Chapter 397: The First Stage
After the live stream began, many people were watching online. Bullet comments were also sent one by one, asserting their presence. Some people even deliberately spammed the screen, giving many people a very bad experience. But in any case, the first appearance of Yan Yu-sensei and Baihua-sensei on a show had still attracted a lot of attention, especially since Baihua-sensei, who usually didn’t like to appear on camera, had made a rare appearance today, giving many fans a surprise. Although she had debuted as an online manga artist, Baihua-sensei’s popularity was not low at all.
As the older generation of manga artists gradually retired from the stage, the new generation of manga artists would have to support it. This was also an important reason why they could achieve such high popularity in such a short time.
As soon as the event began, the audience below was very enthusiastic, all pressing the buzzer next to their seats to answer questions. It seemed that they really wanted to go on stage and have close contact with their idols. Xiao Yanhan, seeing the audience below so enthusiastic, couldn’t help but think of the days when she was a fan of Shion-sensei. At this thought, she smiled.
“So, I’ll draw a lucky audience member. Please welcome the audience member from F24 to the stage.”
Xiao Yanhan had drawn randomly. The organizers hadn’t asked her to draw a specific person, nor had they asked her to pay special attention to anyone, so she was very casual. Anyway, it was just an event. But for the audience, it was different. They were very much looking forward to having close contact with their idols.
The audience member who was called to the stage was a girl, still dressed like a student, probably of high school age. She had an excited look on her face. After she came on stage, she didn’t even know what to say, her face was all red.
“Hello, what’s your name?”
“I, I, I… my name is, my name is Ruan Xingxin…”
“Don’t be nervous. Relax. I saw you were very quick to answer just now, and you answered a lot of questions correctly.”
“But, but, I’m still nervous…”
Although this fan named Ruan Xingxin really wanted to go on stage and had tried very hard to answer the questions, she was still nervous when she actually went on stage. After all, it was her first time in close contact with her dearest idol. How could she not be nervous?
Below the stage, Yu Linna and the others watched as Xiao Yanhan interacted with the little fan with a gentle expression, and couldn’t help but feel with emotion that this was not Xiao Yanhan at all. After all, they had never seen Xiao Yanhan like that. As expected, it was different after becoming a manga artist. The person was different.
“That girl, she wasn’t that talkative before.”
Lan Ranyan said faintly.
Recalling the Xiao Yanhan when she had just entered university, the three of them had a rare unified opinion. That was also true. When Xiao Yanhan had first come, she would complain of being tired no matter what she did, and was too lazy to do anything. She couldn’t endure any hardship at all, but when it came to eating, she was very positive. It could be said that she was quite a failure, and she was not willing to work hard.
A year had passed, and she had also begun to change.
“Miss Ruan Xingxin, let me call you that. Is this your first time participating in this kind of event?”
“Yes. I’ve always wanted to come, but I never had the chance. I’m very happy to be on stage this time. Can you give me an autograph?”
“Of course you can~ Come, a hug is also fine~”
With that, Xiao Yanhan opened her arms and embraced the little fan. This little fan was so excited, her face flushed, her eyes spinning. The other audience members below also exploded, all saying they wanted one too, but unfortunately not everyone had the chance to go on stage.
In the end, this was just an event to interact with the fans. Since Zhang Zijin didn’t like to talk on stage, it was basically Xiao Yanhan who was talking on stage alone. Every time she drew lots to pick an audience member, to let the audience come on stage and have close contact with their idols, it was almost always Xiao Yanhan who took charge.
“So, Miss Ruan Xingxin, what is the reason you like this manga?”
“The first time was because I heard that this manga was drawn by two girls, so I started to read it. After reading it, I particularly liked this manga, and of course I also like Yan Yu-sensei very much. I’m a fan of Yan Yu-sensei! Yan Yu-sensei, I will always support you. I like you. I’ve bought every issue of the magazine!”
“Thank you for your support. I’m very happy. Is there a particularly favorite character inside?”
“Yes, yes. I like the disciple, Sukari. I particularly like her. I hope Yan Yu-sensei won’t kill her.”
“Haha, how could that be? I’m not the kind of manga artist who just kills off characters randomly. I’m not that scary.”
After chatting with the little fan on stage for a while, because the time was limited, she could only let this excited little fan go. In the little fan’s reluctant gaze, Xiao Yanhan and Zhang Zijin each signed an autograph on the spot, and even left a blessing, and also gave this little fan a set of single volumes. This set of single volumes had not been released yet, which made this little fan the first reader to get a single volume. She was so excited.
In the subsequent Q&A activity and on-stage interaction, Xiao Yanhan was very familiar with the process and continued to draw lots to call audience members up. There were also other activities later, for example, an interview segment, to tell the audience about her experience as a manga artist along the way. There were also other guests on stage, who talked about manga with Xiao Yanhan and Zhang Zijin, for example, the market prospects, and the themes of the manga. This was also for the sake of the program. Then, in the next few segments, it was basically about the old manga artists, and the manga artists of Xiao Yanhan’s father’s generation, and they also talked about the novel world.
After finally getting back to the lottery segment, Xiao Yanhan had also picked a few more little fans, but the effect was not as good as the first fan who had gone on stage. But this was also just a formality. The fans who were called up were all very excited. After all, the chances of shaking hands with their idol were very few.
