THE rest of the week passed in a blur of promotional activities. After attending Redwood for the first two days, Astrid took a leave and spent the rest of the week promoting [The Shadow Within]. This meant interviews on niche talk shows, guest spots on variety programs with mid-level popularity, and even appearing on popular independent virtual channels.

Because their movie didn’t have a huge budget saved for promotion, they could only go to programs that weren’t exactly household names. But despite that, these shows had a solid reputation and a dedicated group of viewers. That’s why, even though the viewership numbers for these programs weren’t sky high, they still managed to get the result they were hoping for.

By the end of the week, the steady trickle of interviews and features had created a quiet but noticeable buzz online. Discussions about [The Shadow Within] began appearing in film forums and niche entertainment feeds. It wasn’t a massive wave of hype, but a solid foundation of genuine interest was being built, exactly what their movie needed at this point.

But Astrid felt like it still wasn’t enough. He thought of what else he could do, and then he remembered something that celebrities from his home country in his past life often did during a promotion. A livestream!

So, on the night before the movie officially released, Astrid logged into his [Cyberspace] account to do a surprise livestream.

[Cyberspace] offered a live stream function. An account holder could start a broadcast at any time, and all their followers would receive an instant notification. Viewers could then join the stream to watch in real time. The platform allowed the audience to interact by posting comments in a live chat. It also had a feature where fans could send virtual gifts, which could be converted into star coins. Astrid immediately disabled the gift function. His goal wasn’t to make money from this stream. He was only interested in using it to promote the movie.

He checked his set-up in the kitchen. He planned to cook during the livestream. It was a good, relaxed way to talk to people while doing something with his hands. Tonight, he was going to make a braised spiced chicken. On the counter, he had already laid out everything he needed: chicken thighs, an entire array of dried spices, fresh ginger and garlic, scallions, dark soy sauce, rice wine, a touch of sugar, and a few dried chilies for heat.

He had also taken the time to set up a couple of external cameras and link them to his Terminal. This way, the stream quality would be much clearer, and he could make sure the audience got a clear view of everything he’s doing.

Once he had everything prepared, Astrid took a deep breath and finally started the livestream.

He glanced at the viewer counter. It started at 10, then quickly began to climb. Comments started to pop up on the screen as well.

[What’s this? Is Aster doing a livestream?]

[This is so sudden. But I like it!]

[Hi Aster! What are you doing?]

It didn’t take long for the number to hit 10,000. Seeing that, he felt it was time to start.

“Hi, everyone! You’re probably surprised by this sudden livestream,” he said, smiling at the camera. “I just wanted to talk to all my Starlights while I prepare my dinner tonight.”

[Aster, are you in your apartment? Your place looks nice!]

]You look so pretty in your home clothes, Aster.]

[Are you going to cook, Aster?]

[Pfft! Are you all really that naïve? What actor actually knows how to cook? He’s probably going to fake the whole thing.]

[The person above, what are you even doing here? This stream is for Aster’s Starlights. If you’re not a fan, just leave.]

Astrid also saw a few negative comments among the others on his Terminal screen. He had expected there would be some, so he ignored them and kept going. If he responded to that kind of talk, it would only spoil the easy, friendly atmosphere he wanted the stream to have.

“I’m going to make braised spiced chicken. Let’s start.”

He picked up the bowl of chicken thighs and placed them on the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, he carefully trimmed off any excess fat and skin, then cut the meat into even, bite-sized pieces.

“You want to trim off the extra fat and skin,” he explained to the camera as he worked. “It helps the sauce cling better to the meat later, and it keeps the final dish from being too greasy. Cutting them into even pieces is important too, so everything cooks at the same rate.”

Since the cameras were set up to capture everything from all sides, anyone watching could see clearly that Astrid was not faking anything. They could see it was really his hands trimming the chicken and cutting it into pieces.

[Why does Aster look so good at cutting that chicken?]

[Just from the way he uses the knife, I can tell Aster actually knows how to cook.]

[How can someone look that good while cutting up chicken?]

“Next, the ginger and garlic,” he said, picking them up.

He quickly peeled the ginger with a spoon and smashed the garlic cloves with his knife. Then he minced them both finely, his knife work smooth and practiced.

“These are what will make the sauce smell amazing,” he explained.

He placed a heavy pot on the stove and turned on the heat. He added a little oil and let it get hot.

“You want the pot to be nice and hot before the chicken goes in.” Then he carefully added the chicken pieces in a single layer. A loud, satisfying sizzle filled the kitchen as the meat hit the oil. “That’s the sound you want to hear. It means we’re getting a good sear.”

Comments kept coming in. There were still some negative ones, but many more were positive and excited. By the time he was about halfway done with the cooking, the number of people watching had climbed to almost a million!

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