Chapter 66: Acknowledgments Upon Release

After typing those four characters, I sat in front of the monitor and thought for a long time.

No feelings?

No.

I've been writing for over ten years, and this book has been the most turbulent and the most heart-pounding for me.

Brothers who've followed me for a while might know that after my last novel ended, I started three new books—all of them died in the womb.

I swear to heaven, I prepared each one thoroughly—conceived ideas, designed plots; none were like any genre that had existed before, and I poured my sincerity into every one.

One of them, I spent years just thinking about, and even wrote tens of thousands of words as backup drafts.

But every time, I began with full confidence, yet the platform never gave me even a chance to try—letting me fail again and again, utterly crushed.

For a while, I even doubted myself, thinking I had no talent for writing novels, that maybe I wasn't suited for this web literature business.

To be honest, if I weren't over forty and had no other skills or alternative paths, those repeated blows would've already driven me to switch careers.

By the way, I really did consider becoming a food delivery rider.

It's laughable—I've written for so many years, yet I've never truly succeeded, always hovering on the edge of poverty.

Previously, when I read comments, someone called me the "King of Flops."

I didn't argue—I only reflected.

Flop? Fine, I've lived in debt from writing, owing over a hundred thousand in online loans, every month worrying about household expenses and my child's tuition—utterly a failure.

King? Not unfair—I once seriously considered going into the sex trade, even nearly took the first step, but after checking the relevant laws, I realized I couldn't bear the consequences, so I quickly pulled my foot back.

In short, these years have been truly miserable, and before I started this book, I was completely out of options.

My family, too, had grown deeply disappointed by my repeated failures, unsure what kind of life they'd face next.

The harsh reality forced me to try once more.

That's how this book came to be.

Before writing it, I suffered sleepless nights, truly not knowing what else I could write.

But I had to write.

So I thought constantly—while eating, while using the toilet, connecting everything I saw to ideas.

One day, I went to bed early, yet tossed and turned until past three in the morning, half-asleep, half-awake.

It was in that state that the idea of "Five Beautiful Girls" came to me.

Without a moment's hesitation, I opened my eyes, got up, turned on the computer, and wrote this opening.

Later, over about ten days, I gradually wrote five chapters and sent them to my editor, Qilin.

After reading them, my editor felt it wasn't strong enough—he thought the selling points weren't clear.

Fortunately, my editor was experienced—he asked for an outline. I explained my concept: the protagonist pretending to be a native before five women who had crossed over. He immediately said, "That's a selling point—give it a try."

That day happened to be Little New Year.

If my life had been stable, I would've waited until after the New Year to publish this book.

But at the time, I didn't even have money for the New Year, let alone my child's tuition next month—I had to gamble everything.

I spent the entire holiday writing—on New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and the Lantern Festival, when old classmates invited me to gather, I didn't go—I focused entirely on this book.

Because I had to survive.

Fortunately!!!

You didn't let me lose.

To be honest, before I started this book, I never imagined it would be this popular—you pushed it all the way into the top ranks of the new book charts, peaking at second place, holding it for many days; if not for two platinum-level masters releasing books right before and after us, we could've reached number one for a couple days.

Thank you sincerely—you've given me hope to keep writing novels, even hope to survive.

I have nothing to offer in return except to write this book as well as I can, to bring you some joy.

Hmm… I actually have many more feelings, but you probably don't want to hear me whine.

I'll just focus on writing.

Here I must mention: I'm especially grateful to everyone who commented on this book—whether you praised me or criticized me, your comments truly guide my writing direction.

I won't hide from your sharp eyes—many of my writing ideas came from you.

I can responsibly say I've read every single comment and searched them for inspiration, trying my best to avoid the pitfalls you dislike.

I hope you'll keep going.

Of course, I'm even more grateful to the brothers who tipped and voted for me—because of your support, I nearly reached the top.

Thank you, sincerely and wholeheartedly—may you enjoy good health, lifelong peace, and great wealth!!!

Hmm… I have one more not-so-good piece of news to share.

I'll probably write this book slowly.

It's a new type of brain-bending story that likely no one has written before—too many characters, tangled relationships, no references at all, entirely designed by me—it's very hard to write.

I truly want to give you more original content, less of the tired tropes everyone's sick of in web novels.

That means this book takes me longer to write, yet still far slower than others'.

To speak from the heart—I want to update more, earn more, change my impoverished life—I really, really, really want to—but I don't know how much potential I still have.

In short, I'll do my absolute best!!!

Enough idle talk.

Now, onto the main point:

Request subscriptions, tips, monthly votes, and all forms of support!!!

Your support is absolutely my greatest motivation to update more!!!

Finally, to be clear: at 11:59 PM tonight, possibly delayed a few minutes, this book goes live—please come support it.

Also, from now on, this book's update time will shift to after 0:05 AM daily.

If there are no special circumstances, the two guaranteed updates will be posted together rather than separately, to spare readers the trouble of chasing them; additional updates will depend on the situation.

That's it—tonight at midnight, I'll be waiting for you all on Qidian; we won't miss each other.

(End of chapter)