The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

BACK to school, from the beginning of morning classes until the end, Astrid had been receiving weird looks from his classmates from different classes. Well, not exactly 'weird', more like 'curious'. He couldn't really blame them. After all that fuss during the weekend, it would be much weirder if they didn't express a bit of curiosity.

Some with a bit of thicker face asked him directly if he would really appear at the 100th episode of [Blind Justice]. Then, there were also those who was shameless enough to ask him how he did it, get a role in such a big web drama, despite being just a newcomer.

He knew what they were trying to insinuate, but he was really not in the mood to deal with their nonsense. So, he just smiled, said nothing, and used his mental strength to give them a bit of headache.

By lunch time, he headed straight to the greenhouse to have lunch with Kiran. When he got there, the other was already sitting at their usual bench. Seeing him, Kiran stood up and waved at him. He waved back and walked towards the other.

"How's your weekend? Did you get the job at the piano salon?" he asked after sitting beside the other.

"Yeah, the lady boss is very kind and patient. She didn't care about how I look or how I speak. She just cared that I could play the piano," Kiran said excitedly as he sat back down. "The pay was also pretty good. Especially since I would only for two days in a week. It won't even affect my studies! It was such a great deal that I almost thought that I was ripping the boss off."

That's how Kiran truly felt. When he first went to Lapillus – the piano lounge's name and met the boss – Christin Rose or just Miss Rose, he was very overwhelmed. The lounge looked very high-end. As if only rich people were allowed to go in. It just simply screamed of money. Something that he didn't have and had never been associated to him. And yet, there he was, applying for a job in such a place.

Especially more so after he met Miss Rose. She was grace and sophistication incarnate. Like a real lady. Not just some phony one who had her nose high up. But someone that actually deserving of respect.

Kiran was very much intimidated. If not for the fact that this job was introduced by Astrid, he must have quickly turned around with his tail between his legs. So, he forced his insecurities down and just went ahead.

He didn't expect that things would go unexpectedly well. It's just like everything just fell into place.

"That's great," Astrid said, clearly happy for the other. "Will you start the job this weekend?"

Kiran gave a sheepish smile. "I actually already started. Yesterday, in fact."

Yes, that's right. After the short interview and playing a short piano piece, Miss Rose didn't ask much and just hired him on the spot. She didn't even do a background check. Something that such an establishment would usually do.

Of course, Kiran quickly understood that it must be because of Miss Rose's friendship with Astrid's agent. Another thing that he should be thankful for the other.

"I see." Astrid didn't ask if the other did well. Just based on Kiran's expression, it probably went exceptionally well. "I'm happy for you."

And he was. He could tell that things didn't often go well for Kiran. So, having this one thing go well for him was, of course, good.

"Thank you," Kiran said with a happy grin.

"I'll go and listen to you play at the piano lounge this Sunday," Astrid said. "I'll bring my brother as well."

Maybe Ellis could go with them too. After all, she and the owner of this piano lounge were friends.

"Okay!"

If it was any other time, Kiran would have already rejected the idea. What if he messed up or something? He didn't want to show such an embarrassing side to Astrid. Especially since the other was literally the one who introduced him to this job. But since he had already played yesterday, all his nervousness was now gone. He could confidently say that the chances of him messing up was close to none.

Astrid smiled. "Let's eat lunch."

He took out the food container from the space stone on his necklace and put it between him and Kiran.

They were in the middle of eating when he realized that not once did Kiran asked about that debacle in [Cyberspace]. The other certainly didn't look like he was trying not to mention it. So, the only reason was, Kiran didn't know about it.

Well, that was probably for the better. He remembered what happened early morning yesterday. He got a call from Lauren. Since the other was filming the day before, he had only known about what happened yesterday. And the first thing Lauren did was to call him very, very early in the morning. As in four o'clock. A time when the sun hadn't risen yet.

That call lasted for hours. And most of it were spent in him convincing the other not to hack people online. Especially the one responsible for that whole fiasco.

Although Astrid appreciated the sentiments, doing that was just too troublesome. Since Ellis had already dealt with it, there's no need to do an overkill.

If Kiran also knew about this, he had a feeling that the other would have the same reaction as Lauren. The result would probably be even much worse considering that the culprit was a schoolmate of theirs.

So, really, it's better this way.

With that, the two of them had a very peaceful lunch. But after the two of them separated, it suddenly became not so 'peaceful'.

On his way to his next class, he was suddenly pulled into an empty utility room. No, the more accurate word was that he was dragged. Although he was in good shape, he couldn't exactly force his body to react in a manner beyond his A level physique's capability.

And so, he ended up inside this room with four men looking at him as if he's the main course on the table.