Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Midnight.

A full-screen recommendation pops up on the homepage of the Endpoint Literature App.

Gold background.

A golden cudgel runs across the picture, with the words "Journey to the West" engraved on its body.

The author's name is listed as Jiang Fan.

The comment section was instantly flooded the moment the pop-up appeared.

"Holy crap? Jiang Fan, the author of 'Blue and White Porcelain'?? Why is he writing novels again?"

"I bet five cents that a singer who wants to write a book will fail miserably."

"Let's see how it goes, just in case."

"Just joining in the fun, let's see how bad the singer's writing can be."

The first seven chapters total nearly 50,000 words.

The finish line was released all at once.

Ten minutes later.

The tone of the comments section suddenly changed.

"Holy shit."

"...Brothers, I take back what I just said."

"Can someone explain to me how a songwriter could write a novel like this?"

"I just finished watching 'Havoc in Heaven,' and it was so exciting! My heart was pounding when the monkey was locked in the alchemy furnace."

"To be honest, I've been reading online novels for ten years. I've read at least three hundred fantasy and martial arts novels. After reading this Journey to the West, all the others are inferior."

"Where did that go? Holy crap, what happened next??"

One o'clock in the morning.

There are over seven thousand book reviews.

On the data monitoring panel of the Endpoint Literature backend, the number of favorites for "Journey to the West" jumps wildly with each refresh.

Song Siyi sat in front of the computer.

She was wearing pajamas, her knees tucked into the chair, holding a coffee in her left hand and constantly refreshing the app with her right.

Within an hour of being listed, it garnered over 80,000 favorites.

This number ranks first in the history of Endpoint Literature.

Not number one for the month, not number one for the year.

This is the first time since the website was established.

Song Siyi put down her coffee cup and took a screenshot of the backend page.

I opened WeChat and sent a message to Jiang Fan.

"Song Siyi: Record broken. The number one collection in the first hour since the station was built."

There was no reply.

I guess they're asleep.

Three o'clock in the morning.

It has been collected over 150,000 times.

Song Siyi stared at the screen; she had already had her third cup of coffee.

The comment section gets hundreds more comments every time it's refreshed, all urging for more updates.

She covered her face with both hands and laughed for a long time, muffled by her laughter.

"Haha, you little rascal, you're really something."

-

The next morning at seven o'clock.

Jiang Fan was woken up by the alarm clock and picked up his phone to take a look.

Song Siyi sent more than a dozen messages on WeChat.

It started sending messages at 1 a.m. and continued until 6:30 a.m.

"Song Siyi: My collection has exceeded 300,000."

"Song Siyi: Journey to the West made it onto three Weibo trending topics."

Song Siyi: Jiang Fan, are you awake yet??

Song Siyi: ?

Song Siyi: Are you dead??

Jiang Fan replied.

Jiang Fan: You didn't sleep all night?

back in seconds.

Song Siyi: Guess?

Song Siyi: Have you seen the trending topics on Weibo?

Jiang Fan opened Weibo.

Fourth on the trending topics list: #Jiang Fan has switched to writing novels#

Eighth on the trending topics: #Journey to the West Sun Wukong#

The twelfth trending topic: #TheEndLiteratureJourneyToTheWest#

After scrolling down two screens, the topic has already garnered over 200 million views.

The comments section is extremely polarized.

One group consists of casual observers and readers who enthusiastically recommend it.

"Please go watch Journey to the West. If you don't like it, I'll twist my head off and use it as a ball."

"Just who is Jiang Fan? Is he a genius at songwriting, or a genius at novel writing?"

"I now seriously doubt that this person is from Earth."

The other side is skeptical.

"A singer writing a novel, is it just a publicity stunt? There must be a ghostwriter behind it."

"Ha, everyone wants to switch careers and become a writer. Nine out of ten books they write are garbage."

"Did Endpoint Literature pay for trending topics? Who would believe that a new book's first-day data is so outrageous?"

Jiang Fan glanced at it twice and then immediately closed Weibo.

I washed my face, changed my clothes, and went downstairs.

In the hotel's breakfast restaurant, most of the film crew had already arrived.

Shen Feng sat in the corner with a plate in his hand.

He had half a tea egg stuffed in his mouth, and his other hand was constantly scrolling through his phone.

"Brother Fan!" Shen Feng shouted from afar, "Did you know you're trending on social media?"

Ma Yue sat opposite, poking at the yogurt container with a straw.

"Brother Feng, stop shouting, the whole building knows."

Shen Feng shoved his phone screen in front of Jiang Fan.

"Look at this comment section, some people say you're a god descended to earth, others say you have a team behind you who ghostwrites your posts."

