Chapter 55: Follow-up Read Of New Chapter Unlocks Hidden Benefit
The decrease in chapter reviews really wasn’t Yu Wei’s illusion.
While preparing for the audition for “The Person Who Plants Stars,” he discovered that not only had the novel’s chapter reviews decreased, but the follow-up read count had also dropped.
It wasn’t the natural decline in data, but a cliff-like shrinkage; the originally stable follow-up read count directly dropped by one-third, with the proportion plummeting.
Yu Wei thought he hadn’t written any poison points recently, so why had so many readers mysteriously disappeared? This kind of drop clearly meant it had collapsed.
It seemed his failure bloodline had finally awakened…
No, his collection count had been steadily rising, which meant the readers hadn’t run away; they just weren’t reading.
Yu Wei casually flipped through the book friend circle and quickly found the culprit behind the scenes: the post “Eat well and sleep on time.”
“As an old reader of Yu Wei, I really have to say a few words. This book is just a very ordinary internet light novel. His songs are great, but when the plot comes out, the songs haven’t been released yet. By the time the songs come out, the plot is almost forgotten. The refreshment points are very disjointed.”
“For a better reading experience, I suggest everyone form the habit of reading the relevant chapters after the songs are released. It’s even better when paired with the songs.”
After reading it, Yu Wei was so angry he laughed. If you all don’t read, how am I supposed to release songs? Readers wait for the songs to come out before reading, while he waits for readers to read before releasing songs—trapped in a dead loop.
Their intentions are punishable!
Yu Wei was just venting casually. He knew this reader meant well, helping maintain the readers’ reading experience while essentially saving face for him.
The format of writing first and singing later could hook readers’ interest, but it also easily wore down their patience. If hooked too hard, readers wouldn’t hear the songs and would feel bad, so they’d definitely stockpile first and read after the songs came out.
“This is indeed a big problem.”
Most readers are fans. Seeing song titles appear in the novel’s plot is like seeing gourmet food or beautiful women—it just makes them drool.
Luckily, his current reader base is large enough. The number of readers convinced by “Eat well and sleep on time” isn’t that many, so redeeming songs is still more than enough for now, but it definitely won’t work in the long run.
He needed to find a method to keep readers continuously paying attention to this book…
“You’re up soon, Yu Wei.”
Yu Wei came back to his senses and saw Chi Leying waving at him from the side. The male actor ahead was already auditioning, and he was next.
First, secure the lead actor role in “The Person Who Plants Stars.” Although he planned to change the score for this scene, the premise was still to win the lead role.
Directly using a song to snatch a role others had worked hard for would be too lacking in class. Yu Wei still wanted to compete fairly.
The male actor auditioning was Qi Xi, one of the few talented persons in this program. He had solid acting skills, and the mentors’ evaluations of him in the previous episodes had been quite high.
There were also rumors outside that he was the crown prince, with the program team always assigning him good roles—this Yu Wei wasn’t too clear about.
In this episode’s program, the male lead in “The Person Who Plants Stars” was indeed the most distinctly characterized role. Acting it well would make it easy to be remembered.
If he really was the crown prince, then Yu Wei couldn’t compete.
In the movie, the male lead’s conditions for teaching in the mountain village were harsh—not only lacking food and clothing, but the house he lived in leaked water and wind. Later, he even fell ill. If it were merely physical suffering, that would be one thing, but more importantly, it was mental torment.
He wasn’t understood by his family, received no respect from the locals, no children were willing to attend his classes, and they didn’t believe in so-called knowledge.
This kind of bridge isn’t uncommon now, but it was still novel back then. The suffering was right; the more hardship he endured, the better it highlighted the greatness of the male lead’s spirit. He was a steadfast warrior.
The audition scene was the male lead working in his room shortly after recovering from a serious illness. At this point, near the film’s end, he had decided to stay here.
It had to be said that Qi Xi’s acting skills were very good. He successfully portrayed the male lead’s pain and struggle—dragging his sick body, disheveled and grimy, looking haggard, yet still persevering at the teacher position. It was very moving.
Without exaggeration, with acting skills like this, everyone could empathize with him even through the screen.
“Not bad.”
Lin Yi gave her evaluation straightforwardly. Receiving praise from a veteran actor showed his acting foundation.
