To prove he wasn’t a dog, and certainly not a bad one, Han Lie ignored the "Instigate" skill and didn’t add a single coin of experience to it.
The Instigate skill naturally advanced to level 2.
In the past few days, the School of Humanities had been in an uproar. The school was in chaos anyway, with new stories about them every day.
Yet the real instigator, Han Lie, had long since retired with his aims achieved.
「Secluded training, with constant good news.」
On October 17th, Thursday, "The Goddess CEO" successfully secured a spot on a recommended list, specifically the one nicknamed the "Whipping Leg" list.
With two stable updates daily, by October 20th, Sunday, its favorites count skyrocketed to 578.
Under the editor’s guidance, Han Lie started to apply for the next editor-curated recommendation spot.
578 favorites sounds so pitiful.
But this was just the first three days after the first recommendation.
Moreover, Jinjiang’s "favorites" count is particularly reliable. As long as updates are consistent, the conversion rate from "favorites" to actual subscriptions can reach, or even exceed, a 1:1 ratio. This meant 578 "favorites" translated to a solid 550+ subscriptions, potentially even 1,100 if you counted readers who bookmarked the novel on the website instead of using the official "favorite" feature, as those wouldn’t show up in the count.
"The Goddess CEO" now had 42,000 words published. It was slated to be monetized around the 90,000-word mark and could still receive three more editor-curated recommendations, as well as placements on several organic charts.
Up to this point, it could be basically confirmed that this collaboratively written melodramatic novel had achieved initial success.
Xi Luting was thrilled, pestering Pan Ge every day like she was on steroids.
And she worshipped Ham Bro as if he were a god.
A Lonely Cucumber: "Ham Bro, you’re so awesome!"
It just doesn’t seem like Xi Luting.
Han Lie asked with a mischievous smile, "Better than your male idol?"
A Lonely Cucumber: "Ah, that’s completely different!"
A Lonely Cucumber: "In terms of literary writing, of course, you’re amazing. It’s his strong suit to act cool and pick up girls!"
Ham Turns Cucumber: "Is acting cool and picking up girls considered a positive thing?!"
A Lonely Cucumber: "Of course, it is!"
A Lonely Cucumber: "The dog man may look decent, but he actually has the potential of a top-tier scumbag—passive, never refusing advances, and irresponsible. I’ve seen through him long ago."
Ham Turns Cucumber: "⊙o⊙!"
A Lonely Cucumber: "Oh my! How can you not understand? Although he might be trashy, being with him is super fun!"
A Lonely Cucumber: "A dog man can handle anything well, making you look good, and there’s always a sense of novelty, sometimes even thrilling..."
A Lonely Cucumber: "How delightful!"
A Lonely Cucumber: "Anyway, I’ve never liked suck-ups or those straight-as-an-arrow guys who are clueless about situations."
A Lonely Cucumber: "Ham Bro, you can’t be too honest, really. I’m a girl; I understand girls nowadays better. Mr. Nice Guy is totally out of style; they’re so easily made into a backup option..."
I’m Mr. Nice Guy?! Alright, I am, and I’m proud of it.
Bro Lie chuckled mischievously, decisively committing to his ’Mr. Nice Guy’ persona.
Ham Turns Cucumber: "I don’t care whether I’m in demand or not; I just want to be myself. Plus, think about it, if you get hurt by your idol, at least I can still be your haven, right?"
Such touching words...
Yet Xi Luting just felt Ham Bro was beyond saving.
She really couldn’t comprehend that self-indulgent sentimentality; she’d encountered too many of those crazies since she was little.
She didn’t lack comforting words; what she lacked was conquest.
A Lonely Cucumber: "Forget it, I can’t get through to you! You’re going to be the death of me!"
A Lonely Cucumber: "Anyway, you better hurry up and find someone. While I still have the time, I can give you some advice, be your strategist."
Having collaborated up to now, Xi Luting and Ham’s conversations had become quite deep.
Emotionally, they could be considered good friends.
So, she began to actively set boundaries.
In this respect, Xi Luting was always stronger than Yu Yun; she never kept a backup. If she wasn’t interested, she would make it clear directly, not even giving you a chance to get close.
Han Lie greatly admired her self-respect.
But Han Lie’s mouth fell open, his head buzzing.
The door to a new world... did you just push it open?
He subconsciously sent back an emoticon: No pic, you’re bluffing?.jpg
Licking his lips. So dry.
Xi Luting replied with a 40-meter sword emoticon: Believe it or not, I’ll chop you to death?.jpg
With the text: "Dream on! Behave yourself!"
Han Lie calmed down, stroked his chin, lost in thought.
In the end, he casually sidestepped the topic.
Ham Turns Cucumber: "No rush, let’s wait and see."
Ham Turns Cucumber: "By the way, what are your expectations for ’The Goddess CEO’?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovᴇlFire(.)nᴇt
A Lonely Cucumber: "3,000 favorites when it’s monetized! Earn loads of little money every month!"
Ham Turns Cucumber: "How much income exactly?"
A Lonely Cucumber: "Ah? I haven’t thought too much about it... 6,000 yuan a month? You take 4,000, I take 2,000! Ugh, is that too high?"
Han Lie immediately let go of his worries.
Not only is it not high, it’s way too low.
She really doesn’t understand web novels.
So, as long as the final earnings significantly exceed expectations, her mindset will naturally change.
By then, she’ll take the quality of the work more seriously and pay more attention to those plot points...
But who can help her experience this? The dog man, of course!
Bro Lie suddenly felt full of fighting spirit and motivation.
You’ve had a taste of my candy, and now you think you can escape?!
Ham Turns Cucumber: "Such high goals are definitely not easy, but whether the dream can come true depends on how much effort we put into it. Keep typing away; let’s rally together!"
The Little Cucumber was fired up, brimming with zeal.
"Yeah yeah yeah! Let’s go, together as two cucumbers, we’re unstoppable!"