Reborn as a Star's Child

Rebirth of a Star Second-Generation is an urban life novel by web author Xiao Xixi, serialized on Qidian (China Literature Group). Approximately 1.4652 million words long, it was completed in August 2015. The protagonist, Chu Shi, was a global superstar in the thirty-second century, excelling in singing, acting, directing, and writing, with hundreds of millions of fans. In this life, however, he is reborn into the twenty-first century as the son of a struggling minor celebrity. He opens his eyes to find his father, Chu Haoyang, a feckless second-rate singer watching TV and cracking sunflower seeds, along with a pair of infant twin sisters, the "Candy Sisters." Helplessly sighing that "rising on my own isn't enough—I also have to make my father a dragon and my sisters phoenixes," Chu Shi draws on the knowledge and talent of his past life to start over through variety shows, music, film and television, and endorsements. Set against the backdrop of the entertainment industry, the novel unfolds around variety show recordings in the vein of Where Are We Going, Dad? and Running Man, songwriting and scriptwriting, on-set filming, contract signing and business negotiations, company management, and cinema chain expansion. While helping his father turn his fortunes around and accompanying his sisters as they grow, the protagonist gradually climbs to the top of the industry, ultimately reaching a "global domination" ending. Light in tone and brisk in pace, the book is a typical "rebirth + entertainment industry" urban wish-fulfillment novel, well suited as casual reading for leisure time.