Qi Kerong accidentally made eye contact with Chi Yan, and a shiver ran down her spine. She immediately dared not look at Chi Yan again.
Chi Yan finally had a moment of peace and didn’t bother with her anymore. Instead, she turned to Xu Yi and said, “Go take a shower first, then apply some floral water.”
After Xu Yi went in to shower, You Shan and Qi Kerong both left separately.
Chi Yan thought they had probably gone to discuss things with their group members. That was perfect—no one would disturb her while she memorized her lines.
The mother’s lines were the most in the script. Even after reading them four or five times in the afternoon, Chi Yan could only remember the first few parts. She pictured the mother’s character in her mind, imagining what kind of expressions she would have while delivering each line…
“Chi Yan, I’m done. You can go now,” Xu Yi said while drying her hair with a towel. Then she asked, “Did those two go out?”
Chi Yan snapped out of her thoughts and said, “Ah, yeah. I’ll go now.”
Xu Yi just felt that Chi Yan’s reaction seemed a little slow but didn’t think too much about it.
Chi Yan’s brain was running at full speed. By the time she finished her shower, drowsiness washed over her.
“Xu Yi, let’s sleep early. We have to get up early tomorrow—we agreed to meet Xue Yi at six.”
Xu Yi wasn’t as tired as she was, but since Chi Yan said so, she lay down on the bed as well.
The room fell completely silent, and in this peaceful atmosphere, Chi Yan drifted into sleep.
She slept soundly, without dreams.
The next morning, Chi Yan woke up at 5:30 AM. She glanced at her watch, then got up to wash up.
After that, she woke Xu Yi. While Xu Yi was freshening up, Chi Yan quickly put on some makeup.
When Xu Yi came out, she was startled by Chi Yan’s appearance. In a low voice, she said, “You look so much more mature like this.”
“Well, I am playing a mother in her forties,” Chi Yan whispered back. “If I weren’t afraid of exposing the script, I would’ve even drawn wrinkles for our practice sessions.”
Xu Yi gave her a thumbs-up and said, “Dedication to art.”
They went together to the restaurant and spotted Xue Yi inside, drinking porridge.
Xue Yi had the same reaction as Xu Yi. He said, “Chi Yan-jie, you look like you’ve been working for years.”
“Good, that’s exactly the effect I wanted.” Chi Yan cleared her throat. “Let’s eat first, then go over the script. I thought about it last night, and I feel like some parts could be adjusted.”
Now familiar with her, Xu Yi immediately covered her mouth and said, “Alright, alright. Let us eat first. You can talk after.”
Chi Yan helplessly replied, “Got it.”
This scene happened to be recorded by the cameras, and the live-stream audience burst into laughter, filling the chat with amused comments:
“Look at how done Xu Yi is with life, hahahaha.”
“Little Xue’s eyes are saying, ‘Respect to Xu-jie’s authority,’ hahahaha.”
“Chi Yan is really dedicated to her craft, but her teammates just want to eat [laugh-cry emoji].”
After breakfast, they returned to the grape arbor from the day before.
Xue Yi handed his iPad to Chi Yan and said, “I copied everything down.”
Chi Yan nodded. “Alright, I’ll try not to change your lines.”
She thought for a moment before adding, “If you guys have any new interpretations of the characters, feel free to bring them up. We can discuss and decide together whether to change anything.”
Both Xue Yi and Xu Yi agreed.
Then Xue Yi said, “One of the guys I’m rooming with joined an eight-person group. He barely has time to go through the script or memorize lines. I heard they even tried to get another iPad from the director’s team, but they didn’t approve it.”
“Looks like both big and small groups have their pros and cons,” Xu Yi said. “A team of three or four people seems like the best balance.”
“Hearing that, I feel like our pressure just dropped significantly,” Chi Yan mused. “No matter how we perform, let’s at least make sure we memorize all the lines fluently. If we can do that, we’ll already be ahead of the larger groups.”
Xu Yi nodded in agreement. “Yeah, no matter what, our situation is still much better than theirs.”
“Then we need to make the most of our time,” Chi Yan said. “Xue Yi, you focus on your lines while I go over things with Xu Yi to see if anything needs changing.”
Xu Yi wasn’t very strong in acting, so Chi Yan guided her from the beginning. Xu Yi read a line, and Chi Yan demonstrated it, even teaching her the best way to express the emotions.
“I’m just helping you get a rough understanding of the character,” Chi Yan told her. “You’ll need to do deeper interpretation on your own.”
“What you’re telling me makes so much sense. I feel like I just unlocked my full potential—like my meridians suddenly cleared up.”
Xue Yi sneaked a glance at Chi Yan, suppressing the waves of awe in his heart. He quietly added, “Chi Yan-jie really gives off the vibe of someone who’s been acting for years. She’s amazing.”
Chi Yan immediately became alert. She reminded herself to be more cautious from now on. Some things could be explained as natural talent, but if she showed too much experience, people might start seeing her as something unnatural.
She smiled and said, “Before coming here, I spent some time on Director Yu’s set, so I have a bit of experience. You don’t have to praise me so much.”
