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

Lin Wan whispered, "He really doesn't care about making money..."

Lu Zhao recalled what they had just realized: the basement of the downtown area in the footage, the 2D surveillance camera, and the hands with clearly defined knuckles...

"Living in a place like his... he probably has to save up to buy even one potion, and he still tells us that making money isn't important... he really doesn't care."

Jiang Ci slowly began to speak:

"In this era where everyone is desperately piling up words and writing longer and longer works to get subscriptions, there's someone living in the downtown area who tells you, 'My book is over a hundred thousand words long, once it's finished, it's over, it's over when it's time to end…'"

She paused.

"How many authors do you think are like this?"

Lu Zhao sighed softly and said:

"This author is impressive; I'm starting to really want to finish this book."

Lin Wan also said softly:

"Me too."

Cheng Shuqiao didn't say anything, but he had already silently added the book to his bookshelf.

……

[Shouzhuo] finally posted the first message.

[Shouzhuo: Would you be willing to tell us what kind of ending you envisioned for this book? No need to reveal specific plot details.]

Yu Wen stared at the comment for a few seconds.

This is a well-chosen question. It doesn't ask about specific plot details, but only about the "direction" of the story. This is the kind of question only someone who truly understands the book would ask.

Yu Wen thought for a while; he couldn't give away any spoilers.

Not only can't we spoil the plot for [Shouzhuo], but we also can't spoil it for the four students hanging in the live stream, and we certainly can't let the readers in the comments section who are waiting for "Fugui the God of War to return" know in advance.

If I spoil it, this book won't be interesting.

But he couldn't completely evade the issue.

This is a very direct question; it would be impolite to brush it off.

Yu Wen replied:

[Host]: I'm sorry, I can't reveal the ending. But I can tell you one thing: the book is called "To Live." What you can glean from those two words will roughly indicate the ending.

The chat quieted down for a moment.

"...'Alive'."

"What you can glean from the text determines the ending."

"Then they should all survive, right?"

……

[Shouzhuo: So what do you hope readers will see when you write this book?]

Yu Wen thought for a longer time this time. He looked up at the basement ceiling and saw that the old LED light had been flashing many times.

[Host]: I didn't want them to see anything. I just wanted to finish telling the story. Once it's finished, whoever wants to listen can listen, and whoever doesn't want to listen can just curse a few times and leave.

The comment section fell silent for a few seconds.

[Shouzhuo] remained silent.

[Caiwei: Would you mind if I asked what you referenced or what inspired you while writing this book?]

[Host]: I didn't refer to anything, I just had a dream and wrote down the story from the dream.

【采薇】did not ask any further questions.

[Shouzhuo] remained silent.

But the four students in the study room had already realized what was happening.

Jiang Ci said in a low voice:

"The two teachers were testing him."

"What are you testing?"

Lin Wan asked.

"To test the extent to which he understands what he has written."

Jiang Ci looked at the screen.

"An author who can fully conceive a story of hundreds of thousands of words and give an answer like 'the title is the ending'... he's not writing unconsciously; he knows exactly what he's doing."

Lu Zhao continued.

"But he wouldn't say it; he was hiding."

Cheng Shuqiao nodded and said:

"He's hiding something, something that's probably much more complex than 'having a dream.'"

The study room fell silent again.

……

In the live stream, [Shouzhuo] sent out the last comment:

[Shouzhuo: I wish you success in your writing; I will read to the end.]

[Host]: Thank you.

[Shouzhuo] remained silent.

After a while, the number in the upper right corner of the live stream changed.

[Number of online users: 5]

[Shouzhuo] has gone offline.

Another minute passed.

[Number of online users: 4]

【采薇】 has also been taken offline.

Only the four students in the study room remained.

……

Lin Wan leaned back in her chair and let out a long breath.

"My mind is a bit of a mess right now."

Lu Zhao sighed, "What's wrong with Senior Uncle Shen and Teacher Su today?"

"Two people taking turns going into a writer's live stream in a lower-tier city to ask questions—nobody would believe that."

Jiang Ci said:

"They're confirming something."

"Confirm what?"

Jiang Ci looked at the hands still typing on the screen and said softly:

"Perhaps it's to confirm whether this author deserves their attention."

Cheng Shuqiao suddenly spoke:

"He deserves it."

Lu Zhao turned to look at him:

"Senior Brother Cheng?"

Cheng Shuqiao's gaze never left the screen.

He repeated it.

"Of course he deserves it."

……

In the basement.

Yu Wen looked at the public chat screen and let out a long sigh.

Feigned "integrity" will consume your energy.

He rubbed his temples vigorously.

The few stars on the earnings panel are not even a fraction of the debt.

He didn't know who these four "students" in his live stream were.

He didn't know who those two people, Shouzhuo and Caiwei, who had come and gone in such a hurry, were.

He only knew one thing: he had to finish writing this book as soon as possible.