âAnyway, coming back to it, your recent content deserves praise!â
Chu Ge paused for a moment. He had recently been laying the groundwork for something big. Why would they praise him now? Did he inadvertently touch on some political topics again?
However, his friends in the chat started saying, âThe recent story development with Qiuqiu has been great! You should have written more about Qiuqiu earlier. What is it with Chu Tiange being mediocre overseas? Weâre all Qiuqiuâs fans!â
Chu Ge: ââ¦â
Luckily, someone cleared it up, âWhat Qiuqiuâs fans? Weâre all âLove in Early Autumnâ fans. Without Chu Chu, could there be Qiuqiu?â
âYou just called him names like âShort Geâ a moment ago.â
âWe already said Short Ge is Short Ge, and Chu Chu is Chu Chuâ¦â
âI really feel like I donât belong here because Iâm not dumb like you guys.â
Chu Ge simply closed his QQ chat; he couldnât have a proper conversation with these silly friends. Time to sleep!
The so-called young girl posting an essay online was likely just a passing online trend. He didnât pay much attention to it. He had a tiring day. Backtracking through time had left him quite exhausted. Plus, heâd gone through so much today. It was better to get some rest.
Chu Ge could replace sleep with meditation now that he had made the breakthrough. In fact, he could do that even before the breakthrough, but he preferred sleeping, especially when he could sleep next to Qiuqiu. Who would choose to meditate instead?
Meditation had even better effects than sleep, although it couldnât replace the effects of dual cultivationâ¦
Why am I thinking about Qiuqiu again?
Never mind, time to meditate.
He meditated for three hours straight, and when he opened his eyes, it was already daylight. Chu Ge went to wash his face and realized that there was no trace of oil or discharge in the corners of his eyes.
It hadnât been very noticeable before, but now he truly felt like he was some kind of immortal. His body was free from impurities, untouched by dust.
The process of shedding the mortal coil and attaining a new body through the Golden Coreâ¦
Theoretically, his appearance should remain youthful from now on or age extremely slowly, and his lifespan should be around 500 to 1,000 years? Oh right, based on the strength of his soul, it should be far more than 1,000?
It all felt a bit unrealâ¦
Chu Ge found himself lost in thought, wondering if his DNA was still the same or if it had been reconfigured.
What if he decided to do a paternity test? Would his parents end up fighting over it?
This whole cultivation thing was just too unscientificâ¦
Chu Ge absentmindedly looked at himself in the mirror, musing that the originally fantasized and manifested body of Qiuqiu had been the most accurate. It had truly embodied the essence of life. If he didnât need anything from the start, no need for hygiene, food, or sleep, what would life with him and Qiuqiu be like? Would it still be as heartwarming?
What about the future?
Well, they were practically an old married couple now. Thereâs no need to dwell on this.
Chu Ge still went through his usual routine of washing his face and taking a pill for breakfast. He hadnât fully shaken off his usual habits. The pillâs energy replenished his body, and he sat down in front of his computer, ready to start writing.
He had only typed a title when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Gu Ruoyan.
âRobin left Nanjiang early this morning and is flying directly to various cities in Suzhou and Hangzhou for his tour. Iâll continue to follow him and see if heâs causing trouble in other places.â
âJust check how many people he took with him, and youâll have a rough idea.â
âYes, he only took the standard assistants and bodyguards needed for the music concert. Many others have stayed here.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chu Ge had already predicted this. He replied, âOkay, Wuyang and I will keep an eye on things. If anything happens on Robinâs end, make sure to let me know.â
âAre you really concerned about him?â
âMy girlfriend is quite fond of him. Next time we meet, she should be there, and sheâd be delighted to see an old acquaintance.â
Gu Ruoyan paused and then chuckled, âAlright. By the way, take a look at Weibo. It seems to be getting a bit out of control. Do you need us to remove any trending topics? Just let me know.â
âWhat? Trending topics? Could that baseless little essay really become a trending topic?â
âBaseless little essays become trending topics all the time. Fortunately, yours is positive.â
ââ¦Iâll take a look.â
Chu Ge disconnected the call and opened Weibo, nearly tossing his phone in disbelief.
This time it wasnât baseless; the buzz was caused by real evidence.
It turned out that the hotel from last night had reposted the young girlâs essay along with a surveillance video lasting around ten seconds. In the video, Chu Ge could be seen striding forward, grabbing the tall assistant, and landing a punch on his nose.
