Fairy, Please Stop Coming Out of the Novel - Chapter 6:

Chapter 6: The Editor’s Change in Attitude

One glance. Two glances. Three glances…

Jiang Fan stared at the computer screen more than a dozen times, rubbing his eyes until they were red. Only after confirming that he was not hallucinating did wild joy surge through his heart.

As long as he did not mess things up later, these numbers alone were enough to push the novel to at least the level of a minor breakout hit.

As an online novelist, who did not dream of becoming famous with a single novel? After all, dreaming was not against the law.

Before writing this novel, Jiang Fan had fantasized about it too.

One breakout hit. Becoming a top-tier author. Earning mountains of money, so much that the zeros in his bank account outnumbered those in the Sichuan-Chongqing Region. Maybe having his work adapted into animation, stepping over those overused “Revive, My Love” tropes, turning it into a television drama and crushing those tired “Battle Qi Turns into a Horse” clichés.

But it was only fantasy. Just idle thoughts.

Jiang Fan had never expected such unrealistic dreams to come true. In any industry, reaching the top was nothing short of hell-level difficulty.

Online fiction had developed for years. The number of authors was enormous, yet only a handful ever stood out.

Jiang Fan had never considered himself a genius. Even in something like studying, where hard work usually brought rewards, he had never reached the top. Let alone in writing novels.

For a novel to become wildly popular, it required timing, opportunity, connections, luck, and skill. None of the five could be missing.

Yet the data from his new novel at 30,000 words gave Jiang Fan a faint glimpse of hope.

Those unfamiliar with the online fiction industry might not understand the value of a 52 percent completion rate at 30,000 words, but he understood it clearly. This new novel meant that, at the very least, he would no longer have to scrape by relying on the website’s attendance bonus.

Just as Jiang Fan was sighing with emotion, his phone suddenly rang.

The caller was his editor, Yu Mingchuan.

As soon as the call connected, Yu Mingchuan’s excited voice came through. “Jinse, the new novel’s data is great. You must write it well. It’s still under 100,000 words. Once it reaches 100,000, I’ll apply for a cover recommendation and see how it performs.”

“A cover recommendation at 100,000 words?” Jiang Fan was stunned. “Brother Yu, according to our site’s rules, the minimum requirement for a cover recommendation is 500,000 words. At 100,000… it shouldn’t qualify, right?”

A cover recommendation was the biggest promotion Jiang Fan had ever received. Of his previous four novels, only one had gotten it. Even though the novel’s overall quality had been average and failed to retain many readers, that month alone had pushed his income past 10,000 yuan.

It was the highest monthly income he had earned in his years of writing online fiction.

“Rules?” Yu Mingchuan laughed loudly. “Every rule depends on the situation. Among the new novels in the past two months, only one has higher data than yours. That one just hit a good checkpoint at 30,000 words. But your novel is different. The retention across chapters is high, and the drop-off rate is ridiculously low. As long as you write steadily, a breakout hit is not a dream. Does a novel with breakout potential need to stick rigidly to rules?”

Faced with such good news, Jiang Fan naturally would not refuse. “Thanks, Brother Yu.”

“As I should.”

Yu Mingchuan laughed heartily and repeatedly reminded Jiang Fan not to get carried away. He had to stay steady.

Before hanging up, Jiang Fan casually asked, “Are we still discussing the plot tonight?”

“My level is limited. Just write according to your own ideas.”

“?”

Jiang Fan lowered the phone, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

If he remembered correctly, the phrase “my level is limited” was something Yu Mingchuan used to describe him in the past.

This attitude… changed way too fast.

People always said women were realistic, but in this regard, men were no less gifted.

Jiang Fan had just put down his phone when it rang again. The moment he saw the caller ID, his good mood vanished instantly.

Liu Meili, his stepmother.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Jiang Fan answered the call. “What is it?”

“I’m your mother. Can’t I call my son without a reason?”

“If you have something to say, say it.”

