CHAPTER 18 PART 1-2

Under the spotlight, Fan Xue was sweating and his brain was buzzing.

He didn't expect anyone to see it…

That person was Shen Tingyan and he actually said it directly in front of the audience…

Fan Xue was so panicked that his hands and feet were trembling.

He really didn't want to give up on himself like this. His mind had been clear when he was in the dressing room this morning.

He knew how humiliating it was to act badly and his agent reminded him to do his best.

But at that time, the three of them obviously didn't act well. In a panic, a bad idea came to mind.

He regretted it after the performance. He hadn't expected that Xue Xiao's group of three would act so well later. Even if his agent stirred up public opinion so that those three wouldn't have a good time, how miserable was he to be compared at this moment?

Fan Xue's speechless appearance fell into everyone's eyes and the answer was clear at a glance.

He was hit by Shen Tingyan's words!

Xue Xiao was stunned. Su Shijin laughed in disbelief while his two teammates, Wang Minghai and Hu Lang, were stupid. The audience became noisy and there was even a small commotion among Fan Xue's fans.

Poor acting was a problem of ability while deliberately acting poorly was a problem of attitude. He was a chicken thief! Was this fooling the audience?!

Seeing that the cart was about to be overturned again, Fan Xue thought vaguely, 'I have to deny it, I have to deny it immediately!'

He raised his head sharply and said with a pale face, "I didn't! I acted too badly but I didn't mean it. Teacher Shen, you misunderstood!"

It wasn't known if it was because he was sweaty but he couldn't see the mentor's seat clearly. He could only hear the man say flatly.

"Really?"

Fan Xue's heart was beating wildly as he waited for Shen Tingyan's later words. No matter what Shen Tingyan planned to say, he could explain it and fool the other person.

Then after Shen Tingyan threw out this word with an unclear meaning, he didn't continue to speak!

This man didn't give him a chance to defend himself at all!

Fan Xue was even more panicked in his heart. He looked around blankly and could only say dryly, "I… really, I didn't mean to…"

This defense was too pale compared to his guilty and panicked face just now. Not only did it fail to help him but it had the opposite effect.

The noise in the audience suddenly became louder. The entire studio was in an uproar.

"This is outrageous!"

"He wants to set up a persona?"

"No way…"

"It is too disrespectful to the competition!"

Fan Xue gulped desperately and his hands started to tremble slightly.

He still wanted to speak but Wang Minghai next to him suddenly pulled him and reminded him with an indifferent expression, "Just shut up at this time. The more you explain, the uglier it is."

Fan Xue frowned.

The host Jiang Quan was also stunned by this situation for a while. The chief director's voice came from the headset. He listened for a moment and started to control the scene.

After that, the question and answer seemed to follow a pattern.

"Fan Xue, is what Teacher Shen just said true?"

Fan Xue shook his head again and again. "No, it really isn't!"

"You mean that Teacher Shen misunderstood?"

"Yes, I know I acted too badly but my attitude is absolutely serious…"

...

At the mentor table, Shen Tingyan had an expression of idly watching the play. The others were either irritated or disgusted.

Did anyone believe what came out of Fan Xue's mouth at this time?

Maybe some fans would believe it.

Even the show's staff knew that this wave of on-site rollover wouldn't fool anyone. Letting Jiang Quan control the field was just a formality to save Fan Xue.

Suddenly, Su Shijin stood up.

Everyone looked at her and Su Shijin said indifferently, "It will be a while. I will go to the toilet."

This wasn't giving them face at all. It was directly hitting the face of the show.

After she left the table, Feng Wei also got up and walked out of the studio without making a sound.

Guan Ruoying looked at a loss.

She could only stare at Shen Tingyan. If he also left then she would leave. She didn't want to stay alone in this embarrassing place!

Shen Tingyan did stand up as she expected.

But before he stepped away, he said, "Xue Xiao, the three of you go down and rest."

On the stage, Jin Xiaochen and Zhao Dong hesitantly glanced at the host Jiang Quan.

Xue Xiao hesitated for a moment. Then he bowed toward Shen Tingyan and walked off the stage.

He was quite obedient.

Shen Tingyan laughed. Then he turned around and left the studio.

...

The day's recording didn't end until 8 o'clock in the evening.

A confidentiality agreement had been signed with the audience in advance and electronic devices weren't allowed to be brought in, but before the end, the chief director tiredly reminded the public not to leak today's recording.

At 8: 30 in the evening, all the participants returned to the dormitory and the four mentors were called to a small meeting room.

On the way, Su Shijin said in a low voice, "If the show makes up their minds to support Fan Xue to the end, I might not really be able to survive until the end of the show."

