[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-shao-song":3,"chapter-shao-song-shao-song-chapter-483":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Shao Song",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1558649,2024,"Chapter 483: A Letter of Thanks, Four Years Later","shao-song-chapter-483",483,"\u003Cp>A Letter of Thanks, Four Years Later\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It has been nearly three or four years since *Reviving the Song* was completed, yet it has continuously received your enduring affection. Now that it has been featured on the front-page recommendation again, I should write a single chapter to express my gratitude to the readers. But when I opened the backend and tapped the keyboard, I felt somewhat dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, it has been nearly four years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over these four years, for the first three, *Reviving the Song* grew at a rate of ten thousand average subscriptions per year. This year, thanks to the explosive popularity of the comic, its spread on Douyin, and the selfless help from the product and editorial teams at Yuewen, I estimate it could grow by twenty thousand average subscriptions... That's right, as of now, this book has nearly eighty thousand average subscriptions, and it should keep rising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don't read many books myself, so I don't know if this is rare, but regardless, it means a great deal to me personally. I should express my thanks to the new and old readers who are my benefactors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am deeply grateful, and I bow in salute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, that said, I was still hesitant about this single chapter, because it's somewhat untimely—Xiaoyu... readers of *Reviving the Song* should know the origin of this name... a Chinchilla Persian cat I raised, also the cat that accompanied me the longest, passed away just last week. Discussing *Reviving the Song* now seems unavoidable in mentioning Xiaoyu's story, and it inevitably feels a bit like emotional manipulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But reality is reality; I should always be honest with everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiaoyu had a cerebellar herniation, which is nearly a terminal illness for cats. It took a long time to diagnose, and once we knew there was no hope, we immediately opted for euthanasia and cremation... When Xiaoyu was alive, she was a good cat. I loved her very much, and we spent enough time together that some feelings are beyond doubt. But I don't know why, when I sent her off, I never felt much emotion. It's only these past few days, when I keep calling out \"Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu\" to my daughter and the other little cat, that I get a bit dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, if I were to say what personal experiences I've had over these four years, it's precisely birth, aging, illness, and death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I got married, had a daughter, moved to Chengdu, adopted a new cat. At the same time, my hyperthyroidism relapsed, my hypokalemia relapsed, I witnessed July's passing, a close relative of mine fell seriously ill, and there were other messy things that all seemed major... Of course, *Deposing the Dragon* also fell into an inescapable quagmire of updates—I've been through too much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, does any of this relate to *Reviving the Song*?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course it does.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking back, when I wrote *Reviving the Song*, it happened to be the prime golden age around thirty years old, and *Overthrowing the Han* had given me some experience and material support. At that time, I had quit my job, with no attachments... you could also say I had nothing... living alone in a rented room in Beijing, with only Xiao Jiu and Xiaoyu, two cats, keeping me company, allowing me to focus single-mindedly on writing the novel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Truly single-minded. Aside from eating and playing games to relax, I was thinking about the plot almost every night, even in my dreams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under those circumstances, writing *Reviving the Song*—it would be normal if it turned out poorly, and it felt somewhat inevitable that it turned out well, but I truly gave it my all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I didn't think that way at the time. Back then, I felt I was still young, that I could still write five or six more books in this lifetime. Plus, as the book progressed, it became somewhat exhausting and tiring, so I had a feeling of wanting to trample over *Reviving the Song* and quickly move on to the next stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, I should have had a better attitude toward *Reviving the Song*. Only then could I have done justice to my own years and to the readers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, I also owe an apology to the new and old readers for not being able to wrap up *Reviving the Song* in the best possible state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All I can say is, at the time, it was already a daze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, about *Deposing the Dragon*... of course I have to talk about *Deposing the Dragon*, because *Deposing the Dragon* is the present, and we are discussing *Reviving the Song*, the past, from the present moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speaking of *Deposing the Dragon*, I actually have countless reasons I could use to defend myself, listing them one, two, three, four here. But after going through so much, I feel that reasons are pointless... Regardless, my biggest problem is that I haven't been able to fully devote my energy to *Deposing the Dragon*.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that's as far as it goes; it can't get any worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a personal level, *Reviving the Song* represents the upper limit of my personal energy, while *Deposing the Dragon* is the lower limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, *Reviving the Song* tells me I can write novels. And *Deposing the Dragon* tells me I can write novels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Deposing the Dragon* doesn't have much content left; I'll finish it as soon as possible within this year. Let's look forward. I still have to move ahead, I still have to keep writing web novels... No matter what, I have to move forward. That's true for me personally, and it's also true from the perspective of novel creation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moving forward, no matter how difficult the journey, I can give an account to *Reviving the Song*, give an account to *Deposing the Dragon*, and give an account to myself and the readers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I stop, no matter how brilliant something is, it's just a corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don't want to become a corpse—that's the biggest insight I've gained from experiencing so much birth, aging, illness, and death over these years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, I won't offer thanks again. I'll borrow two lines of ancient poetry as the conclusion of this letter:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On and on, again and again, the years have suddenly grown late.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cast aside and say no more, just strive to eat well and stay strong.\u003C\u002Fp>",1058,"2026-06-06T07:46:32.508Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","e2e3aa6fb7cb8a183578e1ca4e52047d086a065716705eea18edce0c661a3dec","shao-song-chapter-484","shao-song-chapter-482",489,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fshao-song-cover.jpg"]