Chapter 20: The Fallen Child Star (20) part 1

Both sides took a step back, and the matter was considered settled.

Yao Rong couldn’t afford to stay away from the camera for long. She handed the book she was holding to the assistant director, smiling with genuine warmth, “Director, this book is for you. If you enjoy it after reading, please don’t forget to help promote it for me.”

The assistant director hastily took the novel, gesturing for Yao Rong to leave quickly, as if waving off an unwelcome omen.

He glanced at the beautifully packaged book in his hand, initially intending to toss it aside carelessly. But just before letting go, he changed his mind and stuffed it into his bag: “Might as well read a few pages first. If it’s no good, I can always use it to prop up a wobbly table later!”

However, how impressive could a debut novel from an unknown author really be?

Many viewers shared this skeptical sentiment.

[I was confused for a while, but I finally figured it out. So Yao Rong wrote a sci-fi novel recently and even got it published? Isn’t she just using the show’s platform for publicity?]

[To be honest, I find it hard to believe that a middle-aged woman running a guesthouse could suddenly become enlightened and write a sci-fi novel worthy of endless praise.]

Yet some viewers were more open-minded and expressed anticipation.

[Personally, I don’t think we should put limits on women over 40. Even at 70 or 80, they still have the ability and courage to change the world. I’ll definitely support Ms. Yao’s book.]

[This publishing house editor sure knows how to hype things up. After his long spiel, I’m starting to feel like I’d regret missing out on this book.]

[Running a paradise-like guesthouse, possessing master-level carving skills, and now writing sci-fi novels… I wonder what other surprises Ms. Yao has in store for us.]

Some viewers were simply looking to stir up trouble.

[To those who called Ms. Yao an unsophisticated village woman with no culture, may I ask what the titles of your masterpieces are? I’d love to study them thoroughly!]

Xu Weiheng, who had been chatting with Editor He, caught sight of Yao Rong returning to the frame. He silently inquired with his eyes if she had faced any difficulties from the production team.

Yao Rong shook her head slightly.

Xu Weiheng felt reassured.

Yao Rong sat back down across from Editor He and handed over the finalized manuscript of ‘Light Years’.

Editor He finished the tea in his cup and, knowing when to make an exit, stood up. “I won’t take up any more of your time. I’ll call you when ‘Starry Sky’ is released on August 16th.”

As he spoke, he didn’t forget to subtly emphasize the specific release date of the novel.

The assistant director was once again bewildered: This sly businessman!

After the publishing house team left, the assistant director lost all motivation to continue filming.

Fortunately, there were no tasks scheduled for the afternoon. He checked the time and announced that the recording of the first episode was concluded, and that filming for the second episode would begin next Friday.

At that time, all four groups of guests would gather at a seaside villa in G City.

“Cut the live stream,” he signaled to the staff.

Once the live stream ended, the assistant director approached Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng to discuss: “Since all four groups of guests have pets, the production team would like to invite you to bring your pets to G City for filming as well.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll arrange air transportation for the pets. There won’t be any safety issues,” he assured them.

For outdoor variety shows like this, last-minute changes to the schedule were common. The contract emphasized that guests should try to cooperate with reasonable requests from the production team.

After the assistant director’s repeated assurances about their pet’s safety, Yao Rong agreed to the arrangement.

The assistant director’s smile became more genuine: “Then I won’t disturb you further. Please rest well.”

The production team packed up all the live streaming equipment, as they wouldn’t be filming here for the second episode.

Half an hour later, the crew left the guesthouse and flew back to the TV station.

The assistant director felt wide awake. He initially wanted to ask a flight attendant for an entertainment newspaper, but his eyes fell on his bulging briefcase, reminding him of the sample book Yao Rong had given him.

With nothing else to do, he decided to give it a read.

The assistant director opened ‘Starry Sky’ to its first page.

Ten minutes later, he was astonished: It’s actually… quite good?

An hour later, the assistant director was reading with such excitement that he inadvertently slapped the thigh of his colleague sitting next to him: “This is more than just good!”

The cameraman, rudely awakened: “???”

Meanwhile, the buzz that started from the live stream began spreading to platforms like Weibo, gradually gaining momentum.

The hashtag #StarrySky# climbed the trending list at an astonishing pace.

Clicking into the hashtag revealed the latest Weibo post from D City Publishing House: 「Link to the first 30,000 words of “Starry Sky” for preview. Welcome everyone to read and share your thoughts!q」

The publisher’s move was undeniably clever.

While trending topics can be fleeting, releasing the first 30,000 words for free at this moment allowed the public to engage with the book directly. If people clicked and became intrigued, that buzz could transform into genuine interest and traffic.

Perhaps under these circumstances, many netizens would try to find faults with the book, but Editor He, who proposed this post, believed that the quality of the novel could withstand any criticism.

Indeed, as more people finished reading the first 30,000 words, public opinion began to shift noticeably.

[To be honest, I was genuinely surprised and impressed.]

[No wonder Ms. Yao can carve such exquisite woodwork. Her writing is incredibly vivid and captivating!]

[It’s only 30,000 words, but the author has successfully unveiled a grand corner of the starry sky in such a short span, leaving me eager for more. I came here ready to critique, but now I’m a complete fan. I’ll definitely support this!]

Besides #StarrySky# trending, another hashtag surged even faster up the rankings, easily entering the top five: #XuWeihengWaterArmy#