Chapter 14: The Days of Staying Up Late to Catch Updates

"Wow, that’s such an audacious pen name."
With curiosity, Zeng Ying opened Bai Du Literature, found the book, and clicked in.
The title “Battle Through the Heavens” wasn’t particularly eye-catching, nor was it especially imposing.
But the author’s pen name had drawn countless readers.
Zeng Ying opened the first chapter and, seeing the title, arched her brows slightly.
“A fallen genius, reborn and invincible dual elements?” she murmured.
But after reading a few paragraphs, she realized something was off.
The protagonist was actually a loser.
Using a failure as the main character—was this author out of their mind?
Yet she felt no urge to exit; she wanted to see how those in the family who looked down on Xiao Yan would end up.
This thought startled Zeng Ying.
“Do I have masochistic tendencies? Xiao Yan is being crushed so badly and yet I still want to read on.”
After finishing the first chapter, Zeng Ying finally understood what “fallen genius” meant.
She continued reading.
When Nalan Yanran arrived to break off the engagement, Zeng Ying was furious.
She almost wanted to smash her phone.
To brazenly come and cancel the marriage, just because her fiancé lacked talent in cultivation and was deemed unworthy of her—
Too despicable.
At this moment,
Zeng Ying felt a pang of sympathy for Xiao Yan.
And a sense of disappointment: Xiao Yan was useless in cultivation, so what could he do when faced with Nalan Yanran’s pressure?
He had no ability to resist her, and the Xiao family lacked the strength to oppose the Cloud Mist Sect.
Zeng Ying felt suffocated to the point of despair.
Just hit her already, smash her with a punch.
“Ah!”
Zeng Ying sighed.
She and Xiao Yan weren’t so different after all.
Both had once stood atop the peak, admired the view from the summit.
But after several of her books performed poorly, the new authors Zeng Ying had once mentored now surpassed her.
When Zeng Ying fell from grace, those people vied for her resources without a moment’s hesitation.
Zeng Ying kept reading.
Xiao Yan walked in from outside the council hall, facing Nalan Yanran directly.
Her heart leapt.
How would Xiao Yan react—would he accept the humiliation of the broken engagement?
Zeng Ying read on, growing angrier with each line.
Then,
When Xiao Yan bellowed “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never look down on a young man who’s poor,” Zeng Ying’s heart trembled.
He hadn’t smashed Nalan Yanran with a punch, but with that one sentence—
It was exhilarating!
All the pent-up frustration burst forth.
Perhaps the previous chapters had piled on too much oppression; when Xiao Yan shouted those words, it was an unprecedented rush.

Now Zeng Ying felt an impulse to immediately start a new book.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—she, Zeng Ying, would rise again.
She felt confident once more.
She couldn’t remember the last time a novel had excited her so much—three, maybe four years, it had been a long time.
“This book will absolutely be a hit.”
Zeng Ying was certain.
If it could make an old fantasy author like her this excited, it would be even more devastating to veteran readers.
Who was this master? Terrifying.
Zeng Ying was sure: no one would have expected “Battle Through the Heavens” to succeed, not even herself before she clicked in.
But now, she was utterly hooked, completely immersed.
As far as Zeng Ying was concerned, this month’s Newcomer King belonged to “Battle Through the Heavens”—no one else was worthy.
“Phew!”
Zeng Ying kept reading.
Unconsciously, it was already one o’clock in the morning.
She hadn’t stayed up late for a novel in ages.
What surprised her was that “Battle Through the Heavens” had only been released for three days, and already there were twenty chapters.
Aside from ten chapters on the first day, the next two days saw five chapters each.
Such productivity!
Even a sow on a production team wouldn’t deliver so many piglets.
Zeng Ying added “Battle Through the Heavens” to her bookshelf, turned off the lights, and went to bed.
But after a long while, she was still tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
She wanted to see what would happen to Xiao Yan next.
Damn.
Utterly addicted.
Scenes like this were unfolding everywhere at that moment.
In many college dorms, night owls were reading by lamplight.
Yang Sancheng was one such seasoned night owl.
He lay on his bed, legs crossed, happily reading a novel.
His other five roommates were also glued to their phone screens, flickering in the darkness.
A whole nest of night owls.
Yang Sancheng was reading “Battle Through the Heavens,” also drawn in by the author’s shameless pen name.
After a few chapters, he was deeply hooked.
When Yang Sancheng finished the scene where Nalan Yanran came to break off the engagement, only to be dismissed by Xiao Yan instead,
He sat up with a jolt, shaking the roommate sleeping below, who cursed: “So rough, be careful you don’t rip your skin off.”
Yang Sancheng ignored him, declaring, “I’m breaking up with her.”
“What?”
All five roommates put down their phones and sat up.
Dorm leader Qian Li asked, “Changed your mind again? Weren’t you going to apologize and make up tomorrow?”
He was puzzled,
Yang Sancheng was acting up again.
The whole dorm had spent the evening counseling him, urging him to apologize and be conciliatory, then reconcile.

Another roommate, Chang Sheng, chimed in, “Don’t be crazy. Girlfriends are hard to come by and you still want to break up?”
He was close to Yang Sancheng and knew the situation.
Yang Sancheng struggled with his studies, his major as well, while his girlfriend was recognized as a talent.
So she always looked down on him, and they fought often because of it.
In the end, it was always Yang Sancheng who gave in and apologized, and they’d make up.
Yang Sancheng snorted, “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never look down on a young man who’s poor.”
The five roommates were bewildered.
What was he on about, acting out in the middle of the night?
Yang Sancheng felt secretly triumphant.
Saying that line was so damn satisfying.
He’d already decided: tomorrow he’d confront his girlfriend.
If she wouldn’t apologize, he’d shout that line, add a few more from the book, and end things.
Who did she think she was looking down on!
“Battle Through the Heavens” was slowly rising; its spread wasn’t rapid, but everyone who read it became a devoted fan.
When Li He walked into the classroom, he saw his desk mate grinning from ear to ear.
Li He asked curiously, “Did you win the lottery, you look so happy.”
His desk mate couldn’t contain his smile, “More exciting than winning the lottery. Last night I witnessed a mixed doubles event of the century at home.”
Li He was confused, “Meaning?”
“My little brother at home got thrashed by my parents, one after the other,” Yang Qi said, delighted.
Good grief.
Your brother gets beaten and you’re this happy… Li He gossiped, “What happened?”
Yang Qi suppressed his gleeful grin, leaned on the desk and said, “Apparently he didn’t do his homework, mouthed off to the teacher at school, very arrogant.”
Li He was stunned—kids these days were something else.
He remembered before college, he used to be quite afraid of teachers, especially those who’d call your parents—those had real authority.
Yang Qi continued, “At home, the kid wouldn’t back down, saying ‘Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never look down on a young man who’s poor.’
‘Don’t bully him while he’s young; when he grows up, who knows who’ll be the one doing the beating.’”
Good grief.
Li He exclaimed, good grief.
“Your brother has lofty ambitions.”
Li He commented.
Yang Qi replied, “I think so too.”
Then both revealed schadenfreude smiles at the same time.
Just then, Li He received a new message on WeChat.
He glanced at it, face full of disbelief.
——
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