Chapter 46 - 43 - The True Supernova i
As He Mingxuan observed,
A group of students dressed like boys walked into the bookstore, the moment they entered, they asked: “Boss, do you have any books from Supernova?”
“Welcome.”
The owner responded cheerfully: “Of course we have this year’s Supernova. They arrived this morning. They’re on the first row to the right, all five books are there.”
“Okay.”
The group of five rushed straight for the Supernova series. One of them, filled with anticipation, said: “Let me see this one, ‘Demon King of Another World’, this year’s top Supernova!”
“I’ll look at the second placed one.”
“Then I’ll check out the third one.”
The boys deliberately chose different books, a sign of their mutual understanding, because this way, they could recommend any good reads to each other.
Only the last boy didn’t say anything.
He wore a backpack and glasses. Dressed like a studious pupil, he sat down at a spot in the bookstore, waiting for his companions who were busy selecting books to buy.
“Huazi.”
One of his companions prompted, “Don’t just study all the time. Our teacher said we should balance work and rest. You should pick up a novel.”
“You guys go ahead.”
The boy called Huazi waved his hands: “I’m not interested in novels.”
“You’ve never read one, right?”
The other companions also chimed in: “How do you know you don’t like it if you don’t give it a try?”
“Alright.”
Not wanting to seem unsociable, Huazi picked up ‘King of the Net’ and began to read in the seat next to He Mingxuan.
Ten minutes later.
The boy who was reading ‘Demon King of Another World’ put down the book and frowned: “This novel seems so ordinary. The protagonist is clearly a demon king, but he has no air of majesty and can’t shake off his good-for-nothing nature from before crossing over.”
“This one is okay.”
The boy speaking was reading the second book of the Supernova series titled ‘I Became the Princess’s Summoned Beast’: “I just don’t like the protagonist’s character, seems like he’s always revolving around women.”
“This year’s Supernova series isn’t great.”
The companions gradually put down their books, reaching a common conclusion. Everyone had a very disappointed look on their faces: “Huazi, let’s go-”
Huazi didn’t say anything.
His companions called again: “Huazi, time to go.”
Huazi still didn’t respond.
Finding this strange, the boys all looked at Huazi, only to be surprised to find that Huazi was so engrossed in ‘King of the Net’ that he hadn’t heard them.
For a moment, everyone broke into laughter.
One of them remarked: “Huazi is really a newbie, just like me when I first started reading novels. Any book could captivate me. Now that I’ve read many, I’ve become more picky.”
“You just said you weren’t interested in novels.”
“The novel Huazi is reading also seems to be from this year’s Supernova series, but it’s the last one. It’s about minor genre of tennis competition, which is not very reader-friendly for those of us who don’t understand tennis.”
“Huh?”
When he heard his companions discussing him, Huazi snapped out of his reverie and said reluctantly: “I want to read a little more. This novel is really good!”
“You can just buy it and read it at home.”
Someone teased and suggested. Then everyone laughed and gallantly said, “Just kidding, don’t rush. Why don’t we check out this study fanatic Huazi’s taste?”
“Alright.”
The boys put down their books and casually picked up ‘King of the Net’ to read. They were free anyway, even though this book’s genre really wasn’t their cup of tea.
“Hmm!”
Huazi’s eyes lit up, then he eagerly continued to read ‘King of the Net’. He felt like he had opened the door to a new world!
About half an hour later,
One of the boys suddenly exclaimed: “Damn, the novel Huazi is reading is really quite good, not at all like what I imagined!”
“Exactly, exactly!”
This comment instantly resonated with the others: “I was just about to say that, even though 1 don’t know anything about tennis, I’m really enjoying this book. Long Ma, the protagonist, is really cool!”
“I like Zhouzhu.”
“Turns out Long Ma is left-handed!”
“The part about the snake ball, it’s too exciting!”
The boys spoke animatedly. Their loud voices drew some angry glances from the people around them: “Could you be a bit quieter?”
“Sorry.”
The boys hastily silenced themselves, then, looking sheepishly, they dragged Huazi along, each buying a copy of ‘King of the Net’ before leaving the bookstore.
This time He Mingxuan had seen the entire process of how several boys went from having no interest to finally purchasing ‘King of the Net’ with his own eyes.
The beginning didn’t strike him as anything special.
But when the group of students left, excitedly discussing the book and each carrying a copy of ‘King of the Net’, his eyes nearly popped out!
“Is it really that good?”
He Mingxuan couldn’t resist picking up a copy of ‘King of the Net’. He had countless questions and the book might have the answers.
He was still seated in a corner of the bookstore.
The sunlight shone on the pages.
He spent an hour reading the book-an hour where he didn’t realize his body had not moved, with only the near-instinctual page turning being the exception.
“Achoo!”
Someone in the bookstore sneezed.
He Mingxuan jumped, startled, and only then did he wake from his reading trance and realize his buttocks had gone numb. But his eyes were shining and his whole body was trembling slightly: “So competitive novels can be written like this!”
All questions were instantly answered.
It felt like he’d had an epiphany.
When he first thought of ‘King of the Net’, a lesser known sports novel, He Mingxuan believed that the book would be obscure and lack relatability for readers who didn’t understand tennis. It wasn’t until he actually read it that he realized how wrong he was!
He indeed did not understand tennis.
But this was a novel that you could fall in love with, even without understanding tennis!
The story, whether it’s plot rhythm or character development, fits perfectly with the preferences of youth fantasy novel enthusiasts. Even the occasional tennis knowledge sprinkled throughout the story didn’t feel boring, instead it gave a kind of inexplicable sense of accomplishment, as if they’d increased their knowledge.
“Snake ball!”
“Giant bear!”
“Sliced serve!”
As these magnificent tennis techniques make an appearance in the book, peppered with immersive descriptions, even He Mingxuan, a full-grown adult, felt his blood boiling with excitement.
The images of the members of the Youth Academy tennis team were vividly outlined, as if they were right before his eyes.
He found himself cheering for the Youth Academy’s victories, worrying over their difficulties, and eagerly anticipating the development of the story….
“My God!”
All doubts were resolved. Why did everyone decide to purchase this novel after reading it?
Of course, it’s because this novel is extraordinarily good!
He Mingxuan stared intently at the two words behind the author’s column, Chu Kuang, deeply moved: “This book will definitely lead the genre of competitive novels on the Qin Continent.”
Chu Kuang is too frightening!
I admit my defeat wholeheartedly.
Everyone underestimated Chu Kuang. Even Silver Blue Books, they only ranked ‘King of the Net’ as the fifth in Supernova Awards and warranted it as enriching the genres of the market?
Wake up!
What’s misusing a treasure without knowing it? Is a novel of this level supposed to enrich the genres in the market for you guys at Silver Blue Books?
You all just wait!
Soon, the market will prove who the true Supernova of this year is!