enjoyebooks Chapter 366 Studying
Chapter 366 Studying
The Journey to the West series became a huge hit on 6Cat.
Lu Ran originally thought that such classic works might need a period of fermentation before they became popular in this world, since classic works require careful reading and appreciation. Unexpectedly, they took off immediately starting from the third chapter.
He underestimated two things.
First, the people in this world have never read "Journey to the West," so they don't experience any aesthetic fatigue with this kind of mythological and supernatural subject matter; every chapter is a completely new experience.
Secondly, the readers of Liu Mao are a group of knowledgeable and insightful readers. What these readers admire most are unruly, courageous and resourceful characters, and Sun Wukong happens to be such a person.
When he woke up in the morning, the number of views for "Journey to the West" had exceeded 500,000, the number of favorites was over 200,000, and the comment section was piled with thousands of messages.
The most outrageous thing was that LiuMao's editor sent him an internal message at 3 a.m., which read: "Dear author, your work 'Journey to the West' has performed exceptionally well in terms of data and has passed the review for a premium contract. Please contact the editor as soon as possible to sign the contract so that we can arrange subsequent promotional resources." It was signed by LiuMao's editor-in-chief.
Lu Ran took a screenshot of the message and sent it to a small group chat containing only Zhou Mingzhe, Lao Wang, and Xiao Yang, with the caption: "I think I'm about to become famous."
Old Wang replied instantly: "What is this?"
"The novel I wrote on Six Cats."
Old Wang sent a string of question marks, then said, "You're a billionaire boss, going off to write novels? What are you after?"
"Just for fun."
Xiao Yang posted a panda emoji with the caption: "Mr. Lu, are you just bored?"
Zhou Mingzhe replied, "His leg is broken, and he's stuck at home with nothing to do. Please be understanding."
Lu Ran rolled his eyes, put down his phone, and started uploading a new chapter.
Today he plans to upload four chapters, totaling a little over 10,000 words.
This pace is neither too fast nor too slow; readers won't feel he's being perfunctory, nor will they feel he's being abnormally diligent.
The first two chapters describe how Sun Wukong was recruited by Taibai Jinxing and went to the Heavenly Court for the second time, where he was given the title of "Great Sage Equal to Heaven".
Although it's a nominal position, at least the title sounds good.
Readers enjoyed it, and the comments section shifted from "feeling sorry for the monkey" to "the monkey has finally made something of himself."
Chapter Three describes the part where Sun Wukong guards the Peach Garden and freezes the seven fairies in their clothes.
After this chapter was published, the comment section exploded again.
"A freeze spell! That's amazing!"
"Seven Fairies, Monkey King, how could you do this?"
"This monkey is getting wilder and wilder. He's stolen most of the peaches in the Peach Garden. Won't the Queen Mother of the West be furious if she finds out?"
"It's just a monkey after all; it froze people in place and then only cared about eating peaches."
Lu Ran's lips curled into a wide smile when he saw these comments.
They still don't know what will happen next.
When Sun Wukong steals peaches from the Heavenly Palace, drinks imperial wine, and wreaks havoc in the Heavenly Palace, these people will probably go crazy.
He also uploaded Chapter Four.
This chapter describes how Sun Wukong stole and ate all of Laozi's five gourds of elixirs.
The comments section went completely crazy.
"This monkey ate peaches of immortality and golden pills; is he trying to devour all the treasures of Heaven?"
"Laozi's elixir of immortality! One pill can make someone ascend to heaven. He ate five gourds of it? Wouldn't he become a saint on the spot?"
"I now seriously suspect this monkey came to Heaven to buy supplies. Leaving aside the fact that the弼马温 (Bima Wen, a minor official in charge of raising horses), having a monkey guard the Peach Orchard just seems suspicious. Is its next job going to be the Imperial Chef?"
"Shut upstairs, don't give the monkey any advice. What if he really becomes the imperial chef and eats all the ingredients in Heaven?"
"Why do I have a feeling there's a conspiracy going on? Could it be that the Monkey King will end up as the equalizer?"
Lu Ran laughed so hard her hands were shaking, and she almost dropped her phone.
However, he also noticed that the readership was of high quality; even after just a few chapters, they could already sense the essence of the book.
