“Oh my god! It’s Director Li! I love watching his movies!”
“Director Wang Di is the one I want to work with the most!”
…
The excited chatter grew louder as more and more contestants arrived.
The program team had indeed invited some big names—each of the four directors was a top-tier filmmaker in the country, with plenty of fans.
Even Yu Jingming, who seemed the least serious, had a massive following of devoted fans.
“Wow, it’s Director Yu! His editing techniques are amazing. If only I could join his team!”
“Is he the same Director Yu who won the Best New Director award?”
“They say there are two types of new directors: Yu Jingming and everyone else. His debut film was practically legendary!”
Chi Yan silently listened to them praising Yu Jingming and felt a little awkward.
But seeing how Yu Jingming remained completely unfazed, she decided to keep a straight face as well.
“Alright, alright, quiet down,” a staff member climbed onto a small temporary stage set up by the production team, speaking through a megaphone. “Let me introduce the four mentors of our program! Next Friday, based on your performances, each mentor will choose five contestants to join their team.”
“Next Friday afternoon, you will perform what you’ve been working on this week in front of the four mentors and an audience of 300 people. Give it your all! Now, let’s hear some encouragement from our mentors!”
Director Li Wei spoke first: “You are all full of energy. Keep working hard, young ones!”
Next was Luo Fangyan. “There are no weaklings in my team. I expect all of you to be strong!”
Director Wang Di, being a man of few words, simply said, “Good luck,” before passing the microphone to Yu Jingming.
“You all remind me of myself a few years ago. If you have dreams, you will never lose. Keep going!”
The atmosphere grew increasingly enthusiastic, reaching its peak when Yu Jingming uttered the words, “You will never lose.”
All the contestants shouted in unison, “Let’s go!”
The scene was electrifying, and even the audience seemed to be swept up in the passion.
The livestream comments were flooded with red text cheering them on.
Before long, the reality show The Road to an Actor dominated the trending topics with seven different hashtags:
#LiWeiReturns
#WangDi
#LuoFangyan: ‘You Are All Strong’
#YuJingming: ‘If You Have Dreams, You Will Never Lose’
#TheRoadToAnActorFighting!
#FourTopDirectorsGatherOnTheRoadToAnActor
After the motivational speeches, the production team arranged for the contestants to have lunch with the four mentors.
The directors sat at the center of the dining hall while the contestants were seated around them.
This setup, however, only made the contestants even more nervous—some were so anxious that they could barely hold their chopsticks properly.
Xue Yi muttered, “I’m doomed. After meeting the four directors, I feel like I’ve forgotten all my lines.”
“Same here! My brain just stopped working.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Chi Yan said. “You’re just too nervous. The more you see them, the more used to it you’ll get.”
The directors also noticed how their presence was making the contestants uneasy, so they finished their meals quickly—being the first to leave the dining hall.
Before walking out the door, Yu Jingming turned back and said, “Make sure to work hard!”
This simple gesture won him even more goodwill.
Xu Yi let out a sigh of relief after they left. “Finally, I can eat properly.”
Chi Yan had already finished her meal. She opened her iPad and started revising the remaining lines. “Hurry up and eat. Let’s try running through the lines again this afternoon and evening. By Wednesday, we should be able to do a full run without the script. Sound good?”
Xu Yi and Xue Yi responded in unison, “Got it!”
After lunch, they immediately started practicing their scenes. They realized that some of the modified lines didn’t sound as natural as the original ones, so they switched them back.
Luckily, they worked fast and completed their task on time.
“As expected, the more you practice, the smoother it gets. After saying it so many times, you guys are already getting the lines down. Memorizing them should be easy now.”
By Wednesday, Xu Yi and Xue Yi attempted performing without their scripts for the first time. Chi Yan, on the other hand, had already memorized everything by Monday afternoon.
That morning, after breakfast, the three of them continued rehearsing under the grapevine trellis.
Chi Yan was the first to start, delivering her lines flawlessly, with perfect expressions.
Xue Yi followed, reciting his lines smoothly with a commendable performance.
Xu Yi went last—she was a little nervous at first and accidentally repeated her lines twice, but at least she didn’t forget them.
After they finished running through the entire scene, Chi Yan picked up the water bottle on the table and took a few sips.
“Make sure to drink plenty of water. We’ve been straining our voices a lot lately. A contestant from the room next to ours has completely lost her voice—she’s not even sure if she’ll be able to perform on competition day.”
Hearing this, Xu Yi was alarmed. She quickly took a big gulp of water and said to Xue Yi, “That girl’s throat is really in bad shape. She can’t even make a sound, and when she does, her voice is extremely hoarse. We can’t let that happen to us.”
Xue Yi nodded and, after finishing his water, pulled out a pack of throat lozenges to share.
They took a ten-minute break before Chi Yan spoke up again. “We still need to refine our performance. We’ve memorized the lines, but our emotional delivery is lacking. There isn’t much time left—we need to pick up the pace.”
Xu Yi and Xue Yi were very cooperative.
