The ssage board had only 40 to 50 posts in total. Aside from Zhang Yan, Tang Song spotted a few familiar nas, mostly from junior high classmates. So faces had already faded from his mory, but certain nas still evoked fragnts of the past.
He and Zhang Yan had attended a township middle school and had been deskmates from the first year onward.
Back then, they often shared comics, MP3 playlists, and snacks. They had been good friends—once.
But like most student friendships, they eventually drifted apart and lost touch over ti.
Now, seeing that Zhang Yan had kept leaving him ssages on QQ Space for years, Tang Song couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion.
Who would have thought soone had been quietly rembering him all this ti?
Reflecting for a mont, he set his phone aside, pulled a cardboard box from under the desk, and retrieved a thick photo album.
The album contained photos he had accumulated over the years, mostly from junior and senior high school. Later, as smartphones beca ubiquitous, everyone began capturing HD pictures more casually.
Flipping through the album, Tang Song quickly found a photo of Zhang Yan.
The picture had been taken with Zhang Lei’s Nokia phone, and it carried the distinct aesthetic of its era: low resolution, diocre image quality, heavy noise, and poor dynamic range. Yet, it radiated a peculiar warmth.
In the photo, Zhang Yan sported the standard “student haircut,” her short hair just above her shoulders.
She stood straight as an arrow, her cheeks flushed as she looked shyly at the cara. Despite her timid gaze, her hand on the desk subtly flashed a "peace" sign.
The hazy mories of their shared past resurfaced, leaving Tang Song montarily dazed.
Zhang Yan had been quite pretty, but her reserved nature, poor academic performance, and outdated clothing made her blend into the background. She didn’t have many friends in the class.
He wondered how she was doing now.
His knowledge of Zhang Yan ended at the high school entrance exams. He didn’t know her phone number, what university she attended, or anything about her life after junior high.
She was one of those friends eroded by the passage of ti.
Shaking his head, Tang Song resud flipping through the album.
Soon, other familiar faces appeared—like Zhang Lei, a good friend from junior high and the class’s “rich kid,” whose father ran a business.
Back then, Tang Song often borrowed Zhang Lei’s PSP to play Monster Hunter and Naruto.
In those simple school days, Tang Song had no shortage of friends. Everyone’s personalities clashed and shed in colorful, youthful chaos, forging bonds over solving math problems, playing gas, and discussing ani.
About a third of the way through the album, a single face began to dominate the photos—Liu Qingning.
There were ID photos, sticker photos, and casual snapshots:
Pouting lips, radiant smiles.School uniforms, bicycles, high ponytails.
From the first day of high school to university, Liu Qingning was present throughout Tang Song’s adolescence.
mories flooded back. They had first t in elentary school but weren’t particularly close then.
Liu Qingning had been like a porcelain doll, impossibly cute and academically exceptional.
Even in their resource-starved village school, she had won math Olympiad awards.
She wasn’t a “local” either. Her family had moved to the town because of her father’s mining job. Later, they relocated to the county when her father’s job transferred again, so she attended junior high there.
They t again at Jing County First High School.
Thanks to her, his high school mories remained especially vivid.
After flipping through the high school photos, Tang Song closed his eyes, overwheld by a wave of nostalgia.
Unknowingly, he was nearing 26, and those monts were now a decade old.
Seemingly reminded of sothing, Tang Song opened the system interface and navigated to the [Inventory] to check an item’s details:
[Feather of mory]1: A gorgeous feather containing a fragnt of a unique dreamlike mory. When the player is in a familiar scene and experiences a shift in mindset, this item will automatically activate to help retrieve the mory fragnt buried within the dream.
One of his main goals during this trip ho was to trigger this item.
The mory fragnt likely dated back to the second half of 2016, his final year of high school.
By then, motivated by the promise of “eting at the top under the full moon,” he had beco fiercely dedicated to his studies, abandoning all other activities.
Shuttling between the classroom, dorm, and ho, he hadn’t managed to activate the item at ho. His next stop would be Jing County First High School.
In the ga’s tiline, everything began in 2016, and as the ga rged with reality, so had its narrative.
His first contact with Secretary Jin in reality was on April Fool’s Day of that year.