He rested for a while, then went to the kitchen to heat up a glass of milk, and carried the glass back to his study.
My phone started vibrating as soon as I sat down.
It wasn't a phone call, but a push notification from the LiuMao app: "The author you follow, 'Tiancan Potato,' has released a new work, 'Journey to the West.' Click to read."
Lu Ran was stunned. He was an author himself, so why would he receive such a push notification?
He clicked in and saw that Liu Mao had added a red "V" verification to his account, with the verification information stating "well-known online writer".
He almost spat out the milk.
Yesterday he was being called a "discontinued writer" by readers, and today he's a "well-known online author"?
He refreshed the page for "Journey to the West" and found a new banner that read, "The phenomenal masterpiece of the year, 'Journey to the West,' will take you on a journey through a different kind of Eastern mythology."
This is the most expensive spot on the homepage of LiuMao, and usually only master writers are qualified to be on it.
He was a newcomer who had written two books, but because of the explosive popularity of "Journey to the West", he was directly pushed to this position by Liu Mao.
Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, his feelings a bit complicated.
He knew that "Journey to the West" would be popular, but he didn't expect it to become popular so quickly.
The status of this book in the history of Chinese literature needs no introduction; it is one of the Four Great Classical Novels and has influenced countless people since.
But if you put it in a world without "Journey to the West", it becomes something completely new, unique, and refreshing.
Just like what he did before with music and games—bringing his market-tested works from his previous life to this world, the effect was immediate.
But he also knew in his heart that he couldn't keep doing this kind of "transportation" indefinitely.
Liu's questioning reminded him that once or twice people might think you're awesome, but three or four times people will start to doubt you.
So now he's changed his approach—instead of throwing out the complete project package directly, he breaks it down, disassembles it, and releases it bit by bit.
Journey to the West was a pilot project.
He only downloaded the novel text from the system and didn't take anything else.
I designed the cover myself, wrote the description myself, and set my own update schedule.
The whole process looks like an ordinary author writing an ordinary novel, except that the novel just happens to be exceptionally well-written.
No one would doubt that a novelist named "Heavenly Silkworm Potato" has some kind of system behind him, because they have no idea that such a thing as a system exists.
After finishing his milk, Lu Ran returned to his computer and opened the page for "Battle Through the Heavens".
This book's data is much worse than that of "Journey to the West," with its number of clicks remaining at just over 200,000.
But the comments section was even more lively than that of "Journey to the West" because the readers of this book are all long-time fans who have been following it for half a year and have a deep affection for it.
The latest comment was quite touching—"I started following this book in my senior year of high school, and now I'm almost graduating. I was sad for a long time because I thought you had abandoned it. Now that you're back, no matter how well 'Journey to the West' is written, 'Battle Through the Heavens' is still my favorite. Because it's a part of my youth. Xiao Yan isn't just Xiao Yan, he's me too."
Lu Ran remained silent for a long time after reading the comment.
He recalled his past life, in which he also followed books in the same way.
Back then, there were no systems or cheat codes; I was just an ordinary reader, refreshing the page every day to wait for updates.
I'll be happy when it arrives, and I'll curse the author if it doesn't.
That feeling was completely different from seeing others urging me to update now.
He replied to that comment, "Don't worry, this book won't be abandoned. I promise to finish telling Xiao Yan's story."
After the reply was sent, the reader immediately responded with a crying emoji and said, "Author, I'm not used to you being serious."
Lu Ran smiled and switched back to the "Journey to the West" page.
He had already prepared a new chapter, which would describe how Sun Wukong, after stealing peaches and drinking imperial wine, realized he had caused trouble and ran back to Flower Fruit Mountain.
The Heavenly Court dispatched Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, with heavenly soldiers and generals to capture him, but they were utterly defeated by Sun Wukong.
This chapter is the first climax of "Journey to the West" and one of the most classic passages in the entire book.
When Sun Wukong shouted "I, Old Sun, am here!", Lu Ran felt his blood boil.
He uploaded the chapter.
Within five minutes, the comment section exploded.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Even 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals couldn't defeat a single monkey?"
"Even Nezha was driven away? Just who is this monkey?"
"The Giant Spirit God was knocked down with a single blow, I'm dying of laughter. Is this all the Heavenly Court is capable of?"
