After Bai Tang returned, he didn’t wait for Grandpa Su in the living room to cook. Instead, he went back to his room to research the origin, customs, meanings, and legends of the Qixi Festival online. The system was assisting on the side.
“I don’t like Niulang,” Bai Tang whispered after finishing the love story of Niulang’s niece. “I think Niulang stealing Zhinü’s clothes is not very good1This is from the story “The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl”.”
“That’s the unrealistic silk dream,” the system chuckled. “Folk legends and the love stories of talented women are almost the same plot. Only the toad eating swan meat, those poor scholars, or men like Niulang, who are poor and plain, can marry a beautiful woman. But there’s never a story of a wealthy young master falling in love with a rural woman.”
“Probably because in ancient times, men were the ones writing,” the system said. “Look now, there are plenty of female authors online. If you browse, you’ll find many stories about billionaires falling in love with my overbearing CEO.”
Bai Tang listened in bewilderment, having not yet encountered online literature.
“Like a girl proficient in seven languages with colorful hair and eyes, entangled in love with an overbearing CEO who controls the global economy, a cold-blooded and ruthless assassin, a melancholic and charming superstar, and various men intertwining in love stories,” the system lamented. “It brings tears to my eyes, wishing I could exchange for a pair of titanium alloy dog eyes.”
“So, is this how online novels are?” Bai Tang asked, feeling puzzled after hearing the system’s remarks.
“Is Xiao Feige writing the same kind of stuff?” Bai Tang suddenly thought of this question.
“I’m talking about a formula that was popular a long time ago. Xiao Feige’s style doesn’t seem to fit that mold,” the system asserted. “Let me check. Xiao Feige used to handwrite manuscripts in the classroom. I think I saw the protagonist’s name.”
The system took half a minute to find Xiao Feige’s pseudonym. With the system’s speed, digging into pseudonyms usually took only three seconds. This time, it took half a minute, not because Xiao Feige’s pseudonym was well-hidden, but…
“What a crappy server! It lagged me for over ten seconds.”
The system grumpily climbed back to check the website’s name—”Jinjiang Literature City.”
Bai Tang found the website, and the vibrant green interface blinded him upon opening it. He then entered Xiao Feige’s work title in the search bar, only to see a slowly rotating small chrysanthemum on the website.
The chrysanthemum kept spinning, five minutes passed, and the screen reflected Bai Tang’s weary expression.
Seven minutes later, Bai Tang finally saw Xiao Feige’s article. It was a suspenseful detective story, with less than a hundred thousand words. The comment section was quite deserted, with only one reader, “Snake Girl You Can’t Seduce,” leaving a comment.
The reader’s comments were lengthy, resembling mini-essays. Each comment was like a thousand words praising with rainbows, followed by a thousand words of character and plot analysis, leaving onlookers greatly impressed.
This fueled Bai Tang’s curiosity even more.
Intrigued, Bai Tang clicked into the comments and was immediately captivated by Xiao Feige’s writing prowess. Xiao Feige possessed a remarkable talent for words, using a few sentences to vividly create a terrifying atmosphere. It felt as if countless spirits were crawling out of the cold words, whispering secrets into the ears.
Bai Tang nervously held his breath. He reached for the honey water on the table, and just as his fingertips touched the cup, the system’s shrill scream startled him, causing Bai Tang to almost spill the water.
With the system’s speed, a million words could be skimmed in three seconds. So, during the time Bai Tang looked at the beginning, the system had already finished reading the entire content.
Despite being less than a hundred thousand words, the system took several seconds to process. This was because Xiao Feige’s writing was like a haunted house to the system, making it drive erratically, with the sound of ghosts and howling wind rushing through.
“Th-this is too thrilling to read,” the system weakly said. “Hey, does this website have any large-scale weapons of mass destruction?”
“Go, launch a deep-sea torpedo at her; I want us to go down together,”
Bai Tang hesitated, “That doesn’t seem right.”
“My tender soul has suffered immense damage; my data flow has turned into gibberish, okay?” The system cried, “If you won’t go, I will!”
Bai Tang dared not stop the system. He watched as the system, with great momentum, prepared to unleash the torpedo, only to be blocked countless times by the rotating chrysanthemum. Despite the system getting dizzy and exploding in place, the determined system persistently launched torpedoes, flooding the vibrant Jinjiang website.
“When is this crappy website changing servers?” A comment from the user “QuackQuackQuackQuackQuack” to the author said, “Your writing scared me. I’ll use a deep-sea torpedo to blow you up.”
After bombarding the entire comment section, the system, satisfied, clapped its virtual hands. “There, I feel better. This website even has the feature to bomb the author. It’s quite nice, just a bit pricey—costs a hundred bucks for one explosion.”
The system could spend energy to purchase the currency of this world, so it exchanged ten thousand RMB and proceeded to detonate a hundred deep-sea torpedoes.
The system then casually observed other reader features. “Moonstone?” The system asked with curiosity, “Sounds nice. It’s probably something for giving tips. I’ll save up and gift it to my favorite authors.”
Bai Tang: “…”
He felt that something was off.
“You better not read it now; wait until daytime to check out this article,” the system advised Bai Tang. “It’s quite creepy. Go do some research for now. Be good, I won’t harm you.” After saying this, the system immersed itself in a sea of books, claiming to console its wounded heart with little sweet treats.