“Speaking of directors,” Xu Yi whispered, “I heard that yesterday’s mentor meeting was canceled at the last minute and rescheduled for today because one of the female directors got exposed for having an affair. The show had to contact another director on short notice.”
“Who was replaced?” Chi Yan asked. She wasn’t too familiar with these things and didn’t know if this change had happened in her previous life as well.
“Director Luo Fangyan. Not sure who’s taking her place.”
“Director Luo?” Chi Yan was shocked. In her past life, Luo Fangyan had been one of the four mentors. She couldn’t help but say, “That’s impossible. Are you sure?”
Xu Yi glanced around, then waved them closer and whispered, “I heard it from my brother. Even though Luo’s scandal was suppressed and didn’t make the trending searches, a lot of people still saw it.”
“Then most people in the industry must already know,” Xue Yi murmured.
Chi Yan felt conflicted. She remembered that Luo Fangyan’s divorce had trended in her past life too, but that was at least two or three years later. Could it be that her rebirth had triggered a butterfly effect?
“Chi Yan.” Xu Yi waved a hand in front of her. “Shall we continue? We’re almost done.”
“Oh, right.” Chi Yan pulled herself back into focus and did her best to immerse herself in the script again.
Around 11:30 AM, the director team made an announcement over the speakers.
“There is an important announcement. All contestants, please gather on the lawn immediately.”
Everyone was interrupted.
Chi Yan thought about the progress their group had made and felt satisfied with their efficiency in the morning. She asked, “Are you guys ready? If so, let’s go.”
Xu Yi and Xue Yi had no objections.
Since the grape arbor was close to the lawn, they moved quickly and became the first contestants to arrive.
From a distance, Chi Yan spotted Yu Jingming and said to Xu Yi and Xue Yi, “Looks like all four mentors are here. If we perform well, we might get a chance to work with these directors in the future.”
Xu Yi took a deep breath, tensed his face, and asked, “Do I look reliable like this?”
“Relax. If you try too hard, it’ll backfire,” Chi Yan said with a shake of her head.
Xue Yi stifled a laugh, though his face still twitched.
Xu Yi gave up. “I’ll just do my best and leave the rest to fate. Life, huh—”
Despite his usual playful attitude with Chi Yan and Xue Yi, Xu Yi quickly composed himself. On the surface, she now looked like a dependable contestant.
The four directors stood in a line, waiting for the contestants to arrive.
As Chi Yan and her group approached, they greeted in unison, “Hello, teachers!”
“Hello.”
Only Yu Jingming responded with a smile. The other three directors remained aloof, simply nodding.
Seeing that Luo Fangyan was present, Xu Yi and Xue Yi exchanged glances, while Chi Yan secretly let out a breath of relief.
At least things hadn’t completely gone off track. Otherwise, she wouldn’t know how to handle it.
Since the other contestants hadn’t arrived yet, the chief director turned to Chi Yan’s group and said, “Come here, let me introduce you to the four mentors we’ve invited.”
“This is Director Li Wei, this is Director Luo Fangyan, this is Director Wang Di, and this is Director Yu Jingming.”
“Teachers, these three contestants are very hardworking. Contestant 66, Chi Yan. Contestant 72, Xu Yi. And contestant 193, Xue Yi.”
Yu Jingming nodded and recommended Chi Yan to the other directors. “Chi Yan was in my crew for a few weeks. She’s diligent and hardworking—definitely a promising talent.”
Director Li Wei smiled and said, “You have a good eye, but aren’t you afraid we’ll steal her from you now that you’ve introduced her to us?”
“Chi Yan, is it?” Luo Fangyan, who was wearing sunglasses, suddenly spoke up. “Are you interested in joining my team? I watched your preliminary performance and really liked it.”
Yu Jingming immediately protested. “Luo-jie, that’s not fair.”
Luo Fangyan tilted her head and said, “Yu Jingming, shut up. I’m asking Chi Yan.”
Chi Yan smiled and politely declined. “Director Luo, I appreciate the offer, but I have to apologize. There will be plenty of strong contestants choosing you as their mentor. I’m not the best fit.”
Luo Fangyan chuckled. “You’re an interesting girl. I hope we can work together in the future.”
She then turned to look at the other two contestants beside Chi Yan. After a brief pause, she said to Xue Yi, “Your mentor really did recommend you. Do your best, Xue Yi. I hope to see you in the finals.”
“Thank you, Teacher Luo—Director Luo,” Xue Yi corrected himself in time.
Luo Fangyan nodded at him.
Director Wang Di was the quiet type. He always avoided speaking unless necessary, so he simply gave them a glance without saying anything.
Xu Yi whispered to Chi Yan, “These four directors all have such strong auras. If I make it to the finals, I don’t know which mentor to choose.”
“If you trust me, choose Director Yu with me. His trainees learn the most.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Xu Yi was hesitant. His brother wanted him to choose Director Li Wei.
Li Wei had the biggest reputation. Becoming his student was already half the battle won.
Besides, his brother had mentioned that Li Wei’s latest film, Jinghong, had already been sent to international film festivals. There was a high chance it would win an award.
