On the highway, a luxury car was speeding.
Shen Tingyan sat in the back seat, holding a book in his hand. He had just turned a page when his phone vibrated.
—No, it was ten bursts of vibrations.
The buzzing was so shocking that the driver in front of and Fang Wei, who was playing with his phone, both subtly glanced in the rearview mirror.
Shen Tingyan picked up his phone and looked at it. It turned out that Old Gao was going crazy on WeChat.
"Is Zhang Luyang blind?"
"Why is he so determined to support that Fan Xue?"
"Is he so sure that Fan Xue can be popular? Or can the money given to him by Fan Xue's agent cover him for life?"
"Oh. He took a shot of Fan Xue without discussing it with the team. I asked him if he wanted to give Xue Xiao one too, and he asked me rhetorically, 'Are you so sure that Xue Xiao can be popular?'"
"I'm not sure!!! I just think that Xue Xiao has potential."
"Teacher Guan assigned a daily observation homework to the students yesterday. You know about this. Today, some students obediently went out to do it when they had time."
"I originally thought that yesterday's materials were enough and didn't send a camera to go out with them today. But I just learned that Zhang Luyang privately assigned a cameraman to Fan Xue today and secretly filmed him alone!
"This is his own son!"
"I would like to see it! This guy has such power to arrange the first two episodes. Later when there is feedback from the audience, the leaders are going to question him. I want to see if he can support Fan Xue all the way!"
"I'm furious!"
Shen Tingyan put down his phone.
Half an hour later, the angry Old Gao sent another message, "Where are you? [Going to make trouble.jpg]. Don't think I don't know that you are still on the road now!"
Shen Tingyan replied slowly, "I was afraid you hadn't finished speaking,so I gave you some time to scold enough."
Old Gao: "..."
Shen Tingyan's attitude, which was like a dead fish, poured cold water on him and made his anger extinguish instantly.
Then once the anger was gone, Old Gao felt melancholy and started to think about it.
"In fact, I can't guess who will be popular. I just want to give more opportunities to some motivated people and let the audience see them more. Maybe a few of them will really stand out.
"I've even been a bit skeptical in recent days. Does Zhang Luyang not find me pleasing and is intentionally trying to compete with me? He has to put aside all the people I'm optimistic about. Then I really hurt Xue Xiao and the others…"
Shen Tingyan showed him a screenshot of his phrase 'later when there is feedback from the audience, the leaders are going to question him' that he said when he was speaking harshly just now.
Old Gao was silent for a moment before saying dejectedly, "…I'm just afraid that after the show airs, even the audience's reaction will be different from what I imagined."
"Fan Xue's acting wasn't good-looking, but if I think about it carefully, today's netizens don't necessarily value strength so much when watching competitive talent shows. There is a type of fan in the world called character design fan. Zhang Luyang desperately shot more materials for Fan Xue. I'm afraid it is nothing more than creating a character design for him…"
Seeing this, Shen Tingyan raised an eyebrow.
"You are taking the audience for fools."
"?"
"Can a person who can't even cover up a bad show purposely play a good role?"
"..."
Good guy, this sarcastic man seemed to have hit the bullseye with precision.
Shen Tingyan replied casually, "Between a ragged character design that is uncoordinated, and a small light bulb that is obviously more interesting, they will know how to choose as long as they aren't blind."
"…Small light bulb??"
"Isn't it vivid?"
"It is very vivid, f*k."
Old Gao was beaten like this, and his mood finally improved.
"Yes. Then I will believe your words."
"Hey, I hope it will quickly be the day after tomorrow when the show will be officially launched…"
The melancholy 'young man' Old Gao finally raised his spirits, and Shen Tingyan put down his phone.
He picked up the book again. In front, Fang Lei asked him, "Is it from Old Gao?"
Shen Tingyan smiled.
Old Gao was the only one who would talk to him like this. Fang Lei could recognize him just by listening to the vibration frequency of his phone.
Speaking of Old Gao, Fang Lei remembered what happened in the studio just now.
He asked with deep meaning, "Then again, I didn't expect that after recording the show for a few days, you already have a student you like. What was his name? Xue Xiao, right?"
Shen Tingyan replied indifferently. Fang Lei asked again, "Is he really good at acting?"
Shen Tingyan didn't raise his eyes. He just pursed his lips and said, "It's okay for now."
Okay?
