The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

IT'S almost nearing midnight, but Astrid was still not asleep. He was on the rooftop of his apartment building, staring at the numerous stars scattered in the vast night sky.

If the other residents of the apartment building saw him here, they would probably wonder how he got here. Because after Wulfric became the owner of the building, the rooftop had become unavailable to the other residents. There would probably have been a lot of complaints if not for the upgrade in the building's security.

The upgrade in security overshadowed the fact that they could no longer parked their flying car on the rooftop of the building. And now, the only one who could access this place were him and Wulfric.

Wulfric actually offered that he could stay at his suite while he wasn't there. But Astrid refused. Although the other's suite was luxurious, he still preferred the comfort of his own apartment.

He glanced at the time on his Terminal. There were 10 minutes left before midnight. The reason why he was still awake at this time and was here on the rooftop was because he was waiting for the release of the [Star List], which would happen exactly at midnight.

[Star List] was being released quarterly. So, since his debut, this would be his first [Star List]. It sounded like he was confident he would be part of it. But it really wasn't that. He just knew that he would.

The activities he did for the past three months supported that. Not to mention, each one of those 'activities' had been very successful. As evidence of the number of his followers on [Cyberspace], which had now reached 13 million. A very high number for a rookie.

And if a rookie succeeded to debut on the [Star List] just more than three months after he debuted, it would be such big news. What more if he ranked very high on the list? His fame would skyrocket even more.

[Star List] had 500 names on it. This included actors/actresses, singers, models, streamers of any kind, and just about anyone who could be considered working in the entertainment industry. Of course, that excluded those working mostly in the background like directors, designers, composers, script writers, playwrights, etc. It also didn't include writers, both fiction and non-fiction. Because their books had their own rankings.

Despite that, the numbers of actors alone were staggering enough. So, being one of these 500 could already be considered a big achievement. Especially if one was just a newcomer starting off in their career.

Astrid opened [Cyberspace] to check posts relating to [Star List]. It's not hard to find them since the topic was already trending. As he was scanning through the posts, a particular one caught his attention.

[Who among the rookies will be part of this quarter's <Star List>?]

- [Since Yujin Wells was already part of last quarter's <Star List>, I guess he'll be part of this one as well.]

- [Of course, he would. Are there other rookies who could be part of the <Star List>?]

- [There was that new singer from Sonare. Her debut album did pretty well on different music charts. And there was that game streamer as well.]

- [Astrid Townsend is definitely the number one contender. I mean, who else could say that they became the ambassador of a luxury brand just a few months after their debut?]

- [Ah yes, Astrid Townsend. He would definitely be part of this quarter's <Star List>.]

- [All the things he had appeared in were all big hits. Even if he's not the main character in those projects, his impact on them was definitely undeniable.]

- [I'm an avid watcher of <The Great War>. And I must say that his performance was one of the best of the bunch, even with the low number of screen time he had. He definitely knew how to make the most of the time he was given.]

- [The real question here is what rank he would have, not if he would be part of the <Star List>. Since it's already a given that he would be.]

- [I think he would be in the 400s.]

- [I think 300s is just right. And that's me being generous.]

- [No, he would definitely be in the 200s. I heard he had a photoshoot in the <The Etoile>. Which meant the higher-ups in that magazine believed he had what it takes to be in the top 300.]

- [Top 300? LOL. Aren't you just reaching? How could someone who hadn't even been in the industry for half a year reach such a ranking?]

- [Right? One might think that Astrid Townsend was some kind of genius in the way these people are talking about him. When, really, he had just been lucky.]

- [If anyone was given the same opportunity as the ones given to him, they would also be just as popular. Maybe even more so.]

There were a lot of other comments disparaging Astrid's achievements after that, saying that he would probably barely be part of the top 500. Of course, there were also some that tries to defend him. But the one comment with the most emotions in them was from a certain number one fan.

@astridsnumber1fan: [You lot are insufferable. All these talks about Aster barely making it to the <Star List>, your insecurities were surely leaking from light-years away. You say if another actor was given the same opportunities as Aster, they would do much better? Hah! What a load of bullshit! Those roles became a big hit because Aster was the one who played them, not the other way around. If you think otherwise, then you're either an idiot or a troll. Mark my words, Aster will not only be part of <Star List>, he would also be in the top 100!]

After reading that, Astrid burst out laughing. "Oh Wulfric... how adorable you are."

Then midnight came and the [Star List] account in [Cyberspace] finally updated.

Astrid clicked on the post and scrolled down. When he saw his name, a triumphant smile crossed his lips.

[Star List v: Top 500 for the fourth quarter of Year 3000 AW.

1. Valentine Davis.

2. Shir Atkins.

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45. Lauren Watts.

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99. Yujin Wells.

100. Astrid Townsend.