Chapter 260: Famous
In the beginning, no one had expected that a newcomer from Wenqing would make it this far. At that time, everyone just thought of her as the second Air-sensei, a promising newcomer, a writer who could become the pillar of Wenqing in the future.
But no one could have imagined that this newcomer would be so amazing. She worked hard, bit by bit, slowly accumulating her popularity. When her novel had yet to be officially published, it couldn’t be published for a time because she had no collaborating illustrator. But she actually took the initiative to be responsible for her own illustrations. This caused a stir at the time, and she gained enough attention before her novel was even published.
And after that, she wrote a second book, officially announcing the serialization of two novels, and was also responsible for the illustrations herself. At that time, for one person to be responsible for both the novel and illustrations, and to be working on two projects at once, was an unimaginable thing. After all, there was no precedent, but she still succeeded.
Then, she took on the job of writing a script, and the script she wrote was officially turned into a web series, to be released next month. After that, the animated version of Ballad of the Enchantress and the script she wrote for Wulin Kitchen Maiden were also going to be filmed. This year, she had created too many topics of conversation. So much so that for a long time, her popularity on Weibo was higher than that of the stars in the entertainment industry. Many stars were constantly hyping themselves up, constantly buying a water army, constantly packaging themselves, especially the popular celebrities. And she didn’t have to do anything, just work hard, write well, and just because of this, her popularity rose higher than theirs.
The popular celebrities were green with envy, but what was the use? They weren’t as hardworking as her and still wanted to take shortcuts. The facts proved that this was impossible to succeed.
Therefore, in the poll for the most favorite novelist of the year, Shion-sensei ranked second, and first among Wenqing’s authors. Her popularity was second only to Qidian’s.
Everyone finally realized how many incredible things this newcomer author had created in the past year, how many shocking things she had done. Perhaps they had just been simply reading her books and hadn’t noticed anything, but as the author, she had paid a great price. If it weren’t for her hard work and diligence, her books wouldn’t have been published so quickly, and her popularity wouldn’t have risen so fast.
Therefore, her vote count being the first in Wenqing was well-deserved.
“So, am I famous?”
When she saw the ranking from Xiao Yanhan, she couldn’t help but ask.
“You’ve been famous for a long time, okay? How can you have no self-awareness? Good sister, you’re Wenqing’s cash cow now, a great author in the novel world. Although you can’t be called a supreme god yet, it’s only a matter of time, right? Let’s take this opportunity to celebrate. Of course, you’re treating.”
Indeed, her popularity was high enough now. Although it was only for a while, her current heat was indeed at the top. What’s more, she was still a mysterious author who had never shown her face. How good must her books be to reach this point?
She couldn’t say for herself. She only knew that she was completely different from the past.
Yes, even if she didn’t say it directly, she knew that her net worth was no longer what it used to be.
She smiled.
“That’s good too.”
And so, the four girls in the dorm had a gathering. Lan Ranyan had also said before that she wanted to have a dinner party, and it had turned into a celebration for Yu Linna. Her popularity was high enough now; she was about to surpass Fang Jiangning’s number of fans. Plus, her income from writing novels and scripts was substantial, even higher than Fang Jiangning’s annual income. It could be said that she was a veritable rich woman.
To celebrate, they booked a venue, specially had people hang balloons and set off confetti. A red carpet extended from the entrance, with a handsome man in a suit standing on each side. Yu Linna walked down the red carpet and entered the booked venue. A chef pushed a cake cart in, and beautiful music played, washing over their ears. Standing here, she felt as if she were living at the center of the world.
Fame, wealth, status—she seemed to have everything, but also seemed to have nothing.
The reason she said this was because her ultimate goal had not yet been achieved, which was to let the whole world know her name, to have her popularity resonate throughout the world. Obviously, she hadn’t reached that step yet. But in the novel world, her fame and status were already there. She could no longer be called a newcomer. With her ability and sales, she was already a great god. She had even surpassed Air-sensei and was slowly moving towards the throne of Wenqing’s number one author.
She looked at the banquet on the table, the waiters blowing horns, the beautiful music from the speakers, the confetti cannons booming. She spun around a few times. She could clearly feel that she was the center of this world.
How intoxicating, how incredible. A year ago, she couldn’t even imagine having a full meal. Now, in the blink of an eye, she had everything. Having a full meal was no longer a luxury. As long as she wanted, she could even afford a luxury car. As long as she wanted, she could buy a mansion. As long as she wanted, she could be a spendthrift. As long as she wanted, she could buy a sea-view house, keep bikini-clad beauties, and have them on each arm.
She had everything.
But…
Why wasn’t she happy?
She wasn’t as happy as she had imagined.
On the contrary, all of this felt very empty to her.