Liu Meili’s laughter sounded slightly shrill. “Jiang Fan, before you went to Xiling, you personally said you would work part-time and support yourself. You promised you wouldn’t ask me for money during university. You arrived in Xiling yesterday at midday. It’s already been more than a day. Have you gone out to look for a job?”

“Let me make this clear. Whether you’ve found a job or not, I won’t give you a single yuan. And by the way, you’re not still writing that useless online novel of yours instead of looking for work, are you?”

Jiang Fan’s eyes turned cold. “Liu Meili, I came to Xiling to attend Xiling University, not to work. And whether I write online fiction or not has nothing to do with you. There’s no need for you to meddle in my business.”

He hung up first.

When Jiang Fan was one year old, his mother disappeared. She did not die. She simply vanished. No one knew where she had gone. Even the police could not find her.

He had not the slightest memory of her. He did not even know her name. Ever since he could remember, whenever he asked his father about his mother, his father would fall silent and never answer.

Two years later, when Jiang Fan was three, his father Jiang Zhaoyang remarried. The woman he married was Liu Meili.

In the first few years after their marriage, Liu Meili treated Jiang Fan fairly well.

Not long after, she gave birth to a daughter, Jiang Yao, Jiang Fan’s half-sister.

At first, everything seemed fine. But after Jiang Zhaoyang suffered an accident at a construction site, Liu Meili finally revealed her true colors, which she had hidden for years. She pocketed all the compensation money from the accident and began to treat Jiang Fan harshly. She deducted his expenses, beat and scolded him regularly, yet showered her own daughter Jiang Yao with endless love, never willing to say a single harsh word to her.

Jiang Fan took a small green pouch out of his suitcase.

He gazed at it gently, carefully opening it. Inside were 378 yuan.

The pouch had been secretly slipped to him by Jiang Yao on the night before he left for Xiling. “Brother, Yao Yao has only saved this much. If you ever run short of money in Xiling, you must write and tell Yao Yao.”

Jiang Yao had relied on Jiang Fan since she was little.

Jiang Fan loved this sister dearly as well. In his heart, Liu Meili was Liu Meili, and Jiang Yao was Jiang Yao.

Hating Liu Meili did not affect his love for Jiang Yao. After his father’s death, Jiang Yao was the only family he had left in this world.

Jiang Fan put the 378 yuan back into the pouch and was about to store it away when his phone rang again.

It was Liu Meili.

His brows knitted together, and he immediately hung up.

A few seconds later, she called again. He hung up once more.

After several repeated attempts, Jiang Fan finally lost patience. He answered, ready to curse her out, but instead a soft, timid young girl’s voice came from the other end. “Brother.”

“Yao Yao?”

The words at Jiang Fan’s lips were swallowed back. His voice became extremely gentle. “Do you miss your brother?”

“I do.”

Jiang Yao was fifteen this year, about to enter her first year of high school. Yet she still sounded like a seven- or eight-year-old girl as she coquettishly said, “Since Brother went to Xiling, Yao Yao can’t eat well or sleep well. I miss you so much that I’ve even lost several strands of hair.”

A smile filled Jiang Fan’s eyes. “Everyone loses hair. How can you prove it’s from missing me?”

“Well…”

Jiang Yao stammered for quite a while. “Oh, that’s not important.”

Her voice paused. When she spoke again, it was filled with apology. “Brother, I heard what Mom said earlier. I’m sorry…”

“Your mother is your mother. You are you. Silly girl, don’t take everything onto yourself.”

Jiang Fan walked to the window. “Alright, let’s not talk about that. While I’m not home, you need to study hard. Read more novels and newspapers. Eat fewer snacks and sleep more, understand?”

“Mhm.”

Jiang Yao’s soft voice came through. “Brother must study hard too. And work hard on your writing. I believe in you. One day, you’ll definitely become a famous author known by every household.”

“Okay.”

After ending the call, Jiang Fan looked out at the bustling city in the distance, absentmindedly playing with the leaves of the potted plant by the window. “A famous author? I hope that day will come…”