Chapter 62: Rising Star

"Why are there only a little over eight hundred people in the back end? I thought there'd be at least a thousand or two." Zhang Chu looked at the statistics provided by Weibo's backend and couldn't help but complain. After all, he now had more than seventy thousand followers on Weibo, and the replies to his previous shortest detective story review numbered in the thousands.

Yet when he actually wrote a detective novel, so few people paid to read it—reality revealed itself in all its cruelty! Many of Zhang Chu's fans on Weibo weren't following him for his detective stories, but for his biting wit and memorable one-liners; they had no interest in this kind of fiction.

Fortunately, "Detective Sherlock" and his remote dialogue with Qin Mu had drawn in some fans of suspense and detective stories, or else it would look even worse.

The opening of "Psychological Crime" was quite compelling, but once money became involved, it filtered out a significant portion of readers. Zhang Chu had no loyal fan base yet.

After all, they'd only just met; talking about money so soon could hurt the relationship!

Luckily, several readers who spent fifty cents to read the content praised it highly, and suddenly the number of people urging for updates grew, especially those belonging to the "Teddy Update Brigade."

This was a new group notorious for sending teddy dogs to authors to urge them to update—insane and outrageous!

"It's clear that Zhang Chu's writing and plotting skills have improved greatly compared to 'Detective Sherlock,' and he's very professional. When is the next chapter coming? Please don't make us wait ten days or half a month!"

"The first victim in 'Psychological Crime' is a notorious figure from social news, someone people have long despised. I think it's satisfying—a great read."

"Very creative—fresh depiction of the case. Doing math problems with blood makes me suddenly want to kidnap my high school math teacher."

"Since the book is called 'Psychological Crime,' I think the later parts will use psychological profiling or similar techniques to solve the case? Looking forward to it."

"Every year, so many new writers emerge, but the only one worthy of my praise is Zhang Chu. 'Detective Sherlock' is the peak of fan fiction, and this 'Psychological Crime' is the standout among new works."

"Oh my, I haven't climbed out of the pit of 'Detective Sherlock,' and now I've fallen into the pit of 'Psychological Crime.' Zhang Chu, your mother is calling you home to fill the pit!"

"I keep thinking he'll be the new King of Unfinished Stories—digging pits and never filling them. Be careful, everyone. Cherish your life, stay away from the Pit God."

Reading these comments, Zhang Chu felt a surge of motivation, switched to the typing page, and began to type rapidly.

This was exactly what he wanted; every word of praise and every call for updates was precious.

...

Xu Hao had always been keeping an eye on Zhang Chu. He'd even recommended the adaptation plan for "Detective Sherlock" to a company he was familiar with. Now that Zhang Chu had written his first true detective work, Xu Hao was the first to read it.

Unlike the readers, industry insiders like Xu Hao and Qin Mu read more carefully, especially after Qin Mu spent fifty cents and then immediately threw his mouse away.

"Old Qin, no matter what you think, the level Zhang Chu displays in the opening of 'Psychological Crime' is definitely not inferior to yours or mine. He's absolutely a rising star." Xu Hao spoke directly, taking no heed of Qin Mu's grim expression on the other side of the computer. Just a few days ago, he'd publicly said he'd teach Zhang Chu how to write suspense detective fiction, and now Zhang Chu had produced a high-quality work.

Qin Mu, now without a mouse, could only use his laptop's touchpad to control the cursor. He replied, "A good opening doesn't mean the rest will be good. Maybe he'll reveal his limits later. I'm waiting for the follow-up."

"As long as you're happy. But this is a small world; we'll run into each other often, so let's not make things too awkward," Xu Hao advised. The detective fiction field wasn't large—awkward encounters were inevitable.

Qin Mu feigned indifference and changed the subject.

Although Qin Mu wasn't impressed, other members of the detective fiction community were astonished by Zhang Chu's new book—its professionalism far surpassed theirs!

Times had changed. China had missed the era of private detectives; now forensic technology was far beyond people's imagination.

Most people didn't understand modern criminal investigation methods; what they wrote was often unrealistic. Without experience in the field, it's hard to know the real processes and difficulties of solving cases.

Yet Zhang Chu chose the protagonist Fang Mu to be a police officer. He was just a student, with no relatives or friends in law enforcement, yet managed to write with such professionalism.

Everyone could only marvel—perhaps he found information through other channels?

Detective fiction's unique charm lies in giving readers a thrill based on logical reasoning; usually, when the solution arrives, readers react with surprise.

"Why didn't I think of that," "So that's how it is," "That makes perfect sense," "No wonder he said that at the time," and so on.

Detective fiction originated in America, flourished in Britain, and became hugely popular in Japan. As many detective writers have said, this genre is essentially a battle of wits between author and reader.

It's an intellectual contest, a competition between creator and audience. The author must play fairly, using strategy and trickery while maintaining honesty. Only by winning with intelligence and honest, ingenious design can the author capture readers' interest. All clues must be clearly presented; you can't just throw out a bunch of never-before-seen clues at the end when the mystery is revealed.

Of course, solving cases in suspense novels must follow natural methods—magic, divination, mind reading, crystal balls—these are forbidden. If they appear, the story becomes fantasy, not detective fiction, and loses its appeal.

Zhang Chu's "Psychological Crime" perfectly fits these criteria, stirring the curiosity of other detective fiction authors. Each becomes a Holmes, wanting to find clues in his writing to deduce the culprit.

...

"Zhang Chu, are you busy right now?"

An editor named Gu Xinxue from Nanhai Publishing popped up on QQ. Zhang Chu saved his Word document and replied, "I'm working on 'Psychological Crime.' What's up?"

"Nothing major, really. Nanhai Publishing is a giant in the detective fiction world. Every author we've published is in a group. I'll add you in. It's good to know more colleagues and seniors. Working in isolation isn't wise—you need to communicate more."

Zhang Chu didn't know much about the writers, so he gladly agreed. "No problem. Shall I join, or will you add me?"

"I'm the admin—I'll add you. For your print edition, I'll invite several authors to recommend your book together. By the way, 'Detective Sherlock' has finished proofreading, and we're working with designers on layout. You'll see the printed version in a few days."

Publishing a book isn't done overnight. After all this time, "Detective Sherlock" was finally nearing completion, though it would still be a while before it hit the shelves.

As they spoke, Gu Xinxue added Zhang Chu to a group called Nanhai Detective on QQ. There were quite a few people in the group. Browsing the member list, Zhang Chu immediately spotted Qin Mu's name.

He hadn't expected Qin Mu to belong to the same publishing house as himself—what a coincidence!