Under One Person: I, Jiaqian Jushi, work from nine to five

"You changed your tune so quickly!" Bai Shixue called out to Zhang Chulan and the others, "Come on, Zhang Chulan, how about making some extra money?"

"Money?" Upon hearing this word, Zhou Fengliu became interested. He vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a betting platform in the original novel's Luo Tian Grand Ceremony.

"What is it?" Zhang Chulan asked.

"Hey." Bai Shixue waved the tablet in her hand, which displayed information about the participants and odds for each competition.

"This is Fatty's website for collecting information on people with supernatural abilities. I've set up betting odds for this tournament on it. You can bet on whoever you think will win, or even bet on yourself."

After listening to Bai Shixue's introduction, Zhang Chulan glanced at his odds and found that his odds were frighteningly high, while Zhou Fengliu's odds were one to one.

"Damn, the odds between me and Brother Liu are so ridiculously different?" Zhang Chulan said, noting that the gap was quite large.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, your performance in the first match was just too explosive," Canglong interjected. "Right now, nobody thinks highly of you."

"How much can you make at most with this betting platform?" Zhou Fengliu asked at this moment.

"Um... a few million shouldn't be a problem, but that's about it. After all, it's just a small game between juniors..." Bai Shixue said, indicating that her hand was too small to withstand an all-in bet.

"Is that so?" Zhou Fengliu nodded upon hearing this, then looked at Zhang Chulan beside him.

Ok.

I don't know if this counts as income from work?

Zhou Fengliu wanted to go all in on Zhang Chulan, since he knew the original plot and his bets were unlikely to be wrong.

"Brother Liu, the way you're looking at me... I have a bad feeling about this." Zhang Chulan swallowed hard when he saw Zhou Fengliu staring at him.

"It's alright, it's alright." Zhou Feng smiled kindly.

...

"All winning groups, please assemble!"

"All winning groups, please assemble!"

Not long after, everyone heard the broadcast and gathered at the open space where the draw had taken place that morning. The number of contestants had been reduced to thirty-two after rounds of elimination.

As the setting sun cast its last rays, the old Celestial Master stood atop a high platform. Beside him was a wooden table with a conspicuous red box for drawing lots, where everyone had just taken turns drawing their lots.

"Thank you all for your hard work. The first round of the competition is now complete. There are thirty-two winners."

The old Celestial Master stood with his hands behind his back, glanced at the crowd below the stage, and seeing that everyone had slips of paper in their hands, he continued:

"The next match will be one-on-one. The name on the slip of paper you draw now will be your opponent in the next round."

As the old master explained the competition rules, Zhou Fengliu glanced at the slip of paper in his hand, on which three large characters were faintly visible.

Wind, sand, swallow.

What a coincidence...

Zhou Fengliu glanced at the crowd and spotted Feng Shayan in the distance.

Swallow... since we've run into each other, it must be fate...

As he looked at Feng Shayan, Feng Shayan seemed to have learned of her opponent in the next match and turned her gaze towards him.

The two exchanged a glance, and Feng Shayan's expression turned somewhat bitter.

hemp eggs.

Her jinxed brother was right!

...

"Brother Liu, who's your next opponent?"

Just then, the crow-mouthed younger brother, Feng Xingtong, came up to Zhou Fengliu. He glanced at the note in Zhou Fengliu's hand, and when he saw that it was his older sister, he chuckled.

"I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to." Feng Xingtong tried hard to suppress his laughter as he watched his older sister walk towards him.

but...

He hadn't received any professional training, and he wasn't one of those two always-smiling policemen; he just couldn't help himself.

"Hilarious... This is really bad timing."

"What's wrong?" Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao also came over. After seeing the note in Zhou Fengliu's hand, Zhang Chulan was silent for a second.

"What's so funny?" Feng Shayan walked over and scolded Feng Xingtong.

"Sis...do you remember what you said about what to do if you run into Big Brother?" Feng Xingtong first asked the question, then answered it herself:

"Well then... This is great, we've really run into each other."

"So what if we run into each other?" Zhou Fengliu shrugged. "We're all brothers, would I make things difficult for your sister?"

Zhou Fengliu said he would definitely back down, after all, Feng Shayan in front of him was his "beloved relative and friend", "good friend" and "good landlord" with whom he "shared drinks".

"Speaking of which... I don't think I've ever actually experienced your methods before," Feng Shayan said after thinking for a moment.

"Would you like to give it a try?"

"Let me learn from you." Feng Shayan felt that although the timing of the draw was a bit unlucky, it should also be a learning opportunity.

"No, no, it should be 'try and die'," Feng Xingtong stepped forward to correct her older sister.

"Feng Xingtong, you've chosen a narrow path." Feng Shayan looked at her younger brother upon hearing this: "Aren't you afraid you'll run into him next time you're laughing like that?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Xingtong's smile instantly froze. He swallowed hard, then changed the subject, turning to look at Zhang Chulan beside him:

"Brother Chu Lan, who is your next opponent?"

...

P.S.: To be honest, I read the comments on the last chapter, and they really make a lot of sense. Readers familiar with Lao Meng should also know that I'm really bad at writing romance scenes.

Whether it's fan fiction or original works, I've always felt that romance is something that authors find very difficult to handle.

