Chapter 18: Senior Sister, You Taught Me Well
The night passed uneventfully.
September 1st, 6:00 a.m.
The alarm clock rang on time.
Jiang Miao rubbed his tired eyes and barely managed to drag himself out of bed, struggling against the urge to go back to sleep.
In the end, he fell back onto his bed.
It wasn’t until he reached for his phone, opened the author’s dashboard, and saw the latest comments from his readers that he finally conquered his sleepiness.
[Daily Report]
Total Reading Lists: 1,901
Now, it was not a matter of whether he was sleepy or not but how excited he felt.
There were still eight hours until 2:00 p.m.At this rate, the increase in reading lists after twenty-four hours of recommendation would definitely surpass 400.
This kind of performance would definitely make his novel a top contender on the New Arrivals recommendation list.
While getting out of bed and preparing to wash up, Jiang Miao opened his browser, logged into the Xidian data network, and searched for the data of other books.
He familiarly navigated to the light novel category and scrolled down to the New Arrivals section.
As soon as his eyes landed on it, his heart sank.
[Tokyo’s One Punch]
New Reading Lists: 412
[Leading the Future Hokage to Build High-Speed Railways]
New Reading Lists: 379
[My Girlfriend Is a Content Creator]
New Reading Lists: 351
[Soul Fight: Starting from Inheriting the Martial Soul Palace]
New Reading Lists: 207
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Third place… I thought there was hope for first place…
Jiang Miao pursed his lips, feeling a bucket of cold water poured over his enthusiasm.
But it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. At least it made him calm down.
Each recommendation list typically had three to five spots for advancement. Being ranked third meant that as long as he stabilized this position, advancing wouldn’t be difficult.
Still, he didn’t expect that the increase in reading lists of these two books, which he had thought highly of, was even more exaggerated than his.
But upon closer analysis, it wasn’t that surprising.
Tokyo’s One Punch was an urban supernatural invincible story. The setting was in Tokyo, and it naturally fit the vividly dynamic style of anime.
Additionally, it borrowed from and referenced the highly popular ‘I Worship Buddha in Tokyo’, which had tens of thousands of subscribers. Coupled with the invincible start of the main character, the plot hit all the right spots from the very beginning.
It was a prime example of a story that delivered explosive impacts in the early stages.
So it was completely understandable why it was so popular.
The other book, Leading the Future Hokage to Build High-Speed Railways, naturally attracted a large anime fanbase because of its fanfiction nature.
Moreover, the setting of the book was very novel, which skipped ahead several hundred years in the timeline.
It offered a fresh take for Naruto fanfiction readers who were used to following the plot lines of the original work.
After analyzing for a while, Jiang Miao sighed softly. After washing up, he changed into his green camouflage military training uniform.
In addition to the analysis above, word count was also a significant key.
After diligently writing last night and uploading two chapters in the early morning, his total word count now stood at 45,000.
One Punch and Naruto had already reached 55,000 words and 62,000 words, respectively.
When readers searched for new books, they would naturally gravitate towards those with more words. It was just an inevitable reality.
After all, if a book were too short, it would be over before the readers could get into it. It wasn’t satisfying enough and might as well be skipped.
“Brother Jiang, let’s go! Time for breakfast!” Xun Liang, dressed in his military training uniform, looked rather sturdy, though the combination with his baby-faced appearance was a bit jarring.
Jiang Miao nodded and followed the two of them. He glanced at Chen Haoshang’s empty bed and asked, “Where is he?”
“He woke up around five,” Wang Xin said while adjusting his glasses.
Jiang Miao raised an eyebrow in surprise, recalling what had happened last night.
When he returned to the dorm room at about nine o’clock yesterday evening, he had sat on his bed with his laptop, wanting to write the chapters for the next day in advance before the military training started.
On the other hand, Chen Haoshang didn’t rush back until the dormitory was about to close. It was unknown what he had gone to do.
