Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 450 Program Effects
On television, Jiang Xiaoshuang raised this question to Cao Sheng.

In front of the TV.

Huang Qingya was waiting for Cao Sheng's reply.

Tens of thousands of writers and readers across the country are also waiting for Cao Sheng's answer.

Cao Sheng has written too many representative works since his debut.

In the eyes of many, every book Cao Sheng has written since his debut can be considered his representative work.

Almost every book he wrote was groundbreaking.

For example, "Living with an Air Hostess" may not be groundbreaking in terms of subject matter, but it is currently recognized as the first online novel, directly pioneering the online novel genre.

For example, "I Want to Become an Immortal" is different from traditional Xianxia (fantasy/martial arts) novels and pioneered the concept of cultivation.

For example, the novel *Shen Mu* pioneered a fast-paced writing style, with a plot so fast that it left everyone speechless. Unlike other cultivation novels where the protagonist's cultivation is measured in years, in *Shen Mu*, the protagonist's cultivation seems to be measured in hours. He might be at one level in the morning and at a higher level in the afternoon. If the villain is chasing the protagonist and is delayed by even half a day or a day, the protagonist, who might have been unable to defeat the villain before, can easily kill him.

The speed of cultivation is ridiculously fast.

For example, "The Exquisite Pagoda of Heaven and Earth" not only pioneered the pagoda-style writing technique, but also set a record—the work involved many film scripts, and almost all of them sold their film and television rights, which is simply astonishing.

There are also works like "The Legend of the Primordial Era" and "The Legend of Martial Arts," each of which pioneered a new genre.

These works, if written by any other author, would be enough to make that author famous, but all of these works were written by Cao Sheng alone.

So, has Cao Sheng reached his peak? If so, how long can it last? This is a question that many people have already considered.

But there has never been an answer.

Now, on this currently airing interview program, the host Jiang Xiaoshuang has asked Cao Sheng this question.

How will Cao Sheng respond?
on TV.

Cao Sheng chuckled and looked at Jiang Xiaoshuang, saying, "Isn't it a bit too early for you to ask this question? I'm only 22 years old this year, and I haven't even graduated from university yet! You're already asking me if I've reached the peak of my career? You could ask me this question when I'm 42 or 32, right?"

Some audience members in the stands were already laughing out loud.

Jiang Xiaoshuang laughed too, "Yes! Logically speaking, I should have asked you this kind of question when you were 42 or 32, but who told you to start writing from your freshman year of college? Besides, you just said that you have written more than 800 million words, which is a number that many traditional writers cannot write in their entire lives, so why don't you answer it?"

More laughter erupted from the audience.

Cao Sheng smiled.

Many viewers in front of their televisions were also amused.

Cao Sheng's words just now resonated with many people, who agreed that they made sense.

But after hearing Jiang Xiaoshuang's words, more people nodded in agreement, feeling that what she said made a lot of sense.

Although Zhongyuan Yidianhui is young, the number of words he has written has already exceeded the number of words that many writers can write in a lifetime.

Therefore, his achievements should not be simply measured by his age.

Therefore, we cannot use age to judge whether his peak period has arrived.

Cao Sheng thought for a moment, "What you said makes some sense, but at 22, it's really hard for me to judge whether my peak has arrived. It's like when I was in elementary school, I was first in my class every year. Back then, I naively thought that when I got to junior high and high school, I would still be first in my class. I didn't believe I would lose to anyone. But when I got to junior high, I saw people with better grades than me. In high school, there were even more people with better grades than me. In the end, I couldn't even get into a university. So, if you ask me now whether my peak has arrived, I really don't know."

At this moment.

At Cao Sheng's villa.

Jiang Xiaoshuang had already taken a taxi to his place and sat next to him on the sofa to watch this episode.

Cao Sheng smiled slightly as he watched himself say those words on television.

Because he himself knew that he was not really that young.

He has lived for over 40 years, both before and after his rebirth.

He had long since reached the age of forty.

Logically speaking, a man of this age should have already figured out his own limitations.

I should have a fairly accurate assessment of how high I can reach in my career.

Moreover, as a reborn individual with the advantage of foresight, he has many new themes to write about and should be confident that he can write even better works.

He should have the confidence to say that his peak has not yet arrived.

but……

Having lived for over 40 years, he knew that although his body had become younger after his rebirth, his mindset had actually aged.

