ICTEUWMN Chapter 188 Extra Seven

Of course, faced with the sensational news of his parents appearing at the movie premiere, Yu Mian ultimately acknowledged it.

“…But they really didn’t expect to be randomly selected for an interview.”

During the weekly elective class at Waltz Academy, Yu Mian took advantage of the break to respond to the trending topic, which naturally caused the online audience count to hit a new high.

[But that’s not important, okay? What we care about is whether that photo is really you as a little fish? QWQ]

A Fish Fan couldn’t help but ask directly, and the next second, they saw Fish Soup Noodles awkwardly lower his head and strategically take a sip of water to cover up his reaction.

“Ahem, that’s a really, really old photo. I don’t even remember it anymore.”

Yu Mian tried to brush it off.

[Hehehe ahhh, but it’s really so, so cute! I swear Auntie is absolutely not just seeing her son through a mother’s biased eyes!]

[Exactly! If that’s just a mother’s bias, then does that mean all Fish Fans in the entire universe also have the same bias??]

Why was it that the more embarrassed Fish Soup Noodles became, the more excited the fans became?

But this did make “The Vast Immortal Path” the undisputed top movie of the season.

Even our beloved Uncle and Auntie had gone to watch the new movie, how could Fish Fans not join in?

After watching, they could even place an order for the latest mermaid figurine blind boxes, what if they got lucky and drew one?

Besides, the movie’s quality was top-tier. The film production team and actors also worked hard to seize the traffic brought by Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, diligently touring the major star systems for promotion.

As a result, the cultivation craze that had already swept across the Federation Star during the original serialization period also began to spread like a virus to even more interstellar spaces, receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews.

It was said that the filming locations of the movie instantly became the top trending tourist destinations.

Dressed in flowing white robes, soaring on swords…this became the new trend among cultivation fans in many outer star regions.

Thanks to the movie’s success, sales of the Federation’s flying sword devices also broke historical records. Even the distant Cold Winter Star System placed numerous orders and some new modifications were made.

For example, if cultivation fans in the Cold Winter Star System wanted to experience flying swords, they had to activate a thermal shield, otherwise, they’d have style but no warmth.

The only slightly unfortunate consequence was that welfare institutes across major star systems unknowingly became the new hotspots!

After all, ever since the original novel, “The Vast Immortal Path” became a hit, many new novels started featuring protagonists with the “Long Aotian” archetype like Qi Hanzhou.

Orphanages and welfare centers became the default starting point for main protagonists, just as Garbage Star had once been the standard opening setting after “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” took the universe by storm.

Back then, it was all about starting from a Garbage Star, leveling up by fighting monsters, and changing regions all the way to the peak of life.

Now it has become an orphanage where hidden dragons and crouching tigers are everywhere!

And the protagonist ‘s parents? They officially became the most dangerous occupation.

A day before “The Vast Immortal Path” movie was to leave theaters, an interview clip from a news segment on “Charity Activity Week” from an outer star system unexpectedly went viral overnight.

It turned out that after “The Vast Immortal Path” exploded in popularity across multiple star systems, many first-time readers from outer star systems, upon encountering Fish Soup Noodles’ uniquely addictive writing style, binge-read the novel overnight and became completely obsessed.

Not to mention, the early scenes at the orphanage and the Cloud Ascension Stairway trial were particularly moving.

Naturally, this led to many passionate, justice-driven new fans seeing this as the perfect opportunity to spread kindness.

And according to protagonist logic, the more tragic a child’s background, the more limitless their future potential.

This directly led to a strange phenomenon. Various welfare institutes suddenly noticed a surge in charitable donations and supplies, and at the same time, a flood of young volunteers appeared, staring at the children with burning eyes.

If they weren’t murmuring things like “You’re definitely the best!”, then they were cautiously asking if the kids were being bullied.

This left many staff members feeling extremely wronged.

Hey, we take our jobs very seriously! When have we ever bullied the kids?!

Especially one director, who happened to resemble the bald supervisor in the movie, he was particularly indignant.

Why was everyone looking at him so strangely?

“So while we are very grateful for the donations and care brought to us by the release of this movie, we would like to ask the audience to remain calm.”

“We really don’t have any children’s jade pendants, nor do we have any mysteriously abandoned babies that arrived on a rainy night.”