"I'm now seriously suspecting that the Heavenly Court is going easy on them. Otherwise, how come they can't even beat a monkey?"
"What do you know, upstairs? This is necessary for the plot. If the monkey gets caught, how will they write the rest of the story?"
"Stop arguing, stop arguing, hurry up and read the next chapter. I just want to know if the Monkey King can beat Erlang Shen."
When Lu Ran saw the words "Erlang Shen", the corners of his mouth curled up.
The next chapter is about Sun Wukong's battle with Erlang Shen. The two fought for three hundred rounds without a clear winner. Finally, Laozi threw down his Vajra Bracelet, which knocked Sun Wukong unconscious.
This passage is exceptionally well-written; when he first read it in his previous life, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.
Now that he's written this down, readers' reactions will probably be similar to his back then.
But he doesn't plan to send any more today.
Writing 10,000 words a day is enough; anything more would seem abnormal.
He closed the author's backend system, picked up his phone, and sent Shen Yuege a message: "What time will you be back today?"
Shen Yuege replied quickly: "Soon. The alternative theme song recordings are finished. I'll listen to it one more time and then come back."
Has the theme song been decided yet?
"Not yet. We've received several submissions, one of which is quite good, but the author is acting strangely—he didn't leave a phone number or name, only an email address. I asked him to leave his contact information, but he hasn't replied."
Lu Ran's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained expressionless. He typed a line on his phone: "Don't worry, they might not have seen the email. Creative people often have their quirks, so please be understanding."
"I know. That's why I didn't rush him. I'll wait for his reply."
"Okay. Then come back early, and drive carefully on the way."
"understood."
Lu Ran put down his phone, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long breath.
The "Roadside Composer" saga isn't over yet. Shen Yuege clearly likes that song a lot, and if the "Roadside Composer" doesn't reply, she might keep waiting.
But he can't reveal his identity, at least not now.
It wouldn't be too late for him to reveal his true intentions once Shen Yuege had decided which song to use and it was time to sign the contract.
He thought of Shen Yuege's expression when she learned the truth, and the corners of his mouth curled up again.
The study became quiet, with only the sound of the computer fan spinning.
The sky outside the window gradually darkened. Winters in Shanghai get dark early, and the lights need to be turned on around 5 a.m.
Lu Ran sat in the dark without turning on the light, staring at the comment section of "Journey to the West" on the computer screen, reading through each comment one by one.
Some people criticize his slow updates, some praise his writing, some analyze the plot development, and some predict what will happen in the next chapter.
It was noisy and bustling, like a lively market.
This feels so good.
It's different from making games. When making games, you have to consider the market, users, competitors, and revenue; you have to calculate every step you take.
Writing novels doesn't require that; you can write when you want to and not write when you don't want to.
If readers criticize you, you can pretend you didn't see it.
If a reader praises you, you can pretend to be very humble.
Most importantly, writing novels doesn't have that much of a burden.
More than a hundred people in the company are waiting for him to pay their salaries, so he can't just quit.
But nobody can control the account "Heavenly Silkworm Potato".
This is what freedom feels like.
He hadn't felt this way in a long time.
Lu Ran picked up his phone, took a picture of the night view outside the study window, and posted it on "Tiancan Potato" TUTU.
The caption was just one sentence: "I wrote two books today, over 10,000 words, and my fingers are sore. But seeing your comments makes it all worthwhile."
This is the first TUTU message he posted since registering this account.
Previously, he only wrote books and didn't distribute them on TUTU, because TUTU didn't exist when he was writing the books.
But today he wanted to post something to let the long-time readers who had been waiting for "Battle Through the Heavens" for half a year know that he wasn't just going through the motions; he was genuinely sitting in front of the computer typing it out word by word.
After TUTU posted it, her follower count started to rise.
It rose from 30,000 to 50,000, from 50,000 to 80,000, and broke 100,000 within half an hour.
The comments section was filled with readers clamoring.
"Author, you finally posted about TUTU! I've been following your account for half a year!"
"Finally, I can urge you to update in real time. Before, I could only complain in the comments section, but now I can tag you directly to complain, which is much more convenient."
Stop posting on TUTU and hurry up and update! I want to see the monkeys causing havoc in Heaven today!
