Chapter 84: Prelude (Please Vote for Me)

After finishing the prologue, the editor-in-chief of Yidian Books began to question his very existence.

What in the world had the great author released this time?

And what on earth had he just read himself?

What were his peers so anxious about?

These questions circled endlessly in his mind, tormenting him to the point where he couldn’t sleep.

He was not alone in this state—there were many others in the same boat, like the senior editor Liu Da, and Zeng Ying, a devoted reader of the author’s works…

Meanwhile, Li He’s life went on as usual. After reveling briefly in the surge of negative emotions following his new novel’s release, he soon returned to his routine.

As always, once the new book was out, he began tweaking parts of the plot.

Only targeting Bi Yao seemed a little lacking—he figured he ought to add a few more characters.

Li He didn’t intend to keep his readers waiting. The next chapter would be published the following day.

After all, if a new chapter didn’t drop for too long, irate readers could do anything—abandon the book, or even send him razor blades in the mail.

The online shop he ran was doing quite well, having received plenty of blades from readers. The only downside was the sheer variety—every shape and style imaginable—which made them rather hard to resell.

It was quite the headache.

He revised some plotlines in “Jade Dynasty” and sped up the updates for “Martial Universe.”

The plot mattered, for it was directly tied to the negative emotions he could harvest. At least in this matter, Li He had always been diligent and dedicated.

After all, who could resist the allure of negative emotions?

But even that had to be done in moderation—too much, and the readers might just lose their minds.

The next day, Li He clocked in at work as usual, idly coasting through the morning.

Old Qin would drop by now and then for a chat, once again inviting Li He to his home, mentioning that his daughter happened to be on break.

Young people should mix and mingle more, after all.

Li He recalled the last time he’d accompanied the old man and his daughter to the movies. The “young person” in question, as described by Old Qin, seemed to still be in high school.

In the bloom of adolescence.

Other families’ daughters always claimed to be underage, forever eighteen and the like, but Old Qin seemed eager for his daughter to grow up as quickly as possible.

“Old Qin, I’ve noticed the company’s been awfully busy lately,” Li He remarked, leaning back in his chair.

These past few days, whenever he slacked off, he’d notice how diligently his colleagues worked, how earnest and hard they seemed.

This wasn’t just happening in Group Seven. Once, when he’d gone upstairs to find that shameless fellow, he saw the same in the music department.

Li He, who hadn’t caught any rumors, was quite puzzled.

Old Qin smiled, “The company’s planning a new variety show, brainstorming for ideas.”

Planning a variety show?

Li He was taken aback. The company had only just emerged from the shadow of a failed film, and now it was plunging headlong into the abyss of variety shows.

“How’s it coming along?” Li He asked calmly.

The “Back to Field” proposal was still gathering dust in his system’s warehouse. If the company hadn’t decided on a program yet, he wouldn’t mind bringing it out.

It’d be a chance to earn money, and also amass negative emotions.

To Li He, making money while harvesting negative emotions was the very definition of a win-win.

Old Qin sighed, “Don’t get me started. The company is being extremely strict with new variety show proposals this time. After what happened with the movie, everyone’s being absurdly cautious.”

After the directive came down, he’d submitted a proposal himself, but it had sunk without a trace.

Still undecided… Li He nodded to himself. If the company didn’t settle on a plan in a few days, he’d present “Back to Field.”

There was no need to rush.

The success of “Back to Field” in his previous life owed much to its regular cast members.

Some celebrities suited variety shows, others didn’t.

If he were to pitch “Back to Field,” he’d have to be especially careful in selecting the right guests.

But that could wait.

You couldn’t just launch a variety show overnight—there were countless considerations.

As Li He spent the morning at work, idling and chatting with his colleague, the comments section for “Jade Dynasty” was hit by a new wave of readers.

Many readers, commuting by bus or subway as usual, opened Baidu Literature on their phones—especially knowing that the great author had a new release.

The moment they opened the new book, they were immediately frustrated.

The prologue was still just the prologue, unchanged in the slightest.

No new chapters in sight—only the lonely prologue, standing alone, bracing for the coming storm of the readers’ outrage.

“What’s going on with the author? Still no updates?”

“If there’s no update soon, I’m dropping this book—it’s infuriating!”

“Publishing just the prologue is one thing, but never releasing an actual chapter? Are you out of your mind?”

“Based on past habits, the author drops new chapters in the evening. I can’t wait that long!”

Not only the readers, but some fellow writers and editors from other sites were also checking the “Jade Dynasty” page right away.

And so, Li He once again reaped a fresh batch of negative emotions.

This state of affairs continued until the afternoon, when the official chapters for “Jade Dynasty” were finally released.

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PS: Publish first, revise later