CHAPTER 71: CHAPTER 67: THE CHANGE IN CHU TIAN

"Nanmeng! Have you seen the data for ’Candle in the Tomb’?"

"What data?"

Today was fortunately a break from training because of a program recording, so Chu Tian was just sitting at his desk, idly playing mobile games when he got a call from editor Qiu Ye.

"Ah? Your novel has blown up, do you know that? Haven’t you seen it?"

"Oh, I’ve seen that, it’s going quite well, thank you for your hard work," Chu Tian blathered on without a hint of embarrassment. He’d almost forgotten about the novel he was serializing these past few days, let alone checking its statistics. If it weren’t for the editor’s reminder, he wouldn’t have even thought of it.

Qiu Ye was no fool, and she could easily tell that she was being brushed off. "Let me just tell you about the recent stats. The novel now has over one hundred thousand followers, with more than twelve thousand people reading the updated Chapters every day. On the whole, it’s already become a wildly popular novel."

How would he know what these numbers meant? But from the editor’s tone, it seemed like his novel had become a hit. Did that mean he could start making money?

Lately, Sister Hua had been driving him almost insane. If he had the money, he would have moved out long ago.

"So, roughly how much money could I make based on these figures?"

Qiu Ye felt like crying. We’re talking about data, and you’re asking me about money? It’s true that people write novels to make money, but isn’t this a bit too rushed?

She said with a wry smile, "...the book doesn’t have enough words right now to charge for it, so it might take a while before it starts earning money. Are you really short on cash? If it isn’t too much, I can lend you some."

Biting her lip, she steeled herself to make the offer.

The truth was, Qiu Ye’s own salary wasn’t much to speak of, but she got the impression that this Nanmeng was in desperate need of money. Perhaps there were some difficulties with his life situation? Anyway, the novel was definitely going to make money. If it really came down to it, she could help out, or maybe ask the company for an advance. However, they definitely couldn’t start charging for the novel yet. It had huge potential, and charging too soon could severely diminish that potential. Only if absolutely necessary would she recommend charging for ’Candle in the Tomb’ prematurely.

She took her time on the phone to make sure Chu Tian fully understood this.

"No problem, I’m not really in urgent need of money at the moment. We’ll do as you suggest, I’m fine with that."

After listening to her, Chu Tian somewhat understood the rules. He had only casually inquired about the money, not actually expecting to get much so soon. To his surprise, the editor took his query seriously and patiently explained everything, which made him feel a bit embarrassed.

His offhand comment had, unbeknownst to him, nearly brought Qiu Ye to the point of sweating. Charging for a novel only a few tens of thousands of words in, especially a promising one, would be detestable. Free Chapters were meant to expand its reach and attract readers; charging too early would come across as greedy and potentially attract criticism. Fortunately, Nanmeng didn’t insist, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chu Tian, get ready; the production team will be here shortly."

Right after hanging up the phone, Yiyi came running over to notify him that it was time to leave.

Today marked the third recording session for ’The Sound of Nature’. Each recording covered two episodes, meaning today they were taping the fifth and sixth episodes. The third episode would be airing tomorrow.

Shows like this have a high degree of variability. Since scheduling needs to be coordinated, they typically use two models: stage-by-stage recording or block shooting. There’s also a more casual approach that fully depends on availability. For example, one episode might be broadcast each week, requiring two episodes to be recorded every other week. It’s also possible to record two episodes consecutively each week until all are finished, even if only half have aired on TV by then.

’The Sound of Nature’ was currently using the latter model, and overall, the pace was quite tight. This was not singer-friendly, as the intensity was high. However, due to various reasons, including the singers’ schedules, there was no other choice. It might get better in the later stages, but that was uncertain.

Xu Qingqiu had already finished her makeup. As soon as the production team arrived, they started filming right away.

After this period as an assistant, Chu Tian had roughly figured out his job duties and gradually grown accustomed to this rhythm. He busied himself organizing Yiyi’s things while observing the recording process from an interested bystander’s perspective, which had its own unique appeal.

From the studio to the recording site, everything was already in strict readiness. Whether intentional or not, when entering the venue, Xu Qingqiu walked right into Baise Entertainment’s Qin Xiao.

The two of them glanced at each other, neither saying a word. But as they passed by, Chu Tian caught a hint of a mocking smile on Qin Xiao’s face.

He frowned and stared at her for a long time but couldn’t discern anything wrong.

At that moment, Qin Xiao noticed him. The smile on her face disappeared instantly. After sizing him up, she left unhurriedly.

"Do you know the guy who was following behind?" After they parted, Qin Xiao bent her head to ask her manager in a low voice.

"Don’t know him."

The manager had been headhunted by the company later. Both Qin Xiao and this manager had joined after Chu Tian had already gone to college, so neither had seen him before. As for what had happened previously, the company was extremely secretive, so neither of them knew.

"Go check it out, be thorough."

"Okay," the manager agreed.

Chu Tian was unaware that he was being watched. After entering the rest area, he hesitated but still approached Xu Qingqiu and whispered a word of caution, "That woman just now, her name was Qin Xiao, right? I feel like there’s something off about her. Be careful."

Xu Qingqiu looked at him with a teasing smile, making him somewhat uncomfortable.

"What are you looking at me for? Is there something wrong?"

"It’s nothing. Thank you for your reminder. I’ll be careful."

Xu Qingqiu didn’t say anything, but he felt like he was being treated like a clueless fool, which seemed quite silly to him.

Fortunately, Yiyi couldn’t help but laugh and said, "That Qin Xiao is Sister Qiu’s old rival. Of course, Sister Qiu will be cautious around her. That bitch is disgusting, always making trouble. It’s so annoying!"

Chu Tian looked at her speechlessly. Of course, I know they’re rivals—the online gossip wasn’t for nothing. But what’s with that laughter?

What he didn’t know was that Xu Qingqiu wasn’t laughing at him. She was suddenly realizing that the Chu Tian from her memories, the one who used to remind her about the personalities of each teacher back when they were both trainees, seemed to have returned. The feeling was very warm and joyful, an uncontrollable kind of happiness, which explained her beaming smile.

To Chu Tian, however, it seemed inexplicable.

How could Xu Qingqiu bring herself to explain? She could only blush and pretend nothing had happened, not daring to meet Chu Tian’s eyes, leaving him to sulk by himself.

Time ticked away—dress rehearsals, touch-ups, individual interviews, adjustments, preparations...

The recording was about to start.