A Letter to All Readers: Please Come In and Take a Look.

PS: Don't forget to check the update at five o'clock today; it's already been posted, and this is the third update for the day.

First of all, I wish everyone a joyful Mid-Autumn Festival with their families.

Next, whether you plan to continue following this book or not, please finish reading this message. At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, I'll be giving out hundreds of big red envelopes—don't miss the chance to grab one.

Today, I'm announcing some news—neither entirely good nor bad for you. The good news is, starting tomorrow, "Stolen Face" will have three updates daily: one in the morning at nine, one in the evening at five, and an additional one at ten at night. The less pleasant news is that from now on, reading will require payment. Each thousand words will cost five cents, which means a chapter is just over ten cents, and a month amounts to ten or so yuan—about the price of a pack of cigarettes or two bottles of soda. I believe every reader can afford this.

I won't claim that my life is so difficult that I depend on meager royalties to survive, because your decision whether or not to spend money on me shouldn't be based on sympathy. Today, I simply want to talk about myself and about this book.

I've been a writer for several years, always feeling insignificant. I've never harbored dreams of changing my life through writing; I only hope the stories I craft can bring pleasure to readers, satisfying my own urge to create. After that comes a very ordinary but very real issue—money, income. The website can't provide me a platform for free, since it's not a charity; it has employees to support. Most books are put online at 130,000 to 200,000 words, while mine isn’t a long novel, and at 160,000 words, it’s already late to be published.

I'm not a philanthropist either. I'm just a struggling writer who worries every day about when I'll be able to afford a house or raise a child. I don't aspire to fame or achievement, but I hope this can at least let me survive. If even survival becomes a concern, what will sustain my writing?

Urban, supernatural, fantasy—honestly, I've written in every genre. I'm not saying other genres are worse; every book has its own appeal. But personally, I find "Stolen Face" the hardest to write and the most exhausting. Sometimes I sit at my computer from morning until afternoon, still without inspiration. I spend ten hours a day or more, just hoping the few thousand or ten thousand words I produce will be recognized by you.

If you acknowledge my work, then I think you're willing to pay for it.

Please forgive my somewhat chaotic thoughts right now; I really don't know how to express myself. Sometimes I feel like a hostess receiving guests. Sincerely, I hope you can support "Stolen Face." It feels like my child, and it needs all of you to help raise it. If everyone spends just forty cents a day, it can grow strong. Will you help me raise it, so it doesn't perish prematurely?

Of course, if you truly don't want to spend money, I ask you to be kind and refrain from hurling insults. After all, it's a holiday, and I chose today for this message with that in mind.

Writing books has never been something shameful or disgraceful, but because of the copyright system here, we writers have become beggars, wagging our tails for readers' pity. I truly respect and cherish every reader, but some abusive comments make things difficult. They seem to think charging for books is a crime, and that reading my free work is doing me a favor, but charging is shameless. Come on, we're all reasonable people—think about whether buying instant noodles at the supermarket costs money, or seeing a movie at the cinema. You may not feel it, but writing is harder than most jobs. We stay up late every night, and hardly any of us have good health.

Well, I'm rambling on, so I’ll stop here. Next, I'll explain how to recharge your account. After recharging today, you can start reading tomorrow; auto-subscription makes it even easier.

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Below are the recharge methods. If you don’t know how, have a look. If you've already recharged, you can skip this.

Before recharging, log into your account. You can log in directly with your QQ number, forum account, or Weibo account. After logging in, click "Recharge" to enter the recharge page; the button is at the top of the webpage.

[Apple iOS] A special note for Apple phone users—do not recharge within the app, as the conversion rate is only 1:50. For Apple users, use the web version of BlackRock on your phone and recharge there—the rate will be 1:100. Then log back in to the app to read; this is the most cost-effective method. The website link is on my Weibo.

[First] Alipay recharge: rate is 1:100. This is the simplest, fastest, and most cost-effective method. Many people already use Alipay, so I won’t elaborate.

[Second] Online banking recharge: also 1:100. Choose your bank accordingly; if you've used online banking, you know what to do.

[Third] Tenpay recharge: also 1:100. Personally, I don’t use Tenpay, but if you do, it’s a good option and should work similarly to Alipay.

The following methods are a bit less advantageous, but are convenient and suited for students.

[Fourth] Mobile SMS recharge: less favorable, only 1:40, because China Mobile deducts fees.

[Fifth] Mobile recharge cards: Shenzhouxing, China Unicom, China Telecom—all acceptable, with a rate of 1:85.

[Sixth] Game point card recharge: Junnet One Card, Shanda Game Card, Journey Game Card, QQ Coin Card (note: QQ Coin Card, not QQ Coin), Perfect World, NetEase Card—all at a rate of 1:70.

[Seventh] PayPal, US dollar recharge: rate is 1:500.

The recharge process is simple. If you’re still unsure, you can contact BlackRock customer service at: 010—82156292, 13661073712, QQ: 2814551419.