Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

The Selection of a Female Character

Zhao Youyue did not rush to investigate the identity of "Stop Gambling." She was still investigating the possibilities she needed to take to fabricate a character in that world.

After in-depth consideration, she made her conclusion. Obviously, the answer was "Yes!"

"Dog Days" possessed the vibe of an "Adorable Pets Transmutation" novel. Even though it was an unusual choice of minority readers, with good writing skills, it could become a hot-selling novel. No doubt it would at least gain some popularity, along with some hardcore fans.

"Strange Life of a Cat" was a similar novel in another world. It was not very famous, yet it had a cult following. [1]

It was certain that the author of "Stop Gambling" was talented in writing, in spite of his character. His words emitted an easy-going aura that resonated well with readers. Readers that appreciated such style would be inundated with satisfaction, and could not help themselves but reward the novel with gifts.

Of course, some readers could not take in the flavor of such storylines. They thought the protagonist was too relaxed, and lacked the motivation to do anything else. After he morphed into a dog, he went along with his daily life. With different methods of acting cute and cuddly, how could the story be interesting?

However, all these proved that this novel had the potential of becoming famous. Its only downside was its sporadic update frequency. Things would be better if it was updated on a daily basis. Even with merely two thousand words per chapter, the number of followers would increase markedly. It would turn famous!

Zhao Youyue was a veteran online novel reader. She was familiar with promotional gift packs and monthly gift packs that significantly boosted a novel's ranking. There was a not-so-straight method of subscribing to Taobao services such as "God of Votes," which repeatedly voted a targetted novel as the best novel, increasing its exposure. This had to be done discreetly and progressively. Once the votes surpass that of some prominent authors, it could be ruthlessly implemented. Of course, this had been forbidden by the officials, but only reports from significant profiles would be taken seriously. Small-fry reports? Those were just out of envious spite!

Book writing was actually a game of the wealthy. Money could exponentially increase a book's exposure, money could do anything it pleased. Poor authors could only wait for official's recommendations. Even so, those recommendations hardly mattered. For a book with unseemly low view counts, what reason was there for readers to still read it?

Hence, Zhao Youyue decided that once "Dog Days" increased its update frequency; she would fully support it with funds. She would directly manage this novel, boosting its popularity. It had a character that she would like to take control of. A character that had the potential of becoming a highly popular character, which allowed her to collect its character card.

That's right, Zhao Youyue intention was not obtaining an iconic character card. It required a high qualification from both author and novel. "Dog Days" was a far cry from iconic novels, and it's author "Stop Gambling" did not seem very dependable, either.

Zhao Youyue thought "Dog Days" had the potential to give birth to a sophisticated character. She had to decide which character to possess, and what behavior and abilities to grant her.

There were many female side characters in the novel, but each of them had a name. However, their appearances were short and brief, and they lasted no longer than a few chapters. Perhaps as the author proceeded with his story, he had forgotten the names of those characters.

It was a common mistake for newbie authors. They did not bother to picture the character in their mind, causing lots of familiar but nameless, faces with unsubstantial backgrounds to exist in the story. It was impossible to remember all of it, as most of them appeared only for a short while. They vanished swiftly, as they were all easily replacable.

This actually worked to Zhao Youyue's advantage. At least, it was better than Rosemary's "The Strongest King" which was awkwardly lacking of a named female character. She had to ask Rosemary for a cameo personally

Zhao Youyue did not need to ask cameo from "Stop Gambling." There were plenty of female cameos, and each of them were easy to manipulate.

Nevertheless, "Xia Qingqing" which almost recognized as the female protagonist, had very little space left for creativity. She had no values to be infused with. As a Chief Executive Officer, her aggression in her stressful career was never portrayed in the story. The only thing that gave any further insight on her characteristics was her warm interactions with her pet

Xia Qingqing did not display the imperious personality of a Chief Executive Officer, but a gentle elder sister. She radiated an aura of motherly love. Perhaps, that was how a perfect woman would be, in "Stop Gambling's" heart?

Usually, male and female protagonists created by the author were the mental imageries of himself and his ideal partner.

Zhao Youyue thought Xia Qingqing was an ordinary female protagonist who was not particularly headstrong. If she possessed that character, she would never tell if there was a presence of a man's soul inside her pet, nor get close to the pet. She did not have the experience of caring a dog. She had only taken care of grown men, at most

Xia Qingqing was a frail female protagonist, a polar opposite of Altair, who was a firm and strong female protagonist. If Zhao Youyue failed to obtain a character card after possessing in Altair, she would have only experienced a marvelous vacation by doing nothing. Zhao Youyue could not foresee any worthwhile experience in Xia Qingqin's world. Zhao Youyue was a female chief executive officer in real life. She could buy a Pomeranian anytime she wanted.

However, she could not become the mysterious Altair, travel across dimensions.

Hence, Zhao Youyue reviewed the brief story, intending to identify any potential female character with unique characteristics.

Some authors did not have an outline of their stories. Perhaps they loved to leave blanks and conceal a secluded plot for the future. Even when they did, they would not keep track of the details and soon forget them, as much as their readers did.

Nevertheless, it was an era of fragmented reading. Some online novels buried a plot detail only to reveal it after a very long period of time. Authors revealed their hidden plot details with pride, only to be greeted by dumbfounded readers Was that even there in the first place?

Alright. Actually, authors sometimes forget them as well. They would sometimes encounter a writer's block, and as they flip back and re-read their previous chapters, they would be reminded of such secluded plot details

With the help of "Two Dimensional Gate," Zhao Youyue intended to do what she could not carry out in the real world. Only the impossible made it all worthwhile.

The moment she saw "cat girl" popping up in "Dog Days," a bulb lit up above her head. Finally, a topic she could make use of.

The name of "cat girl" was Hua Xiaomao, with a nickname called "Mao Mao." She was an employee in the pet shop that was owned by the protagonist's friend. She behaved like a cat in her daily life, as it allowed her to understand cats in a better way. The cats in the pet shop were well taken care of

That was all to it. Her description did not even elaborate on her appearance. Zhao Youyue presumed this was definitely a secluded plot device!

Hua Xiaomao was not actually a "cat girl," she only possessed the ability to morph into a cat. Whenever her soul was in the cat, her body became a vessel for cat's soul. That was why she behaved exactly like a cat!

Her name sounded just like "Cat Morphling"!

Perfect Logic!

Impeccable!

Translator's Notes:

[1] "Strange Life of a Cat" is an online novel written by "Lazy Clich" (). It begins with protagonist, Zheng Tan returned to 2003 in the form of a black cat. He was found by the Jiao family and named 'Charcoal'. The mind of a twenty-years-old man trapped in the body of the cat, challenges and adventures were just getting started.