[5] Ko struggled through the first five years of his writing career, before branching out into multiple genres, namely horror, science fiction, and romance.

[5][7] The song's title stuck as a nickname when a tutor spotted students passing notes signed by Jiubadao and asked who he was.

[19][20] In 2012, Ko notified Apple Inc. that some approved applications on the company's iOS platform were accessing pirated versions of his books.

Apple initially refused to pull the apps, as the company was unsure about Ko's publisher having proper authorization to contact them.

[24] This idea, however, was eventually disregarded as the project evolved into a more personal work inspired in part by the negative publicity the director was receiving at the time for his affair with Chou.

[25] In October 2014, Ko admitted to cheating on his girlfriend of nine years, Hsiao-nei,[26] with television reporter Chou Ting-yu.

[34][35] A few weeks previously, Ko had shaved his head to show solidarity for Occupy Central with Love and Peace, the organization that started the 2014 Hong Kong protests.