Chapter 476: Fame Breeds Controversy
The industry was changing.
All of this was something that no one could have anticipated. Starting from when Shion-sensei had started to make waves, even the entertainment industry had gradually begun to change. The most obvious characteristic was that in the past, the situation of trying to fool the audience with a perfunctory production was becoming rarer and rarer, and it was simply impossible to do so.
Just take the entertainment industry for example. Ever since the super high box office of Black Wolf, the entertainment industry had undergone a world-shaking reform. Young actors with no acting skills could no longer carry the box office, nor could they bring a good impression to the audience. Gradually, the term “young fresh meat” had even become a derogatory term.
“The increasingly low threshold does not mean that you can lower your demands on yourself. The expanding market will only tell you that you are in an era of extremely fierce competition. In this era, it is like a cruel battlefield. If you are not careful, you will be eliminated. I have always felt that for a person, for a writer, to always remain clear-headed and not to forget one’s original intention is the most basic principle. Because you are number one now, you cannot be number one forever. If you don’t work hard, someone who works harder than you will surpass you sooner or later.”
Yu Linna had been invited to a university lecture to share her story and experience with everyone. Although she had never tried to give a speech on stage, she felt that this was not a particularly difficult thing to do. She had experienced all kinds of things. This was not difficult.
She was on the podium, facing a large group of students below. She was not flustered, nor was she nervous. She gave a very natural speech, talking about her creative experience, and also about her initial lack of success as an actress, and how she had later changed her career to become a novelist.
The students below listened very attentively. To them, Yu Linna was indeed a big star of this era. Although she was not an actress, she was indeed a star. After all, she had many labels on her: the number one novelist of Wenqing, one of the five supreme gods of the novel world, and a super screenwriter.
Many people wanted to know what her brain was made of, to be able to continuously come up with so many interesting stories.
“Actually, what you choose is not important. The most important thing is that you have to be clear about what you can do. Choice is very important. Everyone, remember this. Thank you for listening to me say these things.”
The lecture was over. Yu Linna returned to the backstage, a little tired. A mere university lecture could actually make her tired. The school had given her a bottle of water. Yu Linna took it and drank it.
“Shion-sensei, thank you for coming this time. You’ve worked hard.”
“Mmm.”
Yu Linna replied faintly. She didn’t really want to say much. After all, she had just been invited over. Her attitude was certainly a little impolite in the eyes of outsiders, but now she had the right to be arrogant, and also the right to put on such a face. Just because she was a supreme god author.
After that, many people had also invited her to give a lecture, as well as to ask her to endorse a product. Yu Linna did not accept. When others asked her if she had any thoughts when she saw a bottle of Coke with her friend, Air-sensei, as the spokesperson, she just answered no.
Commercial endorsements were not particularly important to her. It was all about showing your face and putting on a fake smile. It didn’t suit her at all.
She had already done these things in the Chenghe era. Now, she had no interest in these things.
“The First Municipal High School seems to have invited you back to give a lecture. Look, do you want to agree?”
Fang Jiangning asked from the side.
“What about you? Didn’t they invite you?”
“No. They probably think that for a female commentator who is in the gaming circle to go back to her alma mater to give a lecture is really not a positive image. After all, you also know that this thing, games, is really that… in the eyes of high school students.”
“Since that’s the case, then how much of an appearance fee did they prepare for me to go back?”
“…You’re all about the money. They will surely say that you are not nostalgic and have forgotten the kindness of your alma mater.”
“The achievements I have today have not much to do with them. What do they have to be proud of? Friendship is friendship. Money still has to be calculated clearly. Besides, they didn’t ask you to go back. What kind of attitude is that?”
Yu Linna drank the water and wiped her sweat.
Entering the end of May, time was also very fast. After Zixuan and the Paper Airplane was officially finished, Yu Linna had begun her brand new creative path. While Dawn Assassin was being steadily serialized, she had also tried to write an animated film script. She wanted to create a story about herself. In addition, the fourth season of The Smile of the Rose had been completed under her supervision and was about to be broadcast. Beast Game had also officially started filming, and she had also joined the crew as a screenwriter, directing the whole process.
Now, she was full of glory, full of honor, and had truly made a name for herself. But many people said that she was just a businesswoman, who only knew how to make money, and had a reek of money.
When she opened Weibo, she could still see a lot of spam.
“Get out of China!”
“Yes, go back to your country!”
“What are you, a dead ghost, doing in China!”
Many people on the internet liked to talk about her nationality. Although this was originally a brainless remark, many people just liked to lead the rhythm. And everyone liked to follow the trend. After a long time, such remarks had become more and more.
She herself was indeed a Chinese national. She also had an ID card. Everything could prove that she was a legal Chinese citizen. But did everyone like to hear these things? These were certain. Why was that?
Because she was famous.
She was famous. She was a hit.
