My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion
Chapter 112: Shelf Speech (Asking for the First Subscription)

Chapter 112: Shelf Speech (Asking for the First Subscription)

First, let me humbly ask for your subscriptions! Please, if you can, subscribe to the entire story!!

I’ve been writing for a long time now—since high school, I’ve been trying my hand at writing novels on and off, and here I am today, still at it.

Let’s start from five years ago. That was when I wrote my first harem novel. Harem fiction, to me, was a completely unfamiliar genre.

It’s not that I didn’t read harem novels—I did, but that was back in my first and second year of high school. During my four years in university, I barely recall reading anything in this genre that left a lasting impression on me.

Speaking of which, the first book I published, *Annual First Love*, actually counts as a harem story. But back then, I mistakenly submitted it as a short story. It ended after just 100,000 words.

After that, I started three more books, but perhaps due to the constraints of the subject matter, their reception... well, let’s just say the results were always underwhelming.

So, when starting this book, I felt quite lost.

I didn’t know what to write, couldn’t grasp a clear direction, so I could only follow my personal inclinations and preferences to guide me.

During that time, I crammed a lot of multi-female-lead novels, stuffing 107 such books into my reading list. They all swirled into a tangled mess in my head, and I wasn’t sure where they were leading my thoughts.

So eventually, I stopped reading them. The more I read, the more confused I became. Then I tried to calm my mind, sit quietly, and reexamine this book.

What follows are my reflections on the writing process.

When I got to Chapter 30, "I Am Your Concubine Now," many readers left comments saying it was twisted. That gave me a direction to explore, because personally, I didn’t think it was twisted—but I could see the potential in that direction, so I just went with it.

By Chapter 58, "Sword Armor," I was feeling the resolute emotions driving Zhou Yitang. That same emotion seemed to flow naturally to Yin Tingxue, leading to the eventual moment when everything unraveled in an instant like scattered petals.

By Chapter 61, I finally understood completely what I wanted to write about.

From that point on, you could probably see it for yourself—the writing became smoother and more focused.

Among all the characters in the book, Yin Tingxue is my favorite. She often gives me that heart-tightening sensation in my chest, and what follows right after is always this deep sense of tenderness.

I don’t know if any of you have ever felt this tightness before, but it’s such a peculiar feeling. Nearly every scene involving Yin Tingxue gave me this sensation.

So, many of the moments about her character were things I thought of while lying in bed before sleep.

Speaking of which, let me talk about Chen Yi.

To be honest, creating a morally ambiguous protagonist is difficult for me because I’m not that kind of person.

Chen Yi could have been written as more of a bastard. For example, he could have outright shattered Yin Tingxue’s Longevity Bridge, or treated her purely as a plaything from beginning to end.

But I’m not that kind of person—I’m someone with a lot of empathy and compassion.

When I read a harem novel, I can’t tolerate it if the protagonist doesn’t love one of the female leads. For me, that’s the number one deal-breaker.

I remember there was a time when I was reading too many web novels, and I started to think I was as ruthless as some of the protagonists. But when I reflected on it, the most heartless thing I had ever done was probably just walking past a disabled homeless person without giving them money. That’s why it’s hard for me to write a cold and ruthless protagonist.

So ultimately, Chen Yi isn’t truly an evil person. At his core, he’s someone with boundaries and the ability to empathize with others.

Lastly, let’s talk about the romance lines in this book.

For almost every female lead, I’ve already decided on the emotional tone for their relationship with Chen Yi. For example, Yin Tingxue is sorrow, Zhou Yitang is resolve, Min Ning is chivalry, Yin Weiyin is desire, Lin Wanguan is warmth...

Some readers have said the romance in this book feels like it belongs in the female-oriented genre.

But if you read more carefully, you’ll realize that’s not the case. The reason some of you feel that way might be because very few web novels use this type of narrative, and also because I place a lot of emphasis on the perspectives and thoughts of the female characters.

In fact, the way female-oriented romance novels are written is very different. Female-oriented romance focuses more on the female lead tormenting the male lead, more on how the male lead mistreats the female lead early on, only for the female lead to turn the tables and torment him later, leaving him desperate and unfulfilled.

In this book, though, Chen Yi’s tenderness and affection come much more naturally and voluntarily.

That’s all for this reflection on launching the book. Again, I’m asking everyone to subscribe. Now that I have a clearer direction, this story will only get better—I won’t disappoint you!

Please, I sincerely hope you can give the first Chapter a try and stay subscribed!! If possible, help spread the word as much as you can!!