Compared to the young generation of actors whose demeanor was unwatchable, his strength was indeed undeniable.
After watching his performance, Chi Leying was already a bit worried. She had never seen Yu Wei act and didn’t even know if this guy could act at all. Could he win?
Yu Wei was in danger!
This was real danger. Forget acting skills; after Qi Luo An’s guidance during the MV period, he was at best beginner level now, completely incomparable to a talented person like Qi Xi.
What else could he do? Grit his teeth and go on stage.
A misery contest, huh? In a bit, I’ll turn into a blind person right on the spot—see who’s more miserable!
Yu Wei just silently complained a couple of times. After going on stage, he still performed seriously, but without any struggling heaviness. It looked just like… he was playing himself.
No acting skills at all—it seemed more like Yu Wei was just doing the male lead’s tasks at hand. No sign of pain or determination could be seen; he even smiled while grading student homework.
Unwatchable. Chi Leying turned her head away. Sure enough, no one in this world is all-powerful. He could write songs and revise scripts, but in acting, he was barely passable.
Qi Xi, who had just stepped off, unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. He had really been afraid that Yu Wei was hiding his true abilities. At this level, he was relieved.
“Stop for a moment.”
Lin Yi directly called to stop Yu Wei’s performance. But compared to doubt, she was more puzzled. Yu Wei’s appearance was clearly intentional.
Even if his acting skills were poor, any normal person could put on a stern face and feign depth. His appearance had a bit of a slacking off vibe.
Yu Wei really wasn’t slacking off; this was his individual understanding.
“Teacher, I think idealists are mostly optimists. Otherwise, how could they stand up again and again under the blows of cruel reality, charging through one challenge after another?”
“The male lead stays here sowing hope. What he does is sacred, what he does is great, what he does is his dream. He is happy every moment. All difficulties and hardships are insignificant in the face of this responsibility.”
“So I think at this moment, he shouldn’t be that pained.”
Actually, in film and television dramas, many stars portray minor characters and underclass people with a bitter expression, because they truly live bitter lives, and actors need to perform the painful side to show off skills.
But in real life, those people whose days are very bitter don’t act like that usually either; if they drooped their faces and hunched their backs every day, how could they get through the days.
Like the male protagonist in this movie, a person with powerful energy in his inner heart, he himself must certainly be positive and optimistic; outsiders might feel their conditions are very bitter, but he himself wouldn’t feel bitter.
If he felt bitter every day and immersed in emotions of self-pity, he wouldn’t be able to persist…
Yu Wei has no acting skills, but he really is an ordinary person.
The few people were a bit stumped by Yu Wei’s words; his acting skills are indeed average, but in understanding the role, he really has something.
Cultural workers must have culture; actors ultimately compete on cultural literacy and understanding ability; Yu Wei has a great advantage in this aspect.
“Your acting skills are indeed a bit lacking, but I have confidence I can help you make some progress.”
Lin Yi’s words were undoubtedly recognition of Yu Wei and also indicated her choice; technique and experience can be practiced, but this unique understanding is too rare and valuable.
Qi Xi had no objection to this; honestly, he was also a bit convinced by Yu Wei…
Actually, his earlier performance imitated the male protagonist in the original film, but the male protagonist didn’t win any awards back then, not even a nomination, while the female protagonist won best lead actress and even became a classic in film history with just a gaze.
This already explains the issue very well; in a movie with the male protagonist as the first-person perspective, the lead actor didn’t get anything, which shows his performance really wasn’t that good.
Qi Xi had reason to suspect that if such a role really existed, he would certainly be as Yu Wei described.
Only positive people, people with beliefs, people with faith, can stay in the mountains sowing hope.
When the thought arose, Qi Xi himself was startled; compared to the male lead actor, he seemed more willing to believe Yu Wei was right.
……
After the program recording paused, Yu Wei hurried back to the hotel and worked overtime to finish writing the final competition episode of the first half-season of Singer-songwriter.
This program’s schedule is quite special, with two groups for the upper and lower half-seasons each filming a few episodes, then the finals conducted by competition area.
“Think of some method to stabilize follow-up reads?”
Yu Wei spaced out for a while, then simply added a note directly after the chapter.
“Follow-up read new chapters to unlock hidden benefit.”
