Chapter 17: Brimming with Anticipation (New Book—Vote Requested)

As time marched on, a third of April had already slipped by.

The competition on the rankings grew fiercer. “Invincible Emperor” had dropped to seventh place, barely managing to stabilize its declining momentum. The situation for “Knight of the Lone Sword” was not much better; though it enjoyed some support from friends within the community, its plot was too clichéd, and it clung tenuously to fifth place.

The tenth spot on the Newcomers’ List was quietly overtaken by “Battle Through the Heavens.” There was neither suspense nor turmoil—its rise was inevitable.

At Yidian Reading.

The chief editor of the Fantasy Editorial Department had been in high spirits these past few days. Not only had their old rival, Baidu, lost their grip on the top three, but as the month drew to a close, even retaining a place in the top five or ten seemed uncertain for them.

After work, he called the chief female editor of the Urban Fiction Department, intending to invite her to dinner and a movie. Perhaps, he thought, tonight might be the night they became more than just colleagues.

The call quickly connected.

“Jiang Qin, are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together,” he said, full of confidence.

She sounded surprised: “You’re in the mood for dinner?”

He was taken aback.

Why wouldn’t I be? I’m dominating the Newcomers’ List, those punks at Baidu have been thoroughly suppressed. He couldn’t fathom what she meant.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She explained, “A dark horse at Baidu is coming up strong—they’ve already broken into the top ten.”

A note of oddity entered her voice. “Wait, you didn’t know?”

He was utterly bewildered.

He truly didn’t know. At Yidian, everyone’s focus was on “Invincible Emperor” and “Knight of the Lone Sword.” Early on, they’d kept an eye on other newcomers, but once the threat seemed negligible, they’d stopped paying attention.

“Which one?” His tone had lost all its former confidence.

She replied, “Tenth on the Newcomers’ List—‘Battle Through the Heavens.’” With that, she hung up.

He turned and walked back to his office, searching for “Battle Through the Heavens.” He began to read.

An hour later, he sat slumped over his desk, motionless.

He realized the gravity of the situation.

This book was terrifying.

Not only was the premise fresh, but even he, a seasoned editor, found himself desperate to read on. It possessed a fatal allure.

Especially for veteran readers—those jaded fantasy fans who’d spent years trudging through endless tales of invincible protagonists—this book was pure poison.

He checked the reviews: unanimous praise. On the official literary platform, it boasted a full five-star rating.

The word of mouth was phenomenal, reader engagement was high, and its climb up the rankings was breakneck.

And only a third of the month had passed—there were still twenty days to go.

“It’s over…” His gaze grew vacant.

He was no novice to this business.

A novel capable of addicting even a chief editor of the fantasy department—seizing the Newcomer King title would be child’s play for it.

After a long while, he opened the Yidian Fantasy Editors’ group chat and typed: “Everyone, you must finish reading ‘Battle Through the Heavens’ tonight and submit a review of no less than ten thousand words to me by tomorrow morning.”

“What?”

“Chief, it’s fine to joke around, but don’t mess with us about ten thousand words.”

“Where did ‘Battle Through the Heavens’ come from?”

The group chat erupted with chatter. But as soon as they realized the chief editor had gone silent, everyone put down their phones, opened their computers, and searched for “Battle Through the Heavens.”

They checked the Newcomers’ List first. Upon seeing the ranking, a middle-aged editor muttered resentfully, “So that’s the guy who took my spot.”

After reading a few chapters, they all felt a sense of oppression.

How could Xiao Yan be treated so poorly? Anyone and everyone could trample him. He was the most miserable protagonist they’d ever seen.

But then came the broken engagement, Xiao Yan divorcing his fiancée…

Ah!

Why did that feel so exhilarating?

The line, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never underestimate a youth in poverty,” was dripping with adolescent bravado, yet in this context, it was positively thrilling.

Danger.

That was the consensus among all the fantasy editors at Yidian.

This masterful author played without restraint. While everyone else’s attention was elsewhere, he’d been quietly biding his time, then shot up the rankings like wildfire.

“This month is finished,” the editor whose author held first place on the Newcomers’ List said with a wry smile.

