Wishing everyone a Happy New Year in advance!

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Just a clickbait title; it is actually unrelated to the main text.

Mostly, I felt everyone's enthusiasm and suddenly thought that I shouldn't just keep my head down and type away, I need to chat with you all.

The performance of this book has been exceptionally good, though I hadn't really realized it myself. It was my editor and readers who kept reminding me: "This book you are writing is pretty decent, keep it up, stay steady."

That's when I noticed—oh, this newly launched book has already captured the love of so many people.

To be honest, I feel deeply honored, pleasantly surprised, and immensely gratified.

Because that is precisely why I write books. I haven't really left my home in about six years. When I do go out, I only visit four places: the supermarket downstairs, the hospital, my parents' house, and a bathhouse, foot reflexology parlor, or blind massage shop... though that last one doesn't really count.

Veteran readers all know that I am just a crumb of bread, shattering at the slightest touch, and sometimes blown apart by the wind even without being touched.

My sole channel for external communication and interaction is writing novels. Sometimes I grow weary of writing, but most of the time I love it—it comes with a strong, irrepressible urge to confide.

Ever since I fell ill, however, my emotional control hasn't been very strong. At my worst, I had to rely on medication to keep things in check, as my older readers know. Consequently, whenever my emotions spiral out of control, this overly intense urge to express myself results in content that deviates from the theme and becomes deeply personal.

Sometimes this turns out wonderfully, imbuing a typical crowd-pleasing pulp novel with a touch of extra value on a higher level. At other times, it turns out disastrous, leading to bans, shutdowns, and authorial execution, followed by a total mental breakdown and an inability to carry on.

Therefore, just as I told everyone in the afterword of my previous book, I want to write something that brings me joy, to write the lingering twilight of my remaining wildness, to write whatever youthful spirit I have left.

Before starting this book, I hadn't mapped out the exact plot details, nor did I make an outline. All I knew was what the ending would look like, what kind of person Xiao Fang would ultimately become, what kind of world he would witness, and what brilliant works he would create along the way.

Then I picked up my pen and began to write the entertainment industry as I understand it.

My understanding might not necessarily be entirely correct, but I excel at gathering information and am willing to invest effort into it, so I figured the macro framework and main characters wouldn't run into any problems.

For every celebrity that appears so far, I have even reviewed their major works and speech patterns from interviews.

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Teacher Tie commented that Xiao Fang possesses a kind of "grand earnestness," and then a reader remarked in the chapter comments: "Author, your sentences don't flow well." Actually, that is simply Sister Tie's personal style; she is very fond of using the word "earnest" to evaluate the genuine sincerity people display in their works, and her highest praise is "grand earnestness."

The book I am currently reading is titled *The Art of Photographic Composition*, published by Posts & Telecom Press.

The previous book I just finished reading is called *Grotowski's Extreme Spiritual Experience and Extreme Training Methods*, which are precisely the Grotowski actor training techniques that Xiao Fang is practicing right now.

I have left many books unfinished, and I am deeply sorry to everyone for that, but my sincerity in writing has never let you down. Even the parts you might find drawn-out or dry are actually things I put genuine effort into—it's just that my abilities fell short.

In truth, these meticulous details do not have a strong positive correlation with whether a book is satisfying or enjoyable to read. Pouring an extra hundred points of effort into the final presented work might yield a gain of perhaps five points at most, and even that would be remarkable.

However, the situation is this—due to my physical condition, the time I can spend typing every day is limited. Using speech-to-text lacks a train of thought and reads too much like spoken filler. Tapping on the keyboard with my fingers yields at most 5,000 words a day. With whatever extra time I have left, I look up references and read books; if that can elevate the quality by even a single fraction, it's pure profit.

That is why whenever you urge me to update faster, I feel both deeply moved and thoroughly terrified.

Because I know it's simply because everyone loves this book so much, but I really have already done my absolute best. A mere breadcrumb only has this much strength left; no matter how much you knead and squeeze it, you won't get more than a few drops out.

Besides, the writing difficulty of this book is at a level that could literally drive me insane; it is exceptionally hard to write.

Between quality and quantity, I will undoubtedly choose quality without a moment's hesitation.

That's why my original plan was to drag it out until February for the official launch behind a paywall, updating more free chapters for everyone in the meantime so I could write slowly, keeping the quality and pacing under control. By the time the word count accumulated, you would also be able to make a comprehensive judgment: if it's worth subscribing to, then subscribe; if not, we'll part ways and meet again next time.

Originally, I didn't want to make a big deal out of these things, but since the book's performance is so good, I naturally have to thank everyone, so I might as well clear the air while I'm at it.

I completely understand the eagerness for updates, and I get quite anxious about my writing speed myself. Damn it, what if I fall sick one day and my condition is poor, and I can't write anything—what then?

Yet the most responsible approach is undoubtedly to steady my mindset and guarantee quality. Therefore, I sincerely implore everyone to also keep a calm mindset, and let's finish telling this story together, and tell it well.

I really, really advise against using that kind of childish tone to make threats like "If you don't update more, I'll delete the book from my library." We are book friends whose souls connect through written words; why lower ourselves to such ungraceful tactics? Whenever I have the capacity to push out extra chapters, I certainly will, alright?

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Finally, I want to express my gratitude to everyone. Because there are simply too many names on the reader ranking list, and I don't know how to format a complete roster, I will only copy the top 10 names. My appreciation is the same for all, and I thank every single friend for your support with every single monthly ticket.

Lastly, this afterword was dictated via speech-to-text as casual rambling and does not count towards today's regular word quota. That is all. Salutes.

Patron: Fangcun Mountain
Patron: Xiao Agua Hei
Patron: TEMPEST
Patron: Heart Like a Starry River
Patron: Yan Meng _ Yan Bao
Leader: Gao Huohuo
Leader: Ruling Black
Leader: Greg_Laswell
Leader: Daolin
yu2003

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