[My Seven Years at Qidian]

On this day seven years ago, January 2, 2004, I, Lai Buyi, officially registered at Qidian. Actually, I had been mingling in online literature for a while by then. I registered on the 2nd because I didn't have a computer or internet at home, so I used the holiday as an excuse to work overtime at the company and did it there...

The first novel "Modern Lai Buyi Legend Series" was initially a medium-length series written for a magazine. After encountering the internet, it began to expand into a long-form novel. I still remember a book review comment from back then, "Keep writing. Once you hit 500K, you'll make it." Doing the math, 500K should be 500,000, right? At that time, it seemed like an unreachable word count.

My hometown is Gannan, and some classmates should know that the Hakka people from Gannan value feng shui the most. In history, many feng shui schools developed. I wrote this debut because I was studying feng shui at the time, and Lai Buyi was one of the renowned figures in the field. However, I hadn't written much before, during the New Year, I rewatched my all-time favorite TV series "My Date with a Vampire" Parts 1 and 2. Then that year, ATV aired the third part of the vampire series, so finally, this book was heavily influenced by the vampire series...

Looking back now, the debut was quite raw and immature, with some details almost laughable. But back then, one was more pure-hearted, had some bright ideas, and paid attention to writing techniques. It was also a valuable memory. During that phase, I, Lai Buyi, always hand-wrote manuscripts and then input them at the company during overtime or when there was nothing else to do. As a result, the book was sporadic and updated very slowly, with only 100,000 words written in a year. But after signing with Qidian and then signing with a traditional publisher, I started taking it more seriously.

At the end of 2003, I also started to come into contact with online novels as a reader. Because I had read too much ancient martial arts before, the books I picked were primarily modern setting fantasies, such as "Beijing War" by Yang Pan and "Vampire" by Zhou Wenbin. At that time, the hugely popular works like "Slaying Immortals" by Xiao Ding and "Daoist and Confucian Immortal" by Ghost Rain were set in ancient times, so I only read the beginning. Around that period, another novel that left a deep impression was "Cursed Genius" by Asan Shouma, marking my first exposure to urban online novels. But since Asan likes to write tragic stories, even years later, I've never finished it.

In 2004, the internet undeniably belonged to Blood Red's year, and like many readers, I was captivated by "Rising Dragon Path." Another inspiring piece for me was "YY King" by Salem. I remember once asking when Salem would release the rest, and he replied only after ensuring his son was taken care of in old age. Gosh, back then, besides VIP readers, there were those who avoided pirated versions and waited for official releases. The authors released the VIP versions to the public step by step, and "YY King" had been fully released by that time.

In 2005, "Electric Control Boy" earned me my first featured recommendation, and I finally began to understand a bit about rankings, advertising, and recommendation concepts on Qidian. Around the time of its promotion, there was some anti-Japanese sentiment or something similar, leading to replacing all mentions of Japan and even making the United States much more obvious. Readers probably found it inexplicable. At that time, I was still working, handling over ten hours of work, and writing over 200,000 words each month, leading to many instances of dozing off in front of the computer shortly after clocking in or during short afternoon breaks. As for lunchtime, of course, it was all spent on writing.

At the beginning of 2006, I didn't have concepts like changing pen names or style risks. Just because I liked modern urban settings, I used the name "Heaven's Feather" to publish "Springtime Leaked." Shortly after the first chapter was released, an editor approached me for a contract, though T remarked a bit wickedly that it looked like some adult novel, awkward... Although I signed with Qidian in 2004, I didn't have many signed books then and wasn't familiar with Qidian or the editors. It wasn't until the time of "Springtime" when 314 approached me, claiming to be the editor-in-charge, that I got to communicate and receive more guidance, leading to much better understanding. Half a year later, Qidian began dividing editor teams, and my tail number was 8, so I joined the 4th group under the stewardship of Hu Shuo. We've cooperated for many years since then, and I've been greatly assisted with numerous tips, for which I'm deeply grateful.

I won't detail the entire journey, but after the minor peaks of "Legend of Enchanting Encounter" and "Seems Pure" in 07 and 08, I entered a major slump in 09. I lost confidence, felt unmotivated to write, and almost went in and out of hiatus like many old authors. Earlier this year, under substantial guidance from Editor-in-Chief Hu, I finally released a new book, "Mixing in a Company Full of Beautiful Women." At first, I was equally unconfident until it reached the top three of new releases after being listed for sale, somewhat restoring my confidence. However, due to certain reasons, I encountered numerous hurdles that caused a lot of trouble for Editor-in-Chief Hu and Editor Duncan, leaving me feeling guilty seeing them.

For seven years, I persevered. This year is also when I've written the most. With 2011 starting, new challenges and slumps may arise, but my fighting spirit and confidence have returned. Facing difficulties, the passion for writing will, at least, continue!

After seven years, the reader base has changed countless times, with many already no longer active online. For instance, Wind Forest Gecko, who greatly assisted me with book reviews and such, faded out after retreating to prepare for exams. In the past two years, Ni Hui, who has continuously helped me, also went offline for exams in September for 2011. However, I can remember the IDs of readers I've interacted with, including those who supported me back in 04. During the time of "Seems Pure," there were many familiar book friends. An old group still exists, where people occasionally log on to catch up.

In 2011, I'm not sure how many old book friends will leave the internet, nor do I know how many new friends I'll meet. But bonding over books online and spending time together is also a form of memory.

Ranting nearly 2,000 words, though free to post, it holds no relevance to the storyline. For readers uninterested in the author, this free chapter must be pointless. So, let me declare—this chapter has nothing to do with the story or updates, nor does it aim to garner votes. Those who are uninterested can skip it! — Heaven's Feather