This marked the first time Zhu Hui's impression of the novelist Chu Kuang, known for writing novels in the young adult fiction genre, underwent a significant change. Before this, she had assumed that Chu Kuang was a writer of the popular and frivolous type, producing mindless harem stories.
Now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
The novel "Artificial Beauty" was exceptionally well-written. In just two or three thousand words, it left her dumbfounded. Given this situation—
Chu Kuang clearly possessed an exceptionally high level of literary skill!
Opening the comments section, Zhu Hui discovered that she wasn't the only one surprised. Many comments expressed sentiments similar to hers:
[]: "The story is so interesting!"
[]: "Is this really written by Chu Kuang?"
[]: "Isn't Chu Kuang a YA writer?"
[]: "I came in expecting updates on 'Tennis Prince,' but unexpectedly, Chu Kuang's short story captivated me. It's not exactly YA, but it's fantastic."
[]: "I really like this style!"
[]: "The writing doesn't have much of the author's personal emotional expression; it's a straightforward narrative. Yet, the ending doesn't need any emotional embellishment, but it left me utterly stunned."
[]: "The ending is a brilliant twist."
[]: "Did I overanalyze it, or does this article satirize many social phenomena? Didn't the news say that there are already lifelike robots with human appearances? Reading this article with that in mind is quite thought-provoking."
[]: "Disappointed that it's not a 'Tennis Prince' side story, but after reading the short story, I feel accomplished, haha."
[]: "The person above, you're not alone."
[]: "Get lost, you're not alone."
[]: "..."
Apart from the comments, many people shared and appreciated the article.
The tribe had an appreciation function.
In the tribe's novel section, readers could appreciate articles they liked, and the author would ultimately receive half of the money.
With many people sharing, even some strangers who didn't know Chu Kuang noticed the short story "Artificial Beauty."
It has to be said; the four-word title "Artificial Beauty" was quite catchy.
Upon hearing it, readers would immediately associate and might think the author was satirizing the prevalence of plastic surgery in society, especially the term "beauty," which naturally carried a certain allure, especially for male netizens!
As a result, more people followed the trend and finished reading this short story—
That's the advantage of short stories!
Well.
Although it was somewhat different from what was imagined, this didn't seem to affect many people's judgment of this novel. Even some bloggers in the community who specifically recommended books took notice of "Artificial Beauty" and casually forwarded it.
"Shocked!"
One of the bloggers had evidently figured out the trick to attracting visitors: "Who would believe that this is a short story written by Chu Kuang, the author of 'Tennis Prince'?"
Though the method was shameful, it was quite effective.
Chu Kuang already had the added popularity as the author of "Tennis Prince."
With the readers' promotion, the little short story "Artificial Beauty" surprisingly gained a lot of attention.
Even the person in charge of the tribal novel section noticed.
"Boss, this short story is getting a lot of clicks."
Listening to the report from the subordinate staff, the head of the novel section raised an eyebrow slightly: "Chu Kuang seems to be that recently popular young adult fiction writer, the author of 'Tennis Prince'?"
"Yes."
The leader nodded, took a little time to finish reading "Artificial Beauty," and then revealed a smile: "The story is indeed excellent. Let's promote it in the popular categories of the novel section."
...
After finishing dinner, Lin Yuan took a stroll with his family downstairs. When he logged back into his tribe account, it was already the next day.
This day was the Spring Festival.
Every household was lively.
Lin Yuan's home was also bustling, but Lin Yuan, after a short stay outside, returned to his room and turned on the computer.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan was surprised to find that in just one night, there were over a thousand messages in the backend of his tribe, almost all related to "Artificial Beauty."
And the short story he casually posted yesterday, "Artificial Beauty," now has over four thousand comments and over a thousand shares! In addition.
The fan count of Chu Kuang's account also successfully increased from ten thousand to twenty-two thousand.
At this moment.
Lin Yuan's phone rang.
Lin Yuan checked and saw it was an unknown number, so he hung up.
After a while, the phone rang again.
Lin Yuan hung up again.
The third time it rang, it was still the same number. Lin Yuan could only pick it up.
Across the line, a voice chuckled, "Happy New Year."
Lin Yuan replied, "I am not the New Year."
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone before the voice changed, "Hello, Mr. Chu Kuang."
So, they were looking for Chu Kuang.
Receiving unfamiliar calls like this, unless it's an advertisement or something similar, Lin Yuan needed to confirm whether the caller was looking for Xian Yu, Chu Kuang, or Lin Yuan. This process was deemed necessary.
Lin Yuan inquired, "Is there something you need?"
The man on the phone chuckled, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm You Rong, the editor-in-chief of the Silver Blue Library's 'Interesting Reads' magazine. I took the liberty of contacting you today to discuss a potential collaboration."
Lin Yuan asked, "What kind of collaboration?"
The man on the other end explained earnestly, "I came across the novel you posted on the community yesterday, and I felt it was a pity. Your excellent work could be serialized in our 'Interesting Reads' magazine. We specialize in short stories, emphasizing entertainment, and we have no restrictions on the genre of the stories we publish. Moreover, our sales figures are quite impressive. Besides, the community won't pay you for your contributions, but we, at the Silver Blue Library, are willing to pay!"
"How much are you offering?"
This question struck a chord with Lin Yuan. He was in need of money, even though this month's salary had already been paid. However, it was still not enough for him to buy a house for his family.
"3,000 RMB per thousand characters!"
The offer was presented, "Three thousand for every thousand characters. We can collaborate based on this pricing, provided your work passes our review."
Lin Yuan furrowed his brows, "That's too little."
After a quick calculation, he realized that the serialized version of "Artificial Beauty" on the community had already earned him several thousand. Moreover, it had high timeliness, allowing readers to provide feedback immediately, and his prestige points naturally increased promptly.
"How much are you looking for then?"
The ball was back in their court.
Lin Yuan disliked this kind of question, but he could continue playing Tai Chi, "I'll send you a story first, and then you can quote a price. If I find the price unsatisfactory, we'll call it off."
"Alright, my email is..."
"I've already sent it."
"What? You don't even know my email..."
"Aren't you from the Silver Blue Library? I sent it directly to Yang Feng's email. You guys are colleagues, just ask him for the manuscript."
"But... our departments haven't..."
The other side seemed a bit dumbfounded, the tone obviously tinged with panic.
Lin Yuan stated, "I'm hanging up now, goodbye."
Indeed, Lin Yuan disconnected the call.
Mainly because the Spring Festival had truly arrived. Today's meal was even more sumptuous than the previous days. If he didn't go out to eat soon, his sister would finish everything.
Meanwhile,
Editor Yang Feng received a manuscript, a short story sent by Chu Kuang, titled "The Gift of the Magi."
What's going on?
Yang Feng was full of question marks.