Chapter 391: Die-Hard Fan
With the great success of the manga Violent Witch District by the manga artist duo, Yan Yu-sensei and Baihua-sensei, the reader traffic also increased, and the feedback was also a lot. It firmly occupied the top spot on the magazine’s manga popularity list, becoming a representative work of the new era. According to the current heat of the manga, it was very likely that it would compete with the country’s top-tier manga for a spot on the sales chart in the future, and might even be exported overseas as a representative of domestic manga.
As a manga artist of the new era, Xiao Yanhan had finally clarified her own path, and had also explored a path completely different from her father’s, a path leading to the road of light. Not long ago, Xiao Yanhan was a flop manga artist. Even if her manga could be serialized, it was only a short story. She had never had a long-term serialization in a magazine. Violent Witch District was her first, but it would not be her last. Such a manga about a female superhero, what ladder it would climb in the future was still unknown.
But Xiao Yanhan, as a manga artist of the new era, did have a high popularity. Without a doubt, the TV station had invited her to participate in an interview program to talk about her experience of becoming a manga artist. Originally, the organizers had wanted to invite Baihua-sensei, but Baihua-sensei had refused. Only Yan Yu-sensei was willing to come.
The host, Huang Jinglin, sat in the main seat, and the camera was already aimed at Xiao Yanhan. Xiao Yanhan sat there, a little nervous, waiting for the program to be officially recorded. Huang Jinglin had also read the script once and had confirmed her lines.
“Welcome everyone to Stars Face-to-Face. I’m your host, Huang Jinglin. Recently, there’s a manga that’s very popular. It’s a story about a female protagonist who was originally an ordinary person, who, because she was fired by the company’s boss, decided to be a hero, and accidentally became the strongest hero in the world. I think everyone is very familiar with this manga. Yes, it’s Violent Witch District. For this issue, we have invited the author, Yan Yu-sensei! Welcome!”
“Hello everyone, I’m Yan Yu.”
The interview program officially began. Xiao Yanhan also showed a natural smile and greeted the audience in front of the camera. This issue of the program was recorded and then edited and released later. Although it was not a live broadcast, it was Xiao Yanhan’s first time on a show, so she was still a little nervous.
“Can you tell everyone about your experience of creating manga? Yan Yu-sensei was already a manga artist before serializing Violent Witch District, right?”
“To be precise, a flop manga artist. I’ve been drawing manga since high school, but I’ve never been able to get a serialization in a magazine. It’s almost like I draw one and it gets rejected. Several years have passed, and I’ve never been able to get a serialization. If I were to pull out all the rejected manga I’ve drawn before, three boxes probably wouldn’t be enough.”
“It’s not easy to be a manga artist. Yan Yu-sensei, what made you persevere?”
“Because of a dream, I guess. To be rejected so many times and still not be willing to give up, besides a dream, there’s no other reason.”
After getting into the state, Xiao Yanhan also talked freely, chatting with the host. The atmosphere of the program was very harmonious, and the recording of the program was also very smooth.
A few days later, Yu Linna saw the interviewed Xiao Yanhan on TV. She sat down to watch Xiao Yanhan’s interview program, listening to her talk about her experience as a manga artist on it. Xiao Yanhan talked about the setbacks she had faced in her years of drawing manga, such as being rejected or not being favored by the editors, as well as the persuasion of the people around her. She spoke of all the hardships she had experienced. She also mentioned that if she hadn’t met her university roommates, she might have lost the heart to continue creating.
Especially, she mentioned Shion-sensei.
“I think I have to thank my idol for where I am today, Shion-sensei.”
“Shion-sensei? Why?”
Huang Jinglin was very surprised why she would thank Shion-sensei. Huang Jinglin’s good friend was Chen Xi, and she also knew who Shion-sensei was. She just hadn’t expected that a has-been author would actually be brought up, and by a rising popular manga artist at that.
And Xiao Yanhan herself didn’t mind the confusion on the host’s face and just smiled. Yu Linna, in front of the TV, held her teacup and stared blankly at the smiling Xiao Yanhan on the show.
“It was Shion-sensei who gave me the reason to continue to work hard. That’s what I think. I was originally going to give up on being a manga artist. To move forward towards a goal alone, but to always not do it well, there are no more than two reasons: either the direction is wrong or there is no talent. At that time, I was at a low point and had not been successful. I had the idea of giving up. Later, I saw Shion-sensei’s Ballad of the Enchantress and thought, There can actually be such a moving work. And I also heard that Shion-sensei had spent seven days and six nights to write it. Besides being shocked, I was just shocked.”
She smiled, a trace of bitterness on her face.
“Hearing Shion-sensei’s inspirational story, I thought, I really don’t want to give up. I still want to stay here and draw manga. And then I became a die-hard fan of Shion-sensei. By the way, there should still be people who know me. After all, I used to be an administrator in Shion-sensei’s fan group, haha.”
“You really admire Shion-sensei. But Shion-sensei doesn’t have many works now, right?”
“That’s what they say, but I always believe that she will come back. She is Shion-sensei. How could she give up so easily?”
Yu Linna stared blankly at the TV screen, not even drinking her tea, just looking at Xiao Yanhan’s face, a wave of emotion in her heart.
Shion-sensei will not give up.
This sentence kept echoing in her heart.
