Chapter 98: Getting Paid to Take a Dump

“Hey! It’s been updated this early?”

Hearing the surprise in his coworker’s voice, Xiang Song could not help asking with a smile, “What’s been updated?”

“It’s this novel, Traversing the Comic Worlds: I Became the Most Cautious Villain. Judging by the title, you’d think it’d be boring, right? But let me tell you, it’s genuinely good—and the update volume is insane.”

Listening to his coworker’s enthusiastic recommendation, Xiang Song suddenly said, “I’m reading that one too.”

His coworker looked at him in surprise. “You’re reading it too, Old Xiang?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty good. But if I remember right, this isn’t even update time yet,” Xiang Song said.

“That’s true. It’s not update time yet, but it’s already been updated, and they even posted a special announcement. Looks like the author’s about to do another massive update day,” the coworker said in a low voice.

Xiang Song’s gaze sharpened. “Really? Another massive update?”

He still remembered the last time the author went on a huge update spree: three hundred thousand words in a single day, shattering the record for daily output.

And Xiang Song had been there to witness it.

“See for yourself. The announcement’s right here. No way they’re lying,” the coworker said.

Xiang Song glanced at the announcement. Sure enough, it said there would be a huge update.

For a moment, his heart itched with anticipation, but he could still keep it together. After all, this was still work hours, and he had to be careful.

The coworker beside him, however, wasn’t thinking that much. He had already begun sneaking glances.

Xiang Song asked, “Aren’t you afraid the boss will notice?”

“Fear what? Just be careful,” the coworker replied.

Hearing that, Xiang Song said nothing else. If the man got caught, it had nothing to do with him anyway.

Then, all at once—

Bang!

A sudden noise made Xiang Song jolt all over. He had been thinking through a work problem, only to be interrupted.

Just as he was feeling annoyed and about to say something, the coworker beside him spoke first.

“Damn, this is way too exciting.”

Hearing that, Xiang Song’s own curiosity flared. “What part has it reached? Is it that good?”

The coworker said, “Good? Of course it’s good. It just dropped another thirty thousand words. But as for where it’s reached, I’m not spoiling it for you.”

Though the coworker meant well by refusing to spoil anything, that only made Xiang Song itch even more. He wanted to read it.

“Huh? Another twenty thousand words have been added! No, Old Xiang, if the boss comes over later, tell him I’ve got a stomachache and went to the toilet. I can’t hold it anymore, ow, my stomach really hurts.”

With that, the coworker stood up from his desk and hurried straight to the restroom.

Xiang Song was speechless. They were all old foxes here—who was he trying to fool with that performance?

Pooping? No, he was definitely going into the restroom to read novels.

He knew it perfectly well, but he had no intention of exposing the man. Working while pretending to poop was something everyone did; they just never said it out loud.

Time passed little by little, and Xiang Song found himself unable to focus on work at all.

Mostly because he felt that same itch inside him—he wanted to read the novel.

With this much new content, he was sure it would be incredibly satisfying.

Suddenly, Xiang Song stood up, clutching his stomach, and ran toward the restroom.

He, too, had developed a “stomach upset.”

The moment he stepped inside, he saw that coworker washing his hands. The second the coworker saw him, he understood everything.

“Old Xiang, your stomach hurts too?” the coworker asked with a grin.

“Yeah. I don’t know what I ate today, but it’s wrecked my stomach. Hurts like hell,” Xiang Song said.

“I get it, I get it. When the boss comes by later, I’ll tell him you’ve got diarrhea,” the coworker said.

“Thanks.”

“No problem,” the coworker said, smiling.

Xiang Song crouched in a stall and eagerly pulled out his phone.

Nearly a hundred thousand words of new content would not be finished in a moment.

He had no intention of reading it all at once; he would read as much as he could. The main thing was to scratch that itch in his heart.

He was so engrossed that his legs went numb while crouching, and he barely noticed.

Just then, the sound of a stall door closing came from next door.

“Old Xiang—Old Xiang—”

A voice calling his name reached Xiang Song’s ears.

“What is it?” Xiang Song asked.

He could tell at once that it was his coworker’s voice.

“Nothing, just calling you,” the coworker said.

“Didn’t you just go out? Why are you back already?” Xiang Song asked.

“I didn’t want to come back either, but it got updated again. If I don’t read it, I’ll be itching all over,” the coworker said.

“It got updated again?” Xiang Song asked in surprise.

He was reading, but he had no idea there was a new update, because he had not enabled update notifications.

Xiang Song liked reading novels, but he hated having too many notifications on his phone. Whenever one appeared, he would clear it away.

So for most apps, he had turned notifications off.

The novels he followed regularly all had update schedules he remembered, and he usually checked them according to those times.

“Yeah. I have a feeling this update may break the record again,” the coworker said.

“The last update was three hundred thousand words. Breaking that would be hard,” Xiang Song said.

Three hundred thousand words in a single day—that terrifying update speed seemed like something even the author himself would struggle to surpass.

“Hard, sure. But it’s only been less than a morning, and we’re already at a hundred thousand words. I think breaking the record is still very possible,” the coworker said.

“That’s not really the same thing. The shorter the time between updates, the more words you get. If the author can update that much, he must have had a huge stockpile. How much gets posted depends entirely on how much he had saved up,” Xiang Song said.

“True. Still, even if it doesn’t break the record, it definitely won’t be too little. Either way, we’ve got something to read today,” the coworker said.

“True,” Xiang Song agreed. He could still accept that.

For this author, two or three tens of thousands of words did not even count as a massive update. The last one had been three hundred thousand words; this time, if it was truly a huge update, it ought to be at least two hundred thousand.

There was no doubt they would have plenty to enjoy.

The two of them stopped chatting and went back to reading in silence.

Every now and then, they slapped the air in amazement; now and then, they let out loud, absurd cackles.

After a while, Xiang Song said, “No, I have to go.”

“What are you rushing for? It’s only been a little while,” the coworker asked.

“No, my legs are numb. I can’t keep squatting,” Xiang Song said.

“Old Xiang, you’re reading while squatting?” the coworker asked, his tone oddly strange.

“If I don’t squat, how else am I supposed to read?” Xiang Song shot back, genuinely puzzled.

“Standing, of course,” the coworker said.

“Standing in the restroom and reading? That seems a bit improper,” Xiang Song said.

“You’re not really here to take a dump anyway, so why care about that? Besides, squatting really does make your legs go numb,” the coworker said.

“You know… that actually makes sense. Fine, I’ll stand and read,” Xiang Song said.

Reading while standing was still somewhat uncomfortable, mostly because his neck had to remain bent the whole time, which felt awkward. Still, it was much better than squatting.

After a while, the coworker said, “Old Xiang, I’m heading out.”

“Wait a bit longer. I haven’t finished reading this part yet,” Xiang Song said.