I Became an All-round Artist

As He Mingxuan observed from his spot, a group of male students walked into the bookstore together. The moment they entered, one of them asked, "Boss, do you have the latest Rising Star books?"

"Welcome," the owner responded with a smile. "Of course, we’ve got the newest Rising Star series, just arrived this morning. They're on the first row to the right—five books in total."

"Great," the group responded as they headed straight for the five Rising Star books. One of them eagerly picked up a copy and said, "I’m going to check out The Demon King of Another World, this year’s top pick!"

"I’ll go for the second place book."

"I’ll take a look at the third one."

The group intentionally selected different books to make sure they could recommend good reads to each other later. However, one of the boys remained silent.

He, with his backpack and glasses, looked the part of a studious kid. Instead of picking up a book, he found a seat in the bookstore and quietly waited for his friends to finish.

"Huazi," one of his companions called out, "don’t spend all your time studying. Even our teachers say we need to balance work and relaxation. Grab a novel and take a break!"

"You guys go ahead," Huazi waved them off. "I’m not into novels."

"You’ve never even tried reading one," another friend chimed in. "How would you know if you don’t like it?"

"Alright, fine," Huazi relented, not wanting to seem too anti-social. He randomly picked up The Prince of Tennis and sat down in the seat next to He Mingxuan.

Ten minutes later.

The boy reading The Demon King of Another World put the book down and frowned. "This novel’s pretty average. The protagonist’s supposed to be a demon king, but he doesn’t act the part at all—still feels like a loser from before his reincarnation."

"The one I’m reading is okay," said another, flipping through the second-place novel I Became the Princess’ Summoned Beast. "But I don’t like the main character. He’s always obsessing over women."

"This year’s Rising Star books aren’t that great," they collectively concluded, looking disappointed. "Huazi, let’s go."

Huazi didn’t respond.

They called again, "Huazi, come on, let’s head out."

Still no answer.

The group turned to find Huazi completely engrossed in The Prince of Tennis, so absorbed he hadn’t heard them at all.

Everyone chuckled. One of them remarked, "Huazi is such a newbie—reminds me of when I first got into reading. Any book could captivate me. But now that I’ve read more, I’ve become pickier."

"Didn’t he say he wasn’t interested in novels?"

"Funny enough, the one Huazi’s reading is the last-place book in this year’s Rising Star competition. It’s a niche story about tennis. Honestly, it’s hard for us non-tennis fans to get into it."

"Huh?" Huazi, realizing they were talking about him, snapped out of his trance. Reluctantly, he said, "I want to keep reading. This book is really good!"

"You can just buy it and read it at home," one of his friends teased, but they all laughed. "Just kidding. No rush. Why don’t we see if our brainiac friend here has good taste?"

"Alright," they agreed, setting aside their own books and picking up The Prince of Tennis. Even though the subject wasn’t their style, they figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.

After a few minutes, Huazi’s eyes lit up as he eagerly dived back into the book. He felt like he had discovered a whole new world!

About half an hour later, one of the boys suddenly exclaimed, "Whoa! Huazi’s book is actually kind of awesome. It’s nothing like I expected!"

"Yeah, totally!" The comment struck a chord with the others. "I was just thinking that even though I know nothing about tennis, I’m hooked! Ryoma, the protagonist, is so cool!"

"I like Shusuke."

"Ryoma’s left-handed, no way!"

"That Snake Shot scene? So intense!"

The boys excitedly whispered to each other, their enthusiasm drawing annoyed looks from others in the store. "Can you keep it down?" someone nearby scolded.

"Sorry about that," they apologized before quietly gathering their things and dragging Huazi along. They each purchased a copy of The Prince of Tennis as they exited the store.

...

He Mingxuan had just witnessed the entire process—how the group went from being uninterested to ultimately buying the book. At first, it seemed like no big deal, but when they left, all hyped up and clutching their copies of The Prince of Tennis, He Mingxuan’s eyes widened.

"Could it really be that good?"

Unable to resist, he picked up a copy himself. He had so many questions now, and perhaps the answers were in the book.

In the bookstore’s quiet corner, sunlight poured over the book's cover. He Mingxuan started reading. And before he knew it, an hour had passed. So absorbed in the story, he hadn’t moved a muscle, save for the automatic flipping of pages.

"Ahchoo!"

A sneeze startled him out of his trance. Only then did He Mingxuan realize his legs had gone numb from sitting so long. Yet his eyes sparkled with excitement, and his entire body trembled slightly. "So this is how a sports novel can be written!"

All his doubts suddenly cleared.

He felt as though he had gained some profound understanding.

In his earlier assumptions, The Prince of Tennis seemed like a niche sports novel—difficult for non-tennis readers to engage with. But as he read further, He Mingxuan realized just how wrong he had been.

He didn’t know tennis.

But this was a book that didn’t require any prior knowledge to fall in love with!

The story, whether in terms of its pacing or character development, perfectly caters to the tastes of young adult fantasy fans. Even the tennis-related explanations sprinkled throughout the novel don’t come across as dull. Instead, they leave readers with a strange sense of achievement, as if their knowledge has been expanded.

"Snake Shot!" "Bear Drop!" "Kick Serve!"

As these flashy tennis moves appeared in the book, accompanied by immersive descriptions, even someone like He Mingxuan—a grown man—found himself fired up, his blood boiling with excitement.

The members of Seigaku’s tennis team practically leaped off the pages, their vivid personalities so distinct that they seemed to be right there in front of him. He cheered for Seigaku’s victories, worried over their challenges, and hung on every twist in the story...

"My God!"

All his doubts vanished. Why did everyone buy the book after reading it? Of course, it was because the book was amazing!

He Mingxuan's eyes were glued to the author’s name at the back of the book—Chu Kuang. His mind reeled in awe. "This novel will absolutely lead the way for competitive sports fiction in Qinzhou."

Chu Kuang was terrifyingly talented! He had to admit his own defeat.

Everyone had underestimated Chu Kuang, even the Yinlan Library. They had only ranked The Prince of Tennis fifth in the Rising Star competition, claiming it was just a way to diversify their market offerings?

Wake up!

What does it mean to be sitting on a treasure without realizing it? A novel of this caliber is not just a tool to 'diversify the market' for Yinlan Library!

Just wait.

Soon enough, the market will prove who the true rising star of the year really is!