Chu Ge, who had missed an update all day, went home to finish his manuscript. The first chapter wouldn't be out until noon today.
The group chat didn't seem to mind his lateness; as long as he updated, that was good enough: "Is Chu Ge feeling better? Get some rest, don't push yourself so hard today."
Chu Ge felt quite ashamed and could only reply, "I'll try my best today..." Women really do slow down writing speed, and he even told his first lie as a writer. Other things were also taking up his time today—the interview with the writer's assistant had arrived.
Chu Ge had already seen the questions last night; he was expecting some inspirational answers.
For example: "You update with 10,000 words every day, it must be very hard work, right?"
Chu Ge readily agreed: "With no woman in my heart, my writing naturally flows like a god."
"Your first few books didn't reach the 'excellent' level, it took you three to achieve your current success. Can you tell me how you persevered?"
Chu Ge looked at the question, his finger hovering over it for a long time before slowly answering: "I'm not exactly persistent. I had a friend whose first two books only had double-digit average subscriptions, and it wasn't until the third that he saw a glimmer of hope. He was delivering takeout while writing, and he never missed a single day. There are many people who persevere in their dreams. When people see an 'old flop,' I hope they don't laugh, but rather encourage me." The writer's assistant wisely avoided asking who that friend was, whether he was still writing... This wasn't a casual chat; it deviated from the established interview format and wouldn't continue.
As long as the friend's current situation wasn't mentioned, the writer's assistant was generally satisfied with the answers; this was the kind of motivational talk they needed.
Chu Ge ultimately didn't continue what he wanted to say, sighed, and continued to deal with the questions, saying things like, "Persistence and hard work will always pay off," etc... He didn't even believe it himself.
"Many readers have commented that your female lead, Qiu Wuji, is incredibly vivid, and many suspect she has a real-life counterpart. Is that true?"
No one has ever given that feedback before, and even if they did, it was in jest. Of course, it's an interview, not an interview asking if you're really...
Chu Ge smiled slightly and replied, "Of course I am."
"Eh? Is she your girlfriend?"
"Not yet, I'm working on it!"
This directly contradicted his earlier statement that he "had no woman in his heart," but the writer's assistant didn't care. No one would take that statement seriously anyway; people loved the writer's gossip.
"So, is she as beautiful, proud, and powerful as Qiu Wuji in your book?"
"Not quite the same. The biggest difference is that she's cuter."
...
"Damn, even watching an interview gets me a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection). I can't live like this anymore." The interview was released the next day, and someone quickly forwarded it to the book club, where everyone was groaning.
"Didn't I come here to read a fantasy novel? Huh? This is scorching hot, and they're slapping me with dog food in my face! I'm unsubscribing! I'm unsubscribing!"
"Can't this world get any better? Huh? I'm a single dog walking down the street reading some stupid author interview, and I'm suddenly slapped in the face with dog food?"
"No..." Chu Ge weakly explained, "We're not even together yet, where's the dog food coming from?"
"Oh right, wishing all lovers could become siblings, hahaha."
Chu Ge: "..." On the household registration, she really is my sister.
Immediately someone pointed out: "Are you stupid? If they're siblings, wouldn't Chu Da be even more excited?"
"Damn, that makes sense. So what can we do? At this age, we can't be father and daughter."
Chu Ge: "..." In a life sense, she really is my daughter.
"Are you stupid? Have you forgotten who Chu Da's profile picture used to be? 'Daughter'! You might as well say 'daughter-in-law,' that'll work, won't it?"
Chu Ge: "..."
Um...this...
"Damn, so in the end, Chu Da is a beast, right?"
Chu Ge: "I didn't do anything, didn't even get a chance to date her, and now I'm being called a heinous pervert?"
"Pass it down, Chu Da says he's a heinous pervert."
Chu Ge: "Damn it, can't you guys focus on my picture? Am I handsome?"
"I hadn't noticed...this guy is quite good-looking."
"Chu Da, I want to fence with you!"
"Forget it, he's not as handsome as me."
"So-so. Fukada pulling up his pants.jpg"
Finally, the topic has been changed. Fencing is fine, just don't bring up relationship issues, and definitely don't ask if the other person is the female admin who cosplays Qiuqiu in the group...I can't handle too many questions.
Fortunately, those who usually fawn over Qiu Wuji didn't seem to be active today, so the conversation hadn't really veered that way yet. Chu Ge looked at the group chat, wondering if someone was missing today…
Yes, Wan Zijun and Panda were missing.
They were discharged from the hospital, weren't they? Were they getting revenge?
…Actually, the revenge in the black room had been going on for two days.
The Wang family's hotel had been receiving a barrage of complaints from guests, who were furious, saying even a dog wouldn't eat the food.
At first, the Wang family questioned the head chef, who was incredibly aggrieved, demanding that the Wang family members taste the food the guests were criticizing. They found nothing wrong with it.
So the Wang family immediately concluded that this was a malicious smear campaign by a competitor using hired online trolls, and they forcefully ordered security to remove the complainants.
As a result, the hotel became deserted within two days, and the Wang family couldn't figure out why.
