"Thank you!"
Wang Shu also smiled and replied.
The Demon Emperor Taiyi wanted to say something more, but seeing that Wang Shu had no intention of continuing the conversation, he stopped speaking.
In just a few hours, this young man had turned his understanding upside down.
From initially thinking the other party was just a connection-appointed nobody, he had now become the newcomer author he feared the most.
He had even won the "Pen of the End" award, a dream for countless authors.
He supposed it was fate that he was assigned to the same room as this guy this time.
Glancing at the shiny golden trophy on Wang Shu's bedside table, a hint of envy flashed in Mo Huang Taiyi's eyes.
"Brother Gou Lan Ting Qu, how old are you this year?"
After a long while, Mo Huang Taiyi, who had finished washing up, asked Wang Shu again.
"If you count it precisely, I'm 22 years old now!"
Wang Shu thought for a moment and replied.
"Twenty-two?"
Mo Huang Taiyi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Too young, brother. When I was 22, I was just a beginner, and it took me over ten years of failures to finally find my way."
Mo Huang Taiyi sighed.
"I'm a newbie too, it's just good luck!"
Wang Shu said with a slight smile.
He understood Mo Huang Taiyi's experience very well, as this was the reality of the online literature circle.
Moreover, Mo Huang Taiyi was considered a leader in the circle, finding his own path after more than ten years of setbacks and becoming an author invited to the "Great God" tier.
However, many people entered this circle with passion, only to give up after writing tens of thousands of words and quietly leave.
Wang Shu had known many new authors who had entered the circle, but after a few months, they had gradually disappeared from the industry.
"It's not just good luck. I've read your book, both the plot and the writing style have a mature author's feel.
Especially the writing, it even surpasses ninety-nine percent of the authors in the online literature circle. It's hard to imagine that a young author like you could write something like this."
Mo Huang Taiyi countered with a smile. He had studied "Douluo" carefully. Not to mention the setting and tropes, his powerful writing alone was something he could only dream of.
For a while afterward, the two of them exchanged many interesting anecdotes about the online literature circle.
Wang Shu also learned about the landscape of the online literature circle in this world from Mo Huang Taiyi. The current "Zhongdian" (End Point) novel website used to be immensely popular.
Most of the most famous authors in the current online literature world gained their fame from "Zhongdian" during that era.
However, later on, with the rapid development of the internet, internet capital giants began to enter the online literature industry.
These internet giants acquired a batch of websites, poached a group of famous authors at high prices, forming the current tripartite structure.
Yue Wen Novel Network, created by a well-known social platform, and Zhang Yue Novel Network, which started by pre-installing apps on mobile phones, are currently the two platforms with the largest traffic.
As for older websites like "Zhongdian" Novel Network, they rely on their long-accumulated user base and gradually built-up work library to survive under the siege of these major platforms.
After understanding this, Wang Shu couldn't help but marvel at the foundation of "Zhongdian" Novel Network, which, despite the traffic pressure from the two capital platforms, had managed to remain independent and not be acquired, showing some real strength.
But Wang Shu understood that even if "Zhongdian" Novel Network could survive for now, in the near future, it would either be merged by a larger platform or gradually fade into oblivion, as this was the natural progression of internet development.
...
And on this night.
A new trending topic appeared on Weibo.
#This song must be included in your wedding#
The topic of the trending search was the video of Wang Shu singing "To You" at the wedding banquet tonight.
"Wow, this couple is too happy, I'm so envious!"
"This song is so fitting, Wang Shu is truly a genius creator. I want someone to sing this for me at my wedding too!"
"Good heavens, Wang Shu, the sneaky guy, isn't singing properly but is attending weddings!"
"Attending weddings? Didn't you see the netizens on site saying he only went up to sing after being discovered at the wrong banquet?"
Wang Shu's fans were commenting under the video as soon as possible.
They hadn't expected Wang Shu to appear on the trending list again in such a way.
...
The next morning, organized by "Zhongdian" Novel Network, Wang Shu toured the famous attractions of Modu with the author group.
At noon, Wang Shu directly asked Xiao Chui to book him a flight back to Hangzhou.
Because the days after the annual meeting were basically filled with organized dinners and sightseeing.
Wang Shu had no interest in such activities, as he felt that continuing to enjoy himself like this would be disrespectful to the life he had worked hard to earn.
In the afternoon, Wang Shu returned to Hangzhou.
However, as soon as Wang Shu got off the plane, Gong Tao called him.
"What is it?"
