All-rounder Artist
Chapter 1371 - 1142 Humble

Chapter 1371: Chapter 1142 Humble

Liked a post, not bad.

This guy has been lurking the whole time!

While the comment section exploded, he was pretending to play dead, but that one like exposed him, leaving readers across all continents in chaos.

"What is this?"

"Feeling guilty now?"

"Still has the nerve to like the post."

"Isn’t this whole mess your doing?"

"The publisher comes forward to clean up the mess, but you don’t dare say a word yourself."

"Tsk!"

"This old rascal!"

"Still, despite everything, I’m heartbroken, but I’m starting to accept this as part of growing up."

"Harry has truly grown."

"Sirius, forever alive in my heart!"

"I just hope this is Harry’s most devastating moment. May the future plot bring Voldemort to justice and vengeance for those he loved."

"Harry’s life is so tragic."

"His parents died at Voldemort’s hands, and Sirius—who loved him like a father—also indirectly died because of Voldemort. I truly hate his cousin to death."

Resentment.

Alright.

The truth is, no matter how much everyone protests, Sirius’s death is irreversible.

Everyone understands this.

From this installment onward, Harry Potter is no longer pure children’s literature.

It’s a dark and heavy-toned fantasy novel.

The shift was evident right from the beginning, even foreshadowed by the ending of the previous book.

Looking at the first four installments, none of them share the same tone as this one.

Underneath this dark foundation, Sirius’s death is shocking and sorrowful, yet not entirely abrupt.

If this book ended with a happily-ever-after, it would undermine the oppressive atmosphere that was carefully built, feeling top-heavy and imbalanced.

In other words:

After the tonal shift, characters not dying would actually seem unnatural.

Though some readers might initially struggle emotionally to accept this.

...

Sirius’s death was always going to stir up turmoil, something Lin Yuan had anticipated, which is why he had been silently observing reader reactions all along.

When he saw veteran readers completely lose their cool, he shook his head.

These people’s hearts are still too fragile.

They couldn’t handle the fifth book?

What about the sixth?

And the seventh?

In fact, Lin Yuan has already started writing the sixth book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

This is the second-to-last installment of the Harry Potter series, primarily centered on the character development of "Snape."

Even though this character is already incredibly popular!

Why?

Because Snape has significant screen time in every book.

He’s a sharp-tongued, soft-hearted, tsundere mentor. With his gloomy demeanor and frequent misfortunes, people often suspect he isn’t a good person.

Especially in the fifth book.

Harry learned by sneaking a glimpse into Snape’s past memories:

It turned out that Snape, during his youth at Hogwarts, was often bullied by Harry’s father and his gang.

No wonder Snape seems to dislike Harry so much.

In class, even the slightest mistake gets him scolded relentlessly.

However, despite his distaste for Harry, Snape would always come to his rescue in times of danger.

When Voldemort tried to invade Harry’s mind, it was Snape who taught Harry how to fight back against the invasion.

This teacher never forgot his role as a Master.

Thus.

Many readers tease that Snape embodies the classic "tsundere archetype."

Of course.

There’s still a contingent of readers who remain skeptical of Snape, doubting his morality.

After all, Snape was once a Death Eater.

Speaking of which.

Silver Blue Books’s response was quite decent.

They even overshadowed Yi An’s work.

Mm.

Should let Yi An create more presence later—now they’re the real invisible figure.

...

Human nature proves itself forgetful.

Readers who couldn’t initially accept Sirius’s death gradually began to come to terms with it over the following days, even calmly discussing the plot of the fifth book.

Topics like Harry’s romantic arc.

Or Snape and Harry’s father’s grievances.

Or whether Voldemort might meet his end in the next book.

Or the tonal shift in this installment.

The conversation was lively.

From this perspective, veteran readers did seem stronger than before.

The damage control was fairly successful.

Silver Blue Books let out a huge sigh of relief.

At least there were no reader riots.

Mostly because of Chu Kuang, who had caused several reader uprisings in the past, leaving the publishing house on edge.

People still hadn’t forgotten the uproar after Holmes’s death.

Back then, angry readers surrounded the publisher’s office building, making editors anxious about commuting, and causing a significant commotion.

"Thank goodness, readers were somewhat rational this time."

"I’m starting to feel sorry for the Science Fiction Department folks now."

"I heard they had an all-night meeting when they got ’Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,’ brainstorming how to collaborate with the PR department for possible reader backlash."

"They were scared out of their wits."

"The author wasn’t afraid, but the editors were terrified."

"You wouldn’t understand—when Chu Kuang was writing mysteries, the Mystery Department went through the same thing."

"This old rascal truly doesn’t give people peace of mind."

"Wonder if he’ll pull the same antics in the next Harry Potter book."

"A bit scary, huh?"

"Scared, but what can you do?"

"Silver Blue Books has zero leverage over the old rascal’s creative process. Back during ’Zhu Xian,’ when Biyao died, the company tried to negotiate with Chu Kuang many times to change the plot, but the old rascal didn’t even agree to alter a single punctuation mark."

"All we can do is pray that he shows some restraint."

...

Lin Yuan wasn’t aware of Silver Blue Books’s internal musings and complaints—he was laser-focused on crafting the sixth Harry Potter installment.

And in between writing sessions.

Lin Yuan occasionally visited the company to meet and collaborate with various performers, preparing for next year’s concert.

Finding people wasn’t difficult.

Especially in Qin Continent.

Just drop Xian Yu’s name.

Because Qin Continent’s top-tier musicians had all participated in last year’s Blue Songlympics.

