late at night.

The lights of the New Tide magazine office

It became the most stubborn lamp in the night of Jiangcheng.

On Wang De'an's desk, the ashtray was already overflowing.

The instant coffee in the cup cooled down and was refilled, only to cool down again.

He sank into the large executive chair.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the computer screen.

On the screen,

The trending topics on Weibo seem to be dominated by "Human World is Like Prison".

#Yang Jian Fengshen#

#HumanityIsHellCompleted#

#My body is hell, my eyes are natural disasters#

...

Each entry is followed by a bright red "爆" (explosive) character.

Wang De'an's fingers hovered over the mouse, trembling slightly.

He wanted to close the glaring page, but couldn't help refreshing it again and again.

Looking at the comments that kept popping up,

The light in his eyes was torn between envy and anxiety.

"Editor-in-chief, would you like some water?"

Xu Lan walked in quietly and placed a glass of warm water beside him.

Her face was equally haggard, and the dark circles under her eyes looked as if they had been drawn on with ink.

"Look at these comments."

Wang De'an pointed to the screen.

"Everyone is saying that 'The Ferryman' is just about petty love stories, and that Mr. Jian Shen's vision was completely outclassed by that dream weaver."

Xu Lan looked at those jarring comments.

[Teacher Jian Shen's perspective is too narrow; he's still talking about love that transcends life and death.]

The dream architects have already begun to reshape the world order!

The ferryman is a fairy tale; reality is that life is like a prison. I still prefer things that are more cruel.

What good is Tristan's good looks? Could he even beat Yang Jian with a single finger?

Her lips moved, but she didn't know how to comfort her.

They finally made a name for themselves with "The Miracles of the Namiya General Store".

With the stunning opening of "The Ferryman," they gained a firm foothold and seemed poised for meteoric success.

However, they were caught off guard by this sudden "hellstorm".

"This is not fair."

Xu Lan's voice was choked with emotion.

"The Ferryman has only just begun, how can they be compared like this?"

"Readers don't care whether you're fair or not."

Wang De'an slumped back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"They only look at who has the strongest impact."

The ending of Yang Jian's ascension to godhood was like a nuclear bomb, blasting everyone's emotions to the heavens.

In comparison, our little boat, which has just set sail, seems utterly insignificant.

The office fell into dead silence.

Xu Lan looked at the editor-in-chief's graying temples, her nose tingled, and she said softly:

"Editor-in-chief, how about... we send an email to Professor Jian Shen?"

Tell him the current situation, at least... at least let him know that we believe in him.

Wang De'an remained silent.

After a long while, he slowly sat up straight.

The anxiety in his eyes faded, replaced by a resolute determination to burn his bridges.

"No."

He shook his head.

"We can't distract him, and we can't let him feel that we are questioning him."

This battle belongs to our magazine, not just him.

He opened his email, created a new email, and addressed it to "Jian Shen".

He didn't mention the online controversy, but simply wrote:

[Dear Professor Shen, I apologize for disturbing you so late at night.]

I just want to tell you that no matter how noisy the outside world is, Xinchao will always be your most solid harbor.

He stared at the line of text, took a deep breath, and was about to click send.

Just then, the computer emitted a crisp "ding-dong" sound.

A new email from "Jian Shen" popped up in his inbox.

Wang De'an's breathing suddenly stopped.

His hands trembled as he opened the email.

The email was very simple, with only one attachment and one sentence.

[Editor-in-Chief Wang, this is a new chapter in "The Ferryman".]

Also, please post a message for me on the official Weibo account of *New Tide* magazine.

Wang De'an almost held his breath as he opened the document titled "The Courage to Go Against the Grain".

Xu Lan also came over, and the two heads squeezed together in front of the screen.

...