Chapter 340: No Money, No Work
Popularity had declined, readers were no longer buying her books, and a bunch of people were flaming her online. Some even went as far as to greet her parents online. In this situation, would she fight back?
She wouldn’t. She wasn’t that bored.
Entering August, Shion-sensei’s new book The Magician had two volumes published at once. Zixuan and the Paper Airplane was now serialized up to the 10th volume. Such a prolific writer was unique even at Wenqing. Originally, she should have been admired and loved by the readers. That was supposed to be the case. But in fact, besides Zixuan and the Paper Airplane receiving good reviews, the evaluation of The Magician was truly a miserable sight, with too many bad reviews. Although there were also good reviews, the irrational fans made up the majority.
This might be the worst time in Shion-sensei’s career.
“I can’t believe it! Is this really written by Shion-sensei? So disappointing!”
“Trash, trash, trash! What the hell is this? A complete waste of my money!”
“It was clearly supposed to be a romantic comedy, but how did it become an inspirational life story? I don’t understand this operation.”
“This, actually, I think it’s alright… not that bad…”
“I think it’s okay, and quite good to read, although not as good as the previous few books…”
The online evaluations were polarized. Well, there was nothing to be done about it.
This story, it could be said that it had really flopped. There are always some rather bad times in a person’s life, and Yu Linna felt that she had encountered this situation.
The Magician was a complete failure. Editor Chen Xi had also said that it would be finished in the third volume, which meant that this book was destined to be cut short. To have two books cut short within half a year was a truly miserable and unbearable memory, especially for a god-tier author like her.
Now, she had fewer and fewer works to show for herself. If she continued to write like this, what else could she write?
She didn’t know either.
The chirping of cicadas in summer. The blonde girl, with the air conditioner on, lay on her bed like a corpse, wishing she could just sleep like this. She turned over, feeling very tired.
A month’s hard work had all been in vain.
This was the only sentence in her mind.
She was too miserable. Why had she fallen to this state? Before, it was so smooth. Now, whatever she did was a failure. Not only Demon Child, but now The Magician had also failed. Was it so hard to transform? Could it be that since Ballad of the Enchantress, she really couldn’t produce any decent works?
As expected…
She was still too stubborn.
Always thinking she could do anything, but unwilling to change for it, which was why she had fallen to this state.
Chen Xi later called again, telling her about next month’s manuscript and also arranging her subsequent work.
“Shion-sensei, I’ve already prepared the content for your contract renewal. You just need to sign. But your new book will not be promoted in a prominent position by Wenqing, because you have not granted us the manga and film and television rights, only the text rights. Please understand.”
“I understand. This is my own choice. But aren’t you afraid I’ll jump ship, Sister Chen?”
“I believe you won’t. Aren’t you very confident in our Wenqing?”
“Maybe. Wenqing has been kind to me. It’s impossible for me to jump ship to another place.”
Hanging up the phone, Yu Linna lay back on her bed. She was so lost now.
How long would this situation last? The decrease in income was a small problem. What she was troubled by was how to keep her name in the novel circle for a long time. She didn’t even know when everyone would stop recognizing her, and also forget her, the former winner of the Wenqing New Talent Gold Award. Time is like this, it quickly makes people forget.
At this time, she also received a message from Xiao Yanhan. She opened it and saw that it was a private message requesting a reply.
◇ Yan Yu: It’s about time you replied to me. The reply to my confession.
Speaking of which, a month had indeed passed. It was about time to reply to her. But how should she reject her…
I’m sorry, she’s still a coward.
◇ NA Nana: Okay.
She could only reply like this.
Hugging her pillow, she felt lost and lonely. As expected, she really wanted to see Zhiyun. She really wanted to see her. If she saw her, would everything be able to change? Even her mood could get better.
I want to see her so much.
Yu Linna decisively sat up and edited a message to Ye Zhiyun.
◇ NA Nana: I want to see you. Can I go and find you?
She waited bitterly for her to reply, but there was no reply for a long time, until Yu Linna had given up. It wasn’t until Yu Linna had gone out to buy groceries and was back preparing to cook that she received a reply from Ye Zhiyun.
◇ Leaf: You can. I’m filming a movie in Shenzhen. It’s quite close to you. Do you want to come over?
◇ NA Nana: Yes!
Yu Linna threw down her phone and cheered. It had been a long time since she had seen her. This time, she could finally see her.
She was so happy she was almost dancing. Although it was almost like that, she was really very happy.
The next day, she packed her things and went out early. To be able to see Zhiyun sooner, to see her, she was really too happy. She took the high-speed rail early just to see her sooner. She, who usually chose to take the bus, even took a taxi for a rare time. It could be seen that she really wanted to see Zhiyun.
Following the address Ye Zhiyun had sent, she found her film crew in Shenzhen. It was a studio set up in the suburbs. They were going to film a location scene here, involving an important scene. When she arrived at the set, the staff wouldn’t let her in. She had explained many times, but they just wouldn’t let her in.
“Little kid, you can’t come in and play. Go home and find your mom.”
