Tang Congnan had absolutely no idea what kind of dirty thoughts were filling his artist’s head. He just assumed her personality had changed significantly after differentiation, which wasn’t uncommon. Many examples existed of personality changes post-differentiation, so he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he felt a pang of sympathy for Li Chu’s sudden maturity.
Tang Congnan declared magnanimously, “It’s okay, baby. You can become that amazing too. We’ll be even more famous than her then!”
Li Chu thought being more famous than the female lead was unlikely. Being redder in the face than the female lead in bed seemed more plausible.
Tang Congnan went over several points to watch out for, telling Li Chu not to be foolish.
Tang Congnan: “Watch the show carefully these next few days. Learn well from the teachers. I’ve arranged a new assistant for you; use her for now. I’ll come pick you up on the day.”
Li Chu nodded obediently like a well-behaved student. “Okay.”
As soon as Tang Congnan left, she immediately collapsed onto the sofa, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.
Appearing on TV wasn’t entirely new to Li Chu. She used to enjoy cosplay and often attended conventions during high school. She had her own account. In university, she co-founded an online music channel with classmates, and she was the one who appeared on camera. She had even been on a quiz show. But those were different from the show she was about to participate in. Li Chu still felt a little nervous.
After all, she was now a female celebrity, more or less, even if she was eighteenth-tier.
Li Chu climbed off the sofa, turned on the TV, found the show, and binge-watched several episodes in one go.
Perhaps it really was due to her Omega talent, but Li Chu felt that watching these things now seemed to evoke more feeling and empathy than before. Mimicking a couple of scenes in front of the mirror even looked the part, but only looked . Compared to the professional actors, she was still far behind.
After watching, Li Chu began analyzing the lineup and mechanism of 《This Is The Actor》. There were five mentors: a famous director, a National First-Class Actor, and a renowned award-winning actor. In terms of professionalism, it was quite impressive.
The show’s elimination system was also brutal. Twenty actors, both new and veteran, participated in the first episode, performing five skits according to a random draw. The mentors provided critiques and scores. After two episodes, the scores were combined, and five out of the twenty were eliminated. In the third episode, previous scores were cleared, and five new replacement actors joined, followed by another round of elimination.
Those who were safe before weren’t guaranteed to stay safe, and newcomers could be formidable. This made everyone increasingly nervous. Under immense pressure, some would break through, while others would break down. There was drama, there were tear-jerking moments, the performances got better and better, the topics multiplied, and the show’s popularity soared.
However, the show wouldn’t cycle through eliminations and replacements forever. From the information Tang Congnan sent her, Li Chu saw the show’s future direction. After the first six episodes, the producers planned to go from fifteen contestants down to ten, meaning no new actors would be brought in to compete.
That’s why Tang Congnan emphasized the single spot and the opportunity not to be missed. The show had already aired three episodes, the fourth was currently being filmed, and she was scheduled to film the fifth episode next week. The fifth episode was the last chance for new members to join the show, and both she and Ning Manqing were among the five entering in that episode.
Li Chu murmured, “It’s really cruel.”
She got up from the sofa and stood barefoot before the floor-to-ceiling window. It was already midnight. The city lights twinkled like a small, shimmering galaxy.
Li Chu solemnly offered up a prayer for her future, then respectfully held her phone, opened Ning Manqing’s WeChat profile, and bowed three times towards the screen.
Buddha, Guanyin, Jade Emperor, Jesus above, your humble servant is willing to trade ten pounds of flesh for the chance to be teammates with the female lead. Please look upon your devotee!
The teachers and seniors were all strong, but Li Chu chose to believe in Teacher Ning.
Teacher Ning was her eternal beacon! The female lead was the best!
After chanting slogans in her mind for a while, Li Chu flopped back onto the sofa like a salted fish.
She planned to message Ning Manqing tomorrow to prepare for the variety show a week later, asking if Ning Manqing could guide her a bit more if they ended up in the same group.
Although the answer was likely yes, given their brief encounter, Li Chu genuinely didn’t feel it was a big deal. It was mutual consent, a give and take.
However, she knew Ning Manqing must feel somewhat indebted; after all, the woman had even mentioned marriage today.
But she truly had no shameless intention of exploiting the other’s guilt, because she was the one with the real guilty conscience. Even though she hadn’t done it, this body had.
It was all that cup of water’s fault! It was the source of all evil!
#WeStillDontKnowWhyThePersonThatDayDrankThatCupOfWater#
Every time Li Chu thought about it, she regretted it.
Daily pre-sleep regret completed, Li Chu drifted off into a carefree dreamland, leaving her worries for the next day.
The next day, Li Chu was woken up by her phone ringing. Tang Congnan said the assistant he arranged for her had arrived and was right outside the door.
Li Chu crawled out of bed, ruffled her hair, rubbed her eyes, and managed to maintain a semblance of dignity befitting a newly awakened female celebrity before opening the door.
A woman around twenty-four or twenty-five stood at the door holding breakfast. She smiled when she saw Li Chu, her dimples adding a touch of cuteness.
