Chapter 17: The Campus Belle Writes an Article, and the Public Account Rises to Fame

The dormitory fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“You mean Xia Ruo?”

“You’re bold, actually trying to make a move on the campus belle!”

Lin Qianfan rolled his eyes. “Stop talking nonsense. I just want her to help me write an article.”

“When the campus belle’s article gets published, it’ll definitely attract a lot of attention.”

“That way, our public account’s popularity will rise, and more people will naturally submit their work.”

Yong Pan stroked his chin. “Sounds pretty reasonable.”

“So when are you going to make your move?”

“Right now.” Lin Qianfan grabbed his phone, stood up, and headed out. “I’m going to talk to Xia Ruo.”

“Good luck!” came the teasing voices from behind.

Ignoring them, Lin Qianfan quickened his pace toward the teaching building.

In the classroom, Xia Ruo was bent over organizing her books. The other students had gradually left, leaving her alone.

Lin Qianfan approached her desk and gently tapped it. “Xia Ruo, do you have a moment?”

She looked up, saw it was him, and nodded. “What’s up?”

“I have something I’d like your help with.”

“What is it?”

Lin Qianfan pulled over a chair and sat down, briefly explaining the plan for the literary public account.

“I want you to write an article to submit to the account.”

“Me?” Xia Ruo was surprised, lowering her head to think. “But what if I’m not good at writing?”

“Don’t worry.” Lin Qianfan patted his chest. “Just write whatever you want. I’ll handle the rest.”

After hesitating for a moment, Xia Ruo finally nodded. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

“Thank you!” Lin Qianfan smiled and pulled out a fifty-yuan note, handing it to her in advance. “Here’s the payment upfront.”

Xia Ruo was taken aback. “No need, that’s so much…”

Lin Qianfan shoved the money into her hand. “Take it. Consider it support for me as well.”

“Alright then.” Xia Ruo accepted the money, whispering, “Thank you.”

“Send it to me once you’re done. I’m off now.” Lin Qianfan stood, waved goodbye, and left.

Not long after, Xia Ruo finished and sent over the article. Lin Qianfan promptly uploaded it to the public account and posted promotional materials on the school bulletin board.

A few days later, the number of followers on the account surged, and more and more people began submitting articles.

Lin Qianfan looked at the backend data with a proud smile.

He scrolled through the latest submissions, which varied widely in content.

He picked out a few that seemed decent and forwarded them to the public account.

Though submissions were increasing, their quality was uneven.

Moreover, relying solely on these articles didn’t seem enough to attract a larger audience.

“We still need something more captivating.”

Frowning in thought, a sudden idea flashed through his mind.

On Friday afternoon, Lin Qianfan returned home.

His grandmother came out of the kitchen carrying a basin of washed vegetables.

“Qianfan, you’re back? What do you want for dinner? Grandma will cook for you.”

“Anything simple will do. Grandma, I’ll be busy tonight.”

Back in his room, Lin Qianfan opened the writing platform bookmarked in his browser and logged into his author account.

The editor’s icon was lit. After hesitating, he opened the chat box.

“Editor, I have an idea to run by you.”

A few seconds later, the editor replied, “What’s up? Tell me.”

Lin Qianfan got straight to the point. “I want to post my novel on the school’s public account.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. Two minutes later, the editor responded, “Post a novel on the account? What do you mean?”

Lin Qianfan patiently explained, “The school’s public account is gaining some traction. I think it could help promote the novel.”

This time the editor replied quickly, “That’s a new approach. I’ll have to check with my superiors.”

“Okay, let me know if it’s possible.”

Lin Qianfan closed the chat and leaned back in his chair, stretching.

Just as he considered whether to write more drafts, his screen lit up.

A message alert sounded. Opening the chat, the editor sent a message: “The superiors approved, but there’s a condition.”

“What condition?”

“You must indicate the source.”

Lin Qianfan looked at the screen. “No problem.”

The editor sent a contract file. After quickly scanning to ensure there were no traps, Lin Qianfan clicked agree.

“All set. You can start posting the novel tonight. Looking forward to your work.”

He nodded and exited the chat.

Immediately, he opened the public account backend, organized the first few chapters of his novel, and uploaded them.

“The first few chapters are free; readers who want more will be directed to the platform.”

“Let’s see how this goes.”

After uploading, Lin Qianfan didn’t rush to sleep but stayed up late writing the following chapters.

The screen’s glow illuminated his face as his fingers flew across the keyboard.

It wasn’t until dawn that he stopped, massaging his sore neck and exhaling deeply.

He opened the public account’s data page.

The page refreshed, revealing that the novel’s views had already surpassed ten thousand.

“Wow, that fast?” He rubbed his eyes and double-checked.

“Looks like the school’s promotion really worked.”

His fingers resumed flying over the keyboard. “With this momentum, I need to write more.”

He wrote through the entire night.

Early Sunday morning, after waking and washing up, Lin Qianfan gathered a few dorm mates and headed to a printing shop in the city.

“Qianfan, what are you up to this time?” Yong Pan yawned, complaining.

“Stop complaining. You’ll see soon enough.” Lin Qianfan handed the shop owner the designed flyers.

Minutes later, the owner handed over a thick stack of flyers.

Lin Qianfan inspected them and nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s get to work.”

With his friends in tow, they went to several schools around the city, posting the flyers along the way.

“Put these in obvious places; don’t waste them,” Lin Qianfan instructed, sticking some on the school entrance bulletin board himself.

As they worked, a security guard in uniform approached, his expression grim.

“What are you doing? Who told you to post things here?”

Lin Qianfan was momentarily stunned but quickly smiled and greeted him.

“Sir, we’re students. We just want to promote the school’s cultural activities.”

The guard frowned, clearly skeptical. “Promotion requires school approval. Do you have a permit?”

Lin Qianfan pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered it. “Sir, this isn’t a bad thing. Please help us out this once.”

The guard glanced at the cigarettes, hesitated, then accepted them.

“Alright, just this once. Don’t let it happen again.”

“Thank you, sir!” Lin Qianfan nodded eagerly and handed out the remaining flyers to his friends.

“Hurry up and finish. Don’t waste time.”