board, then raised the iron hammers in his hands and smashed them on the beef. ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not preparing the roasted pork at the back, but here in front smashing beef?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my roasted pork rice? How long do we have to wait? Is the restaurant even trying to do business?¡± ¡°Hey, hey, hey, is your restaurant playing with us?¡± The patience of the customers who were waiting for the roasted pork rice was almost exhausted. When they entered the restaurant, they had seen the restaurant¡¯s ridiculous rules. After that, not only could they not have their food, but they even had to watch the chef start to smash beef inexplicably. Everyone was like a double-bang firecracker that could explode at any time that stared at Xu Yuan in dissatisfaction. Xu Yuan did not seem to notice and continued to focus on smashing the beef on the board. Chapter 38 - Hand-made Beef Balls That Are Full of Elasticity! Chapter 38 Hand-made Beef Balls That Are Full of Elasticity! The dissatisfaction of the customers had reached its peak. They were only one spark away from erupting like a volcano! Wei Heji stood at the side with a solemn expression, but in his heart, he was overjoyed! He stared at Xu Yuan¡¯s back in disdain. To think the kid still thought that he was the young master in university who would be pampered wherever he went so he could do whatever he wanted. He even dared to set rules for the customers! Did he really think that he was an international chef that¡¯s reservation was hard to get? He simply thought too highly of himself! ¡°Hehe, fool!¡± Wei Heji was overjoyed. He glanced at the angry customers. Their negative emotions were snowballing and growing. With so many of them, there would be less concern when everyone followed the herd. It would be best if they were to destroy the shop and make the matter as big as possible! He was fantasizing about how he would appease the stricken Xu Yuan and the customers, thus gaining Xu Yuan¡¯s trust¡­ However, at this moment, Wei Heji noticed that the expressions of the customers had changed. The anger on their faces gradually subsided. Instead, they were starting with their eyes wide open and their mouths slightly agape as they looked in surprise at Xu Yuan who was swinging the iron rods and smashing the beef. wa The beef bounced up under the heavy impact. The muscle texture of the meat shook like waves, causing the tip of one¡¯s tongue to quiver as well. The hungry customers could not help but swallow their saliva as if they had already bitten into a firm piece of beef. Wei Heji was also quite anxious, ¡°Why aren¡¯t they acting up now when they¡¯re clearly hungry to the point that they¡¯re even craving raw beef?¡± However, things did not go as he had hoped. The customers¡¯ attention was all attracted by Xu Yuan¡¯s iron rods that he used to pound the meat. Their eyeballs followed the movements of the iron rods. Each iron rod in Xu Yuan¡¯s hands weighed three kilograms. Every time, he had to exert enough strength to separate the meat paste from the fascia. Amidst the continuous knocking sounds, there was also a whooshing sound. The iron rods rubbed against the surface of the chopping board, a complete white fascia was thrown into the corner. In a short while, the fascias formed a small hill. On the other hand, after sufficient air had been pounded into the beef, it turned from a strong bright red color to a reserved pink color. Even the smell of the beef was somewhat concealed within, and the entire piece of beef turned into fine meat paste, without a single fascia. ¡°Is he a robot? He has been pounding for almost an hour, yet he still has no intention of stopping,¡± A customer praised. The customer at the same table shook his head, ¡°I feel tired just looking at him. When will he stop? My eyes want to rest.¡± ¡°The meat paste looks so delicate. Is he going to make it into a dish later?¡± ¡°It should be quite delicious¡­¡± Unknowingly, the customers¡¯ attention was completely attracted by Xu Yuan, and they completely forgot about their urgency in having their meal. An hour and a half later, the roasted pork in the kitchen was finally ready. Zhan Long called Wei Heji and asked him to serve a bowl of roasted pork rice to each customer. The long-awaited Beside-yourself Rice was finally served. The restaurant was immediately filled with the rich aroma of roasted pork, and the customers who stayed standing at the door to watch the show could only be envious. Two of them looked at the rules on the board at the entrance and couldn¡¯t help but enter the restaurant and sit down. They asked for a bowl of rice and ate it with the others. Before Xu Yuan had stopped pounding the beef, the customers swallowed their first mouthful of roasted pork along with the rhythmic pounding. Their eyes were immediately full of tears as their gaze still landed on Xu Yuan. ¡°It¡¯s so delicious! Oh my God! It¡¯s so delicious! Why hasn¡¯t he stopped?