Chapter 206: Accidentally Trending Again

The two of them chatted about their respective progress while eating.

"Song Linxin and Yan Liang have already given me their drafts," Lu Yan He said. "We might still need to hire a professional editor to help us proofread; otherwise, we might miss a lot of typos and awkward phrasing."

"Let's hire a professional editor to help," Chen Siqi said. "Don't you know an editor at Jiang Yin Publishing House? See if you can get them to help."

"Mm." Lu Yan He nodded.

Chen Siqi said, "I've also received three replies from creators willing to provide us with drafts. They are all influencer bloggers with many followers, but I haven't received any other replies. There's nothing to be done about that; we don't have any sample books to show people yet, and many think we're just scammers."

"For the first issue, we'll have to rely mostly on friends we know to get enough content," Lu Yan He said, feeling a bit helpless.

"Our current lineup of creators is already quite appealing. Compared to creators who can bring more readers to our book, we can focus more on articles that move people," Chen Siqi said. "Next time I meet with Xin Zixing, I plan to bring up the idea of holding a writing contest on the Ye Mai website."

Lu Yan He nodded.

"The contest itself is a form of promotion to some extent," Chen Siqi said. "Not only can we solicit submissions within the Ye Mai website, but we can also post them to relevant platforms."

"That sounds pretty good."

"Mm." Chen Siqi nodded. "Although the goal Xin Zixing set for us is 50,000 subscriptions, I still hope for more. Since we're doing this, we have to do our best to make it the most amazing Mook possible."

"What's your target subscription number?" Lu Yan He asked curiously.

"100,000? 200,000? The more the better," Chen Siqi said earnestly. "As long as we make it something people are willing to read, the number of subscribers will definitely keep growing. We've read magazines before where we'd read them in one go for two or three years."

"Sounds like a goal that will take a long time to complete," Lu Yan He nodded. "However, I don't actually feel like it's impossible. Am I getting ahead of myself?"

"Because we both believe that if we create good content and have good promotion, we will get recognition." Chen Siqi smiled proudly. "I actually feel a bit surreal right now. I never expected to really start making a book like this. I originally thought this summer vacation would be very boring. Besides, this is the first time I've truly done something I wanted to do. Before, whatever I did was either to spite Liu Weian or to prove to my dad that I could. But I had never done one thing I truly wanted to do. If it weren't for doing this book with you, I don't think I would have ever taken any action."

Lu Yan He didn't expect Chen Siqi to suddenly give him such a "heartfelt confession."

"Me too," Lu Yan He said immediately. "If it weren't for you doing this with me, I wouldn't have taken action either. I would have just had the thought pop into my head occasionally, and that would be the end of it."

What Chen Siqi didn't say was that she hoped this first issue would be better than imagined, better than expected, because she hoped this book could keep going. That way, even if she went to Jiangguang and Lu Yan He stayed in Yuming, even if she was just an ordinary student and Lu Yan He became increasingly famous, they could still stay connected because of this book and maintain a long-term, stable relationship.

Chen Siqi was not an optimist; she couldn't optimistically believe that they could maintain their current relationship over a long period of separation.

Without investing time and energy, the feelings between people would become increasingly thin. Even if old friends reunited, they could only talk about the past, but the past is just the past, and the present is the present.

She didn't just want the past; she wanted the present too.

After they finished eating, they found a nearby coffee shop, preparing to discuss the book's editing and other follow-up work together in the afternoon.

"Hey, isn't that Lu Yan He?" As they were about to leave the restaurant, someone suddenly pointed at Lu Yan He and shouted.

Her voice drew the attention of many people.

Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi were instantly surrounded by gazes.

He looked around awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"Why is there a girl with him too?" someone discussed, saying it directly to the person next to them in front of him.

That "too" was very telling.

"Is she your girlfriend?" someone asked directly, as if they were an old acquaintance of Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He frowned slightly, looking at that person.

That person was clearly just watching a show, looking at him with a teasing expression.

Lu Yan He turned his head to look at Chen Siqi.