“Teacher Li, hello. I’m your new assistant, Qian Duoduo. I’m a Beta, responsible for your daily needs.”
“Hello, I’m Li Chu. Please come in and sit down. I’ll go wash up first.”
Li Chu greeted her and ducked into the bathroom.
While Li Chu was eating breakfast, Qian Duoduo went to tidy Li Chu’s room and familiarize herself with the layout. Li Chu, munching on a shrimp dumpling, sent a message to Ning Manqing.
In a moving car, Ran Yanru, who was discussing career plans with Ning Manqing, noticed Ning Manqing’s phone light up on the side. Ning Manqing paused their conversation, gestured for her to wait, picked up the phone, and replied to the message.
Ran Yanru asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”
“Just a private matter.”
Ning Manqing replied coolly, but her hand didn’t loosen its grip on the phone.
“Is it news from the little O you hooked up with that day? Who is it really? Are they in the industry? You better not hide it from me. If you’re really dating, tell me who it is so I can prepare the PR.”
Ran Yanru started teasingly, but her expression turned serious towards the end.
“Not dating.”
Ning Manqing’s reply was equally swift, offering no details about the person Ran Yanru was curious about.
Ran Yanru waited for more, but Ning Manqing didn’t say another word, leaving Ran Yanru to sigh inwardly.
Her friend had a gentle yet distant personality even as a Beta, quiet and somewhat like gentle, serene still water. After differentiation, that water became even more unperturbed. Such an indifferent person.
However, Ran Yanru didn’t know that the “indifferent person” she perceived was currently saving an adorable cat sticker she had snagged from Li Chu.
【Xiao Chu】: Then I’ll have to trouble you! Thank you, thank you!
【Xiao Chu】: CatMakingHeart.jpg
【Ning】: You’re welcome. Even if we’re not in the same group, I can still help you.
【Ning】: CatMakingHeart.jpg
Seeing the sticker Ning Manqing sent, Li Chu giggled uncontrollably while sipping her milk. Teacher Ning was so cute.
Paired with her previous sentence, she was even cuter!
【Xiao Chu】: Teacher Ning, you’re too nice! See you then!
【Teacher Ning】: Okay.
To prepare for the variety show coming up in a week, Li Chu plunged into a sea of learning.
Her teacher taught for six hours daily, covering not just acting, but also lines and physicality. While she couldn’t improve drastically in such a short time, every little bit helped.
After the lessons, Li Chu would practice in front of the mirror for an hour, recite lines for another hour, and then watch films of senior actors for observation and study. Her diligence rivaled her final year of high school; she even dreamed about acting.
The week passed quickly. Tang Congnan came early to pick up Li Chu, taking her for makeup and styling, and to choose an outfit.
Of course, she couldn’t choose a formal gown. The outfit needed to be casual yet attractive, something that flattered Li Chu’s figure.
As it was summer, Li Chu ended up wearing a white shirt paired with a pleated skirt. The makeup look aimed for a youthful, girly vibe. Li Chu knew instantly the persona the company intended for her.
On the way to the TV station for recording, Tang Congnan was still anxiously giving instructions, making sure she had applied her pheromone blocking patch properly, and cheering her on.
“I know, Brother Nan. I’m not nervous.”
The closer they got, the calmer Li Chu felt. She even found herself reassuring her manager, who was worried about her performance.
“You’re really not nervous?”
Tang Congnan studied Li Chu’s expression carefully. Just before getting in the car, Li Chu had told him she was a little nervous.
“Really.”
“That’s good. Relax. Don’t be afraid of embarrassing yourself in front of those teachers. You’re still relatively new.”
Tang Congnan comforted Li Chu. They had arrived at their destination. Tang Congnan opened the car door for Li Chu.
As Li Chu stepped out, she saw another car arrive at the same time. The person inside had already gotten out and happened to meet her gaze.
It was Ning Manqing.
She saw Li Chu too and nodded in greeting. Li Chu returned a somewhat stiff smile.
Because her knees went weak, whimper .
Although they had been chatting on WeChat, they hadn’t seen each other in half a month. Li Chu originally thought seeing her again wouldn’t be a big deal, but unexpectedly, the moment she saw the other woman’s face, her body seemed to spontaneously recall the cloud mist tea pheromones that had enveloped her that day, making her legs feel too weak to walk properly.
How embarrassing!
Tang Congnan looked at her knowingly and said, “And you said you weren’t nervous.”
Li Chu: …………
She really wasn’t nervous!!!
Li Chu dragged her trembling legs into the building with grim determination, meeting Ning Manqing, who had entered a minute earlier, at the elevator bank. The elevator doors were just about to close.
“Let’s wait for the next one.”
Just as Tang Congnan finished speaking, the closing elevator doors slowly opened again in front of Li Chu.
Along with them came Ning Manqing’s face, unfolding like a painted scroll, from her eyes and nose to her full features.
Li Chu was hit by a critical strike of beauty and thought with a pang, Sexual orientation: in peril.
