Chapter 6: The Disadvantage of Never Being a Star

There are only two days left until the farewell performance.

"Why Do Stars Care So Much About Ratings?", Chapter 10, "My Love Will Climb the Windowsill and Bloom," 32 active readers.

Yu Wei still needs at least seventy more readers to get the song...

If you spend too much time online, you might lose perspective on what that number actually means. In the real world, being surrounded by seventy people would mean being packed three layers deep. Don't let his breathing fool you; he has basically been dead inside for a while now.

Where on earth is he supposed to find that many people?

Don't be misled by web novels where the protagonist opens a livestream to an audience of hundreds of thousands; in reality, people are not that easy to come by. Netizens aren't NPCs that respawn at random; who has the time to revolve around you?

These days, it takes half a day just to hand out seventy flyers on the street, let alone getting people to read a novel... Even if he could find the people, he couldn't bring himself to ask. A "flop" needs to have the self-awareness of a flop. It’s one thing to write trash in private, but forcing others to consume it is a different matter.

If there were truly no other way, he could resort to inflating the numbers, but that carries high risks. Getting banned would be a case of the cure being worse than the disease; it's a last-resort strategy that shouldn't be touched unless absolutely necessary. Yu Wei decided to wait and see. There are two days until the show—what if new readers arrive tomorrow and the numbers are suddenly enough?

"What a strong sense of déjà vu."

It seems that back when he was a failing author before, he had thought the exact same way, always hoping tomorrow would be better, only to be met with a bitter laugh the next day. If only he had fans. If his fans came to support him, hitting 100 active readers would be a breeze, wouldn't it?

Wait a minute, he actually does have some...

Yu Wei is, after all, a member of a boy band. No matter how much he has let himself go, he should still have a few fans. He opened Weibo for the first time in ages and found that his account, "RUIKO1-Yu Wei," had 100,000 followers, with 4,000 people in his super-topic community.

In the entertainment industry, 100,000 followers is equivalent to being a ghost, especially for a boy band where the data is heavily padded... Out of those 100,000 followers, at most 40,000 or 50,000 are real people, and a large portion of those are likely just group fans who followed everyone in the band by default. His own personal fans are probably just the ones in the super-topic. Over the years, those 4,000 people have scattered; it would be good if he could even find a few dozen now.

Fortunately, Yu Wei doesn't need many; a few dozen would suffice. His fans were called "Little Squids." Four thousand squids couldn't stir up any trouble. Back when he replaced that disgraced member, the fans of the former member absolutely slaughtered his super-topic... In their eyes, their "idol" was a victim of a corporate scheme, and Yu Wei was the crown prince who rose to power through capital.

What kind of crown prince only has 100,000 followers?

That group surely knew he was just a substitute, but since they couldn't do anything to the company and refused to admit their idol had fallen from grace, they could only vent their anger on him—the soft target. His own fans were no match and were routed completely, left cowering in silence. That debut battle scattered his fan base; otherwise, he might have had more...

Yu Wei sat in silence for a long time before finally closing Weibo. He was truly frantic and foolish. Fandom fans and web novel readers are two completely unrelated groups. Those who truly chase stars don't read web novels, and those who read web novels don't chase stars. Imagine a die-hard female fan reading a male-oriented web novel—it would be an explosion. "How could my idol be a minor villain in this novel? I can't stand it, reported!"

It's best not to let those monsters and ghosts ruin the novel's environment. Even if he is short on readers, he can't just find anyone; he can't invite the wolf into the house.

"Sigh, what to do now."

Over half an hour has passed, and the active reader count has only gone up by one. At this rate, he shouldn't even dream of hitting 100 before leaving the industry.

"What do you mean, 'what to do'..."

Qi Yuan appeared suddenly, interrupting Yu Wei's thoughts. He walked into the dance studio and handed him an energy drink. "Drink up. You won't be able to drink the company's free beverages for much longer."

"That's hard to say..."

Yu Wei unscrewed the cap and took a deep gulp. He still had a chance to stay for now, but as time passed, that probability was steadily declining.

"Tsk, tsk."

