"Ah, typing is so tiring~ I don’t want to type~~~"
Hu Yan opened his writing software but spaced out for ages, simply not wanting to hit the keyboard.
He popped into the authors’ group chat and browsed aimlessly, only to see Hound (Leader of the Worthless Trio) exclaim, "Damn! Didn’t I already write yesterday? Why do I have to type again today!"
"I’m just a waste of space," "Idling Ms. Little C," "Crashing Orange"—a bunch of people echoed the sentiment, and Hu Yan, feeling a deep sense of agreement, became an echo machine himself.
Students have a few days each month when they don’t want to go to school, office workers have days they don’t feel like working, and likewise, as an online novel author, there are days each month when laziness hits and you just don’t want to type.
Online novel writers don’t even have weekends like those at school or work. Even during New Year’s or National Day, they’re expected to type. Asking for a day off is like a minister submitting a memorandum to the emperor, waiting for the readers to reply with either "Denied, keep typing" or "Approved."
Asking for one day off a month already feels embarrassing, let alone two—it’s even more awkward. And if you’re too embarrassed to write a leave request, the readers might think you’ve abandoned your story and turned eunuch.
So persisting in typing every day is also a test of one’s mental state.
The book Hu Yan is currently writing he’s been working on for nearly a year. Compared to other authors, his typing speed is criminally slow. What others can finish in an hour, he would need three or four.
Every day, it’s either researching or typing, except for breaking away to visit family over New Year’s for a meal, he’s hardly stepped out of the house—his life is regular but bland. After so long, it’s only natural to want to rest and relax.
Noticing that Archdruid Fang Ye was livestreaming, he happily closed the writing software and clicked to join.
Stretching lazily, he thought, "Ah, let’s relax a bit and watch the livestream!"
He loved watching Fang Ye’s livestreams the most, as the adorable animals were remarkably stress-relieving.
Just entering the stream, he saw the expansive Waterfowl Lake!
The lake’s surface rippled with the wind, with black swans, white swans, pelicans, mandarin ducks, and ducks whose names he didn’t know all meandering on the clear, green-tinted water.
Two swans swam towards each other and, once together, turned their bodies to swim side by side.
Dipping their heads into the water and then lifting back into the air, their necks cradling each other, they formed a variety of beautiful shapes.
Then they began preening each other’s feathers, gliding gracefully together in the water, looking incredibly romantic.
"Wow, it’s like something out of a fairy tale!"
"So beautiful!"
"Such romantic swans! Worthy of being a symbol of love."
"The setting really is gorgeous."
The live chat was filled with admiration!
Looking at such beautiful scenery, with the swans gliding leisurely, Hu Yan’s somewhat cluttered mind suddenly felt much calmer.
He couldn’t help but recall the fond memories of his childhood.
Back then, there were no amusement parks or zoos to play in near his home, only a large park.
In the park’s Waterfowl Lake, some wild swans would fly in every spring, and leave again when winter came.
As a child, his favorite pastime was going to the park to watch the swans with his family on weekends, feeding the swans along with the elderly— he adored these beautiful white birds.
At that time, he had no idea that feeding wild animals was harmful behavior, simply following suit when he saw others do it. Now, he wouldn’t do that anymore.
When the swans flew away in winter, some sentimental children would stand by the lake, gazing silently at the surface, looking off into the distance, wondering where they went and when they would return.
In spring, the anticipation of going to the park and seeing the swans swimming on the water made him happier than even scoring a hundred on a test.
He still has a great deal of affection for swans.
Sighing to himself, he thought, Ah, I really want to go out and visit the zoo!
Maybe after I finish this book.
The truth is, everyone likes swans.
After all, with their pure white plumage, graceful and dignified postures, they fit the human ideal of beauty.
Their faithfulness in love is even more worthy of praise.
The path by the shore was shaded by trees and close to the lake, so it was quite cool here.
Some visitors quietly sat on the benches by the road, watching the waterfowl in the lake or taking photos with their phones.
Upon seeing Fang Ye, they waved and greeted him, "Director, are you live streaming?"
Fang Ye nodded in response and smiled, "Yes, I am!"
A large swan was bowing its head, bending its long neck to preen its wing feathers.
Another large swan, with its head held high and chest puffed out, slowly swam towards it, getting closer and closer, until their heads drew near.
The preening swan, sensing the other’s presence, lifted its head, and their necks curved to form a heart shape, as if displaying affection.
Fang Ye explained to the viewers, "Mutual preening is a very common way for birds to express love, and it is their breeding season now.
The swans have been coming over for a while and have already started nesting on that part of the lakeshore. Swan nests are quite large, usually made of straw and lined with some down feathers plucked from their bellies. Once they finish building the nest, they can lay eggs and incubate them."
"You must have all heard the story of ’The Ugly Duckling’ in Andersen’s fairy tales, right?
’The Ugly Duckling’ is actually very realistic! Baby swans have fluffy gray feathers and look ugly. In the wild, this inconspicuous color provides them protection.
As they grow up, their feathers turn white, and it’s not like they change from ducks into white swans."
"So the fairy tale is true!"
"When the baby swans hatch, the zoo will be even livelier!"
"Funny thing is, when I was a child, any white bird I saw that I didn’t recognize, I would call a swan."
"Hahaha, I used to call them red-crowned cranes!"
"Mandarin ducks have such a big difference in appearance between males and females, whereas swans all look similar."
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"Last time I heard the animal keeper say that the males are slightly larger and a bit more aggressive!"
Fang Ye laughed and said, "That’s right, you can identify them by observing their behavior."
Just then, a pelican swam by in the water, getting close to the pair of swans.
The two swans suddenly got angry!
They spread their wings and let out a menacing "ah ah" as they cried out.
Didn’t you see that they were in love? Get lost!
The pelican was startled and opened its wings too, slowly swimming away to one side.
Though swans are formidable, pelicans are roughnecks among birds!
If it were a big squad of pelicans there, they wouldn’t have to fear them, but since it was alone, it was better to beat a strategic retreat than to fight against the odds.
The viewers wondered, "Director, both of them seem pretty fierce?"
Fang Ye watched the scene, somewhat stupefied!
He subconsciously activated his Eye of Observation and took a glance.
[Large Swan: Nameless Gender: Male]
[Large Swan: Nameless Gender: Male]
Both large swans were males!
"emmmm..."
Fang Ye said, "No problem, they are both males."
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"What? Shocking!"
The viewers’ eyeballs dropped to the floor, the beautiful symbol of love, the swans, were actually gay?