I’ve received a notification from my editor. The book is going premium today.

Thank you all for your support. During the new-book period, I hardly ever begged for daily readers. My thinking was simple: if I write well, people will naturally read it. If I write poorly, begging is useless.

It’s like chasing a girl. If she likes you, anything goes. If she doesn’t, being a simp won’t help.

As it turns out, the results have been pretty good—we made it to the Sanjiang Channel Recommendation.

Let’s talk about this book...

This idea first came to me in a flash of inspiration right before bed one night. I immediately jumped out of bed, and the words just came pouring out of me as I wrote the beginning.

Before I started the book, I told my editor that it had the potential to hit ten thousand subscribers. After all, it was a new take on an old formula, something no one had written before. Plus, the Godly Tycoon genre is my specialty.

However, I was also clearly aware that the most brilliant and difficult part of this story’s design would be the delicate balance of the protagonist’s relationships with his brothers.

This is what required the most careful design and repeated refinement.

If I could nail this part, getting ten thousand subscribers wouldn’t be hard.

If I messed this up, the whole thing would blow up in my face.

To be more specific, the difficulty lay in this question: Should I write it more like a fairytale? Or more realistically?

We’ve all had great friends, experienced the friendships of our innocent years, cried in our brothers’ arms, and made all sorts of wonderful memories together... 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Of course, we’ve also parted ways with friends, been betrayed by them, and even...

My understanding of the mainstream preference in web novels is this: there has to be friendship, and everyone wants to see something beautiful, but the protagonist must be the most badass one of all.

If the protagonist is *too* good to his brothers, he seems pathetic.

If the protagonist is too domineering and treats his brothers like underlings, it lacks sincerity and emotional depth. It’s too Long Aotian.

If the narrative over-describes the bond between the protagonist and his brothers, it becomes sappy, which doesn’t feel right either.

If the friendship isn’t developed enough, or if there’s a plot involving betrayal where a friend turns on him, it just becomes a cringey, melodramatic cliché.

Besides, it’s difficult to write it as an ensemble piece. In a Godly Tycoon novel, the brothers’ rate of growth is in a completely different dimension from the protagonist’s.

...and so on.

These were all things I had considered.

I came up with solutions for each of them, but I won’t go into the details here.

Judging from the feedback during the new-book period, the daily readership numbers have proven that my understanding of the genre and my assessment of the story’s main difficulties were correct.

When the protagonist gave too much, the readership dropped.

When the protagonist was too domineering, it dropped too.

Of course, the dips were within an acceptable range; they weren’t huge. This shows there wasn’t a major problem with the plot itself, but rather that everyone has a different understanding of and preference for how friendship is portrayed. Certain points may have hit a nerve for some readers.

I’ve tried my best to remain level-headed, calmly accept these differences in preference, and continue to write based on my own understanding of these themes. After all, this is the core premise of the book.

And besides, the story itself is what’s most important.

Let me give you a spoiler-free hint: the ultimate version of the protagonist’s path and mentality regarding his brothers can be seen by looking at Jackie Chan. I think he’s the perfect template.

As a veteran Qidian author who has written five premium-quality urban novels, I hope you’ll have faith in me. Aside from potential differences in taste regarding "the delicate balance of friendship," I am confident in the other aspects of the plot and the thrill it delivers.

With this book, I want to shoot for ten thousand subscribers and achieve a new personal best.

After it goes premium, I will be updating with 10,000 characters daily, and perhaps even more.

I’m currently unemployed, living alone, and single. I’ve adjusted my daily routine, mindset, and physical health to their optimal state. I’m ready to complete this story with the utmost passion and dedication.

I’ll be writing for at least twelve hours a day, from morning till night.

I’m giving it my all!

Time to fix bayonets!

You can all just watch and see how I do.

For those of you who are able, I hope you’ll consider subscribing to show your support.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you.

I hope you all become a "Brother Chu," or have friends and brothers like "Brother Chu."

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