Chapter 8
Real world
Sarah Wu was a devoted fan of the celebrated author Vanity Saint Michaels, also affectionately known as Vanity Mi to her dedicated fanbase. She followed her works religiously, owning multiple editions of each book, before she had written in the fan forum to let them tune in on the interview.
Even though Sarah was a celebrated reporter on the weekly entertainment news show ‘Heatwave,’ where she interviewed various celebrities and delved into the latest industry buzz about them, her heart belonged to literature.
Now, sitting across from her was the famous editor and manager of her deceased favourite author, Mr. Wen. He was a literary titan in his own right, having discovered and nurtured Vanity Mi’s talent.
That night, alone in her apartment after reading the news of Vanity Mi’s passing, she had cried heartbreakingly in a private online fan group, sharing her grief with fellow admirers.
Fuelled by a mix of sorrow and professional ambition, she had then requested to be the one in charge of interviewing editor Wen, seeing it as a sacred duty.
Sarah Wu made sure her makeup was flawless and her pants suit was perfectly pressed before standing and walking down the narrow, brightly lit hallway to the television set.
“Miss Wu, remember that editor Wen is in a sensitive state; he has just flown in this morning and has not yet had a chance to properly grieve—”
Sarah Wu turned and looked at the young, nervous assistant who wanted to give her some last-minute advice. She was a tall woman and wearing impractical eight-inch kitten toe heels that seemed to wobble slightly with each step.
The calf-length pencil skirt swayed in tandem with her hips as she walked, but was as still as a statue when she stood now, clearly intimidating.
“Miss Ken, I am twenty-five not twelve, I know what I’m doing.” With those words, delivered with a dismissive wave of her hand, Sarah Wu walked ahead, her own heels mutedly clicking on the carpeted floor hips and skirt swaying in tendem.
When she entered the studio, she saw a handsome man sitting silently in the designated chair. His silver-grey hair was neatly combed, framing a face that seemed etched with sorrow. He had piercing, phoenix-shaped eyes, a straight nose, full lips, and a sharply defined, three-dimensional face.
As for his build, it was impressively tall, over 1.9 meters, with broad shoulders, all impeccably tailored in a sophisticated pin-striped suit. In the earlier years many fans had shipped him and miss Mi who remained single.
Because of miss Mi she did not feel any pressure to constantly try and whiten her skin amidst the preference among most Asians.
She rather keep her olive toned skin and dress up just like her favourite author who was already over sixty but look in her early thirties before she died, aging so perfectly she could not help but publicly admire and secretly worship.
But was the handsome man worthy of her goddess?
Thirty years of his effort unfortunately made him so but death made it impossible.
After taking in all of this in a swift, professional assessment, and putting her thoughts aside, Sarah Wu stepped forward with a confident smile and introduced herself before gracefully taking her seat opposite him.
Ten minutes later, after the lighting and sound checks were complete, the production team gave the go-ahead for them to start. The cameras began rolling.
“Editor Wen, it is an honour to have you here. First of all, I would like to express my deepest condolences on the death of a truly great author,” Sarah Wu said softly, her voice laced with genuine empathy.
“Thank you, Miss Wu,” he replied, his voice a low, resonant baritone.
“Now, the forums and social media platforms have been abuzz with rumours of a potential sequel. Can you confirm if it is true?” Sarah Wu asked trying not to sound too hopeful.
Editor Wen tilted his head as if it thought with an absentminded look on his face before answering. “Yes, this last book had been ongoing for a long time and was her first. It had finished with three million words and has caused an outcry among the reading community, desperate for more, which prompted such results.”
“True, I am sure our viewers would love to know more about this sequel. Approximately how many words will it contain? Will it be as lengthy as the first, or…” her words trailed off, her excitement palpable. Short or long, she did not care; she knew it would be a guaranteed bestseller!
“It will have only 1.8 million words. She had explained that even though she did not believe in HE (happy endings), she would, at the time, for her retirement give the public something rare.” Sarah Wu felt her vision blurred with a sudden rush of emotion, her favorite author was still thinking about them, her readers and fans. She really wanted to give in to the emotions torturing her, but this was a live interview, and she must maintain professional composure. She blinked rapidly and swallowed hard to regain her equilibrium.
“When will it be published?”
“In two weeks, on the anniversary of her debut novel. The date was set long ago as a symbolic gesture, and the film adaption will be made public next year, around springtime.”
“The actors – will they be famous names, or perhaps newcomers?” Sarah Wu bit her lip after saying this leaning closer subconsciously so that none could be missed.
“The actors were all carefully chosen by her, down to the very last extra. Some were flown in from overseas, and the majority are dedicated, long-time fans of her works, which made the selection process quite unique.”
**forum**
Discussion: Vanity saint Michaels author of 51 novels died.
[Bubblez: hahahaha have you heard the author died?]
[Astridooooooooz: yeh she burned to death]
[Zane: f*** why? I thought she would write a sequel.]
[Zoobrid: really did she say?]
[Monkeybridemansauce: yeh she replied the day before to my question I was so excited, then this happened.]
