Chapter 39: Heading to the Film Set

After submitting his college preferences, Lin Yi logged into the Qidian author dashboard.

As soon as he clicked in, his screen was flooded with a sea of red notifications.

"Huh! Where did all these tips come from?" Lin Yi opened the notifications, wide-eyed. Looking at the usernames of his "sugar daddies," he suddenly realized—could they have found out he was writing a book on Qidian?

That seemed likely.

The thought gave him a headache. While he appreciated the support, he dreaded the prospect of fans blindly following the trend to tip him. He still had vivid memories of so many streamers in his past life whose careers were derailed by such things.

*Tap-tap.*

Lin Yi quickly posted a new chapter, urging his fans not to tip blindly and to only contribute what they could afford.

After finishing that, he checked his progress—he had two chapters left in his buffer. After posting one at 8:00 PM tonight, he would only have one remaining.

"Sigh, I'm so sleepy, I don't want to type," Lin Yi grumbled. He logged out, shut down his computer, and yawned as he collapsed onto his bed.

Nothing beats the comfort of a bed.

It was clear that recovering from the previous night's exhaustion would take a few days.

*Zzz... Zzz...*

The next day, sunlight streamed through the window. Lin Yi shielded his eyes with his hand, rolled over, and kept sleeping.

He didn't lazily rise until noon. After grabbing lunch, he started writing.

*Ding, ding, ding!*

Hu Ge: Lin Yi, are you writing a book?
Peng Yuyan: Lin Yi, you’re trending again.
Tong Liya: Lin Yi, good luck! ^0^~

Opening his phone, Lin Yi saw a flood of messages. He smiled and replied to them one by one.

"Liu Yan has invited you to join the 'Qidian Non-Human Author Group'."

Lin Yi rubbed the back of his head in confusion. "Non-Human Author Group?"

He clicked "Accept."

Upon entering the group:

Egg-Loving Brother: "Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome to our big shot for joining the Non-Human Author Group."
Nine-Colored Demon: "Welcome, big shot! Lin Yi has finally joined the group!"
Skeleton: "A newbie here, trembling in fear. Please, let me hug your thigh."
...

Lin Yi’s face twitched. Was there any point in these big-name authors pretending to be newbies? And had he joined the wrong place?

Lin Yi: *Ying ying ying!* (crying sounds)
Nine-Colored Demon: ...
Tomato: ...
Potato Stir-fry: ...
Liu Yan: ...
Skeleton: Where did this thing come from?

"Hello everyone, I’m the newbie Lin Yi. I hope you big shots will look after me in the future, *ying ying ying*."

Lin Yi had taken a closer look at the group members—the familiar profile pictures and nicknames made it click instantly: this was the exclusive chat group for Qidian’s top-tier authors. He hadn't expected his editor to be so kind as to pull a small fry like him into the big leagues.

Skeleton: *Gasp!* Big shot Lin Yi is actually a *Yingying* monster! Terrifying!
Nine-Colored Demon: This person has the same flair I had back in the day.
Potato Stir-fry: Shocking! Young singer Lin Yi is actually doing this behind our backs!
Squid: Just popping in to prove I was here.

Lin Yi never realized that these big shots were such goofballs behind the scenes. It was a case of kindred spirits meeting late! For a while, Lin Yi was completely absorbed in the chat.

***

At Xiang University’s admissions office:

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Oh my god, I must be seeing things!" Teacher Tan Geng, in charge of admissions, bolted from his chair, slamming the table and cursing in disbelief.

"Old Tan, what on earth is making you lose your composure like this?" his colleague, Meng Fan, stopped what he was doing and looked at him curiously.

"The pie fell from the sky!" Tan Geng’s face was flushed as he gripped his fists excitedly.

"Tell me about it!"

"See for yourself! I need to call the principal. Damn it, now that he’s in our net, we can’t let him get away!" Tan Geng said, nimbly pulling out his phone to dial the principal.

***

Time passed slowly. Two days went by in a flash.

Lin Yi packed his luggage and set off on his journey.

What he didn't know was that shortly after the topic "College Entrance Exam Top Scorer Writes Novels" dropped off the trending list, another piece of news about him hit the Weibo hot search: "Lin Yi Applies to Xiang University."

After his flight landed in Tianjin, Lin Yi hurried out of the airport, caught a taxi, and then transferred to a shuttle bus bound for J County No. 1 High School.

Tong Liya: Lin Yi, you’re trending again.

Sitting on the shuttle, Lin Yi saw the message from Tong Liya and frowned. Why was he trending again? Hadn't he just been there a few days ago?

Because he wrote novels, a whole bunch of self-important experts had come out of the woodwork to analyze his behavior, even dragging the entire web novel industry into the mud. Some experts even claimed he was a "bad influence on the youth!"

Lin Yi was nearly driven mad by their fallacies. Since when did what he did need their critique? If they were so capable, instead of whining on the internet, why didn't they take up the mantle of "Education to Save the Nation" themselves?

*Sigh!*

Lin Yi brushed off his frustration and logged onto Weibo. "Lin Yi Applies to Xiang University" was right there before his eyes.

Clicking through, he saw netizens divided. Some said choosing a school was his freedom, while others called him an idiot for choosing Xiang University instead of Beida or Qinghua.

Out of sight, out of mind—Lin Yi felt somewhat numb. He exited Weibo. There was nothing to explain, and what would explaining even do?

"Hey, Lin Yi, have you arrived?" Zhang Yibo called to ask.

"Brother Zhang, I’ve reached J County. I’m heading to the high school now."

"Good. I won't send anyone to pick you up then. Can you find a ride yourself? I’m quite busy here."

"Don't worry, Brother Zhang, I can make it there on my own."

"Alright, give me a call when you get to the school."

It was past six o'clock when the shuttle reached the J County passenger station. The sky was turning dim. Lin Yi hailed a taxi and headed for J County No. 1 High School.

"Director, I’ve arrived," Lin Yi said, looking up at the school gates.

Most of the scenes for *Fleeting Time* were filmed at J County No. 1 High School.

He was originally cast as Zhao Ye, the "spare tire" who loved Lin Jiamo deeply. But the director later changed his mind and asked him to play Qiao Ran.

Qiao Ran was a top student, humble, kind-hearted, and possessed a gentle, scholarly aura.

This persona seemed to fit Lin Yi even better. Zheng Kai had agreed to the change readily. Between a "warm guy" and a "spare tire," the challenge of the latter was greater, but since it was the director's call, he couldn't disobey.