The cold light from the phone screen shone on my face.
Ye Xi curled up on the sofa in the music room.
Ye Xi stared at the chat box, her mind filled with the image of the girl who fell from the high-rise building in "The Fox Fairy's Medicine."
Like that high heel that fell off in the news.
Two minutes later, the phone vibrated.
[Mushu]: With the news making such a big fuss, any author with a brain would take it as material.
Ye Xi looked at the screen, her brows furrowed slightly.
Just because of the source material?
[Beethoven on the run]: It's not that simple. I've read the eyewitness account; the girl was holding an empty bottle, exactly as described in the book.
[Beethoven on the run]: This is not just about gathering material; this attention to detail suggests that he must have seen it with his own eyes or reviewed police files.
[Beethoven on the run]: You mean... this dream weaver, could he really be a criminal investigator by training? This is too real.
Or, does he really see things that we can't?
Jiangcheng, SOHO Future City Studio.
Lin Que looked at the wildly imaginative "Beethoven" on the screen and rubbed his temples in exasperation.
He wasn't there, of course, but he'd seen far too many souls like that.
In an era where appearance anxiety can be deadly, tragic scripts don't even bother to change the punctuation.
[Muqi]: Don't think too much. You can see the news, and so can others. Practice your piano more and go to bed early.
Ye Xi looked at the replies on the screen, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster.
That makes sense.
Before she could ask any further questions, her phone vibrated again.
This time it wasn't Lin Que, but rather a trending topic on Weibo.
[A well-known online novelist is exploiting the death of a victim! Is he just trying to gain attention or profiting from tragedy?!]
Ye Xi's heart skipped a beat.
Clicking on the entry reveals a deluge of press releases from marketing accounts.
[#DreamWeaverOfHell# Profiting from human suffering before the body is even cold? They've lost all shame for clicks!]
[A chilling thought! A female college student's fall from a building becomes fodder for online novel writing; the author's behavior is appalling! @HongguoNovelNetwork]
Some influential bloggers even posted comparison photos with just two words in the caption: "Disgusting."
In the comments section, the opinions were surprisingly unanimous.
[Justice Passerby]: I used to be a casual fan, but now I'm a hater. The body is barely cold, and you're already using it to write ghost stories and make money? Don't you have any conscience?
[Bige die-hard fan]: You should check out the book next door, "Ferry Convenience Store". That one is healing, while this "Soul Ferry" is pure hellish stuff. It's trying to ride the wave of popularity by using urns as bait.
[Resist Unethical Practices]: I suggest banning them! Authors who have no bottom line when it comes to chasing popularity don't deserve to write!
Ye Xi felt her hands and feet turn ice cold.
Although she didn't understand capital operations, anyone could see that this was a premeditated attack.
At this moment, in the editorial department of Hongguo.com.
Red Fox paced anxiously in his office as the backend was flooded with reports and negative comments.
"Those bastards!"
Red Fox slammed the tablet onto the table.
"Bige Chinese Website has really gone all out this time, even bribing a few big influencers with millions of followers. They're trying to destroy us!"
The green ivy next to it trembled:
"Editor-in-chief, should we issue a statement to clarify? Say that the chapters were written in advance?"
"What's the use!"
The red fox shook its head.
"Who will believe you at this point? The more you explain, the more they'll say you're guilty."
Today's netizens don't need the truth; they just need an outlet for their emotions.
She grabbed her phone and sent a message to Lin Que.
He typed incredibly fast, deleted and revised repeatedly, and finally only sent one sentence:
[Don't worry, sir, leave it to us.]
SOHO Future City.
Lin Que casually pushed the completed science test paper aside.
This kind of mechanical practice allows him to clear his mind.
On the computer screen, the barrage of insults almost completely obscured the main text.
"Profiting from the blood of the dead? Exploiting the dead?"
He repeated these words in a low voice.
This reminded him of the older generation's playing style... He unscrewed his thermos and took a sip of water.
He slowly sipped his soup, his fingers hovering over the keyboard.
"It's almost done."
The editor-in-chief of Bige Chinese website probably thought he had seized this moral high ground.
That would allow them to elevate that hopeless mess, "The Ferry Convenience Store," to a higher level.
Unfortunately, they don't understand what a real "ferry" is.
He neither responded to Red Fox's words of comfort nor engaged in online arguments.
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