[Greentea: what? No way if that was true then what’s the point..? *%*]
[Miracleeze: sigh, my aunt ended up in the hospital after she heard. She followed her from day one, even though she had to pace herself so she would not spontaneously die from anger. This time though it was as though she lost her soul after hearing the author died.]
[Xiekimmiezu: my mother knew her in real life, she has not eaten for two days now, she is just sitting there zoning out.]
[Waitwhahuhyo: wow @greentea you seem super emotional]
[Astridooooooooz: are you high? Drunk? Or just stupid? The author had such a good book, but it had a tragic ending. In fact if your eyes were working you would have seen the others. ]
[Have you seen the reviews? The book was well written for f***** sake. I hope you get eaten alive or something freak!]
[Masterpads: he should just drown!]
[Someonesomeone: dogs should eat him for saying such blasphemy!]
*admin deleted Waitwhahuhyo from forum*
[Lilypads: good @admin]
[Astridooooooooz: good @admin]
[Monkeybridemansauce: good @admin]
[Spicysoursauces: good @admin]
[Xzsdem: good @admin]
12634 replies to admin
[ Dreamingsadly: ttoday the show heatwave, have broadcasted the interview between Sarah Wu and editor Wen. She.sigh.]
[ Numbfrommourning: I watched it through tears. ]
[Iwanttobeherloyal1fan: heartbreak, truly heartbreaking. You could see the pain in editor Wen’s eyes.]
[reamingsadly: I cried so hard that my eyes are swollen and my voice hoarse.]
[Monkeybridemansauce: it had one of the highest views in the country. Anyway thirty years of sending people to the hospital and the like, many will be focused on something so major about her.]
[Masterpads: wuwu, I am in tears again, it is so unfair.]
[Abcrides: yo I’m crying ugly as hell. The funeral is in two days. I heard she had donated everything she owned to her high school. It’s good.]
[Zane: well her family isn’t pleased especially that niece of hers.]
[Ariellllliebarbie: yo, so there is a gossip that the niece is with the ex she had been with for over twenty years. How gross is that for her to actually…]
[Lillllllliannna: oh yeh, the man is similar to that last book but he has four children with the niece.]
[Monkeybridemansauce: clear it up. That man mentioned was the cheating fiance, I mean the husband in the book wasn’t worth much but the first two hundred chapters he was like a leech along with her dead beat dad.]
[Zane: above of course @Lillllllliannna meant that fiance, even though the husband was a wasted in the end, he was in another seperate bracket.]
[Cheeseonbread: heh, don’t mention either of them. The fiance went with the niece she raised and the husband with a secretary who was a secret heiress and to boot mixed just like her. How could the husband resist such temptation. One is a wife with no background and one who had the backing of a rich family.]
[Freegossip: forget about the book for now, back to the niece. Somebody have to have real tea on the niece and the fiance. Also as for the heiress I the book, you guys forgot that the wife was from old money even though her family had fallen from the mother’s side her mother had left many things behind for her. She had also invested in many things and in chapter two hundred and forty two she had mentioned that specifically. Also the wife was darker while the heiress was lighter with wavy hair unlike the tight curls of the wife.]
Now someone spill the tea!]
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[LordeZhen: yes above i have some tea, a friend from a friend who knows a friend, who knows a family member mentioned it. The niece was caught in her bed, author almost went awall, hehehe.]
[Anhaha: I saw that post about a decade ago posted by a V blogger, shit the anger, also the comparison pictures of niece and aunt were like comparing a mutt to a purebred.]
[Zo-zo S-so: I saw that! The V was a friend. She bashed those two dog blood cheaters, but the author kept everything and sued him for everything not returned. It should still be on the net…search it. That niece, smh, she is something serious.]
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[Boss222213: oh s*%& really? I have no idea there was such a big tea, I will search that. She has zero heart if she did that and wants her money.]
[Moonwalker: I’d want it to. She had a business she made alone, land, well had a home and the webnovel which was also sold on many major sites and I also heard that it is going to be made into a movie!]
[HaPAPPyz: It was so good that she had rewards as well, but those last five chapters of her last book, ugh.]
[Monkeybridemansauce: I know I regret dissing her now. It feels like I committed a sin.]
[Boostboossssss: dude I know we all did the same. I feel so depressed.]
[sugar@cube: I cried like a true girl for hours. Have you seen the blog post of the author?]
[zenzzzzzen: I’ve seen she had typed before she died that she was making a reincarnation as a sequel..but..but wuwuwuwuwuwu]
[amansadeds: wait, so there was a sequel? wth! I had written a bad review and even bashed the author. I feel so bad…wuwuwuwuwu… can I go back and change it…. Wuwuwu.]
[wuwuwu:wuwwuwuwuwuwu]
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[kevingotshirtssleeves: you all should feel bad, her editor just mentioned on the major sites, that a draft of one thousand chapters for the sequel has been reported. Like with you, people probably brought death on this perfect author by gang-cursing her.]
[zenzzzzzen: this one hereby begs for our author to be reincarnated.]
[amansadeds: reposted zenzzzzzen’s post]
zenzzzzzen’s post has been reposted
1360k+ times.
[zenzzzzzen: wow]
Lolipops2Marsh 