Chen Yan was surfing the internet and saw that several top trending topics were all about her. She felt incredibly pleased, believing she was capable of great things.
However, before her得意 (pride) could fully settle, a crew member approached her.
"Chen Yan, your role as the second female lead has been canceled. Come change your clothes."
Chen Yan's eyes widened in disbelief. "What do you mean? My role as the second female lead is canceled? On what grounds?"
The crew member merely held out the clothes. "This was a unanimous decision by the director and producers. You can ask them about it."
Chen Yan was furious, and the surrounding whispers and doubts made her feel utterly humiliated.
In her anger, she rushed to Jiang Nan Chen. "Director Jiang, why was my role as the second female lead canceled?"
Before Jiang Nan Chen could speak, Wang Qiang, always one to speak his mind, interjected, "You brought reporters here and damaged the crew's interests. It's good enough that we didn't ask you to compensate us. How dare you come here and ask?"
Chen Yan stammered, then argued back, "But aren't you also live-streaming now? If it weren't for me, would you be trending today? You're really ruthless if this is how you burn bridges."
Wang Qiang chuckled in exasperation, too annoyed to argue further. He simply turned to the security guards and said, "Please escort everyone irrelevant out."
Chen Yan was ushered away by the security guards.
There were quite a few actors present, and they all watched her. Chen Yan's pride was shattered, and she couldn't bear to stay another moment. After changing her clothes, she hurried away.
However, she wouldn't let this humiliation go unanswered. After leaving the set, Chen Yan contacted another reporter.
"Hello? I'm giving you a hot news tip for free. The screenwriter of 'Fu Sheng', nine, insisted on casting Xing Di as the male lead against everyone's wishes. These two must have a secret relationship."
The reporter on the other end was also following the trending gossip about the "Fu Sheng" crew. They were currently live-streaming and had already learned about the differing opinions between the screenwriter and the producer.
"Is the information reliable? Do these two really have a relationship?"
Chen Yan sneered, "Does reliability matter? How many celebrity gossip stories out of ten are actually true? If you publish this news, it will definitely generate buzz. Isn't that enough?"
If it were Xiao Qi rumored to be involved with the screenwriter, the heat would be significant. But Xing Di was an eighteenth-tier actor, barely known to anyone.
The reporter was unsatisfied and asked, "Do you have any photos of nine? Everyone online is looking for nine. If there are real photos of her, it would be explosive."
Chen Yan replied impatiently, "No, I don't. No one knows who nine is, and she hasn't appeared in public."
The reporter sighed, "Then she's probably too ugly to be seen."
After hanging up, the reporter quickly edited the news, with the headline: Shocking Revelation! Eighteenth-Tier Male Actor Blackmailed by Screenwriter Nine.
After reading it, he felt it was still lacking something. After some thought, he added a sentence to the headline: "Beauty and the Beast."
As soon as the article with images was published, it garnered over a hundred thousand views in less than a minute. The reporter was overjoyed and subsequently published several more similar news articles.
...
On the set, Chen Yan's departure caused only a minor stir. Then, everyone's attention shifted back to the PK between the two lead couples.
The viewers in the live stream kept urging them on. Seeing that the time was right, Jiang Nan Chen had all the staff and actors take their positions.
"This is the climax of the drama. The heroine bravely sacrifices herself and dies in the male lead's arms. A scene of parting in life and death. Which pair will go first? Each pair has only one chance," Jiang Nan Chen asked.
Liu Wenwen flinched. "I can't. Let them go first."
Xing Di wasn't in a hurry to perform either. He said, "We need a little more preparation."
Zhang Sui scoffed, "Useless. Still trying to compete with me? Let you dream a little longer. When you embarrass yourself in front of the entire internet later, your acting career will be over."
"As a professional actor, we are always ready," Zhang Sui said with a confident smile and stepped forward.
Xiao Qi also maintained an arrogant demeanor.
As the two entered the camera's range, the live stream immediately erupted in cheers, with everyone praising the leads for their compatibility and posture.
To help the audience understand, Jiang Nan Chen provided a voice-over explaining the personalities of the male and female leads before asking Xiao Qi and Zhang Sui to begin their performance.
Everyone on set fell silent to avoid their voices overpowering the leads' lines.
Zhang Sui made a motion as if her chest had been struck by a sword and recoiled, letting out a pained cry.
Then, Xiao Qi grabbed her around the waist, and they both knelt on the ground.
Zhang Sui smiled, her face tinged with pain. "You big fool, don't cry. This is my fate, and I have no regrets."
Xiao Qi's features contorted as he wept uncontrollably. "I won't allow you to die. Your life is mine, I won't allow it."
The dialogue was only two lines, but this scene was the climax. In reality, the performance required two minutes, and during this performance, the lines were secondary; the actors' expressions and emotions were paramount.
The cameras captured Xiao Qi and Zhang Sui's performance and broadcast it to the live stream.
The live stream became even more lively after witnessing this performance. Behind-the-scenes footage was often more entertaining than the main production. Viewers were curious about the real conditions of filming, and by showing the actual situation, they were indeed captivated.
Xiao Qi and Zhang Sui's fans were the first to flood the chat with praise.
[Blow up Qi Bao Bao's acting! I cried along with him.]
[As expected of my Sister Sui, she portrayed a sense of noble righteousness.]
However, after a few lines of praise, casual viewers couldn't help but chime in.
[Without dubbing, their original lines are grating. His crying sounds like a pig's squeal.]
[There's absolutely no chemistry. The domineering CEO and his little wife have become an older sister and younger brother romance. Am I the only one who finds it awkward?]
With someone taking the lead, more and more people voiced their opinions. Even those who initially praised them, despite using multiple accounts, couldn't win the argument.
At this point, Jiang Nan Chen, Wang Qiang, and the others were no longer focused on the live stream. Their attention was fixed on the two actors.
Wang Qiang's displeased expression said it all.
"A perfectly good domineering CEO was played like a subordinate; innocent and cute was portrayed as righteous and valiant. They completely failed to grasp the essence of the characters," Wang Feifei commented bluntly.
These words cut into Wang Qiang, Luo Cheng, and the others like knives.
Wang Qiang knew all too well that Xiao Qi and Zhang Sui had indeed failed to capture the essence of this scene. What should have been the emotional peak, they had turned into an entirely different story.
Perhaps sensing their grim expressions, Zhang Sui and Xiao Qi stood up. Zhang Sui smiled, "Apologies, Director. It's my first time performing in front of a live camera, so I was a bit nervous and didn't perform my best. Could we try again?"
Another take. This was not unusual on a film set, but this was a live broadcast, a PK. Jiang Nan Chen directly refused, "This is a live broadcast, and as I mentioned earlier, each pair has only one chance."
"But we performed first, which is inherently unfair to us," Zhang Sui said unhappily. Although she was satisfied with her performance, the expressions of the director and producer clearly indicated dissatisfaction. If they didn't get another try, Liu Wenwen, that good-for-nothing, might just snatch the advantage.
"Do all competitions give the first participant two chances?"