Chapter 16: A cohabitation variety show? How thrilling.

The first book Yu Wei signed was an entertainment-themed variety show novel. At the time, he didn’t understand tropes or templates; he just wrote whatever came to mind. As a result, the entertainment aspects of the novel were a complete mess, but the guest characters had distinct personalities. Later, he tried to emulate others by leaning into "power fantasy" tropes and shoehorning various variety show gimmicks into the narrative, but he ended up losing that original spark. To make the protagonist look cool, the other guests were reduced to hollow shells, making the story bland and unappealing. A beautiful but naive female lead, a bubbly and brainless second female lead, a scheming villainess third female lead, plus a few male guests serving as mere plot devices to prop up the protagonist—and just like that, he had a variety show novel.

After writing so many, Yu Wei almost started to believe it himself. Setting aside the male "plot device" guests, in reality, how many pure, naive female stars are there? Anyone who can make it in the entertainment industry is no pushover. Regardless, Yu Wei had no intention of stirring up trouble; the entertainment industry was too deep, and he couldn't handle it. He just treated it as gathering material for his writing.

The company approved his request very quickly, almost with a sense of desperation. Qi Yuan’s participation had been set in stone, but then he suddenly backed out. While it wasn't a breach of contract, it was still difficult for the production team to manage. Now, with Yu Wei—a much more presentable option—stepping in, he was an unexpected blessing, arguably even better than the original plan. Yu Wei was currently trending and generated plenty of buzz, so the production team accepted the change gladly. In a sense, this replacement was a triple win: the company, Yu Wei, and the production team all gained something. Everyone was happy.

So, who lost out?

"Sister Liu, what is this variety show actually about?" With the recording imminent, Yu Wei had only just received the notice and knew nothing about it. He just hoped it wasn't the kind of show where everyone acted like a nervous wreck.

"It seems to be a reality show where several celebrities live together."

"Live together?" Was it really that intense? Even with the highly developed entertainment industry of this world, surely it wouldn't go that far? He wouldn't even dare write that in his novels.

"Like, sharing a rental, what are you thinking?" Liu Ning rolled her eyes and handed him the show's introduction.

Oh, just a shared rental. That was fine then.

*Hello, Roommate* was a celebrity reality show centered on the shared living experiences of urban youth. The premise was set in a Western-style house with one landlord, six permanent tenants, and various guest stars whose identities were kept secret, all experiencing the cohabitation life of young urbanites. Yu Wei was to be a guest star, the temporary seventh tenant.

The seventh person. Why was he always the seventh? Was this the "will of seven" or something?

This type of observational reality show was similar to *Longing for Life*; the core was still interpersonal interaction and various small tasks, though the lens was focused on the urban population. The guests were generally young, mostly rising stars from the entertainment industry and a few former child stars, focusing on a youthful vibe. Among the six permanent guests, two were former child stars, three were from reality talent shows, and one was a second-generation celebrity.

Looking at it this way, Yu Wei’s resume actually outclassed the rest. Being of the same age, he had representative works he could actually show off, and his current fame was on par with theirs. A "noob-crushing" session?

Yu Wei had never written this kind of variety show plot before. Usually, entertainment show plotlines had a hint of an "underdog turnaround," creating drama through the contrast between an ordinary person and a group of famous figures. Eventually, the protagonist would stage a comeback, stepping on the big stars to get ahead and winning against the odds to provide a sense of satisfaction. This time, however, things were different for Yu Wei. He wouldn't call it a "dimension-reduction strike," but he was definitely among the most successful guests in the group.

"Interesting."

Yu Wei was a worldly man. For him, while turning the tables was satisfying, showing off occasionally wasn't bad either. During the holidays, who doesn't want to be the one who’s doing the best? There aren't that many noble saints with lofty ambitions out there; quietly enjoying one's success is the human norm.

A week of filming was essentially no different from a business trip. When packing his bags, Yu Wei simply brought his laptop along so he could keep writing. His head might be chopped off, but his novel updates could not stop; his blood might flow, but his readers' tears could not. His book was at a critical juncture; if he didn't maintain momentum, his future stats would be in jeopardy. Even if it was just for the sake of the work itself, he had to keep updating!

While packing, Yu Wei received several new messages. He originally planned to check them later, but the other person sent over a dozen in quick succession.

"Who is this?" When he saw the ID "This is An Shi," a wave of annoyance washed over him. Was this little "anti-fan" bombarding him with messages?

But when he saw the content, Yu Wei was stunned. The messages were screenshots of his novel, with typos circled in red. He had misjudged her. It was hard to avoid typos when writing novels; many top authors still couldn't scrub them clean even with editors helping, let alone a small fry like him. Some readers would point them out occasionally, but a correction of this scale was a first.

Why did he feel a strange sense of being moved? Wait...

"These screenshots aren't from Qidian!"

"Yeah, I read the pirated version." Qi Luo’an was blunt. The book had become popular recently, and there were too many people posting ads in the comments section, which severely impacted the reading experience.

Yu Wei couldn't stand to hear that. The world was ending—his trashy book actually had pirated versions! In truth, he understood why readers chose pirated sites; he used to read novels in .txt format years ago and only developed the habit of paying for content later. There wasn't much to say about it, but as an author, his feelings were complicated. He didn't even get a "follow" count out of it; his momentary touch was for nothing.

"Don't worry, I refreshed my 'follow' status." Qi Luo’an paused, then couldn't help but ask: "What exactly are you thinking, coming here to write entertainment novels?"

She was currently one of the few who knew the truth, but whether as a reader or a fan, she couldn't understand what Yu Wei was doing.

"A silly kid playing around with writing."

In reality, Yu Wei had wanted to write something else at the beginning, but he lacked the skill and couldn't produce anything. Later, he stumbled upon a few entertainment novels, tried writing one himself, and accidentally got signed, leading him to where he was now. Rather than saying he loved the genre, it was more like everything had turned out for the best.

"Isn't it interesting to be able to write down the stories you imagine and share them with everyone?"

That was Yu Wei’s honest truth.

Although she still didn't quite understand, Qi Luo’an felt she knew him better now. Any other star, big or small, wouldn't have the patience to chat so much with a stranger like her. With Yu Wei, all she felt was authenticity. He didn't parade his ordinariness, nor did he fear it, wandering freely between the halo of fame and the mundane. It was her first time meeting a star like him, and she was deeply curious.

Yu Wei just wanted to write. It had nothing to do with whether he was a star or not. Perhaps one day, even if he became a superstar, he might still be a struggling writer.

"Then I wish for you to keep struggling."

"That's harsh, isn't it?"

Every time Yu Wei chatted with this "anti-fan," he was incredibly patient. Since arriving here, everyone around him treated him like a celebrity, but only this person—even knowing he was a star—treated him like an ordinary author.

The feeling was subtle. It was as if, whether Sun Wukong had gone on his pilgrimage or attained Buddhahood, the monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain would always just call him "Great King." There was no status, no social posturing, no scheming or suspicion—just the purest of exchanges.

"If I keep struggling, will you keep reading?"