Unfazed

"Six hundred cases of beer, seventy cases of whisky, forty cases of brandy, and forty cases of tequila. Is the quantity correct?"

The middle-aged man in front of the truck double-checked the list and confirmed, while Renly stood beside him, holding the numbers he had just recorded after completing the inventory in the warehouse. After carefully reviewing and confirming one by one, he nodded, "That's correct!" Then he took the receipt, signed his name in the recipient column, and handed it back to the man, asking, "What about the red wine? When can Stanley's reserved red wine be delivered?"

"Next Monday," the truck driver replied skillfully. "You'll manage this weekend, won't you?"

"We'll be fine this weekend," Renly replied after signing the document. After handing the receipt back to the man, he tore off one copy and handed it to Renly. "But it's best to arrive on time on Monday. We'll probably run out of stock by Thursday." Although he said until Thursday, the situation over the weekend was unpredictable, and they might run out by Monday.

"Understood, we'll make sure to be on time," the man said with a cheerful smile, but he made no move to leave.

Renly was about to turn around when he noticed the inquisitive look on the man's face. He paused for a moment and smiled in gratitude, "Thank you for your hard work. I hope everything goes smoothly today."

Seeing Renly preparing to leave, the man couldn't hold back and called out, "You're that guy, right? Renly?" Looking up, Renly could see the man's uncontrollable excitement, "Your performance was really good. Even someone like me, a rough person, could tell. Really impressive!"

"Heh," Renly chuckled lightly, "That's the best affirmation of my work." There was no modesty or pride, Renly accepted the praise calmly.

"I didn't expect you to work here. I thought people like you should be touring around, living under the spotlight," the man laughed heartily, without malice, just curiosity. "I'm even more looking forward to seeing your next performance. Letting you work here is really overkill"

While speaking, the man turned back and got back into the driver's seat.

Renly furrowed his brows slightly, feeling something was odd but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Suddenly, a flash of insight hit him, and he jokingly said, "I didn't expect you to subscribe to HBO either." Most HBO subscribers were white-collar families, and blue-collar workers like truck drivers usually weren't interested.

"HBO?" Following a hearty laugh, the man replied, "I don't subscribe to expensive and boring stuff like that." As if he had heard the best joke today, the man slapped the steering wheel and then gave Renly a big smile. "Thanks for your hard work! I'll be off now, still have deliveries for three more places!" With that, the truck started up and gradually left the alley behind the back door of the pioneer village.

Renly stood still, carefully thinking. If the truck driver didn't subscribe to HBO, why would he recognize him? Then Renly shook his head, shaking off the cluttered thoughts. Even if the man didn't subscribe to HBO, it didn't mean he couldn't watch "The Pacific" elsewhere. Or maybe he saw highlights of the series on YouTube. It was the age of the internet, after all—anything was possible, right?

The strange feeling he just had was probably just his own overthinking. Raising his right hand, Renly rubbed his hair vigorously, messing up his neatly styled short hair as if trying to alleviate the weight of his thoughts.

After the premiere of "The Pacific," Renly's life hadn't changed much. Despite the lively discussions online and in the media, the intense spotlight was focused on the series, but Renly felt detached from it all. It seemed like all the frenzy on TV, the internet, and the newspapers was happening in a separate world, a world bathed in the spotlight, while Renly continued to live outside it.

He still went to work at Pioneer Village every day, still sought opportunities to perform off-Broadway, still persisted in visiting the Screen Actors Guild for job opportunities. However, his success was limited. He had only had two auditions, both resulting in failure—one because he was deemed too young, the other because his acting was too theatrical.

Strictly speaking, Renly's life now wasn't much different from before. The only difference was moments like just now when he would occasionally be recognized on the street, and people would discuss the plot with him excitedly.

This was the first time Renly had personally felt the subtle difference in the entertainment industry, especially between movies and TV shows. The disparity in attention between a successful movie and a successful TV series was immense. However, Renly couldn't feel that disparity at all. He felt more like an observer, just like any other ordinary audience member, watching the turmoil unfold on the small screen.

