Chi Yan’s post on Weibo asking for votes had a significant effect—by the time the voting closed, her ranking had returned to second place.
However, this time, the person in first place wasn’t Duan Jing—it was Ye Jiawen.
The top four were: Ye Jiawen, Chi Yan, Duan Jing, and Qi Kerong.
Yang Yueyi and Xue Yi were tied for fifth. The program team hadn’t anticipated their votes would be exactly the same and were currently discussing who should advance.
This outcome was already vastly different from her past life. Although Chi Yan found it unexpected, it was still within reason.
Xue Yi was much more well-known than You Shan. He had sharp observational skills, and many viewers had become fans because of his attentiveness.
Moreover, in the previous performance, You Shan played the female lead, but her performance wasn’t even as good as Xue Yi’s—it was disappointing. So it was only natural that she had fewer fans.
That evening, all the contestants were informed to gather for dinner at the apartment’s dining hall.
On the way there, Lin Shan ran into Chi Yan and smiled at her, saying, “Congratulations!”
“Don’t celebrate too soon—we still have one tough battle ahead.”
“That’s true,” Lin Shan said, “Did you hear about Yang Yueyi and Xue Yi tying in votes? I wonder what the director will decide.”
Chi Yan shared her guess: “To make the final week of competition more exciting, they’ll most likely let Yang Yueyi advance.”
Lin Shan nodded in agreement. “Yeah, they’ll probably title it something like ‘Who Will Win the Million?’ Definitely a crowd-puller.”
As they chatted, they arrived at the dining hall. It had been decorated by staff and looked completely different from usual.
In the center of the room was a large white table, already set with cutlery. There were five chairs on each of the east and west sides, and one chair at the north end, which had a sign reading “Chief Director.”
Colorful balloons hung from the ceiling, and there were large floor vases filled with all kinds of artificial flowers.
“The program team’s doing all this is making me super nervous. It’s not even the finale…” Lin Shan shook her head.
Chi Yan replied, “The staff must’ve worked hard. Setting all this up takes a lot of time.”
They were among the first to arrive. Soon, the other contestants took their seats, with only the director’s chair left empty.
“You all go ahead and eat.” A staff member came over to quietly let them know, and dishes started to be served.
Everyone was feeling awkward—no one wanted to be the first to pick up their chopsticks.
“This is annoying,” Han Xi took the initiative, grabbing food in front of him. Seeing everyone staring at him, he said, “What are you all dazed for? Eat!”
With that, the others started eating one after another.
Lin Shan whispered to Chi Yan, “I still don’t get what the show’s trying to do by having us all eat together. It’s so awkward—we’re competitors, after all.”
“It’s not awkward. We might end up working together in the future. Just eat.”
You Shan didn’t look well. She was trying to keep a calm facade, but her frequent zoning out made her unease obvious.
Xue Yi and Yang Yueyi were sitting directly across from each other. The people around them kept sneaking glances at one, then the other, clearly dying to ask something but holding back.
Most of the contestants didn’t enjoy the meal—they were too worried.
Thankfully, the chief director arrived about ten minutes later.
“You’ve already started eating?” he said cheerfully. “I’ll eat too, and once we finish, I’ll announce the rankings. The rules haven’t changed.”
Han Feifei said, “That’s not fair—you’re clearly just trying to keep us in suspense. We just want to know whether Yang Yueyi or Xue Yi is advancing.”
The director smiled mysteriously. “No rush, no rush. I’ll tell you after dinner.”
Chi Yan glanced at Xue Yi. His expression was as calm as ever. When their eyes met, he even smiled at her, which reassured her that things weren’t bad.
Whether he advanced or not, Xue Yi was already mentally prepared.
Meanwhile, the livestream was showing the same scene, and many viewers expressed their frustration.
“Can’t they just announce it first? These poor kids can’t even eat in peace.”
“Fine, announce it after dinner—but at least eat faster!”
With both the contestants and audience eagerly awaiting, the director finally announced he was full and ready to get to work.
“We didn’t confiscate your phones this week, so I’m sure you’ve already seen the results. I’ll get straight to the point,” the director paused, then continued, “Next week’s performers are: Han Xi, Lin Shan, Han Feifei, You Shan, and Xue Yi.”
Yang Yueyi grabbed Qi Kerong’s hand, unable to hide her excitement.
Xue Yi’s expression didn’t change—his emotions unreadable.
Viewers exploded after hearing the results—some were disappointed Xue Yi didn’t make the top five, while others were excited to see how the million-dollar bet between Yang Yueyi and Chi Yan would end.
One particular comment got the most likes during the entire Actor’s Path series:
“The most surprising contestant is still Chi Yan. Remember when she made that bet with Yang Yueyi? Almost the whole internet thought she’d lose. But now? She’s heading into the final showdown with a much higher chance of winning.”
After the announcement of the top five and bottom five, the director chatted with them a bit longer, then dismissed everyone.
“Next week is the final ranking for positions six through ten. Go home and practice hard—I’m looking forward to being surprised!”
