Moreover, if he wanted to make money, he couldn't rely solely on one website.
After all, his mind was filled with countless explosive online novel titles, not just those aimed at male audiences, but also popular books for female readers that he had consumed.
In his previous life, after failing to publish several books in the male-dominated category, he had attempted to transition to writing for female readers, and in doing so, he had read dozens of books that were all the rage among female audiences at the time.
However, a quick glance revealed that most of these websites were geared towards male readers, and no editors from female-oriented platforms had contacted him.
Wang Shu felt a touch of disappointment but still accepted all the applications.
He then proceeded to have brief conversations with the editors from these websites.
Among them, editors from Yue Wen Novel and Zhang Yue Novel offered Wang Shu a lucrative contract with a guaranteed base rate of six hundred yuan per thousand characters.
This meant that for every thousand characters Wang Shu wrote, he would directly earn six hundred yuan.
Wang Shu immediately searched online for information about the background and operations of these two websites. He discovered that both were backed by major capital and were prominent online earning platforms, currently boasting the largest user bases.
Without a second thought, Wang Shu agreed. He planned to write a novel titled "Dou Qi Da Lu" (Battle Qi Continent) on one website and "Zhe Tian" (Covering the Sky) on another.
These two books had been incredibly popular in his past life. "Dou Qi Da Lu," in particular, had set a myth for electronic subscriptions in its year, and even a decade after its completion, it still managed to rank on bestseller lists – a truly divine book!
The phrase "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully a young poor man" had gone viral, igniting the passion of countless young men who stayed up late reading.
"Zhe Tian" was equally a legendary work, created by the renowned platinum author Chen Dong from Earth. This book had spawned numerous memorable lines.
For instance, "At the end of the immortal path, who stands at the peak? Upon seeing Wu Shi, the Dao is void..." and "My son Wang Teng has the bearing of a Great Emperor," along with other chuunibyo quotes, all originated from "Zhe Tian."
Wang Shu's sole motivation for "borrowing" these two books was their immense earning potential. There was simply no other book that could generate such staggering profits!
For two full days, Wang Shu barely left his room, save for meals. The other guests participating in the program were so unaware of his existence that they didn't even know he was there.
Even though they were all staying in the same hotel, possibly even in adjacent rooms.
On the morning of the third day, Xiao Su arrived at Wang Shu's hotel and knocked on his door early.
Today was the day for the challenge matches, and as a challenger, Wang Shu was scheduled to perform.
When Wang Shu arrived backstage, the other seven guests had already gathered.
Wang Shu scanned the arriving seven guests; he didn't recognize most of them. The only one he knew was an old acquaintance, Hua Cheng Yu!
Upon seeing Wang Shu sitting backstage, Hua Cheng Yu was visibly taken aback.
He immediately turned his head away and sat in the farthest seat from Wang Shu.
"Oh, are you the challenger singer today?"
A female singer with slightly curly hair and a baby face looked at Wang Shu with surprise and asked in her imperfect Mandarin.
"Hello, my name is Wang Shu, and I am the challenger singer today!"
Wang Shu proactively stood up to introduce himself, sensing no ill will from the young woman.
"Wang Shu? I'm Deng Xiaoqi, nice to meet you!"
Deng Xiaoqi quickly introduced herself after Wang Shu introduced himself. She was surprised to encounter such a young singer backstage at "I Am a Singer."
"Hello, Sister Xiaoqi, and greetings to all the seniors!"
Wang Shu also greeted the other singers who were looking his way.
Seeing Wang Shu's politeness, the other singers reciprocated with smiles.
Only Hua Cheng Yu, sitting nearby with a scowl, acted as if none of this concerned him.
What was most troubling him was that he had placed last in the previous round, and if he didn't secure a high ranking today, he risked elimination.
"Brother Wang Shu, is your illness better?"
Just as Wang Shu thought his interaction with the guests was about to conclude, a young man with a slender build approached him and asked with concern.
"Much better, thank you for your concern, senior! May I ask who you are?"
Wang Shu was surprised to encounter someone who recognized him here.
"My name is Zhang Ji. Haven't you heard my songs?"
Hearing Wang Shu's question, Zhang Ji paused for a moment, standing still with a hint of surprise.
However, when Wang Shu shook his head, Zhang Ji felt an overwhelming urge to disappear into the ground.
He was mortified that Wang Shu didn't recognize him, which was a huge blow to his ego.
"Hehe, you need to work harder. Young people haven't even heard of you!"
Deng Xiaoqi, witnessing Zhang Ji's awkward situation, teased him. The somewhat tense atmosphere was instantly lightened by Deng Xiaoqi's jest.
"Alright, the show is about to begin. See you all later, teachers. I need to go prepare."
Zhang Ji then waved goodbye to the other guests. "I Am a Singer" did not have a fixed host; the role of host rotated among the competing singers each episode.
This round, it was Zhang Ji's turn to host.
When the show officially commenced, the eight guests began drawing lots for their performance order.
Wang Shu drew the eighth spot.
The preceding order was Hua Cheng Yu, Deng Xiaoqi, Han Lei, Zhang Ji, Zhang Bichen, Xu Jiaying, and Zhou Xing.
After Zhang Ji finished his opening remarks, Hua Cheng Yu took the stage, dressed like a feather duster.
"Hua Hua is so handsome!"
"Go, Hua Hua!"
"Hua Hua, I love you!"
Immediately, many of Hua Cheng Yu's fans began to scream.
However, the five hundred public judges in the audience were not particularly impressed by Hua Cheng Yu's attire.
These five hundred judges represented five different eras, thus their musical tastes and appreciation levels varied.
Hua Cheng Yu's ensemble was undeniably difficult for many of the older judges to appreciate.
In an attempt to win over this older demographic of judges, Hua Cheng Yu had chosen to rearrange an old folk song.
However, the moment he opened his mouth, the older judges in the audience were almost brought to the verge of suffocation from anger.
He had taken a vibrant and joyful folk song and transformed it into a somber, melancholic tune.
His wailing voice echoed throughout the venue. Many audience members could not help but shed tears.
It wasn't because Hua Cheng Yu's singing was exceptionally beautiful, but because they had never heard such an unbearable adaptation before.
The group of public judges was even more uncomfortable, as they had never encountered such a rendition of a folk song.
Even Wang Shu, who was resting backstage with his eyes closed, was so startled by Young Master Hua's singing that he had several nightmares.
He couldn't help but wonder, "What the hell do you call this folk music?"