Chapter 248: A Change of Mood
Xiao Yanhan was really in a low mood. She had been like this ever since she came back from Shanghai. At first, she was crying, and it was Lan Ranyan who comforted her and finally coaxed her into a better mood. But her eyes were red, and her complexion wasn’t too good. It was obvious that she wasn’t in her usual state.
Xiao Yanhan was indeed very down. Others might not be able to understand, but only she knew that this was a kind of love for her idol. She had queued since early in the morning, for no other reason than to get into the venue early and snatch an autograph. It was her idol’s autograph, with only a thousand copies. If she missed it, she didn’t know how long she would have to wait. Why did she like this author so much? Why did she become such a crazy fan, even a die-hard one?
Others might just see Shion-sensei as an idol, as their favorite author, but for Xiao Yanhan, it wasn’t like that. Shion-sensei was not just an idol, but a belief. At first, she had wanted to give up on drawing manga, give up on submitting her work, and just be an ordinary person, living a normal life. Shion-sensei’s novel had brought her into a new world, and after learning about his story, knowing that he had spent seven days and six nights to finish a whole book, a story that was still talked about with relish, she was completely moved. Maybe chicken soup for the soul was fake and impractical, but there were still people who liked to drink it, and people couldn’t resist its charm.
Xiao Yanhan didn’t know much about the great author’s story, but after hearing about the creative story behind him, her heart was moved. She picked up her dream again, determined to fight once more. Even if she was rejected many times, she would try again.
It could be said that Shion-sensei was the one who made her pick up her pen and continue to create. She had always wanted to meet him in person, shake his hand, and say thank you to his face. But…
“Wuwuwu…”
“Why are you crying again? It’s not that serious, is it? It’s just an autograph. I’ll go to the scalper market and buy one for you at a high price. How about that?”
Lan Ranyan took out a tissue and wiped her tears, comforting her gently.
The usually lively and goofy Xiao Yanhan was suddenly crying like this. Who could stand it? Lan Ranyan was also helpless and could only continue to comfort her. People who didn’t know would have thought Xiao Yanhan had just been dumped.
“You guys don’t understand, you don’t understand… wuwuwu…”
The tears that Xiao Yanhan had managed to hold back fell again. Lan Ranyan was speechless. She had already used up a whole pack of tissues.
Yu Linna had also lost the desire to continue writing. She was thinking about something.
It’s just an autograph. If she wants it that badly, I can just sign one for her personally.
She shouldn’t have hidden it back then.
She wanted to say something, but Xiao Yanhan had already wiped her tears and said she wanted to go out and buy a drink to clear her head. She opened the dorm room door and went out. After the door closed, Lan Ranyan stood up and walked towards her seat.
“You should just confess.”
Lan Ranyan’s meaning was obvious. In Xiao Yanhan’s current state, she definitely wouldn’t be able to recover in a short time. Plus, since she cared so much about the autograph, she could just give her one. In the entire dorm, only Xiao Yanhan didn’t know Yu Linna’s identity.
Yu Linna was also thinking that she had indeed hidden it from her for long enough. It would be better to confess sooner.
Come to think of it, other authors would do anything to expose themselves and let more people know. She, on the other hand, was like a thief, not wanting people to know who she was. She was clearly good-looking, yet she refused to show her face. A long time ago, when she was working for Chenghe, shooting commercials and showing her face, she couldn’t even get a role. Perhaps because of that experience, she subconsciously disliked commercial activities.
But she didn’t even go to signing events, which was hard for people to understand.
Her fans were all thinking that this great author must be too ashamed of her appearance. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she appear in public?
Actually, it really wasn’t like that.
The current Yu Linna had a net worth, wealth, status, and fame. She didn’t seem to lack anything. But she wasn’t as happy as before. Perhaps this was the price of fame. With this thought in mind, Yu Linna no longer wanted to attract attention. She became low-key. It was also because of this that Xiao Yanhan hadn’t discovered that her roommate of almost a month was actually her idol.
“Give this to her later.”
Yu Linna directly created an autograph on the spot and even wrote a blessing. It could be said that she had given enough face. The thousand autographs sold at the comic con were only signed with the two words “Shion.”
After signing, Yu Linna saved the document on her computer, then changed into some clothes to go out and opened the dorm room door, intending to go downstairs.
“Are you going to buy a drink too? Bring me back a bottle.”
Lan Ranyan said.
“Oh. What do you want?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
Since Lan Ranyan had said so, she must have known why she was going downstairs. Yu Linna could only wave her hand, put on a hoodie, and go downstairs. It was almost October. She still had to rush with her work. She hoped to be able to steadily publish two books in November. In the future, when her work stabilized, she would publish two books every month. Although it would be very tiring, she felt it was worth it.