His aging mindset limited his writing sharpness.

However, online novel readers are generally young, and older readers will gradually reduce or even stop reading online novels altogether.

Younger readers generally prefer works where the protagonist has a sharp and assertive personality.

Before his rebirth, Cao Sheng discovered that his works were gradually losing the vigor of his youth, and more and more readers said that his works were becoming increasingly senile.

At that time, he was consciously suppressing his "decrepitness".

However, it will still be revealed unintentionally between the lines of one's own work.

He studied the works of other authors and found that this was not a problem unique to him, but a common problem among almost all writers.

For example, Jin Yong stopped writing at the age of 48. Why did he stop? Was it because he didn't like writing anymore?

For example, Gu Long died at the age of 47, but before his death, the works he wrote were far less well-known than his earlier works.

For example, Huang Yi passed away at the age of 65 in 2017. However, his most famous works, such as "Shattered Void", "A Step into the Past", "Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty", and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", were basically all created before the 21st century. After that, he inevitably went downhill.

For example, in the original timeline, those once-popular online novel authors generally became famous in their twenties or thirties, but after they turned forty, the quality of their works and the speed of their updates generally declined significantly, no longer possessing the prowess of their youth.

Therefore, although Cao Sheng is a reborn person, there are still many new topics to write about.

However, they dare not say that they will definitely be able to surpass their achievements of the past few years in the future.

Because the "decrepitness" in his works gradually emerges, which makes readers dislike him.

"You're quite modest!"

in front of the TV.

Sitting next to Cao Sheng, Jiang Xiaoshuang smiled and turned to Cao Sheng to say something.

Cao Sheng looked at her and smiled slightly, "I just don't dare to underestimate other authors."

Jiang Xiaoshuang was a little surprised, "Do you think other authors could surpass you?"

Cao Sheng's mind flashed through the names of Third Young Master, Shenji, Tomato, Chen Dong, and others. He nodded slightly, "Of course! There are many talented people in the world. I am just a mediocre student who can't even get into a university. It's perfectly normal for someone to surpass me in the future."

In the original timeline, he entered the industry a few years later than these top figures, and he watched many of them ascend to godhood step by step.

It can be said that he has personally experienced the feeling of powerlessness when trampled underfoot by these great figures.

Therefore, he understood better than later writers and readers the brilliance of these top authors at their peak. The themes, writing techniques, and even the methods used by later writers to climb the charts, manage their works, and cultivate their fans were almost all pioneered by those top authors during the golden age of online literature.

Therefore, even after being reborn, Cao Sheng never dared to underestimate this group of powerful figures.

He was well aware of the terrifying learning ability and speed of progress of this group of top students.

For example, at his peak, Shenji's works were incredibly appealing to readers, even surpassing the appeal of reborn individuals.

"Moderation is good, but you're being way too modest."

As Jiang Xiaoshuang spoke, she rolled her eyes at Cao Sheng.

She didn't believe that what Cao Sheng had just said was what he truly felt.

……

On television, the program continued.

The host, Jiang Xiaoshuang, then asked another question, "Cao Sheng! Many of us know that your income exceeded 100 million yuan the year before last. What about your income last year? Did it exceed 100 million yuan? Can you tell us?"

This question has once again piqued the interest of countless viewers.

Online writers, in particular, were all glued to Cao Sheng on TV.

On television, the audience at the live broadcast also stared at him with curiosity.

Cao Sheng's expression seemed somewhat helpless.

He rolled his eyes at Jiang Xiaoshuang, which amused many viewers.

Cao Sheng: "No! The reason why my income exceeded 100 million the year before last was mainly because I sold the film and television adaptation rights of a lot of scripts, especially the scripts sold to Hollywood. The script fees they paid were beyond my expectations."

Jiang Xiaoshuang playfully retorted, "You mean Hollywood people are stupid and have too much money?"

"Ha ha……"

The audience burst into laughter.

Cao Sheng was amused, but he quickly waved his hand, "No! I didn't mean that, don't get me into trouble! If this gets back to the US, who will pay me such a high script fee in the future?"

The audience laughed even louder.

Jiang Xiaoshuang also smiled broadly, "Okay! My mistake, I shouldn't have said that."

