Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The first batch of one million copies of "Journey to the West" was sent to the receiving points of education bureaus in various provinces and cities across the country on the third day.

The results are in.

A key middle school in Kyoto.

When the lunch bell rang, there were hardly any people running towards the cafeteria.

Hundreds of students flocked to the library, and the line stretched from the fourth floor to the corner of the first staircase.

Aunt Wang, the librarian, stood behind the counter, staring blankly at the empty shelves.

The first twenty books were put out this morning and were all snatched up during the first break.

She had worked as a librarian for ten years and had never seen students so enthusiastic about extracurricular books.

The extracurricular reading materials that are usually handed out are left on the shelf to collect dust and no one touches them.

She flipped through the registration book, picked up the landline, and made a call to the academic affairs office.

"Director Zhang, could we apply for another batch of 'Journey to the West' copies? Twenty copies are simply not enough; there are hundreds of people waiting in line."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"There's nothing I can do about it. The Education Bureau donated them all; each school received twenty copies. You can let the students take turns reading them."

Aunt Wang hung up the phone, looked at the group of longing children at the door, and sighed.

"Students, all the books have been borrowed. Please come back tomorrow."

A chorus of wails erupted at the entrance.

This scenario is not limited to one school.

In more than 30 provinces and cities across the country, thousands of primary and secondary schools are simultaneously experiencing the same scene.

The buzz on campus spread to the internet within three days.

The Weibo hashtag #MyKidIsFanaticWithJourneyToTheWest# trended on the hot search list.

"My son usually doesn't even open a single extracurricular book, but these past few days he's been glued to a copy of 'Journey to the West' and won't even eat. Should I be happy or worried?"

"Be happy. At least you're reading. My husband doesn't look at anything except his phone."

"My daughter said she wanted to go to Flower Fruit Mountain to find the Monkey King. I told her it was fictional, and she cried for half an hour."

"My son hit me three times with a rolling pin today, calling me a demon, and he also smashed his grandma's vase."

"I read the 'Journey to the West' that my child borrowed overnight. To be honest, Liu Qingshan and his gang probably haven't even read the book before they started criticizing it."

No one managed it, and no money was spent on buying trending topics.

It was all parents and students chatting online, and then it exploded.

A self-media blogger wrote a long article with a very straightforward title—

"Liu Qingshan, have you read this book?"

"When Liu Qingshan shouted on Weibo that he was poisoning teenagers, all the copies of 'Journey to the West' in primary and secondary school libraries across the country were checked out."

"Mr. Liu, who exactly is poisoning the minds of teenagers? Is it a good book that encourages children to put down their phones and read it, or your accusatory article that makes sweeping generalizations and draws conclusions without even having read the original work?"

"Literature should not be aloof or condescending, much less a tool for some to suppress new talent. The greatest success of 'Journey to the West' is that it inspires children to read it spontaneously."

This article has been shared more than 400,000 times.

Liu Qingshan's Weibo comment section was flooded once again.

That evening, Liu Qingshan immediately disabled the comment function on Weibo.

Qitian Culture's official Weibo account saw its follower count jump from zero to five million within five days.

I received tens of thousands of private messages in the backend, and after scrolling through them, they all asked the same question—

When will the physical book be available for purchase?

"Please, please! My child keeps asking me when I can buy it. I'm so annoyed with him."

-

Qitian Culture Office.

Jiang Fan sat in the boss's chair, flipping through the backend data.

Song Siyi stood to the side, her computer screen displaying Qitian Culture's company email address.

She pointed to one of the emails.

"This is a letter of intent for cooperation from Huaxin Publishing House."

Jiang Fan leaned over and took a look at the screen.

Huaxin's terms were: royalties split 50/50, and they would cover all expenses.

Jiang Fan read the email once and then closed the page.

"This is something we can consider."

Song Siyi nodded.