“Most importantly, please spare our little ones! Stop asking them the same questions every day! They really are just ordinary people!”

The final plea from the aggrieved bald director instantly turned what was originally a mundane piece of social news into a viral sensation across the star network.

It also led many industry professionals, who had been equally baffled recently, to finally understand:

Goodness, no wonder we’ve been dealing with the same thing.

So the “root of all evil” actually came from a novel from the Federation Star?

When the news was circulated back to the Federation, more and more netizens couldn’t help but laugh:

[Wait, although this is tragic, why does it seem so funny? Are you telling me people actually went to welfare institutions hoping to find our real-life Qi Hanzhou?]

[Oh no, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles has now started persecuting outer star systems!]

[Who understands? You’re all laughing, but I’m just remembering the days when we were all searching for Gu Bai… Seeing this latest news, I truly have no words.]

Many Federation readers were laughing uncontrollably, completely forgetting the craze that Fish Soup Noodles’ work had stirred up when it first became popular.

Back then, everyone had also been extremely serious about trying to track down their own little angel Gu Bai.

Some were watching the news, while others were looking in the mirror.

Aren’t these new alien fans who had just gotten hooked on Fish Soup Noodles’ books exactly the same as everyone else had been in the beginning?

As this news spread beyond its original circle, countless curious netizens began wondering what kind of book could possibly hold such power.

Not only did the completed works experience a surge in popularity, but even the ongoing serialization, “Live Broadcast Of Huaxia”, and the weekly online public lectures began attracting more and more attention.

To long-time fans, having more people discover the treasure that was Fish Soup Noodles was naturally a delight, but when it came to merchandise and lottery giveaways, the ever-increasing competition was pure agony.

Just like when the mermaid figurine blind boxes were first released, many ruthless individuals had immediately hoarded massive amounts, causing even Huanyu to take notice. Their system flagged and restricted a batch of suspected “scalper” reader accounts, as their purchase quantities were absurdly high.

As a result, when the list of restricted accounts was released, the very first redacted ID left countless fans staring in shock.

This person actually bought out an entire stock’s worth in one go!?

[Alright, good job, Huanyu! Even if it’s a blind box, you can’t just buy that many at once! No wonder I couldn’t get a single one…]

But just as Huanyu released the list of flagged accounts, voices of righteous protests over injustice quickly emerged.

[Ernis V: I’ve been wronged! Your system’s automated fraud detection is really unreasonable! Why can’t I buy as much as I want if I have the money? I’m not a scalper, every figurine I’ve ever bought is just sitting in my room, never resold!]

The little crab Ernis immediately jumped out, claiming that one of the flagged accounts belonged to him and that he had been falsely accused.

By the cosmos, he had only ever collected, never resold.

[Stellar Medal: Wait, is this system actually stupid AI? My author account and reader account are linked, and you still flagged me? How am I supposed to update my novel tonight…]

As for Stellar Medal, Omirs, his protest on StarBlog was even more comedic. He even attached a screenshot showing his account being locked as “abnormal”, making it impossible for him to update his new book.

What was once a suspected “scalper” blacklist suddenly turned into a proud badge of honor for fast-handed fans.

And only then did everyone realize, after the dust settled, they were all familiar faces.

[Okay, okay! So you’re all just pretending to be victims, huh? Fast hands and insane purchase quantities, damn it.]

Realizing their error, Huanyu quickly retracted the flagged list.

They admitted that it was a technical mistake in their fraud detection logic and promised immediate compensation to those wrongly restricted.

However, the most intriguing part of this entire fiasco was that, despite the widespread circulation of the flagged account list and the subsequent fan claims, the identity of the number one buyer remained a mystery.

No one had stepped forward to claim it.

[So… the first-ranked buyer really was a scalper bot? Have you no conscience?]

Only Secretary Hals, who was browsing the star network and saw the hot search #Who is 2118″“”#, suddenly looked towards the meeting room beside him with a strange expression.

In fact, it wasn’t until the latest chapter update of “Live Broadcast Of Huaxia” that night, right as a certain someone wrapped up his meeting, tossed a starship reward to check-in and went home, that a certain fanbase realized Boss Huo Ting had been oddly silent all day.