We're perfectly fine eating our own food! "Doesn't this feel a bit off?" Chef Jin asked Zhong Yi hesitantly. "The other chefs are innocent. Even if they aren't implicated now, their reputations will suffer, and no one else will want to hire them."
Zhong Yi smiled. "Their chefs have already secretly jumped ship for a higher salary."
"Huh? Where did they go?"
"Miracle Nightclub. Boss Zhang has started a ready-to-eat late-night snack business, and he's doing it quite high-end. They really need a hotel chef."
"Damn, that bastard's got some cunning."
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Zhong Yi looked up at the sky, speechless. He had suggested this idea to Zhang Qiren… Who are you calling a jerk…?
But while he might be a bit cunning, Zhang Qiren was ruthless.
He wasn't just trying to hurt his rivals; he wanted the Wang family dead.
"Strike while the iron is hot," Zhang Qiren said. "The Wang family's businesses overlap significantly with ours; we've been rivals for years, and now we've completely fallen out… Most importantly, their casino and drug trafficking operations are absolutely fatal. Even without our underhanded tactics, the authorities want them dead. They're using underhanded methods to suppress us now, but how long can they hold out? If we don't give them a final push, are we going to wait until they catch their breath?" Zhong Yi remained silent.
So Rong Fu was indeed hired by you, right? The Wang family is currently overwhelmed by Lin Wuyang's investigation; they have no time for seeking revenge from outside.
It wasn't just the Black House that was stabbed in the back by Rong Fu; your own brother's real estate company was also stabbed.
Truly ruthless.
Zhong Yi couldn't help but ask, "Besides competition, do you have any deep-seated hatred towards the Wang family?"
Zhang Qiren glanced at him, knowing what he was thinking, and smiled, saying, "They've done heinous crimes and illegal activities. As a concerned citizen, shouldn't I take them down? Does Mr. Zhong sympathize with them?"
Zhong Yi shook his head. "I don't sympathize with them; I'm just looking at you."
But Zhang Qiren continued, "Competition is one thing… but as for deep-seated hatred, well, there is."
His voice turned cold: "If it weren't for the Wang family's instigation, would my good-for-nothing brother have dared to resort to such a taboo as assassinating me? If my good friend hadn't blocked it for me, I'd probably be dead."
Zhong Yi recalled the assassination attempt on Zhang Qiren… because Chu Ge had blocked it, it seemed like nothing had happened, and most people hadn't taken it to heart. But upon reflection, it was actually very serious.
It was murder… or fratricide.
At least in Zhang Qiren's own mind, it was very serious.
Zhang Qiren sneered, "The Wang family told him that no matter what, he's the only legitimate son. Even if killing me displeases his father, he still has to inherit the family fortune. Keeping me around is less certain… That good-for-nothing dared to listen to that. Doesn't he know the Wang family is deliberately stirring up internal strife within our family?" Zhong Yi sighed, "So you orchestrated this to make the Wang family and your brother fight."
"Serves them right, doesn't it?" Zhang Qiren said calmly, "The Wang family has done so many illegal and criminal things, and the higher-ups have been watching them for a long time, but they haven't found any evidence. As their opponents, we do know where some of their evidence is. They want to claim the gambling and drug trafficking were done by customers, or find someone to take the blame… Heh, what do you think would happen if their ledgers appeared on Lin Wuyang's desk?"
Zhong Yi's cooperation with Zhang Qiren was originally for this reason.
But he also had other considerations, such as wanting to know where Zhang Qiren's own evidence of illegality was. The underground boxing is shut down, and you have nothing else to do?
Unfortunately, when they first met Zhang Qiren, this guy was arrogant and ruthless, acting like he was all that, and his plans to take down the Wang family seemed solely for his own monopoly. His involvement with the "black house" was clearly motivated by a desire to consolidate power, something he'd hinted at several times.
This time, however, his tone had changed. He kept claiming to be a concerned citizen helping the police, and that the evidence would be on Lin Wuyang's desk… He never mentioned consolidating power again.
He's grown…so quickly?
Zhang Qiren looked up at the sky; it wasn't completely dark yet. "Let's wait a bit longer. We'll move tonight." He then pulled out his phone and started looking at it.
Zhong Yi glanced at it casually, his expression turning strange.
It was the interview page for the Writer's Assistant app—you need Writer's Assistant to open this, right? You still haven't uninstalled it? Not only have you not uninstalled it, you haven't even turned off push notifications, otherwise how would you know there was an interview…? Truly a writer's mind, no doubt about it.
The content on the page also caused Zhong Yi's expression to become complicated. It was an interview with Chu Ge, and Chu Ge's familiar smiling face was right there on the page.
"I'm not exactly persistent. I once had a friend whose first two books only had double-digit average subscriptions. It wasn't until the third book that he saw a glimmer of hope. He was delivering takeout while writing, and he never missed a single day of updating. There are many people who persist in their dreams..." Zhang Qiren's gloomy expression unconsciously vanished as he read, replaced by a happy smile.
The cold, brooding light behind his glasses transformed into the handsome features of a scholar as his smile blossomed.
Zhong Yi stared at it, somewhat lost in thought, then gently shook his head and sighed.