Esther Akande, a 22-year-old Nigerian, sits in front of her laptop, crafting stories that bridge continents. Under the pen name Lilac Everglade, her fantasy novel Hades' Cursed Luna — a tale about werewolves, betrayal and forbidden love — has garnered millions of readers worldwide on WebNovel, the international portal of China's online publishing giant Yuewen Group.

"My first story earned me about 70 cents," Akande recalled. At the time, she was facing personal crises in both her family life and relationships. Yet, much like the "comeback kid" trope popular in Chinese online literature, Akande made her own turnaround.

"The income from web novels now covers my education and our home renovations. I don't need a man. I can do things when nobody is there for me," she said.

Akande is one of millions of authors on international online literature platforms who are not merely consuming Chinese pop culture, but also utilizing its formulas to tell their own stories.

Global appeal

In Akande's story, the male protagonist is powerful and cruel. He seizes the female protagonist to exact revenge, only to unknowingly fall in love, triggering a heart-wrenching romance.

Sound familiar? Avid readers may find the story resembles the "alpha CEO genre", a staple of Chinese web fiction.

But what makes stories written by foreign authors feel so Chinese? The appeal may lie in the distinctive structures of Chinese web novels — rapid progression, satisfaction for readers and imaginative world-building.

"Chinese web novels focus more on humor and quirks," Akande observed. "Even when the novel is dark, there's always something that makes you laugh. The family relations and intrigue are always engaging. I got a lot of inspiration from Chinese novels I've read in the past."

Across the ocean in Mexico, a biologist-turned-author Daniel Dominguez, writing as Dagzo, found success with his novel Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons. He adapted Eastern literary concepts of cultivation, which refers to spiritual evolution, through a biological lens.