Lu Ran replied: "I'll see tomorrow. My fingers are about to break today."
The other party replied instantly: "What does your broken finger have to do with us? We want to see the monkeys."
Lu Ran couldn't help but laugh, turned off the TUTU, stood up and walked to the window.
The neighborhood outside the window was quiet, and a few houses had already turned on their lights.
In the distance, traffic flowed like a river on the elevated highway, their taillights casting streaks of red light.
This is what the night view of Shanghai is like: bustling yet detached, lively yet quiet.
He stood there, his mind starting to race with thoughts of tomorrow.
I'll continue writing "Journey to the West" tomorrow, and continue updating "Battle Through the Heavens".
If I get tired in between, I'll write some songs and save a few for the "Roadside Composer" account for future use.
He could handle the next email from Shen Yuege with ease.
As for the company's affairs, with Brother Zhou keeping an eye on things, Old Wang taking charge, and Little Yang supporting them, there won't be any major problems.
All he has to do now is recover his leg, write books, maintain a mysterious image, and then wait for his leg to heal so he can go back to the company and continue doing his old job.
Lu Ran turned around and walked back to his desk, turned on his computer, and created a new document.
The document is called "Drafts" and contains two folders: one called "Journey to the West" and the other called "Battle Through the Heavens".
He first opened the "Journey to the West" folder, copied the complete version of "Journey to the West" text downloaded from the system into it, and then split it chapter by chapter.
One hundred chapters, broken down into one hundred documents, each document containing approximately six thousand words.
If he posts 10,000 words a day, it'll be enough for him to post for two months.
After unpacking "Journey to the West", he opened the "Battle Through the Heavens" folder.
This book was very long in its previous form, with over a thousand chapters and millions of words.
He's only written the beginning; there's still a long way to go.
But Lu Ran wasn't in a hurry; he could write slowly.
Just as he was about to continue typing, his phone vibrated.
He picked it up and saw a message from Shen Yuege: "I'm home. Where are you?"
Lu Ran replied, "Study. Writing something."
Shen Yuege sent a "?" emoji, then said, "With your legs like that, what are you even writing?"
"Write a novel."
"You actually wrote it? I thought you were joking with Brother Zhou."
"I never joke."
Shen Yuege sent an "I give up" emoji and said, "Fine, you write it. I'll go heat up the soup, and you can come out and drink it when you're done."
"it is good."
Lu Ran put down his phone and glanced at the words on the computer screen again—"Give this world a little shock."
He smiled, didn't delete it, but saved the document, turned off the computer, and walked to the kitchen with his cane.
The aroma of soup wafted over; it was pork rib soup.
Shen Yuege knew that his legs needed calcium supplements, so she would stew bone broth every few days, making him want to run away whenever he saw ribs.
"You're here?" Shen Yuege poked her head out from the kitchen. "Wash your hands. The soup is in the pot. Help yourself."
"Okay." After washing his hands, Lu Ran took two bowls from the cupboard, filled them with soup, one for himself and the other for the dining table.
Shen Yuege came out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of stir-fried vegetables, placed it on the table, and sat down opposite him.
The two people sat facing each other, drinking soup, neither of them speaking.
After taking a few sips, Shen Yuege suddenly spoke up: "Lu Ran."
"Um?"
"What's the name of your novel?"
"Journey to the West".
"What were they talking about?"
"The story of a monkey causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace."
Shen Yuege glanced at him: "You wrote about a monkey?"
"What's wrong? Can't monkeys be the main character?"
"It's not that it's impossible. It's just that I feel the range of your writing is too wide. You were doing so well making games, and suddenly you went and started writing about monkeys."
Lu Ran laughed: "Life needs variety. Playing games all day will make your brain stagnate."
"You think your brain can get rigid? I think your brain is more flexible than anyone else's."
Are you praising me or insulting me?
"I'm praising you." Shen Yuege picked up her bowl and took a sip of soup. "I'm praising your sharp mind; you do everything well."
Lu Ran looked at her and the corners of his mouth turned up: "Then praise me a little more, I love to hear it."
Shen Yuege rolled her eyes at him, ignored him, and continued drinking her soup.
Lu Ran didn't mind, picked up the bowl and slurped the water down his throat, then went to get another bowl.
