All That Sparkles: "Go ahead, I can make some time for you amidst my busy schedule."

Xia Sheng: "...Stop joking, don’t get cocky. The Golden Alliance’s collection stats are hugely inflated. You should focus on your writing."

Xia Sheng: "In the men’s section, it’s pretty good if a top-tier author sees a spike of 50,000 to 80,000 in collection count from a gold or silver alliance boost; 50,000 means the book’s quality is decent; under 30,000, it’s just a regular unknown author’s work. Your two Golden Alliances came in quick succession, so their effects overlap a bit. Plus, with the traffic from TikTok, it’s estimated to reach 120,000-130,000 by tomorrow afternoon. But in the following two days, the collection count will likely drop, so be mentally prepared."

All That Sparkles: ’Got it~’

Xia Sheng: "Also, the subscriptions brought by the Alliance Leader’s treasure box don’t help much with actual sales. Many are bot accounts; if one in thirty or forty of them subscribes, you’re doing well, you know?"

All That Sparkles: "I know, I’m not a newbie."

Xia Sheng: "Then quickly add a few administrators to manage the comments section and put in the character cards."

All That Sparkles: "OK, I’m on it."

After chatting with the editor a bit, Li Peifeng started recruiting an operations team from the reader group. Quite a few signed up, and he picked the more experienced ones, including fans who previously managed the old books ’Loli Blabber’ and ’The Nightmare of Nine Hundred Million Young Boys’, to be operation officers.

He sent them the character illustrations and related information from "Sword and Magic", shared a few principles on managing comments and Chapter statements, then decided to stop worrying about it. He planned to turn off TT and focus on writing, but a message came from a stranger who felt familiar...

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "Can I be an operations officer?"

Of course, you can!

Li Peifeng smiled with pursed lips: "Of course, but why are you just showing up today, sister? You haven’t contacted me lately."

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "You clearly didn’t contact me!"

Li Peifeng truly hadn’t chatted with Zhao Qingge online for the past couple of months. Since he had entered a real-life relationship with Yunduo’er, there was no need for side interaction via ’Yun Xin Yue Xing’. But Zhao Qingge seemed to hold a bit of a grudge over this...

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "Is it because I didn’t renew your fee, so there’s no companion chat service anymore?"

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "Need me to send you another 30,000?"

All That Sparkles: "(sweating) No need, it’s just that I confirmed a relationship with my mentor. I’m meeting her parents tomorrow, so it’s not right to be cyber-dating you."

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "(angry) You ignore me because of her? Am I just her substitute to you?"

How dare you ask me that?

Li Peifeng rolled his eyes and replied with a simple: "Yes."

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "(angry) I’m mad now!"

Good luck with being mad.

Li Peifeng didn’t reply; instead, he used "Heart-to-Heart", connecting with Zhao Qingge to check her current mood.

She had just hung up in a rush and now appeared on TT to chat with him again. Li Peifeng couldn’t understand what Zhao Qingge intended, but as soon as they connected, Yun Xin Yue Xing spoke again:

"Send me a couple of photos, or I’ll really be mad."

Alright, the answer is clear...

Zhao Qingge also needs a bit of warmth to fend off this dull world!

All That Sparkles: "Sending, right away."

Li Peifeng hurriedly stripped off his clothes, snapped four photos, and sent them over. After a dozen seconds with no further response, he couldn’t help but grin and type: "What are you doing with my photos, sis?"

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "Watching TV."

All That Sparkles: "Not even looking at my photos?!"

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "Just saw them; no different from before, boring."

Isn’t that just like someone who complains about their dinner after finishing eating?!

Li Peifeng chuckled silently as he typed: "(pondering) I suddenly feel guilty doing this to my girlfriend. Maybe I should call Yunduo’er now, what do you think?"

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "Why call her? You’re not going to chat with me anymore?"

All That Sparkles: "You’re using my photos to watch TV. Not chatting with me, so am I wrong to chat with her?"

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "And what are you going to talk about with her?"

All That Sparkles: "Talk about the origins of humanity!"

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "What’s that supposed to mean?!"

All That Sparkles: "It’s phone sex. Even though she acknowledged our relationship and is taking me to meet her parents, she’s still reluctant to engage in overly intimate physical contact. So that’s my only option."

All That Sparkles: "Do you think she might agree? I also think maybe meeting her parents tomorrow is making her nervous. This might help her relax."

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "..."

All That Sparkles: "What’s with the ellipsis? Do you think she could accept it, sister?"

Yun Xin Yue Xing: "How should I know? If you don’t want to chat with me, fine."

Got it, got it. Won’t chat with you, will chat with Zhao Qingge!

Li Peifeng realized and smiled, then took out his phone. He was about to call Yunduo’er but hesitated a moment, switched to WeChat, and directly invited Zhao Qingge for a video call.

"A simple phone call no longer satisfies me, and Yunduo’er did have phone sex with me before. Maybe adding video this time, she might accept it! Even if she can’t, and ends the video, it’s not too late for me to make a call then."

Li Peifeng contemplated, and seven or eight seconds passed without connecting, making him doubt: "Could it be that video calls are still not acceptable? Is she that shy? Is future intimacy going to require turning off the lights..."

Over ten seconds passed, and when he was growing impatient, the video call connected.

Onscreen, Zhao Qingge, wearing a silver-gray satin nightgown, was half-lying in bed. Seeing Li Peifeng’s shirtless upper body, she furrowed her brows and quickly switched to the rear camera.

This left Peifeng unable to see Old Zhao’s face, only the blanket and the legs under it.

"What are you video calling for? I’m falling asleep!"

"Really? Almost falling asleep?"

Li Peifeng smirked; no wonder she took so long to answer; she walked from the study to the bedroom for this pose of almost being asleep. Could she have guessed he knew ’Yun Xin Yue Xing’ was her, using this method to avoid suspicion?

It’s a bit over the top!

"Say something, why the video call?"

"Miss seeing you." Li Peifeng said calmly, casually sweeping the phone camera over himself: "Missing you too much, maybe also because the indoor heating is too warm, can’t stop thinking about you."

"You’re video calling with just... just in briefs?" Zhao Qingge seemed genuinely angry, blurting out: "Put on... Get dressed!"

Li Peifeng couldn’t help but chuckle: "Should I dress or not? You have to be clear."

"Get dressed." Zhao Qingge sternly: "Don’t be a pervert!"

"Alright."

Li Peifeng obediently went to his wardrobe, opening the door and pointing the camera at the clothes inside: "Check it out, whatever you want me to wear, I’ll wear that one."

A moment later, Zhao Qingge said: "Wear the black suit."

Li Peifeng placed his hand on the clothes, just about to pick them up when he paused slightly, voice turning subtle: "Should I film myself getting dressed for you, too?"

[This troublesome disciple is a truly indecent, perverse, and psychologically deranged pervert!]

"Wait a minute."

Zhao Qingge’s cheeks flushed, and though the indoor temperature was a pleasant 25 degrees Celsius, fine beads of sweat emerged on her forehead, her gaze nervously wandering as if searching for something.

"Wait a minute? Why wait?"

Li Peifeng seriously asked: "Do you think I should film me getting dressed for you to see?"

"..."

Zhao Qingge still didn’t answer, her eyes growing more anxious and wandering, with an equally anxious heart beating inside...

[If I told you to wait, just wait. Why so many questions? Am I supposed to tell you I’m searching for my glasses?!]