"Ghostwriting?" Jiang Fan took a bite of his steamed bun, chewed it a couple of times, and said, "If they can find someone to write it for them, I'll treat them to dinner."

Shen Feng chuckled twice and swiped his fingers across the screen.

"I just read two chapters, and they were so exciting! That part about the monkey causing havoc in Heaven—"

Ma Yue finally raised her head.

"Brother Feng, could you go over today's lines first? You still have several scenes to film today."

"No conflict, no conflict." Shen Feng put his phone in his pocket and then reached into the plate to grab a fried dough stick.

Jiang Fan's phone vibrated again.

It's still Song Siyi.

"Song Siyi: Starting at 10 o'clock, chapters released after that will require payment."

"Song Siyi: I'll update two chapters every day for now, and I'll give you the subscription data tonight."

Jiang Fan typed a message in reply.

Jiang Fan: Go catch up on your sleep, don't suddenly die at your desk.

Song Siyi: Get lost.

Jiang Fan put away his phone, stuffed the last bite of his steamed bun into his mouth, and left the restaurant with his milk glass.

They ran into Lu Wanqing in the corridor.

She changed into a white T-shirt and jeans, her hair tied in a ponytail, and she was holding a script in her hand.

Upon seeing Jiang Fan, she paused for a moment.

"Good morning, Mr. Jiang."

"Ready?"

Lu Wanqing nodded, her voice much clearer than yesterday.

"I went over the lines a few more times last night, so there shouldn't be any problems today."

Jiang Fan glanced at her.

There's a faint bluish tinge under his eyes; he probably didn't sleep well last night.

But I felt much more relaxed than yesterday, and my shoulders weren't as tense.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just relax and act naturally."

Jiang Fan nodded to her, picked up the cup, and walked straight towards the film set.

Lu Wanqing stood still, her gaze following the figure for a couple more seconds.

Her agent, Sister Zhou, appeared behind her at some point, carrying two cups of coffee.

"What are you daydreaming about? Come on, let's go do our makeup."

"Oh. Here it comes."

Lu Wanqing followed, opened the script, and looked down to read today's lines again.

His lips moved twice, and he silently recited it once.

Today, we must get through it.

-

Nine o'clock in the morning, on the film set.

Ning Yuan sat behind the monitor, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand.

"Is Lu Wanqing ready?"

Zhou Jie's voice came from the dressing room: "Okay, I'll be right there."

Three minutes later, Lu Wanqing, dressed in a wedding gown, walked over from the other end of the corridor.

He walked steadily, his eyes fixed ahead, without glancing around.

When I walked here yesterday, it felt like I was walking on cotton.

Today I feel like every step I take is solid.

Ning Yuan noticed this, but didn't say anything, and threw the walkie-talkie on the table.

"All departments are in position."

Shen Feng was already standing in the arena.

Wearing a feathered suit and carrying a beer bottle.

He glanced at Lu Wanqing and gave her a thumbs up.

Lu Wanqing smiled at him and walked to her starting position.

"Scene 4, Shot 2, reshoot. Action!"

The clapperboard snapped shut.

Shen Feng swaggered over, his eyes filled with infatuation.

He stood a meter away from Lu Wanqing, slung the beer bottle behind his back, and moved his mouth twice.

"Qiuya, I've prepared a song for you..."

Lu Wanqing turned around.

She looked into Shen Feng's eyes.

Looking at the man in front of me wearing an ill-fitting suit.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly, with a hint of politeness and a touch of aloofness.

"Charlotte, you've had too much to drink."

Ning Yuan stared at the screen on the monitor.

Lu Wanqing's expression was relaxed and natural, her eyes clear and without any superfluous thoughts.

"Click. Passed."

Ning Yuan's voice was not loud.

There was a moment of silence on set, followed by a burst of applause.

Ma Yue breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines: "Finally, we made it."

Shen Feng grinned and gave Lu Wanqing an OK sign.

Sister Zhou stood outside the venue, and her clenched fists relaxed.

Ning Yuan hummed in agreement, put his headphones back on, and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Continue. Next scene, the one where Charlotte is on the toilet. Shen Feng, get ready."

Shen Feng responded and stretched his neck as he walked towards the center of the field.

As he passed by Lu Wanqing, he turned his head and whispered, "See? I told you it was nothing."

Lu Wanqing nodded, her voice very soft: "Thank you, Brother Feng."

"Don't mention it." Shen Feng patted his face. "Alright, I'm going to lie on the toilet now. I've lie on the toilet more times in my entire life than I have in the last two days."

Ma Yue shouted from afar, "You're perfect for that!"

"Ma Yue, can't you watch your mouth?!"

Laughter filled the set.

The lighting, stage management, and props teams all got busy again.