On Saturday, a shower swept through Linhai University, washing away the stuffiness that had lingered for days.
Su Nai's automatic reply system had already gone live on the website. The test results were pretty good: the keyword triggers were highly accurate, and the repetition rate of the flattery was low. It already sounded six or seven parts like a real person.
Jiang Qin deliberately tossed the website address to Cao Guangyu without telling him about the bot, merely asking him to try posting and see how it felt. As a result, the bastard got more and more engrossed until he began to feel like he was truly one of the most outstanding men alive.
"Lao Jiang, this website you gave me is way too interesting! It's so damn fun!"
Cao Guangyu was facing the computer he had just bought, his fingers clattering across the keyboard as he reveled in the moment.
Jiang Qin turned around without changing expression. "What's so interesting about it?"
"This is my first time showing off online, and it's also the first time I've met so many people who agree with me. There was even a girl who said she admired me. Sure enough, gold always shines! But they have no idea that I'm only showing off a little. I haven't even begun to exert myself!"
"????"
Jiang Qin secretly logged into the administrator's backend and took a look. He found that this guy had created an entire series of consecutive posts titled My Plain and Unremarkable Life as a Rich Second-Generation Heir, all of them devoted to showing off.
He showed off his Nokia 5230, captioning it: "What a piece of junk. No wonder it sells for only three thousand yuan. It can't compare at all to the Vertu I've used."
Then he posted an online picture of a BMW 5 Series, saying that he was going to buy a car after military training. He was wavering between a few options, while his family wanted him to go all the way and buy a Porsche. However, he felt that would be a little too ostentatious and was afraid it would make him seem unapproachable.
Those few posts triggered a huge number of keywords, causing the reply bot's flattery to pour out without pause.
Things like, "Big brother, you're so handsome," "I'm so envious of your life, big brother," and "Brother, your literary talent is extraordinary. You must be Wenhao's descendant." Cao Guangyu was so intoxicated by the flattery that he kept leaving replies for the bot, triggering more keywords and receiving another round of praise.
After going around like that for a while, Cao Guangyu felt as if he had found the meaning of life.
Ren Ziqiang watched from behind with envy written all over his face, but the website currently only had a PC version, so he couldn't use it. He couldn't help feeling disappointed.
"The people here talk so nicely. Lao Jiang, when will the WAP version be released? I want to play too."
"Soon. Probably tomorrow or the day after."
Looking at the two of them, Jiang Qin felt somewhat emotional. Who would've thought my tiny dorm room would have both Hidden Dragon and Phoenix Chick in it? They can even chat this happily with an automatic reply bot. Invincible. Truly damn invincible.
However, this also proved that his idea was correct. Automatic replies really could create a certain degree of false prosperity. When there were very few users in the early stages, they could produce excellent results.
At ten in the morning, the shower still had not stopped. The temperature at Linhai University dropped sharply, leaving the air cool and comfortable.
Jiang Qin was scrubbing his socks when he suddenly received an email from Yao Yanling of the Literary Society. When he opened it, he found a novel titled Lonely City. It was roughly about a girl with autism who was admitted to a prestigious university with encouragement from her entire class.
In the first ten thousand words, Senior Yao Yanling had used an entirely narrative writing style to depict in detail how lonely the girl was. She had even written that the girl's eyelashes radiated an aura of loneliness.
Ten yuan per thousand words meant that ten thousand words would cost a hundred yuan.
And she still wants to earn a hundred yuan from me? Should I just call the police instead? This is damn fraud!
"Senior, the book is really well written. Even an outsider like me can feel a kind of loneliness in it."
"Thank you for your praise, junior. Then it's settled at ten yuan per thousand words. I'll give you a discount."
"But Senior, this is a vulgar and lowbrow website. It can't accommodate such an elevated work."
"What do you mean?"
"Could you change the subject? Don't write inspirational literature. Write something vulgar and melodramatic, like a love triangle or an affair. That's what people like to read."
"Junior, you don't understand literature at all. I must have misjudged you!"
