The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

IT had been three days since Reas left for the military academy.  During that time, Astrid had also been very busy.  Since his contract had been finalized, Polaris had to post an artist's profile for him on their official Starnet site. 

All entertainment companies in the Empire had a section on their Starnet site about the list of their artists.  Of course, Polaris was no different.     

For his artist's profile, he had done a photo shoot and a short interview.  Those photos and interview would be posted on Polaris' official site. 

As a newcomer, a simple photo and introduction would be enough.  That would be true if he was under a big entertainment company where their artists were a dime a dozen.  But Polaris was different.

It's a small company with debuted artists that wouldn't even exceed 50.  So, putting a lot more effort on their artists' profiles wasn't really such a big deal.  It could even be said to be something natural. 

That photoshoot almost lasted from morning to night because the official photographer of the company had been too enthusiastic in taking his pictures.  If not for Ellis, he might really have stayed for a night at the company's exclusive photography studio. 

Astrid walked to his kitchen and was about to make lunch when his Terminal sounded.  It's a message notification.  When he saw that it was from his agent, he quickly opened it.

[Sister Ellis: Astrid, I'm at your apartment's building.  Can you contact the security system, so they could let me in?  And also, tell me your unit number.]

He was surprised to read that.  But he quickly replied and told the other of his of unit number.  Maybe she was here because of something important.  So, he contacted the security system of the apartment building. 

This system was connected to the AI that was guarding the apartment.  It prevented people who were not residence of the place from carelessly entering.  But a person's who's renting a unit can register people on the apartment's system.  So, they wouldn't be stopped at the entrance even if the one renting the place was not with them.

For example, they could register their family members.  That's what Astrid did with Reas.  But registering a person needed the person to be there.  So that the system that was attached in every unit could scan their biometrics.  The next time they entered the building on their own, the scanner at the entrance could easily determine their identity and opened the door to them.

It's one of the reasons why he picked this building.  The slightly higher rent fee was definitely worth it.     

Astrid then changed his plan of making lunch and instead prepared teas and snacks.

Not long after, the doorbell rang.  He walked towards the door and opened it.  The tall, short-haired woman then entered.

Ellis did a quick glance of Astrid's apartment unit when she walked inside.  It was clean and had a very homey feeling to it.  The furniture was not arranged in a cluttered manner.  There were not too many extra decorations, most of them were just small plants.

When she heard from Astrid that he was currently renting a one-bedroom apartment, she thought of looking for a new place for the kid.  Something much bigger and more comfortable to live in. 

So, she was quite surprised to see that this place was not as small as he thought he was.  In fact, it was already quite big for a one-bedroom apartment.  The ambience was also pretty good.  Aside from that, the security of the place was already very tight for an apartment building like this. 

"Sister Ellis, please, sit down," Astrid said, gesturing for the other to sit on the couch while he also sat down on one of the free seats.

The other did so and he poured her a glass of tea.  Ellis picked up the teacup and drank.  Her eyes slightly widened when he tasted it. 

"Good tea.  Where did you buy it?" she asked, thinking of also buying the same.

Astrid smiled.  "It's not a commercial product.  The tea leaves are grown in our family's farm.  If Sister Ellis wants, I can give you a few bags."

It's actually something that he started to grow on a small piece of land.  He did that because he wanted to drink something that was similar to green tea.  It took a while before he could find a plant leaf that had the same taste when brewed.

"Just a few bags?" Ellis asked.

Astrid chuckled.  "When my mother sends a new batch, I'll give you a box."

Ellis was finally satisfied with that.  "But seriously, your family should think of mass selling this.  It would surely be a hit."

That's was what she really thought.  The tea was good enough for that.  She knew a lot of people who would definitely like this taste. 

She had already heard that Astrid's family owned a farm and their main produce were fresh vegetables and fruits.  But she didn't expect that they were also planting tea leaves.

"The yield is not high enough to sell it in bulk," Astrid said.  "It's just something for our family to enjoy."

Ellis nodded in understanding. 

"Why did Sister Ellis suddenly give me a visit?" Astrid asked, changing the topic.

Ellis put down the tea cup on the center table and answered, "I have some news for you.  First, your [Cyberspace] account is already authenticated."

A few days ago, Ellis told him to make an official [Cyberspace] account and then she would help him get it authenticated as fast as possible.  Astrid opened his Terminal and went to his [Cyberspace] account.  Just like what Ellis said, there was a small golden check beside his name.  It's similar to Weibo having a small 'v' besides a user name – showing that this person's account was verified. 

"Your artist profile will be officially posted on Polaris' site later and the company's official [Cyberspace] will post about it.  Try to repost it," Ellis added.  "But do edit your [Cyberspace] profile first.  Use any one of the photos from the photoshoot you had the other day."

Astrid nodded.  "Can Sister Ellis send me the photos?"

"I was just about to do that."

And a bunch of photos were sent on his Terminal.