"Is your hand alright?" Feng Bujue asked.

"Huh? Of course, it's fine. Even if something happened, it would only be to my character in the game," Xiao Tan replied. "Brother Jue, you didn't call just to ask me that, did you? I'm still on duty."

This was the afternoon of the next day, and Feng Bujue was at home talking to Xiao Tan on the phone.

"Ah… of course not, I was just asking in passing," Feng Bujue then got down to business. "It's like this… today I went out and discussed a collaboration with my editor that has nothing to do with writing."

"What is it?"

"The day after tomorrow, which is this Saturday, I have to go to a TV station to record a show. The transportation there isn't convenient. You should be off that day, right? How about being my driver?" Feng Bujue said.

"Ah?" Xiao Tan was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "Ah?"

"What's wrong with you?" Feng Bujue's tone was still quite normal. "Did you zone out and eat a petri dish of bacteria like it was jelly?"

"You're finally going to be on TV, Brother Jue! Is this your big break?" Xiao Tan asked excitedly.

"No."

"Ah~ so you can finally earn money while lying down."

"The way you say that makes it sound like I'm about to go into another profession…"

"I mean you can finally live off your royalties like those famous authors, and you won't have to struggle to write every month."

"That's why I said 'no'," Feng Bujue said. "Nothing will change. You're thinking too much."

Xiao Tan was so excited that he completely ignored Feng Bujue's denial, and he asked, "By the way! What's the show called, Brother Jue?"

"I'm a writer," he calmly replied.

"Huh? I know, I'm asking what show are you going on?"

"I'm a writer," Feng Bujue repeated.

"Huh?" Xiao Tan seemed to short-circuit again.

"Sigh…" Feng Bujue sighed deeply, "The show is called 'I Am a Writer'. It's a variety show where contestants compete against each other in an elimination format."

"Oh? Who else is participating besides you?" Xiao Tan said.

"Buzhi Yi Bu Niao," Feng Bujue replied.

Xiao Tan pounded the table and laughed, "Hahaha… Brother Jue, so domineering."

"Buzhi because the other contestants' information is confidential," Feng Bujue said. "Bu Niao because even if I did, it wouldn't matter… Personally, I hope to be eliminated in the first round to avoid having to go again."

"Don't say that! It's a rare chance to be on TV…"

"I'm not very fond of appearing in crowded places, and I don't really want to leave behind too much video footage…" Feng Bujue said, "It's just that the appearance fee is quite high… so I…"

"Did you tell Bao Daren (lit. Judge Bao)?" Xiao Tan said.

"No. Anyway, even if I told you, you'd call him, so you can tell him," Feng Bujue paused, then added, "I'm emphasizing this, you can chat with Bao Daren about it, but don't go spreading it around."

"How could I~" Xiao Tan replied in a raised tone.

"Remember when my first book was published, even the owner of the fruit shop five or six streets away from your house knew about it," Feng Bujue said.

"Ha… haha… that was…"

"Well… that's settled then. This Saturday, you'll drive me there at noon, and then you're done. Since I don't know how long the recording will take, I'll just go home myself afterward. Anyway, I still have money in my transit card," Feng Bujue said.

"Can I go in and watch?" Xiao Tan asked.

"No."

"Really…"

"No."

"Okay," Xiao Tan said disappointedly, "When will the show air?"

"Don't know."

"Never mind, I'll just look it up online myself."

"Continue your shift… talk to you tonight," Feng Bujue maintained his weak tone from beginning to end.

"Alright, bye-bye."

"Goodbye."

After hanging up the phone, Feng Bujue sighed deeply again, "Well… I can only pray that this kid will know when to stop."

Two hours later…

There was a knock on the door.

Feng Bujue responded with a "Coming" and walked to the door, but before he could reach it, the person outside opened it with a key.

"I say… Auntie Liu… if you weren't going to wait for me to open the door, why did you knock?" Feng Bujue asked.

Standing at the door was none other than his landlady, Auntie Liu: "Young people have their privacy. What if you had a girl in your room? What if you were doing something you shouldn't be? So I knock first, and when I hear you answer, I know I can come in."

"What you said is contradictory, and your logic is easily misunderstood…"

"Don't give me that nonsense." Auntie Liu looked him up and down, "I heard… you're going to be in a movie?"

The first word that popped into Feng Bujue's mind was "Damn!" but he just sighed and replied, "Who did you hear that from?"

"I heard it from Auntie Wang at the market." Auntie Liu began to ramble, "Hey, I say, Xiao Feng, my granddaughter is ten years old this year and is very talented in acting…"

Feng Bujue really wanted to bang his head against the doorframe. "Auntie Liu… first of all, I'm just going to a TV station to record a variety show. It's only a few hours. When the show airs, it'll be edited down to a few tens of minutes, and my shots might only add up to a few minutes." He took a breath and continued, "Secondly… even if I were filming a movie, I wouldn't have the ability to arrange for your granddaughter to participate. You'd have to find the producer…"

"Ah? Is that so?" Auntie Liu said blankly. "I heard the security guard in the complex say it so convincingly, saying you were writing, directing, and starring in it yourself…" From what she said, there was more than one person spreading the rumor.

"Okay, okay… you're overthinking it…" Feng Bujue quickly waved his hand, "Rumors! Pure rumors! I'm not cut out for that, and I'm not interested in entering the entertainment industry. I'm just going to participate in a variety show, like a quiz show."

"Oh…" Auntie Liu nodded. "Hey? Xiao Feng, when will the show air?"

"What do you want to do?"

"What's wrong? It's not often that I have an acquaintance on TV, can't I watch it?"

"Sure…" Feng Bujue was helpless against her. "I'm going to record it this Saturday. After recording, I'll ask the production team. Don't worry, in a few days, I'll bring you this month's rent, the money I owe for the cat, and the broadcast schedule, is that alright?"

"That's settled then, Auntie will wait for your news…" Auntie Liu replied.

"Okay, okay… goodbye, I won't see you out…" Feng Bujue pushed and coaxed her away, closing the door. He leaned against the door and exhaled, "The efficiency of this rumor spreading and mutating is a bit alarming… In another forty-eight hours, people will probably believe I'm going abroad to win an Oscar."

He shook his head, returned to the room, and locked all three locks on the door, including the chain lock. Then he went to the game pod, took off his shoes, and lay down inside.