The picturesque scenery that Chu Ge envisioned was truly becoming a reality.
He sat inside, engrossed in writing, while Qiu Wuji sat quietly reading in the living room.
The rhythmic tapping of the keyboard and the rustling of turning pages intertwined to create the background music of the scene, making the summer afternoon feel so peaceful.
Occasionally, Chu Ge would get up to get a drink of water—the water dispenser was in the living room. His gaze would meet Qiu Wuji's, but they would both calmly turn away, as if saying anything more would disrupt the atmosphere.
Watching him boil water and make tea, Qiu Wuji occasionally had a fleeting thought: He was the one working, while he was doing nothing; shouldn't he help him add water and tea so he could concentrate on his writing? This "reasonable" thought was quickly dismissed. What was this called—a maidservant or a beautiful companion?
Where did this completely out-of-touch idea come from? Was this guy secretly "patching up" things again? Chu Ge hadn't actually made any changes, because this was the original setting.
To outsiders, she was a powerful figure who dominated the world; when she shed her armor and settled down at home, she was a devoted wife and mother. No wonder she was considered the perfect woman in their fantasies… However, the story in the book was far from revealing this side of her, yet reality unexpectedly brought her into that world ahead of time.
Unfortunately, she didn't have those feelings for Chu Ge, so the thought only flashed through her mind before being quickly dismissed.
Qiu Wuji continued to immerse herself in the vast ocean of five thousand years of history, while Chu Ge's train of thought became increasingly clear.
Since the tone for the later chapters was already set, and that was how it would be written, Chu Ge decided to be more decisive, letting Chu Tiange gradually understand the meaning of "beauty is fleeting" and embark on a solitary path of cultivation.
A truly female-lead-less path.
Giving up stock trading didn't suit Chu Ge's personality; it felt awkward.
To be honest, switching to a female-lead-less novel wasn't easy at first, because he was used to writing scenes involving male-female interactions, and focusing on the protagonist's personal story felt very uncomfortable. But it's actually easier to write because there are fewer things to consider.
For example, when traveling, there's no need to worry about the female lead's disappearance, the consequences of offending enemies, or character development—it's truly a free and unrestrained writing style. Of course, if you're not good at plot design, it can feel thin and boring; it's not something everyone can do well, so it's a challenge.
Chu Ge hadn't really tried this before, but after giving it a shot, he gradually got used to it and thought it wasn't so bad… After all, he often reads works like Zhang Qiren's, so it's not unfamiliar. With his writing skills, he figured he could imitate Zhang Qiren's style and write it.
As Chu Ge watched himself becoming more and more like Zhang Qiren, he suddenly wondered, if writing like this actually became popular, wouldn't that, in a sense, be vindicating Zhang Qiren?
A new chapter completed, saved, and published.
The book review section was quieter than before; disappointed readers had already given up, and there weren't many new visitors, making it seem somewhat deserted. Checking the backend, the new chapter's subscription data had also declined, but it was actually much better than Chu Ge had expected. I thought at least half would be gone, but it's only about a tenth less. Maybe some are still observing, and maybe some just don't care what genre or female lead you write, as long as the story is good, they'll read it.
Thinking about it, that makes sense. Losing a tenth is already an unbearable burden under normal circumstances, but my expectations were too low, making it seem like a good result. Chu Ge remained calm, got up, and went to see Qiu Wuji.
Qiu Wuji was no longer on the sofa. The sounds of stir-frying and the aroma of food came from the kitchen. Chu Ge peeked in and was momentarily stunned.
Qiu Wuji was standing there continuing to read. The wok in front of him was automatically cooking, and next to him was a cutting board with a knife automatically chopping vegetables.
Seeing that the food was ready, Qiu Wuji snapped his fingers, and the food automatically flew to a plate, arranged neatly.
Then, continuing to read, he asked, "What, never seen immortals cook with magic before?"
"What haven't I seen... I've never seen this before." Chu Ge chuckled, exasperated. "Why not just make it cooked directly?"
Qiu Wuji closed his book and thought for a moment. "It lacks a certain feeling. It's better to be more refined with this. I want to eat too."
Chu Ge was speechless.
Today's dishes were simple: pork ribs, cabbage, and scrambled eggs. Chu Ge didn't know what Qiu Wuji could cook, and Qiu Wuji wasn't familiar with many modern foods either, so he just bought a few things from the supermarket.
When the food was served, Chu Ge almost swallowed his tongue.
It was so delicious... Was this really the cabbage I imagined?
What's it like to use the immortals' control over fire and matter to cook mortal food?
The experience is like restaurant food instantly turning into pig swill.
Qiu Wuji, beaming with delight, ate his meal. "I can make money as a chef, right?"
"Yes." Chu Ge thought that if Qiu Wuji had an identity, he could make a fortune no matter what he did; the existence of immortality was practically a cheat code.
He sighed. "I've asked quite a few people, and it seems your approach to creating an identity is indeed quite difficult."
Qiu Wuji seemed to have expected this. "Of course. If a complete stranger suddenly appeared in my sect claiming to be our disciple, no one would believe it, because they weren't."
"I've seen others' plans involve gradually leaving traces of their lives, even constructing a dubious record of their existence in other cities."
"Hmm, a reasonable plan." Qiu Wuji smiled. "But I really don't want to get bogged down in the details of maintaining an identity. What you said about going abroad to war-torn regions suits me better. Anyway, if it's difficult, I'll just leave it at that. I have something to pay my rent now… Once I understand the world better, I'll go."
I knew it. Chu Ge sighed and ate his rice. "How much have you read? Any parts you don't understand that you need me to explain?"
"Not yet… The ancient world of this place has many similarities to your books. You've also incorporated many myths and legends, like the Four Symbols… In my opinion, it's more relatable than the current environment, and quite interesting." Qiu Wuji's expression turned somewhat dazed as she spoke. "I always felt that your world should have had spiritual energy…"
Chu Ge said, "Many books have this kind of setting. For example, it dissipates after the severing of the Heavenly Connection, or after severing the Dragon Vein, and so on."
Qiu Wuji shook her head. "To say it completely dissipated wouldn't be accurate; there's still a rather thin layer… Also…"
She paused, somewhat hesitantly, "I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel the spiritual energy I sensed this time is slightly denser than last time. The amount is too thin for me to confirm."
Chu Ge looked up, her eyes also becoming serious.
This is called… a spiritual energy resurgence?
Could this be the reason she came out of the book? If so, then I'm probably not the only one with this unique situation in the world.