“Alright, let’s continue training,” Chi Yan said. “Everyone, take it seriously. We start filming tomorrow.”
She looked at Ye Jiawen and Cheng Yu, feeling a headache coming on. She had no idea what was going on with those two, but they had suddenly started clashing. Fortunately, they still prioritized the bigger picture, and there were no more arguments during the later rehearsals.
However, their expressions remained a bit stiff when acting together.
The clock on the wall of the practice room showed it was already midnight. Lin Shan suggested, “It’s too late now, and we have to wake up early tomorrow. Let’s call it a night?”
No one objected, and they began packing up their things.
Chi Yan frowned as she looked at Ye Jiawen and Cheng Yu. The two were still holding grudges, and she hoped it wouldn’t affect the filming tomorrow.
After thinking for a moment, she decided to stop Ye Jiawen.
“Wait a moment, I need to talk to you.”
She gestured for Xu Yi to leave first before speaking. “Tomorrow, don’t let what happened today interfere with—”
“Don’t worry, I’m a professional actor. I won’t let personal conflicts affect my performance. If anything, you should be talking to Cheng Yu instead of me,” Ye Jiawen said calmly, looking at her with a normal tone.
Chi Yan shook her head helplessly. “I’m heading out now.”
The next morning, Yu Jingming sent a message in the group chat, asking them to gather outside the apartment building.
Once everyone had arrived, he said, “The show arranged a filming studio and experienced staff to help us. My team is still busy with The Great Sheng Dynasty, so this is the best we can do for now. Today’s task isn’t too heavy—since the costumes aren’t ready yet, we can’t do any official filming. My main focus today is observing your camera presence. If there are issues, we’ll make adjustments. After we return this afternoon, remember to keep practicing your lines.”
Hearing that filming wouldn’t officially start today, Xu Yi was overjoyed.
“That’s great! I can have more time to prepare!”
Chi Yan reminded her, “The final cut has to be delivered soon, so we won’t have much extra time. Even if Director Yu sends it for post-production editing, if any issues come up, we’ll still have to reshoot.”
Xu Yi nodded. “I’ll take it seriously.”
For Lin Shan, Xu Yi, and Cheng Yu, this was their first time in a film studio, and they were fascinated by everything.
Yu Jingming let them explore to their heart’s content before finally gathering them to start filming.
“Don’t be too nervous—this isn’t an official shoot yet. But don’t get too relaxed either. If your performance isn’t up to standard, you’ll definitely get scolded,” Yu Jingming warned them in advance.
“Alright, action!”
They started with the first scene of the script. This scene involved all five of them, and since they had memorized the lines yesterday, it was the most suitable choice.
On the monitor, Ye Jiawen, dressed as the alien queen, stepped off her spaceship, followed by her personal guards. The human leader was already waiting for them on the ground.
Chi Yan, playing the diplomat, stood behind the general, using his peripheral vision to discreetly observe the queen.
Once the queen landed, the general immediately stepped forward to exchange pleasantries, to which the queen responded with a reserved nod.
Xu Yi and Lin Shan’s characters each had a few lines, and then Chi Yan, as the diplomat, wrapped up the scene by explaining the queen’s itinerary.
They remembered their lines well and delivered them smoothly, but in Yu Jingming’s eyes, it still wasn’t enough.
“Your presence isn’t quite there. Ye Jiawen, you’re playing an alien queen. When you arrive on a lower-level civilization’s planet, shouldn’t you be looking down on them with superiority? Your aura isn’t strong enough. And Lin Shan, you…”
Yu Jingming went over each of their current weaknesses one by one before concluding, “I want you to bring out your best performance for the official shoot. At your current level, you’d place last.”
After scolding them, Yu Jingming also gave them some praise. “That said, your camera presence is pretty good, which is commendable. You’ve also memorized your lines well and delivered them decently. That’s a solid start. For now, we’re done. You can explore the studio a bit more before heading back to continue practicing.”
Ye Jiawen asked, “Director Yu, do we have a confirmed start date for the official shoot?”
“The costume team is rushing to finish everything, but the earliest we can start is the day after tomorrow. So, these next two days are crucial—use them wisely. Ideally, memorize all your lines so we can film each scene as soon as it’s needed.”
“Got it.” Everyone nodded.
They spent the entire morning in the studio, and at noon, Yu Jingming treated them to a meal.
At this point, the live broadcast cameras finally focused on them, and the audience in the chat was furious.
“I waited all morning just to see Ye Jiawen in costume, and this is all I get??”
“Can the production team have some decency? Yesterday, when Chi Yan was filming the GG commercial, they suddenly cut away too! So annoying!”
“I was hoping to watch Chi Yan’s group’s performance so I could adjust my bet, but I ended up watching nothing.”
Many viewers agreed with the third-highest upvoted comment—after Chi Yan’s advancement, they wanted to switch their million-dollar bet to her.
But the production team kept cutting away from Yu Jingming’s group’s practice sessions, while the other groups got proper screentime. It was infuriating for the audience.
Despite the pressure, they still enjoyed their meal, though with more restraint compared to before.
Cheng Yu and Ye Jiawen took this opportunity to ease their tensions, and by the end of the meal, they seemed to be getting along again.
After finishing his food, Yu Jingming got up and said, “I need to go now. Keep working hard, especially you, Xu Yi—you have the weakest foundation, so you’ll need to put in extra effort.”
With that, he left in a hurry, clearly busy.
Xu Yi, looking frustrated, suddenly stopped eating.
