Chu Ge was in excellent form that afternoon, updating two chapters of 4,000 words each, totaling 8,000 words. He then eagerly opened the group chat to see if anyone would praise his thick, long sword.
But the group was saying, "What did Chu Ge update? We want to see the main text."
Chu Ge: "?"
"Where's my Qiu Qiu's autobiography? Waaaaah, my Qiu Qiu..."
Chu Ge: "..." What is the main text, anyway?! Qiu Wuji sent a grinning emoji in the group chat, then privately messaged Chu Ge: "Do you ever feel like you've been NTR'd?"
Chu Ge was shocked: "Holy crap, how do you know that kind of word? I suggest you leave the group!"
Qiu Wuji: "You guys can learn most of those lousy words in a few days. Why wait until now? Don't kick me out, or I'll never forgive you!"
Chu Ge deeply regretted adding her to the group as an admin: "You only learn this nonsense instead of the good stuff. What have you become of trying to write a book?"
"It's just that someone is using my side story as the main text, hehe."
Chu Ge covered her face, and after a long pause, said: "How did you also learn to talk online when you're actually there... and you're sending cute emojis all the time?"
"This kind of 'talking online when you're actually there's someone's there's someone else'..." "It feels so simple, quite interesting."
"No, let's not. It's not a good thing."
"Why?"
"It represents a decrease in real-life communication, and also a kind of loneliness."
"You deadbeat artsy type."
"To describe online chatting with the metaphor of 'a fish carrying a letter' is to call me artsy..." Chu Ge was genuinely amused and immediately changed the subject: "Hey, how about going out to eat today?"
"There's some leftover food from lunch. We can just heat it up in the microwave, it's much simpler... Wait a minute, I'll heat up the food after I finish reading this short passage. You can chat and relax with them."
"What are you reading?"
"Rereading your book, Master. The more I read, the more I understand." Chu Ge felt like he'd taken a sip of ice-cold cola, feeling refreshed from head to toe.
Qiu Wuji glanced furtively at the doorway next door, then returned her gaze to her phone. The screen displayed a work by a popular female author, not Chu Ge's… Feeling guilty for deceiving Chu Ge like that, Qiu Wuji left, opened Chu Ge's book, and, under the new chapter's comment section, added her own voiceover: "Now that Yan Qianlie's plot in Xiaofenmietian has been thwarted, tonight I will enter the Heart of Burning Flame and utterly destroy this source of chaos."
She had only just discovered the voiceover function.
Would people say she sounded "not quite right" voicing herself?
Qiu Wuji listened to it herself. It sounded great, very cool. Who cares!
As for the plot itself, it was bait, a trap to have an insider spread false information. She hadn't actually gone to the Heart of Burning Flame; she was waiting to ambush him.
This was also her first encounter with Yan Qianlie before the final battle, and she had outmaneuvered him.
Although Yan Qianlie retreated unscathed, the loss of his subordinates, the demoralization, and the loss of his hidden hand would all significantly impact the balance of power in the final battle.
Actually, the decisive day was only a few days away…
To be honest, Qiu Wuji was quite impressed with Chu Ge's plot design. He hadn't experienced anything firsthand, yet he could create so much scheming and intrigue, weaving a captivating world into the book.
Why was he so naive in real life?
Chu Ge said this part was modeled after the battles at the Forbidden City and the Moonlit River. The final battle was already decided, but there was a lot of background story surrounding it, learned from masters. So Qiu Wuji also sought out renowned female authors to learn from, but he couldn't really grasp the essence of it on his own.
He still needed a mentor…
Qiu Wuji thought for a moment, then put down his phone and peeked to see what Chu Ge was doing.
Chu Ge was watching a chat among experts in the "Failed Driving Group."
"Sigh, my body just can't keep up lately, so I've been updating less."
"You're not able to keep up either? How much less?"
"I used to write 30,000 words, now I can only manage 20,000." Chu Ge looked at his two 4,000-word updates he'd just posted, still feeling quite pleased with himself, and silently sent a message: "Stop updating...please..." The group chat quickly echoed: "Stop updating...please..."
"No..." someone else said, "It's one thing for others to say 'stop updating,' but for you, Chu Ge, to say it too, I'm not having it."
Chu Ge asked curiously, "What's wrong? I only wrote 8,000 today, and I even took a day off the other day."