“I’m not a little kid! Let me in! I’m here to visit the set.”
“Little kid, stop making trouble. This isn’t a place to play. Big brother will give you some candy. Go back now, be good.”
Yu Linna was about to explode!
She really wanted to tear their mouths apart!
I’m really an adult! Why do you treat me like a child? Am I that small! My ID card can clearly prove it! Why won’t you let me in!
But she didn’t care about this issue. She was just unhappy with the staff’s attitude. Although he had no malicious intent, she still felt unhappy. It was definitely not because he had called her a child. Absolutely not because of this.
“Hey, hey, Zhiyun! The people in your crew won’t let me in! Come out and get me!”
Helpless, Yu Linna had no choice but to call Ye Zhiyun and ask her to come out and get her.
And the two staff members at the gate were stunned when they saw her calling their Director Ye. Could it be that this child is actually their Director Ye’s daughter? But isn’t Director Ye only 20 this year? This child is at least eleven or twelve, right? Then wouldn’t their Director Ye have had a child when she was nine?
The staff’s imagination ran wild, even imagining a story of three years at the start and the death penalty at the highest. They had arbitrarily imagined the child’s father as a scum who was eating prison food, leaving the mother to raise the child alone.
Ye Zhiyun quickly came out. Today, she was wearing a cool short-sleeved shirt and jeans, without the suit she had worn the past few days. It was said that it was because it was too hot, so she had changed.
“Nana, I’m sorry I’m late. Let’s go in.”
“I told you I’m an adult! They just wouldn’t believe me!”
“Alright, alright, my fault. I think I should have told them in advance.”
Holding Yu Linna’s hand, Ye Zhiyun calmly led her in. The staff couldn’t help but let their imaginations run wild again. This time it was about an older sister bringing her younger sister. He thought about it and still felt that a daughter was too far-fetched. Yes, a younger sister was just right. You say that the blonde girl doesn’t look like Director Ye’s biological sister? It’s fine. In this world, there is such a thing as half-sisters.
If Ye Zhiyun had known that this staff member was so imaginative, she might have let him be the movie’s screenwriter.
“Zhiyun, your crew is really awesome. I never thought you would actually become a director. You’re so amazing.”
Entering the crew, Yu Linna looked at the staff working and couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion. Up to now, she had visited many people on set, and had been to many places. Some crews had even let her make a guest appearance. But it was the first time she had entered a movie directed by Ye Zhiyun, and it was also Ye Zhiyun’s first time as a director. Her experience was also lacking, but fortunately, everyone in the crew was working very hard.
“A lot has happened, and it naturally became like this. You can stay here. I’ll come and find you when I’m on a break.”
Patting her head, Ye Zhiyun smiled faintly, then went to the opposite site, directing the cinematographer with the camera, as well as giving instructions to the actors, patiently directing everything. She was quite good at it. It was hard to imagine that she had never directed a movie before.
“Hey, little kid, are you Director Ye’s younger sister? So cute.”
While Ye Zhiyun was busy with another group, and the other groups were on a break, two young ladies came over. They ran up to get close to Yu Linna and even patted her face.
“Um, I’m not her younger sister. I’m 19 this year.”
“No way? You look so young. You’re only a year younger than Director Ye?”
“It’s true. My ID card can prove it.”
“But you’re still very cute.”
The two young ladies seemed to like her very much, patting her head and her face, and even giving her candy. Yu Linna wanted to throw them on the ground on the spot. These two are too much!
Although she still accepted it.
“Hey, Shanshan, Xiaomi, what are you two doing? Stop playing with her.”
When Ye Zhiyun was on a break, she saw the two of them playing with Yu Linna and couldn’t help but feel a headache. Why does another woman come up as soon as I walk away? This Yu Linna is too attractive to women.
“Sorry, Director Ye~ She’s too cute. Is she really not your younger sister?”
“That’s impossible, right? We don’t look alike. She’s my friend, from the same university.”
“Wow, so it’s true. I thought she was joking~”
Ye Zhiyun ignored their attempts to be cute and get away with it, driving them back to film and giving instructions to the cinematographer. And Ye Zhiyun also decided that later she would give these two more than twenty NGs before letting them go, to teach them a lesson.
“Nana, you can just play on your phone over there. I’ll take you to eat after work.”
“Can I see your script?”
“Of course not. Besides the actors and the director, no one is allowed to touch the script.”
Patting her head, Ye Zhiyun returned to the set to direct. She wanted to finish work early today, so she could go and eat with Yu Linna sooner. They only had a short evening to be together. She absolutely could not work overtime today, and for these few days, she could not work overtime. She had to make time.
“By the way, Director Ye, that girl, isn’t she that… that very popular one online? Do you want to let her make a guest appearance in our movie?”
As soon as Ye Zhiyun returned to the set, the two girls from before struck up a conversation with her again and brought up this topic. Ye Zhiyun turned her head and looked at Yu Linna. That blonde appearance, and that cute face, it seemed it would be fine to ask her to make a guest appearance. But she didn’t have the money to hire her. She would ask her if she could do it for free.