She was very calm, without a single ripple in her heart.
“You don’t seem very happy.”
Fang Jiangning patted her shoulder, her eyes looking at her small face, filled with worry.
She saw the worry in her eyes. She also saw the confusion and bewilderment in the eyes of the other two roommates. They seemed to be saying, Why aren’t you happy? You’re the protagonist.
That’s right, she was the protagonist, the protagonist of today…
But she didn’t feel anything at all.
The delicious food on the table, the music from the speakers, the piano playing, and the horns, the confetti, all of this seemed too illusory to her. In the past, she had never thought about these things at all.
“I was thinking, if the me of the past traveled to the present, she would probably be scared to death, because my current appearance, no matter how you look at it, is like I won the lottery.”
She laughed self-deprecatingly.
A year ago, she had taken a flyer from Nangong Ying’s hand, signed up for the National Singer Competition, and from then on, her life began. And today, she was the undisputed great author of Wenqing, the future supreme god. Who would have thought, who could have guessed? She couldn’t have imagined it, and others couldn’t either. She had succeeded.
“These are all what you deserve. You didn’t win the lottery. You just exchanged your hard work for a reward.”
“No, it’s not a reward. It’s that I chose a correct path. In a sense, I should thank Nangong Ying.”
“Why?”
“She made me understand that I’m not suitable for the entertainment industry. The place where I truly belong is here. Look at this music, this confetti, and this food, all prepared for me. I’ve already succeeded. I’ve proven my success to her. I’m not a vase. I’m Yu Linna, the one and only Yu Linna.”
Although she said this with a smile, Fang Jiangning felt that something was not right.
Lan Ranyan and Xiao Yanhan looked at each other, their faces filled with doubt. They remembered that Fang Jiangning had said before that Yu Linna had once been in the entertainment industry, but later, for some unknown reason, she had left and become a writer.
“Linna, why don’t you sit down first…”
“No, I want to feel this scenery, to look at it a little more. It’s like a dream. The people who used to look down on me, who used to bully me, are all gone now. If they saw me, they would definitely be very surprised. I’ve become someone they could never reach in their entire lives.”
“…You’re tired. You really should rest.”
Not just Xiao Yanhan, but even Lan Ranyan could see that something was not right.
On the surface, Yu Linna was fine, just smiling, and her heartfelt words seemed to be filled with emotion. But her eyes had no light at all. She was like a robot, standing there, copying her master’s commands. It was ridiculous and comical, but at the same time, one couldn’t deny her existence.
“I survived. I survived here. But, I also have nothing…”
“Linna.”
“Forget it, Jiangning. I was just talking to myself. Didn’t we agree to eat? Sit down. It’s my treat today. All of this, I deserve it.”
She smiled, made a gesture of invitation, and asked her friends to take their seats.
Lan Ranyan watched in silence, sat down, and silently poured herself a drink. As the big sister of the dorm, it was impossible for her not to see the little sister’s situation. Yu Linna was like a child who was originally poor and helpless, who suddenly had a cotton coat and bread and lived a wealthy life. But deep down, she still couldn’t forget her poor family, her aging parents.
People always say that the minds of those who write novels are a bit strange, a bit extreme. This is not without reason. Although it’s too one-sided to say so, she really hoped that Yu Linna was not in that situation.
While Yu Linna was in the restroom, Lan Ranyan grabbed Fang Jiangning and asked about the situation.
“Jiangning, you’ve known her the longest. Do you know what happened to her?”
“Didn’t I tell you all? I’m not very clear either. She’s just like that. She never talks to me about her private affairs, nor does she complain to me. Not like a girl at all.”
“She, was she like this before?”
“…No. At least she definitely wouldn’t have smiled like that before.”
What was the Yu Linna of the past like? She herself might not remember. But Fang Jiangning had not forgotten the girl who could be won over with a cup of milk tea. At that time, it was very simple to lure her away, just a cup of milk tea or a meal would do. Now, if you put snacks on her table, she might not even put them in her mouth. Although she hadn’t started to hate snacks, in fact, she would still eat them, but compared to before, she didn’t have such a strong desire anymore.
She was more like a centenarian, having seen through her own life, with no pursuit of the seven emotions and six desires.
…
On the TV channel, news about Shion was being broadcast. This recently rising great author had finally attracted attention on TV. When the news was broadcast, everyone turned their heads.
“Recently, the web series The Smile of the Rose, written by Wenqing author Shion, has set a record of over a million people wanting to watch it before its official broadcast. This is a very rare phenomenon for a completely unknown TV series. In the past, this author was famous for her mystery, never appearing in public. Her work Ballad of the Enchantress will also be broadcast on major TV channels in January of next year…”
