Chapter 56: So he wasn't waiting for me

In the luxury car heading to school, Zhai Da was chatting heatedly with his pen pal right in front of her mother.

Lu Lu Lu Siwen: "There's another piece of good news. They said the response to the previous contest and news was very good, and they want to commission you for more work."

"Commission?"

Lu Lu Lu Siwen was truly serious. She had spent half an hour on the phone with Star Wave yesterday, and she had recorded everything in her little notebook.

She was also a bit excited herself. On one hand, the man she recognized—that was the right way to put it—had gained recognition from more people. On the other hand, being able to participate in such things as a high school student gave her the feeling that she was playing "adult games."

"Post blogs in the form of micro-fiction, poetry, essays, or sketches. There's no length limit. As long as the view count exceeds 2,000, they pay 200 yuan. If it exceeds 10,000 views, it's 1,000 yuan, with no upper limit."

Zhai Da curled his lip: "2,000 views is hard, isn't it? Let alone 10,000."

He didn't know how the blog traffic was, but even in the era of short videos, it wasn't easy for an ordinary user to get 10,000 likes on something.

Wouldn't you have to show some leg? Wouldn't you have to dance?

The internet era hadn't fully arrived yet; regardless of the user base or reading habits, it was much harder than in the future.

Zhai Da felt that the number Star Wave gave was more like a carrot dangled in front of him, trying to get him to post blogs continuously and milk him for a wave of traffic.

After all, although the "Han Han-style genius" was nonsense, it had indeed stirred up a wave of public emotion.

Simply put, it was currently a small hot topic on the internet.

Lu Lu Lu Siwen extended a scallion-white finger and shook it in front of Zhai Da: "You can't say that. Classmate Zhai, thanks to that news piece, 'Duvet Explorer' already has 2,872 followers, and that's with only one blog post."

"Which means?"

"I've asked around; the ratio of followers to views is about 10%. That means 200 yuan per blog post is very stable."

Zhai Da curled his lip. What's 200 yuan good for... it's not even enough for a top-up at an internet cafe...

Besides, once this wave of heat passes, it's unlikely anyone will continue to watch a high school student's blog.

Lu Lu Lu Siwen, however, was very optimistic: "I'll help you manage the blog. If we work hard together, it will eventually get better and better."

She didn't think 200 yuan was much either, but she felt this was very interesting.

Zhai Da sighed... subconsciously playing with the 【Joker Poker】 in his hand.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him...

"Spotlight": Joker cards always have a strong sense of presence and can attract people's attention...

This thing... could it be utilized?

Hmm... since his magic level had already been recognized by the system, he could focus on grinding progress today!

———

During the day, a magician appeared at Fangzhongxue.

Zhai Da was currently proficient in only three magic tricks: "Object from Behind the Ear," "Card Flip," and "Vanishing Act." The latter required his hands for small items, while larger ones required the help of the 【Nerd's Eyeglass Cloth】.

He didn't know many, but he played them with flair!

Zhai Da didn't dwell on whether the same person could provide "progress" multiple times; during breaks, in the cafeteria, he would catch anyone he knew and show off.

About one-third passed the system's judgment, gaining progress. Zhai Da guessed that those who didn't succeed were because he had shown his hand; after all, he was still far from being a true close-up magician.

But there were many people, and this trick was extremely attractive in school. A small magic trick took only ten seconds or so. In just one morning, his progress had reached (9/10).

In the restroom, Zhai Da was thinking while taking a leak, wondering where to get the last bit of progress.

He turned his head and saw Wu Yue squatting in the long line.

"Wu Yue, taking a dump?"

"Don't stand next to me, you're making me nervous."

"Did you bring paper? Give me some."

Wu Yue blankly handed over a small pack of tissues. Since he had plenty, he didn't think much of it.

Zhai Da rolled up his sleeves to show his hands were empty, then gave a flick.

"Your tissues are gone. Pretty cool, right?"

Wu Yue:?

Zhai Da turned and left.

The grudge from when he read his news on the podium and made the whole thing known to everyone was finally avenged.

Amidst Wu Yue's wails of "Dad! Dad!", Zhai Da had already walked out of the restroom.

Wu Yue had very graciously provided the last bit of progress, but his own progress in "taking a dump" might have hit a bug.

On the way back to the teaching building, Zhai Da took out the 【Joker Poker】 and pulled out a card to examine it against the sunlight.

There was no change whatsoever, whether in the texture, material, or weight.

But when he held it up, two or three people nearby immediately turned their heads.

Looking at that playing card.

To test the effect, Zhai Da held it up for ten seconds. These people didn't stop, but their necks kept twisting until they lost the angle, yet new people looked over.

