The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

Chapter 787: END OF THE LIVESTREAM

[What is the movie about?]

[What kind of role do you play?]

[Is it true that you’re not the main lead?]

[How long did it take to film?]

[Did you have a hard time acting the role?]

[What scene was the hardest to film?]

[Is the movie scary? The trailer looked like it had that kind of atmosphere.]

Astrid scanned through the comments and picked out a few he could answer without revealing too much about the movie.

”[The Shadow Within] is a mystery thriller,” Astrid said. ”I play a doctor who helps the police with an investigation. That’s all I can really say. Anything more and I’d be giving away spoilers.” He offered a playful smile. ”And yes, I’m not the main lead. But please don’t be upset about that, Starlights. Rhett was perfect for the role, and I chose to play the doctor myself. Once you watch the movie, you’ll understand why.”

[So you’re really not the main lead? How come?]

@astridsnumber1fan: [The person above, did you not hear Aster? He picked his own role.]

[A mystery thriller? That sounds really interesting! I’m excited to watch it tomorrow!]

[I rarely watch this kind of movie, but I’ll still watch it for Aster.]

[I trust your choice, Aster. If you say Rhett was perfect, then I believe you.]

[Now I’m even more curious why you wanted that role specifically.]

[The suspense is killing me. Tomorrow can’t come fast enough.]

[Is there any romance in the movie? Or is it purely mystery?]

@astridsnumber1fan: [Why are you asking for romance when Aster already said it’s a mystery-thriller.]

[I’m bringing my friends to watch with me!]

[Aster, can you give us a hint about the special gift you prepared for us?]

Astrid had to hold back a smile every time he spotted a random comment from Wulfric in the chat. He took a spoonful of rice and a generous piece of chicken before responding to a few of the other questions.

”I’m really excited about tomorrow too,” he said, smiling. ”And yes, please bring your friends along when you watch. As for the special gift...” He paused, tilting his head slightly as he smiled playfully. ”Well, I guess you’ll just have to find out tomorrow.”

He continued talking with the chat while slowly working through his meal. Between bites of chicken and rice, he answered more questions about the movie, shared a few lighthearted stories from filming, and laughed at some of the funnier comments scrolling by.

Once he finished eating, he gathered his dirty dishes and put them away. He turned back to the camera, ready to say goodbye to everyone watching. But then his eyes finally landed on the viewer counter. He almost couldn’t hide his surprise when he saw the number there. It’s over five million!

He knew that number was barely a drop in the bucket compared to the Empire’s population. But for a fairly new actor doing his very first livestream, an unannounced one at that, five million viewers was nothing to scoff at. It was actually pretty impressive.

Astrid turned his focus back to the camera and smiled. ”Alright, that’s it for now. I hope you all had fun chatting with me. To everyone planning to watch [The Shadow Within], thank you in advance. Until next time. Bye, Starlights!”

With that, he ended the livestream.

He turned off the cameras and disconnected them from his Terminal. As soon as he finished, a video call request popped up on his screen. He assumed it was Wulfric, since the other had a habit of calling right after things like this. So he was surprised when he saw Casey’s name on the display. He accepted the call and was even more surprised when Nicol’s face appeared on the screen instead of Casey’s.

”Brother Aster!” Nicol’s voice rang out, full of excitement. ”I watched your whole livestream!”

Astrid chuckled at the boy’s energy. ”Hey, Nikki. Did you watch it on Uncle Casey’s Terminal?”

”I did.” Nicol’s face shifted into a pout. ”My Terminal has parental controls on it, so I can’t watch livestreams. But Uncle Casey is here, and he loves me, so he let me watch on his.”

Given Nicol’s age, it only made sense for his terminal to have parental controls. Astrid would have questioned Thomas’s parenting if it didn’t. ”Good for you. But where are Uncle Casey and your dad right now?”

”They’re talking in the study right now,” Nicol said. Then his voice dropped, sounding a little disappointed. ”Hey, Brother Aster, I asked Uncle Casey to take me to the premiere of your new movie, but he said kids aren’t allowed to watch it. Is that true?”

”Yeah, I’m sorry, Nikki,” Astrid said, his smile turning apologetic. The Shadow Within had quite a few violent scenes and dealt with some heavy topics, so it wasn’t allowed for anyone under sixteen.

Nicol’s pout deepened. ”That’s not fair.”

”I know,” Astrid said gently. ”But there’s nothing we can do about it.” He paused, then he continued with a much more energetic voice. ”How about this—I’ll come visit you next weekend and cook for you, Uncle Thomas, and Uncle Casey? Would you like that?”

The disappointment on Nicol’s face vanished in an instant. ”Really, Brother Aster? Do you promise?”

Astrid let out a small, helpless laugh. ”I promise.”

Nicol bounced up and down in place, clearly happy. Just then, Casey’s handsome face appeared on the screen.

”What did you say to the kid to get him this excited?” Casey asked, clearly amused.

”I told him I’d come visit next weekend and cook for all of you,” Astrid repeated with a small smile.

”Well, that’s definitely something to get excited about,” Casey said. ”Bring Reas with you. We barely get to see that brother of yours these days.”

”I’ll try,” Astrid said with a slight shrug, ”but I can’t make any promises.”

Not that Reas disliked spending time with their uncles and cousin. His brother just liked spending his weekends resting. Well, unless those weekends involved seeing Lauren.

While he was still talking to Casey, a notification for an incoming call from Wulfric appeared on his screen.