They practiced over and over again until nightfall.
At first, they would go back inside to avoid mosquito bites, but now, even though the mosquito coils provided by the production team were useless, they chose to keep practicing under the grapevine trellis.
Late into the night, Chi Yan noticed the exhaustion on Xu Yi and Xue Yi’s faces and finally said, “Let’s call it a day. We’ll continue tomorrow. We will succeed!”
Time slipped away as the contestants trained, and soon, competition day arrived.
Chi Yan and her team believed they were the earliest ones to start practicing each day.
However, many contestants, unable to memorize their lines during the day, had set alarms for 2 or 3 a.m. just to wake up and study their scripts using an iPad borrowed from their teammates.
By now, everyone was giving it their all.
And today, all their hard work would come to a conclusion.
Early in the morning, the production team transported the 100 contestants to the competition venue.
They would have a private rehearsal in the morning, and at 2 p.m., the official competition would begin.
“Everyone, come draw lots to determine the performance order!”
Before rehearsals, the host addressed them backstage. “Each team, send one representative to draw!”
As soon as they heard this, Xu Yi and Xue Yi immediately pushed Chi Yan forward without hesitation. She didn’t refuse.
There were 25 groups in total, meaning 25 lots to be drawn.
Standing beside Chi Yan, Ye Jiawen said, “Wishing you guys success in advance.”
“Thanks. I wish you the same. A solo performance is something to look forward to.”
Once all 25 team leaders had gathered, the host had them form a semi-circle around him. Then, he opened the container holding the 25 numbered sticks.
“Go ahead and draw.”
Chi Yan didn’t mind what number she got. It would be good to go earlier, but drawing something in the middle—around number 10—would be the worst.
With that mindset, she randomly picked a stick. The number on it made her pause for a moment.
Her luck wasn’t too bad.
After everyone had drawn, the host announced the results. Chi Yan only remembered the positions of a few familiar contestants.
You Shan’s group got number one. Ye Jiawen was number six. Duan Jing’s team was performing second to last.
And Chi Yan’s group? They were performing last.
She hadn’t expected this—being the final act was definitely a challenge.
Expressionless, she told Xu Yi and Xue Yi the results. “We’re the last to perform.”
Xue Yi asked, “Who’s performing right before us?”
“Duan Jing’s team.”
Speak of the devil—Duan Jing’s group happened to be passing by just then.
Duan Jing glanced at Chi Yan but didn’t react.
Yang Yueyi, however, couldn’t help herself. She walked over and sneered, “I thought maybe your luck would carry you into the next round. Too bad for you—you’re doomed. Performing right after us? The comparison is going to be brutal. If the directors have to eliminate someone, who else would they pick but you? …Chi Yan, if you lose and have to pay me that one million, I’d feel bad for you.”
“Don’t speak too soon,” Chi Yan replied calmly. “Winning or losing isn’t up to you to decide.”
Yang Yueyi thought she understood her meaning. Her smile faded slightly as she said, “Oh, so you’re thinking you can rely on your popularity to make it to the next round, huh? It’s true, you have plenty of fans. But what about your two teammates?”
Chi Yan didn’t bother responding to such an obvious attempt to sow discord. She chose to act instead.
She found the nearest camera and spoke with the staff about switching the live stream feed to her.
The staff recognized all the popular contestants, and since the directors had specifically instructed them to give Chi Yan more screen time, they didn’t refuse her request.
“It’s set up,” one of them told her.
The moment Chi Yan got the signal, she flashed a bright smile and spoke directly to the camera. “Hello, everyone. I’m Chi Yan. I asked the staff for screen time because I need Yanhuo’s help to vote for my two teammates.”
She paused for a moment before giving her reason.
“This time, I don’t need your votes to advance, but my teammates do. Please, if you can, vote for Contestant 72, Xu Yi, and Contestant 193, Xue Yi. I’d be extremely grateful!”
Xu Yi and Xue Yi were both stunned, completely unaware that Chi Yan was going to say this.
They had already come to terms with the fact that they might get eliminated and had no regrets.
But what Chi Yan did moved them deeply.
She had a one-million-dollar bet with Yang Yueyi—her popularity was her shield in this competition. Yet, without hesitation, she chose to use it for them instead.
That level of confidence and loyalty was rare.
After the camera feed cut away, Xu Yi immediately lunged forward, wrapping Chi Yan in a tight hug.
“Chi Yan, you’re amazing! But what about you?”
Xue Yi also stepped closer, saying, “Yeah, Chi Yan-jie, just securing your own spot would’ve been enough. You didn’t have to go out of your way to help us.”
Chi Yan patted Xu Yi’s shoulder, then glanced at Yang Yueyi before turning back to Xue Yi.
“Because we’re teammates. And I don’t abandon my teammates.”
Yang Yueyi watched this unfold coldly. When Chi Yan finished speaking, she suddenly felt like she had lost the upper hand.
Scowling, she threw out one last remark before storming off.
“If you lose, you better pay me that million.”
