TGBOG Chapter 11

A Certain Wednesday: Never would I have thought that Master Twelve’s first piece after signing with Yue Si would be a review!

I’m Hua Hua Addicted to GJ World: Could this be an editorial assignment? A commercial praise piece?

Summer_Wei: Finished reading it. Master Twelve analyzed it so meticulously. As a Little Prince fan, I feel ashamed.

Today I Also Want to Marry Master Twelve: Ahhhhh, this feels amazing. I’m going to read it right away!

Huan Jiawei: He actually wrote 10,192 words. Impressive!

Heavenly Descended Beautiful Girl: If I remember correctly, “Burning Clothes” was the novel involved in the plagiarism dispute back then…

…

To be honest, Zhao Yijia was a bit stunned.

One of the comments on Weibo was correct. “Burning Clothes” was indeed the novel previously accused of plagiarizing a story from Twelve Ye’s “Lies”. And now, Twelve Ye had written a 10,000-word review for it…

Zhao Yijia tried to control his excitement and opened the review to read it slowly. About halfway through, he clicked out of it and let out a long breath.

This is too embarrassing! Even more embarrassing than reading and writing BL stories combined!

To be fair, Ye Luan wrote the review very earnestly. He spent time carefully reading the novel, then dissected it—from words to sentences, from writing style to pacing, from character settings to plot. “Burning Clothes” was laid bare before him, and he praised every aspect sincerely yet restrainedly, making his praise heartfelt and convincing.

But it was precisely because of this that Zhao Yijia felt extremely embarrassed.

After much hesitation, Zhao Yijia retweeted Ye Luan’s Weibo:

Zhao Zhao V: I… don’t know what to say. Thank you so much, Master Twelve! o(╥﹏╥)o

Just after reposting this Weibo, his phone buzzed with a message from Ye Luan:

Ye Luan: Actually, I wrote it a long time ago. Finally got the chance to show it to you.

Zhao Zhao: Master Twelve, you praised me in front of so many people. I feel guilty!

Ye Luan: But I just wanted to praise you in front of everyone.

Zhao Yijia felt a mix of sweetness and shyness. Holding his phone, he typed out a long message in WeChat, but after much editing, it ended up as just four words—

Zhao Zhao: Come back soon!

Ye Luan, after seeing the “…is typing” message for a long time, finally received the “Come back soon” message and couldn’t help but laugh.

Meanwhile, the “Meteor Garden” group chat was buzzing—

Sleepy Fox: Master Twelve, how about reviewing my recently completed “Wind White Chronicles” @Ye Luan

Qin Hai: Master Twelve, how about my half-year-old “Floating Through Time” @Ye Luan

Tian Gai: Master Twelve, it’s me, Tian Gai. How about reviewing me @Ye Luan

Sleepy Fox: …Tian Gai, your style is off.

Tian Gai: It’s a 10,000-word review. Forget recommending novels, recommend me!!!

Ye Luan: No long reviews, but how about a short one?

Tian Gai: Drooling.jpg

Ye Luan: Go away.

Qin Hai: Not saying “get lost” is Master Twelve’s last mercy.

Sleepy Fox: Hahaha

Tian Gai: Master Twelve is so biased. Crying.jpg

Zhao Zhao: …

Tian Gai: The person in question has appeared! Everyone, don’t let him off! Pass the mic!

Sleepy Fox: How do you feel about Master Ye writing you a 10,000-word review?

Zhao Zhao: …Just… very touched?

Tian Gai: Just touched? You should light incense, take a bath, put on new clothes, and bring your USB drive with drafts and bank cards to find him!

Qin Hai: Like a New Year’s visit?

Tian Gai: Not a New Year’s visit! Go and pamper him!

Tian Gai: Do you know how hard it is these days to find a reader willing to write more than 800 words of review?!

Tian Gai: It’s all tears… really…

Zhao Zhao: Tell me your story. I’ll write it up for Submission House.

Tian Gai: Honestly, Zhao’er, with what Master Twelve did today, I think you’ll be featured on Submission House before me.