[But that makes sense, right? He already has the real deal, so there’s no need to fight us for a Little Fish figurine.]

Just as someone was trying to analyze how this possibility made sense…

[Huo Ting V: Just finished my meeting and saw the news. [Photo]]

The attached StarBlog post featured a picture of an intricately polished golden Little Fish figurine sitting proudly on his desk.

One of the rare hidden versions!

Though this particular “lucky winner” seemed suspiciously like someone who had brute-forced his way through a ridiculous number of blind boxes.

All Fish fans across the star network: ?

[No Boss, you really have no moral principles. You already have the real one, and you’re still competing with us?!]

Countless Fish fans felt aggrieved and immediately ran off to Fish Soup Noodles to complain.

[ Teacher Fish Soup Noodles! Look at what Boss Huo Ting is doing!!]

Just as the family gathering was about to begin, Yu Mian saw these grievance-filled messages and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Wait a minute, isn’t this just a figurine?

Did he really buy so many just to get the hidden version?

Huo Yan was even more furious. “What! Cousin, you’re too cunning! You wouldn’t let me “waste” my allowance, but you secretly bought them yourself!”

Clearly, his cousin was the one setting a bad example!

“Is it really that many? Just a little bit,” Huo Ting, who had successfully drawn the hidden version, pretended to explain calmly.

“Not a lot? And you secretly had them delivered to your office?”

No wonder no one at home noticed.

Realizing something was off, Yu Mian finally turned to Secretary Hals.

Secretary Hals instantly averted his gaze toward the window, avoiding eye contact with Yu Mian entirely.

He looked exactly like someone who knew the truth but didn’t dare to speak.

Meanwhile, Madam Yu Hui, after browsing through Starblog and understanding the whole story, couldn’t stop laughing.

“But I have to say, that golden hidden-version Little Fish does look a bit like Xiao Mian when he was little.”

As a mother, Yu Hui immediately figured out that it was probably because of the photo she showed the other day. Its subtle resemblance to this limited figurine had sparked such an unusually high level of enthusiasm for it.

“If everyone likes it so much, maybe I should just share more photos. Everyone says it’s cute.”

Of course, while Yu Hui had always dared to tease their son, Yu Dahai, the father, remained completely silent.

But he did let out a few small coughs, as if to show that he agreed with his wife.

“Huh? What photos? Have I seen them before?”

Even Huo Yuejiang and his wife, who had just arrived after getting out of their car, couldn’t help but ask curiously when they saw how lively the atmosphere was.

Hearing this, Madam Inas and Uncle Huo Dong, who had brought the two elders over, also smiled.

Today was supposed to be the first official gathering of both families.

For Huo Yuejiang, meeting his old friends Yu Hui and Yu Dahai again after so many years, the smile never left his face.

It was as if he could finally feel proud again. He hadn’t been mistaken about what happened all those years ago!

“But really, it’s just some childhood photos.”

Seeing how curious everyone was, Yu Mian ultimately let his mother enthusiastically pull out childhood photos to share.

Most of them were pictures even Yu Mian himself had no memory of, like when his mother held him in her arms, teaching him how to swim using his little fish tail.

Yet somehow, all of these moments had been carefully recorded.

“You had just been born then, so it’s normal that you don’t remember. And besides, when you were born, you were indeed a bit different from most little mermaids. Not only did you dislike singing, but you also grew legs unusually early.”

Madam Yu Hui noticed how intently Yu Mian was looking at the photos, and smiled widely.

In fact, both she and her husband had some regrets about being too busy with work back then, only being able to stay by Yu Mian’s side carefully for a short period when he was just born.

“But no matter what, your dad and I will always be your number one fans.”

Yu Dahai also beamed as he watched his son’s expression soften, whispering in his ear flatteringly.

“Exactly, exactly! So, how about giving us a chance to spoil you a little?”

Madam Yu Hui immediately leaned in as well, whispering conspiratorially to her son.

Yu Mian ignored his father, who was always a fence sitter, and his mother. Who always did whatever she wanted. Instead, he subconsciously glanced at Huo Ting beside him.

And to his surprise, this guy was staring at the photos even more seriously than Huo Yan.

“The fish tail changed little by little,”

Huo Ting murmured as their eyes met.

