Jinling, the headquarters of the "New Tide" magazine.

The editorial office should be busy and orderly in the early morning.

The sounds of keyboard typing and printer humming together form the background noise of the morning rush hour.

But today, a strange restlessness permeates the air.

Wang De'an sat behind his large desk, the Pu'er tea in his hand had gone cold, but he hadn't touched it.

He stared at the offensive comments on the computer screen, his brows furrowed deeply.

With a loud bang, the office door was kicked open, and Xu Lan even forgot the proper etiquette of knocking.

She walked quickly to the table and slid the tablet computer in front of Wang De'an.

"Editor-in-chief! Have you seen what Hongguo.com is saying? That's outrageous!"

Xu Lan slammed the tablet onto Wang De'an's desk.

Pointing to the screenshot above, his voice trembled slightly with anger:

"The Ferryman? How dare he do that!"

Our novel, *The Ferryman*, has just entered the top 1 list of online literature works.

His stunt at this time is clearly an attempt to confuse the public and divert our readers!

Wang De'an looked up, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

His voice was still steady, but it betrayed his fatigue.

"Xiao Xu, calm down."

As an editor, you read the article first, then the person, and only lastly the work.

"Is there even a need to look at this?"

Xu Lan panicked.

"His intentions are written all over his face!"

People online are saying that dream weavers are a "terrifying version of Jian Shen" (a character from a popular Chinese novel).

Some people say, "Watching The Ferryman during the day is healing, while watching Soul Ferry at night is depressing."

He's using our hard work as a stepping stone for him!

"and……"

Xu Lan bit her lip, her eyes a little red.

"Teacher Jian Shen cherishes his reputation very much, and this kind of malicious bundled marketing is an insult to the creator."

If it's because we handled it improperly...

This led Mr. Jian Shen to question the magazine's public relations capabilities.

We cannot afford to lose money if we even have to terminate further cooperation.

Wang De'an sighed and put his glasses back on.

This is exactly what he was worried about.

Although he acknowledges the talent of the author of "The Dream Weaver of Hell".

The ending of that "evil spirit's journey among humans"

The analysis of the dark side of human nature is indeed remarkably skillful.

In Wang De'an's view, dream weavers and insightful people are like two sides of the same coin.

One gazes up at the stars from the abyss, the other looks down at the abyss from beneath the stars.

These two geniuses should have kept to themselves and never interfered with each other.

But this "name clash" tactic is really beneath them.

"This... doesn't seem like the style of a dream weaver."

Wang De'an stared at the book title, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"A person who can write 'Human World is Like a Prison' must be extremely proud at heart."

He shouldn't stoop to riding on someone else's coattails. Unless…

"Unless what?"

Xu Lan asked.

"Unless... he never intended to ride the wave of popularity at all."

Wang De'an muttered to himself.

"Given his pride, perhaps... he wanted to use this name to prove something."

Xu Lan's eyes widened:

"Editor-in-chief, you think too highly of him, don't you?"

He wants to directly challenge Professor Jian Shen on the same topic? That's too risky!

Furthermore, how can a horror novel express the warm core of "The Ferryman"? These are completely different approaches!

"That's horror fiction. How can it compare to serious literature in terms of depth?"

"The depth of literature is never limited by subject matter."

Wang De'an shook his head, then stood up and walked to the window.

"However, your concerns are valid. We need to give Jian Shen a clear answer."

He turned around, his expression becoming serious.

"Xiao Xu, go and draft an email now and send it to Teacher Jian Shen."

The wording should be tactful and sincere.

Tell him that the magazine's legal department is aware of the matter and that we will step in to protect his rights if necessary.

Also... try to calm him down and ask him what he thinks about this.

"Okay, I'll go right away! I absolutely can't let Professor Jian Shen down!"

Xu Lan nodded emphatically, picked up the tablet, and was about to rush out.

"etc."

Wang De'an called out to her, his eyes flickering.

"Also, try contacting Hongguo.com."

Although we are competitors, we are both writers after all.

I want to ask her, is this something the platform instructed us to do, or is it just the author going crazy?

After Xu Lan left, the office fell silent again.

Looking at the traffic outside the window, Wang De'an's unease did not dissipate.

Two names, two pen names, a subtle intuition swirled in his mind.

If these two books really go up against each other, will it be a lose-lose situation, or... a win-win situation?

At the same time, Lin Que, who was dozing off on the high-speed train, felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

He avoided Shen Qingqiu and Zhao Zichen's gaze and secretly took out his phone.

It's a new email notification.

From: Xu Lan, New Tide Magazine

Subject: [Urgent! Urgent communication and condolences regarding the online controversy].

Lin Que opened the email and quickly browsed through it.

The careful and tender care conveyed between the lines

The concern shown for him, this "fragile artist," was practically overflowing from the screen.

"...Professor Jian Shen, please do not let the noise on the internet affect your mood."

Your portrayal of Dylan and Tristan is unique; no clumsy imitation can overshadow the brilliance of the original…

Lin Que couldn't help but almost burst out laughing.

A poor imitation?

If Xu Lan knew that this "imitator" was inside the same person's body as the one receiving her emails,

I wonder if this girl will be so angry that she'll eat the computer on the spot.

Lin Que typed with one hand, his thumb hovering for a moment before typing a line of text.