Chi Yan glanced at her and asked, “Didn’t you just say you weren’t full? Why aren’t you eating anymore?”
Xu Yi said, “I’m so worried. What if I still can’t meet Director Yu’s expectations during the official shoot?”
“You won’t. When we get back, I’ll help you sort out the character,” Chi Yan said. “It’ll also be a good chance to get more familiar with the lines.”
“Why don’t we all do it together?” Ye Jiawen suggested. “We’re a team, after all. We should help each other out.”
Chi Yan had no reason to refuse. She nodded. “Sure.”
Lin Shan was a little surprised. She looked at Chi Yan as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she stayed silent.
That afternoon, they returned to the practice room, sat in a circle, and shared their understanding of their respective characters.
After one round, hearing everyone’s interpretations and combining them with their own insights, they all gained a deeper emotional connection to their roles.
“I think the lines can be adjusted,” Chi Yan said. “For example, Lin Shan and Xu Yi—they both play the Queen’s personal guards, so they should each display distinct traits to make their characters memorable to the audience.”
Ye Jiawen agreed. “Every character has a purpose. Whether they come across as rigid or lively depends entirely on the actor’s performance. Some characters don’t have much screen time, but because the actor brings them to life, they become iconic.”
Lin Shan and Xu Yi listened intently, lost in thought.
Lin Shan turned to Xu Yi and said, “I’d like to talk to you alone.”
Xu Yi nodded and followed her out of the practice room.
Ye Jiawen, for once, gave a compliment. He looked at Cheng Yu and said, “You put in real effort just now. I can see a lot of improvement.”
“You and Chi Yan are the impressive ones. It feels like you both have completely grasped your characters.”
The two exchanged compliments, and with that, last night’s tension was entirely put to rest.
Chi Yan enjoyed this atmosphere. She always believed that an actor’s state of mind was closely tied to their relationships with others.
If their group could maintain this momentum, she felt they had a good chance of all advancing.
Now that they had some free time, it was time for gossip.
Cheng Yu glanced around the room, checking the cameras. Then he sat back down and said to Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen, “Have you heard? The daughter of Bo Le’s chairman is also competing in the show.”
“Yeah, I know,” Ye Jiawen confirmed.
Cheng Yu looked at him in surprise. “How are you so sure? I only found out by prying during a game with my roommate…”
“Because,” Ye Jiawen paused, then pointed to himself, “I was the one who leaked the news.”
Chi Yan asked, “Bo Le reached out to you?”
“Yeah,” Ye Jiawen admitted without hesitation. “They wanted me to sign a contract in exchange for pulling Han Feifei up. I refused.”
“Han Feifei? The one in Director Li Wei’s group?” Chi Yan asked.
“Yeah. There’s always some backdoor deals in these competitions,” Ye Jiawen said, shaking his head, clearly uninterested in discussing it further.
Chi Yan remembered Han Feifei because she looked a bit like Han Xi, and they even shared the same surname…
She didn’t voice this thought, instead steering the conversation elsewhere.
Before long, Cheng Yu went to the break room to get some water, leaving only Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen in the practice room.
“Are you joining Bo Le?” Chi Yan asked. “I’m considering it—I’ve already spoken with Sister Wang Ying.”
“You want to work with Ying Jie too?” Ye Jiawen was surprised. He hadn’t expected Chi Yan to have her eyes on the same agent as him.
“Yeah. I actually visited Bo Le before the competition, but they didn’t sign me at the time.”
“They’re going to regret that,” Ye Jiawen said confidently. “I also approached them before, but… Anyway, the more famous you get, the more power you have in negotiations.”
“You have the talent,” Chi Yan said. “It’s only a matter of time before you make it big.”
“Oh, right. The staff told me we’ll get to see a rough cut of our GG* tomorrow. We can go to the director to watch it. If there’s anything we want to change, we can bring it up.”
Chi Yan asked, “Then should we go after lunch tomorrow?”
“Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it—I just hope they made me look handsome.”
While they were chatting away happily, Shen Chen, who was watching the livestream, wasn’t feeling as great.
Earlier, when the staff saw Lin Shan, Xu Yi, and Cheng Yu leaving the practice room one after another, they guessed that Chi Yan and Ye Jiawen weren’t rehearsing. So, they switched the camera to them, satisfying the audience’s curiosity.
But Shen Chen, who was watching through the Xiyou livestream, wasn’t thrilled. He had been waiting to see Chi Yan’s brilliant acting, but instead, all he saw was her chatting and laughing with Ye Jiawen. He couldn’t quite put his feelings into words.
“Why is it always this kind of footage? Can’t we see more actual practice?”
For the first time in his life, Shen Chen sent a comment in the livestream chat. When he saw the “sent successfully” message, he felt slightly relieved.
But the comments that followed only made him angrier.
“Ahh, don’t be so grumpy, dude! A handsome guy and a beautiful girl in the same frame—isn’t this great? Let’s just enjoy the CP** moment!”
“Even though I support my goddess purely for her career, I have to admit—Ye Jiawen is really handsome. I’m all for this ship!”
“They even filmed a GG* together! Shouldn’t be long before it airs! Can’t wait!”
Shen Chen knew what “CP” meant. It pissed him off.
For a moment, he felt like there was something seriously wrong with him.
Why did it even matter to him who Chi Yan talked to or filmed a GG* with? It had nothing to do with him.
(*GG: Could refer to a short drama or commercial project they filmed together.)
(**CP: Short for “couple pairing,” often used in fandoms to ship two people together.)
