Here we were, at the end of another story.
I was never one for rambling, but finishing a book always left me melancholy and sentimental, so I'll say a few words. Many moments moved me as I wrote this book, and they're worth talking about.
This was the ending I was happiest with.
Everything was wrapped up, every loose end tied off. I even remembered little Tang Ke, whom you'd all forgotten. Ever since everyone called the ending of the book before last a mess (though I don't really agree—maybe I'm just stubborn), I've become a loose-end-tying fiend. Hey, that's something to be proud of.
Originally, I thought the story might end during the Plane War. That would have been good too: crisp and decisive, leaving a thousand possibilities to the imagination. But it wouldn't have been gentle enough.
It wouldn't have been gentle enough to you, dear readers, either.
Originally, I planned to write until the 26th, buy five leave slips, and collect the full-attendance bonus. Longtime readers know I'm fixated on that bonus. But I realized three more chapters would drag things out, so for the ending's sake, I painfully gave it up.
A thousand yuan, gone. Sob, sob...
The update schedule for this book was good too—a complete change from my sluggish, couch-potato ways with the last one.
8:05 in the morning and 18:05 in the evening: I was on time most days. I averaged nearly 7,000 Chinese characters a day, almost twice as much as with my last book. That was thanks to the good habits I built from the start. I'm giving myself a good review.
I was also pleased with the quality of the updates.
Hand on heart, without exaggeration, I poured everything I had into at least ninety percent of this book's chapters.