Fortunately, during the countdown days, the serialization of “The Vast Immortal Path” remained consistently exciting, providing some comfort to those eagerly anticipating its continuation.
Not to mention, the plot to the upcoming climax battle in the next volume was indeed exciting.
While everyone was eager to see the finale in one go, they also suddenly felt reluctant. Was the story of Lin Shuyi and Qi Hanzhou really coming to an end?
Taking advantage of the soaring popularity, Huanyu launched the pre-sale for the physical edition of “The Vast Immortal Path” ahead of schedule.
As expected by everyone in the editorial department, the pre-sale data on the first day already indicated that the physical book sales were going to reach a terrifying level.
The reader IP distribution was extremely widespread, with the most distant order even coming from the H271 star system in the extremely cold zone.
“With so many readers from other star systems, if Teacher Fish Soup Noodles attends the event as the representative, the viewership ratings will surely skyrocket.”
Looking at the digital calendar, everyone in the editorial department viciously crossed off another day.
The event was one day closer.
“Why does time feel so slow now? Not only do we have to follow the daily updates, but we also have to track the event every day!”
Someone clutched his head and let out a wail.
In a way, this was a sweet kind of trouble.
Yu Mian originally thought that attending the event as a representative would be a simple matter. However, one day while immersed in writing, he suddenly received a detailed schedule from the official team regarding the event.
“This is really formal. There’s even a stylist on-site.”
It felt almost like attending a high-level Federation gala.
Looking at the schedule in his inbox, filled with meticulous details and notes, Yu Mian began to feel the reality and urgency of participating in such a large-scale event.
Because of this, he rested his chin on his hand, contemplating a plan he had in mind. It was something he had been considering for a while, and this event seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Unexpectedly, Yu Mian also received a personal invitation from the event’s director team to participate in a filming project.
“This is how it is, every year at the official press conference, we shoot an annual promotional film featuring special races from various industries across the Federation.”
“If you’re willing, would you join as one of this year’s featured guests? The director of this project is your old friend, Director Gu Qi.”
Back then, Director Gu Qi had gained explosive fame with the blockbuster movie “Eternal Night Rose”, earning immense prestige throughout the vast universe.
And now, it was this same Director Gu Qi, currently filled with anxious anticipation, who had proposed the invitation.
He had long wanted to film Fish Soup Noodles!
It was as if the person was born for the big screen. Not capturing him on film would be an absolute waste!
Previously, Director Gu Qi had desperately invited Fish Soup Noodles to make a cameo in “Eternal Night Rose”, but at that time, Yu Mian had never revealed his face and naturally declined.
Now, even with the slimmest chance, Director Gu Qi urged the Federation officials to send an official invitation.
What if Fish Soup Noodles actually agreed?
“With a stylist and a promotional film, this is starting to feel really serious. I’m getting nervous…”
Yu Mian scratched his head. He understood why Director Gu Qi wanted to invite him.
But the biggest problem was…his singing was already terrible, and his acting might be even worse.
The moment he became aware he was acting, he would freeze up.
It seemed he was only ever meant for writing; he had no talent in anything else.
Just as Yu Mian was about to decline with this excuse, Director Gu Qi pleaded persistently in his inbox, trying to convince him with the argument that his scene would only last a few seconds and wouldn’t be nerve-wracking at all.
“If it really doesn’t work, why not just drop by to sign some autographs for your fans? Most of the other guests in the promotional film are devoted readers of your novels!”
“Even Lady Landis has agreed to sing for this year’s promotional film. Your segment will feature all aquatic descendants, so you’ll have plenty of common ground with them!”
Under Director Gu Qi’s repeated persuasion, Yu Mian finally agreed to attend but made it clear that the filming itself was not guaranteed.
Maybe, just like how his singing had shocked the system, his acting skills would make Director Gu Qi give up? =.=
Previously, he had refused to make a cameo in “Eternal Night Rose” because he was genuinely afraid that his presence would ruin the entire movie.
Meanwhile, as the event’s director team finalized the preparations, the atmosphere on the star network had become a frenzied countdown, almost as if they were celebrating the New Year.
The voting post about what kind of fish Teacher Fish Soup Noodles actually was had become the top traffic password on the star network.
No matter what platform you posted a similar thread on, the comments and heat would explode within minutes.
The entire oceanic biosphere had practically been turned upside down, with all aquatic creatures being thoroughly analyzed and listed.
[If conditions allowed, I suspect some fish fans would actually dive into the water and grab fish one by one to ask: “Has anyone from your species ever used the pen name ‘A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles’?”]
[You know, if I really could, I’d actually do it. TwT These past few days at work, I’ve been completely absent-minded, thinking about this all the time.]
[So it’s not just me? I just came out of my 108th discussion and speculation thread, parched from talking, only to find my coworker also fiercely debating what kind of fish Teacher Fish Soup Noodles is!]
Unexpectedly, this frenzy had led to a continuous surge in the sales of the “Star Beast World” magazine’s “Mysteries Of The Ocean” series, with netizens treating it like a treasure hunt, comparing every aquatic creature in the books and making guesses.
The excitement was so intense that even the black fan blogger who initially accused “Star Beast World” of using sensationalism for views couldn’t resist posting another Starblog.
