Human Wind Two Liang: "(Crying) I'm starving, a sudden accident made my already not-so-rich life even tougher. I haven't been able to afford food for three days in a row, and every mealtime, I can only open the window to smell the neighbor's cooking fumes just to get a whiff of meat. Family, look at me, have I lost weight?"
Li Peifeng only posted two photos in the book lovers' group, leaving the last one out. The reason? It was a bit too much. After some contemplation, he decided to test the waters with the first two photos first. If it didn't work, he could always post the third one later. But it turned out he didn't need to...
The group, which had been quite lively, fell into a brief silence after he posted the photos, only to erupt with even greater enthusiasm moments later. Many lurking members suddenly surged forth like a tsunami, quickly drowning out the photos.
"?"
"?"
(Admin) Nightmare of Nine Hundred Million Young Boys: "Sorry for the interruption, I just joined the group. Is this a NSFW group or a book lovers' group? I saw the photos the author posted, and I wonder if I'm going to get pregnant from them?"
(Admin) Neighbor Old Huang: "(Smirking) @Human Wind Two Liang, got hacked? It's not the end of the month, nor is there a double monthly vote event. Why are you making such a big sacrifice? Could it be that you're out of options?"
Bald Girl from the Stars: "I checked, and it's not a stock photo. Then, I carefully compared it with the selfies Brother Feng posted in the past, and found that the person in the photo is consistent in terms of Adam's apple position, neck length, skin color, and fingers... So I can be 100% sure, it's the author himself! Sisters! I'm going first!"
(Admin) Loli Babble: "(Shocked) I'm shocked for a hundred years! The author finally heard the cries of the book lovers and is posting spicy photos now!! But this pose, these abs... what is this? Am I seeing this for free?"
Representative of the Slums Image: "Damn! Is this really the author? The body is so good, I can't recognize him with his clothes off, boo hoo hoo."
The Runaway Queen Concerned About Her Child Jiang Yanfu: "Slurp slurp! Where have you lost weight? Post two more so big sister can take a good look..."
Jin Shanshan, The Mistress of Three Lifetimes: "Thanks to the author, today's dinner is already down the toilet, and the car's fuel tank in the garage is full. Keep going, and spill more oil!"
Wei Ya, Queen of Live Selling: "What do you mean by sending these? Who told you to post these? Do you think the pictures you posted look good? Post two more so I can scrutinize them properly!"
The Righteous Husband Killer Li Weijun: "So provocative, way too provocative! What a nice body, quick, start a train, I'll throw you a rocket…"
Top Gun of Heartbreaker Chen Aohong: "(Dog head) Didn't expect the author to be so cunning, but do you have any clearer ones? A friend of mine wants to take one last look before dying."
Late Night Color Enthusiast: "Laughing to death, friends out of nowhere? And what's with Brother Feng's words? Can't afford to eat, so he posts spicy photos for rewards? I've contributed, rich ladies, you should too!"
"This trick is so sleazy, using body photos to get tips!"
The female gangsters in the group first eagerly discussed the photos for a while, then finally noticed the message from Li Peifeng and took action...
(Admin) Neighbor Old Huang: "The Alliance Leader has rewarded you, use it for food, and as the old saying goes, when you show your face, you'll have a Silver Alliance."
(Admin) Loli Babble: "The Alliance Leader has rewarded you!"
(Admin) Lost Deer: "The Alliance Leader has rewarded you. Show your face for a Silver Alliance."
The messages in the group refreshed so quickly that Li Peifeng could barely keep up, but seeing the messages from Neighbor Old Huang and others, he quickly entered the homepage of the novel "Female Sovereign" and saw it was true.
Not only were there several more Alliance Leaders, but also a handful of lower-level Elders and Branch Masters, etc.
Conservatively estimated, this wave of rewards was at least five thousand Great Eastern Coins, selling male beauty is really profitable!
But Li Peifeng was not happy, but rather sad, because it didn't achieve the goal. All the rewards from this wave did not convert to soft meal coins, not a single cent.
Rewards from book lovers through the website were not considered personal gifts but rather consumption of the novels, which the system naturally didn't acknowledge.
With no other option, Li Peifeng typed another hint, saying things like "The reward money can only be paid out next month along with the draft fee, it'll take a long time to wait," and "half will be deducted by the website," and "I won't say anymore, I'm so hungry right now I can only open the window and drink the wind," ...and so on.
And, he sent out the third photo with the largest scale, trying to deeply stimulate.
Smart as the book lovers were, they naturally understood his hints and launched a stormy critique of the third photo, yet the rain of red envelopes Li Peifeng hoped for did not come, only relentless teasing and the frenzy of female wolves.
"(Shocked) Where is the chivalry? It's over, the author's image is totally shattered in my heart... And what do you mean? Are you asking us to remit money to you privately? Really hacked? Or have you given up, and don't want to try anymore? There are so many wealthy sisters in the group, surely some would want to 'support' you."
