111: 7:10

Monday morning.

Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

The winter rain from last night hadn't fully dried, and the air was filled with a damp, restless agitation.

Lin Que, sporting faint dark circles under his eyes, yawned as he stepped into the classroom of grade 11, class 3.

He had just thrown his backpack onto his desk and hadn't even had a chance to sit down properly when a round, dark shadow, smelling of spicy strips, lunged at him with thunderous momentum and latched onto his arm.

"Brother Que, you're back! I've missed you to death!"

Wu Di's voice carried a hint of a sob, though it was hard to tell if it was genuine.

Lin Que pulled away the chubby paws of this guy with a look of disdain.

"Let go! It's only been three days. Anyone who didn't know better would think I'd just been released from the slammer!"

"Three days?!"

Wu Di let go but still gripped Lin Que's arm, his voice rising by an octave.

"Three days? Brother Que, do you know how I spent these last three days? As the saying goes, a day apart is like three autumns; three days is like nine years!"

Lin Que raised an eyebrow and placed the back of his hand on Wu Di's forehead.

"How high is your fever? Speak normally! Didn't you finish your homework?"

"Ugh! It's not about homework!"

Wu Di lowered his voice, but his excitement remained undiminished.

"Don't you know? It's Great Master Dream Weaver! He released a teaser for his new book! 'soul ferry'! And now the whole internet is bashing him!"

Wu Di's face turned red with anger.

"I'm telling you, those fans of Jian Shen are too much! They're saying our Great Master is clout-chasing, saying he's a plagiarist! It's purely malicious slander! Who is Great Master Dream Weaver? He's the man who wrote the legendary Yang Jian! Does he need to chase anyone else's clout?!"

Lin Que pulled out his chair and sat down, lazily fishing a science exam paper out of his bag.

"Calm down. Isn't this kind of internet-wide blacklisting a daily occurrence for Dream Weaver?"

"How can I be calm!"

Wu Di stomped his feet in anxiety and leaned into Lin Que's ear to mutter.

"Brother Que, you're the most cultured person in our school! Hurry up and analyze this for me—what level of thinking is the Great Master on with this title?"

Before Lin Que could speak, a different voice came from the back row.

It was the class physics representative, Luo Ji, a boy with glasses and a very strong logical mind.

"Wu Di, don't have such strong fan filters on."

The boy adjusted his glasses. His tone was calm, but his point was sharp.

"Although I also read 'the human world is like a prison', from a business perspective, Dream Weaver's move this time is truly undignified."

Luo Ji paused.

"Launching a work with a highly similar title when the competing product is at its peak popularity—isn't this typical parasitic marketing? Regardless of how good his content is later, he has already lost in terms of class at the starting line."

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately drew agreement from several classmates.

"Exactly, I think so too. No matter how flowery his writing is later, Dream Weaver lost at the starting line. It's like when Master Kong became popular, and you insist on making a 'Master Shuai'—even if you add real beef to that 'Master Shuai', it's still a knock-off."

"Right, I'm quite disappointed too. Where did that 'I am the best in the world' arrogance of the old Dream Weaver go? Why resort to these methods to drive traffic?"

"It feels like Dong Shi imitating Xi Shi. Teacher Jian Shen writes about redemption, while he's just a horror writer—I guess he only knows how to write about ghosts eating people."

The discussion grew louder, like a swarm of hornets buzzing wildly in the classroom.

Zhang Ya, sitting by the window, put down her pen.

Her eyes, usually hidden behind black-rimmed glasses, were now cutting through the noisy crowd, staring fixedly at Lin Que's back.

Ever since that speech about "death," she always felt that this boy, who spent all day sleeping on his desk, had thoughts that were quite different from others.

"Lin Que, what do you think about this?"

Zhang Ya's voice cut through all the noise.

"You said in your speech earlier that we should face fear directly. Do you also think that using someone else's title to create fear is a reasonable literary device?"

In an instant, dozens of pairs of eyes focused on Lin Que.

Lin Que twirled the pen in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the indignant Luo Ji, and the corners of his mouth curled slightly:

"Indeed, everyone thinks 'the ferryman' is about ferrying souls to heaven. But is there a possibility... that hell is also crowded with ghosts waiting in line for a boat? Since heaven has a boat, why can't hell? How can this be called clout-chasing? This is called... business diversion?"

Luo Ji's mouth twitched.

"This is clearly sophistry!"

Lin Que spread his hands, looking innocent.

"See, you've got to have a richer imagination."

Just as everyone was being led astray by Lin Que and preparing to continue discussing the two Great Masters, a familiar, cold cough sounded at the classroom door.

"Ahem."

Shen Qingqiu stood at the door holding a stack of exam papers, her gaze sweeping calmly over the class.

She had been standing outside the classroom for a while; first, she wasn't surprised they were discussing this topic, and second, she wanted to see that student's perspective.

The originally noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

Wu Di slipped back to his seat with lightning speed, and Zhang Ya also silently retreated to the front row.

Shen Qingqiu walked up to the podium and placed the exam papers on the desk with a light "thud."

Her gaze lingered for a moment on Lin Que's sleepy face before turning into an almost inaudible sigh.

"I know that the topic of the ferry is very hot on the internet recently," Shen Qingqiu said straight to the point.

Having experienced so much, she didn't think that suppressing the matter and not mentioning it would mean it hadn't happened.

"It's a good thing that you have your own thoughts and insights," Shen Qingqiu said, resting her hands on the podium, her tone suddenly becoming stern.

"However! The final exams are next week! Will mathematical formulas or physical laws ferry you through? Who can help you cross the great tribulation of the final exams?"

She tapped the blackboard.

"The quality of writing isn't determined by coming up with a thrilling title or arguing in posts, but by whether it can leave a deafening impact in your hearts after you close the book."

"Now, everyone focus back on your studies, open your textbooks to page 128!"

Shen Qingqiu opened her textbook, cleanly and efficiently ending this literary storm during the morning reading session.

A uniform sound of flipping pages filled the classroom.

But everyone knew in their hearts that the war between those two mysterious authors had only just begun.

Lin Que twirled the signature pen in his hand, his gaze falling on the electronic display screen diagonally above the podium.

Time was ticking away, second by second.

07:09:58 07:09:59 07:10:00

Almost at the same instant.

On the podium, Shen Qingqiu's phone screen lit up, and a "buzz—" sound rang out.

It was the notification sound for a special follower update.

Almost at the same time.

In every corner of the classroom, countless screens hidden under piles of books lit up with a faint glow.

The whole internet was watching.

Chapter one of 'soul ferry', officially online!