James Carter's calligraphy was only at a beginner's level, just neat enough to write in the Liu style, and he could only recognize, not write, many traditional characters. But when he picked up the brush, he found that writing traditional characters posed no difficulty at all—perhaps another effect of the palm pattern, though he wasn't sure. Still, this merely neat handwriting was already considered excellent in a world that didn't care much for literary talent. At the very least, both Charlotte and Emily Grant found it pleasing to the eye, and their first impression was unanimously, "The man is handsome and his writing is beautiful too."

James Carter was writing a story, which he himself called a short novel.

He didn't plagiarize, but instead crafted a little piece tailored to the actual situation, though he did reference various story templates—the main thing was relying on his own writing skills.

The opening of the novel was fairly normal: it told of a wandering swordsman who, after being wounded in a fight, was rescued by a kind-hearted woman named Olivia, who tended to him with great care for over a month. During this time, the swordsman developed a secret affection for the gentle and kind Olivia.

But he gradually realized that something was off about the place. Outside, there were often the sounds of music and revelry, accompanied by drinking, laughter, and flirtatious banter between men and women.

Sometimes, Olivia's voice was among them, seductive to the core.

Once he was well enough to walk, the swordsman quietly stepped outside for a look and discovered that this was the famous capital brothel, Hundred Flowers Courtyard, and that Olivia... was the top courtesan here.

Having often worked as a copywriter, James Carter's prose was much better than his calligraphy. The story was written with deep emotion: the swordsman's growing feelings for Olivia, their sweet interactions, and finally the heartbreak and confusion upon discovering his beloved was a prostitute, not knowing whether to leave or stay. Emily Grant was so captivated she couldn't put it down.

When Olivia returned to the room to care for the swordsman again, he tried to pull her into bed. Unexpectedly, Olivia refused.

The swordsman was, of course, furious: "You can be with those other men, but in front of me you want to act chaste?"

Olivia was deeply hurt: "Are you my client? Do you just want to toy with me like the others?"

The swordsman was left speechless.

That tangled, painful mindset eventually began to twist after Olivia went into a room with a client one day—the swordsman actually started to spy on them. Watching his beloved with another man, the mix of pain, conflict, and uncontrollable, twisted excitement was depicted by James Carter with remarkable depth.

Even more vivid was the passionate scene on the bed. Drawing on his experience of reading thirty thousand erotic novels, James Carter wrote this part with such vivid, intoxicating detail, interwoven with the swordsman's complex emotions as a voyeur, that the whole story instantly reached its climax.

It was at this moment that the story revealed its true colors—it was actually an erotic short story!

Chapter 13: So This Is What a Big Shot Is Like

Emily Grant, engrossed in the story, couldn't put it down, eager to know what the swordsman would do next. At the same time, she was so embarrassed by the explicit scenes that her face turned as red as a monkey's bottom. At that moment, she finally understood the look she'd seen earlier on Charlotte's face—wasn't it the same as her own now, blushing and occasionally glancing at him with eyes full of spring, mixed with a hint of coyness or resentment?

James Carter continued to write furiously.

The story wasn't long—too long and no one would read it. In the end, the swordsman was found by his enemies again. Olivia risked her life to block a fatal blow for him, allowing the swordsman to kill his foe, but the Olivia in his arms died as a result. With her last breath, Olivia said, "This life is over; in the next, I will serve you in purity."

For James Carter, this was deliberately melodramatic, but for Emily Grant and Charlotte, who were encountering such a story for the first time, it was truly moving—they couldn't help but burst into tears.

"James Carter, you jerk!"

"What—what did I do?"

"Why did you have to let Olivia die?"

"Tragedy is what moves people's hearts."

"I don't care, you have to bring her back to life!"

Seeing Emily Grant's tearful little face, James Carter couldn't help but laugh: "Of course she'll come back to life. Otherwise, how could our top courtesan Olivia exist?"

Emily Grant was stunned for a moment, exchanged a glance with Charlotte, and the two girls sniffled for a while before remembering this was just James Carter's next step.

Charlotte asked cautiously, "How will this story be used?"

"This is called soft advertising," James Carter said with a smile. "Didn't you notice the story is set in Hundred Flowers Courtyard, and the main character is its top courtesan? Once the story spreads, Hundred Flowers Courtyard will become famous, and so will Olivia. The key is whether the story can touch people's hearts. Judging by your reactions, there's a seventy or eighty percent chance it will."

Just like how Shaolin Temple became so famous—who knows how much credit should go to the martial arts novelists...

Emily Grant was starting to understand: "So you deliberately wrote those erotic scenes in such detail..."

"Exactly..." No matter the era or culture, the things that spread fastest and attract the most attention are always the erotic ones—unless people get tired of them. It's human nature. Especially in this world, where literature isn't valued, no one would read something profound, but an erotic story is guaranteed to be popular. James Carter didn't say this out loud, but Emily Grant surely understood.