Yuesi Literature Network Official Forum—Women’s Channel—Gossip Chat Section
[Discussion] OMG??!! [The Villain’s Guide to Conquest] was written by Zhao Zhao?!
0L: I was stunned when I saw it on Weibo!
1L: Congrats on finally getting your internet connected at home.
2L: We’ve already had one round of arguments over this. Let the comment section rest.
3L: What’s going on? I just found out too.
4L (Replying to 3L): Zhao Zhao has been updating [The Villain’s Guide to Conquest] and [The Sands of Wind] at the same time. He mixed up the chapters and accidentally exposed his pen name. Later, he deleted and reposted them, basically confirming everything.
5L (Replying to 4L): So… a male author writing danmei isn’t a big deal, right? Why the fuss?
6L: How can you ask why there’s drama? This is such an obvious publicity stunt! Honestly, when [Yan Hua Liao Luan] first started getting comments right after being posted under a new pen name, I was already suspicious. Then there was all that CP hype with Twelve Ye and Mao Lizi recently, and now this pen name reveal. You expect us to believe all these “coincidences” weren’t planned? And just in time for [The Sands of Wind] to finish too, how convenient.
7L: Oh, and by the way, the wrong chapter stayed up for about 2 or 3 hours before it got deleted. And by then, it was already trending at number 12. Think about that.
8L: Male authors writing danmei isn’t the issue, but pulling so many stunts is just off-putting.
9L: You all sound so bitter, but Weibo is still buzzing with excitement.
10L (Replying to 9L): You’re dreaming! The male readers are already raging. They were ready for an epic finale but got served a couple of BL fanfic chapters instead.
11L: Saying “treating BL readers like fools” is a joke. What’s there to fool? Clearly, a non-fan here who hasn’t read [The Villain’s Guide].
12L: A string of flashy moves—using a pen name, getting exposed—just to attract fujoshi (female BL fans) and boost popularity. And sure enough, the naive fans on Weibo are all praising him and calling him cute. Congrats to Zhao Gongzi for winning over the “brilliant” fujoshi fanbase.
13L: Uh, my Weibo feed looks fine. Most people are happy, though some are surprised.
14L (Replying to 13L): Without riding on Twelve Ye’s coattails, who would even know him?
15L (Replying to 14L): Hilarious. Twelve Ye’s 10,000-word review and photos are still up. Who’s clinging to whom here?
16L: I always felt a bit off when reading the female characters. Now I know why.
17L: So here’s the question: Did he project onto the characters?
18L (Replying to 17L): The top is Twelve Ye, and the bottom is Zhao Zhao. Perfect.
19L (Replying to 18L): Get out of here.
20L: Actually, the writing isn’t bad. If it weren’t for everything that happened, I’d think it was kind of fun. But like 6L said, connecting all these stunts together, it’s hard not to overthink things…
—
This pen name exposure incident was both laughable and frustrating. In fact, about half an hour after the chapters went live, some readers had already messaged Zhao Yijia. But Zhao Yijia was busy delivering food to Ye Luan, and the two of them were so caught up in each other that they didn’t check their phones. Meanwhile, Tian Gai, who usually had his finger on the pulse of things, was also busy with something else. Everyone was preoccupied, and it wasn’t until two hours later that the group chat finally blew up.
Somnolent Fox: Get out here, something happened! @Zhao Zhao Zhao Zhao, your pen name got exposed! Quickly fix it, it’s trending!
Somnolent Fox: [Screenshot]
Qin Hai: ??????
Zhao Yijia: I’ll fix it right away!
Qin Hai: I checked Weibo, feels like it’s too late…
Somnolent Fox: It’s fine, we’re already outed, so let’s just debut, I guess.
Qin Hai: Weibo isn’t too bad, but the forum comments are a bit harsh. The girls seem overly sensitive, huh?
Somnolent Fox: I don’t get it either. They were praising our writing not long ago. [Pouty face.jpg]
Qin Hai: Looks like they think Zhao Zhao is pulling a publicity stunt.
Tian Gai: I’m here. What happened?
Zhao Yijia: Fixed it…
Tian Gai: What the heck!!!
