I'm a web novelist, and you want me to work in the entertainment industry?

"What the heck?" Tian Xiwei's voice rang out again.

You're even using AI to view houses? You look more like an AI!

Cheng Che snapped out of his daze and finally belatedly pieced together the whole story.

"...So, you mean you want to look at apartments with me?"

A sigh came from Tian Xiwei on the phone: "You're a little better than Chu Zihang."

"I'll go and advise you then. After all, buying a house is such a big decision. What if you go alone and run into a shady real estate agent and get ripped off?"

Her reasoning was absolutely flawless.

"That's absolutely impossible!" Cheng Che said confidently. "I'm usually the one fooling others!"

He's been frequently trying to fool people lately... I mean, he's been frequently trying to influence others.

For example, last night, before going to bed, he came across a fan-made video of "Dragon Raja" on the music app.

Someone asked, "I've been hearing a lot about 'Dragon Raja' lately. Is it a good book? Is it very angsty?"

Cheng Che replied immediately: "Dragon Raja is a youth campus romance fantasy novel, so to be honest, I've said the wrong thing. Isn't it just a pure sweet romance?"

When asked if it looked good, he remained silent.

But when asked if it would be angsty, he immediately replied with a sweet little story.

He didn't even bother switching accounts; he just used his officially verified main account to reply.

When readers saw him share his experience in the comments section, they all left the same sentence—

"Boss, won't we get killed if we keep trying to get people to watch 'Dragon Raja' like this?"

In response, Cheng Che said: If I don't go to hell, who will?

"Oh," Tian Xiwei said, "So you mean I don't need to go?"

「!?」

Ok?

Cheng Che's face showed the same expression as the slub in Plants vs. Zombies when it caught sight of a zombie—his brows furrowed and his eyes became alert.

"Of course not!" he said immediately. "I would be more than happy to have you as my advisor."

"That's more like it," Tian Xiwei snorted twice.

"Send me your requirements later, and I'll have Sister Zhang filter them. Then we'll go offline to see them in detail," she added.

"receive."

Cheng Che also breathed a sigh of relief—thank goodness, he was almost beaten into a pulp.

Although being beaten up by the girl I like is hard to say whether it's a punishment or a reward, the intimidating power of "I am from Shudao Mountain" is just too terrifying.

Therefore, Cheng Che ultimately decided that playing it safe was the best option.

The two chatted for a while longer before hanging up the phone.

The hardworking and self-disciplined Master Cheng quickly switched gears and prepared to enter work mode.

He sat down at his computer desk, opened the science fiction short story competition page, and glanced at the voting results.

Today happens to be the deadline for public voting.

Given Cheng Che's actions over the past few days, coupled with the "compliance conveniences" specially provided by the Chinese website, his first place is no surprise.

"Take Her Eyes" topped the list, leading other works by a huge margin, with votes far ahead of the others.

To put it simply, even if you add up the votes for the second to tenth place, it still doesn't compare to "Take Her Eyes".

In the past few days, several sarcastic articles have appeared online, labeling Cheng Che with accusations such as "an invisible hand is manipulating the game" and "Zero is destroying literature."

But these people didn't need readers to say "oh yes, yes, yes"; they were immediately overwhelmed by casual readers who had read "Take Her Eyes"—for no other reason than that the quality was simply too high.

Of those who actually read those nine thousand words, let alone criticize them, very few could even hold back their tears.

Those who claim there was behind-the-scenes manipulation in this competition are either die-hard haters who have read the report but are stubbornly denying it, or they haven't even read it at all.

Regardless of which one, it will not have any impact on Cheng Che himself.

Cheng Che closed the voting page and logged into the author backend of the Chinese website.

I glanced at the book review section and then began my writing journey for the day.

Cheng Che felt that today would be a memorable day.

Because that person will be making their first appearance today—

The three elite students from Kassel College traveled to the neighboring island nation on the principal's private plane.

Genjiro's team went to pick them up at the airport and took the three ace players to the most luxurious hotel in the island nation before heading to a shrine in the mountains outside the island.

Inside the main hall of the shrine, almost all the elite members of the Snake Clan had gathered.

Because they were in their family's shrine, where the spirits of their ancestors roamed, the elites maintained silence unless absolutely necessary.

Except for one girl who looked very young.

She is the current head of the Uesugi family, one of the "upper three families" of the Snake-Headed Eight Families.

The head of the Uesugi family was playing Street Fighter in the main hall, oblivious to everyone else. Among all the elites present, not one of them dared to step forward to stop him.

……

……

That night.

The latest chapter of Long San has sparked considerable discussion among readers.

One faction focuses on the main plot:

"These Snake-Headed Eight Family members don't seem like good people."

"They're quite powerful, and they even have a rival organization called the Fierce Ghost Clan. Does this mean they won't be fighting the Dragon King in this installment?"

"They'll definitely fight. Didn't they mention a 'White Emperor' in their previous propaganda?"

"Ryuzoku San involves a lot of Japanese mythology. Although it's only been serialized for a short time, it feels like he's already laid a lot of groundwork... Zero probably has some grand ambitions!"

"I came back from 500,000 words, it's terrifying! The Ghost Clan is hiding a great horror!"

The other side focused on the characters, with the discussion mainly revolving around the two individuals.

Firstly, naturally, is Genjiro:

"I feel like the character of Genjiro has been well-established. He has a lot of inner monologues and seems to be a very thoughtful person. I expect he will undergo a transformation from 'confusion' to 'firmness' in the future!"

"Years later, when facing the tombstones of Sakura, Crow, and Yaksha, Genji will recall that afternoon when the grand meeting was held at the shrine."

"There's no such thing as the lofty 'Amaterasu,' she's just a useless bum who can't even save her own companions..."

"Actually, that's not the case. Maybe Genjiro died in the same boat!"

"Then I will decide the number of mangoes to send to Zero the old thief based on how much I like Genji."

As for the second one...

"Doesn't anyone care about that Uesugi family head? She just appeared, but she's been described quite a bit. I don't believe she won't have a role later on... Erii, what a nice name!"

"Hehehehehehe—a thousand years have passed, blood has dried, tears have been dried by the wind, but you can't fool me! I said I would kill you with my own hands... my dear 'White Emperor'."

"...Although you're getting a bit off-topic, you know what, really, based on the premise that the Dragon King would walk among humans after awakening in the first two parts, she might actually be the 'White Emperor'!"

"That's it, judging by the first two installments, this girl probably won't survive..."

"The scariest thing is, when the time comes, your Grandpa Zero will use his awesome writing skills to first write about how wonderful everyone is, and then kill them off with a cruel blow... Great, it's Zero, we're doomed!"

……

Chinese website headquarters.

Bai Ye looked at the comments section and felt a moment of silence for the readers.

It was early autumn of 2026, and the poor readers had no idea what kind of story they were about to encounter.

They only had a vague feeling that this Long San might be a little bit cruel...

But I apologize to all my readers.

For the sake of China.com's grand ambitions, we have no choice but to ask you to make sacrifices.

Shedding tears is only natural!