The Best Writer

[I'm not going to write the previous upcoming story after all. I've replaced it with the one I'm about to start, so please forgive me.]

Shi Lan opened a guesthouse by the sea, but business was terrible. A friend remembered how Shi Lan had received high marks for her writing in high school and been praised by her teacher in front of the class, and suggested she write something to promote her guesthouse.

After thinking it over, Shi Lan registered for a Jinjiang account. Whenever she had free time, she wrote and posted something. She never signed a contract, and the numbers were dismal, so she treated it as a hobby. But somehow, one day, her readership suddenly grew. It turned out a recommendation post about her story had gone viral on a video app. Delighted, she kept updating.

A lot of people asked whether the book had a happy ending or a tragic one.

Shi Lan thought that tragic endings were the ones that left the deepest impression.

The story became a hit, and the tragic ending left countless readers unable to move on. They flooded the comments asking for a happy epilogue, so she slyly left them the address of her guesthouse:

[Come visit when you have time. There's wine and stories, and I'll always be here waiting for you.]

It worked beautifully. Many readers came after hearing about it. They shared her interests, chatted about everything under the sun, and brought in plenty of money for the owner, who smiled happily every day.

One day, while counting money at the front desk, she looked up to see one of the main characters from her story standing in front of her with a suitcase.

Shi Lan's eyes widened.

It's over. My ex has come looking for me.

Theme: Pursue the life you want.