The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era



DUE to the obvious success of the pilot episodes of [The Great War] and with the EMMA advertisement buff added to it, a wave of attention was pouring towards Astrid from all places. There were invitations from variety programs, advertisement offers, as well as drama invitations.

Ellis and he both decided to wait a bit more before accepting anything. Since he was just in a variety program a week ago, going to another one at this moment wouldn't really help. Regarding advertisements, well, since his first one was for a luxury brand, they couldn't just accept any offers. His next advertisement or endorsement should be at least on the same level as EMMA. As for drama roles, none of the scripts sent their way really attracted him.

So, since he didn't really have any schedule, Astrid just went to school obediently.

On the other hand, both Snow and Kiran were busy. Kiran was finishing up with producing and composing the songs Polaris commissioned him, while Snow was probably filming something. 'Probably' because Astrid really didn't know what the other was doing. But considering what Snow had mentioned before about something 'good' happening, it must be related to filming.

Since Snow obviously wanted for it to be a surprise, Astrid didn't ask and decided to just wait.

But with his two friends not being at school, he had been eating lunch alone for the past few days.

Because of [The Great War] and the EMMA ad, many of his schoolmates had been trying to get close to him these past three days. It was a good thing that he already had a secret place to eat lunch or else he would have to act friendly with them.

He knew most of them didn't mean any harm, but always putting on a smile like some kind of graceful Madonna could be really tiring. So, it's better to just be alone.

Astrid was now eating lunch in the greenhouse when he received a video call from Ellis. He quickly answered it.

"Astrid, have you checked EMMA's post on [Cyberspace]?" the other started.

Astrid tilted his head, not sure why Ellis was asking him that. Did something bad happen? Like some kind of issue or something. 

Ellis seemed to have read his thoughts because the other quickly added, "Don't worry, it's something good."

After hearing that, he minimize the video call window and slid it to the side, then he opened [Cyberspace]. He saw that EMMA's official account had tagged him on a post. Since he had class today, he had turned off all kinds of notifications, so he only saw it now.

He clicked on the post and read it.

[EMMA v: We're thrilled to announce that our newest perfume, <Eros>, has sold 1 million units on its first day of launch! Thank you to all of our amazing customers for your incredible support, and a special thanks to our brand ambassador, Astrid Townsend (@astridtownsend), for helping us launch this amazing product. We couldn't have done it without you! <3 #ErosPerfume #1MillionSold #ThankYou #AstridTownsend.]

Astrid raised his brow. EMMA had started selling the perfume yesterday. But even before that, the reservation was opened the day after the advertisement came out. So, it's possible that many people had reserved one after that. But even so, this number was still surprising.

Because it's a product made by EMMA, there would definitely be people buying it. So, he was not worried that there would be no sales on the first day. But he was expecting for it to be around 600-800 thousand, one million was already beyond his calculation.

It seemed that a lot of people really liked the ad. And the billboards hanging around the whole capital also helped. Of course, as the model, he also had his share of contribution.

But no matter how good everything was, he was still a newcomer who hadn't even made it yet to the [Star List]. So, this was really an incredible feat. It also proved that he had the star factor to sell a product well. Which could help him get better endorsements.

"With this kind of sale on the first day, we don't have to worry about not fulfilling that clause they made," Ellis said. 

She was talking about the clause in which Astrid was required to double the expected sales quota of the product. If he did not, then the contract with them would be null and void. If the sale on the first day continued on for the rest of the month, there's no doubt that he would easily double the quota they expected.

  "It means more money for me, I guess," he only said with a smile.

Ellis also grinned, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Ah, by the way, do you remember the writer, One Leaf?" she suddenly asked, changing the subject.

At the mention of that name, Astrid remembered the writer he met at that program [New Star]. She was quite unique, so she definitely left an impression on him.

He nodded and said, "What about her?"

"There was a plan for her first novel to be adapted into a movie. But she said that she would only agree if you played one of the lead roles. I guess she must have been really impressed with you when the two of you guested together on that show."

Astrid suddenly remembered how the other called him 'Jace' when they first met. During the interview, it's obvious that she was very against any live action adaptation of her words. But she must have liked his attitude and the way he handled things during the interview that she must have thought that he perfectly fit the character of 'Jace'. So, it should be the reason why she agreed to this adaptation.

"There's only one problem, though. This would be the first movie project of the director in charge. Not only that, your pay would certainly not be as high," Ellis added.

"I don't care about the pay. I care more about the script," Astrid said easily. "If the script is good, and I liked it, then I'd be more than willing to do it."