The night outside the window grew darker, and the kitchen light shone, casting the shadows of two people drinking soup across from each other.
The steam from the soup rose under the lamplight, blurring the faces of the two people.
After finishing the last sip of soup, Lu Ran put down the bowl and suddenly said, "Yuege."
"Um?"
"Do you think I could make more money than making games if I kept writing novels?"
Shen Yuege looked up at him: "You've made billions making games, how much could you possibly make writing novels?"
"What if? What if my novel becomes a hit?"
"Didn't you say you were already famous?"
Lu Ran was taken aback: "How did you know?"
"You said it yourself just now." Shen Yuege picked up her bowl and stood up. "You said, 'It seems like the novel I wrote on Liu Mao is popular.' I saw it when you posted it in the group."
Lu Ran opened his mouth and realized that he had indeed sent that message in the group.
He was so excited that he forgot Shen Yuege was also in the group chat.
"Okay," he said. "So, do you think it looks good?"
"I haven't read it yet. Read it to me when you have time."
"Okay." Lu Ran stood up. "I'll read it tonight. Go wash up first, then lie in bed and I'll read it to you."
"Should we read one chapter or two?"
You can read as many chapters as you want.
Shen Yuege looked at him, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up: "Then I want to hear ten chapters."
"Ten chapters?" Lu Ran's eyes widened. "I can only write 10,000 words a day, and you have to listen to more than 1,000 words per chapter. Ten chapters would be more than 10,000 words. By the time you finish listening, it will be dawn."
"Then write slower. I'm not in a hurry."
Lu Ran was both amused and exasperated by her twisted logic, and limped after her into the bedroom.
Shen Yuege went to wash up, while Lu Ran lay in bed and picked up his phone to read the comments section of "Journey to the West".
Several hundred more comments appeared, with some people writing lengthy analyses, explaining the metaphors in the book.
Lu Ran couldn't continue reading after only two paragraphs because he hadn't thought that much about it.
He just thought the story was interesting, so he wrote it down.
It's common for readers to think more than authors.
However, in his previous life, many people's comments on "Journey to the West" did contain some conspiracy theories, which Lu Ran had also paid attention to, but he had not studied them.
Shen Yuege finished showering and came out wearing pajamas, her hair still damp and hanging on her shoulders.
"Your hair isn't dry, you'll catch a cold," Lu Ran said.
"It'll be dry in a bit." Shen Yuege lay down next to him. "Let's start reading."
Lu Ran cleared his throat, opened the e-book on his phone, and found the first chapter of "Journey to the West".
"Chapter One. The spiritual root nurtures and the source flows out; the mind and nature are cultivated and the Great Dao arises."
"In the beginning, chaos reigned, heaven and earth were in turmoil, a vast and boundless expanse unseen by anyone. Since Pangu broke the primordial chaos, the distinction between the pure and the impure has been established."
Upon hearing these four lines of poetry, Shen Yuege was taken aback: "You wrote this yourself?"
"Yes." Lu Ran lied without changing his expression.
Shen Yuege glanced at him, her eyes holding an indescribable expression.
She didn't ask any further questions, but closed her eyes and listened quietly.
Lu Ran continued reading, reciting the birth of the stone monkey, the discovery of the Water Curtain Cave, and the ascension of the Monkey King.
Shen Yuege kept her eyes closed and her breathing was even; it was unclear whether she was asleep or not.
After Lu Ran finished reading the third chapter, he closed his phone and glanced at it. Shen Yuege's eyes were still closed, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned.
"Are you asleep?" he asked softly.
"No." Shen Yuege opened her eyes. "Continue reading."
"Still reading? It's already three chapters."
"I haven't heard enough."
Lu Ran sighed, opened his phone, and continued reading Chapter Four.
The night outside the window was deep, and the only sounds in the bedroom were Lu Ran reading aloud and the two of them breathing.
By the time they reached Chapter 5, Shen Yuege had finally fallen asleep.
Lu Ran put down her phone, turned off the light, and quietly left, closing the door behind her.
He whispered something as he closed the door.
"Good night."
Shen Yuege did not respond, but her tightly closed eyes trembled slightly.
Lu Ran closed the door, a smile playing on his lips.
Today was a good day.
To be continued tomorrow.
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