Zhao Zhao: …

…

“Submission House” is a gossip and entertainment account for the web novel circle on Weibo, known for breaking major news like “Qi Hang Ye Sheng’s Affair with a Mistress” and “Cold Flame Autumn’s Feud with Hard Stone Publishing.” People often submitted tips, and it was the first to break the news when Twelve Ye left Qi Hang to sign with Yue Si. The content was a mix of truth and fiction, mainly for entertainment.

Tian Gai’s words were validated the next day. The night after Ye Luan’s Weibo post, “Submission House” quickly followed up with a long Weibo post titled “Detailed Analysis of the Love-Hate Relationship Between Twelve Ye and Zhao Zhao.”

The long post detailed their “love-hate” history with incredible detail, as if eavesdropping under their bed, with descriptions as vivid as a drone’s 360-degree live broadcast. When Zhao Yijia read the part about his reaction to Ye Luan’s long review post—“At this moment, Zhao Zhao felt a sense of relief. He thought, whether it’s him or Twelve Ye, they’ve both let go.”—he was struck by the cheesy melodramatic tone!

Because of this post, he and Ye Luan were teased by the other three for days. Tian Gai was the worst, constantly screenshotting funny parts and tagging them in the group, even reading them out loud in voice messages. It was torturous! Although the post was exaggerated, it was mostly accurate, not painting anyone in a bad light, so the comments were fairly harmonious. Their fans knew about the previous misunderstanding, and now that their relationship was mended, the fans didn’t mind. However, this post did catch the attention of a small group of enthusiasts:

Yue Si Literature Network Official Forum — Girls Channel — BL Chat Section

[Discussion] A certain web novel master signed with a new company. No new work yet, claiming to be too busy, but wrote a 10,000-word review for a certain writer and posted it on Weibo. What’s the deal?

0L: To clarify, the writer is a minor deity, and the two had a spat before.

1L: Selling a ship.

2L: Secretly shipping it.

3L: Who?

4L: Twelve Ye and Zhao Zhao, I think. Check out the Weibo “Submission House.” It feels like reading a PG-rated BL story.

5L: Zhao Zhao is riding Twelve Ye’s coattails. Taking Twelve Ye away.

6L: Reply to 5L: What’s this got to do with Zhao Zhao? If you have guts, tell Twelve Ye to stop praising “Burning Clothes.”

7L: Reply to 6L: Clearly a commercial exchange since he signed with Yue Si. Take it seriously?

8L: Twelve Ye must be bored at home for a while. When will he start a new novel?

9L: Is there any sugar here?

10L: Surface-level shipping.

11L: Reply to 9L: Zhao Zhao was accused of plagiarizing a story from Twelve Ye’s “Lies.” Although Twelve Ye cleared things up, their relationship was said to be strained. Then during the Moon Viewing Event, Master Twelve suddenly posted a side-profile picture of Zhao Zhao, and Sleepy Fox commented, “Are you and Master Twelve still sleeping? Still sleeping? Sleeping? Sleeping?”

12L: Reply to 11L: This ship has a big captain!

13L: Let me add, someone asked Master Twelve why he posted Zhao Zhao’s photo, and he said because he wanted a good start with Zhao Zhao.

14L: I came here to mock, but after reading above… I’m speechless…

15L: More, please!

16L: By the way, the 10,000-word review! My Zhao fan friend blushed reading it, saying she felt like she read a fake “Burning Clothes.” Hahaha.

17L: Does this count? Zhao Zhao retweeted Twelve Ye’s Weibo, then Tian Gai retweeted Zhao Zhao’s Weibo saying Twelve Ye is biased. [Screenshot]

18L: Reply to 17L: Hahahahaha, Tian Gai is really the first socialite of Yue Si. He’s everywhere.

19L: They probably got closer during the Moon Viewing Event and started interacting more.

20L: As an old Ye fan, I’ll say that Master is usually very reserved. Check his Weibo; he never posts daily updates, rarely interacts with other writers, and almost never replies to readers. But lately, he’s posted three times, two about Zhao Zhao, and specifically replied to Zhao Zhao-related questions. It’s really… we fans are shocked!

21L: …A bit sweet?

22L: [Photos x8] Pictures from the Moon Viewing Event. Find the sugar in the frames.

