Chapter 70: The Ultimate Power Fantasy Male Lead
He posted a thread in the comment section of his own novel.
[Xuan: Let me explain the ins and outs. It all started when I submitted my manuscript to Editor Lābāhuā, but she turned her nose up at it because it only had one female lead and told me to change it. I refused, so she rejected my manuscript outright. Later, I submitted it to another editor at the site.]
[After the book became a massive hit, she approached me and asked me to switch back under her wing, but I declined. Furious, she vowed revenge and said I’d regret it. Then, my editor got fired, and the site asked me if Lābāhuā could take over my novel. Again, I refused, and they retaliated by pulling my book from the shelves.]
Brother Lin Xuan also revealed chat records between himself, Lābāhuā, and the chief editor.
This was all true—Lin Xuan didn’t embellish or exaggerate anything. He simply played along with their schemes, cleverly using the Feiyue website to build his own platform.
Xuan established an image of himself as a strong but pitiable figure.
His fans were heartbroken for him, and new readers who had just discovered his work joined in the backlash against the Feiyue site. The controversy even trended on Weibo.
The PR department at Feiyue wasn’t fazed at all.
The Palm Treasure Novel app was run by an independent author without much capital. Crushing them would be as easy as squashing an ant, wouldn’t it?
They calmly contacted Weibo’s admin team, paid a sum of money, and requested that the trending topic be removed.
Feiyue was no stranger to buying and burying trending topics on Weibo. They even had a dedicated employee handling these requests.
“Sure thing, Director Liu. I’ll arrange for the removal right away,” the employee replied.
Meanwhile, the PR manager contacted the online trolls to steer public opinion.
After reporting back to the manager, he reached out to the tech department.
“Nope.” Liu frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Hai, another technician, asked curiously.
“I tried to remove Palm Treasure’s trending topic, but for some reason, I couldn’t do it. I checked my computer and the system, but there’s nothing wrong.”
“How is that possible? Let me try,” Wang Hai offered, stepping in to help.
But even he couldn’t remove the trending topic!
Startled, Wang Hai exclaimed, “This is impossible! Why can’t we remove it?! Every other trending topic works fine except this one!”
Another Weibo trending topic popped up: #Psychopathic Author Speaks Out.
And guess what? They couldn’t remove that one either!
A bold thought crossed Wang Hai’s mind.
“Director Liu, could our site have been hacked…?”
Liu immediately dismissed the idea. “Impossible! Our security systems were designed by several top-tier hackers from around the world. They’ve never been breached in over a decade! Besides, if someone had hacked us, we’d definitely know about it!”
“Then let’s report this to the manager immediately!”
Upon hearing their report, the tech department manager furrowed his brow and ordered all technicians to inspect the system.
But after thorough checks, everything seemed normal.
Their conclusion: It was almost certainly a stealthy hack job. Someone had infiltrated their backend without leaving a trace!
This revelation sent shockwaves through Weibo. The intruder’s skills were terrifying.
If this person managed to crash their entire system, it would be catastrophic for any internet-based platform.
Weibo scrambled to hire top computer experts to reinforce their defenses while simultaneously sending representatives to contact Lin Xuan.
“Mr. Lin, we’ve noticed that the trending topics related to you cannot be manipulated. Did you do this?”
Sitting casually at his desk with one leg crossed over the other, Lin Xuan grinned mischievously.
Would he admit to something illegal?
He tapped away furiously on his keyboard, feigning ignorance. “Mr. Wang, you’re really cracking jokes! I’m just a guy running a small website and writing novels while studying. How could I possibly have the skills you’re talking about?”
“Oh, by the way, so you guys are the ones controlling the trending topics? Was it you who removed the hashtag last time when my readers rallied to support me?”
“And don’t forget—I hold grudges. If I ever gain those abilities, I might just bring your whole site down.”
Though Lin Xuan denied it, his words were clearly a veiled threat.
The Weibo team was nearly certain Lin Xuan had hacked into their backend—but they had zero evidence to present to the police. And if they angered him, he might actually follow through on his threat!
For now, Weibo decided to bide their time, strengthening their defenses before settling the score later.
With Weibo unable to remove the trending topics, Feiyue could only watch helplessly as Palm Treasure’s popularity soared higher and higher.
Its downloads skyrocketed, and many users began uninstalling Feiyue altogether.
The general manager downloaded the Palm Treasure app and panicked when he saw the quality of its content.
“What’s going on here? Where did this Lin Xuan find so many high-quality novels?”
The site featured twenty-five completed novels and fifteen ongoing series—all top-notch material! What’s more, most of them were perfect candidates for film adaptations or anime series!
In a rush, the general manager burst into the president’s office without knocking.
“Manager Lin!” A secretary shouted in alarm, but it was too late. The door swung open, revealing Lābāhuā straddling Meng Bo’s lap, locked in a passionate kiss.
Neither of them seemed particularly bothered by the interruption.
Lābāhuā calmly dismounted from Meng Bo’s lap.
“President Meng, I’ll get back to work now,” she purred sweetly. “Don’t forget what you promised me.”
She sashayed past the stunned general manager, swaying her hips dramatically.
The general manager frowned. Lābāhuā had always used sex to manipulate people for her own benefit, and Meng Bo had indulged her every whim.
This time, however, they’d met their match with Lin Xuan.
Back at her desk, Lābāhuā applied lipstick while smirking into a compact mirror.
“To certain people who pretend to be one thing in front of others but act differently behind closed doors… messing with me will end the same way as Gǒu Wěibācǎo,” she sneered.
The male-frequency editors remained silent.
—
Inside the president’s office.
“What is it?” Meng Bo snapped, annoyed at being interrupted mid-kiss.
“President Meng, the novelist whose book we pulled, Lin Xuan, has launched a new website,” the general manager reported.
“Hmph.” Meng Bo chuckled darkly. “So he thinks he can compete with us? What a fool!”
“Find a way to crush him. Don’t let his site see the light of day,” Meng Bo commanded.
“If he wants to start a war, I’ll make sure he loses everything!”
Meng Bo glared fiercely.
How dare anyone challenge him? Truly, a fool!