After the event, Chi Yan made a point to find Xue Yi and comfort him.
“Not making it into the finals isn’t a big deal. You’re already pretty well-known—you won’t have to worry about getting roles,” Chi Yan said.
Xue Yi shook his head and replied, “I’m already surprised I made it to the top ten. I didn’t dare hope for more. Some of my skills still need work, so no matter what rank I get, I’m happy. It’s the result of my hard work.”
“That’s a great mindset to have. You’re performing next week, so adjust your condition quickly and give the audience the best show you can,” Chi Yan encouraged.
“Mm, I will. Chi Yan-jie, I’ve made plans with Director Luo to revise the script, so I’ll be heading off now.”
“Good luck!”
The next day, Chi Yan arrived at Zhang Danqin’s dance studio, accompanied by the show’s crew.
“You’re here?” Zhang Danqin greeted her and had her assistant make her a cup of tea.
“Thank you, Teacher. I’m here today to finalize the choreography for the final performance. There are only ten days left—I need to master it.”
“I’ve got two sets of choreography. I called you here to see which one suits you better.”
Zhang Danqin led her into the dance studio. “I’ll demonstrate the first set. You can decide afterward.”
Chi Yan turned to the cameraman half-jokingly, “Stop filming from here on. This is my secret weapon.”
He agreed and stayed behind in Zhang Danqin’s office.
Without much small talk, Zhang Danqin stood in front of the large mirror.
“This is the first choreography.”
She launched straight into the routine—rapid spins, a sharp backbend and recovery, then a midair split jump…
The entire sequence dazzled Chi Yan. Though she’d learned some basic dance before, Zhang Danqin’s movements were both beautiful and undeniably difficult.
“What do you think?”
“You’re incredible. You didn’t even break a sweat doing all that.”
Zhang Danqin chuckled, “That’s not what I meant. Can you actually perform this routine?”
Chi Yan hesitated and replied, “I probably can’t do the midair split. And the later difficult moves might be a bit too much.”
She jumped in place to demonstrate a bit.
“Not graceful at all,” she said, frowning at her reflection in the mirror.
“Alright, I’ll show you the second one. That first set does require solid fundamentals.”
Chi Yan nodded and watched attentively.
The second routine was clearly easier. The tempo was slower, and the moves were more straightforward.
“I think I can handle this one,” Chi Yan said. “But I want to challenge myself with the first one. Teacher, would it be possible to adjust a few moves?”
“Sure, but I’m not familiar with your skill level. Show me a short demo first.”
Chi Yan did a back kick and a backbend, followed by a split.
“I haven’t had formal training. This is pretty much the extent of what I can do.”
Even these moves were ones she picked up on the fly in her past life, when she was cast as a minor character and had to switch from martial arts to dance for a new production.
“You’ve got some foundation. I’ll think about how to adapt it. Can you recover quickly from a backbend?”
“I’ll try.”
She did the bend smoothly, but her rise was sluggish.
“Still needs work. I’ll teach you the first set. I’ll record your performance and adjust the choreography based on that,” Zhang Danqin said. “Your outfit isn’t great for dancing, though—come with me and change into a proper dance costume.”
Chi Yan spent the whole day in the dance studio, even having lunch and dinner there.
The good news: she had nearly mastered the first routine. Though she occasionally forgot what move came next, she had the basics down.
At 8 PM, the cameraman reminded her it was time to return to the show’s shared apartment.
Before she left, Zhang Danqin brought out a camcorder and asked her to dance the routine once through for a final recording.
After finishing, Chi Yan was drenched in sweat.
Zhang Danqin handed her a pack of wet wipes. “Alright, that’s it for today. Review your lines tomorrow. I’ll let you know once I decide on the final adjustments.”
“Thank you, Teacher. Sorry for the trouble.” Chi Yan wiped her face with the wet wipes.
She got into the production van and slumped back into the seat, exhausted.
“The director gave you a mission,” the cameraman suddenly said.
She didn’t even have the strength to speak, just looked at him silently.
“Today is contestant Han Feifei’s birthday. The production team wants to surprise her, so they’re asking you to pick up a cake on the way back.”
Chi Yan nodded. “Then let’s go get it.”
“The director wants you to earn the money for the cake—without revealing your identity.”
“Street performance?” Chi Yan groaned. “I don’t even want to lift a finger right now.”
The cameraman ignored her and continued diligently recording the live stream.
Chi Yan let out a dramatic groan and forced herself upright. “Then at least give me a mask or something—I’ve got nothing!”
In response to her complaint, the cameraman handed her a popular white fox mask.
The live stream audience clearly heard the challenge and saw the mask.
“I have an idea—let’s head to the biggest mall in Haishi and find Chi Yan!!”
“Not revealing her identity? That’s impossible—it’s a live stream!”
“I think the production team wants her to get recognized. So we fans can ask for autographs!”
Sorry for the late update~ also feel free to share your thoughts through comments, it would motivate me to translate!
