ICTEUWMN Chapter 33.2

This was the first time Huanyu allowed authors to appear with virtual avatars, so many participants opted to join online.

The live broadcast room was buzzing, with authors seeing each other’s virtual projections for the first time and eagerly chatting away.

Of course, there were also the classic introverted authors, who immediately picked a corner seat and silently spaced out.

“What do we do? There’s only one minute left until we go live. Shaxs, have you contacted him?”

The host subconsciously turned to Yu Mian’s editor, Shaxs.

“I did! I spoke to him five minutes ago, and he said he was already connected. Could he have entered the wrong live broadcast room by mistake?”

Shaxs was starting to panic, unwilling for Yu Mian’s first formal event to encounter any hiccups.

With Fish Soup Noodles still absent, the live broadcast room’s viewers finally paused their heated arguments and unanimously turned their attention to speculating why their beloved author hadn’t shown up yet.

[Big Boss, did we scare you off? We were only joking. I’d be happy with just one chapter update, Orz.]

[Even though the cliffhanger was evil, wuuu, I still really want to see you! I’m desperate to be picked for the interactive Q&A!]

[I “have” to ask when Gu Bai and Caesar will remarry. I feel like I’m such a mess. I used to beg for a divorce, and now that they’re divorced, I’m begging for them to remarry! What even am I?]

Even the authors already present at the event were quite curious about this dark horse author, A Bowl Of Fish Soup Noodles.

If he couldn’t attend due to some unforeseen circumstances, it would truly be a shame.

“Ding!”

Fortunately, just as the final minute was ticking down, the live broadcast finally announced the arrival of the last guest.

“Apologies! I’m late!”

As a voice rang out, everyone turned toward the entrance of the live broadcast room. The space fell into a stunned silence.

“T-teacher Fish Soup Noodles?!”

Even the host was momentarily at a loss.

Yu Mian’s modified virtual avatar wasn’t even in 3D; it was the only 2D figure in the entire venue.

It was a simplified cartoon bowl with line-drawn arms and legs.

The bowl had two dots and a line for eyes and a mouth.

Compared to his pen name, the avatar was almost absurdly on-point—he was literally “a bowl of fish soup noodles”!

As it walked, the noodle-like lines inside the bowl wobbled along, creating a bizarre yet endearing combination of clumsiness and cuteness.

“Well, you’re not exactly late. Your seat is over here…”

The host’s voice faltered slightly as they watched the short-legged cartoon bowl huff and puff its way to the designated seat and sit down rather stiffly.

The resulting group photo of the authors was beyond ridiculous.

It looked like everyone was gathered around a bowl of noodles for a picture!

[I’m crying, Boss. I waited so long for this, and this is what I get?!]

[Okay, but now I’m genuinely curious—what’s the meaning behind the pen name? Has anyone here actually eaten fish soup noodles?]

[I can’t even look directly at our Fish Soup Noodles Boss anymore. I don’t dare to be too harsh with my questions; he looks so timid and fragile…]

The hastily drawn chibi virtual avatar by Yu Mian, a terrible painter, was far from polished. However, its eye-catching uniqueness was unparalleled.

As a result, even during other authors’ interviews and interaction sessions, the background presence of the bowl of fish soup noodles was impossible to ignore, becoming a bizarrely shining centerpiece.

“Help, why is everyone still staring at me?”

Yu Mian quickly noticed this awkward reality but, having already joined the live broadcast room, there was no turning back.

System: [Because your artistic talent is truly next-level genius.]

The system had originally wanted to cheat and generate a proper virtual avatar for Yu Mian, but he had scribbled one together in a hurry and jumped into the live broadcast himself.

To everyone’s surprise, the first trending topic to emerge from this year’s Huanyu Rising Star Project wasn’t related to any novels or plots. Instead, it was #WhatDoesFishSoupNoodlesTasteLike?#

Countless interstellar readers, who had survived on nutrient solutions for years, found themselves inexplicably curious about what the pen name represented.

Nevertheless, under the gaze of millions, the Rising Star Project Q&A session entered its most highly anticipated segment!

“Next, we present the ‘Best Newcomer Award.’ The winner is… A Bowl of Fish Soup Noodles! Please welcome the author to the stage to accept the award!”

The host dutifully read the script but couldn’t hold back their bemusement as the chibi fish soup noodles waddled up to the stage, taking the trophy in its abstract little hands.

“Do you have anything you’d like to say to your readers?”

“Uh… Thank you all for your support and love?”

The host tried to prompt Yu Mian for more, but he ended the speech in just one sentence.

“All right, then let’s move on to the Q&A session!”

Each author had a personalized interview setting, and the stage transformed into a cozy scene with a sofa and a tea table, resembling a casual chat over tea.

“It’s a pleasure to have you here, Fish Soup Noodles. Let’s start with the first question… um.”

The host glanced at the selected question and hesitated—it was a bit sharp.

After some deliberation, they read it out, as it was a live broadcast and couldn’t be edited.

“How do you view the fact that your work, after being published on Huanyu, has led to many authors abandoning traditional styles in favor of writing strange fantasy genres?”

As soon as this question arose, not only did the atmosphere in the live broadcast room become tense, but even the readers in the comment section realized that something was wrong.