Anyone who attended Blue Songlympics had taken lessons from Xian Yu, Qin Continent’s number-one Master Bishop.

Finding people from other continents wasn’t hard either.

Blue Star’s top ten-ranked Maestro composers were all eager for collaboration.

Even though Xian Yu had never hosted a personal concert, no one doubted his capability.

As for the concert pieces, Lin Yuan already had them planned out.

There’s no need to stick to a specific form—all kinds of splendid performances are welcome.

For instance, Yang Zhongming’s specialty: violin compositions;

Or Abigail’s prideful saxophone creations?

And ultimately, wrap it up with an epic symphony.

After all, since his debut, Xian Yu hadn’t released any symphonic works.

Yang Zhongming and Abigail, amongst others, did have works in this category.

This format puts a composer’s all-around skills to the test.

As to which symphony should be chosen?

Lin Yuan deemed one’s first personal concert to be pivotal.

Even if grand pieces like "The Fate Symphony" were reserved for later, the starting choice needed to be something universally acclaimed—at least worthy of a "top-10 global symphonies" title!

...

Although readers had come to terms with Sirius’s death, by the end of April, Harry Potter fans were still actively analyzing the fifth book’s story.

On this day.

The rankings for writers and illustrators were updated again.

Yet Chu Kuang and Shadow steadfastly held their top spots.

The real battles were raging below the top thirty.

That same night.

Lin Yuan punctually submitted the sixth Harry Potter book to Silver Blue Books.

At dawn on May Day.

The expected announcement swept across the internet:

"The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series, written by Maestro Chu Kuang, will be released soon. After five volumes of buildup, prepare yourselves for the new Chapter: ’Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’!"

Half-Blood Prince?

A new character?

Many fans began speculating.

Yet what no one saw coming was:

Soon after the official announcement of the sixth book’s launch, Chu Kuang’s blog became flooded with Harry Potter fans’ comments:

"We beg Maestro Chu Kuang to go easy on us!"

"Please spare the characters we love so much!"

"From Cedric to Sirius, we can’t take another heartbreak."

"If no one dies in the sixth book, I’ll stop calling you a rascal. I swear!"

"Maestro Chu Kuang, have mercy!"

"We’re still children’s literature, right?"

"Save the kids!"

"Even if the writing’s terrible, as long as it’s tear-free, I’ll accept it!"

"By the way, will Sirius resurrect in this book? After all, it’s a magical world where resurrection isn’t necessarily impossible."

"Now that you mention it, it might actually happen!"

"Maestro Chu Kuang, please reconsider!"

"The entire sixth book is already written—what use is saying this? I’m convinced one death per book will become a tradition. Better start thinking about which loss you’d find most tolerable."

"I can’t tolerate any more losses!"

"Maestro Chu Kuang, mwa mwa, you’re the best!"

"Bring Harry Potter back to a world where only Voldemort gets hurt!"

The first three books were tranquil, heartwarming, and soothing. But starting from the fourth and fifth, beloved characters seemed doomed at every ending. Harry Potter fans were genuinely terrified this pattern would become a tradition, gathering en masse to beg Chu Kuang to take it easy.

The sight was downright bizarre!

...

Blue Star’s literature community.

Watching this unfold, countless authors were left shell-shocked!

PUA!

Chu Kuang, the old rascal, was pulling off a massive PUA on his readers!

Wait...

Since when did following novels become this pathetic?

You’re supposed to be powerful, revered readers—the lifeblood of authors—what kind of readers seek mercy from a writer?

Where’s your sense of hierarchy!?

Back in the day, you weren’t like this!

Whenever the old rascal pained you, you’d shower him with curses!

What happened to your pride?

Damn it!

Look at this!

Chu Kuang, the old rascal!

Just how far have you driven your little fans?

Wait?

Hold on.

I think I understand now!

So this...

This is the key to writing success?

Some authors suddenly felt enlightened, sparks of realization lighting their eyes.

...

Elsewhere.

Readers across continents were equally amused.

"Since when did readers become this humble with an author?"

"So insanely submissive!"

"Hey old rascal, try being human for once."

"Get up! Don’t beg him!"

"Chu Kuang, the old rascal’s pen can’t be constrained by anyone!"

"You’re still too young—only seeing the readers trembling, but not Hogwart trembling... nor the entire wizarding world trembling in fear of being targeted by Chu Kuang, the old rascal..."

"What’s Voldemort to him!"

"Kills characters with zero effort."

"When a character faces Chu Kuang’s lethal intent, not even Jesus nor the Jade Emperor can save them!"

"Readers have clearly switched tactics after realizing they can’t outmatch Chu Kuang the old rascal—it’s all about begging now."

...

Even the media found itself astounded!

"Readers Beg Maestro Chu Kuang for Mercy?"

"Netizens Plead: Don’t Let Sirius’s Tragedy Repeat!"

"Will Black Be Revived in the New Book?"

"A Twisted Humanity, or a Collapse in Morals?"

"Chu Kuang’s Readers are Definitely the Most Masochistic Globally."

"Expert Analysis: One Death Per Book Will Become Harry Potter’s New Tradition!"

"Who Will Die in the Sixth Harry Potter Book?"

"A New Suspense Emerges—Will Chu Kuang Commit a Triple Kill in the New Series?"

Cedric died.

Sirius died.

And now, with Harry Potter’s tone embracing darkness, few dared dismiss the idea that Chu Kuang, the old rascal, might pull off a "Triple Kill" in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."