Chapter 28: Soothing Hearts is Harder Than Making Money

"But high-quality novels aren't easy to find; I have to start by targeting the general public."

He posted a message on the forum:
"Long-term acquisition of novel manuscripts. Starting at five yuan per thousand words. No restrictions on genre. Rates for exceptional work are negotiable."

As soon as the message went live, the forum exploded.
"Five yuan per thousand words? Isn't that too high?"
"It really is high. The market rate is usually around two yuan per thousand words."

Lin Qianfan watched the comments on the forum, feeling a slight sense of relief. Setting the price higher would increase his costs, but it would also attract more submissions. Soon, his inbox began to fill with manuscript after manuscript. Lin Qianfan screened them one by one, picking out the high-quality ones, marking them with a price, and replying to the authors.

"It doesn't matter if the initial investment is high. Once the website goes live, advertising and membership fees will recoup the costs."

Beyond collecting manuscripts, Lin Qianfan was busy managing his public account. That evening, a few of them gathered around a table in the dormitory for a meeting. Lin Qianfan laid out his ideas, and after hearing them, the others found it quite intriguing.

"A novel website is definitely doable, but how do we recruit authors?" Yongpan asked.
"The same way we manage the public account: you all pose as women and chat with the male authors who submit their work."
"By interacting with the authors and understanding their creative process, we can better filter for high-quality content," Lin Qianfan replied concisely.

His roommates were initially uncomfortable with the idea, but when Lin Qianfan produced a "chatting allowance," they all went silent. When the money is right, everything else is negotiable.

"Your tactics really are foolproof," Dawei remarked after a long silence.
"Then let's get to work," Lin Qianfan said, slapping the table.

The group nodded and, after the meeting, dispersed to attend to their respective tasks. Lin Qianfan opened his laptop on his bed and spent the night writing over a dozen topics, including popular themes like "campus romance," "the underdog's comeback," and "chasing the wife through a fiery ordeal," while also designing several interactive posts to drive traffic.

"Which novel is your absolute favorite?"
"If you were the protagonist of a novel, what kind of ending would you want?"
"Which highlight moment in a novel would you most want to experience?"

These topics, inspired by his past life on Douyin, were simple, direct, and easy to spark discussion. Once he finished writing them, he published them all to the public account in one go.

***

The next morning, the public account saw a noticeable increase in traffic. Lin Qianfan stared at the backend data and nodded with satisfaction. "Looks like this trick works quite well."

"I heard Gu Haotian is also running a public account, and his is quite flashy. He has money and plenty of resources—can we hold our own against him?"

Lin Qianfan was silent for a moment. It wasn't that he hadn't considered this; Gu Haotian's background and resources were indeed far superior to his own. Moreover, Gu Haotian’s team was known for being high-profile and would surely attract a lot of attention.

Dawei put down his mouse and chimed in, "Setting that aside, we have another problem. Look at the recent volume of submissions. Even though the numbers are picking up, they’re still far behind where we were before. With more competitors in these schools, the authors are being split up."

"Yeah, with such intense competition, can we still make money?" another roommate interjected.

Yongpan nodded in agreement. "Not to mention, Qianfan, you've been spending a lot of money these days. The computers, the classroom, the food delivery platform, and that milk tea shop you rented—all of this is burning cash. Can our current income sustain it?"

The group chimed in one after another, clearly anxious about the current situation. Lin Qianfan pondered for a moment, then looked up at them.

"Don't panic yet. This is all temporary. We are laying the groundwork now; once the platform is operating steadily, the income will naturally follow."

"But what if we burn through all the money and the platform still doesn't take off?" Yongpan pressed.

Lin Qianfan paused. The most critical issue right now wasn't the technology or the competition—it was his roommates' confidence.

"Don't worry," he said with a firm tone. "Even if the platform fails, my family has money. We can hold out."

The room fell silent at these words. The others exchanged glances, looking somewhat skeptical.

"Qianfan, is your family really rich?" Dawei asked tentatively.
"Of course," Lin Qianfan nodded. "Where do you think I got the money for all this? Competition prize money? That wouldn't be nearly enough."

Yongpan frowned. "But you don't look like a rich person in your daily life."
"I'm low-key," Lin Qianfan said casually. "I don't want to draw too much attention and invite trouble."

Yongpan turned away, muttering, "I hope what you're saying is true."

Though they still had doubts, the group didn't ask further questions, seeing how certain Lin Qianfan was. Lin Qianfan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew, however, that this was only a temporary reassurance. The real problem would ultimately have to be solved by the platform's actual revenue.

The next morning, in the classroom.

***

The homeroom teacher, Fang Zhengyang, walked into the classroom carrying a stack of test papers and stood on the podium, scanning the room.

"Students, during today's lesson, I’d like to say a few words that have nothing to do with the curriculum."

He placed the papers on the podium, rested his hands on the edge of the desk, and spoke in a low voice. "I've heard that some students have been neglecting their duties during their free time, busy with all sorts of messy things that are affecting their studies."

"I must remind everyone: what is our most important task right now? It is studying! It is the college entrance exam! It is getting into a good university!"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the classroom shifted noticeably. A few people glanced secretly toward Lin Qianfan, while those in the back began whispering.

"He wouldn't be talking about Lin Qianfan, would he?"
"It has to be. It's been all over the school lately."
"Tsk, this thing really blew up."

Fang Zhengyang tapped the podium to signal for silence and continued. "You are all still young. It won't be too late to do other things after you graduate. If you waste your study time now, you'll regret it when it's too late!"

With that, he straightened up and began the lesson. After a while, he scanned the room again.

"Lin Qianfan, come up and solve a problem."

Lin Qianfan stood up and walked to the blackboard. Fang Zhengyang wrote a complex math problem on the board and handed him the chalk. Everyone stared at Lin Qianfan. He scanned the problem, picked up the chalk, and began writing "swish, swish" across the board.

His problem-solving process was clean, logical, and concise. Before long, he had written down the answer. Fang Zhengyang looked at the steps on the board, then at the answer, and nodded.

"Not bad. You got it right. This is the final, most difficult problem from this year's municipal mock exam. Solving it shows that you haven't completely wasted your time."

He paused, his tone softening slightly. "However, Lin Qianfan, I still have to warn you: don't put too much energy into irrelevant matters. Studying is your primary duty right now, do you understand?"

"Understood, teacher." Lin Qianfan returned to his seat and lowered his head to continue flipping through his book.