Chapter 116: Riding Coattails
At this very moment, in a small city in China's Jiangxi province, there stood an old-style residential building, covered in ivy. It exuded a sense of tranquillity and warmth rarely seen amidst the modern steel jungle.
On the ground floor of this building, a young man sat in his room, peering at his computer screen with a slight frown on his face. Lost in thought, he occasionally moved the mouse and clicked.
In terms of appearance, this young man might not stand out in a crowd; he looked rather unremarkable, the kind that would be forgotten within seconds. However, his achievements in his professional field were impossible to ignore, and his name was renowned - Bai Dongyin, known by his pen name, Shuimo Yifangyin.
"TMY could have stayed in the realm of electronic music, but it seems like everyone wants to dabble in the world of novels these days," Bai Dongyin shook his head, brows furrowed, as he pondered the situation. He reached for a cigarette from a box on the table, lit it, took a drag, and exhaled, shaking his head once more.
On his computer screen was the hotly-discussed event of TMY venturing into the world of literature, which had been circulating online.
Though Bai Dongyin didn't entirely agree with the remarks made by someone called Zhang Xuanyi, who seemed to be seeking attention, he couldn't deny that this practice was becoming more and more common among celebrities. It was becoming an issue.
However, Bai Dongyin felt that even if someone else's writing wasn't up to par or failed in the end, it was best to wait until the true outcome was revealed before making judgments.
Perhaps the other person did have talent?
Although the likelihood of that was nearly zero, Bai Dongyin admitted that he didn't believe an individual, unrelated to his field, making electronic music so well, could also write good novels.
Without saying anything else, it all boiled down to one simple phrase: focus on one's expertise.
Hence, Bai Dongyin wasn't convinced that TMY's crossover would be a resounding success.
As he took a drag of his half-lit cigarette, a series of notification sounds chimed. It was someone trying to reach him through a communication app.
Bai Dongyin reacted and checked the messages. They were from a group named "Xianyu's Lounge for Lazy Authors." Someone had tagged him in the group chat.
Mansheng: "TMY is about to cross over into writing. Bai Dada, what are your thoughts on this?"
Flowsoutheast: "Bai Dada is probably busy with his manuscript. What thoughts can he have on this? We are just here for some gossip and to watch the show. After all, Bai Dada is a renowned online author."
Bai Dongyin smiled, realizing they were discussing the trending event. Why were they all so free today? Were they all turning into gossip-mongers?
He replied immediately, "Haha, not really. I'm also browsing Weibo. Why are you all not busy with your manuscripts? When did authors become this gossipy?"
Mansheng: "Lol, no rush. The procrastination squad fears nothing. But hey, Bai Dada, you're gossiping too! So, of course, we are going to join in."
Flowsoutheast: "Because TMY is really popular now..."
Dongwu Boulevard: "+1. It seems like everyone who listens to electronic music can't avoid talking about this person. It's a bit terrifying."
Mansheng: "Exactly. That's why I don't think she'll be any good at writing novels. There's a high chance she's just playing around. Being exceptional in one field is enough, but if she's good in another, we full-time authors might as well retire and go back home to our farms."
Dongwu Boulevard: "I wonder why she chose to write at this time. It looks like she was well-prepared, and some insiders might know what's going on."
- - - - - - - - - -
In any case, the current situation was that news of TMY's venture into the literary world had spread far and wide. Zhang Xuanyi's two Weibo posts were hanging prominently among the trending topics.
This time, Zhang Xuanyi had made quite a splash. Previously, he had been quietly writing his books, and not many people knew about his works, which were only of average quality. But to his surprise, just with these two simple Weibo posts, he had skyrocketed to the trending charts.
In a short period, the name that had barely attracted any attention was now even listed on Baidu and Wikipedia!
This both excited and irritated him greatly.
In a city near Shanghai, Zhang Xuanyi sat in his room, frowning unhappily. "Why does everyone accuse me of riding on her fame? What fame does she have for me to ride on? It's just ridiculous."
Zhang Xuanyi naturally refuted all those doubts and suspicions about him riding on TMY's popularity. In his view, how could it be called riding on popularity? At most, he was merely making use of the other party's trending topic. After all, Weibo's hot search wasn't her private domain. If he was "riding" anything, it was the official hot topic on Weibo. What did that have to do with TMY?
Why should an outsider, someone with no achievements whatsoever, effortlessly garner so much attention with just a single move, while hardworking coders like him who had toiled for so long for their work couldn't even reach half of that?
This imbalance left Zhang Xuanyi feeling quite dissatisfied. After all, he believed his writing was no worse than anyone else's. What he lacked was only the right platform and opportunity. Looking at the current celebrities, they were all just hollow names, hardly worthy of attention. He had even written his own film manuscript; he was just waiting for the day he would rise to fame.
However, he never expected that this day would come in such a way, with just a couple of Weibo posts, and he hadn't even written as much as a chapter of his novel.
"If I knew it was this simple, I would have taken action earlier." Zhang Xuanyi chuckled as he watched his Weibo followers increase rapidly. In a short time, he gained nearly two hundred thousand more followers.
However, there was one puzzling aspect for Zhang Xuanyi: why had TMY not responded to him until now? Was she already afraid?
Just a second-tier celebrity and a top 100 DJ, that's all...
- - - - - - - - - -
In this state of affairs, TMY's entry into the literary world and her intent to write her own novel had become widely known. After all, it was the Internet age, and netizens were always interested in things that intrigued them. The news of her literary debut spread like wildfire across social media platforms, sparking discussions and debates among book enthusiasts, writers, and critics.
However, it seemed that apart from TMY's own fans, no one had any great expectations for her new novel. Apart from Zhang Xuanyi, a respected literary figure who had come forward to express support and admiration for TMY's daring leap into the literary realm, no other prominent personalities had voiced their opinions.
People either didn't believe in her potential as a writer or didn't care much about TMY's upcoming novel. If asked if they would purchase a subscription to Tangrenyi Culture's new app to read TMY's novel, the response would probably be consistent:
"No, I won't."
And that was the answer - not much more to it.
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