Zhao Yijia: I was in a rush to bring lunch to Twelve Ye. I didn’t double-check after posting. [Facepalm.jpg]
Tian Gai: Distracted by love!
Somnolent Fox: So, what do we do now? It feels like people are starting to stir up trouble and just keep on criticizing.
Zhao Yijia: Just ignore it. In a few days, it’ll blow over.
Tian Gai: Or we could just admit it.
Zhao Yijia: No, it’s fine if it’s just me writing. At worst, they’ll accuse me of pulling a publicity stunt or queerbaiting. But if we reveal that it’s actually five of us co-writing and that it’s all part of a game, it’ll really feel like we’re messing with people.
Qin Hai: So should we just wait it out? Or maybe we should post on Weibo and take control of the narrative. Between the five of us, we have enough followers to turn the tide.
Somnolent Fox: That sounds good!
Tian Gai: But if we post on Weibo and then someone digs up more dirt on us later, it’ll make us look even worse. What seemed justified will turn into us being in the wrong.
Zhao Yijia: Tian Gai’s right. I don’t think it’s a big deal. A few harsh words won’t kill us. We’ve been cursed at for missing updates before; it’s not a problem.
Tian Gai: Alright, let’s observe for now. @Twelve Ye, condemn the perpetrator!
Qin Hai: @Twelve Ye, condemn the perpetrator!
Somnolent Fox: @Twelve Ye, condemn the perpetrator!
Zhao Yijia: [Facepalm.jpg] He’s washing dishes. I’ll send a red envelope instead.
Zhao Yijia: [Congratulations, may you be prosperous and blessed]
—
When Ye Luan returned to the office, Zhao Yijia explained the situation. Ye Luan opened his phone, searched for updates, and said seriously, “This isn’t hard to handle. The real question is, what do you want to do?”
Seeing Ye Luan’s unhappy expression—probably from reading all the negative comments—Zhao Yijia quickly replied, “Just let it cool down. It’s not that big of a deal. This backlash isn’t even as bad as when I was accused of plagiarism.”
When it came to Zhao Yijia, Ye Luan had always been high-profile. Zhao Yijia was worried that getting involved would stir up more trouble and drag the others down as well. So, he decided to just let it pass. The internet’s focus shifts quickly, and people wouldn’t stay fixated on such a minor issue for long.
However, Zhao Yijia underestimated the boredom and malice of netizens. Within just two days, the “pen name reveal” incident had escalated. Marketing accounts fanned the flames, and on Weibo, people began digging up “black material” on Zhao Yijia—accusations of publicity stunts, queerbaiting, suspected plagiarism—and the criticisms became increasingly absurd. Even his food photos were labeled as “building a persona.” Zhao Yijia’s fans were furious, unable to understand how such a small issue had suddenly become so serious, and they started fighting back. The whole thing spiraled into a bitter online feud.
Ye Luan’s expression grew darker by the day. Since Zhao Yijia wouldn’t let him post on Weibo, he resorted to liking all of Zhao Yijia’s old posts, from top to bottom, leaving comments here and there. He even commented “So blue” on a post from last year where Zhao Yijia had casually shared a photo of the sky. Some of Ye Luan’s fans, who didn’t particularly like Zhao Yijia, were shocked by his behavior. They even started to believe that the more they criticized Zhao Yijia, the more Ye Luan would defend him, leading to a kind of face-slapping frenzy.
By the third day, Ye Luan couldn’t take it anymore. Glaring at Zhao Yijia, he declared, “I’m taking over this situation!”
Zhao Yijia sighed, “Alright, go ahead.”
Ye Luan opened the “Meteor Garden” group chat and sent a message: Are you all ready to debut?
Qin Hai: What do you mean?
Somnolent Fox: Oh, oh, oh!
Tian Gai: [Suddenly excited.jpg]
Twelve Ye: I can solve the pen name exposure issue.
Tian Gai: How?
Twelve Ye: First, we need a scapegoat, someone to take the blame for the fact that five of us are writing this story together.
Twelve Ye: Who could make five of us co-write a danmei story?
Qin Hai: Money.
Twelve Ye: …Yuesi.
Somnolent Fox: Why would Yuesi make us write this?
Twelve Ye: A plan. This is part of Yuesi’s project.