So she had to suffer such slander. Every glamorous public figure would surely experience this kind of thing. They all had to suffer a lot of doubts from people, as well as those harsh words. What they longed for was to be encouraged, to be understood. But the fact was, no one would understand. Compared to understanding, everyone preferred to question and to curse.
Ridiculous. She had clearly grown up on this land. She was born a Chinese person. Where did these people get the ability to drive her away? Just because she had a foreigner’s face, so she was not worthy of being in this country? Just because she was fairer than others, and her hair and eye color were different from others, she had to be excluded? What was the difference between this and racial discrimination?
“Shion-sensei, let’s have a competition.”
When Yu Linna was going to the editorial department, she would occasionally run into one or two such people. These people were all authors from Wenqing, arrogant and proud, unable to accept the fact that Shion-sensei was more popular than them. To put it bluntly, their jealousy was too strong.
Yu Linna looked up at this extra-like person, her expression plain.
“What’s there to compete about?”
“Let’s have a match. We’ll just talk with sales. If I win, you will obediently leave Wenqing and never appear at Wenqing again.”
This person’s pen name was Shanping Xi, a great author of Wenqing. According to the registration, he was classified in the same category as Air-sensei. It was just that he had always been unwilling to admit the fact that his junior, Shion-sensei, was already the only supreme god author of Wenqing. He arrogantly believed that he was the Wenqing author who could become a supreme god author.
“You can’t beat me.”
Yu Linna said faintly.
Of course, such trash talk would make people angry. This extra author was not happy.
“You’re just number one now. You’re not always number one. I guarantee I will surpass you!”
“Then you should work hard.”
Yu Linna didn’t even want to bother with him.
She waved goodbye to him and left the editorial department. Before, she might have been polite for a sentence or two, but after a long time, she was also annoyed. Some trash talk would come out if she didn’t deliberately control it.
Facing others’ challenges, others’ arrogance, she had never bothered with them, because she had no interest. Unconsciously, she was no longer a newcomer, but a person who could lead an era. In the past, this was completely unimaginable.
And the four people in her dorm, everyone had found what they wanted to do. Fang Jiangning was a game commentator and often had to fly around. Recently, she had also gone to that Demacia Cup competition, and was now moving forward towards her own goal. As for Xiao Yanhan, she was also quite popular now. A single manga had supported her and had made her a representative of the new era of manga artists.
Although Lan Ranyan had had a period of confusion, she was now also doing what she wanted to do. According to her, she wanted to design games, to make a game that everyone liked to play. After confirming her goal, she was also desperately studying the relevant knowledge and had also submitted a proposal to a company, striving to be able to make a game she liked as soon as possible.
Really, everyone had found their own goal. This was a good thing.
Yu Linna was not lost either. What she wanted to do now was to be a scriptwriter, a person who could write a good story. But she herself had no intention of flying abroad. She just wanted to write in her home country. She didn’t want to go anywhere.
“Senior, you are really amazing. Do you have any ideas for your next theme?”
Mi Aili came out with Yu Linna for a drink and also brought up the matter of Yu Linna’s next work. After all, Yu Linna’s work was finished. During the serialization of Dawn Assassin, she would surely have to launch a brand new story to ensure her dual-opening state. Everyone only knew that she was a novelist, a scriptwriter, but they had also forgotten that she was an illustrator. In her hands, there was almost nothing that could not be done. She alone was responsible for so much work. In the eyes of others, it was unimaginable. No wonder everyone called her a tentacle monster.
Mi Aili was the winner of last year’s Newcomer Grand Prize, and was Yu Linna’s junior. Although that’s what they said, in fact, Mi Aili was older than Yu Linna.
“I haven’t thought about it yet.”
“Whatever senior writes is amazing. There’s no need to worry about that. Where shall we go for a walk in a bit? I want to have a good time on this rare holiday.”
“Are you just trying to openly slack off?”
“This is called looking for inspiration. How can a writer’s business be called slacking off?”
Yu Linna smiled and said nothing. The two of them were strolling around nearby, wondering where to go to relax. Suddenly, Yu Linna saw a poster, saying that the LOL Demacia Cup competition would be held in Guangnan City this week. At that time, it would be a stage for all the players to compete on the same stage.
“Wow, the Demacia Cup. Not bad. Senior, do you want to go and see it together?”
“This esports competition? I’m not very familiar with it.”
“Let’s go, let’s go! You’ll like it.”
Although that’s what she said, Yu Linna really didn’t want to go. Because she didn’t know how to play games, let alone these esports competitions. Although the esports circle had been quite popular these years, she hadn’t paid much attention to it.
Suddenly, Mi Aili found a young boy walking out of a certain club’s entrance, his hands in his pockets, and walking away. Mi Aili thought that this might be a player from a certain team, so she pulled the unwilling Yu Linna and ran over.
