1novels Chapter 35 Ratings are more exciting than a first kiss.
Chapter 35 Ratings are more exciting than a first kiss.
At 10:30, just as the ending theme of the first episode started playing, Su Yu's phone vibrated.
Yoon Shi-yoon's message was a cold, two-word reply: "I've read it."
Su Yu raised an eyebrow, his fingers flying across the screen: "That's it? I thought you'd write an 800-word essay, crying and shouting that you're a genius and that my life is yours from now on."
There was no further movement from the other side.
Su Yu chuckled, placed his phone face down on the coffee table, and got up to go to the kitchen to pour water. As soon as he opened the refrigerator door, a blast of cold air mixed with the smell of expired kimchi hit him; inside lay two lonely bottles of mineral water.
He unscrewed a bottle, tilted his head back, and took a swig, shivering from the cold.
The clattering of keyboards upstairs suddenly stopped.
Immediately afterward, light footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Cai Xiubin stood there, clutching her phone, the screen's light making her face appear deathly pale, like a female ghost who had just crawled out of a horror movie.
"What? Did you cry because you're so beautiful?" Su Yu leaned against the refrigerator door, shaking the water bottle in her hand. "Or did your mom call and scold you, saying that the character you played was so lovable that she cried all night?"
Cai Xiubin didn't speak, but slowly walked to the window, turning her back to him. The sleeves of her gray hoodie were long enough to cover half of her fingers. She unconsciously picked at the leaves of the green plant on the windowsill, her voice hoarse like sandpaper: "My mom called."
"Oh? Does it mean, 'Daughter, you've finally made something of yourself! Now Mom can look good even when she goes out to square dancing'?"
"She said I looked thinner and asked if I hadn't been eating properly." Cai Xiubin paused, her fingers tightening around the leaf. "She also said... that person looked so pitiful."
Su Yu raised an eyebrow: "Isn't that obvious? The character you played was cheated on by a scumbag, ostracized by her colleagues, and cried in the bathroom in the middle of the night. Who wouldn't feel sorry for her? Your mother was fooled by your acting skills and couldn't tell you apart from the character, which means you acted well."
"She never watched my movies before." Cai Xiubin turned around, her face hidden in the shadows, only her eyes shining brightly. "I used to ask her to watch them, but she always said she was busy and forgot. I know she didn't forget, she just felt that the minor roles I played were fleeting and would be pointless to watch."
"So this time is different." Su Yu walked over and patted her shoulder. "Your mom not only read it this time, but also called you and expressed her concern for you. What does that mean?"
This means you've gone from being a "background character" to a "leading role." From now on, when your mom goes out to square dancing and people ask, "What does your daughter do?", she can confidently say, "My daughter is an actress; that pitiful girl on TV is her."
Cai Xiubin looked up at him, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes: "But... I'm afraid they won't watch it when the next episode airs."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Su Yu scoffed. "The audience is all masochists; the more agonizing it is, the more they love it. If you get cornered in an alley and slapped by that scumbag in the next episode, crying your eyes out, the ratings will absolutely explode. Besides, with me here, do you think you'll flop?"
Cai Xiubin stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly turned and walked upstairs. Halfway down the stairs, she stopped, without turning back, and whispered, barely a whisper: "Su Yu."
"Hmm? Changed your mind? Want to come downstairs now and cook me a bowl of ramen to celebrate?"
"Thank you for not signing someone else."
"You're the first one I signed up for," Su Yu said lazily, leaning against the stair railing. "You're ahead of everyone else in line."
"After all, my standards are very high. I wouldn't even bother looking at those heavily made-up actresses who only know how to stare. But you, so silly, like a stray cat, I took pity on you and picked you up."
Cai Xiubin didn't respond, and the sound of the keyboard started again, much faster than before, as if someone was typing in a cheerful rhythm.
Su Yu returned to the sofa and had just lain down when her phone vibrated again. It was a message from Park Ji-yeon: "Representative Su, I'm home."