Guan Ruoying laughed. Surprisingly, Feng Wei was the one to answer Su Shijin.

He said slowly, "This is a competition show. Teacher Su, who do you think will have the right to decide later?"

The mentors or the audience?

All in all, the decision couldn't entirely be in the hands of the show's staff.

It was true that the audience would inevitably include Fan Xue's fans but did the audience of the show only consist of Fan Xue's fans? Could Fan Xue's fans control the direction of the show?

It was impossible.

Therefore, it wasn't a question of whether they would be condemned by God or not. It simply wasn't possible.

Feng Wei shook his head and sighed.

Shen Tingyan was one step behind the three of them. Old Gao followed him and lowered his voice to speak.

"You scared our staff members to death today. You know, I was really numb at that time. I might not like that Fan Xue and I didn't want to do this show for people like him, but…"

Shen Tingyan just felt chattering in his ears.

He interrupted the old man's chatter with a casual tone. "Scared to death? What is there to be scared to death about? Doesn't your leader like to stir up topics? Is he not happy with such a big topic today?"

Fortunately, Director Zhang wasn't present or he would probably vomit out a catty of blood at the moment.

Old Gao wiped his face. "Happiness doesn't exist. Today's entire paragraph might be cut out."

Shen Tingyan sneered, seemingly not caring.

Old Gao wondered, "Do you hate that Fan Xue a bit?"

Shen Tingyan replied, "Do you think I look like I know him?"

Old Gao: "..."

Shen Tingyan looked over at him. "You have always thought that they changed your idea into a mess. If they really support Fan Xue according to the script and make everyone his foil, this show can be regarded as completely over."

"Now in such a situation, they should be the ones panicking. Why are you panicking?"

Old Gao was stunned.

Shen Tingyan said casually, "Are you afraid that things will be too big to end? Old Gao, sometimes you are too cautious."

After saying this, Old Gao stopped while Shen Tingyan walked away.

The small meeting room was full of cameras and they had to record a short piece of content. It was grading the participants who performed all day today.

Director Zhang was waiting for them inside and was full of smiles when he saw the four of them.

There was no way. These four mentors were very big. Today, he saw that he made them unhappy and he had to serve them again.

Director Zhang said earnestly, "Four teachers, please sit. The grading form is on the table. We will review the students who appeared on the stage today in turn. I will ask the four of you to score according to your own standards."

—

Xue Xiao and the others went straight to the cafeteria to eat when they returned to the dormitory building.

Chang Yun looked around. "Fan Xue's entire dormitory didn't come."

He was the second last to perform on stage today. Due to Fan Xue's episode, he didn't even get nervous and performed quite well after going on stage.

Jiang Lianlian gossiped with them. "When we came back just now, the atmosphere of their group was very subtle. I suspect they are quarreling after closing the bedroom door."

Wang Minghai and Hu Lang's performance today wasn't good but Fan Xue deliberately acted badly. Wasn't this pulling them down even more when they had already fallen into the mud, so that they turned directly into little clay people?!

Anyone who encountered this type of situation would want to shout that it was bad luck.

Xue Xiao didn't speak the whole time. After eating, he said, "I'll go first. I'll go to the top floor to get some air."

At 9 o'clock in the evening, it was already dark.

The top floor of the dormitory building was the rooftop and there was only a small lamp near the air.

The small lamp swayed slightly with the evening breeze and the faint light also swayed. It set up a mood.

The script was rolled up and stuffed into his trouser pocket. Xue Xiao walked to the railing at the edge of the roof and lay down, looking at the path below in a daze.

The phone vibrated twice. He took it out to take a look. Zhang Chengyu had sent him a WeChat message today to ask: "How was the competition today?"

Xue Xiao replied, "It wasn't bad."

Then he typed a few words before deleting them and typing them. He kept hesitating.

Zhang Chengyu saw that it kept displaying 'the other person is typing' and asked: "What's wrong? What are you struggling with?"

Xue Xiao sighed and replied, "It's nothing. I just think the entertainment industry is… quite flowery."

The words 'quite flowery' made Zhang Chengyu burst out laughing.

Xue Xiao really felt that Fan Xue 'played in a flowery manner.'

If he couldn't act well, he simply acted badly to make it more convenient to turn things around and counterattack later. But if he was thinking about such things while performing, how could he act well?

Xue Xiao was angry at first but he later felt speechless.

Zhang Chengyu knew that Xue Xiao couldn't disclose the content of the show and only said, "It is inevitable that there will be this type of thing in the entertainment industry. You will get used to it after watching more."

"Don't be affected and just act well. By the way, how did Shen Tingyan comment on you today?"

Speaking of this, Xue Xiao finally pulled himself together.