After returning, this guy began playing games until the wee hours of the morning.
Before Jiang Miao went to bed at 1 a.m., the glow of the monitor below was still visible.
Sleeping so late and waking up so early… Isn’t he worried about collapsing suddenly?
Jiang Miao didn’t bother to think too much about this roommate’s habits. He followed Xun Liang and Wang Xin to the cafeteria in Xiuye Commons for breakfast.
“Hello~ What a coincidence~” Su Huaizhou’s sweet voice sounded beside the three of them. “Do you mind if I sit here?”
She pointed at the empty seat beside Jiang Miao with a smile.
Before he could say anything, Xun Liang hurriedly said, “No problem! Senior Sister, please take a seat.”
No problem, my ass! There’s a huge problem!
Jiang Miao complained in his head, but when Senior Sister turned to him and said, “Good morning, Junior Brother,” he still replied politely, “Good morning, Senior Sister.”
Who could really refuse such a sweet and gentle Senior Sister’s morning greeting?
Anyway, Senior Sister was already here, and it wasn’t his decision to let her sit down.
This was force majeure, an irresistible and unavoidable fate.
Since it was already like this, he might as well enjoy it.
However, Jiang Miao would still make sure to maintain a good distance from Senior Sister.
It was better to keep a certain distance between authors and fans.
Otherwise, he was afraid that his charm would be too great, and Senior Sister might not be able to control herself.
It was all for Senior Sister’s sake.
After breakfast, Xun Liang, with a face full of eagerness, followed Senior Sister closely, chatting and showing concern.
Jiang Miao and Wang Xin walked behind, and Wang Xin said, “Senior Sister seems to only greet you.”
“Ahem… Perhaps it’s because she got to know me first, so she’s a bit more familiar with me,” Jiang Miao explained with difficulty.
Wang Xin was not as nosy as Xun Liang, so he nodded and dropped the subject.
[Zhouzhou Loves Congee]: Why is your roommate so chatty? Can you get him to rest for a while?
Jiang Miao was checking his author’s dashboard when he suddenly received this message.
He looked up and saw Senior Sister glancing back occasionally with a helpless and amused expression.
[Miaomiao is Deep in Thought]: I guess he’s been cooped up at home for too long. Now that he’s out of his cage, he’s in his venting phase.
[Zhouzhou Loves Congee]: I don’t need an explanation. Hurry up and help take him away.
[Miaomiao is Deep in Thought]: Okay.
Jiang Miao put down his phone, looked at Xun Liang, and shouted, “Xun Liang, your parents are here looking for you!”
As soon as the word left his mouth, Xun Liang, who had been full of enthusiasm, suddenly fell silent as though someone had turned off his switch.
Under Su Huaizhou’s surprised gaze, Xun Liang’s expression changed from full of smiles to expressionless, and his entire demeanor seemed to have changed into a different person’s.
He looked around and didn’t see his parents. He immediately turned back and asked in confusion, “Where?”
“Oh, sorry, I must have seen wrongly.”
“Damn it! Brother Jiang, don’t scare me. You almost gave me a heart attack,” Xun Liang grumbled, but he wasn’t in the mood to chat with Senior Sister anymore.
[Zhouzhou Loves Congee]: So magical? Is he really that scared of his parents?
[Miaomiao is Deep in Thought]: Hmm… It’s close but still far off.
[Zhouzhou Loves Congee]: So, you’re even imitating me now?
[Miaomiao is Deep in Thought]: Senior Sister, you taught me well.
Su Huaizhou turned around and shot him a reproachful glare.
At this moment, the morning sunlight highlighted her alone… Senior Sister had curved eyes and slightly upturned lips, showing a smile that was as refreshing as dew.
Beside Jiang Miao, Wang Xin looked at Senior Sister, then at his roommate, and adjusted his glasses.
The white reflection on the lenses revealed a glimpse of the wise eyes hidden beneath.
Most of the time, the eyes of the audience were sharp.