Su Yu replied with an emoji of a cat rolling around on its back, captioned "Okay, come work for me early tomorrow."
I had just put down my phone when Shirley messaged me at 11 o'clock.
"Su Yu, I've seen it."
Su Yu raised an eyebrow and typed, "What do you think of the person I chose? Isn't he a hundred times better than you?"
Half a minute later, Shirley replied, "Ugly."
Su Yu didn't type anything, waiting for her to continue.
Sure enough, another message popped up: "I'm talking about myself. I saw Cai Xiubin, she acted really well."
Su Yu smiled and tapped on the screen: "You're doing great too, just a little unlucky. But it's okay, luck is like your period, it never comes."
Maybe it'll be your turn tomorrow. Don't come crying and saying, "Brother, I'm too famous, I can't handle it!"
Shirley didn't reply.
Su Yu tossed his phone onto the sofa and rolled over. The sofa was too short, so half of his legs stretched out and rested on the armrest. The air in the semi-basement still smelled the same—cheap air freshener mixed with the musty smell of old paint. The streetlights outside shone through the half-open window, casting a pale patch of light on the floor.
He recalled seeing Yoon Shi-yoon at the convenience store that afternoon. The man had bruises on his face, a black eye, and his dark blue hoodie was frayed. He stood in front of the checkout counter looking like a badly beaten stray dog.
He asked, "Actor?" The man paused, gave a slight smirk, and said, "Extra." He said, "Never heard of that." The man slowly stuffed the money into his pocket, said, "Hmm. I know," and left.
Su Yu never understood why the person had no causal lines on their body—not a single one, not red, not black, not gray. There was only a thin layer of light under their feet, like stepping on a mirror that hadn't been wiped clean.
There's one more thing in this world he can't understand.
The karmic debt kept rising, but he didn't care anymore. He already owed enough; he wasn't afraid of accumulating more.
At 11:30, my phone vibrated again. It was Park Jiyeon: "CEO Su, can I come to the company tomorrow?"
Su Yu replied, "Whatever. But let me remind you, once you're here, there's no going back. From now on, you're my man. If I tell you to go east, you can't go west; if I tell you to beat a dog, you can't chase a chicken."
Park Jiyeon replied instantly: "Then I'm coming."
Su Yu didn't reply. She put down her phone and closed her eyes.
At three in the morning, he was woken up by the sound of keyboards clicking upstairs. Cai Xiubin was still awake, typing furiously as if he were competing with someone.
Su Yu got up, went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, and stood by the half-window looking out.
The alley was deserted, with only a lone streetlamp standing there, a few small insects flying in its glow. In the distance, the green neon sign of the convenience store was still flashing, like a blinking eye.
He finished drinking the water and picked up his phone.
There's a new message, sent by Yoon Shi-yoon at 3:02 AM.
What time will the ratings be released?
It wasn't "Brother," nor "Su Yu," just a dry, uninformed question, with even the question mark seeming to be just something thrown in casually.
Su Yu stared at the screen and smiled. He typed, "This morning, I guess. What's wrong? Too nervous to sleep? Afraid the ratings will flop and you'll have to go back to being a convenience store cashier?"
After sending the message, he tossed his phone onto the sofa, lay back down, and closed his eyes.
The basement was quiet. The leaves of the potted plant outside the window trembled slightly in the windless night, as if turning over in a dream.
The threads of cause and effect spread silently in the darkness, weaving a vast net. At the center of this net lies this semi-basement. At the center of this net lies the young man lying on this old sofa.
He had no idea that in a few hours, the ratings would be released. The numbers for the first episode would explode like a bomb in the country's entertainment industry.
Some people will be happy, some will go crazy, some will have trouble sleeping, and some will remember a name.
Cause and effect entertainment.
It has another name.
Su Yu.
He rolled over and muttered, "So noisy..."
Then, he drifted back into his dream.