Qi Yuan felt that Yu Wei was a bit different. He used to be laid-back and indifferent, but although Yu Wei was still slacking off, there was a certain intensity in his movements now. A clear-headed, unyielding, and ruthless drive. That's what happens when you fail enough times...

"Forget it, keep playing. I need to go practice my singing."

"What are you singing?"

Yu Wei didn't know much about music and just asked casually. Who would have thought his unintentional remark would lead to terrifying news?

"Just wait until the program list is released tonight and you'll see for yourself!"

Qi Yuan left after dropping that line, leaving Yu Wei standing there stunned...

A program list. There’s a program list!

Right, the farewell night, the final performance—how could there not be a program list? Especially for a show that will be livestreamed online; the program list will definitely be released in advance to attract viewers. Once that list is out, the songs he is set to perform will be set in stone. Even if he gets the system's song, he won't be able to swap it out...

In the end, he was suffering the consequences of never having been a star. In web novels, the protagonist doesn't say a word, and no one knows what they are going to sing; the audience just waits with blank minds. Whether it's a variety show, a competition, or a concert, no one knows the song name until the protagonist steps on stage.

Thinking about it, that was clearly impossible. What serious performance these days doesn't have a program list? What competition doesn't announce the song choices? Why is the entertainment industry so cruel? It's nothing like what's written in the books!

Yu Wei had truly been taking things for granted, to the point where he hadn't considered this at all. At the end of the day, he was just an amateur. "Web novels have ruined me!"

The program list is being announced tonight, which means if he wants to change the song, this is his final chance.

"Damn it."

He had originally intended to wait and see, hoping the numbers might improve over the next day or two. But if the data is being finalized today, then what is the point of waiting?

Active readers: 33. Not a single increase.

Yu Wei felt his scalp tingle. The cold sweat on his back, chilled by the air conditioning, made him shiver in the middle of summer. It was a good thing he had asked that extra question; otherwise, if he had just waited until tomorrow or the day after, the opportunity would have long since sailed...

One hundred active readers—he couldn't possibly reach that in two or three days, let alone today. But Yu Wei wasn't completely out of options.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Looks like I have no choice but to use... that move!"

He may not understand stars, but he understands authors. A "flop" has its own way of surviving.

Yu Wei opened his novel. He wouldn't usually use this tactic, but these were special circumstances; he had to prioritize the goal. Watch closely—this move isn't cool; it's actually quite pathetic.

He clicked "share" and forwarded the link to an author group: "Brothers, help me out with an active read." He attached 100 small red packets.

Inflating data is risky, but asking people to click a link is fine, right? If he has no readers, he at least has peers. People say that peers are enemies, and Yu Wei wouldn't deny that, but while he doesn't know if they can share wealth, they can at least share misfortune...

In the web novel circle, big-name authors might look down on each other, but the "flops" basically sympathize with one another. Everyone is quite friendly to newcomers, especially a "newcomer" like him who is a sucker willing to spend money to boost numbers.

Boosting data has no benefit for a newcomer; the numbers look inflated, but your talent doesn't lie—you'll still flop, and in the end, you won't even recover the money you spent. To put it bluntly, such a naive newcomer isn't a threat to anyone's livelihood, so people are happy to give him a hand. There is no competition among the flops, so they naturally empathize. If it were someone with good stats posting a link, they might just get reported instead...

Yu Wei's book only has 20,000 words; it's not at the point where it can really take off yet. Boosting data now is useless and could even be counterproductive. Getting peers to click is one thing, but actual bot-boosting is suicide. Yu Wei was just pushed to the edge; otherwise, he wouldn't be throwing away money like this.

The group members were busy bragging, and seeing Yu Wei's new book, they just assumed he was a clueless rookie and clicked it out of habit. A few kind authors gave him some advice, which Yu Wei didn't reply to, but he kept their kindness in his heart.

Before long, the 100 red packets were claimed, but the active reader count only went up by about thirty.

"You're just taking the money and not helping, aren't you!"

He had specifically sent out more packets because he was afraid people would run off after taking the money, but he didn't expect the group to be filled with such sly dogs. How truly shameless. But he really couldn't do anything about it; who told him to be so desperate for these stats...

Keep sending!