Zou Weijun did not say this to support Wen Ying in taking a cameo role in acting.
What was a star?
It was not only the entertainment industry that could create stars; every profession had its stars. Scientists who advanced human society through knowledge and research, luminaries who achieved brilliance in various artistic fields, technical giants in every industry—all were “stars”!
The beauty of science could propel the entire human society forward; the beauty of art could illuminate the spiritual world of humanity. As time passed, those artistic works and artists’ names that left marks in history would shine eternally.
Literature was the art of language, a reflection and sublimation of the real world by writers!
Stars in the entertainment industry still worried about fading from popularity, but stars in the literary world had works that truly endured. As long as their works continued to be published, there was no such thing as becoming outdated.
Wen Ying nodded vigorously in agreement with Zou Weijun, while Yuan Fenghui felt a bit regretful.
Mrs Wang was very vigilant:
“Wen Ying is doing just fine focusing on her writing. Expertise is about quality, not quantity. She can’t handle so many things!”
Yuan Fenghui, this capitalist, really wanted to squeeze every bit of value out of Wen Ying.
Relying on Wen Ying’s writing while also eyeing her appearance?
Hmph.
That could not be allowed. Being exploited by Yuan Fenghui as an adult was one thing, but Wen Ying was still a minor.
Well then.
Yuan Fenghui had only wanted to lure the little fox, but the little fox had not made a sound, and now one after another, people were jumping out to protect the cub.
With her plan foiled, Yuan Fenghui was not embarrassed at all: “I was just mentioning it casually. Don’t be so sensitive~”
Nonsense.
Her Taiwanese accent had even come out, which always felt like she was up to no good.
Not just Mrs Wang, even Wen Ying wanted to rub the goosebumps off her arms. Teacher Zhang Guangzhen’s Taiwanese accent was particularly soft and cute. Zhang Guangzhen squeezed past Song Foxiang nearby and walked into the pile of manuscripts, taking a deep breath:
“I want to live here tonight!”
So many manuscripts.
Staying in Rongcheng was indeed the right choice!
If they held a writing contest every year and let him be a judge each time… no, as long as he could be a judge for three years to satisfy his craving, he swore he would buy property and settle in Rongcheng!
Zhang Guangzhen wished he could roll around and frolic in the pile of manuscripts. Song Foxiang was so jealous his eyes turned red.
Who did not want to be a judge? Song Foxiang originally had a chance to be one too. Damn ghostwriting, damn Zhao dog!
Song Foxiang vowed to curse Zhao dog for the rest of his life, wishing that whatever Zhao invested in would lose money, every project he bid on would fail, he would get rained on whenever he went out without an umbrella, and if it did not rain, he would step in dog shit—
No one could detect Song Foxiang’s inner rage. Wen Ying and Zhang Guangzhen were about to get busy. Since Wen Ying had school during the day, most of the reviewing would fall on Zhang Guangzhen, with Wen Ying joining after school and on weekends.
“For the first cycle, three manuscripts will advance to the semi-finals. How about preliminarily selecting 30 to send to Elder Fu?”
Thirty manuscripts, at the minimum word count, would be 150,000 words, and at the upper limit, 300,000 words, equivalent to a full-length novel, which would not burden Elder Fu too much.
As for which 30 to choose, Wen Ying and Zhang Guangzhen would shoulder the responsibility of selection.
That evening, while Wen Ying was still reviewing manuscripts, the Starfire Cup writing contest officially announced its judges lineup simultaneously on the internet and television.
One was Wen Ying, the other Zhang Guangzhen.
The ten-second ad was not as sentimental as the previous promotional video; it bluntly announced Wen Ying and Zhang Guangzhen as judges, instantly stunning most literature enthusiasts following the contest’s progress.
“Who are the judges?”
“Against the Current Fish!”
“And the screenwriter of The Princess’s New Clothes, Zhang Guangzhen.”
“Zhang Guangzhen is fine, probably arranged by Tianjiao Film and Television Company, but why should Against the Current Fish be a judge?”
Among those who had already submitted or were about to submit, at least eight out of ten were dissatisfied with this news.
Some were around Wen Ying’s age, others younger, but most were older than Wen Ying. Having a young girl critique their manuscripts and decide if they advanced to the semi-finals seemed too hasty!
The organisers’ choice led many contestants to curse, calling the organisers idiots.
The only ones happy were probably Wen Ying’s career fans.
That was why choosing the right idol to stan mattered. Look how great it was to choose Little Fish; she did not make them worry at all. Without needing their urging, she had expanded her career on her own!
Being a judge!
It sounded so impressive.
“I wonder if Little Fish gets paid as a judge, but even without money, it’s not important. This represents her status in the literary world!”
“Little Fish has face now!”
“The organisers have great vision!”
Wen Ying having face meant, without rounding up, her career fans had face too. It was similar to later-era traffic stars who followed the idol route; any acting award they won would be hyped to the skies by fans!
Readers were thrilled for Wen Ying. In their eyes, Wen Ying’s writing was top-notch, and with her fame, she was qualified to be a judge.
Not only Wen Ying’s readers were excited; many fans of Li Mengjiao and Yun Chen also left congratulatory messages.
The celebratory feast soured once it left Wen Ying’s blog. Even on the Tianya Forum, where Wen Ying had good passerby appeal, people questioned her being a judge.
“Although she’s a bestselling author, her experience is really shallow!”
“Yes, and she’s young.”
“Against the Current Fish won first prize in the New Concept last year. Last year she was a contestant, this year she’s a judge for a writing contest. No wonder people aren’t convinced!”
“This makes the Starfire Cup seem a bit low-class. Everyone’s benchmarking Starfire Cup against New Concept, and now a New Concept winner can judge Starfire Cup…”
With so many people, why choose Wen Ying? This would create huge controversy for the Starfire Cup!
Not convincing the masses.
Not accepting the selection results.
Tianya Forum users had a good impression of Wen Ying, but even they found the news hard to accept. On the Rongshu Xia forum, where “anti-fish sentiment” was high, someone wrote a several-thousand-word denunciation overnight, harshly criticising Wen Ying and the Starfire Cup contest.
“Against the Current Fish as judge? I absolutely won’t participate. I believe many authors on Rongshu Xia feel the same. She’s not qualified to judge our manuscripts!”
Hah, as if they were missing your submission.
For some reason, quite a few replies echoed this sentiment.
Smart people laughed it off. What was the point of tough talk? If they said they would not participate, they should stick to it. The organisers’ official blog had said the first cycle short story group had 11,891 valid entries. If fewer people joined the second period, there would be less competition!
The online uproar could be ignored by not looking. Wen Ying was thick-skinned.
Real-world discussions were visible even to ordinary people without internet access.
Some print media criticisms of Wen Ying as judge made even Xie Qian frown.
“This is being pushed by someone behind the scenes.”
Why say that?
The old critic who had been dug up by Han Qin to attack Wen Ying before was jumping out again!