“Alright, the program has also entered its second half. Yan Yu-sensei, which lucky audience member are you going to draw next?”
Guest number one asked.
Xiao Yanhan thought for a moment, thinking about how to proceed with the live stream next. Speaking of which, this live stream was also quite boring. It was originally a spur-of-the-moment idea, and the effect was also very ordinary. It was completely because the organizers wanted to gain heat. But this was also to create momentum for their single volume release. And with the traffic of Yan Yu-sensei and Baihua-sensei, it could still attract many people to watch the live stream.
“Speaking of fans, most of the people at the scene are fans of the two senseis. Yan Yu-sensei was also an administrator of a fan group before, right? Now that group has many people applying to join, but unfortunately now you need to be verified to join the group.”
Guest number two teased.
Only then did Xiao Yanhan think of the “Send Razor Blades to Urge Updates” group she had joined before. The guest was also teasing about this group. At that time, after Shion-sensei’s novel had become a hit, a few of her fans had created this group themselves. Because at that time, Shion-sensei didn’t have her own fan group, so a few of them had created one themselves. Xiao Yanhan was the only female fan, so she had become the administrator. They had personally witnessed this group grow from just a few people to several thousand to ten thousand. In the end, the group members were full and could not accept new members, so they had created a second group.
Thinking of this, Xiao Yanhan was full of nostalgia. It turned out that a year had already passed.
“That’s right. I also started out as a fan, so I especially understand the feelings of all the fans. The first time you talk to your idol, the first time you see your idol up close, you must be very excited. I was the same back then. The first time I saw my idol, the first time I talked to my idol, I was really so excited, so happy. Now I still have that autograph as a treasure. I don’t know if you will keep my autograph, but I especially understand your current feelings.”
Xiao Yanhan said with a smile, talking about her experience as a fan, and her eyes were looking at Yu Linna in the VIP seat.
Yu Linna was stunned for a moment, and then she smiled wryly.
This girl is really direct.
Many of the fans at the scene knew that Xiao Yanhan used to be a fan of Shion-sensei, and particularly liked this author’s books. She had already been a little famous in the circle before she had become famous. The idol she was talking about, you didn’t have to guess to know who it was.
Xiao Yanhan lowered her head and smiled.
“Actually, I really want to thank my idol, and I’m also really happy that she could become a guiding light in my life. She has also been lost, has wandered, has been lost, but in the end, she was still able to find her own life direction. Now, I want to draw a lot and call someone up. My favorite idol is also in the audience today. I want to invite her up.”
Xiao Yanhan said as she looked up, a sincere smile on her face. The guests were a little stunned. Clearly, they had not expected her to say this. The organizers were also puzzled. It seemed that this segment was not in the event.
Yu Linna was a little stunned. This girl wasn’t trying to play the same trick she had used when she had gone to Japan, was she?
“The next audience member, A13.”
After she finished, Lan Ranyan and Fang Jiangning looked at Yu Linna with a look of schadenfreude. Yu Linna was truly helpless.
She stood up, tidied her hair, and slowly came out of her seat, walking towards the stage. On the stage, Xiao Yanhan had a smile on her face, waiting for her to come up. And Yu Linna, no matter how much helplessness she had, in this moment, it all turned to ease. After all, she had walked too many paths. This path was not long. If she walked on, she could also see the end.
In the beginning, when the audience saw this blonde girl, they at most just thought she was very cute and pretty. On the second look, she felt familiar. On the third look, they were already discussing in the audience. On the fourth look, they were all arguing.
The guests were also slightly surprised when they saw this blonde girl come on stage. How could this person be here? She wasn’t on the program’s schedule.
The organizers didn’t know Yu Linna and just thought that this was a cute female fan. They were even thinking that they could attract a lot of traffic. Little did they know that the live stream room was already spamming. Many people were frantically spamming the bullet comments. In an instant, the live stream room was filled with screens.
Xiao Yanhan smiled and handed the microphone to Yu Linna.
“How does it feel on stage?”
This was Xiao Yanhan’s first sentence. Just this attitude was enough to tell everyone that this girl she had called up was definitely not an ordinary fan. And the audience who had recognized her were already shouting Yu Linna’s name. Clearly, they also knew this person.
A few of the guests also knew of Yu Linna’s existence. They were thinking, Why would Yan Yu-sensei pull such a stunt? This is too shocking. But the program still had to go on. The guests bit the bullet and went on.
“Can you please introduce yourself?” Guest number three said with a smile.
In fact, everyone knew who she was. It was just that she had never admitted it in public. Now this opportunity had come, and everyone was looking at her.
The audience below was already in an uproar, shouting Yu Linna’s name.
“Ahem, please be quiet for a moment.”
As soon as she spoke, the audience below immediately quieted down. They held their breath and waited for her to speak. And at this moment, the live stream room also tacitly stopped spamming. On the screen, there was only Yu Linna’s face and those big eyes.
“Let me introduce myself. I am Shion,” she said with a smile.
At this moment, the bullet comments in the live stream room were filled in less than a second. The audience below was also shouting wildly. It was as if it had its own effect. The whole venue was boiling. And the person involved, Shion, or rather, Yu Linna, she was very calm.
The program had had an unexpected effect.
