Naturally, Yu Mian was just eager to shut down any idea of Huo Yan reading his own novel aloud in front of him.
It was like a social death scene…
It felt like putting on an act in front of someone familiar. [covering face.jpg]
So, “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King” had gathered such a passionate group of young readers?
While Huo Yan was doing his homework with a sad face, he couldn’t help but glance around the study when Yu Mian turned to look out the window.
It was really strange.
Why hadn’t his cousin reacted at all?
And now that he took a closer look, the study seemed very different from before.
The aquarium had been replaced by a wall-spanning aquarium, the carpet had become softer, and there were many new items he’d never seen before.
It didn’t even feel like his cousin’s study anymore.
Since Yu Mian had witnessed the gradual changes in the study, he hadn’t noticed how much it had diverged from its original appearance.
But for Huo Yan, who had returned after a long absence, the transformation was shocking. This study no longer resembled his cousin’s style at all!
As he absentmindedly finished his assignments, Huo Yan’s little mind wandered, growing increasingly puzzled.
Could it be that his cousin, like him, had discovered Yu Mian and was trying to make him stay?
Was that why the study had been deliberately redecorated to be so cozy?
“?”
After watching the cat hesitate to approach the study because of the unfamiliar presence, Yu Mian turned back only to see Huo Yan biting his pen with an expression of shock, as if he’d uncovered some great truth.
“When was the aquarium changed…?”
Huo Yan couldn’t resist asking.
“Um, I think it was a little while ago. Someone suddenly came to replace it,” Yu Mian replied casually.
This answer only solidified Huo Yan’s suspicions.
‘Cousin…damn it! How cunning!’
Could it be that stopping him from taking Yu Mian away in the glass jar back then was part of the plan?!
While Huo Yan’s mind spun with all kinds of intense crisis filled speculations, Yu Mian frowned and glanced out the window again.
Was it just his imagination?
He could’ve sworn he saw someone flying back and forth in midair in the distance…
—
“Did you deliver it?”
After leaving the study, Huo Yan found his cousin waiting for him.
“Of course I did.”
“Everything was accepted?”
“Of course!”
Faced with Huo Ting’s inquiry, Huo Yan muttered under his breath but still responded honestly.
After looking at Huo Yan for a while, Huo Ting finally confirmed that the person in the study indeed had a closer bond with Huo Yan.
Most of the items sent to the study recently had remained untouched, except for the cat toys, which had clear signs of use.
Even the account he’d provided hadn’t been touched.
“Well done. Keep it up next time.”
“Huh?”
Huo Yan was left a little bewildered by his cousin’s praise.
Huo Ting glanced at the scale and ribbon in the box, and was resolute in his intention to pay off the debt for the mental power guidance before the person left the study.
He didn’t want to owe a favor.
Especially since the other party clearly had no accurate concept of the value of mental power guidance.
For a brief moment, Huo Ting felt a complicated emotion toward the temporary resident in the study.
After all, according to his note, the guest would likely leave soon:
—I’ll probably move out in another month or two, so I really appreciate everything you’ve sent. But there’s no need to send so much anymore! It’s too much trouble for you!
Huo Ting rubbed the note thoughtfully before snapping the box shut with a quiet “click.”
But all these seemingly rational considerations ultimately boiled down to one thought…
‘But why did you accept what Huo Yan gave you?’
*
Of course, Yu Mian was completely unaware of any of this.
Nor did he realize that his slightly preferential treatment of Huo Yan would inexplicably result in an increase in the intensity of Huo Yan’s training tasks in the near future.
After all, this little “hot water bottle” was so lovable. He was the first to stop the aquarium from being discarded, brought him food, and even helped him go outside. Naturally, Yu Mian was very fond of him.
“I really need to work harder on my writing to achieve mental power freedom! Only then can I move out sooner~”
Though this giant aquarium was admittedly quite luxurious.
Yu Mian flicked his fishtail as he worked on fleshing out the settings for his new book.
He had a hunch that once this book was finished, he’d likely be able to move out, which was why he’d written that little note to Huo Ting.
After all, it didn’t feel right to get rewards twice.
Meanwhile, star network was abuzz with discussions about Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ new book, with all sorts of wild theories circulating.
The fake and real young master trope was a familiar one in Earth’s literary tradition.
After all, this type of subject matter was just like the “chasing wife to the crematorium” trope, with its predictable climactic moments and inherently high discussion value.
Books of this subject matter often sparked heated debates right from the first chapter.
Of course, it was a double-edged sword.
But Yu Mian had no intention of writing a traditional, formulaic tale of fake and real young masters and wealthy families.
Instead, he aimed to incorporate a bit of the “cool” factor, making it exciting right from the first chapter!
Ever since “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King” became popular, everyone was indeed quite amazed by the “Soldier King” upgrade theme that they saw for the first time, and it even set off a “Soldier King” novel trend, but the “rebirth” element in it had merely scratched the surface of its potential.
Several similar hot-blooded interstellar adventure upgrade novels had ridden off the hot traffic of the “upgrade flow” of “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King”.
Yu Mian had also read a few of those books himself. Although they were inspired by “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King”, some of these masterpieces were written exceptionally well in their own right, offering a unique flavor.
In particular, there was a book called “Stellar Justice” written by a mysterious new author, which was quite brilliant, bold and very popular.