¡± ¡°The taste is definitely worthy of 388. It¡¯s not a waste of my time!¡± ¡°Wow! His biceps are so strong. To think he¡¯s been pounding for more than an hour, and his strength hasn¡¯t even gotten weaker!¡± Everyone was curious about the dish that was so time-consuming and laborious. The customers who wanted answers didn¡¯t even leave after eating. Instead, they either propped up their hands or set up their phones, waiting for the moment when Xu Yuan stopped. Finally, two hours later, Xu Yuan was finally showing signs of stopping. ¡°Uncle Wei, can you come over and help me?¡± Xu Yuan asked. Wei Heji walked to his side confusedly. Suddenly, the two smooth rods were stuffed into his hands. He instantly felt the weight and the iron rods hit the chopping board with a clang. Xu Yuan said expressionlessly, ¡°I¡¯m going to the kitchen. Help me continue to pound the beef. You must not stop!¡± Wei Heji could feel his muscles ache before he even started. He squeezed out a smile and said, ¡°Young master, I¡¯m the manager, and I don¡¯t have the physical strength like you. Why don¡¯t you let Master Zhan take over instead?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you pound it a little slower. You just can¡¯t stop. If the dish fails, it¡¯ll be your fault!¡± After saying that, without care if Wei Heji could do it or not. he simply trotted into the kitchen. Wei Heji had no choice but to raise the iron rods and continue pounding the meat paste with difficulty. After only doing so for ten minutes, he was already out of breath. His shirt was soaked in sweat and his fringe was stuck to his forehead, making him look extremely miserable. Xu Yuan had said the instructions very loudly just now, so under the watchful eyes of so many, Wei Heji didn¡¯t dare to slack off. He could only continue pounding the meat paste obediently. After a while, Xu Yuan came out of the kitchen with a plate of meat jellies shaped like sugar cubes in his hands. He took the iron rods from Wei Heji, who was almost so exhausted he could collapse. Without waiting for the latter to take a breath, he ordered, ¡°Help me bring out the basin of hot water in the kitchen. Hurry up, I¡¯m going to start making the meatballs.¡± Wei Heji glanced at Zhan Long, who was standing at the side all calm and dignified, and secretly glared at him. Then he ran into the kitchen and moved the basin of hot water to Xu Yuan¡¯s side. At this moment, the anticipation was over the roof. The customers stretched their necks, wanting to see how Xu Yuan was going to make meatballs out of the meat paste. Following this, Xu Yuan reached out and grabbed a handful of the meat paste. Having been pounded till it was very sticky, the meat paste firmly stuck to his palm, not falling off even if he put his hand upside-down. He then embedded a cube of the pure white meat jelly into the meat paste before squeezing the meat paste gently with his ring finger. With that, a round meatball emerged from between his thumb and index finger, which he used a spoon to scoop up and threw into the steaming water. The meatball could be seen to be floating on the surface of the water. Xu Yuan¡¯s actions in making the meatballs were very fast. His two hands worked together beautifully, and in a few minutes, a large basin of meatballs was produced. As a chef, Zhan Long naturally knew what to do next. He found a portable gas stove and placed a small pot filled with clear water on it. After the water boiled, he put the beef meatballs in. When the water boiled again, he scooped the meatballs up, putting four in a bowl that he placed next to Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan pointed with his chin and said, ¡°Taste it.