"Whoa! Chen actually launched a new book?"
"No way! Is this dog author running off again? What about the current one?"
"Huh? Inazuma: A Hundred Dreams in a Moment? From the title, it sounds like another nation on the continent of Teyvat. Is it a companion piece to Liyue: Floating World Amid a Thousand Rocks?"
"Guys, I just checked out that Yae Publishing House site. There are only two new books—and both are related to Teyvat!"
"What are they called?"
"Liyue Strange Tales and Teyvat Academy: My Youth Romantic Comedy is Definitely a Problem!"
"Okay, 'Strange Tales' I get—stories of the supernatural or weird stuff—but what's with that second title?"
"Seems like... a light novel? It's about romance in a school setting. Apparently there's a love triangle…"
"What kind of mix is this? Are these three books even in the same genre?"
"Interesting, though! All these novels are set in the 'Teyvat Continent.' Could the author be building a Teyvat universe?"
"Wait a sec—has no one noticed Chen switched platforms? What even is this Yae Publishing House? Never heard of it."
After Lu Chen posted his pinned message, Sha Lin saw it too.
"Your popularity's crazy—you already got hundreds of comments in just minutes!"
Lu Chen smiled and poured her another cup of tea. "It's basically free promo for our new site."
Sha Lin gently lifted her cup and blew on the steam. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. With my ten years in editing, I'd say that post won't last five minutes."
Sure enough, before five minutes were up, Lu Chen's post was taken down by the platform.
"You actually promoted an external site on this one!" Sha Lin teased. "Who else would they delete if not you?"
"Fair enough…" Lu Chen rubbed his chin, then added,
"Help me register an official account on Weibo. We can use it to promote the new book and the new site."
"Got it." Sha Lin was highly invested in their growing venture. After sending the task to the assistant, she asked:
"Need help buying some followers? Pumping your stats?"
"Buying followers? Data manipulation?" Lu Chen waved it off. "No need."
"Want me to contact a few online influencers to boost visibility?"
"No need!" Lu Chen waved again. He already knew the two biggest celebrities—what influencers could top that?
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
Sha Lin raised an eyebrow. A moment later, her assistant confirmed the account was ready.
"Log in and verify your author status…"
Once everything was set, Lu Chen rephrased and reposted his announcement:
"Beyond the endless thunderstorms, I will guide you to the 'Isles of Lightning and Eternity.' This is a tale from the founding days of Inazuma City…"
"Disenchanted by fleeting illusions, yearning for the Pure Land and eternal truth—'a moment' and 'eternity' lie but a thought apart."
"My new book, Inazuma: A Hundred Dreams in a Moment, is now live on Yae Publishing House. See you there in a week."
The post stirred a lot of interest—and it wasn't long before it was shared widely.
V.T.: "Look what I found!"
School Idol Barbara: "It's Chen's new book! My favorite author!"
With just those two reposts, the comment section exploded.
"How did these three end up together?"
"This is a dream come true for Teyvat fans!"
"Sorry for being out of the loop… Who even is this Chen? V.T.—that reclusive artist—is doing promo now?"
"Let me introduce you to your next obsession…"
The comment section on Weibo turned into pure chaos—but the buzz kept climbing, and eventually, it landed on the trending topics list:
#V.T. Repost
#Chen New Book
#Yae Publishing House?
#Teyvat Trilogy
"V.T.? Barbara? Chen?"
Sha Lin was watching the Weibo activity closely, then turned to Lu Chen in shock.
"V.T. and Barbara… actually reposted your post?!"
Lu Chen nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
Sha Lin looked stunned. "You know them? V.T. is my favorite singer! I even bought two copies of his album!"
"Oh?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence. Want me to ask him to send you a signed copy?"
"Really?" Sha Lin gasped, then quickly composed herself. "No—wait. You seriously know them? If they're helping you hit the trending charts, that's way better than paying for ad campaigns! Just how many surprises are you hiding?"
Lu Chen chuckled. Right after registering the account, he'd asked his group chat to help repost. Venti and Barbara had shown up right away. He hadn't expected such a great response.
Once she calmed down, Sha Lin brought up a serious issue.
"I doubt my old employer will just sit back and ignore the fact you poached one of their editors."
Lu Chen nodded. Her former company was the site hosting Liyue: Floating World Amid a Thousand Rocks. Now, he was using his influence to draw readers to a new platform—and had taken a senior editor with him.
"I don't have a choice. This is something I have to do." Lu Chen shook his head. Fame or fortune wasn't the goal. It was all about the Primogems.
Primogems meant pulls—and pulls meant extending return time. Anyone who got in his way was the enemy.
"I left Liyue on the original site and didn't move the cash cow to Yae Publishing House just to avoid burning bridges," Lu Chen said calmly.
His original contract had been a version B agreement—he retained full rights. Back then, no one cared since version B authors got no promotion. But unexpectedly, the book blew up.
Word was that the editor-in-chief and higher-ups now regretted it. If they'd secured the rights, turning it into a film or series could've raked in massive profits—it had huge commercial value.
"I see," Sha Lin nodded.
After she left, Lu Chen turned his attention to the novels by Miko and Hu Tao. He hoped all three books would explode in popularity, so he held them to high standards.
Thanks to the [Soul of a Popular Novelist], Lu Chen had endless inspiration and could offer plenty of writing advice to help them avoid rookie mistakes.
After reading for a bit, he noted that Hu Tao's story was still terrifying—and Miko's… still a gut punch.
He had a sneaking suspicion the male lead in Miko's novel was heading for a fate like Makoto from School Days...
The next few days were busy. Lu Chen juggled work on his new book while keeping tabs on the growing Withering crisis in the news.
Curiously, Ei and Nahida had been spending a lot of time together lately—always up to something.
Every time he passed the storage room, he'd hear banging and clanking from inside.
One day, after wrapping up his writing, Lu Chen's curiosity got the better of him. He quietly opened the door.
Inside, he found the tall and short duo crouched on the floor—both wearing welding helmets. A faint blue glow shimmered on the ground.
As the door opened, they turned in unison. Wide eyes stared at him through the mask visors, giving them a slightly comical look.
"You're studying…" Lu Chen recognized the familiar glow. "Celestia's Skyfrost Nail tech?"
Nahida nodded, and Ei explained:
"This energy suppresses the Abyss and purges corruption. Nahida thinks it might work on the polluted Ley Lines causing the Withering, so we wanted to investigate."