Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Chapter 742: Su, the Great Deity Enters the Fray

Zhao Youyue was pleased with the readers’ attention and interest towards Zhang Yanwei, her possessee. This also meant that her actions within the literary world would fall beneath Master PhD’s attention. If not, Master PhD might have immediately amended her traits prior to first release…

Now that the first step had gone smoothly, Zhao Youyue intended to continue piling on the hype about “Endless Apocalypse.” As long as the work gained more popularity, and Zhang Yanwei received more attention, Master PhD would get increasingly intoxicated. This was Zhao Youyue hijacking her work. Soon, she would be unable to write according to her will. Her written character would gain a soul and move however it pleased.

Zhao Youyue’s final blow came in the form of her ever-so-reliable trump card, Su Li, the Goddess mangaka. “Endless Apocalypse” was almost ideal for manga material, with its distinct, unique characters. It would not be a stretch to say that every side character was unique in its own way.

Su Li’s “The Strongest King” had concluded merely one month after Rosemary’s novel. The diligent Su Li had been able to keep up with Rosemary’s pace. She had been free for the past two months.

During the latter stages of “The Strongest King,” readers began to complain about it being draggy and boring. They all thought that Rosemary was just trying to milk it for that extra bit of cash. Some were downright furious. “Yu Shengfan” had bailed on the book because of those draggy, long fights in the latter stages. That must be it.

Even his most loyal readers believed that “Yu Shengfan” had been the greatest part of the book, and that its essence had died along with her…

Mangaka Su Li would never repeat his mistake. In fact, it was far tougher to attempt milking a Manga, compared to written work. She compensated for Rosemary’s draggy plotline accordingly, improvising whenever necessary to give readers the best experience.

All in all, the manga adaptation of “The Strongest King” ended up the more favored of the two. Upon its completion, many Godly writers had noticed her efforts and had sent her invitation after invitation, hoping to collaborate and have her adapt their works.

Oftentimes, these Godly writers often produced decent work. They most certainly would not embarrass themselves by asking Su Li to attempt salvaging failures.

However, Su Li would never jump into such dealings without consent from a certain someone. She completely relied on Lady Zhao’s sharp judgment.

Since they have now seemed to be more than just besties, she was like a girl lost in love, clinging onto Lady Zhao for all that it’s worth. How she wished that she could be by the Lady’s side for the entire 24 hours…

Zhao Youyue was as good-natured as always. She absolutely did not mind the company of a beauty like Su Li. She also did not mind her hypocrisy and her multi-faceted aspects. Which girl in this world wasn’t a hypocrite? GIrls were only hypocrites because they loved someone.

A girl-girl pairing had certain advantages. Both partners would know all there was to know about girls. If Zhao Youyue truly fell in love with a person, she would also have her vulnerable moments, moments where she would finally turn to her partner for help. Perhaps this was what a haughty, tsundere mistress was like. In this world, there was probably no lover who could pamper Zhao Youyue like Cirilla.

Zhao Youyue’s liked Su Li, but it was nothing like how Cirilla loved Olivia. Within Lady Zhao’s heart, she also liked a few others, such as Bai Yunshan who she considered to be particularly honest and cute, and Elite Scholar Han. Unfortunately, Elite Scholar Han had been born with the wrong gender. As it was customary for Lady Zhao to treat males as the lesser species, he would have to be moved to the back seat. But as long as “Leng Zi” appeared before Lady Zhao, she would treat “Leng Zi” far better.

Su Li was in a stage of intense romantic love. She had grown entirely obedient to Lady Zhao. She asked for Lady Zhao’s permission. May I adapt this into a manga? After Zhao Youyue was sure of “Zhang Yanwei’s” success, she gave her the green light. She would also participate in her own way, presenting the many scenes of the apocalypse through her oil-painting medium — its thick, layered strokes being the perfect tool to convey darkness, anguish, hopelessness.

Zhao Youyue was aware of how much she actually favored these talented writers. Master PhD had cheated her of a “sleeping victory,” but she had instead worked her way around to continue ensuring the success of her work. How admirable of her.

Master PhD was indeed a stubborn writer who could not care less about her readers. These writers were far more thick-headed, compared to writers who licked the floor beneath their reader’s shoes. Such a trait might exactly be the indispensable element an iconic work needed.

After all, the writer should be its own master. The writer should be the sole master of its story. If the writer attempted to please every Tom Dick and Harry, nothing good would come out of it. No two readers thought the same. The writer would only tear its work apart…

This was probably a common annoyance that talented newbie writers encounter upon the explosion of their one book. Some might whimper and fall silent, never producing anything great again. Others might tear through the cocoon and fly like a butterfly, rising above the mess.

Master PhD had grown strangely “addicted” to writing. Zhao Youyue invited Master PhD out once again. This time, she brought along Su Li, the Great Deity who everyone recognized to be a close associate.

When Su Li saw Master PhD, she was slightly surprised. After Zhao Youyue suggested that she should start adapting “Endless Apocalypse” as her next manga, she had immediately got to reading it.

Clearly, this was an apocalyptical Sci-Fi. However, this wasn’t just like any other apocalyptical Sci-Fi. The various settings, folk science theories were all consistent, highly realistic, which had successfully created a marvelous, gorgeous, splendid, professional atmosphere…

Su Li may have been influenced by readers who did not know what Master PhD looked like. They did not even know of the Master’s gender. She had also thought Master PhD as the typical, slovenly science geek. These geeks would have indentations on the bridge of their noses, where a pair of black-framed glasses had sat on it for most of their lives.

Su Li never expected Master PhD to not only be a girl, but to actually be a dainty little one. Fortunately, Master PhD was nowhere as charming as she was. This calmed her nerves down, if only slightly.