Yu Shuying's New Identity

Auntie Liu sighed, "Your method was too direct; he probably already sensed it."

"So what? Internal Cultivation strength can't be faked. If he dares to compete, he should be prepared to embarrass himself. By the way, who exactly is this guy?"

"He's just a lucky rich kid, a mediocre person with no talent whatsoever. If it weren't for the fact that he's a representative of the organizers, I wouldn't bother with him."

Auntie Liu made no attempt to hide her contempt; she was a "merit-based" believer who advocated serving only the talented, and she wasn't saying this intentionally to suppress women.

"Even if we fall out, it's okay, Hongdou isn't someone who cares about money."

"I also believe that art and money are unrelated," Auntie Liu surprisingly agreed, but added, "However, money is indispensable, whether for making a living or for creating good works. Impoverished lands rarely bear the fruits of art."

"Is that so?"

"If you think I'm taking advantage of Hongdou, you're not wrong. I am indeed taking advantage of her. But believe it or not, I must say that I'm not doing this just to make money. In fact, it's very difficult to make money through art in Su State. Although some people call this place undeveloped virgin land, in my opinion, it's actually a wasteland, and clearing land requires much more effort."

Si Ming nodded. "I can understand that."

Su State is an art desert; at a glance, all you see are engineering students.

Auntie Liu continued, "A deserted field cannot attract talent, and even if there are talented people, they won't stay for long. If no one is willing to work in this industry, it is destined to decline. That's why I want to use Hongdou to enhance the value of art, whether it's advertising or hype. In this way, the works of other artists will rise in value, and talented people will enter this field. At least most artists can make a living, and this industry will become lively."

That's why I'm working so hard to earn money, and I hope Hongdou can work even harder to create art. She's a genius in this field; even the most clueless layman can see her talent. If more people are willing to pay for her work, then the number of people interested in art will increase. In this way, while other artists may not be able to make as much money as Hongdou, they can at least make a living and focus on their creations. Regardless of what others think, I believe that doing so will promote art.

That makes sense.

Si Ming felt that there was some truth to these words. The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is in turmoil, all for gain. Pure idealists would find it difficult to survive.

Auntie Liu smiled slightly, "Since you also think it's right, let's hold a reader meet-and-greet. 'Gods and Ghosts of the Three Kingdoms and Gods: The Shu State Arc' has received a great response in the market, and your popularity has increased almost tenfold. We can strike while the iron is hot and promote it. By the way, we can also emphasize that you are a student who will soon be admitted to Linked Mountains University. In this way, even parents will actively recommend your novel to their children. After all, in most people's eyes, imitating the footsteps of successful people can make them successful—even though that's just a joke."

"Well... that won't be necessary."

Si Ming is not short of money now, so he avoids such troublesome matters if possible.

"No, you have to go," Auntie Liu said firmly.

"Why?" Si Ming thought to himself, "I'm not someone who can be threatened. I even took down the King of Monsters."

"Because I'm Qingqing's mother."

"... Has the time and place for the meet-and-greet been set?"

Chapter 411 Yu Shuying's New Identity

The reception of "The Gods and Ghosts of the Three Kingdoms: Wu State Arc" was lukewarm, and it was generally regarded as a work that started strong but ended weakly. It was considered to have a grand opening, a strong sense of realism, and a strong historical atmosphere, but it became somewhat frivolous in the middle and later stages, losing its historical weight and degenerating into School of Fiction's fantasy.

This result was within Si Ming's expectations, because the early part of "Wu State Arc" was indeed written according to real history, including the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital, etc., but the later part was his own imagination, based on the Three Kingdoms games he had played before with Wu State as the ruler, and the content of Wu State's struggle for hegemony was naturally illogical.

Moreover, the Wu State has always had the weakest presence in the Three Kingdoms period. In "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," it is even portrayed as merely a figurehead, only making a brilliant move at the Battle of Red Cliffs, and later consistently playing the role of a liability.

In Eastern Wu, numerous powerful Aristocratic Clan held back, content with maintaining the status quo and lacking ambition. It could be said that Wu State had the least chance of conquering the world among the Three Kingdoms. Therefore, Si Ming had to give the Sun family a lot of advantages. Fortunately, the book is set in a fantasy world with martial arts, where all the fierce generals are Spirit Transformation experts. Things like breaking through in battle and defeating thousands of enemies one by one have a theoretical basis. If politics fails, personal bravery can make up for it. A comeback to become emperor is not impossible, or at least the probability is much higher than in real history.

The popularity of "The Shu State Arc" is quite reasonable. Firstly, it has the foundation laid by "The Wu State Arc". Secondly, the content of "The Shu State Arc" can draw on "The Pinghua of the Records of the Three Kingdoms", "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "The Three Kingdoms Pingshu", etc., such as the Oath of the Peach Garden, passing five passes and slaying six generals, entering and leaving seven times, and borrowing the east wind. These are all good stories that have been tested by the masses, are popular and interesting.