Chen Siqi had already glared fiercely, "Who are you? What does it have to do with you?!"

Lu Yan He panicked, afraid that Chen Siqi would get into an argument with someone in front of everyone, and quickly pulled her away.

This unexpected interlude made Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi's departure look a bit like "fleeing in panic."

Chen Siqi was very dissatisfied and said, "Why did you pull me away just now?"

Lu Yan He answered honestly, "I was afraid you'd get into an argument with him."

"That person looked like he was up to no good, with a shifty look on his face," Chen Siqi said. "I wouldn't have argued with him."

Lu Yan He had a headache and said, "It seems like it's getting easier and easier for people to recognize me lately."

"You're trending every other day now, isn't it normal for it to be easier for people to recognize you?" Chen Siqi said. "I actually find it strange that you can come out so often, eat and drink coffee like an ordinary person, and not be affected much. Don't most artists have their travel obstructed and find it hard to enjoy a normal life?"

"That's only if you're at a very famous level; otherwise, it wouldn't be that difficult to move around. Even Sister Yuqian can go out normally as long as she disguises herself," Lu Yan He said. "It's not that exaggerated. Li Zhibai is so famous, but as long as he doesn't go to places where crowds gather, he can still go out and play with us."

Chen Siqi: "That's because the people you mentioned are only known by many young people. Try swapping them with Shang Yongzhou and the others."

"That's true too."

The two of them ran to a nearby coffee shop, pushed the door open, and went in to find a corner seat.

They usually looked for such seats, and then Lu Yan He would sit facing the corner, with his back to the other people in the shop, so he would rarely be recognized, at most by the staff.

Unexpectedly, this time just after sitting down, a voice rang out from nearby, "Lu Yan He!"

Lu Yan He's body stiffened, and he looked at Chen Siqi in disbelief.

Is the frequency of being recognized today too high?

Chen Siqi also turned her head to look.

They soon realized they had misunderstood; Lu Yan He hadn't been recognized.

Sitting next to them were two fashionably dressed girls.

They were each holding their phones, scrolling through things, and that "Lu Yan He" just now was shouted by one of the girls.

"He seemed to be eating at a restaurant nearby just now!"

"Ah?"

"There happened to be a food blogger doing a live stream in the restaurant who ran into him and even filmed him with a girl. That girl has a pretty short temper."

"What girl?"

"Don't know, looks average."

The "average" Chen Siqi took a deep breath.

Lu Yan He quickly signaled her with his eyes to stay calm.

The two girls continued talking.

"These idol artists nowadays, they look so pure on the surface. I told you, at their age, being handsome, young, and rich, how could they be pure? Look at any guy around us who is even slightly good-looking; when has he ever been without a girlfriend?"

"I thought Lu Yan He was a little different."

"There are plenty of scumbags among top students too."

The "scumbag" Lu Yan He widened his eyes in shock.

Chen Siqi pointed at him with her eyes, the teasing meaning overflowing.

"Hahaha, hilarious. The restaurant owner even said Lu Yan He is very stingy, treating a girl to a meal and only ordering two dishes, spending only 27 yuan!"

"27 yuan?! Damn, if any guy treated me to a meal and only ate this kind of stuff, I'd pick up my bag and leave. Damn, it's so off-putting. How can there be such a stingy guy?"

"I'm really speechless."

These two girls didn't realize at all that the two people who had just entered were the objects of their discussion.

They didn't realize it even after they finished their coffee and left the shop.

Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi stared at each other, neither of them speaking.

This feeling of sitting nearby and listening to others discuss you is quite sour and refreshing.

After a long while, Chen Siqi said, "Are you okay?"

The two girls just now were mainly discussing Lu Yan He, saying he was both unfaithful and stingy, and off-putting.

Lu Yan He was so sprayed that he felt numb.

Chen Siqi laughed uncontrollably and said, "I can only feel what kind of environment you usually face by sitting with you."

Lu Yan He: "Sigh, I suddenly feel that after this lunch today, I'll probably become a terrible guy in many people's minds."