Bai Tang added Xiao Feige’s work to his favorites, then closed Jinjiang Literature City and continued searching for information online.
With the origin and legendary stories of the Qixi Festival already noted, Bai Tang decided to delve into how humans celebrate Qixi.
Bai Tang’s room door was slightly ajar, allowing Su Siyuan to enter directly. So, when Su Siyuan called Bai Tang for dinner, he saw the young man sitting attentively in front of the computer, taking notes. The content displayed on the browser was:
“What gifts to give to your lover on Qixi Festival.”
Su Siyuan stood frozen in place, a hint of confusion first crossing his mind, followed by an overwhelming wave of joy. Countless voices filled his mind, screaming hysterically:
Ah, he likes me! Ah, he likes me! Ah, he likes me! Ah!
The little sloth in Su Siyuan’s heart danced with joy, so ecstatic that it forgot it was hugging a tree trunk. Unfortunately, it fell from the tree, landing solidly on the ground… and then rolled around in sheer delight at the bottom of Su Siyuan’s heart!
‘Should I confess before receiving Bai Tang’s gift, or should I do it after receiving the gift? What will Bai Tang give me? Whatever it is, as long as it’s from Bai Tang, I’ll like it! If Bai Tang could wrap himself up and be delivered to me, that would be perfect!’
‘What should I wear that day? What perfume should I spray? Does Bai Tang like the scent of perfume?’
‘Ah—’
‘Such sweet troubles—’
Su Siyuan’s mouth involuntarily curled upward, and his whole being seemed to emit pink bubbles, each bubble hiding a declaration of affection.
Watching Bai Tang earnestly taking notes, Su Siyuan suppressed his smile. He was sure Bai Tang wanted to surprise him.
Because Su Siyuan had also secretly prepared a Qixi gift for Bai Tang. He believed he understood Bai Tang’s thoughts, so he graciously took a few steps back, silently slipped out of the room, and pretended he hadn’t been there in the first place.
If the system weren’t currently immersed in novels, it would see a sly sloth spirit leaving the room, silently laughing behind the door. The radiant smile could easily blind the titanium alloy dog eyes of the single system.
After Su Siyuan finished his secret amusement, he solemnly knocked on the door. “Are you there? It’s time for dinner.”
Hearing this, Bai Tang put down his pen and opened the door. “Coming, coming.” As he opened the door, he saw Su Siyuan with a smiling face and those particularly tender eyes.
Meeting those amber eyes, Bai Tang’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. Bai Tang whispered to the system, “Why do I feel like Su Siyuan is in a particularly good mood right now?”
The system, still addicted to novels, responded with a distracted “What? What did you just say?”
Bai Tang: “…”
Forget it, this system is hopeless.
＊
Jinjiang Literature City Anonymous Forum:
#Are all newbies this talented now? Just started writing and already eager to dominate the rankings#
Original Poster:
Have you all seen the homepage’s deep-sea torpedo announcement? A reader named “When will the crappy website change servers” bombarded a pure newbie with a hundred deep-sea torpedoes! Can’t newbies just focus on writing without immediately dominating the rankings? Moreover, there’s a reader in the comments section writing long reviews like crazy to boost ratings. It’s obvious that it’s the same author using a second account. Isn’t she afraid this will become a stain on her reputation in the future?
№1
OP, you’re almost going to get red-eye disease. They have money, it’s their choice. They’re using RMB, and Jinjiang allows it. Why envy them here?
№2
What’s wrong with dominating the rankings? It’s just a player using RMB. If I had that much money, I’d do the same. OP, your behavior is witch-hunting; please delete your post.
I think that newbie hasn’t dominated enough. She might not be aware of the market price. Jinjiang’s weekly rankings for the king’s tickets start at 15,000. So, the homepage is making me anxious. I want to urge her to hurry up and dominate more, get on the weekly rankings, and make OP, with his red-eye disease, spit blood.
№3
Am I the only one paying attention to that reader’s name? Hahaha, when will Guan San (Administrator Three, Jinjiang’s boss) change the server?
№4
It’s not like she’s boosting her collection income. OP, it’s excessive to accuse people like this.
№5
Why do you all assume the reader throwing torpedoes is the author’s second account? I just checked that piece, and it’s really well written—suspenseful detective fiction with a touch of horror. The writing is fantastic, gave me goosebumps.
№6
Agree with the above, it’s too good. Reasonably suspect it’s an alt account of a master.
№7
Is this for real? Five and six brothers successfully piqued my curiosity.
№8
What you’re saying makes me really want to check it out. (Suspects OP is an alt account of the new author, self-promoting here)
…
№186
Ahhhh, who is this goddess? This newbie must be an alt account of a master! Absolutely!!!!
№187
Fellow readers, I’ve fallen into the pit. The story is really good QAQ. After finishing it, I really want to write a long review for the author.
№188
Suddenly, I find that the reader who threw torpedoes is so cute. It looks like they were genuinely scared by the story (because I was too).
№189
Why is the author named QuackQuackQuackQuackQuack? I feel a slight sense of fear.
№190
I am the OP. I’ve come back after finishing the story. I want to apologize to the new author here. An author who can write such a story doesn’t need to dominate the rankings. Okay, I’m going to apologize by throwing a torpedo! Close the thread!!!
