Chapter 148: Regarding Some Reader Questions
I’m not entirely sure what some readers’ definitions of "stallion" and "harem" novels are, so let me explain my own.
In my opinion, a "stallion" novel is one where the protagonist thinks of nothing but women. He sleeps with every girl he meets, getting it on at the drop of a hat, and by the end, readers can’t even remember the women’s names or their storylines. (This type of story was most popular about a decade ago.)
A "harem" novel is one where women are used to drive the plot. It mostly revolves around romance, and each girl has her own unique story, so it isn’t off-putting. The main characteristic is the large number of female leads. (These stories make up a huge portion of the web novel scene. For example, a book I used to love, *Strongest Abandoned Young Master*.)
I admit that my book doesn’t have a single female lead. But I won’t resort to using cheap, explicit scenes to grab attention. Every character is a fully-fleshed-out individual with their own life and experiences.
In my book, *Demon Chef*, we’re 300,000 characters in! And Mo Qi only had sex for the first time because of specific, necessary circumstances that he wasn’t even aware of at the time.
And this woman wasn’t just some random person, not some nobody I just pulled out of thin air. She’s someone incredibly important in his life! Furthermore, I barely even described that scene; it’s a complete fade-to-black with no erotic details whatsoever.
And don’t come at me saying, "But he’ll meet other important women in the future and add them to his collection" or something like that.
If that’s what you think, then your entire understanding of what it means for someone to be "important" in your life is completely wrong.
Adding flowers to brocade is nowhere near as meaningful as providing charcoal in a snowstorm. The most important person is the one who is willing to walk with you, carry your burdens with you, and even die with you when you are at your weakest and most helpless.
Besides, I think any reader who has followed the story this far can see that while the romantic relationships are important to the main plot, they don’t take up much screen time. Every moment is essential, and the novel is, on the whole, a plot-driven, feel-good story.
Mo Qi is still naive and clueless when it comes to relationships. He has principles and a moral compass. If a character like that is still considered a "stallion," then I have nothing more to say.
Some people have asked, "Why not just make it a single-female-lead story?"
Well, let me be even more blunt. Who can honestly thump their chest and guarantee that they will only ever truly love one person in their entire life? That they will only ever make impulsive decisions or grand gestures for a single person?
The reason things can’t be perfect in real life, the reason you can’t have your cake and eat it too, is simply because that’s reality.
But a novel, especially a fantasy novel, is separate from reality. The powerful cultivators in these worlds live for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. They live a dog-eat-dog life of constant bloodshed, where the strong are revered. The concept of monogamy doesn’t exist in such a world.
You have a childhood sweetheart. You also have a girl who makes your heart race, who fell for you when you were at your weakest. And what if these two don’t mind sharing you? I’m asking you, if you were the protagonist, what would you do?
Anyway, you’ll see what I would do later in the book.
I’m just a loser with principles, integrity, and a moral compass. And I’m going to have both the childhood sweetheart, Niu Kexin, who represents mature charm, and the beautiful first love, Liu Ruyan, who represents youthful innocence. So what?
To quote a line from *Galaxy Power*: I am the most Divine Loser in the known universe!