From the chubby little fish tail in the baby photos to the elegant, graceful tail Yu Mian now had in the water, it was undeniable that mermaids were truly remarkable beings.

“Whoa, so you two have swum together before, huh?”

Upon hearing this, Madam Yu Hui immediately looked at the two looking at each other and asked with interest.

Well… strictly speaking, it was more than just swimming together.

Yu Mian, whose face was growing warm, quickly pressed down on Huo Ting and turned to his mother with pretended calm, his eyes silently asking: Why are you suddenly asking this?

“There’s a gift I’m planning to give the two of you.”

Madam Yu Hui deliberately kept it mysterious.

“Aunt Yu Hui, what about me? Do I get a gift too? I’m really well-behaved!”

Huo Yan completely ignored his mother Inas tugging at him and looked over expectantly.

Brother Yu Mian’s mom wasn’t just pretty, she was also so gentle! And she even gave gifts! Was she some kind of divine mermaid?

“I heard that you’re that especially obedient and sensible little Huo Yan? Of course, you get one too.”

Yu Hui glanced at Huo Yan with a warm smile and immediately guessed that this was probably the cute “little water bottle” her son had mentioned before. He was indeed cute.

And the moment she ruffled Huo Yan’s hair, he immediately puffed up his chest proudly, standing at attention like a soldier, just short of saluting.

That’s right, he was the most obedient and well-behaved Huo Yan!

This sight left both Madam Inas and Huo Dong completely speechless.

This brat! How come he never acts this obedient at home?

In the end, Yu Mian failed to stop his mother from effortlessly picking up the art of interacting with his Fish fans after coming to the interstellar.

During this rare period of leisure, Madam Yu Hui naturally took on the role of the leader of the “Mom Fans” community.

After registering a StarBlog account, she fulfilled her promise from the interview, sending out several rounds of exclusive merchandise to fans.

She even coordinated with Huanyu’s official team to distribute tens of thousands of random blind box gifts for free.

Her generous and straightforward attitude not only made countless fans frantically follow her account and call her “Auntie!”, but even the official Huanyu account secretly liked and shared her post behind Fish Soup Noodle’s back, excitedly announcing:

“Our Fish Fans’ Auntie is personally giving out gifts!”

However, this time, Madam Yu Hui took the matter quite seriously and posted a message on Starblog:

[Yu Hui V: You can’t just call me Auntie and Uncle casually.]

Fish fans: Huh?

[Yu Hui: Because with these two little ones at home, someone might feel a little aggrieved. ”_”]

A single, simple Starblog post instantly reminded countless Fish of the time when love immediately turned into heartbreak.

Can we just say that she is worthy of being Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ biological mother?

[Hahaha, so none of you considered that this is obviously a meet-the-parents situation?]

Some more rational-minded fish fans soon came up with an even more heart wrenching analysis.

Fish Soup Noodles had already made an official announcement before, and now his parents had appeared too. How could this not be an official family introduction on both sides?

[Hey, while we think your reasoning is correct, we also have the choice to ignore it…TwT]

[Exactly! We refuse to listen. Maybe they’re actually here to see me~ (cat nods, looks at the sky.jpg)]

Just as the star network was buzzing with excitement, Yu Mian posted a new update that evening.

[A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles V: [Photo]]

The photo showed a family having dinner by the Starry Sky Lake, enjoying the gentle evening breeze and gazing at the brilliant sunset over the water in the distance.

Just from this single photo of their backs, one could feel the indescribable warmth and tranquility.

[A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles V: Also, a quick announcement, after the next dynasty mini-arc of “Live Broadcast Of Huaxia” concludes, I might take about a month off, QwQ]

Before the fans could even process the photo, the leave announcement dropped.

Since “Live Broadcast Of Huaxia” was structured as a historical live broadcast novel with individual theme unit arcs, each segment remained thrilling and engaging. Many fans deliberately followed the novel one arc at a time, treating each as a complete short story they could binge-read in one go.

But according to the “unequal” contract, we readers could wait for updates, but how could you, the author, take leave?!

[Also… I have a bad feeling about this, but I still have to ask, why are you taking a month off?]

Some fans refused to give up and asked stubbornly.

The next second, Yu Mian responded with a smiling reply:

[A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles: It’s for my wedding leave~ “o”]