¡± Zhan Long scooped a meatball and blew on it. When he bit into half of it, the rich gravy within instantly flew half a meter away, giving everyone a fright. The boiling gravy dripped down from the corner of Zhan Long¡¯s mouth. It was hot but delicious, making it so that he didn¡¯t dare to lick it even though he wanted to. To think the head chef of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant would have such an embarrassing moment as well. However, no one made fun of him. On the contrary, they were very envious! They watched as he ate the remaining half of the meatball. Seeing that Zhan Long was enjoying it so much, Wei Heji eagerly got himself a spoon, scooped a meatball up, blew on it, and carefully bit into it. Unexpectedly, the beef meatball was too slippery. It slipped out of his mouth and fell onto the ground. With great elasticity like a ping-pong ball, it bounced up to the height of a knee and rolled under a customer¡¯s table! Chapter 39 - Set a High Price and Refuse to Bargain Chapter 39 Set a High Price and Refuse to Bargain The customers could not believe their eyes. They rubbed their eyes hard to make sure that they were not hallucinating. The meatball had jumped just now! They instantly became excited. All of them stood up and craned their necks to stare at the remaining two beef meatballs in the bowl. ¡°How can those meatballs be so bouncy? It¡¯s impossible, right?¡± ¡°The chef probably pounded the meat paste for two hours just for this effect. He¡¯s awesome!¡± ¡°Am I seeing things? How can the gravy in it squirt so far away? Is there a water pipe in it?¡¯ ¡°It smells so good. Why does it even have a hint of a seafood smell too?¡± Xu Yuan had been waiting for someone to ask the question. He scooped up a meatball and used his chopsticks to cut it in half, revealing the filling in the middle. ¡°This is the filling made by top-grade grouper mantis shrimp. The taste is fresh, tender, and smooth. Everyone has seen the process just now. These Pissing Beef Meatballs were made by hand without any additives. I have simply used the simplest method to adjust the freshness of the beef and shrimp meat to the extreme!¡± ¡°Pissing?¡± Wei Heji mocked, ¡°Why use such a vulgar name?¡± Xu Yuan looked at Wei Heji as if he was looking at a clown and explained calmly, ¡°Because the filling is made from top-grade mantis shrimps. Everyone must know that the mantis shrimp is also known as the pissing shrimp in some places. On top of that, the beef meatballs come with gravy. When you take a bite, the gravy splatters everywhere, hence the name.¡± ¡°Wow¨C¡± After listening to his explanation, the customers burst into thunderous applause. The name of a dish that had meaning and reason was more compatible with the quality of a high-class restaurant. The sweet and fresh taste of the meatball was still lingering between Zhan Long¡¯s lips and teeth, and it was almost like he could feel the same tender texture at the tip of his teeth. As the previous head chef of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant, he had eaten all kinds of delicacies, but he was still deeply impressed by the seemingly ordinary beef meatballs! He nodded approvingly behind Xu Yuan, and saw the shadow of his Master in the latter. Knowing that he was not as good as Xu Yuan, Zhan Long lowered his head to wipe the corners of his eyes with gratification because he was sure that in Xu Yuan¡¯s hands, the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant could definitely be restored to its past glory! Just as he was looking forward to the future, some of the customers were eager to have a taste. They raised their hands and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve been saying so much, but just how much are your meatballs? Give me a bowl first!¡± ¡°I want one too! I want one too!¡± ¡°Give us a bowl with a few more meatballs too.¡± The customers¡¯ eagerness toward the meatballs was no less when compared to their eagerness toward the Beside-yourself Rice. On top of that, they had watched as the Pissing Beef Meatballs were pounded and made, which made them even more curious about the dish. Their reactions made Xu Yuan very satisfied. The corners of his lips curled up slightly, and he stretched out a finger and said loudly, ¡°188 yuan for each meatball!¡± Hearing this price, Zhan Long felt as if a mouthful of blood was stuck in his throat, and he couldn¡¯t help but cough due to choking on his saliva. ¡°Cough, cough, cough!¡± He walked to the side of Xu Yuan and asked in a low voice, ¡°Ahem, young master, isn¡¯t the price too high?¡± The Royal Court Banquet Restaurant had sold meatballs back when it was at its peak too. Although the meatballs then were not beef, the Lion¡¯s Head was also a traditional delicacy that was challenging to a chef¡¯s skills. Even though the Lion¡¯s Head took a lot of time and effort, it had only been sold for 200 yuan a bowl, where there were four fist-sized meatballs in each bowl. Xu Yuan¡¯s Pissing Beef Meatballs were only the size of ping-pong balls, yet to think they were sold by the balls! On top of that, each meatball was 188 yuan! Zhan Long did not even dare to think about such a thing! ¡°Of course,¡± Xu Yuan replied in a low voice. ¡°You¡¯ve seen how troublesome it is to make meatballs. If I don¡¯t set the price higher, do you believe that my hand will be crippled at the end?