They questioned whether this was really something worth such insane anticipation.
Sure, special races used to be rare, but now, with more and more settling in the Federation Star, how shocking could this really be? What if the big reveal turned out to be just an ordinary aquatic race? Would the disappointed fans start making a fuss?
But the moment this Starblog was posted, it was immediately drowned out by a wave of fish fans: “We like it, so what? O皿O#”
Why did these people always have so many complaints?
[Can’t we just enjoy the discussion process? Even if Teacher Fish Soup Noodles turns out to be a clownfish, we’d still love him to death.]
[Exactly, if we can’t afford to raise Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, can’t we at least raise some other little fish?]
However, many fish fans, after reading the post, couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
Thinking about it carefully, all this excessive attention and anticipation might indeed be putting invisible pressure on Fish Soup Noodles.
They didn’t care whether Fish Soup Noodles race was rare or not, but with the entire interstellar space watching, what if someone with bad intentions took advantage of it?
As a result, the previously buzzing fish fan community suddenly became much more composed in these final three days.
Even the number of related posts on the star network decreased, and the overall tone became noticeably restrained.
But the quieter they got, the faster the number of viewers reserving the live broadcast skyrocketed, like a silent volcano ready to erupt.
“In my opinion, Fish Soup Noodles’ fans are just too cute. The moment they worried about putting too much pressure on him, they immediately stopped discussing it.”
In the Federation authors’ group, many fellow writers had been following this event closely and couldn’t help but express their genuine admiration.
At first, some people might have felt a little bitter about how quickly “A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles” had risen to fame, but as Yu Mian kept producing one hit novel after another, the gap only widened, and those feelings completely disappeared.
More and more authors had actually become die-hard fish fans themselves.
There was even a writer who, on the day of Fish Soup Noodles’ new book release, got so absorbed in reading that they forgot to update their own novel. When they posted a leave notice explaining the reason, it immediately went viral.
Since then, whenever Fish Soup Noodles released a new book, readers would vigilantly remind their own favorite authors to finish updating before diving into the new novel!
So when Fish Soup Noodles was officially invited to the event as an author, everyone found it perfectly justified.
Amid this overwhelming attention, the Huanyu Reading Platform featured a full-page countdown on its homepage for the final three days, with a direct link to reserve the event.
[Crispy Shark: So, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, what do you think? Isn’t this a huge honor? Feeling nervous? Don’t be! We’re not guessing your identity anymore, we just want to celebrate and have fun!]
As his editor, Shaxs was beyond satisfied with this grand homepage promotion.
He couldn’t resist sending a private message to his dear Fish Soup Noodles, attaching a screenshot and wagging his tail for praise.
[Fish: Ah, ah, ah (fish sweating.jpg), very lively and energetic, but isn’t this a bit over the top? I’m a little nervous, but it’s fine.]
Yu Mian had been practicing his speech with Huo Ting when he saw Shaxs’ message and couldn’t help but laugh.
Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought it was a parent celebrating their child’s high school entrance exam results with a banner.
Thinking about it, choosing Huanyu as his publishing platform after arriving in the interstellar era was one of the best decisions he’d ever made.
Even though the platform had been a bit inexperienced at first, it had always been sincere and dedicated.
Having seen too many stories of publishing platforms falling apart due to profit disputes, Yu Mian felt very lucky to have met such genuine and lovable people in the interstellar era.
“What’s so funny?”
Huo Ting, seeing Yu Mian grinning at his light brain, also noticed that the previously nervous little fish had completely relaxed.
To be honest, asking a former socially anxious person to go on stage and give a speech was a little nerve-wracking.
Otherwise, Yu Mian wouldn’t have insisted on dragging Huo Ting over to rehearse and revise his script in advance.
“I was just thinking, I’m actually super, super lucky to have met everyone.”
Yu Mian looked up, smiled, and reached out to hold Huo Ting’s hand, giving a serious explanation.
Hearing this, Huo Ting raised an eyebrow slightly. Although he didn’t say anything, the deep black of his eyes softened with a hint of a smile.
After all, wasn’t it because everyone was so lucky that they got to meet Yu Mian?
“By the way, Huo Yan will also be there that day. Grandpa and Aunt Inas are coming too. Apparently, they even prepared formal attire.” Holding Yu Mian’s perpetually cool palm, Huo Ting casually brought up another topic.
After rehearsing the speech for so long, it was good to finally relax and chat for a bit.
“Hmm? Then Huo Yan must be overjoyed. Did they actually approve his leave request?”
Yu Mian was indeed intrigued, almost able to picture Huo Yan’s excited expression.
In fact, after arguing for half a day about how he “absolutely could not miss Brother Yu Mian’s moment of glory” and how “otherwise, he would never, ever forgive this world”, the “chuunibyou” Huo Yan finally succeeded in getting his leave approved. At that moment, he let out a scream, sprinted out while high-fiving people, threw his backpack over his shoulder, and ran straight out of school.
Ever since his classmates found out that Huo Yan’s cousin was a very close friend of Teacher Fish Soup Noodles and had even stayed at his house before, Huo Yan had become the undisputed king of the school.
