The "learn by analogy" in the workplace isn’t about using one principle to deduce similar ones in the literal sense.
Rather…
It’s about praising once and refuting three times!
If a subordinate does everything perfectly, what’s the point of having a leader?
Might as well let them be the leader!
Three revisions only to revert to the original:
What’s being revised is the authority’s intimidation; what’s being used is the art of human relations.
Lin Yu leaned back in his chair, smiling as he spoke again:
"We’ve talked a lot about technical skills just now. Let’s switch gears and discuss storytelling."
"Yimian, web novels encompass everything—every genre has its audience, even the cliché ‘CEO chasing his wife’ trope."
"What kind of readers do you think yours would attract?"
This topic struck a chord with Tang Yimian.
She twirled her fingers and launched into another enthusiastic explanation:
"I think it’d mostly be housewives, probably over 60%. Teenage girls might make up another 30%. Career women, though, have less free time, so I doubt many would…"
Lin Yu: "…"
Is this the realm of genius?
He’d planned to find a flaw and refute her properly.
But this…
Her analysis was way too damn professional!
Still.
When someone’s determined to argue,
even if you cite "Newton’s Second Law," they’ll say, "Hold on, physics doesn’t exist anymore."
Tang Yimian: "…So I think the key is polishing the story and giving readers what they want…"
Lin Yu instantly seized the keyword and said sternly:
"Wrong!!"
The sudden exclamation made Tang Yimian jump.
Tang Yimian tensed up: "!!!"
"Did… did I say something wrong?"
She’d rambled at length and had no idea which part he was criticizing.
Lin Yu countered with a profound question:
"Yimian, have you ever considered the possibility…"
"That readers don’t actually know what they want?"
With those words,
Lin Yu finally felt the sweet taste of control.
This was it, this was it!
Accuracy didn’t matter.
What mattered was that he’d pinpointed a blind spot in Tang Yimian’s "domain of expertise."
Only in areas she wasn’t versed in could Lin Yu maneuver.
Sure enough.
Tang Yimian: "???"
She was utterly baffled!
This wasn’t just a blind spot—
It was a whole new concept she’d never heard before.
Readers?
Readers don’t know what they want?
How… how does that even make sense?
"Professor Lin, I’m a bit slow. Could you explain in detail? What do you mean by that?"
Tang Yimian gripped her pen tightly, ready to absorb this higher-dimensional wisdom.
Back in his comfort zone, Lin Yu could now better hoodwink—no, guide his senior!
"A book gets published on a platform. Through recommendations, all sorts of readers click on it."
"Before they do, all they see is the title and synopsis."
"They have no idea what kind of world or story lies inside."
Tang Yimian’s eyes lit up:
"Oh~~ That makes sense!"
"So it’s this kind of ‘not knowing.’ Yeah, that’s true."
Lin Yu’s tone abruptly shifted:
"Still wrong!!"
Tang Yimian shuddered: "???"
Wrong again?
But she hadn’t even said anything!
She’d just echoed his point!
Timidly, she asked, "Professor Lin, wh-where did I go wrong this time?"
The more she interacted with Junior Lin, the more he reminded her of the dean.
Two consecutive "wrongs" had her thoroughly rattled.
"You missed the ‘knowing’ hidden within my ‘not knowing.’"
Tang Yimian muttered his words under her breath.
She repeated them three times.
Yet her brain still couldn’t grasp what "knowing" lay within Lin Yu’s "not knowing."
Lin Yu was inwardly smug.
Confused?
Good.
Anyone would be.
He continued pontificating:
"Yimian, remember this: While readers don’t know the story you’ve written,"
"the moment they click on your book, their minds automatically construct a complete narrative framework based on your title and synopsis."
"This!"
"Is the ‘knowing’ within their ‘not knowing.’"
"This!"
"Is the hidden truth of web novel creation."
Tang Yimian: "!!!"
In an instant,
she felt like she’d grasped something profound.
After a long pause, she struggled to articulate it:
"Professor Lin, I think I get it. So…"
"If I can empathize with ‘the story framework in their minds’ and write that, my book will be a hit!"
Lin Yu rubbed his forehead and chuckled.
Perfect.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Maintaining a grave expression, he delivered his third blow:
"Wrong again!!"
This time,
Lin Yu even stood up, looking down at Tang Yimian.
Tang Yimian: "???"
Wrong yet again?
She was just following his logic!
How could she keep messing up?
"Which readers do you even plan to empathize with…"
"Lonely housewives stuck at home?"
"Happy moms busy raising kids?"
"Dreamy teenage girls?"
"Heartbroken young women?"
"…"
"There are so many. Can you really empathize with all of them? Can you be sure what each one truly wants?"
Tang Yimian: "!!!"
He was right!
Trying to capture readers’ desires and write the perfect story for everyone is like…
a bear picking corn—
you end up with nothing!
Watching Tang Yimian’s shifting expressions,
Lin Yu knew the timing was ripe and pressed on:
"Focus on one, neglect another."
"Some love wish-fulfillment, craving instant wealth and romantic entanglements; others prefer slice-of-life, savoring daily joys and sunrises."
"What some see as frustrating setbacks, others view as logical progression."
"What some find cathartic, others dismiss as mindless power-ups…"
"Every tiny detail in a book will alienate readers who were never its audience to begin with."
By now, Tang Yimian’s gaze was filled with pure admiration.
This was the hard-earned wisdom of a successful author!
And he was sharing it with her so sincerely!
Seeing the atmosphere was sufficiently charged, Lin Yu began steering the conversation:
"So then?"
"Do the remaining readers know what they want?"
Tang Yimian answered firmly:
"No!!"
Lin Yu: "…"
Well, they kinda could at this point.
Before he could respond, Tang Yimian continued:
"I thought about my own experience as a reader…"
"At first, I’d have expectations—like imagining a story that grows from point A to E."
"But from the author's perspective, since you can only capture such a small portion of readers, you should try delving into even finer details—from A to E, or perhaps... challenge yourself to go from A to Z!"
Lin Yu's eyelid twitched: "..."
For a brief moment.
He genuinely wished his senior were one of his employees.
How did she manage to have such a sudden epiphany mid-conversation?
This answer... was even better than the conclusion he’d anticipated!
Regardless.
Lin Yu stepped forward and patted Tang Yimian’s shoulder:
"Excellent. Just from reading your work, I can tell you’ve got real talent."
[Ding!]
[Masterstroke move! Your selfless, insightful explanation has greatly enlightened the elder of the Teaching Hall!]
[Reward: 20 Spirit Stones.]
"Any other questions, Yimian?"
Lin Yu smugly settled back into his seat.
Tang Yimian nibbled on the end of her pen, hesitating for a moment before speaking:
"Professor Lin, could you... analyze the romantic scenes I’ve written in more detail?"
"I feel like, without any real dating experience, my writing comes off awkward and lacks vividness."
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Well, well.
Isn’t this just walking right into the line of fire?
...
(Extra chapter delivered! More updates coming tomorrow!)
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