Yao Yanling sent him that reply, after which her profile picture turned gray. She had evidently gone offline.
Jiang Qin didn't care in the slightest. His website, like Weibo, was taking the route of fragmented reading. Having novels would be icing on the cake, but not having them wouldn't hurt anything.
He was only a little worried. Yao Yanling was the president of the Literary Society, after all. If this incident affected the Literary Society's submissions, what would his website do for content? Surely he couldn't rely entirely on Cao Guangyu's show-off posts?
However, what he didn't expect was that half an hour later, Dong Wenhao called him and said that the first batch of submissions was ready. He wanted Jiang Qin to take a look and see if they were acceptable. Jiang Qin therefore changed clothes and made his way to the East Campus.
"What should I do after crossing the line with my female best friend?"
"My boyfriend graduated before me. Recording the entire process from long-distance relationship to breakup."
"It's my first time going to a hotel with my girlfriend, and there are some things I don't know whether I should say."
"My ex-boyfriend caught a cold, so I went to take care of him. Now my current boyfriend wants to break up with me?"
"What's it like dating the campus belle? Absolutely genuine!"
The Literary Society had submitted twenty manuscripts in total. After Jiang Qin carefully reviewed them, only eight qualified.
Dong Wenhao felt that it reflected poorly on him and kept explaining that everyone was taking on this kind of writing assignment for the first time. They were not familiar with it yet, and the acceptance rate would definitely grow higher in the future.
Jiang Qin waved his hand and said it was fine, then took a hundred and fifty yuan from his wallet and handed it to Dong Wenhao.
"Aren't only these eight pieces qualified? Six yuan per piece makes forty-eight yuan."
"This is their first submission. Good or bad, I'm taking everything. The point is to motivate them. If they can reach out and immediately see money, they'll think their Boss is generous, and your influence in the club will also grow stronger. Things will be easier to handle in the future."
Dong Wenhao accepted the money, his expression somewhat complicated. "Brother, your family is in business, right?"
Jiang Qin stuffed his wallet back into his pocket. "No. I'm just a handsome man with an ordinary background."
"..."
Dong Wenhao put the money into his pocket. After hesitating for a long while, he spoke again. "Senior Yao has been scowling all day and saying that you don't understand literature. Is there something wrong with the novel?"
"It's not really a major problem. The novel is written all right, and every character is a beautiful Chinese character. But once they're put together, it just doesn't look good. It's damn strange." Jiang Qin shrugged.
"Then does your website still accept novels?"
"I want to accept them, but there are too few well-written ones. I'm running a business, not a charity."
Dong Wenhao hesitated, then took another manuscript from his schoolbag. "Then take a look at this one. Can you accept it?"
Jiang Qin accepted it suspiciously and looked it over. The title was You Are the Color of Fireworks. After flipping through a few pages, he unconsciously furrowed his brow again. "This has some skill. The satisfying moments are plentiful, and the flavor is addictive. Who wrote this? Why were you keeping her hidden?"
"An old member of the society. Her name is Shi Miaomiao."
"Old member?"
"Senior Yao drove her out of the society. She said Shi Miaomiao's writing had no spirit and told her not to waste her time here."
"Seven yuan per thousand words. Have her guarantee daily updates, and the copyright to the novel will belong to me. If she agrees, I'll take it."
As they were speaking, the door to the Literary Society's activity room suddenly opened. Yao Yanling walked in from outside. When she saw Jiang Qin, she paused slightly, then darkened her face and ignored him completely.
Her impression of Jiang Qin had been quite good before, but not anymore. In her eyes, Jiang Qin was now nothing more than an uncultured, vulgar commoner who didn't understand literature.
Yao Yanling picked up a pair of colorful flags from the right side of the activity room, then walked back out without even turning her head.
"Don't take it personally. Senior is just like that. She never allows anyone to deny the value of her work." Dong Wenhao couldn't help explaining on Yao Yanling's behalf.
Jiang Qin waved his hand. "People like Senior, who have dreams, are worthy of admiration. Unlike me, I only have a little dirty money."
"..."
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