A New Year's Letter to My Readers

Before I knew it, another Lunar New Year was approaching. My editor said I'd spent another year with my head down, typing away, and that at the end of the year I ought to write something to communicate with my readers—I thought about it and decided he was right.

I was actually terrible at writing this kind of "single-chapter message." Those who knew me probably knew that I could keep my head down and write just fine, but asking me to write such a proper "letter" was far too difficult. After all, my completed-work notes were usually just one sentence and done with it. Even these hundred-odd words had taken me half an hour to squeeze out, so if anything that followed seemed disjointed, please bear with me.

Since I first started writing in 2010, I had written four long novels over the past decade or so. By now, I could be said to have achieved a certain measure of success. I was very fortunate to have finally fulfilled my childhood dream: becoming a writer, telling stories I liked, and having so many people enjoy the stories I wrote. That dream had come true because so many readers had been willing to walk this road with me, willing to read my stories, and willing to enjoy the little ideas in my head. Life was long, and it was difficult enough to find even a few like-minded people along such a lengthy road—even people who were only temporarily like-minded, or like-minded in a particular field. Fortunately, I had succeeded spectacularly in that regard.

I was truly happy that so many people were willing to read my stories, and deeply honored that my stories could bring happiness to so many people. Happiness was truly one of the most precious things in life.