That “fragnt of mory” likely held the key to the story’s origin.
Tang Song felt a mix of anticipation and trepidation as he sat lost in thought for a long ti.
A sudden ding-dong from his phone snapped him out of it.
It was a notification: his group application had been approved.
The group na was [Qingqing Eats Too Much Fan Group], with only about 300 mbers.
At 9 p.m. on a weekend, the group was lively. Conversations ranged from discussing plot points to trading risqué jokes.
Tang Song clicked on the group files and found three TXT docunts.
He opened the first one, titled [Chapter 171: Yanqing in the Office (Uncut Version)].
As he read, Tang Song’s expression grew increasingly complicated.
While the novel’s main storyline depicted Xu Yanqing as toying with Tang Song like a loyal lapdog, the uncut version told a completely different tale.
In the story, the proud and aloof attorney Xu Yanqing was pinned against her office desk by Tang Song for a rather… forceful “lesson.”
The scene included detailed trash talk, foreplay, and teasing.
Xu Qing’s writing was subtle yet gripping, the restrained description only amplifying its allure and imrsiveness.
By the ti Tang Song finished the 2,000-word scene, he was intrigued and opened the other two files, devouring them one after another.
His earlier lancholy had vanished.
He had to admit, Xu Qing was skilled at crafting spicy content.
Still, he was shocked by how soone as outwardly innocent as Xu Qing could harbor such wild imagination—and even channel it into writing.
Suddenly, Tang Song had an idea.
If Xu Qing loved writing so much, why not help her out? Maybe he could even commission her for more “uncut” versions.
And when the ti was right, he could reveal himself as her fan.
Imagining her stunned expression when he confronted her with her own explicit writing made him chuckle.
anwhile, Xu Qing sneezed several tis in succession.
“Strange, who’s talking about ?” She grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose, took a sip of lemon water from her mug, and cheered herself on.
“Let’s go!”
Her manuscript already had ten chapters in reserve. Once she reached fourteen—a week’s worth of updates—she could dedicate herself to crafting her first short drama script.
A week was more than enough to create a juicy lodrama.
Just then, a ssage popped up on her computer.
Soone in the fan group had tagged her:
[April]:
“@Qingqing Eats Too Much, I’m a loyal fan. Would a reward speed up updates?”
Xu Qing’s eyes lit up. It was rare for a reader to offer a reward for more updates!
Typing quickly, she replied:
“@April, thank you for your support! I’m pretty busy with work right now, so one additional chapter per alliance leader reward.”
Despite her current modest success in a quiet niche, Xu Qing only earned about 4,000–5,000 yuan a month from her writing. In the past, she might have promised ten chapters for a reward like this.
But now her goal was the short drama market, and saving manuscripts was critical. Besides, she had cosplay, dramas, and shopping to juggle.
Her reply instantly stirred up the group:
“Qingqing, are you serious? You’ve only ever had one alliance leader reward!”
“You must have stockpiled updates! One chapter per reward? You’re slacking!”
“How dare you! I want to lock you in a little black room and teach you a lesson!”
Xu Qing responded with a playful sticker and bantered back before planning to dive back into her manuscript. Original content can be found at novel✦fire
Just then, another ssage popped up:
[April]:
“@Qingqing Eats Too Much, reward sent. When’s the update?”
The other fans chid in excitedly below.
[“Wow, what generosity! This might be Qingqing’s first-ever bonus chapter!”]
[“Sister April, you’re amazing! @Qingqing Eats Too Much, hurry up and post extra chapters!”]
[“What sister? Their profile says they’re male. Call them brother!”]
Xu Qing’s face lit up with joy as she quickly typed a response:
“@April, thank you for the reward! I’ll post a bonus chapter tonight!”
Until now, her novel only had one “alliance leader,” [yyyy], her forr college classmate and current company general manager, Guo Liyuan. That reward had been purely out of friendship.
Now, her first wild "alliance leader" had erged, and it was cause for celebration!
A reward of 1,000 yuan just for an extra chapter?
This was recognition for Lady Xu Qing!
“Ahem... Stay calm, Xu Qing. You’re no longer that struggling author. Soon, you’ll be a company shareholder and a screenwriter for short dramas!”