Romantic scenes may seem simple, but it's actually quite difficult to strike the right balance.

If relationships are developed too quickly, the protagonist seems like a bulldozer; if they are developed too slowly, it feels like the author is keeping the reader hanging.

The writing is too much, which is annoying and tedious. The lack of detail fails to highlight the characters and makes them difficult to immerse the reader in the story.

To put it bluntly, it's about not being able to strike the right balance, which is why many authors choose the path of having no female lead.

Old Meng has written several books, big and small. In his previous books, he avoided depicting romance because the romance scenes were poorly written. But when he started this book, he wanted to try to depict romance.

So far, the effect seems quite poor. Tonight, I've been thinking about the core of the emotional scenes. After reflecting on the process of men and women falling in love, I think I've gained some insight.

The most exciting period of dating is the ambiguous stage, when both parties are pulling and testing each other, moving forward little by little. This period is the most interesting than after you start dating.

same.

I now think the same applies to writing romance scenes. Whether it's the male lead, female lead, or supporting female character, if they start by launching a simp-like attack, it will greatly reduce the sense of immersion and cause people to feel disgusted.

I think the problem with Xia He's writing is that the premise is mediocre, the emotional handling is rough, and because of the main character's character design, the interaction between him and Xia He is extremely weak... which becomes a major flaw.

I later realized this problem. I couldn't backtrack, so I could only play to my strengths and avoid my weaknesses, making the best use of what I wrote and reducing the amount of romantic scenes.

As for the romance in the later parts of this book, I still want to try my best, playing to my strengths and avoiding my weaknesses to satisfy everyone's desire to see a "money-grubbing" protagonist, while also making the reading experience comfortable. I'm learning to improve my writing style for romance, practicing for future books. I hope everyone can understand an author's desire to improve and be understanding. (I really want to improve, sob sob sob!)

As for the core tone of this book, you can rest assured that it will not change. The protagonist's personality will remain consistent throughout the book, without any sense of disjointedness.

After saying so much, I am very grateful for everyone's support and encouragement.

To thank everyone, I'm delivering three updates today (one at midnight, and two more after 6 PM).

As I said before, I'm begging for anything, even small gifts. This newbie author is practically begging for everything. (Please!)

Chapter 56 (Paid Content)! Gossip! Zhang Lingyu's Untold Past! (Second Update)

Feng Xingtong understands emergency avoidance.

He said that if he really runs into Zhou Fengliu in the next round, he will have the same attitude as his sister, and that's it!

Admit defeat outright.

No need to hesitate.

Feng Shayan didn't see Zhou Fengliu's match, but he watched the whole thing. Just watching that big fist hitting his face was unpleasant, let alone experiencing it himself.

"Me?" Zhang Chulan, who was called out, was stunned for a moment, and then said the name written on his note.

"Shan Shitong".

"Ah, it's Qingfu Shendan Shitong." Feng Xingtong nodded upon hearing this, then patted Zhang Chulan on the shoulder: "Brother Chulan, you're quite lucky, you're taking down the elite."

"In the first match, Shan Shitong's three opponents couldn't even last two minutes before they were defeated. Their family's ancestral talisman technique is special at sealing other people's energy channels, and it doesn't require much preparation. It's impossible to defend against in battle, and they can defeat one person without making a sound."

"this..."

Hearing Feng Xingtong's introduction, Zhang Chulan's heart sank. At this moment, he really wanted to switch opponents with Zhou Fengliu, who sounded very difficult to deal with.

"Look... doesn't that guy look like a master?" Feng Xingtong pointed at Zhang Chulan, who happened to be looking for Zhang Chulan as well, and the two of them noticed each other.

"Hey? It seems like he's got his eye on you." Feng Xingtong said, "Brother Chu Lan, don't be a coward. Stand tall, hold your head high, and stick your butt out. We can't let our momentum falter first."

"Heh...hehe." Zhang Chulan's smile was somewhat stiff.

Feng Baobao, who had been silent for a long time, first looked at the guy named Shan Shitong, and then looked at Zhang Chulan. At this moment, a bold plan was born in her mind.

...

"Yexing, Jiyun, it's getting late. Please take everyone to the rooms that have been arranged," Zhang Lingyu said to the two disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion after the lottery was over.

"Alright, Junior Uncle."

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Chulan noticed Zhang Lingyu. As someone with some connection to the Celestial Master's Mansion, he felt he should try to get closer to this direct disciple of the Celestial Master.

After all, there had been some unpleasantness when Zhang Lingyu informed him of his qualifications as the successor to the Celestial Master last time.

"Hey, Junior Uncle, you're still as sharp as ever in today's match." Zhang Chulan also addressed Zhang Lingyu as Junior Uncle.

“…” Zhang Lingyu turned her head slightly when she heard someone call her name, and paused for a second after seeing that it was Zhang Chulan:

"Shameless, Zhang Chulan, who is your junior uncle?" After saying that, he arrogantly turned his head and left without giving Zhang Chulan any face.

"..." Zhang Chulan was a little embarrassed at this moment.

Just then, Zhou Fengliu returned from the restroom and saw Zhang Lingyu as he passed by. He remembered telling the Old Celestial Master about his past with Zhang Lingyu that afternoon, so he prepared to inform Zhang Lingyu:

“Ah Yu.”