[Ah, what does the guy who asked this question mean?! It’s me! I’m the one who wanted to read it! I’m the one who gave rewards! Why are you blaming my author?!]

[Exactly, this question is just setting up unnecessary conflict. If not answered well, it’s easy to get into trouble… I actually like the current situation where there are all kinds of works.]

Yu Mian’s works, which originated from the 21st century, had indeed disrupted the traditional interstellar literary landscape, inspiring a wave of new experimental fantasy works.

The most direct impact was that interstellar authors were no longer afraid of adhering to rigid genre restrictions. Instead, they ventured into various imaginative styles, resulting in many new masterpieces.

However, the tension in the room dissipated somewhat when people saw the oversized chibi-style fish soup noodles. It was hard to maintain a serious atmosphere with such an avatar present.

After pondering the question for a few seconds, Yu Mian responded sincerely:

“Uh… I think these two styles coexist rather than compete.”

“For creators, I believe we should allow different styles of work to emerge and explore more storytelling possibilities.”

“So, if more authors are trying out new styles, we should give them the time and support to explore, rather than forcing them into outdated molds.”

As Yu Mian answered, he thought back to the first book he had ever read, “By Lake Madra”. Had that book not been interfered with by its editor, it might have turned out to be an excellent piece of work.

Yu Mian’s answer to the first question didn’t just affect the readers watching from outside—it also gave the new authors present a lot to think about.

After all, Yu Mian, an outsider in this interstellar era, was like an apple dropped onto a chessboard, introducing an entirely new logic.

This had a far greater impact than a chess piece stepping off the board, almost accelerating a transformation that had been progressing slowly.

However, after this question, Huanyu seemed to have immediately adjusted the algorithm for selecting questions. The subsequent ones were clearly from pure readers and were closely tied to the plotlines of the books!

The only issue was that Yu Mian’s speaking pace gradually sped up.

Anyone familiar with Yu Mian would know that this was simply because he was a bit nervous.

But to outsiders, Yu Mian’s quick-fire answers made him seem astonishingly intimidating!

The process went something like this:

Host: “Oh, the first question comes from a male supporting-character CP fan. They want to know whether Roy in “Contract Marriage” ever had feelings for Gu Bai, and if there was a possibility of them being together. After all, in the main text, Roy once… (details omitted here).”

Yu Mian: “Huh? Of course not. These two are clearly just friends. If I recall correctly, that part of the text doesn’t imply anything like that, and… (100 words of earnest explanation). So, did this reader misunderstand the main text?”

After answering the first pure reader question, Yu Mian was briefly stunned.

He had no idea where this CP fan had pulled such rich interpretations and interactions from, almost making him doubt whether he had written a stock-investment novel instead of a 1v1 “chasing wife to the crematorium” story.

“Uh, thank you for your answer. Moving on to the next question.”

Although the host sensed an odd atmosphere, they pressed on.

“The next reader wants to ask: When will Gu Bai and Caesar remarry? Gu Bai still loves Caesar, right? Isn’t the temporary separation just to make Caesar regret it? After all, judging by details like Gu Bai repaying the money and so on… (text analysis of several hundred words omitted). Do you agree with this interpretation?”

“Of course not!”

Upon hearing the second question, Yu Mian denied it without hesitation.

“Repaying the money was because Gu Bai had truly moved on. He chose not to owe Caesar anything materially anymore.”

“For example, when Gu Bai left the villa, he took only what he had brought with him in his suitcase a year ago. He didn’t take any of Caesar’s gifts or clothes.”

Yu Mian earnestly analyzed the details, trying to help the reader better understand the original text.

“As for remarriage, that’s a spoiler. But let’s just say Caesar hasn’t even realized his mistakes yet, right? Everyone knows what I mean. Next question?”

Having smoothly answered two questions, Yu Mian felt more relaxed.

It seemed that interacting with readers and answering their questions wasn’t so hard after all.

“Oh, okay, next question…”

The host, however, subconsciously wiped away cold sweat and glanced at Yu Mian. They wanted to offer some kind of reminder but all they saw was the cold, cartoonish bowl of fish soup noodles.

Every word Yu Mian spoke seemed to echo with the sound of countless readers’ hearts breaking.

It was horrible. But perhaps, this was simply the style of the legendary Teacher Fish Soup Noodles.

No wonder he had become the author leading Huanyu’s creative trend!

Under this rapid Q&A pace, the comment section and barrage in the live broadcast room underwent a complete transformation, although Yu Mian himself was completely unaware of this change.

Especially as countless readers across various platforms watched the clip of Yu Mian’s chibi-style bowl of fish noodles coldly and methodically explaining that Gu Bai had no CP feelings for a certain male supporting character.

Or that Caesar still had a long way to go in pursuing his wife.

Or that the new book “Eternal Night Rose” was still in the planning stages and wouldn’t be updated daily for the time being…

Yu Mian had inadvertently shattered countless “rice bowls” of his fans, leaving interstellar readers emotionally devastated as they flooded the comment sections on every major platform.

#Help! A Bowl Of Fish Soup Noodles doesn’t understand “Marriage Contract”! Huanyu, I’m begging you, be a human being and stop the live broadcast!#

This trending search shot to the top of the charts. The comedic effect was so strong that it added an inexplicable layer of dark humor to this record-breaking Rising Star Q&A session.