In addition, Si Ming added many female generals, such as Huang Yueying, Xingcai, Guan Yinping, Bao Sanniang, etc. Anyway, it is a fantasy world background, where women can stand out with Superman strength, and it also caters to the tastes of the masses - male readers like beautiful women, and female readers also crave to highlight their presence.

When Luo Guanzhong chose the Shu State as the protagonist, it wasn't just for political correctness. It was also because the Shu State truly possessed all the essential elements to be a protagonist: the benevolent and virtuous Liu Bei, the unparalleled loyalty and righteousness of Guan Yu, the fierce and valiant Zhang Fei, the almost supernaturally intelligent Zhuge Liang, and the perfect male god Zhao Yun. The Shu Kingdom had the full aura of a protagonist team. Compared to Cao Cao and Sun Quan, Liu Bei also had more of the qualities of a ruler.

The so-called orthodox means conforming to the values of the majority and being most popular among the people. This is similar to how the most popular online novels are usually simplistic and easy to read.

However, Si Ming still didn't expect his book to become so popular. There were people everywhere, and the long queues circled the venue several times. He had to ask the Mohist Knight Guard to help maintain order.

Back when he was focused on making money, his performance was lukewarm. Now that he no longer cares about making money, he has become a nationwide sensation and a bestseller. It's truly a case of unexpected success.

"These aren't shills you hired, are they?"

It's not unusual for idols to have a lot of fans at their meet-and-greet events, but those who are willing to actively attend author meet-and-greet events, apart from readers who already live nearby, are mostly die-hard fans. After all, idols sell the "person," while authors sell the "book." Most readers have the mentality of "the egg may be delicious, but I don't want to know the hen."

Auntie Liu, standing to the side, said indifferently, "We wouldn't ask for favors from so many people; it's too wasteful of money."

"That's true, and it includes men, women, young and old. It's really unprofessional to use shills... By the way, why are there middle-aged and elderly people among my readers? The audience is quite diverse now, isn't it?"

Auntie Liu glanced at it and said, "Your writing style is inherently more mature. The Three Kingdoms series goes without saying; it contains historical elements, and young people generally don't like history. While 'Ghosts and Gods Metropolis' is a fantasy novel, its communist ideology sparked social discussion. Even now, a group of experts and old scholars are still analyzing your novel. You're quite well-known in academic circles. Last year, several universities sent invitations to academic conferences, but since you weren't there, I declined them all."

The types of die-hard fans of idols and authors are opposites. The former are usually young people with little experience, and the more boisterous they are, the more easily they become obsessed. The latter are mainly people with their own opinions. They feel that the hen's eggs are nutritious and meaningful, and worth seeing, so they travel thousands of miles to see the author. Their main purpose is not to meet the True Person, but to express their support and hope that the author can create better works.

"With so many people, just getting signatures would wear out our hands. How about we get a stack of photo booth pictures with signatures printed on them, and then I can stick a photo on each person? What do you think of that idea?"

Auntie Liu glanced at her and said, "What do you think?"

"... Alright, I guess I'll treat it as calligraphy practice." Si Ming had no choice but to compromise.

It's really unreasonable to treat someone who has traveled a long way to express their support so dismissively. Even if you don't want to humble yourself and please your fans, there's no need to deliberately drive them away.

And so the arduous autograph contest began. Si Ming maintained a smile as he signed autographs for the fans who lined up, and said a few words along the way.

Most readers seemed calm, after all, they were following the book, not the person. But occasionally there were some fanatical fans who would bombard Si Ming with questions and endless topics, wanting to chat all day long. That's when the staff had to step in, since there were at least 300 people, and even if each person only took a minute, it would take five hours, which was simply too much trouble.

Throughout the process, Si Ming heard comments like "So young!", "So handsome!", and "Much better looking than I imagined," which clearly increased his positive impression of Si Ming. Female fans, in particular, became more enthusiastic, and many asked to take photos with him. It seems that good looks are always an advantage, even increasing the probability of having a "skinny" or "flesh-and-blood" relationship.

From morning to afternoon, without even having lunch, Si Ming worked continuously for seven hours. Finally, he reached the end of the line. Even with his strong physique, his hands ached from signing so many books, and he was mentally exhausted. Many readers arrived one after another. He estimated that he had served at least a thousand readers today, which was far beyond his expectations. Even Auntie Liu had not anticipated it.

Seeing that only two readers remained, Si Ming's mood brightened. He understood the students' excitement at the approaching summer vacation. After quickly signing a note and seeing off the second-to-last reader, he didn't even look up. He extended his left hand to shake hands with the reader and asked directly, "Hello, which of my novels do you like?"

"What I like isn't your novel, but this."

A vinyl record appeared in front of Si Ming. The image printed on the top of the box was of a group of girls dressed in Otherworld Domain costumes, from the play "The Wind of Freedom" starring Si Huaruo.

Si Ming looked up and saw a woman standing in front of him, dressed quite conservatively. Just looking at her gave him a stuffy feeling, and she was wearing a mask, clearly trying to conceal her identity and avoid being recognized. Only her large, intelligent eyes were visible.