Chapter 23: Wanting My Childhood Friend to Call Me “Brother Mu”
Sure enough, it’s much easier to just write those “uncle emperor” stories.
After coming here to write light novels, she has to use all her strength every time to hold back the urge to write adult content. If she loses control even a little, she might get called in for trouble.
Even so, in the light novel field, there are still quite a few “bold drivers.”
In her memory…
One senior dared to write a story where the main character pinned the enemy down and did unspeakable things until the enemy died.
Another senior dared to make the main character’s hands have a charm effect, anyone he touched would turn into a beautiful girl and willingly become his soft toy.
Another senior dared to write the main character being locked up by his ex-girlfriend and turned into a cat that acts cute, kneads, and stomps its feet.
Sometimes, Mu Yi even felt that she might be too careful.
When she tried so hard to control her thoughts, then opened the bestseller lists on major websites.
Yeah.
Everyone was basically like “Eromanga-sensei,” but in novel form!
But even so, Mu Yi still didn’t dare to follow in those seniors’ footsteps.
After all, people are different.
Just like the current update ranking list…
Rank 1:
“Miss Bai Qiu Who Refuses to Lose” — Canned Little Fish, updated 32,555 words.
Rank 2:
“After Stepping Down, the Proud Empress Actually Chased Me!” — Arluo, updated 15,000 words.
Rank 3:
“The Weak Dragon Girl Won’t Submit to the Foolish Hero” — Arluo, updated 10,001 words.
Mu Yi knew that Arluo had the same editor as her, but unlike her sudden burst of updates, he was always like this.
A true work machine.
But that wasn’t the main point. The key was that after these top spots, there was a big gap. The authors below had at most 6,000 words, and even 2,000 words could make it onto the list.
She wasn’t the only one slacking off…
There were even people who slacked more than her!
Yet she, Mu Yi, was the only one being treated differently. To drive Gu Zhiren away, she had no choice but to “betray the group” and stop slacking.
“Is this fair to me?”
Looking at the ranking list on her phone, Mu Yi muttered with frustration.
At this point…
She could only change her way of thinking. Write more, earn more money.
If her savings grow, then later she can relax and slack off more happily, right?
Thinking this, a smile returned to Mu Yi’s face. Then she opened QQ.
It was already past ten.
She decided to chat a bit in a group, then go to sleep.
She picked a group called “Old Buddha Authors Going Ashore Chat Group.” It was full of writers who had moved from one platform to different sites to write online novels.
But before she could even enter the group, a notification popped up on QQ.
[Birthday reminder: Little Chubby’s birthday is coming soon. Go send your wishes!]
Oh?
Little Chubby’s birthday is coming up?
Mu Yi blinked in surprise.
It might not be real, it’s just QQ info. Do people really fill in their real details seriously? There are even people who list their age as a single digit.
But in her memory, Little Chubby was a very honest person. Maybe he really did.
Mu Yi puffed her cheeks slightly as she thought about it.
Speaking of it, ten years had passed, what did Little Chubby look like now?
Her thoughts began to wander. Tilting her head, she started imagining.
Maybe Little Chubby had grown into a big, chubby man, wearing black-framed glasses, with fluffy black hair, and a light yellow plaid shirt.
Just like in her memory, still simple and a bit gloomy.
Mu Yi’s eyes curved like crescents as she got amused by her own imagination, and she couldn’t help but shake her head. She felt her guess was too conservative.
Maybe it should be like this…
People always say that chubby kids have great potential. After ten years of effort, Little Chubby might have slimmed down, grown taller, become more cheerful, and started living with a brand-new image.
Mmm~
Mu Yi nodded, feeling that this version made more sense.
“Huh? He’s online on the computer again. Could it be that he’s not actually busy with school, but playing games? Should I say hi and ask about his birthday too?”
Mu Yi only hesitated for two seconds.
She shifted her body on the sofa and tapped quickly on her phone screen with her clean, slender fingers.
…………………………………
At the same time, Gu Zhiren was sitting in his study chair, editing materials for tomorrow’s meeting.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Before he could reply, the door opened slightly, and Gu Anran peeked her head in.
“Brother, can I come in?”
“Come in.”
After typing a few more times on the keyboard, Gu Zhiren rested one arm on the desk, leaned back in his chair, and turned slightly to look at Gu Anran as she walked in.
“What is it?”
“I have something I want to ask your help with.”
Gu Anran held a tablet in her left hand and closed the study door with her right.
“But before I say that, I have to properly thank my brother!”
She held up the tablet proudly and swiped on the screen a few times.
Gu Zhiren looked at her with a faint smile. When she handed the tablet over, he didn’t hesitate, he reached out to take it and softly said,
“No need to thank me. Just take good care of yourself and don’t make Mom and Dad worry.”
As he spoke, he casually glanced at the tablet screen. When he saw Mu Yi’s word count for today, his eyes lit up slightly.
“Well? Surprised? Over thirty thousand words! If it were the old Mu Yi, I honestly couldn’t imagine it. This is all thanks to you, brother.”
Gu Anran leaned against the desk, slightly raising her chin. She looked at the ceiling, then turned to Gu Zhiren, speaking in an exaggerated tone.
“Hmm…” Gu Zhiren thought for a moment. “So my words weren’t wasted.”
“Huh? Brother, did something happen between you and Mu Yi?”
Gu Anran’s intuition caught something unusual, so she asked.
Hearing this, Gu Zhiren fell silent.
At that moment, a special notification sound rang out. It pulled him back to his thoughts and also startled Gu Anran a little.
Seeing that he immediately opened the message, Gu Anran curiously leaned over to take a look. Her attention was first drawn to the contact name.
“‘Sun Umbrella’… who is this Sun Umbrella? If you set them as a special contact, they must be important.”
Hearing that, Gu Zhiren glanced at the chat and replied calmly with a faint smile,
“Do you remember I stayed in Ruolan Town for a while before? This is a friend I made back then.”
“…Oh, I see.”
She quietly watched their chat for a moment. The way “Sun Umbrella” talked felt a bit familiar to her, but she didn’t think too much about it.
From the conversation, she roughly understood that Sun Umbrella’s real name was also Mu Yi.
And he was also a boy.
But he could play the piano. He said he had just played today, and he noticed a birthday reminder, so he came to confirm the date.
As they kept chatting, the other person even jokingly asked Gu Zhiren to call him “Brother Mu.”
“Could it be… you agreed to help because my author has the same name as him?”
Gu Anran muttered softly.
Gu Zhiren just smiled and said nothing. Calmly, he tapped a few keys on the keyboard and sent the message.
And so, on the computer screen, two new words appeared,
“Brother Mu.”