Sudden wealth falling from the sky, making one rich overnight, will provoke envy and jealousy.
Earning wealth through ability, others won’t gossip, but will instead admire.
*Teen Idol* sold 560,000 copies in three months, securing Wen Ying’s place as the top “little rich girl” in her social circle, her income even surpassing Li Mengjiao’s.
The only one wealthier than Wen Ying would have to be Xie Qian.
As for Wang Shuang… the 16% stake in Tianjiao is just for show, not food or drink, still a pauper!
Xie Qian observed Wen Ying all day, wondering if she was walking on air. The result: the hamster was delighted, but still rational.
Perhaps because this royalty payment only passed through her hands before being handed over to Yuan Fenghui?
Xie Qian felt a faint regret.
Since she wasn’t floating, he couldn’t randomly pile extra worksheets on the hamster. As a tutor, fairness and justice were required, and extra homework needed a valid reason.
The sales data for *Teen Idol*’s first three months spread through various channels.
Peers envied Rongcheng Literature Publishing House for unearthing a money tree, secretly mocking *Aige* magazine for letting this book slip, leaving the magazine’s leadership humiliated.
A debut author, without connections to big leaders, wasn’t deliberately let go by the top, but lost due to subordinates’ incompetence!
Hearing peers’ taunts, the magazine’s leadership wanted to drag Han Qin back and fire her again to vent their frustration.
For the magazine, Wen Ying was a money tree already lost, no amount of regret could bring her back.
Outsiders watched the spectacle, insiders saw the craft. Struggling authors complained that inviting celebrities for contest promotion was a vulgar invasion, but major domestic youth magazines were on high alert.
Though they hadn’t seen Wen Ying’s promotional video, just the two released clips were enough to sense danger.
Inviting celebrities for promotion.
Collaborating with film companies for writing contests.
Regular audiences discussed the contest, fangirls swooned over Yun Chen’s looks, a few dreamed of chasing ambitions with Zhang Yangning, but peers only focused on *Spark* magazine!
This new magazine debuted in collaboration with Rongcheng Literature Publishing House.
Was it backed by the Rongcheng Publishing Group?
Rongcheng Publishing Group had local approval and a solid market share. A giant like them lacked no resources that peers had.
But outside Sichuan and Chongqing, their influence waned significantly.
No breakout products, after all.
In recent years, the youth literature market exploded, everyone wanting a piece. Rongcheng Publishing Group was like the old men sipping tea in teahouses, dawdling half the day, slow to react—
Last year, things finally changed. They published a nationwide hit, the popular science book *Hush, Little Secret*, which, the more critics bashed, the more students loved.
This year, they heavily promoted the author “Upstream Fish.” *Teen Idol* sold over 500,000 copies in three months, with the publisher pouring resources into promotion.
Now, they went even bigger, partnering with a film company for a new magazine, using popular celebrities for promotion.
—Mate, do you have to play this big?!
For peers, the youth literature market was finite. A new, aggressive competitor like *Spark*, sparing no cost and ignoring decorum, made them nervous.
Writing contests? Everyone does them, but no one hires celebrities.
Writing contests? Everyone does them, but no one promotes on TV.
Writing contests? Everyone does them… but no one’s as flashy as you!
With such a standout approach, you’re pushing peers to the brink.
“Now what? Just lie back and let *Spark* barge in and steal our share?”
A peer in contact with *Aige* magazine hinted heavily, as if *Spark*’s rise meant *Aige* would stop selling.
The magazine’s leadership caught the provocation, retorting gravely, “If not lying back, what do you want me to do? Cancel their Hunan TV ad or stop their contest?!”
“If there’s a way, it’s not impossible—”
“No way, can’t do it!”
To resist, they’d need to band together, egging *Aige* to take the lead—not happening!
The mockery from Han Qin’s blunder still lingered, and stirring trouble now could invite even bigger ridicule!
The provocation failed, peers were helpless, too cautious to act rashly.
To strike, it had to be a killing blow.
A failed strike could boost *Teen Idol*’s sales, aiding the enemy!
Fine, let’s wait and watch, caution doesn’t hurt.