In fact, without Fan Xue's episode, he felt that today would've been quite complete.

He had a conversation with Shen Tingyan.

Shen Tingyan praised him. Of course, there was criticism but this type of criticism was far from 'harsh' for Xue Xiao.

He even felt that Shen Tingyan was quite gentle.

PART 2

They were chatting so Xue Xiao simply made a voice call to Zhang Chengyu.

He took out the script again. Just like he did when he was still in the Nanhe Film and Television City, he excitedly discussed with his master what he had just thought of, how he would act when he encountered this plot in the future and what he would have to change when he encountered such a plot.

They unknowingly chatted for more than an hour. It wasn't until the light of a flashlight came from below that he closed his mouth and poked his head out in a confused manner.

Old Gao was standing downstairs.

Six floors away, Old Gao shouted, "I was wondering who was chattering on the rooftop. Xue Xiao, you haven't gone to rest yet?"

Xue Xiao smiled and waved. Then he suddenly saw that there was Shen Tingyan next to Old Gao.

The man had just taken out a cigarette and raised his head following the movement.

Xue Xiao's eyes lit up and he waved happily again.

Shen Tingyan paused before chuckling.

Old Gao muttered, "Double standard child."

Shen Tingyan lit a cigarette, took a puff and slowly blew it out. "It is a normal reaction."

"F*k, get lost!"

The two of them walked to the place where Shen Tingyan parked. After remembering the situation in the meeting room just now, Old Gao smiled proudly. "How is it? Xue Xiao isn't bad, right?"

Shen Tingyan was walking in front of him and Old Gao couldn't see the man's expression. He could only see the smoke being swept away by the wind and the man's lazy and wanton attitude.

On the rooftop, once he could no longer see the backs of the two people, Xue Xiao turned around and leaned his back against the railing.

He raised his head and looked at the sky full of stars in the summer night.

Zhang Chengyu asked, "Why aren't you talking?"

"I met Teacher Shen just now," Xue Xiao muttered. "Master, I was thinking…"

People could be greedy.

Some people were greedy for money while others were greedy for fame.

Xue Xiao was the same.

He was greedy.

In addition to acting, he unexpectedly found himself greedy for another thing today.

He wished that the man's gaze would stay on him a bit longer.

He hoped that the man's gaze as he watched Xue Xiao perform would be more serious.

What would Shen Tingyan's eyes become when he really became serious?

Xue Xiao couldn't help imagining it.

The stars seem to have become brighter.

—

At 8 o'clock the next morning, the second half of the recording officially began.

In the midst of the criticism and praise, the tenth participant who appeared completely surprised everyone with their solo performance.

The man stood on the top of the pool, his back facing the crystal water droplets spraying down. His eyes seemed to be burning with flames, hot and deep.

His lines suppressed the audience silently and every word seemed to have a heavy weight, smashing heavily on the ground and making people tremble.

With open arms, he embraced the sun. His stretched limbs seemed to gather all the light in his arms and the audience could no longer take their eyes off him.

It was Gu Ling.

Xue Xiao sat under the stage and watched this performance blankly. At a certain moment, he seemed to feel something and instinctively looked at the mentor seats.

Then he silently tightened his fingers.

Shen Tingyan looked at the roster of participants again for the first time in this round of the competition.

He looked down at the information on the roster. Then after two or three seconds, he raised his eyes.

His gaze was calm and focused.

—

At 6 o'clock in the evening, the next day's performance ended completely.

At 7 o'clock, the mentors finished scoring.

At 9 o'clock, the participants met again in another studio. The four mentors personally announced the results of the first round to them.

Each participant had a total score of 20 points and each mentor had 5 points. It would be announced starting from last place.

Fan Xue: 2 points.

Guan Ruoying and Feng Wei each gave 1 point to save face while Su Shijin and Shen Tingyan didn't even give him face.

Fan Xue didn't raise his head. Everyone could only see that his ears were blood-red like he was ashamed.

Second from the bottom…

Third from the bottom…

Chang Yun got 11 points. He ranked in the middle and wasn't high or low.

He was still satisfied with this result. After all, he also knew that he wasn't an acting genius. He would start steadily and then study it seriously!

Jiang Lianlian scored 13 points.

She took a deep breath and nodded. Then she told the four mentors, "Thank you, Teacher!"

Jin Xiaochen was the same as Jiang Lianlian. They both got 13 points.

Due to the limited score range, there were actually many students who had tied rankings.

Zhao Dong scored 15 points and there were five people with the same score as him. They occupied the 8-13th places. Finally, he was counted as 8th place.

After reporting their names, it was the turn of 7th place.

Shen Tingyan said, "Seventh place, Xue Xiao. 16 points in total."