“It seems you are really a die-hard fan of Shion-sensei. I’ve never seen a manga artist who unilaterally likes someone. Actually, it’s better to be a bit more objective.”
“No, a true fan will not care about others’ evaluations. I am a die-hard fan of Shion-sensei. There is no doubt about this.”
“You really like Shion-sensei? Have you met him in person?”
“I have. He’s a very good person. I’ve also shaken his hand.”
Xiao Yanhan thought to herself, Not only have I met Shion-sensei, I’m even roommates with Shion-sensei.
“This is really news. What does Shion-sensei look like? Is it convenient to disclose?”
“No, I can’t betray my idol. Unless she herself is willing to show her face, otherwise I will not expose her.”
Xiao Yanhan had refused to reveal Shion-sensei’s appearance to the audience. But from her attitude, everyone felt that she and Shion-sensei should have a pretty good relationship in private. She had also said that she was a die-hard fan of Shion-sensei. Now that Xiao Yanhan had become a popular manga artist, the chances of her getting in touch with Shion-sensei were not nonexistent. It was very likely that they had already established a very good relationship in private.
And because of this episode, the netizens had been commenting widely online. This has-been author was brought up again.
“Looking at Yan Yu-sensei’s attitude, she seems to be quite familiar with Shion-sensei. And she especially likes him.”
“I feel like, could Yan Yu-sensei be in love with Shion-sensei? Shion-sensei is about the same age as her. It’s probably a mutual attraction between people of the same age.”
“It’s also possible. Shion-sensei used to be very popular. It’s not impossible for Yan Yu-sensei to like him. Look at how she’s protecting him. The host can’t even say a bad word. There’s probably something fishy going on.”
“I have a bold idea. I’m thinking that the officials have never said Shion-sensei’s gender. Why do you all keep leaning towards him being a man? Can’t Shion-sensei be a woman? [laughing emoji]”
There are always silly netizens who will guess the truth of the matter, but no one will take it seriously. The truth is always buried in rumors.
…
Yu Linna finished watching the show and searched on Weibo, only to find a Weibo post titled “Yan Yu-sensei is suspected of having a crush on the outdated author Shion-sensei” on the hot search. She sighed helplessly. What a silly hot search. This Xiao Yanhan had made her famous again.
How was she going to explain this to Zhiyun?
She turned off the TV and continued to create her novel. Xiao Yanhan was right. She had not given up. She would come back.
…
At the same time.
Because Nangong Ying had signed with Yaohua, Chenghe’s rival, a while ago, and had signed for two A-list production movies at once, this made Chenghe unhappy, but they couldn’t do anything to her. Nangong Ying was now a big hit, and her popularity was on the rise. She was no longer the newcomer who was easy to bully. She was now unwilling to sign for any of Chenghe’s movies. The only movie she had renewed for was the sequel to Blue Pupil. After that, if Blue Pupil 2 sold well, and Chenghe wanted to renew her contract again, Nangong Ying would surely raise her price. Of all the movies, Nangong Ying was only willing to sign for a series of movies filmed by Chenghe.
In her newcomer period, Nangong Ying had suffered at the hands of Chenghe, and because of Chenghe, she had sold out Yu Linna. In short, she had a belly full of anger. It was impossible for her to have a good impression of Chenghe.
As the leader of the film industry, Chenghe was particularly unhappy.
“This Nangong Ying, she shouldn’t forget that it was us who made her famous. She’s actually burning her bridges now!”
“This bitch.”
“How outrageous.”
Everyone was very angry about this. But Chenghe’s Yu Tianchen saw things very clearly. He had long known that this would be the situation. As long as Nangong Ying became famous, she would have the capital to challenge Chenghe. She was no longer the newcomer who was easy to bully. She would rather sign with Chenghe’s rival company than renew her contract with Chenghe for even one movie. It could be seen that she really had no attachment to Chenghe, even though this company was the largest film company in the country.
This company, Chenghe, was indeed large, but many new female actresses in the entertainment industry did not like Chenghe, even though it could make actresses famous. In the final analysis, Chenghe liked to bully the weak and had used the casting couch on many new female stars. These were just the tip of the iceberg in the entertainment industry. Now that Nangong Ying was famous, she couldn’t wait to get away from here.
“Didn’t we say we were going to sign Tang Yumeng before? How did it go?”
“No good. Tang Yumeng refused. Should we make a move?”
“Forget it. She’s not an easy one to bite. The Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress is not so easy to deal with. If she were the newcomer Nangong Ying, that would be another story, but not now.”
Yu Tianchen knew that this was a hard bone to chew, and he couldn’t get a hand on her. Tang Yumeng’s popularity was on the rise now, and it had also been revealed that she was best friends with the star An Xiayue. This made it even more difficult to make a move. An Xiayue’s background was really not easy to deal with.
But Nangong Ying was unwilling to renew her contract, and Chenghe was also having a headache. Such a cash cow, to just leave like that, it was really hard to part with. Helpless, Chenghe could only look for the next target.
…
Nangong Ying stood at the company’s entrance, looking at Chenghe’s sign, a sneer in her heart. She put her hands in her pockets and left. She hated this company from the bottom of her heart. Even if she had to go to the worst company, she wouldn’t stay here.
She opened Weibo and looked at the recent hot searches. Her brow slowly relaxed, and then it furrowed in an instant.