Wang Shu asked doubtfully.
"There's a program looking for you as a guest for one episode, offering 200,000 yuan for the appearance fee. Are you interested?"
Gong Tao said directly on the phone.
"What program, and for how long?"
Wang Shu's interest was piqued upon hearing 200,000 yuan, and he quickly asked.
"It seems to be called 'The Days of Longing.' It's a rural life reality show. The recording should only take one day."
Gong Tao said.
"That's great, when do I leave?"
Wang Shu asked directly. He felt restless if he didn't earn money for a day.
In any case, the semi-finals of "Masked Singer" were not until Friday, so he still had plenty of time.
"Since you've agreed, I'll confirm with them. This program is on Xigua TV, and the director is one of my juniors."
Seeing Wang Shu agree, Gong Tao directly replied and then sent Wang Shu's information to the other party.
Afterward, someone claiming to be the director's assistant for "The Days of Longing" called Wang Shu.
After discussing the appearance fee and some simple matters, the director's assistant booked Wang Shu a flight to the program's recording location.
Wang Shu didn't leave the airport and went directly to the boarding gate to wait for his flight.
After Wang Shu landed in the evening, the program team sent a special car to pick him up.
On the way, the director's assistant briefly explained the program to Wang Shu.
Wang Shu roughly understood the variety show called "The Days of Longing."
This variety show would feature three resident guests who would live in a place called Mushroom House and needed to be self-sufficient for all their meals.
At the same time, different guests would be invited to visit this place every day, and the three resident guests would need to prepare various delicacies to entertain them and satisfy their culinary desires.
Wang Shu was one of the guests invited to visit.
Moreover, because the program was broadcast live online with post-production editing and recording,
there were no scripts provided to the guests. All content and reactions were the guests' own actions. Therefore, even though it was a brand new program, it had already garnered considerable attention from viewers upon broadcast.
As for why Wang Shu was invited as a guest, Wang Shu hadn't figured it out either. Of course, Wang Shu guessed that it was probably because he was relatively cheap and had some recent popularity.
Since the program was scheduled to start recording the next day, Wang Shu needed to stay overnight in a hotel in the county town and then depart for Mushroom House tomorrow.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Wang Shu met the chief director of the program, Zhang Xi, who was Gong Tao's junior.
Although Gong Tao said Zhang Xi was his junior, Wang Shu felt that this guy looked quite mature for his age.
Despite being Gong Tao's junior, he looked like Gong Tao's uncle.
Zhang Xi was very happy to see Wang Shu.
Although he was a reality show director, he enjoyed watching music variety shows the most in his spare time.
Among them were "I Am a Singer" and "Masked Singer," directed by his senior Gong Tao.
Therefore, he greatly admired Wang Shu, and most importantly, he felt that Wang Shu was a very talented young man.
"Welcome, Mr. Wang Shu, for taking time out of your busy schedule to participate in our program recording! I am also a fan of yours. I really like your song 'Blue and White Porcelain'."
Zhang Xi said, shaking Wang Shu's hand.
"Director Zhang is too kind. I've been happy all the way for the opportunity to participate in Director Zhang's program!"
Wang Shu quickly responded with a smile.
After all, in the entertainment industry, commercial compliments were normal. Although he didn't know much about this director,
he just needed to flatter him. Whether he had watched the works was not important.
After greeting Zhang Xi, Wang Shu still needed to make a call to Mushroom House.
According to the program's rules, guests need to order their dishes before going to Mushroom House, informing the resident guests inside of what they want to eat.
The next day, the resident guests would then prepare the dishes in advance to entertain the visiting guests at Mushroom House.
Wang Shu did not make things difficult for the three resident guests and directly ordered a very home-style dish: spicy crayfish.
Then, he happily went back to his room to sleep.
Meanwhile, the three guests in Mushroom House were having trouble.
"Teacher He, is spicy crayfish a home-style dish?"
Teacher Huang, who had just hung up the phone, looked at Teacher He next to him with a confused expression.
"He didn't order spicy crayfish, did he?"
Teacher He looked at Huang Lei in shock.
"What? Where are the crayfish?"
Peng Yuchang, who was leaning against a pillar and dozing off, opened his eyes in surprise upon hearing the word "crayfish."
"Your ears are more sensitive than your nose. You woke up as soon as I said it!"
Huang Lei smiled helplessly at Peng Peng.
"I haven't eaten it for a long time, I'm craving it!"
Peng Peng wiped his drool with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
...
The next morning, Wang Shu woke up early and washed up.