"Hurry up and clarify it," Chen Siqi said. "Listening to them, I guess many people on the internet are already discussing it."

"Clarify what? I don't even know what to clarify," Lu Yan He said. "It's a fact that we only spent 27 yuan."

"Then we just ate one eggplant with pork and one stir-fried cabbage, how much could it cost? It's not like we were eating at a high-end restaurant; it's a restaurant that specializes in common stir-fry," Chen Siqi said.

"But that's how it sounds to others."

"Why don't you clarify that I'm not your girlfriend?" Chen Siqi said.

Lu Yan He: "Then even more people will call me a scumbag. 'Hmm, after being discussed, he even denied she's his girlfriend.'"

Chen Siqi sighed.

"Then what should we do?"

"I'll send a message to Sister Ziyan, it's fine," Lu Yan He said. "At most, I'll be mocked for two days."

He feigned nonchalance, but inside he was still a bit annoyed.

It clearly had nothing to do with the facts, yet he fell into a situation where the more he explained the facts, the more he was misunderstood. Being an artist always means facing such situations; facts aren't important, and explaining too much only makes things worse. It's better not to say anything.

Lu Yan He had already faced such situations several times.

Chen Ziyan replied: Small matter, don't take it to heart.

Chen Ziyan's attitude made Lu Yan He breathe a sigh of relief.

It seemed that no matter what happened, to Chen Ziyan, it was never a big deal.

Chen Ziyan really didn't look down on such small matters.

To her, she often felt that as long as the artist didn't break the law or violate discipline, there was nothing that couldn't be solved or handled by public relations.

All crises are opportunities—to some extent, Zhou Ping'an's concept wasn't wrong either. Black-red is also red; black can turn red, and image crises can turn into image improvements. Such discussions now at least made many people pay attention to Lu Yan He. If handled well by PR, these followers would become positive admirers.

Chen Ziyan directly arranged a virtual "friend" identity and wrote on the internet: "Seeing Lu Yan He and Qiqi being misunderstood by everyone as boyfriend and girlfriend, as their classmate and good friend, I still want to come out and explain. They are classmates from No. 13 High School and have a very good relationship. There are several other people who often hang out with them, not just the two of them. They often meet and eat together now because they are working on a book together, so they often have to meet to discuss. Just because a boy and a girl are together doesn't mean they are boyfriend and girlfriend, okay? Also, as for the 27 yuan, the restaurant they ate at averages 12 or 13 yuan per dish; it's a restaurant that focuses on affordable prices. We good friends eat together, and we are all just graduated high school students, so even 27 yuan isn't cheap, okay?!"

After writing it, she found familiar media to repost, drive traffic, raise heat, and create topics.

Under several posts criticizing Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi as boyfriend and girlfriend, she placed screenshots of this content, arranged for heat, and sent the screenshot content to the top of the comment section.

It's not just black fans and water armies who know how to manipulate internet traffic; PR responses are the same.

When Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi's phones rang one after another, they realized that this matter and the response arranged by Chen Ziyan were both trending.

Many of their friends sent "condolences."

Li Pengfei even directly created a group, naming it "The School Hunk and School Beauty of No. 13 High School."

He started chattering in the group directly.

Linyu, Chen Qin, Xu Zijun, and the others were all added to the group.

Li Pengfei was very curious about who the person responding on the internet was, @-ing everyone and asking if it was them.

Everyone denied it.

Li Pengfei: Then who else is so familiar with Old Lu and Chen Siqi?

Lu Yan He replied silently: That ID was arranged by my agent, not a real person.

Li Pengfei: Damn.

Linyu: I was wondering why I couldn't figure out who this person was.

Lu Yan He: An unprovoked disaster.

Li Pengfei: Too funny.

Chen Qin: This response is too realistic; I really thought it was written by one of us.

Chen Qin: But, are you guys really working on a book together?

This response, for the first time, brought up the fact that Lu Yan He and Chen Siqi were working on a book together in front of everyone. ===== CHAPTER 207 =====