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Xu Qing picked up her phone.
Sure enough, she saw a reward notification with the userna “April.”
Her big, dark eyes blinked as she stared at the long string of zeroes in the reward amount.
“Am I too tired from writing? Why do these zeroes look like they’re misaligned?”
She counted carefully: “One, two, three… seven.”
Wait, seven zeroes?
That wasn’t 1,000 yuan—that was 10 million Qidian coins!
A golden alliance reward!
Xu Qing’s hands trembled as she opened her writer’s assistant app to double-check.
Her eyes widened further, and she recounted the zeroes one more ti.
It was real—no bug, no glitch.
anwhile, the fan group chat exploded with activity:
[“Everyone, check the Qidian app! Sothing huge just happened!”]
[“Ahhhhh! A golden treasure chest! Qingqing got a golden alliance reward!”]
[“@April, you’re a legend! Bow down!”]
[“WTF! WTF!”]
The once moderately active group had erupted into chaos, with even the lurkers erging to flood the chat.
Xu Qing’s heart raced as a grin stretched across her face.
A golden alliance reward—10,000 yuan!
In the entire female-centric genre, golden alliance rewards were virtually unheard of, maybe one or two in an entire year!
For her, the impact was monuntal.
Not only would she receive the monetary reward (minus platform fees and taxes), but her book would also benefit from the system-wide banner promotion. This would an a surge in exposure, collections, and subscriptions.
Her hands still shaking, Xu Qing opened the Qidian app to see the notification:
[April has gifted a Golden Treasure Chest to Wrong Room, Found a Bossy CEO.]
“Ahhhhhh!” Xu Qing jumped up from her chair, trembling with excitent.
She’d always believed in her work. Given enough exposure, she was certain it could succeed.
“The wind is at my back—ti to soar!”
She envisioned her book being sold for publishing rights, adapted into an ani or TV drama, and ascending to the ranks of a renowned IP.
In her imagination, she beca a celebrated writer, featured in news articles, on TV shows, and in variety programs.
“I, Xu Qing, will beco a legend!”
As she reveled in her fantasy, the fan group chat continued its frenzy:
[“100 extra chapters! I want to see Yanqing use Gu Peisi to provoke Tang Song and then get totally wrecked!”]
[“Tonight! 100 chapters! Qingqing, you promised!”]
[“@April, get the whip and discipline this author!”]
Xu Qing’s excitent ca to a screeching halt.
“100 chapters?”
She shuddered, frantically typing in the group chat:
“@April, my apologies! I only have 10 chapters saved, and I’m just a part-ti writer. I also have a day job, so I can’t possibly deliver 100 chapters anyti soon.”
Monts later, a ssage popped up:
[April]: “Then refund the reward.”
A thunderclap seed to strike her head. Xu Qing’s face turned pale, and she felt the world crumble around her.
Out of the 10,000 yuan reward, she’d only receive about 5,000 after platform cuts and taxes. Returning the full 10,000 yuan would an emptying her savings.
Her tears were already welling up when another ssage appeared:
[April]: “Just kidding. How about this—you can repay with uncut versions instead. One uncut chapter equals 10 regular chapters.”
Xu Qing’s tears halted mid-fall. Wiping her eyes, she hurriedly replied:
“Thank you, April! Please tell which scenes you want uncut, and I’ll write them right away!”
Uncut versions? That was her specialty! Writing those could even get her excited.
Curious, Xu Qing clicked on April’s profile and sent a friend request. While waiting for approval, she browsed their profile but found little—it was private, with no visible posts.
“Probably a woman, considering their taste in books,” she mused.
Feeling imnsely proud of her book’s appeal, Xu Qing lingered in the fan group, basking in the sight of her rising collections, comnts, and golden alliance badge on her book’s hopage.
Unable to contain herself, she dashed out of her room and barged into the master bedroom.
“Yan, I’m rich!” she exclaid, throwing herself at her best friend, Shen Yuyan, and planting kisses all over her face.
“Xu Qing, get off ! What’s wrong with you now?” Shen Yuyan cried, trying to push her off.
“Oh, stop grabbing—it tickles!”
The bedroom quickly filled with laughter and chaos, their friendship as vibrant and close as ever.
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