Chapter 123: The Completed Storyboard

“Fan war?” Luo Chen looked at Li Hua, who was eagerly preparing to make a grand assault, and could only laugh helplessly. If things really escalated, it would not be so simple.

“Exactly—a fan war! Huang Ying may have over ten million fans, but compared with you, Great God, there’s still quite a gap. Besides, we’re in the right, so our chances of winning are very high. I say Huang Ying is finished this time.”

Li Hua mistakenly thought Luo Chen was worried about whether they could win, so he hurriedly gave him a thorough analysis. He and several other fans had already discussed everything. As long as Luo Chen gave the word, they would all charge in together.

“That isn’t the reason. Starting a fan war over a mere suspicion would be far too irrational.” Luo Chen had never considered using his fans to attack another creator in the first place. Besides, he would never do something so thankless. Huang Ying had nearly ten million fans; it was impossible to say who would win or lose. And if they happened to be wrong, they would not only make fools of themselves, but also give malicious people an excuse to attack them.

“Suspicion? Who else could it be besides Huang Ying?” In Li Hua’s eyes, Huang Ying was unquestionably responsible. The group had already planned to confront him the previous day, but since the Great God had not spoken, they had held back.

Luo Chen sighed helplessly. To keep Li Hua from doing anything reckless, he briefly explained the possibility he had just thought of. Naturally, he left out certain details—for instance, that Luo Shen was his younger sister, or that he was acquainted with Zhang Shuihan.

“You mean Ruan Hongyi? Come to think of it, that really is possible. I heard before that the man’s character was questionable. It must be him.”

Only then did Li Hua realize the possibility. He also felt fortunate that he had not acted on impulse the previous day. Otherwise, things would have been terribly awkward.

At the same time, Li Hua was cursing the so-called Analysis Great God from the day before. The man even dared to call himself the Analysis Emperor—what shamelessness. He had nearly ruined Li Hua this time.

Seeing how Li Hua had instantly shifted his suspicion to someone else, Luo Chen pressed a hand to his forehead and said with a wry smile, “I only said it was a possibility… Forget it. Tell me about that King of Parody.”

“Ruan Hongyi? His original alias on the Starlight Platform was Heaven-Soaring Shadow. But later, his fans told him that whenever they saw the name, they thought of Huang Ying. So he deleted the words ‘Soaring Shadow’ and simply called himself Heaven-Soaring. He even made a sarcastic video mocking Huang Ying over it, and was nearly cursed to death by Huang Ying’s fans.”

If Luo Chen had not mentioned him, Li Hua would almost have forgotten there was such a person. Still, Ruan Hongyi was at least a platinum-ranked celebrity on the Starlight Platform. Li Hua loved gossip, and although he disliked this so-called King of Parody, he knew a fair amount about him.

“Ruan Hongyi’s parody skills are actually pretty good, but his character is another matter. He constantly puts advertisements in his own videos, which would be bad enough, yet he also holds fan gatherings all the time. Does he really think he’s some kind of celebrity? Worst of all, relying on that handsome face of his, the man actually livestreams himself acting cute. He has absolutely no shame…”

The mere mention of it made Li Hua furious. If Ruan Hongyi had still been underage a few years ago, acting cute would have been understandable. Li Hua had even found it rather entertaining back then.

But now Ruan Hongyi was already in his twenties. Watching a grown man livestream himself acting cute was enough to blind Li Hua.

It was precisely because of Ruan Hongyi that, within the Starlight Platform’s community, people began saying that parody-section streamers livestreamed themselves acting cute. Quite a few creators and streamers looked down on Ruan Hongyi for that reason. Unfortunately, this was an age when people judged by appearances. Plenty of viewers were willing to support him, and that handsome face alone had attracted a large following of female fans.

Ding… Ring…

Li Hua was just about to say more when a sudden bell interrupted him. Seeing that the teacher was about to enter the classroom, Li Hua had no choice but to swallow the rest of his words and return reluctantly to his seat.

Luo Chen was not particularly attentive throughout the morning. His mind was filled with the information Li Hua had given him. After class, Li Hua excitedly returned to supplement it with more details, and Luo Chen was finally able to form a rough hypothesis.

Leaving a threat lurking in the shadows was not wise. One never knew when it might strike without warning. If the other party’s calculations had not been mistaken this time, there was a very good chance Luo Chen’s popularity would have been affected.

After thinking it over, Luo Chen tidied his things and left the classroom. Li Hua did not follow him. According to Li Hua, he still had not recovered from the blow he had suffered last time and needed some time to heal his wounded heart.

Although Luo Chen was skeptical, having one less chatterbox around was naturally a good thing. He paid it no further attention and headed home alone.

When he arrived, Luo Chen greeted the girls before returning to his room. He planned to study some of Ruan Hongyi’s work. He would not underestimate a potential opponent. Anyone who had risen to the rank of platinum celebrity naturally had something to offer.

“Luo Chen…”

Just as Luo Chen was about to leave the living room, Dai Xinhua hurried over with the comic pages in her hands and passed them to him. Then she took a small step back and watched him nervously.

“Comic pages? Have you finished the first chapter?”

Luo Chen accepted the pages and carefully flipped through them. In his previous life, he had only watched the animated version of Fate, so he had no way to make a direct comparison. However, he could still evaluate it from a viewer’s perspective, and it was already nearly identical to the Fate he remembered.

Although this was Dai Xinhua’s first time drawing this kind of manga, she was fortunate to have Luo Chen, a viewer who had seen the original anime, helping her. He had handled the outline and character designs, leaving her only to perfect the details. In that sense, her workload was considerably lighter than that of other manga artists. Even so, completing the first chapter had taken a great deal of time.

“Mm… I think it’s already very good.” Luo Chen looked at Dai Xinhua’s uneasy expression and gave her an affirmative answer. Even if he had drawn it himself, he probably could not have done any better. He was not skilled at drawing, though there had been countless talented creators on Bilibili in his previous life, some of whom certainly were. But Luo Chen knew very well how much time and effort it took to produce a manga. It was not something that could be completed in a short while.

Hearing Luo Chen’s praise, Dai Xinhua’s anxious heart finally settled. She was genuinely delighted to receive the approval of the work’s original creator.

(Postscript: Thanks to reader Zifei Shi for the 2,000 Qidian coins; reader Kirlitko for the 500 Qidian coins; reader You Ni Zhen Jimo for the 300 Qidian coins; readers Da Meng de Xiao Hei, Lonesome Guji, and Xingkong de Yanse Wo Zao Yi Wangji for the 200 Qidian coins; and readers Manshui Qiao, Wo Cai Shiqi Sui Ya, and San Chi Zhi Mao for the 100 Qidian coins. Let the flowers rain!)