“Battle Through the Heavens” was terrifying—he himself wanted to urge for more chapters. He messaged his author, telling him to read it.

After reading, the author decided to take a day off from updating.

He’d always considered that rookie, Little Freshman, his main rival—after all, at Yidian, he’d always been under that guy’s shadow.

But now, just after defeating Little Freshman, out popped a true master, with overwhelming strength.

Turns out, Little Freshman really was just that—a little freshman.

The author felt sick to his stomach.

With the meteoric rise of “Battle Through the Heavens,” the line “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never underestimate a youth in poverty” became the rallying cry for all those facing adversity.

Some even broke up with their girlfriends, convinced that their current partner was their own Nalan Yanran, while the better Xiao Xun’er awaited them in the future.

When Li He heard about this, he nearly choked on his own spit.

“These people are truly something else,” Li He remarked.

At that moment, Li He was troubled as well.

“How can I break off a chapter just right, to drive my readers insane?” He’d been agonizing over this for two days.

Cliffhangers couldn’t just be slapped on at random—they had to be perfectly timed. Like a song that cuts off right before the chorus—leaving you hanging.

“If only there were a master class for cliffhangers, I’d pay anything to attend.” Li He sighed, but such a class simply didn’t exist.

After class, Li He parted ways with his dorm mates and called the Shameless One. “Come to the east gate of the university. I’ll take you out for a feast.”

“Alright,” He Luo readily agreed, then asked, “Old Li, when are we going to record the song? I’ve practiced enough.” He added silently, and my dark circles are gone too.

“Unless something goes wrong, tomorrow.” As long as Jiang Qi didn’t come up with any mischief, tomorrow should be fine.

After hanging up, Li He arrived at the east gate.

Not far from the gate was a bus stop—very convenient.

While waiting for He Luo, Li He spotted He Xi’er.

He wasn’t entirely sure it was her, as the lighting near the sports field at night wasn’t great, and her face was partly obscured by wavy hair.

It was the long, straight, slender legs that made Li He guess it was He Xi’er.

If it was her, he had to admit—her legs were indeed very fair. He Luo hadn’t been exaggerating.

Li He gave her a glance, then casually looked away.

Soon after, He Luo came running over, sweat beading on his forehead.

“No need to be in such a hurry,” Li He remarked.

“If we’re late, there won’t be any seats on the bus,” He Luo replied indifferently.

He knew his best friend had sold a song—he didn’t know for how much, nor had he asked. But it must have been a tidy sum, so now that his friend had some money, it was only natural to expect a decent meal. He hadn’t suggested just grabbing a snack from a street stall.

They squeezed onto the bus.

It was crowded—Friday afternoon meant many students were heading into the city.

Because He Luo had been a little late, they hadn’t managed to get seats.

As the bus started moving, He Luo suddenly exclaimed, “He Xi’er, what are you doing here?”

Li He turned, following his friend’s gaze, and saw the long, straight, slender, fair legs—it was indeed He Xi’er.

She was sitting by the window, staring out in a daze.

“So I wasn’t mistaken,” Li He thought, sneaking another glance at the legs He Luo had so often praised.

He Luo kept winking and nodding suggestively, signaling for Li He to go say hello, win her favor, and seize the moment.

Li He ignored his friend’s antics and edged away from him as naturally as possible.

He felt certain that something bad was about to happen.

To He Xi’er, specifically.

Sure enough.

Seeing that He Xi’er hadn’t reacted, He Luo assumed she hadn’t heard him, so he reached out and poked her as she sat lost in thought.

Startled by the unexpected touch, He Xi’er jerked, and the white earbud in her ear fell out.

She whipped around, her gaze meeting He Luo’s infuriatingly cheeky expression.

He Luo, utterly oblivious, greeted her: “He Xi’er, what are you doing here?”

She shot him a glare. “I’m on the bus—where else would I be?”

Last time, it was this He Luo who’d wrongly accused her; now he’d startled her out of the blue. She was convinced he was doing it on purpose.

Li He watched gleefully from the sidelines.

Then he noticed that the reflection on He Xi’er’s phone screen, resting between her knees, was faintly visible—

—

(First draft, subject to revision)