"Then you like his personality? Oh, it seems that this person is quite cute." Fang Lei recalled it and clicked his tongue.
The young man's face was flushed red, and his eyes were watery. Fang Lei had been in the entertainment industry for a long time and had seen all types of handsome men and women, but he still had a bright feeling when he saw Xue Xiao.
Shen Tingyan finally raised his eyes and said coolly, "If you have time to gossip with me here, it is better to re-screen the latest batch of scripts that have been submitted."
Fang Lei froze before scolding, "If you had any interest in accepting scripts, I would've gone a long time ago without you needing to say anything. Obviously, you don't have the idea of filming at all right now!"
Shen Tingyan lowered his head and read through the book again, saying nicely, "It isn't impossible to accept a good script."
"Oh, I believe your nonsense!"
Fang Lei saw this guy's calm appearance and snorted in his heart.
How could he not know that this guy thought he was annoying and wanted to shut him up?
But he was just curious.
He acted very calmly when he sent clothes to Xue Xiao just now, but in fact, he had been so shocked that his jaw dropped when Shen Tingyan gently asked him to go to the car to get the clothes.
When did Shen Tingyan take care of people so much?
This guy didn't have the idea of' taking care of others' in his head at all!
Yet in that dizzying hot studio, one minute after Xue Xiao was taken away by the makeup artist, the man who didn't seem to have so many idle thoughts said something casually.
"By the way, is that outfit still in the car?"
Before Fang Lei could react, Shen Tingyan smiled to himself and said, "In any case, they are all prints on a white background. They look better than the one on him. Go and bring them to him to see if he can wear them."
"Huh? Who?" Fang Lei was stunned.
Shen Tingyan glanced at him speechlessly. "Xue Xiao."
After saying this, the man shook the small, pink electric fan that was still spinning wildly in his hand, as if complaining that Fang Lei was too forgetful.
...
At this moment, Fang Lei glanced at the man in the back seat who was reading with his head down.
In any case, it didn't matter if Xue Xiao's acting was enough to enter this guy's eyes or how much this guy liked Xue Xiao. As his agent and the current head of Shen Tingyan's studio, there were only a few things he could do.
Just now, he inquired like this because he wanted to see if Shen Tingyan had the intention of signing someone over.
But for now, it seemed…
Sure enough, it was too early.
That's right. If he signed someone, they always had to film, right?'
Shen Tingyan's standards for 'actors' were very high. No matter how much he liked someone's personality, he couldn't stuff them into a drama or movie just because of this.
Let's see what happened after this.
Fang Lei didn't ask anything else on this topic. He glanced at the book in Shen Tingyan's hand and wondered, "Don't you get dizzy when reading in the car?"
Shen Tingyan turned another page. "It's okay."
"By the way, you've been reading this book for over a week. Why have you only read so much? Is it not good?"
Shen Tingyan was looking at the book that Fang Lei had given him from Shen Tingyan's cousin before. The pages that had been turned were only a few dozen thin sheets. It was obvious that he had only read the beginning.
According to Shen Tingyan's normal reading speed, he should've read 300-400 pages of a book in two or three days.
Shen Tingyan glanced at him like he was a fool. "I'm reading it for the second time."
Feng Lei: "..."
Oh, it meant he liked this book a lot.
What was the name of the book?
Feng Lei recalled and thought about it.
'Man on Earth' was a science fiction novel published by a little-known author. The author had only published this one work so far.
—
The show's staff was secretly competing internally but the participants didn't know at all.
On the last night of this seemingly ordinary, but actually facing the unknown, study week, they finally knew what they were going to face next week!
In fact, there was nothing surprising. It was the second elimination round!
The show secretly placed the rule card envelope in the lobby on the first floor of the dormitory building. Some participants yelled in the WeChat group after discovering it. After more than 10 minutes, all 50 participants gathered together, and the cameramen also appeared from the corner, carrying cameras and aiming it at them.
A participant read aloud, "The second round of the elimination competition is about to begin. In this round of competition, we have arranged a total of 15 players. This includes 4 two-person plays, 4 three-person plays, 5 four-person players, and 2 five-person plays."
Chang Yun was busy counting the number of characters with his fingers.
It was precisely 15 plays and 50 characters in total.
Everyone looked at each other. The number of characters was so accurate. This meant there should be no repeat repertoires this round.
