Chapter 65: Editor-in-Chief, Something’s Wrong!

When Kuku reached the door, Zhou Suqing gently reminded her,
“Remember to bring your notebook and pen to the meeting.”
“Oh, oh!” Kuku looked flustered.
Last time she forgot her notebook at a meeting and was “gently” scolded by the department head.
But this time, the department head seemed…
She was really reminding her kindly!
Kuku was a little overwhelmed by this unexpected favor.
“Let’s go.”
Zhou Suqing then took Kuku by the hand and led her toward the conference room.
The instant Kuku felt the department head’s hand in hers, she was suddenly startled.
“The department head’s hand is so soft…”
…
Inside the meeting room, chief editors from every major channel and the website’s operations director had already filled the seats.
When Zhou Suqing and Kuku entered, all the chief editors looked on with envy.
They all knew that the Xianxia Department had produced a divine hit—"Zhu Xian."
Recently, submissions to the Xianxia Department had increased by more than tenfold, instantly making it the hottest channel on their website.
All of this was because of “Zhu Xian.”
And today’s meeting was convened specifically for “Zhu Xian.”
How could they not be envious?
After Zhou Suqing and Kuku sat down under everyone’s gaze, a dignified-looking middle-aged man entered the room.
He was the Editor-in-Chief of Flourishing Era Chinese Web.
The Editor-in-Chief glanced around, then said in a deep voice,
“Let’s begin.”
A supervisor from the Data Department stood to report,
“From last Tuesday up through yesterday, the ‘Zhu Xian’ page has held the number one spot in site traffic, with a single-day peak of 9.8 million page views.”
“The book’s search index is number one across the site.”
“The number of users adding it to their shared reading lists is also number one.”
“It has a new book rating of 9.9, making it one of only two books on the site with that score—the other is ‘Swordsman’s Adventure’ by Demon King.”
…
When the impressive stream of statistics ended, all the chief editors were inwardly shaken.
They knew “Zhu Xian” was strong, but they hadn’t expected it to be this powerful.
And the book wasn’t even on sale yet—how much more explosive would it be once released?

Could the Xianxia Channel be about to produce a super blockbuster like “Swordsman’s Adventure”?
It was Kuku’s first time hearing such detailed data about “Zhu Xian,” and her mouth hung slightly open as she struggled to hide her excitement.
The flood of numbers left her somewhat dazed.
She sneaked a glance at her department head and saw Zhou Suqing looking perfectly calm—it must mean she already knew all of this.
After the data report, the Editor-in-Chief’s stern face gave nothing away; he only nodded slightly.
“Let’s hear the Operations Department’s thoughts.”
At this, the Operations Director spoke up,
“Based on ‘Zhu Xian’s’ data, we predict that its collection and subscription numbers could break site records.”
“Since ‘Zhu Xian’ launches at midnight tonight, our suggestion is to give it the opening screen feature, a homepage recommendation, and all-channel broadcasts.”
“Hm…” The Editor-in-Chief pondered a moment, then asked, “For how long?”
“We suggest—one week!”
This answer from Operations shocked all the chief editors.
“What? A whole week?”
“Did I hear that right?”
No wonder everyone was so surprised. Perennial favorites like the opening screen ad and all-channel broadcasts were prime recommendations—no book ever got them for more than twenty-four hours before rotating out for another.
After all, there were so many books on the site, and these positions were precious.
Now, “Zhu Xian” was about to take all three top spots for an entire week!
Even the sensational “Swordsman’s Adventure” only got an extra day before it was rotated out.
At that moment, the Fantasy Channel’s chief editor anxiously protested, “But didn’t we agree that in three days, ‘Swordsman’s Adventure’ would get the opening screen recommendation?”
“That’s supposed to coincide with its three-million-word promotional event—we set that plan long ago.”
All the chief editors looked at the Editor-in-Chief.
That plan was indeed agreed upon in a previous meeting.
Surely the Editor-in-Chief wouldn’t agree to let “Zhu Xian” monopolize the top recommendation for a week, as Operations suggested.
The best solution seemed to be giving “Zhu Xian” two days, then letting “Swordsman’s Adventure” take over on the third.
The Editor-in-Chief said nothing.
His right hand supported his chin, while his left fingers tapped rhythmically on the table.
After two minutes, he looked at the Fantasy Channel’s chief editor and said softly,
“Our policy has always been to favor new books with these resources. ‘Swordsman’s Adventure’ enjoyed them in its time. For this promotion, let ‘Swordsman’s Adventure’ follow after ‘Zhu Xian’—once ‘Zhu Xian’s’ week is up, give ‘Swordsman’s Adventure’ the slot and, as compensation, add an extra day.”
“What do you think?”
All the chief editors were stunned; they hadn’t expected the Editor-in-Chief to agree to Operations’ suggestion.
He had, in effect, taken “Swordsman’s Adventure’s” slot and handed it to “Zhu Xian”—a book currently topping both rankings.

Hearing this, Zhou Suqing clenched her hands in excitement, a relaxed smile curving her lips.
She knew—nothing could stop the rise of Xianxia now!
The Fantasy Channel’s chief editor looked bitter.
He swallowed the words he wanted to say.
He knew that once the Editor-in-Chief had spoken, the decision was final.
With a slight sigh, he made one last request: “Then I ask that ‘Swordsman’s Adventure’ also get an extra day on the homepage’s main banner as compensation.”
The Editor-in-Chief didn’t hesitate, nodding generously, “Granted.”
With that, the plan was set.
Everyone in the room knew—a phenomenal masterpiece was about to be born.
The Editor-in-Chief then turned to Zhou Suqing, his tone gentle, “Zhou Suqing, your Xianxia Star Project has brought remarkable results to the site.”
Zhou Suqing replied with a smile, “Without your approval, the project would never have been implemented.”
At these words, the Editor-in-Chief gave a rare smile, then looked at Kuku, who sat beside Zhou Suqing, and asked,
“So this young lady is the editor in charge of ‘Zhu Xian’?”
“Ah?” Kuku looked blank; was the boss talking about her?
Seeing Kuku’s dazed expression, Zhou Suqing nudged her with an elbow.
Kuku snapped to attention and quickly stood up, “Boss—no, Editor-in-Chief, hello! I’m Kuku, the editor of ‘Zhu Xian’! I joined the company just this past fall!”
Looking at the adorable Kuku, the Editor-in-Chief smiled, “No need to stand. Sit and talk. I heard you were the one who rescued ‘Zhu Xian’ from the discard pile?”
At this, the other chief editors were astonished—a book this incredible once ended up in the discard pool?
What was the Xianxia Department’s review team doing?
If a masterpiece like this had gone to another site, the loss would have been immense.
Now, the crowd regarded Kuku with newfound admiration.
This young woman was impressive.
And rather cute, too.
“Yes, that was me,” Kuku replied quietly after sitting down.
“In the future, be sure to maintain a good relationship with Xiao Yan. Any of his requests, you can fulfill!” the Editor-in-Chief instructed. “If you truly can’t manage something, report directly to me.”
Kuku nodded vigorously, “Absolutely!”
In truth, she didn’t need the Editor-in-Chief to remind her—she would have done all she could for such a top author anyway.
Just then, a slim young woman in high heels burst in, flustered.
“Editor-in-Chief! There’s trouble!”