¡± Zhan long nodded thoughtfully. He felt that Xu Yuan¡¯s words were very reasonable. The Pissing Beef Meatballs tasted really good, anyway, so it was only a matter of time before they would attract customers. Setting the price higher should not be a problem. However, he still did not dare to face the surprised faces of the customers, so he simply silently retreated to the side. Wei Heji was amused by the price that Xu Yuan had set. He held the spoon and scooped the last meatball that was in the bowl. Suddenly, Xu Yuan appeared beside him and hit the back of his hand with his chopsticks, which made Wei Heji drop his spoon to the floor and shake his hands from the pain. ¡°Young master, what are you doing?!¡± Wei Heji said angrily. Xu Yuan said coldly, ¡°Why are you counteracting my effort? One is enough. Yet you want to continue eating?!¡± Wei Heji was speechless. He pointed at himself and then at the bottom of the table. He felt that Xu Yuan was probably blind. Everyone had seen how the meatball had rolled to the bottom of the table. He had not tried the meatball at all. How could Xu Yuan say such words without even batting an eyelash?! Without waiting for him to defend himself, Xu Yuan turned around and said to the customers, ¡°Dear customers, if you want to try it, please make a reservation with our head chef. The number of meatballs available is what all of you have seen today. First come, first served.¡± It was the familiar hunger marketing and the familiar rigid rules again. No discounts and no gifts were offered. Not only was Xu Yuan full of confidence, but he had forcefully even set a frightening price for the beef meatballs. He was too willful! The same scene played out again. The customers in the shop looked at each other, their faces full of desire for the Pissing Beef Meatballs, but no one dared to be the first to try it. After all, 188 yuan per meatball was beyond imagination, so they wanted to first observe with caution the reactions of others. At this time, the people outside the door who had been watching the show entered. They had stood at the door and watched the people in the restaurant eat the Beside-yourself Rice, and they had also watched Xu Yuan make the beef meatballs. After watching for two hours, the chaotic scene that they wanted to see did not appear, and they were tired and hungry. If they didn¡¯t enter any time soon, they might not even be able to have a mouthful of soup. A refined man wearing gold-rimmed glasses stretched out two fingers and said, ¡°One portion of the Beside-yourself Rice and one portion of the Pissing Beef Meatballs, please.¡± Then, under everyone¡¯s gaze, the man carried his bag and sat alone in a corner, quietly waiting for his food to be served. Once someone took the lead, the others seemed to have gained some inexplicable courage. They walked in with their heads held high and their chests puffed out. They ordered the same meal as the man as if they were ordering a set meal before sitting at different tables in the restaurant, looking calm as if they had not been the ones who had stayed at the door to watch the show just now. The customers in the restaurant were unwilling to be outdone. Peng Chun and Guang Ni were more than eager to try the new dish of the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant before the other party. ¡°Uncle Zhan, let¡¯s start serving,¡± Xu Yuan picked up the big basin containing the beef meatballs and called Zhan Long back to the kitchen to help. As they walked, they chatted, ¡°I just found a few small bowls in the kitchen that are very suitable for the beef meatballs. The size is just right for one¡­¡± Wei Heji watched anxiously as the basin of beef meatballs slipped away before him. Not only did Xu Yuan not give any to him, he even used his status as a superior to suppress him! This was the last thing he wanted to see. Once Xu Yuan started to feel that he could control the Royal Court Banquest Restaurant, it would not be easy to fool him again in the future! He glanced sinisterly in the direction of the kitchen. While he was preparing the bowls for the new customers, he was thinking about how to deal with Xu Yuan. He could not let him do whatever he wanted! After a while, the meatballs and Beside-yourself Rice were served. The customers couldn¡¯t wait to taste the Pissing Beef Meatballs. With his hands on his waist, Xu Yuan looked at the customers¡¯ happy expressions with satisfaction. He couldn¡¯t help but nod. At this moment, he saw the man with gold-rimmed glasses who was sitting in the corner take out a lunch box from his bag. He then put the Beside-yourself Rice and the Pissing Beef Meatballs inside, closed the lid, and prepared to leave. Chapter 40 - The Teacher Boosts the Students Market Chapter 40 The Teacher Boosts the Student¡¯s Market At the same time, Xu Yuan, Zhan Long, and Wei Heji all saw the bespectacled man pack the Beside-yourself Rice and Pissing Beef meatballs into his lunchbox. The man then got up and walked toward the door with his bag on his back. Zhan Long asked in a low voice, ¡°Young master, he packed the food for takeout. Should I stop him?