Tian Gai: I think I’m starting to get it!
Twelve Ye: This project is called “N Divided by One.” In recent years, a highly discussed social issue has been gender equality. In everyday life, whether male to female or female to male, there are always many gender stereotypes, which also lead to many inequalities. Yuesi hopes that through this project, they can encourage mutual respect between men and women and inspire people to consider things from the other gender’s perspective. The first phase involves inviting male authors to write female-oriented stories. It’s a collision of male thinking with female-centric themes, to see what kind of chemistry will occur. Five authors, each representing one-fifth of a female, will collectively form [Yan Hua Liao Luan].
Somnolent Fox: …
Tian Gai: Holy crap!
Tian Gai: This is genius! What kind of god-tier maneuver is this?!
Tian Gai: Twelve Ye, you’re the best in the world!
Qin Hai: I feel like sending you a red envelope.
Somnolent Fox: Since we’re packaging it as a Yuesi project, then Zhao Zhao’s behavior can be attributed to Yuesi too. If people say it’s a publicity stunt, we can just say Yuesi was behind it all along.
Qin Hai: But this requires Yuesi’s cooperation. Can we pull it off?
Twelve Ye: I know some higher-ups there. I can convince them.
Tian Gai: Wait, I have a question—
Tian Gai: Are we really going to bother the higher-ups over this? Do we have the guts to do this?
Tian Gai: Five grown men writing danmei, getting exposed and flamed, and now we’re calling in the higher-ups to clean up our mess? Guys, do we even have any dignity left?
The group fell silent.
Somnolent Fox: But if we don’t reach out to the higher-ups, who else can pull this off?
Tian Gai thought for a while, then gritted his teeth: I know who to ask. Wait for my good news!
After sending the message, Tian Gai mentally prepared himself, then made a phone call. “Brother Xuesong~”
On the other end of the line, Xuesong remained quiet for a few seconds before replying coldly, “Even if you’ve taken out a loan, you still need to update on time.”
Tian Gai calmly responded, “Brother Xuesong, I’ve got a business deal for you. Are you interested?”
The next day, Yuesi Literature Network’s official Weibo account posted a message that caused a huge sensation:
Yuesi Literature Network V: Yuesi’s Annual Project [N Divided by One] has officially launched!
Why do people always say that girls just need to be pretty?
Why do men get mocked for liking pink things?
Why am I more capable than him, yet you choose him over me, just because I’m female?
…
What are you thinking?
Do you understand me?
Do you respect me?
Do you trust me?
Why are there always so many prejudices between men and women?
Today, let Yuesi bring you, together with popular authors, into a dazzling collision of male thinking and female-oriented themes!
We’ve invited five popular male authors under the pen name [Yan Hua Liao Luan] to co-write a female-oriented novel. Originally, we planned to officially announce this project once the novel was completed, but since one of the authors accidentally “exposed their pen name,” we had to work overtime to rush out this promotional graphic! Yes, the first [N Divided by One] author is Zhao Zhao. But who are the other four popular male authors? Have you read [Yan Hua Liao Luan]’s novel? Can you guess who they are? Each week, we’ll reveal one author. Retweet this Weibo post and @ two friends, and each week, we’ll select three lucky readers to receive a signed set of books by the five authors of [N Divided by One]! We’ll also be sharing more “little secrets” about this project, so stay tuned!
Regardless of gender, I am your N Divided by One!
Yuesi’s official Weibo post included nine images. Eight of them explained what [N Divided by One] is, what its significance is, and called on various industries to launch similar [N Divided by One] initiatives to break down gender stereotypes. In short, they hyped it up to the point where it felt like not participating in this high-level project would be a disservice to your parents. The middle image was a stunning side profile photo of Zhao Yijia, accompanied by four question marks, leaving enough mystery to hook everyone who saw the post.
Xuesong was indeed impressive. Despite the rushed timeline, this project was flawlessly executed. Even the “N” in the [N Divided by One] logo was carefully designed, with blue and pink blending together, perfectly aligning with the theme. When people saw the Weibo post, they were stunned!
It was only then that everyone realized, Zhao Zhao writing danmei was nothing. He was just one-fifth of the equation! Five male authors writing danmei—who are the other four “popular writers”?!
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