It was indeed a strange feeling.

No wonder people always said it's easy to get into Hollywood as long as you have good looks. But occupying a place in Hollywood was extremely difficult, let alone reaching the pinnacle. Now, Renly was starting to feel it.

Pushing open the back door, Renly walked back to the front of the bar, scanning around for Stanley's figure. Instead, he saw a group of people gathered around a table, excitedly discussing, "What position? What position?" "Probably in the top fifty, definitely in the top fifty"… Then a muffled voice rose from the crowd, indiscernible from outside, followed by cheers from everyone, "Wow!"

Renly couldn't help but change his pace, walking towards the crowd and poking his head in, attempting to join them. "What's going on? What's happening?"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Renly's voice, everyone reacted as if they'd seen a ghost, looking terrified. Then they started pushing him out, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing," "Just watching… uh…" "Football!" "Yeah, football"… Their playful voices sounded even more suspicious, trying to cover up their excitement.

Renly didn't resist, allowing himself to be pushed out for a while. Once they stopped, he turned around, calmly gazing at his companions. The slightly amused, probing smile on his face made everyone avert their eyes, avoiding direct eye contact with him. Seeing Janice Blake about to explain something, Renly shook his head lightly and smiled, "You guys are the worst at keeping secrets. Spit it out, what's going on? It's better for you to tell me than for me to guess."

Although his tone was casual, there was an undeniable authority in it, making everyone push each other and avoid eye contact, signaling each other. However, no one spoke up. Renly raised his chin, glanced back at the group behind, "Neil Tyson, now is your last chance to confess. Miss it, and there won't be a next time."

Even though it was a teasing remark, Renly's tone carried an unmistakable sense of authority. Neil hesitated for a moment, then with a slightly trembling voice, said, "Hey hey." Neil forced a laugh, trying to cover up, but immediately, everyone turned to look at him, and Janice directly said, "It's Neil's idea, all Neil's idea."

"Yes!" Others raised their fingers one after another, pointing at Neil, obviously intending to make him shoulder all the blame, which was quite a spectacle.

Neil began to panic, "Guys, you can't just throw me under the bus like this!" Neil hugged his laptop tightly, "This was a proposal we all agreed on, not just me! Stanley, Stanley, where's Stanley?" Looking left and right, Neil couldn't find Stanley's figure, and he started gritting his teeth, "Renly, believe me, this was everyone's idea, I'm just the executor. Really."

Now Renly was puzzled. What was going on? Why did he have no clue about any of this?

However, Renly didn't show any sign of confusion but maintained his composure, waiting for Neil to confess.

Sure enough, Neil opened his laptop and placed it on the table beside Renly, saying solemnly, "Renly, are you ready for a surprise gift?" A gift? What was this about? Renly had his birthday in half a year! "Take a look." Neil turned the laptop screen towards Renly, finally unveiling the mystery.

Renly sat down and examined it carefully. On the screen was the iTunes page, showing the real-time single download rankings. "What am I supposed to see?" Renly scanned it casually, not understanding. Neil pointed to the screen, and Renly saw the line: "48, Cleopatra, Renly Hall."

Renly's mouth fell slightly agape in astonishment. He had forgotten—completely forgotten—that he had recorded "Cleopatra" as a digital single as a gift for Stanley three months ago.

Renly had thought that this folk song single wouldn't make any waves, just another drop in the vast ocean of singles, and he hadn't even remembered it when he saw the iTunes chart earlier. But he hadn't expected to see his single ranked in the top fifty downloads now. It was something he had never dreamt of.

"Top fifty! Renly, do you see it? 'Cleopatra' has made it into the top fifty of iTunes' real-time download chart!" Neil said excitedly, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "Next step, we might even make it to the Billboard Hot 100!"

...

A/N:

500 power stones = 2 bonus chapters

Ratings = 2 bonus chapters