The video was captioned with the same words Chu Ge used when leaving the banquet hall: âThis is China!â
Although the surveillance footage wasnât very clear, Chu Geâs face was somewhat visible. The composition of the video was surprisingly fitting, with a sobbing girl standing not too far away, and none of the other sensitive figures were in the frame.
âWhat the hell is this hotel doing? Did they post this surveillance video casually?â Chu Ge was bewildered. âArenât they afraid of the Secretary-General causing trouble?â
It quickly dawned on him that the hotel was trying to gain publicity!
The video didnât show the Secretary-General or Robin; in fact, it didnât even clearly depict the person who was hit. It was as if nothing had happened. By hitching a ride on the hype, the hotel managed to avoid any repercussions.
With the young girlâs essay from last night as a base, the hotelâs surveillance video as evidence, and the provocative title, Chu Ge estimated that 9 out of 10 people who watched it would be stirred. A foreigner bullying a Chinese girl, a Chinese person retaliating, and the person doing the hitting being a somewhat noteworthy celebrity, all framed under the caption âThis is China!â
The reaction was likely beyond what the hotel expected. They didnât anticipate that it would blow up like this. Various influential social media figures were frantically sharing the content, and heartfelt essays kept pouring in. The topic genuinely made it to the trending list.
Chu Ge stared dumbfounded at the numerous comment notifications and followers he couldnât even count. He was momentarily stunned. In the past, he was light-years away from trending topics, but now it actually happened.
Welcome to the era of online trends.
His head throbbed, caught between realizing that such popularity was beneficial for the recognition of his work and not wanting to complicate the fanbase of his âEarly Autumn Loveâ, he was at a loss about how to handle the situation.
Chu Ge finally added the young girl on Weibo. Her previous ID was unknown, as no one knew her before, but now she was known as âChuqiu Tangtang.â She had clearly become a hardcore fan.
Chu Ge sent a private message: âYou there?â
A reply quicky came, âHere! Chu Chu~â
âCould you stop calling me that? It sends shivers down my spine.â
âOh⦠Brother Chu.â
âYouâ¦,â Chu Ge didnât know what to say but ended up saying, âWhy give me silver as a reward? Youâre still a studentâ¦â
âTo repay the favor. I can afford to spend 8888 on watching that bastardâs concert, canât I?â
ââ¦You sure donât hold back.â Chu Ge suddenly realized something. âSo, your family has some influence?â
âItâs decent,â Chuqiu Tangtang said with some resentment. âAlthough my family isnât all that powerful on its own, we have some influential relatives. My big aunt spoils me! Theyâll regret this!â
Chu Ge realized that her actions might bring about more trouble than anticipated, potentially worse than what happened when Mi Xiaolin offended that playboy with the last name Xia.
It seemed that the apple didnât fall far from the tree. Their styles of doing things were quite similar: arrogant and self-righteous. Although Robin appeared to be sophisticated and cultured on the surface, he could be even more arrogant than Mi Xiaolin deep down.
Putting this aside, Chu Ge said, âYour essay is causing me a lot of trouble.â
Chuqiu Tangtang replied, âIsnât that a good thing? You need more popularity, right?â
âWell, yes, but this is too chaotic. What I need is genuine readers. Even the fans of âEarly Autumn Loveâ, at least they were into the whole youthful romance thing. It was more manageable. Now itâs a bit of a mess.â
Chuqiu Tangtang thought for a moment. âBrother Chu, aside from your QQ and Weibo, do you have anything else?â
Chu Ge said, âAh, I have a book review section.â
Chuqiu Tangtang: ââ¦â
Chu Ge: ââ¦â
Chuqiu Tangtang: âYouâre aiming for millions of followers, but with this much chaos, you canât manage it on your own. Itâs going to be a mess.â
âExactly!â Chu Ge exclaimed. âI contacted you because I wanted to discuss this. How do we deal with this chaotic situation?â
âI can help you with that. Iâm an expert in this area. Our Early Autumn Love community is the healthiest and sweetest! We can create a super-topic and establish a topic group. I can serve as the group leader and guide the atmosphere. Once the atmosphere is established, those who donât fit in wonât have a voice. Gradually, it will become a healthy and harmonious group. I also have some friends who can help with thisâ¦â
Chu Ge was brought to tears.
Is this considered sheathing the demonic sword?
Suddenly, Chu Ge thought of something and carefully checked his novel appâs bestsellers list.
On December 11th, âChu Tian Wujiâ reached the top of the bestsellers list for the first time since its release about nine months ago.