¡± Xu Yuan crossed his arms and shook his head, ¡°No. We only stipulate that we won¡¯t deliver takeout, but we didn¡¯t say that the customers can¡¯t pack the food themselves. Besides, takeout will lower the quality of the food, which is why I forbid it. I¡¯m not doing it for any other reason. Don¡¯t stick too rigidly to this rule and offend the customers.¡± ¡°Young master is wise!¡± Zhan Long said respectfully. Their voices were so soft that only the two of them could hear each other. Wei Heji, who was three steps away, kept staring at the bespectacled man. He had left a bad impression on Xu Yuan just now because of his comment about the beef meatball¡¯s name. At this moment, he was racking his brain to think of a way to fix his image in Xu Yuan¡¯s heart. As such, when he saw that someone was taking away the food, he immediately felt that his opportunity had presented itself. He was like a wild cat crouching in the grass that was waiting for the sparrow to rest on the branch above his head. Then, he leaped! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir, but we don¡¯t allow takeout!¡± He shouted and walked quickly toward the bespectacled man who had just reached the door and was about to leave. The bespectacled man looked at him inexplicably and asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Even the police were not allowed to go through someone¡¯s personal belongings without a search warrant. Wei Heji, on the other hand, was like a slave owner who had caught his slave stealing. His motive was to such up to Xu Yuan by implementing the rules that had been set to the end. Therefore, he exuded a proud and arrogant aura as he said, ¡°I saw it just now! You packed our food in your container that¡¯s in your bag!¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes were attracted by the commotion at the door. Zhan Long cursed to himself and nudged Xu Yuan¡¯s shoulder, indicating for him to make a decision quickly. However, Xu Yuan stayed calm and composed. He simply raised his hand to stop Zhan Long, telling him to calm down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± The bespectacled man smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m a teacher at Twiser High School. I had especially taken half a day to have the Beside-yourself Rice, but my class is about to start now and my students are waiting for me. That¡¯s why I packed the food for takeout. I¡¯m really sorry, please allow me to do this just this once.¡± V ¡°No!¡± Wei Heji said, ¡°Rules are rules! Either you eat the food here or you leave the food here. I¡¯ll refund you the money!¡± His words were really shocking, and the other customers were all stunned. How was this a restaurant? Even a screw factory¡¯s cafeteria would be more generous than this. Having paid, customers were free to eat wherever they wanted. Since when was it the restaurant¡¯s right to point fingers? The customers who were already dissatisfied with the rules became even more displeased. They frowned as they looked at Wei Heji and the bespectacled teacher. The legs of some customers were moving under the table, each of them ready to go forward and help the bespectacled teacher out. The bespectacled teacher said awkwardly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m really running late. If I return the food, it¡¯ll be too late for me to go to another restaurant!¡± ¡°Rules are rules. I¡¯m sorry,¡± Wei Heji said firmly. The customers¡¯ anger was ignited by Wei Heji¡¯s arrogant manner. A male customer muttered, ¡°It¡¯s just a bowl of rice. What¡¯s the big deal?¡± He couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and was about to get up when Xu Yuan, who was standing at the counter unnoticed, suddenly walked over and grabbed Wei Heji¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Uncle Wei, what are you doing? If you delay the teacher here, are you going to teach his students?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wei Heji turned around in surprise, ¡°But young master, the rules¡­¡± ¡°The rules are dead but the people are alive. Besides, this teacher did not violate the hotel¡¯s principles!