The applause of the participants rang out enthusiastically. Shen Tingyan casually raised his eyes and paused.

Among the 50 participants, Xue Xiao was still the easiest one to find.

Hearing his ranking, in the midst of the encouragement around him, the young man smiled shyly as he was rubbed on the head by Chang Yun beside him.

After smiling, he looked at Shen Tingyan, still very well-behaved.

Only, there was a difference…

Sensing Shen Tingyan's pause, Feng Wei glanced at him.

Shen Tingyan put down the microphone with a normal force and Feng Wei continued to the next person.

After one round, second place was still announced by Feng Wei.

"Second place, Dou Mingjian. 18 points in total."

Dou Mingjian was the oldest one among the 50 participants. He was 45 years old this year.

He spent five years as a group performer and ten years as an extra. The middle-aged man with rich experience in the industry was down-to-earth. Today, he brought a wonderful performance to everyone with the solid foundation tempered in his body.

He smiled in an embarrassed manner and said in a thick voice, "Thank you, four teachers!"

Finally, it was Su Shijin's turn.

"First place, Gu Ling. A total of 19 points."

The audience exclaimed.

This result wasn't unexpected but it was also expected. After all, Gu Ling was an amateur!

Before today, no one expected that an amateur would shock the entire audience and win first place in the first round of the competition as soon as he made a move. What level of acting talent was this? It was too scary!

If this wasn't a dark horse then who was?

"Yes, this child!" Chang Yun put an arm around Gu Ling's neck. "I'm going to call you Teacher Gu later!"

"Too awesome…"

"By the way, I want to know who didn't give him the point he fell short of…"

"Don't make trouble!"

"Hahaha!"

In this room full of congratulations, Gu Ling wasn't shocked. He bowed to the four mentors and showed great calmness.

Guan Ruoying said, "The score has come out. Then we should also divide you into classes. Shall we just do it directly by points?"

She looked at the other three, nodded and simply said, "Students with 8 points and below are Class C, students with 9-14 points are Class B and students with 15 points and above are Class A. Everyone, remember your class. After a day off tomorrow, the show will give you the schedule for each class. Remember to go to class on time."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Su Shijin said, "By the way, the show made some small things and I will give it to you as a small gift."

She beckoned and a young lady of the show quickly ran over and handed over a cardboard box.

Everyone looked at it curiously. Su Shijin didn't keep them in suspense and took out a badge from the cardboard box.

This badge was made of a metal texture and had gold letters on a silver background. The words 'start' were written in dashing letters and the workmanship was very exquisite.

Everyone was stunned.

What did this little gift mean?

"Everyone knows the structure of a story. If your acting career is regarded as a life story then you are now in the 'starting' position."

"No matter whether your starting point is high or low, your story has only just begun. Run fast or run slowly. Who will fall behind and who will overtake? At this moment, none of us know."

Everyone understood the intention of the show and couldn't help holding their breaths.

"Your end is still far away and there is such a long way in between," Su Shijin said. "Let's work hard!"

Blood rushed to their hearts.

No matter whether they were frustrated or proud from the first round, at this moment, everyone's mentality calmed down back to the starting point. Their fighting spirit was once again ignited.

In response to Su Shijin, the 'Yes!' from everyone shook the studio!

50 participants walked down the stairs and lined up to receive small gifts in front of the four mentors.

According to the order, Xue Xiao walked in front of Feng Wei.

Feng Wei handed him the badge. The cold metal fell in his palm and Feng Wei told him, "Jiayou."

Xue Xiao raised his head, nodded heavily and said, "Thank you, Director Feng."

Once he was done, Xue Xiao walked around the outside of the group while putting the badge on himself.

A deep voice suddenly stopped him.

"Xue Xiao."

Xue Xiao stopped and looked back.

Shen Tingyan was handing a badge to a certain participant. He didn't look up and only said casually, "It is too low. It is ugly."

Xue Xiao realized what he was talking about and quickly lowered his head.

…He was indeed about to pin the badge to his stomach.

"Put the badge on your chest." Shen Tingyan's voice was soft. "Put this word on your heart."

Xue Xiao trembled.

After a moment, he answered in a low voice.

He took the badge off and moved it to the left side of his chest.

In the summer, only a single shirt was worn.

The brooch pierced the cloth and rubbed against the skin, leaving a cold touch as he passed by. It seemed to inject a small spring into his chest cavity and the annoyance of the whole day seemed to be swept away.

Xue Xiao raised his head again.

Shen Tingyan lowered his head and took out a badge again.

Xue Xiao's heart was thumping heavily.

He pursed his lips and smiled. Then he whispered, "Thank you, Teacher Shen."