"You think I was talking about updates?" The author posted a picture: "Someone asked us about writing tips the other day, and everyone guessed it was to pick up a female apprentice, right? Look, look, here's the evidence."
Chu Ge stared intently; the picture was clearly a photo of himself wiping Qiu Wuji's mouth at a seafood stall... The girl next to him had said she wanted to post it on Weibo, and Qiu Wuji hadn't objected.
Chu Ge didn't object. Why should Qiu Wuji hide his identity now that he had it? Back then, he felt incredibly happy, wanting the whole world to know. He just hadn't considered how widely the photo would circulate. Was that girl a popular influencer with a huge following?
Now...emmmm...
Qiu Wuji's head suddenly popped out from beside him: "How did this photo get to your 'Gods' group?"
So you finally realize this is the "Gods' group..." Chu Ge sighed, "What do we do now?"
Qiu Wuji glanced at him sideways, her eyes practically screaming "scumbag."
You wipe my mouth, and you ask me what to do?
Chu Ge turned to look at the screen, where the internet gurus were furiously denouncing him: "Holy crap, Chu Ge, are you even human?"
"Let go of that girl!"
"She's so beautiful! Chu Ge's been hiding his true colors!"
"Is this really his female apprentice?"
"Did she sleep with him? @ her out! @ her out! This won't end without a red envelope!"
Chu Ge weakly asked, "Where did you guys see this photo?"
The gurus who posted the photo said, "This picture is really popular online right now. Everyone's saying the girl is so beautiful, the guy is so handsome, and the photo is just too sweet. Before, nobody knew who it was. Some people guessed it was a staged photo of an internet celebrity, while others argued that no internet celebrity had that kind of charisma. But the more they argued, the hotter it became."
Chu Ge: "..."
The gurus continued, "At first, I was just looking for fun, but then your interview photo came out, and I looked at it, and oh my god, isn't that you wiping your mouth? Just you wait, whatever..." "His identity as the 'male lead' was exposed, and his photos are even more popular, including your book... Oh my god, is this some kind of publicity stunt by the internet company? Has the internet company evolved from taking brain-boosting supplements?" Chu Ge: "A master is a master, his imagination runs wild."
"So this person is indeed you?"
"It's me."
"So you really were chasing after your female apprentice?" Before Chu Ge could answer, his group chat exploded with mentions: "Chu Ge, come out here! Is that woman in the photo Qiu Qiu?"
"You took the day off that day, right? You said you were sick? So you were chasing girls?"
"...emmmm, taking the day off to chase girls doesn't seem so bad."
"But that looks like Qiu Qiu!"
"Holy crap, Chu Ge, come out here! You're having an affair with your female assistant, right!"
Chu Ge: "..." His WeChat rang. He looked at it—Lin Wuyang.
Yang Dingtian: "Is that you in the photo wiping your mouth?"
Chu Ge: "Yes."
Yang Dingtian: "That woman looks familiar, is she the female fan from that day?"
Chu Ge started sweating.
Yang Dingtian: "Confirmed to have slept with a fan, Chu Qian, aren't you coming with me?"
"Are you bored, Section Chief Lin?" Chu Ge said angrily, "Where's my wanted poster?"
"Oh, I asked. It's already in the bureau's public account this morning. You just need to come to the bureau to sign it before it can be transferred."
"..."
"So you've run out of things to say to change the subject, Chu Qian."
Chu Ge immediately closed WeChat.
He turned to Qiu Wuji, looking flustered. Qiu Wuji was also a bit dumbfounded. He thought it was just a few people teasing him, and he was even looking forward to seeing Chu Ge's embarrassed and awkward appearance. But this had become ridiculously popular; even Lin Wuyang had seen it...
When something happens online to the point that even your close friends know about it, then it can be called "viral."
Even Qiu Wuji panicked a little, asking in return, "W-what should we do?" Chu Ge stared at her for a long while, then suddenly laughed, "What's there to do?"
Qiu Wuji: "Huh?"
Chu Ge said softly, "Chu Ge's desire for Qiu Wuji is nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of as wanting the whole world to know. But you... Qiu Wuji, are you willing to let others know?"
Qiu Wuji also quieted down, looking at him without speaking.
"If you don't want to be talked about, then I'll issue a statement saying I took my sister out to play that day, and that'll be it. If you don't think it's a big deal, then I'll just tell everyone directly that it's Chu Ge's Qiu Wuji."