"Huaxin has a state-owned background and its reputation is guaranteed. Their willingness to step forward shows that the higher-ups approve of 'Journey to the West'."

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair, his legs crossed.

"Don't rush to reply to them. Prepare for the second printing immediately. Print five million copies directly. Two volumes, priced at 39.9 yuan. Also print one million copies of the deluxe gift box edition, priced at 99 yuan. Pre-sales will begin tonight on e-commerce platforms."

Song Siyi took a pen and wrote it down in her notebook.

"I've already made arrangements with the printing plant, and they can start printing anytime. However, the financial burden of five million copies will be significant."

"Don't worry about the money. I'll transfer it to you if you need more." Jiang Fan crossed his arms behind his head. "There's one more thing."

Song Siyi stopped writing and looked at him.

"After the pre-sale page is up and running, post a message: 'Among the five million copies, there will be a hidden limited edition of 10,000 signed copies. They will be randomly distributed among the regular editions.'"

*Thud*, Song Siyi's pen fell onto the table.

"You want to personally sign 10,000 copies?"

"right."

"Your hand won't be ruined, will it?"

Jiang Fan glanced at her, his gaze lingering on her shirt collar for two seconds.

"Don't worry. My hands are very durable. You know that best."

Song Siyi blushed. She picked up her pen, lowered her head, and scribbled a couple of times on her notebook.

"Be serious. This is work."

Jiang Fan ignored him and continued speaking.

"Signed copies are not marked and are not sold separately. They are randomly shipped mixed in with regular copies. Buyers have no idea whether they have a signed copy until they open the package."

Song Siyi's mind caught up with Jiang Fan's train of thought.

This is the logic behind blind boxes.

Consumers are not just buying books, but also the anticipation of unpacking them; this tactic is very common in the trendy toy industry.

"So five million copies might not be enough," Jiang Fan said.

Song Siyi chewed on the pen cap and thought for a moment.

"Let's start pre-sales first, and then decide whether to increase the print run based on the data. If the pre-sales go well tonight, I'll go to the printing plant tomorrow to sign an additional contract."

"Okay." Jiang Fan stood up. "I'll be going now, I have things to do this afternoon."

Song Siyi ignored him and picked up her phone to make calls and make arrangements.

After leaving the company, Jiang Fan took out his phone and sent a message to Su Yuyan.

"I've written two songs for you."

Thirty seconds later, Su Yuyan replied.

"Two songs? I only need one."

"How would you like to thank me for the extra song?"

Nearly a minute later, Su Yuyan replied with two words.

"rogue."

"I'm going to your company to record a song later."

"Just go upstairs when you arrive."

Jiang Fan put his phone back in his pocket and walked to the side of the road to hail a taxi.

-

After Jiang Fan left, Song Siyi posted a message on Qitian Culture's official Weibo account.

"The physical book of 'Journey to the West' will officially begin pre-sales tonight at midnight on the DaSheng Douyin official flagship store. The two-volume set is priced at 39.9 yuan, and the deluxe gift box edition is 99 yuan. Among the first batch of five million copies, 10,000 copies will be randomly sent out as autographed copies by the author. The autographed copies will not be marked in any way; you will only know this when you open the box."

Less than ten minutes after the Weibo post was published, the number of comments in the comment section started jumping.

"Ten thousand signed copies? Time to test your luck!"

"Blind box concept? Who came up with this? That's brilliant!"

"Stop talking, let's stay up all night to grab it."

"I'll buy ten sets; I refuse to believe I won't get a signed copy!"

"The deluxe edition is ninety-nine yuan? Perfect for a collector's item."

"Five million copies... one in five million, a probability of one in five hundred. Buying five hundred copies guarantees at least one. Anyone want to join a group order?"

"The person upstairs is good at math, but their wallet might not be able to handle it."

Song Siyi's eyelids twitched as she watched the comments section scroll by.

She glanced at the clock on the wall; there were still ten hours until midnight.