How does one become a winner in life?
First, your family has to be rich.
Lin Ye had accomplished that! His father was the owner of a major company in SH City, with total assets exceeding one billion yuan. Even the "allowance" he gave his university-student son started at one hundred thousand yuan per month.
Second, you have to be good-looking.
He had accomplished that, too! Although his father's appearance was nothing special, the genes inherited from his mother had made him a fair-skinned, handsome guy from birth.
Third, you have to smile more brightly and warmly. A man like that could charm anyone regardless of age or gender.
Lin Ye had done that as well. Among the male students, he was the loyal bro everyone liked. In the eyes of the girls at school, he was the prince of the basketball court.
Finally, you had to be gentlemanly toward women.
He was currently putting that into practice, and the target was the universally acknowledged campus beauty who was practically his girlfriend.
"Lin Ye, Shu Yue, and I are going shopping later. Could you come help carry our things?"
The school's acknowledged campus beauty smiled at him sweetly, as though allowing him to serve as both ATM and servant was itself an honor.
Normally, Lin Ye would put on his refined gentlemanly demeanor and willingly play the sucker while smiling in response:
"My pleasure."
However, just as he was about to nod in agreement, his phone emitted a special vibration alert.
Lin Ye's expression changed immediately. Pulling out his phone, he saw a notification pop up:
[Ding! The user Yosuganosora, whom you follow, has posted a new update. Would you like to view it now?]
At the same time, another member of his foreign video reupload group sent him a message:
"Yosuganosora posted something new! Looks like there's another animation coming out!"
After less than a second of intense internal deliberation, Lin Ye concluded and sighed helplessly in his heart:
"The road to becoming a winner in life is always uneven. Some pits are unavoidable."
"Coming immediately! Get Yosuganosora's update reposted first!"
Lin Ye excitedly replied on his phone, even blurting it out loud.
And thus, his path toward becoming a winner in life changed:
Lin Ye →→→ Giant Pit ('RWBY') →→→ Life Goal
The campus beauty, noticing his sudden change in expression, asked curiously:
"Who messaged you?"
"A friend has an emergency and needs me right away. Sorry, I can't accompany you this time."
After speaking hurriedly, Lin Ye turned and left. His movements were swift and decisive, and within a few steps, he had broken into a full sprint!
The campus beauty behind him stared dumbfounded. If only one-tenth of this enthusiasm had been directed toward pursuing her, the "almost" in "almost girlfriend" could already have been removed.
"—Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! I have to hurry back! I can't let the other reupload groups seize this giant opportunity!"
That was the only thought in Lin Ye's mind right now.
Besides being a university student, he was also a member of a foreign video reupload group. Whenever he was bored, he liked browsing the overseas "Fakebook" website and reposting interesting videos back home.
As one of the first members of the reupload group to encounter 'Red—Crescent Rose,' Lin Ye had been utterly captivated by its unique style the moment he saw the 3D animation and had immediately reposted it onto domestic video websites.
Within China's large video platforms, there was an unwritten rule among reupload groups:
Once one group declared they were handling a particular video series, other groups were not allowed to interfere. Otherwise, they would be ostracized and despised within the reupload community.
This practice was known as "claiming the pit."
And if you claimed a pit but failed to produce uploads, you might very well get kicked out of the toilet stall.
The reupload group Lin Ye belonged to could only be considered third-rate on a major video site. Their official account had fewer than one hundred thousand followers.
However, all of that changed because of his impulsive decision to repost 'Red—Crescent Rose.'
The moment he brought the animation into China, he already knew it would explode in popularity!
In just one month, the follower count of his group's account skyrocketed from under one hundred thousand to six hundred thousand, successfully entering the ranks of first-rate reupload groups on the platform.
All of this was the influence caused by 'Red Crescent Rose.'
Compared to other American-style 3D animations, the artistic style of 'Red—Crescent Rose' clearly suited Chinese aesthetic preferences more. On top of that, the work itself possessed an exceptionally unique style.
Once 'Red—Crescent Rose' appeared on the popularity rankings of the major video website he used, things began spiraling completely out of control.
As a 3D animation, 'Red—Crescent Rose' felt far too stunning and distinctive.
Less than three days after being reposted, its overall popularity surpassed the number-one-ranked animation on the platform. Its approval rating was astonishingly high as well.
Countless viewers began privately messaging him, asking for the source of the video and demanding more content like it.
······
Within a world burning with golden flames, a blonde girl covered in wounds knelt amidst flowing fire while holding an unconscious little girl in her arms.
Her expression was blank and sorrowful as she gazed up at the heavens.
There sat a phoenix wrapped in streams of golden flame, its proud golden eyes looking down upon the ant-like blonde girl below.
Beside the blonde girl, dozens of menacing Shadow Wolves were instantly reduced to ashes beneath the golden, flowing flames.
This illustration was moving!
Whether it was the blazing golden flames or the crystal-clear tears trailing down the blonde girl's violet eyes, everything gave Lin Ye an indescribable sense of beauty.
This was the animated CG illustration personally drawn by Kamiyā Yuu.
"First: On August 25th, everyone will receive a rather nice Christmas gift. This animated illustration is the preview for that gift."
"Second: I made a promise with Miss Uehara Etsuki. If this illustration can reach first place on the monthly popularity rankings in the illustration section, she will officially join my animation studio. For that, I need everyone's support."
Lin Ye read aloud the supplementary information written in English beneath the animated illustration before pondering:
"Hmm~ Maybe we can rally the followers on the official account who have 'Fakebook' accounts to vote."
"This Yosuganosora really is a genius. Not only can he produce a 3D animation on the level of 'Red—Crescent Rose,' but even his illustrations are this outstanding."
When he logged into the chat group belonging to the reupload team, he discovered that the entire group had already exploded because of this news!
["This is insanely gorgeous! It's my first time seeing hand-drawn animated CG artwork like this!"]
["Who's this blonde girl? And the little girl she's holding looks like a loli version of Ruby from 'Red—Crescent Rose'!"]
["Holy crap, this illustration feels so alive! I'm using it as my forum signature."]
["Christmas gift!!!! Could it be the second short animation?!"]
["Since Yosuganosora personally asked, let's all vote as much as possible too! Support the creator."]
["No way. At most, it'll be another promotional PV like last time. Do you think 3D animation can just be photocopied out? The scene rendering alone for 'Red—Crescent Rose' takes an insane amount of effort. Even American animations with budgets in the tens of millions of dollars aren't necessarily better than 'Red-Crescent Rose.' The kind of technology required isn't something money alone can solve."]
["My anticipation is overflowing······"]