"Participants will choose the play and character according to their score from the first round from highest to lowest. For participants with the same score, the senior with the longest debut age will get the first pick. After the selection is completed, all participants and their corresponding tutors will complete the rehearsal of the play within a week. The second round of public performances will be held one week later."
There were participants who were pleasantly surprised, while others sighed.
The surprise was that the second round would really be guided directly by the four mentors!
Sigh. In a week, people would start to be eliminated…
"In the second round of competition, all four mentors will have 10 invitation cards. This will be issued to the students they like after the performance of each play. It isn't necessary to issue all the invitation cards, and different mentors can issue cards to the same participant. After the card issuance is completed, students who have multiple invitation cards will choose their mentor. Students who haven't received invitation cards will have to say goodbye to us."
The hall suddenly became even noisier.
Zhao Dong thought about it. "Each mentor has 10 invitation cards, which means a total of 40. At least 10 participants will be eliminated, right?"
Jiang Lianlian continued, "The 40 cards don't all have to be issued. Even if they are issued, they can be issued to the same participant repeatedly. If these two conditions add up then I feel the number of participants who can finally get a card will be very low!"
Out of the 50 people, it might eventually be screened to only 20-30 left.
The elimination was quite fierce.
Chang Yun was originally a bit excited to be able to act again. Then as soon as he heard Jiang Lianlian's analysis, the smile froze on his face.
He said, "I seem to be in a bit of danger…? My first round ranking was almost in the 20s."
At that time, he thought there was no need to rush. He could climb the ranking slowly. Who would've thought that the show might screen out most of the people in the first elimination? Was he going to be knocked out if he wasn't careful…?
Jin Xiaochen said in a low voice, "Me too. My performance in the first round was okay thanks to Brother Xue and Brother Zhao. If I change the group, it might not be so smooth."
The atmosphere suddenly cooled down.
Xue Xiao looked at his friends, who had lowered heads, and opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Just then, the participant who was reading the rule card cleared his throat and roared, "The card says that the selection of players will start at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning! Don't oversleep!"
"Got it!"
"Come on, go back to the bedroom and rest early!"
Xue Xiao and the others followed the large group back to the dormitory.
By this time, it was already 9 o'clock in the evening. Zhao Dong went to take a shower first, and Gu Ling started to write today's observation homework.
Chang Yun also wrote on the upper bunk in the beginning. Then he climbed down, went to the balcony outside, sat down, closed the balcony door, and started to smoke.
Xue Xiao also learned today that Chang Yun smoked.
He paused for a few seconds. Then he closed his pen cap and diary and stood up.
Gu Ling glanced at him and then at Chang Yun outside.
Xue Xiao told him, "After Brother Zhao finishes washing later, you go wash first. You don't have to wait for the two of us."
Gu Ling nodded.
Xue Xiao walked to the balcony and sat down next to Chang Yun.
Chang Yun slapped a mosquito that bit him on the arm, and a small puddle of blood came out.
He clicked his tongue in disgust. Xue Xiao pulled out a tissue from his pocket and wiped it for him.
Chang Yun knew that Xue Xiao had come to comfort him.
They had only known each other for over a week, but Xue Xiao was undoubtedly the one among their group of friends who cared most about their emotions.
This type of concern was sometimes very direct and sometimes quiet. It was different from person to person and from situation to situation. This was the gentlest thing about Xue Xiao.
Chang Yun sighed and didn't hide his sadness. "Xiao, I'm not trying to set a flag, but before coming to the show, did you ever think about what you would do after being eliminated? Continue to run around as a background actor?"
Xue Xiao thought for a while. "If there is no good role, I can only continue to be a background actor."
"You have played the protagonist of a small play, but you are willing to go back to being a background actor?" Chang Yun smiled, but there seemed to be nothing surprising about this answer coming from Xue Xiao's mouth.
He joked, "Is there no option of 'don't act' in your dictionary?"
Xue Xiao replied, "That isn't true."
Chang Yun was stunned. He hadn't expected to hear this answer.
Xue Xiao leaned against the glass door, stared at the night outside the balcony and said, "I made an appointment with my parents before I left home. If I haven't made a name for myself by a certain deadline, I can't continue to be so capricious."
He smiled softly. "I can't grow older every year while continuing to let my parents worry more and more about me every year."
Chang Yun was silent before asking with some curiosity, "Then how long is this period?"