¡± After saying that, Xu Yuan pushed Wei Heji aside and said politely to the bespectacled teacher, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m very sorry, our shop assistant has caused you trouble.¡± He waved his hand, and Zhan Long handed him a bottle of premium pure fruit juice as if he had prepared it beforehand. ¡°Please, if you don¡¯t mind, accept this drink. I won¡¯t keep you if you¡¯re short on time. Next time, I¡¯ll give you a special discount to express our apologies,¡± Xu Yuan bowed deeply. Then he watched as the bespectacled teacher thanked him gratefully before turning around and leaving. After that, Xu Yuan turned to face the customers who were eating and bowed deeply, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have disturbed everyone¡¯s meal. We don¡¯t deliver takeout because we¡¯re worried about the quality of the dishes, no other reason. I would like to apologize for the inconvenience this has caused everyone.¡± The customers in the shop were very satisfied with Xu Yuan¡¯s way of handling the matter. As they gave Xu Yuan a thumbs up, they looked at Wei Heji with disdain. The latter was so ashamed that he wished he could find a hole to hide in. Wei Heji¡¯s anger filled his chest as he walked to the counter with his head lowered and sat down. As the hotel manager, he had dealt with countless customer disputes before. This time, he knew that he had been too eager to flatter Xu Yuan, reaching the opposite effect. Even so, he was still dissatisfied with the fact that Xu Yuan had used him as a stepping stone and devalued him to improve the image of the restaurant. Wasn¡¯t this the same as what he had done to the other waiters in the past? In his heart, Wei Heji was extremely unconvinced of Xu Yuan as his young master. He hid in the corner and glared at Xu Yuan with resentment. On the other side, the bespectacled teacher jogged all the way back to school. Finally, he managed to enter the classroom of grade one class three just as the bell rang. He leaned against the teacher¡¯s podium and panted heavily. In the last row, a tall boy stood up and joked mischievously, ¡°Teacher Zhan, has the principal finally punished you to run laps?¡± ¡°What nonsense!¡± Teacher Zhan scolded jokingly, ¡°Kong Yulong, have you memorized the text? Spot check in five minutes!¡± The classroom was instantly filled with sounds of wails, followed by the sound of flipping books. The students were making a frantic last-minute effort to memorize as many sentences as they could. The noisy sounds of reading were incessant. Kong Yulong sat down obediently and raised the textbook to hide himself, trying to reduce his height to avoid being picked to memorize the text by the teacher later. Teacher Zhan took some time to catch his breath, and his stomach began to growl. Fortunately, the students were reading loudly enough, so no one could hear the sound except for himself. The lunchbox in his bag had opened a little because of his running. As such, the faint fragrance of the roasted pork mixed with the fresh smell of the beef wafted out. Teacher Zhan hadn¡¯t had breakfast because he was in a hurry. Yesterday, he had seen Peng Chun and Guang Ni brag about the Royal Court Banquest Restaurant¡¯s roasted pork in the group chat, so he had somehow managed to squeeze in some time today to go get a portion for himself. Now that the fragrance was drifting in the air, he simply couldn¡¯t bear it anymore! Teacher Zhan opened his textbook and made it stand. Then, he glanced at the students guiltily. After finding that all of them were very serious and quite absorbed in memorizing the text, he squatted and used the book to block himself. He then opened the lunchbox quietly and took a bite of the roasted pork. The fresh, tender, and warm juice ran around in his mouth. It was so delicious Teacher Zhan felt that his tongue was about to fall out. He didn¡¯t have time to savor it carefully. He took two bites in a row, chewed hastily, and swallowed, blocking the words of praise that were about to rush out of his mouth. The fragrance wafted in the air and swam into the noses of the students. The sounds of reading gradually weakened and slowly turned into the sounds of inhaling. ¡°Wow, what is this smell? I have never smelled anything so fragrant!¡± ¡°Has the cafeteria employed a new chef? They¡¯re starting to cook so early?¡± Kong Yulong, who was in the last row, raised his head from behind his book. He saw that his classmates were not in the mood to study, yet Teacher Zhan did not say anything. He nudged his deskmate¡¯s elbow and said, ¡°This smell is so fragrant. It seems to be coming from the podium!¡±