On Tianya forums, discussion threads about the “Tianjiao-Spark Cup” contest abounded. Netizens, with nothing better to do, flocked to any buzz, especially something new.
Blogs were even worse. With the “Tianjiao Four” settled in early, blogs were their revolutionary base, comments overflowing with praise. Even trolls knew to steer clear.
Rongshu, however, held strong.
Yun Chen and Zhang Yangning’s contest promo videos backfired on Rongshu.
Many Rongshu users discussed the contest, not with joy, but anger.
Oh, that’s a good sign.
The head of a magazine spying on Rongshu felt slight relief, muttering, “That’s how it should be. I hope you stick to your words, show some literary backbone, and boycott the contest!”
The head secretly fanned the flames in boycott posts, stirring literary purists into a frenzy.
Wen Ying’s career fans, monitoring Rongshu’s sentiment, grew worried as boycott momentum built, regretting promoting there.
Fans privately vented their confusion:
“What’s wrong with these people? No one’s forcing them to join. If they don’t want to, fine, but why trash the contest like it’s worthless?”
“Sisters, new update: they’re now dragging Little Fish, saying she’s a commercial author, a bestseller packaged by the publisher, with mediocre writing, a puppet of the publisher, a lapdog of capital—how nasty is that?!”
Trashing the contest was one thing, but targeting Wen Ying? Her fans couldn’t take it, rolling up their sleeves to clash online, making Rongshu livelier than ever.
Wen Ying, quietly lurking, was touched by her readers’ actions and itching to teach those struggling purists a lesson.
What’s this nonsense about being capital’s lapdog?
These purists clearly hadn’t seen what a real lapdog looked like!
They ranted now, but if given the chance to be bestsellers, they’d fight tooth and nail for fame!
Whatever, let them rant.
The harsher they ranted, the more attention the contest got.
As a beneficiary, Wen Ying could let it slide. The contest would go on no matter what. Imagining these ranting purists secretly signing up once prizes were announced, she even chuckled!
That night, during Hunan TV’s ad slot, Li Mengjiao’s promo aired.
Her video recreated last year’s talent show scenes.
Everyone knew Li Mengjiao rose through a talent show. The video embraced this, using clips from last year’s show, re-edited.
Offstage, Li Mengjiao was an ordinary high school girl.
Onstage, she was a dazzling talent show star.
The camera’s cuts created a stark contrast, screams and waving glow sticks recapturing the show’s frenzy.
Talent shows and writing contests weren’t the same.
But at their core, maybe they weren’t so different.
At the video’s end, Li Mengjiao dashed from the dazzling stage to the camera, sweat visible on her young, vibrant face:
“One vote from you, one from me, let’s debut our favourite author!”
Subtitles appeared: “Tianjiao-Spark Cup” introduces reader voting. Good stories? We all decide!
Bloody hell.
Reader voting?
Was the organiser too reckless, daring to try this?
No wonder they hired Li Mengjiao, whose rise came from audience votes!
Swap audiences for readers in a writing contest—unheard of, fresh, thrilling.
“Debuting” an author? Most hadn’t heard that before. Usually, authors wrote, readers read. Now readers could decide contest winners?
Li Mengjiao’s fans went wild, regular viewers smiled.
That was her charm.
Not everyone loved her, but few hated her.
A teenage girl, not abandoning studies despite fame, balancing work and school—impressive. You might not like her, but no need to hate!
Her fans, hearing Rongshu’s opposition, stormed in post-promo, ready for war.
If anyone insulted Li Mengjiao, they wouldn’t back down. Unlike Yun Chen’s fangirls gushing “brother’s so hot,” or Zhang Yangning’s weak fanbase, or Wen Ying’s readers debating politely, they were the trolls!
Fighting only for Li Mengjiao!
Since last year’s show, they’d weathered countless online battles, battle-hardened veterans, fearless!
But arriving at Rongshu, they found:
Blimey, before they even got there, the purists had fizzled out.
The once-united Rongshu purists split. Li Mengjiao’s fanbase was massive, even some literary fans liked her. Trashing the contest was fine, but not her.