She paused, then asked, "Then why didn't you sell more scripts to Hollywood last year? Were they unsellable? Or did you simply stop submitting scripts to Hollywood?"

This question has obviously piqued the curiosity of many people.

Cao Sheng: "Well, if you're a fan of my books, you should know that the scripts I sold to Hollywood were basically stories from one of my novels. They weren't scripts I specifically wrote for Hollywood. And last year, I didn't write any scripts specifically for Hollywood either. So, that's about it. I don't think I actively submitted any scripts to Hollywood last year."

Jiang Xiaoshuang's eyes showed a look of doubt, "Why? Hollywood is offering you such high fees for your scripts, why don't you write a few scripts specifically for that purpose and submit them? Can't you be attracted by such high fees?"

This question clearly reflects the sentiments of many people.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoshuang on TV became the mouthpiece for many viewers, asking the questions on their behalf.

Cao Sheng: "Well, of course I like money. As someone who grew up in the countryside and was afraid of poverty since childhood, I feel insecure if I don't earn enough money. But to be honest, after I earned more than 100 million, my desire for money was not so great, because I knew that this was a huge sum of money that my children and grandchildren could never spend in a lifetime. Under these circumstances, I wanted to write what I wanted to write."

Jiang Xiaoshuang and the audience members present changed their expressions upon hearing this.

The scene quieted down considerably.

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "Is what you want to write a novel?"

Cao Sheng nodded, "That's right! When I first started writing novels, I never thought my work could make money. It was because I had stories I wanted to write and publish, and I wanted to gain some readers' recognition. Now that I'm not short of money, what supports me to continue creating is that irrepressible urge to express myself. Or rather, after getting used to writing novels, if I suddenly stop writing, I don't know what to do. Do you understand what I mean?"

on TV.

Jiang Xiaoshuang shook her head and smiled in front of everyone, dismantling the argument, "I don't understand! How could I possibly understand the troubles of a billionaire like you? You're making things too difficult for me."

"Ha ha……"

The audience burst into laughter.

The camera panned across several leaders of Huizhou TV station, all of whom had smiles on their faces.

At this moment, countless people in front of their televisions were amused.

……

In a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, several tens of minutes passed by without us even realizing it.

When the show ended, many people were still reluctant to leave.

I just realized how fast time has passed; the show has already finished airing.

Huang Qingya sat in her friend's living room, holding a half-glass of red wine in her hand, her cheeks slightly flushed. She hadn't expected to actually watch the whole episode.

She thought she would watch for a while and then turn off the TV.

After all, she still harbored resentment towards Cao Sheng.

She also harbored resentment towards Jiang Xiaoshuang, the host of the show.

In her eyes, Jiang Xiaoshuang was a homewrecker who ruined her relationship with Cao Sheng, and her rival in love.

Who can watch their rival's show the whole time?
Who could bear to see their ex-boyfriend on TV, looking so glamorous and carefree?

However, when she saw the end credits of the program, she was surprised to find that she had actually watched the whole episode.

Jiang Xiaoshuang's hosting style on TV is surprisingly interesting? Cao Sheng... is still so handsome...

While watching this episode, she didn't even realize that her gaze was fixed on Cao Sheng, who was chatting and laughing.

She didn't really listen to some of what Cao Sheng said; she just stared blankly at him on TV, as if she couldn't get enough of looking at him.

……

What many people don't know is that Ma Huateng and several of his right-hand men, who live far away in Shenzhen, were also watching this episode.

Recently, Cao Sheng entrusted Baojianfeng of Qidian.com to contact Mahuateng in Pengcheng and convey Cao Sheng's intention to invest in Tengxun.

Ma Huateng initially scoffed at it.

Although his Tencent is short of money, it's not just money that he lacks. A novelist wants to invest in Tencent? What is he thinking?

However, Baojianfeng also conveyed another message from Cao Sheng: after Cao Sheng invested, he could help promote and publicize QQ in his works for a period of 10 years.

This surprised Ma Huateng, but also made him somewhat tempted.

He suddenly thought of the pen name "Zhongyuan Yidianhui" (meaning "a little gray in the middle of the plains"), which has gained popularity among young people in recent years, and most people who use the internet are young.

It's fair to say that readers who enjoy reading novels online are likely to become QQ users.

Perhaps... Zhongyuan Yidianhui is the best spokesperson for QQ?
(End of this chapter)