23L: Reply to 20L: …Starting to suspect the other daily post might also be related to Zhao Zhao…

…

Tian Gai: [Screenshot]

Tian Gai: Hahaha, the girls are shipping Master Twelve and Zhao’er.

Tian Gai: Congrats, Zhao Zhao, on winning over Master Twelve.

Sleepy Fox: …

Sleepy Fox: What were you doing in the Girls Channel’s BL section?

Tian Gai: Market research. Since we’re writing BL, we need to keep an eye on what readers like.

Tian Gai: We can’t afford another straight-male aesthetic incident like Hai Ge’s.

Since Qin Hai was criticized for his outdated descriptions, he had been striving to stay ahead of trends in the writing community. Last time, he wrote about a female supporting character Liu Qingru, whose glamorous outfit was screenshotted and submitted to the “Bizarre Descriptions Roast Center.” The submitter even used the dress-up game “Miracle Nikki” to recreate the description, and the reposts were full of people expressing their distaste.

Qin Hai: [Screenshot] Is this outfit really that tacky? I’m not convinced!

Tian Gai: Bro, I know it’s tough for you, but because of that outfit, our rankings dropped a lot. It’s time for something big!

The group chat went silent for a minute, as everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for Tian Gai’s next move.

Tian Gai: Guys, it’s time for a bed scene!

Zhao Yijia’s hand shook: Bed scene?

Tian Gai: [Screenshot] See? The readers’ voices.

Tian Gai’s screenshots were all comments from the story’s comment section:

Meow Meow Meow: Ahhh, Duan Duan is so sexy. Want to see smut!

Bunny: Shen’s stamina is impressive. When will they get it on, author?

Watermelon is Delicious: I’m so teased by these two. Ahhhh, hurry up and do it!

^_^: Not satisfied! Not satisfied!

…

Tian Gai: See this Bunny? She’s been following from chapter one. It’s time to reward the loyal ones.

Sleepy Fox: But Shen An and Duan Ruxing have only kissed on the forehead, right?

Qin Hai: I also think it’s too soon. It’ll mess up the pace.

Sleepy Fox: On second thought, maybe we could use a drug. They could do it first and slowly develop their relationship after…

Zhao Zhao: Didn’t expect you to be this kind of Sleepy Fox. side-eye.jpg

Tian Gai: Today, we’ll decide who writes the first bed scene.

Zhao Zhao: Isn’t it whoever’s turn it is?

Sleepy Fox: …I can’t write it. Please don’t make me.

Tian Gai: The first bed scene is crucial. It needs to be well set up. If someone like Foxy, who tends to drag things out, writes it, the moment will lose its impact.

Sleepy Fox: True. After writing so much about Shen An and Duan Ruxing, I’ve grown attached. Their first time must be well written.

Tian Gai: Right, right. I’m stressed about it!

Who are these mother hens?!

Tian Gai: So, we’ll roll dice to decide! Highest number writes the first bed scene!

Qin Hai: Looking forward to it!

Zhao Zhao: Hai Ge, why are you always inexplicably excited?!

Tian Gai: Is Master Twelve here? If so, we can start! @Ye Luan

Ye Luan: Here.

Tian Gai: Great, everyone roll the dice. Highest number writes it. If tied, roll again.

Zhao Yijia rolled a 2, Tian Gai and Sleepy Fox both got 3, Qin Hai rolled a 1, and Ye Luan rolled a 5. The task fell to Ye Luan. Zhao Yijia sighed in relief: he wouldn’t know how to write it if he got chosen. It’s best left to Master Twelve.

Tian Gai: These two are in your hands, Master Twelve!

Mother hen number one.

Sleepy Fox: Master Twelve, please don’t let Duan Ruxing suffer. He’s had it tough in the story.

Mother hen number two.

Qin Hai: Use a drug? Is aphrodisiac still a filtered word on Yue Si?

The madam.

Ye Luan: Wait, what are we writing?

Zhao Yijia saw the message pop up and could almost picture Ye Luan’s confused expression. Stifling his laughter, he quickly replied:

Congratulations, Master Twelve, on getting the bed scene plot!