I asked you to write a light novel, but you wrote about living?

The encrypted communication on the desktop suddenly lit up.

Pei Zhixing glanced at the access information and turned off the other light screens in the studio.

A few seconds later, Zhao Hongbo appeared in front of him.

The background remains the spacious office at Cloud Atlas Literature's headquarters.

"How's it going in the authors' group?" Zhao Hongbo asked directly, skipping the pleasantries.

"It was chaotic for a while."

Pei Zhixing picked up the coffee on the table.

"I have already told them to stop responding."

"Someone is deleting old posts."

"It can't be completely deleted."

Pei Zhixing said:

"The screenshots have already been circulating. Deleting them now will only make me appear suspicious and silent."

Zhao Hongbo looked at the public opinion curve on the other side, his expression not good.

"As I said before, this matter should not involve Cloud Atlas."

"From beginning to end, no one spoke in the name of Cloud Atlas."

Pei Zhixing said:

"It's all about the authors and their studios discussing the boundaries of creation."

That's one way of putting it.

Zhao Hongbo's gaze fell on several sets of data that had just been compiled.

"Some people have already started to compile statistics on which platforms the authors participating in the discussion are signed with."

"It's not surprising that Cloud Atlas has the most signed authors."

"But they're not just counting authors."

Zhao Hongbo pushed a screenshot to the center of the light screen.

Some people have compiled the publication times and recommended positions of more than a dozen articles together, attempting to prove that there is a unified driving force behind these discussions.

The post provided no evidence, only raised questions.

However, many speculations have already emerged below.

Pei Zhixing glanced at it.

"As long as Yuntu doesn't respond, they can only guess."

"So Cloud Atlas still won't do anything."

Zhao Hongbo said:

"I will not respond to 'Running for Governor,' nor will I make any explanations for any author."

"The following related content will be handled in accordance with the platform's normal rules, without any additional recommendations or suppression."

Pei Zhixing understood what he meant.

The reason this discussion was able to spread so quickly was because the controversy itself generated extremely high engagement data.

YunTu did not publicly promote this, but it did not actively reduce the recommendation weight of those contents.

There's no point in letting the discussion fester any longer.

Every additional exposure those articles receive contributes to "Running for Governor" by gaining a new batch of readers.

"Okay," Pei Zhixing said.

"Also, keep an eye on those people in the authors' group."

Zhao Hongbo said coldly:

"Stop issuing joint statements and stop chasing Yu Huashi's responses."

"Whoever steps forward now is adding a realistic commentary to 'Running for Governor'."

Pei Zhixing said:

"I've already told them to stop."

"Someone deleted the previous posts."

"Ignore sporadic deletions; don't let them launch a coordinated attack."

Zhao Hongbo watched as the number of screenshots on the screen kept increasing.

"A sudden collective outcry suggests organization, and a sudden collective silence suggests the same thing."

Pei Zhixing naturally understood.

Those authors may claim they are merely discussing the boundaries of creation, but if the timing of their statements, deletions, and cessation of responses is highly consistent, the outside world will eventually notice that this so-called spontaneous discussion is far too uniform.

"I will handle it."

Pei Zhixing said.

The communication did not end immediately.

Zhao Hongbo was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"Do you think it's necessary to continue this?"

Pei Zhixing looked at the man in the light screen.

"Are you asking about that open letter, or about Yu Huashi?"

"Is there a difference?"

"Of course."

Pei Zhixing put down his coffee cup.

"That open letter is no longer usable."

"Continuing to pursue it will only remind readers of 'Running for Governor'."

"As for Yu Huashi..."

He paused for a moment.

He will continue to write.

Zhao Hongbo's expression remained unchanged.

Both of them understood the meaning of those words.

"Running for Governor" only resolved a public opinion crisis.

What truly frightens them is not whether Yu Huashi will issue a statement, but how many more works like this he can produce.

Let's stop for now.

Pei Zhixing said:

"At least for now, anything we do will become his publicity."

Zhao Hongbo did not answer.

Outside his office, a new internal document had just been added to his to-do list.

[Explanation regarding the recent concentration of controversial content occupying public recommendation resources.]

The submission came from the new business group led by Shen Chengzhang.

Zhao Hongbo glanced at it but didn't open it.

"Keep an eye on those authors."

After saying that, he immediately cut off the communication.

The light curtain went out.

Pei Zhixing reopened the author group.

After a brief silence, someone in the group sent another message.

I couldn't help myself and replied to them.

This was followed by a screenshot of the comments section.

The author questioned the author in the comments section below the article:

Does writing a novel by a controversial person automatically invalidate all criticism?

The first reply below is:

Of course not. Please provide the identification information of the thirty-four witnesses first.

The second reply followed immediately:

[It is noteworthy that the author maintained a rather suspicious silence regarding the witness's identity.]

Pei Zhixing looked at the screenshot and closed his eyes.

A few seconds later, he removed the author from the group chat.