We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

The road ahead is long and arduous, but we stride forward anew. Anew we begin, the mountains like the moon, the setting sun like blood.

First, recite a short opening statement to set the tone.

First of all, I am very grateful for the readers' support. I will always remember the three chapters I owe.

Secondly, let me explain why I decided to stop updating.

I've been in a bad mood and not feeling well lately, so writing this is just mechanically producing filler content.

I don’t actually know when it started, but most readers have come to regard this book as a fanfiction or an IF storyline of another book. I don’t remember ever promoting this kind of gimmick myself.

On the contrary, I have clearly stated that "what I write is not fan fiction, but original work." For details, please see the author's note published on January 29th in Chapter 58.

But it seems like no one has noticed this problem; I read every single comment. (Someone pointed out typos, but there are so many that it's hard to spot them at a glance.)

As a result, nearly 60% to 70% of the reviews for my book are about how this book is inferior to that book, and vice versa.

Some readers who haven't read the original book might enter this book, randomly click on a section review, and find that it's actually a review of another book. They're confused and might even develop a dislike for this book.

I think this is very disrespectful to my book. Xie Shu is Xie Shu, and Li Mubai is Li Mubai. They are not copies of anyone else, nor are they substitutes for anyone else.

Some people might think that the author named the female lead Xie Shu, which is an abbreviation of XS, just to push the boundaries and deliberately lead the reader astray.

I'm sorry, that's not true. I was completely unaware of this problem when I named the female lead Xie Shu.

When I was thinking about how to portray the female lead as both intelligent and wealthy, I immediately thought of Xie Daoyun.

In the old days, Wang Xietang flew into the homes of ordinary people.

The Xie family happened to be a prominent and prestigious clan, so they adopted Xie as their surname.

What about her name? It should also reflect her aloof style. Words like "snow," "cold," and "frost" seem too formulaic, while the word "sparse" is rarely used and is also concise.

And so, the name Xie Shu was born.

As for Li Mubai, I didn't think much about it at all. Only after I finished writing it did I realize that the name had a bit of an internet celebrity feel to it, so I used his name to make fun of myself.

Therefore, I hope that everyone will not see a certain plot and say: "If it were XS, it wouldn't be like this, if it were LQ, it wouldn't be like this."

I'm sorry, Xie Shu has her own personality; she is not a copy or replacement of XS.

Li Mubai also has his own code of conduct, and he will not be inferior to LQ.

In terms of character design, I did draw some inspiration, but only from Xie Shu and Chen Qiuhe, and everyone can see that they are largely the same.

As for Li Mubai's personality, it was entirely based on my own creation; his loneliness and inferiority complex are entirely based on my past experiences.

I didn't deliberately imitate what LQ did or what his personality was like; I've even forgotten what he did. (I read books in a very superficial way.)

I would not call Li Mubai a loser; I feel that term is rather childish.

Li Mu Bai is just a normal person. His loneliness and inferiority complex are also normal. Calling him a loser seems to make him special.

In my opinion, he is just a microcosm of the lonely and insecure masses; he is not special.

Some people might think that I'm only saying this now, why didn't I say it earlier? Is it for the sake of traffic? After all, being infamous is still being famous, and everyone arguing helps increase the book's popularity, so I can also enjoy the popularity that the book brings.

Make money, not shabby.

Yes, making money. I write novels full-time and I do need to make money. I don't deny that. It's naturally a good thing to be able to make money. Who would complain about not having enough money?

However, writing a good novel and making money are not contradictory; they are directly proportional.

(Some people might exclaim upon seeing this: "Damn, this sounds familiar!" But this is my honest thought. I'm a fairly straightforward person, and these words have been brewing in my mind all night.)

When I decided to write novels full-time, very few readers supported me and asked if I would stop updating because I wouldn't make money.

I said at the time: My primary purpose in writing novels is to fulfill my dream of writing novels, and the second is to make money.

Yes, fulfilling my dream of writing a novel isn't about writing this book after feeling regret after reading another one; it's simply that I've always cherished a dream of writing a novel.

That book simply gave me an idea. I have real-life experience with unrequited love, so writing about this topic went relatively smoothly, and that's how this book came about.

Therefore, please try not to compare this book to that book in the future. Occasional comparisons are human nature, but if the whole book is full of such topics, I might as well just turn this book into a fan fiction.

Also, I'm a pretty simple person, I just want to write quietly. If you want to fight or argue, go create a group or platform to argue yourselves, don't affect the atmosphere of this book.

Finally, let's talk about the character settings in the novel, which might involve some spoilers.

Let's talk about Chen Qiuhe first:

I don't know if some people have read too many formulaic novels, but when they see that I wrote about Chen Qiuhe's not-so-good family background, they think that she must be redeemed by the male protagonist in order to develop feelings for him.

In Chapter 138, attentive readers may have noticed that I mentioned the terms "Second People's Hospital of Xiyue Province" and "aunt". This setting is not plagiarized from a book; its prototype comes from my friend.

I can assure you that Chen Qiuhe's situation is different from that of the female protagonist in the book, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out the specifics.

Regarding Xie Shu again:

I briefly mentioned Xie Shu's experiences and family in Chapter 137.

But what exactly happened to her, and why these experiences made her interested in Li Mubai, will only be revealed later.

I also mentioned that Xie Shu was interested in Li Mubai, but I didn't say that she was already head over heels in love with him. In the previous plot, Xie Shu only told Li Mubai her thoughts, and the decision was still in Li Mubai's hands.

If he retreats, she retreats too; if he advances, she advances too.

That's it.

That's all I have to say. Perhaps after I stop updating, the book's traffic will gradually decrease? In that case, I might as well take my time writing it. A slight drop in popularity will also reduce some of the criticism.

In short, as my first novel, I have no intention of leaving it unfinished or stopping updates.

We must start afresh, rebuild our lost lands, and return to the imperial palace.

(Minors, please don't spend money to send me gifts.)

(The resumption time is tentative; I will probably resume updates once I finish what I'm currently working on.)