"Help, oily mummy holding oil and crying—died of oil."
"How spicy are we talking, to make the photos look like this. I'm starting to suspect the author's true intent. As a man, not writing male-oriented novels but rather female-oriented, the true intent might be to reach more female readers, from which to select rich mistresses, then use the author's identity for contact, lure with beauty, and ultimately feed off them... If that's the case, let me take over!"
(Admin) Lover of Einstein: "Ah, I died, after so many years, the author has finally seen the light, send the address, I'll be the first to visit you. I have a hundred thousand pocket money each month, can I give you half? From now on you'll put down the keyboard and embrace a brand new future!"
Lover of Work Shining: "Something's off, the author used to only post photos without showing face to ask for votes and subscriptions, now directly posting large-scale body photos for red envelopes? I seriously suspect you're hacked, unless you post a few more with your full face, or I'll call the police!"
Li Peifeng was helpless. He had to go through a round of "explanations" and even posted screenshots from the author's backend to prove that his account hadn't been hacked before some readers believed he was genuinely facing financial difficulties. But there were still some who mocked him mercilessly...
"My Brother Feng is so broke he's shirtless now. Seems like he really has no money. I suggest you consider borrowing money naked! Nine interest terms, pay back thirteen, and if you can't settle it, become a gigolo to pay off the debt!"
"Stop it, stop it, it's burning up. Three hundred billion should last you a while."
"I've lit the incense to the God of Wealth, wishing my Brother Feng some inspiration with the characters and a robust health, may the wind blow the words in and out, may the drinks flow endlessly!"
"Brother Feng, you know me well; do I look like I have money for you? I've been reading pirated copies for years. Fellow group members, remember, no matter the storm, my heart stays unchanged, no spending coins on Feng Family Army! Here are two recommendation tickets to tide you over."
"I don't have money either, but today my grandma's welfare came through, we had chive pockets for dinner, and there's half a piece left, deliciously crispy and juicy, Brother Feng, leave your address and I'll mail it to you!"
"See, writing online novels doesn't feed you, now he's starting to beg. Xiaofeng, take the advice, if things don't work out, put down the keyboard and look for a secure job, at least they feed you!"
"..."
These sarcastic readers, Li Peifeng didn't need to check the profiles to know they were likely to be male.
Even though his book was mainly for female readers, there were still a very small number of male readers. Among the big group of four thousand people, there were quite a few males, whether they joined because of the book, or attracted by the female readers in the group...
"I used to be too soft-hearted, too kind, and too tolerant. Now you all dare to jump out, don't you know this fish pond is contracted by me? Just watch me kick you out!"
Li Peifeng personally stepped in, kicking people out one by one and posting a group announcement: "This group is a female novel exchange group, except for the author, males are prohibited from joining."
The notice of people being kicked out could only be seen by a few group admins, who didn't mind and continued chatting with the members as usual.
But Li's act of pity wasn't for nothing, nor were the revealing photos he posted. Gradually, more than a dozen fans sent friend requests, with some even leaving messages like: "Add me, I'll send a red envelope"...
Agree!
Must agree!
Li Peifeng perked up as his mouse clicked away, instantly adding eighteen friends. And this was just the beginning, as friend requests kept coming in.
After all, among the four thousand members, the average online number was two thousand, even if a tenth extended a helping hand, the number would be considerable.
[Shi Ling gifted you 100 yuan, still 49,654 yuan short of unlocking the lottery, keep up the effort, host...]
[Wu Tianqiao gifted you 520 yuan, still... short of unlocking the lottery]
[Tao Qiushuang gifted you 1314 yuan, still... short of unlocking the lottery]
As Li Peifeng continued collecting red envelopes, his ears were intermittently filled with the system's notification sound.
Some of the red envelopes from female group members were not recognized by the system. Li guessed that either the sender was male with fake details, or the money was sent merely for his work, and such red envelopes accounted for about half.
In a flash, ten minutes passed, and the flow of red envelopes and friend requests from readers gradually slowed down.
[The host is 45,504 yuan short of unlocking the lottery, keep up the effort...]
"4250 yuan."
After collecting all the red envelopes from group members, Li Peifeng glanced at the system and did a quick calculation for the current "soft meal coin" earnings.
Besides this, there were more than three thousand worth of red envelopes not converted into "soft meal coins." They were likely given out of appreciation for his work.
"There are still quite a few purely admiring my talent..."
Li Peifeng sighed and started replying to those who didn't send red envelopes but only chatted privately to show concern or wanted further verification of his identity.
Over four thousand "soft meal coins" aren't too few, but there's still a long way to go to get the lottery opportunity, and some readers, although they didn't send red envelopes, might still have potential if he played the sympathy card.
With too many group members chatting with him privately, he had to prioritize, otherwise, he would be too busy to handle it all.
He prioritized the old fans and those wealthy fans who had previously made large donations.
But these people...