When she got to the convenience store downstairs, Yu Linna found that Xiao Yanhan was not there at all. She wandered around a few other places before seeing her through the window of a milk tea shop. Xiao Yanhan was drinking milk tea alone, but clearly, she was not in the mood. She stared at the milk tea, as if in a daze.
Not getting the autograph was indeed a big blow to her.
She really liked Shion-sensei.
Yu Linna had also never thought that such a die-hard fan existed. It was one thing to support her, but it had actually affected her life.
“Yanhan.”
She was still a little worried about her being like this.
In any case, they were roommates now.
“You’re here? Want something to drink? My treat.”
Xiao Yanhan smiled wryly and asked her to sit down.
The more she was like this, the more worried one became.
“I’ll help you solve the autograph matter.”
“Thanks.”
Xiao Yanhan just took it as a comforting word and didn’t take it to heart.
“Sit down. I’ll show you the new manga I drew.”
She smiled wryly.
After knowing each other for so long, this was the first time she had offered to show her the manga she had drawn. From the very beginning, Xiao Yanhan had said that her dream was to become a manga artist. Everyone knew that she had submitted her work many times, but it had never been accepted. Although her father was a manga artist, she didn’t seem to have inherited his good genes. Her journey of submission had not been smooth.
It was because of this, after so many years, that Xiao Yanhan had the thought of just giving up. Anyway, she had no hope. It wasn’t until she read Shion-sensei’s novel that she decided to persevere a little longer.
Xiao Yanhan sent the compressed manga file from her phone to Yu Linna. Yu Linna opened her phone and slowly read it. During this time, Xiao Yanhan ordered a cup of milk tea for her and told her to drink it slowly.
When she first saw the manga, Yu Linna felt that the art style was very comfortable. It was clear that the creator had a good foundation. But the story content was a bit incredible. It was clearly a story set in ancient times, but there were aliens and spaceships. This kind of style change wasn’t impossible, but it just felt too out of place, especially in such a serious manga.
“How is it?”
Seeing her put down her phone, Xiao Yanhan asked.
Yu Linna didn’t know how to answer. The story was really not a good one, even a bit bad. The only advantage was probably that it was eye-catching enough, and the beginning was slightly interesting. After that, the thinking jumped too fast, and the reader could no longer follow the author’s thoughts.
This was not a qualified commercial work.
“It’s terrible, right?”
Seeing her remain silent for a long time, Xiao Yanhan had already guessed the result. Sure enough, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t draw a good manga. She was still not good enough.
Thinking of this, her smile became even more bitter.
“I…”
“Be honest. I won’t blame you. I don’t want to hear lies either.”
“…This manga, it’s not that hard to look at, but it’s definitely not interesting.”
Yu Linna finally gave a professional answer.
In terms of the story, it was not just a little bit off. The art style wasn’t a very serious problem, but it was precisely the story. Secondly, there were also problems with the characters. The protagonist’s positioning was unclear, sometimes serious and sometimes funny. It was really confusing. It wasn’t without reason that it was rejected.
“I, I admire my father very much. I want to be like him, to become a great manga artist, to let more people see my works, to know my name. But, I’ve been trying so hard, so hard, yet I’ve never succeeded… Later I started to think, did I choose the wrong path? Maybe I shouldn’t have taken the path of a manga artist, because, I’m not suitable for this path at all.”
These words from Xiao Yanhan made Yu Linna’s eyebrows twitch.
She could understand these experiences very well.
Working hard and not getting rewarded, that’s the reality of life. People say that if you work hard, you will definitely get results. These are all lies. There is no such good thing in the world. If you want to succeed, hard work alone is not enough. Hard work is just a basic requirement. The real factor that determines whether you can succeed is whether you can choose the right option.
Yu Linna was the same. From the very beginning of the singing competition, she entered the entertainment industry, wanting to find an opportunity. But she worked hard, yet she didn’t necessarily succeed. She had been failing all along. She had even experienced the betrayal of a friend, was almost subjected to the casting couch by Chenghe, and had even wanted to commit suicide. But in the end, she persevered.
After leaving the entertainment industry, she chose the novel circle again, heading down a path she had never walked before. And then, she finally succeeded.
The road of life is full of too many setbacks and helplessness. But, if you want to succeed, choosing a correct path is very important.
“Later I read Shion-sensei’s book, read his afterword, and I knew he was really amazing. He had never written a novel before, but he succeeded the first time he wrote one, and it was written in a week. I admire him, I want to be like him. With this thought, I persevered. But in the end, I still got nothing. If only my idol were here, how wonderful it would be. I really want to talk to him…”
Xiao Yanhan lowered her head, looking like she was about to cry again, but she held back.
“I’ve made a fool of myself. Maybe you think I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but I really want to get his autograph. If I had my idol’s autograph, maybe I would have the motivation to keep going.”
Her smile was heart-wrenching to see. Yu Linna held her milk tea; she hadn’t drunk much of it either. The two of them fell into silence again.