Zhai Da moved the card left and right, and he could clearly feel the gazes of several people following the movement. They were truly focusing on the 【Joker Poker】 itself, not Zhai Da the person...

With a flick of his finger, the card spun toward the upper diagonal, then circled back into Zhai Da's hand. The few people watching were like puppets, their gazes following the card the entire time.

Only then did they come to their senses and start to be amazed by Zhai Da's technique.

"This effect... is a bit strong... worthy of a special ability that needs unlocking..."

High-level equipment would have special abilities and unlocking tasks. From the looks of it, it seemed to carry a touch of the surreal.

Next, it was a matter of... whether he could milk Star Wave for all it was worth.

After school in the afternoon, Zhai Da had become a well-known magician at Fangzhongxue. People he knew or recognized would nod at him, wanting him to show off another trick.

Zhai Da handled everyone's requests and bought a starch sausage at the school gate while waiting for someone.

In less than ten minutes, Lu Lu Lu Siwen walked out of the campus, her eyes lighting up as she approached.

"Classmate Zhai? Are you waiting for me?"

Zhai Da shook his head: "No, but you came at the right time. I've already thought of the blog content. We can put photos on the blog, right?"

"Yes, photos, links, URLs, anything works."

Zhai Da nodded and took out the 【Joker Poker】 from his pocket. Lu Lu Lu Siwen was no longer surprised by this thing, but her attention was still drawn to it.

He picked and chose, finding the colored "Big Joker"—the one with the love letter pattern—and let Lu Lu Lu Siwen take a photo with her Nokia N96, which had decent resolution.

With the streetlamp overhead as the background, the card looked a bit dim and blurry, but it was still very special.

Besides that, the frame contained only Zhai Da's fingers, the card, and the night sky.

After glancing at the photo, Zhai Da nodded with satisfaction, then took out his knock-off phone and edited a text message to send to Lu Lu Lu Siwen.

"I've sent you the content. Just pair the text with this photo. Don't write anything else; let's try one first."

Lu Lu Lu Siwen looked at her phone; the content was ridiculously short...

"The switch is the sunrise and sunset of the streetlamp

The sunrise and sunset is the switch of the streetlamp"

At first glance, because of the repetition, one would subconsciously skip-read it, but after reading it, one would realize something was off. Reading it again would make it feel quite philosophical.

But for some reason, most of her attention was on that photo... it felt very atmospheric...

It's just... posting this little content on a blog... will anyone read it?!

You have to know that the average length of a blog post is over 500 words! Most people are at the thousand-word level!

"Classmate Zhai, is this appropriate? Isn't it too short?"

Zhai Da shook his head: "Trust me, in the future, the shorter the better. Let's try it. By the way, regarding the view-count reward mechanism, I hope to sign a contract. Please help me mention it next time you contact them."

Star Wave was trying to milk him, and he was trying to use the 【Joker Poker】 to milk Star Wave.

2,000 views for 200 yuan... actually, the ratio they proposed isn't high by common standards. Blogs have only been around for two and a half years, and because they are too professional, they haven't developed very fast.

Only some well-known figures and veteran bloggers can reach view counts in the tens of thousands. If a post hits 100,000 views, it's considered the hottest tier; there aren't even a few of those a year.

It can only be said that internet companies now haven't realized the power of traffic, or rather, the magnitude that traffic can reach.

They might be thinking quite simply. Even if there really are 100,000 views, what's 10,000 yuan to Zhai Da? Internet companies are in the business of burning money to grab the market anyway.

But... an average of ten views for one yuan—this is a level any platform in the future wouldn't even dare to imagine.

Lu Lu Lu Siwen was about to say something else when Zhai Da's eyes suddenly lit up, and he strode forward.

A middle-aged woman was riding a "Twenty-Eight" bicycle, with a girl sitting on the back seat.

Thin, clean, pretty—this was Lu Lu Lu Siwen's first impression.

Lu Lu Lu Siwen guessed the middle-aged woman's identity, but she couldn't guess the girl's identity no matter what.

Lu Lu Lu Siwen hesitated for a moment and took the initiative to walk up: "Hello, Auntie, I'm Zhai Da's classmate."

Yu Yu Xiaoli was stunned and smiled: "Hello, hello."

She was here today to find the teacher and ask for leave for Zhai Da for evening self-study. From now on, Xiao Da could go home at six o'clock.

Lu Lu Lu Siwen secretly looked at the girl—pretty, clean, like a blank sheet of paper.

Yet, the girl's eyes seemed to only have Zhai Da in them.

Suddenly, Lu Lu Lu Siwen felt a bit uncomfortable in her heart.

So, Zhai Da really wasn't waiting for her after all. ===== CHAPTER 58 =====