The protagonist started as an inconspicuous thug but after his rebirth, he gradually became a top soldier in the federal military.
The thrilling pursuit and battles with various criminal gangs kept readers hooked.
When Yu Mian read this book during breaks from writing, he was deeply captivated by the protagonist’s double-agent role, navigating the dangerous waters between justice and evil with wit and bravery.
[In some sense, this author, ‘Stellar Medal’, must be an experienced soldier. Otherwise, it would be impossible to write with such meticulous detail, even covering the protagonist’s experiences while undercover in prison so vividly.]
Perhaps literature was like a seed. Once scattered across the fertile soil of interstellar literature, many seedlings would quickly sprout.
While Yu Mian marveled at this, he wasn’t surprised to learn from Shaxs that this new author had been invited to attend this year’s Huanyu Authors Carnival due to the success of his book.
[Crispy Shark: Apparently, he’s a big fan of yours! Before agreeing to attend, he confirmed multiple times whether you’d be there. When he found out you weren’t going, he was so disappointed he almost didn’t want to come. His editor had to persuade him for a long time before he finally agreed.]
Shaxs gossiped about this tidbit from the editorial department to Yu Mian.
After all, Shaxs wished Yu Mian could participate in the carnival as well.
Although last time’s Rising Star Q&A session was too thrilling…ahem, anyway, the resulting popularity had been off the charts!
The simple sketch of “a bowl of fish soup noodles” had been widely circulated, just shy of becoming a full-blown emoticon package.
[Fish: Oh, this author is going too? Then I’ll definitely stay home and watch the live broadcast of your carnival, OWO.]
Unfortunately, Yu Mian remained completely unmoved.
[Crispy Shark: wuuu, you’re so heartless, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles. You have no idea how disappointed so many authors and fans will be when you don’t attend!!]
[Crispy Shark: And what if your little fanboy, ‘Stellar Medal’, turns out to be a handsome 1.8-meter-tall Federation soldier!?]
Yu Mian couldn’t help but laugh at Shaxs’ persuasion.
Speaking of a 1.8-meter-tall handsome soldier, wasn’t he already seeing one every day in the study?
Still, for someone so knowledgeable about the Federation’s military activities, could the author really be some kind of officer or insider?
Perhaps he was even someone Huo Ting knew.
Regardless, for writing such an excellent rebirth story, Yu Mian held great admiration for this author.
The reason why Yu Mian felt that the new book about true and false young masters could be so cool and refreshing from the very first chapter was naturally because of the second classic element he incorporated in “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” aside to “upgrade flow”. That was the “rebirth” element.
This time, he planned to write a true and fake young masters rebirth story. He wanted to demonstrate to interstellar readers that the element of “rebirth” could be used in virtually any theme or subject matter!
As long as it was well-written, rebirth could deliver countless delightful twists, far beyond just the protagonist getting reborn and then leveling up and battling to become a soldier king.
Additionally, the CP dynamic of the two protagonists would be entirely different from his previous works~OWO.
While Yu Mian was writing feverishly, the latest issue of “Star Beast World” magazine was quietly released.
This issue featured Yu Mian’s first-ever short science story.
When the editorial team first received the manuscript and read through it collectively, their initial doubts and uncertainty gradually dissolved.
What remained was an indescribable sense of amazement.
After all, no one had ever imagined that a short article about popular science on star beasts could be written with such charm and humor.
The story wasn’t long.
However, after reading it, not only did the readers develop a profound admiration for the snow leopard species, they also became deeply attached to the cold, stubborn, and brave snow leopard the protagonist encountered in the story.
Through the protagonist’s encounter, readers were left with a poignant reflection on the relationship between humans and nature.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the feedback this article will receive. To me, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles is not only an excellent author but also a thinker about animals and nature.”
Editor In Chief Wellington watched the release of this issue with great anticipation for the magazine’s reform and its potential impact.
Meanwhile, in the various schools on Federation Star, the latest batch of popular science magazines collectively subscribed to had just been delivered.
“Teacher Mu, here are the magazines for your class…31 copies in total.”
“Got it, thank you.”
As a language and literature teacher at the Federation Star School, Mu naturally received the magazines for the entire class.
With many students in his class struggling with severe academic imbalances, like the young master of the Huo family, Teacher Mu often felt a headache.
He ordered these magazines for the class, hoping they would encourage more reading and subtly improve their language skills.
Unfortunately, the kids mostly just looked at the pictures, paying little attention to the accompanying text.
For instance, the magazine “Star Beast World” he was now holding. In fact, the popular science articles on star beasts in each issue were quite solid, but they were entirely wasted on these students.
With a sigh, Teacher Mu sat in the office and opened the “Star Beast World”, intending to select a few articles as reading assignments.
This way, the kids would read more patiently, right?
However, when Teacher Mu turned to the column on popular science about star beasts, he was quickly attracted by the article in this issue, so much so that he even forgot the purpose of assigning the homework.
The protagonist, Da Xi, was a young student participating in a study camp during the summer vacation and came to an outer star system with a wasteland of snowy mountains.
After a snowstorm separated him from his teacher and classmates, Da Xi awoke to find himself staring at his own furry, paw-like markings. He had transformed into a snow leopard cub!?
He even encountered a cold adult snow leopard that hated humans…
