Chapter 123: The Fall of the Great Master Tang Sanzang (Please Vote)

With two books selling so well, even Zhang Chu couldn't help but wear a constant smile, though his readers were far from pleased.

"The books are selling like crazy, yet he hasn't updated *Journey to the West Diary*—what on earth is he doing all day?"

Come to think of it, he didn't seem to have much to do. Despite his seemingly endless free time, very little of it was being spent on his writing. Today, Zhang Chu wasn't heading straight to the book fair. There wasn't much of importance scheduled for the morning, as the highlight of the event—the Film and Television Copyright Trading Conference—wasn't until the afternoon.

This finally gave him the time to have the internet set up in his rented apartment. With the Ethernet cable and wireless router already in place, all he needed was to log in with an account, a task he completed with ease. As a modern individual, it was difficult to endure boredom without the internet; Zhang Chu’s computer had been nothing more than a device for offline games over the past two days. Lacking a connection was the ultimate excuse for a hiatus, and all that talk about using wireless hotspots or mooching off cafe Wi-Fi was just nonsense—it simply didn't exist!

Carrying bags of groceries into the apartment complex, Zhang Chu finally caught a glimpse of his elusive neighbors. They appeared to be young people, all in such a rush that there wasn't even a nod of acknowledgment. "It seems this place is mostly filled with students and staff from Peking University or the Zhongguancun area; the environment must be quite good."

Located right outside the west gate of Peking University, the complex was prime real estate. For an ordinary person, buying a unit was out of the question, and even renting one would likely cost more than half a month's salary. In truth, the complex itself was fairly average, but its location was impeccable—a simple walk across a pedestrian bridge led straight to the university campus. Zhang Chu hadn't had the time to explore the campus during his few days there, intending to save a stroll for after the book fair concluded.

Inside the kitchen, a busy Zhang Chu stared blankly at a plate of burnt vegetables. "Why didn't the system grant me 'Basic Culinary Mastery'? That would have made living alone so much easier!" Though he had picked up a few cooking skills in his past life, he hadn't had the chance to put them to use in this one, and his first attempt at a simple stir-fry had been a disaster. After some hesitation, he dumped the failed dish into the trash and pulled out his phone to download a food delivery app.

There was no shortage of delivery options near a university. After placing an order for a set meal, he lounged leisurely on the sofa, playing with his phone. Food delivery was truly the salvation of the lonely, the eleventh greatest invention in the world—no grocery shopping, no cooking, no washing dishes. Could it get any more convenient?

Once his phone connected to the Wi-Fi, Zhang Chu checked his QQ and WeChat. Both apps were flooded with messages, friend requests, and invites to join various groups. Many had known about his writing before, but now that they were seeing his name on CCTV news, Xinhua News Agency reports, and endless pop-up headlines, they could no longer remain calm.

"If you get rich, don't forget your friends" became the most frequently cited phrase. It wasn't that they were looking for handouts, but many reached out just to offer congratulations, hoping to brag to others about being friends with a famous young author.

Meanwhile, on Weibo, the most common sentiment was the clamor from readers demanding an update. It had been two or three days since the last entry of *Journey to the West Diary*—what was this guy up to? Was he at home counting his money or silently signing copies of his new book?

Clearly, it was neither. Their author had seemingly transformed into a famous gaming blogger and amateur writer, lost in the world of mobile gaming, and subsequently dragged down the path of no return into the world of battle royale games by his close buddies. The reason little Fatty Wei Wenlin and Fu Deyu hadn't been hounding Zhang Chu for updates was precisely this—they were all too busy gaming to care about anything else.

Now that his broadband was finally installed, Zhang Chu figured he could join Wei Wenlin and the others for a few rounds that night, but he first had to appease his restless readers.

...

"Damn it, is Zhang Chu stuck on a plot point, or does he just not have time to write? This jerk hasn't updated in three days! When is my Brother Pig going to appear?"

Fu Xiaochen slammed his hand onto the table, nearly shattering the small tray table on the high-speed train, startling the students sitting nearby. He wasn't following Zhang Chu because of those two novels, but because of his hilarious personal style. His daily "poisonous chicken soup" for the soul was refreshing, and the jokes tucked into *Journey to the West Diary* made him laugh out loud every time.

It was a mix of joy and contemplation. Below each daily entry, fans posing as amateur Sherlocks would analyze the text, uncovering hidden punchlines and dark philosophies. Today, he was returning to school with his classmates for his junior year. With nothing to do on the train, Fu Xiaochen kept refreshing Zhang Chu’s Weibo, yet the guy still hadn't resumed updating.

By now, the comments on Zhang Chu’s latest post had exceeded 100,000, the vast majority of which were demands for an update. Seeing this, Fu Xiaochen couldn't help but join the ranks of the petitioners.

"If you don't update *Journey to the West Diary*, we won't buy *Psychological Crime*! Everyone, upvote this!"

"Jerk, you've found a new love and forgotten the old. Do you still remember Tang Sanzang by the Daming Lake?"

"My God, with updates this slow, are you planning to finish by the end of the world?"

"I think Zhang Chu is just stuck. He gets stuck once a month, and it lasts for thirty days."

"I'm going to the Beijing Book Fair today. Does anyone have a message for me to pass on to him?"

"To the person above, please print a giant banner: 'We Demand *Journey to the West Diary*!'"

"The guy is riding high on success, and we've been forgotten. My heart aches."

"If you don't update soon, I'm unfollowing. This is so irresponsible, so casual!"

Fu Xiaochen liked every comment as he scrolled, wishing he could force Zhang Chu to update immediately.

...

Zhang Chu still had to attend the conference in the afternoon. Having searched his memory for the next part of *Journey to the West Diary*, he began typing directly on his phone, posting the entry for the 127th day.

Zhou Kang had actually told him it would be better not to serialize it online, as it would decrease the number of people buying the published book later. But Zhang Chu considered this a small form of compensation for the mistake he had made with *Psychological Crime*. Besides, the whole book wouldn't be available for free online; if readers wanted to read it, they had to come to his Weibo and scroll through the entries one by one.

This fragmented reading experience could never compare to the pleasure of holding the complete, published book in one's hands!

[In my dream, I heard the Little Dragon Maiden ask me: "What am I to you?"
I replied: "You are my horse."
She pouted, "So I'm just a mount!"
I said: "That way, I can travel with you forever."]

When the readers saw the update, they all simultaneously thought of a certain milk tea commercial and broke into muffled laughter—a laugh that was rather suggestive. Thinking of the Little Dragon Maiden as a mount, huh? They were definitely letting their minds wander! Our Master Sanzang couldn't be that lewd!