Studio Superstar

The dormitory for the students was on the side and was a H-shaped building. The girls lived in the north building and the boys in the south.

The cafeteria was on the top floor of the south building.

On the way to the dormitory, Chang Yun turned off the microphone and asked in a low voice, “Xiao Xiao, what is the situation between you and Fan Xue?”

Based on Fan Xue’s eyes just now, even someone as dull as Chang Yun felt that something was wrong.

Xue Xiao frowned and had a solemn expression. Before he could speak, Jiang Lianlian educated Chang Yun first.

Chang Yun was dumbfounded when he heard it. “No, what background actor can replace the starring role? Isn’t it purely the director using the method of agitation? How can his fans still create that type of rumor?”

He looked back at Fan Xue, who was surrounded by people, and gulped. He asked in a worried manner, “He won’t trip you up on the show, right?”

“I don’t know. Different situations call for different actions.” Xue Xiao seemed to realize something at this moment and his brow slowly loosened.

Jiang Lianlian saw his face and said, “Are you unhappy that he wants to play the role of Teacher Shen?”

“Yes.” Xue Xiao was a very frank person and he didn’t deny it.

He had spent a few days in the same crew as Fan Xue and he could clearly see what type of attitude Fan Xue had toward acting.

Then he thought about it. Fan Xue was on this show and everything in this show would be seen by the audience in the future. Then Fan Xue must treat acting well. He wouldn’t act in such a perfunctory manner any longer!

Xue Xiao decided to let go of his prejudice against Fan Xue first.

In the end, Shen Tingyan’s role didn’t belong to him. He was unhappy but he also had no right to decide who could play that role.

Xue Xiao quickly convinced himself and changed the topic. He said to Chang Yun and Jiang Lianlian with a normal face, “Let’s go eat together after unpacking our luggage?”

Chang Yun and Jiang Lianlian replied in unison. “…Oh, okay!”

At 9 o’clock in the evening, the temperature finally dropped and the wind was a bit cooler.

The dormitory was allocated by the show’s staff. Coincidentally, Xue Xiao and Chang Yun were assigned to the same room.

The other two in the same dormitory were Zhao Dong, a group actor who was about to star in ‘Praying Mantis’ with Xue Xiao, and an amateur called Gu Ling.

Zhao Dong was 29 years old this year. He had a slightly dark face and a very kind personality.

“Sharing a dormitory is good. We can call Xiao Jin to our dormitory to rehearse. In any case, this place is big!”

Xiao Jin’s full name was Jin Xiaochen and he was the amateur acting in ‘Praying Mantis’ with them. He lived in the bedroom diagonally opposite.

Everyone was unpacking their bags.

There were very few things in Xue Xiao’s suitcase and backpack. Apart from some daily necessities and change of clothes, it was full of books.

It was nothing but books.

Fortunately, Chang Yun gave him the lower bunk. Xue Xiao decided to sweep the floor under the bunk, put two layers of newspapers on it and store the books there, so as to not occupy everyone’s space.

He was busy with his work when a deep voice was heard from the side. “Have you read all these books?”

Xue Xiao gasped. He wiped his sweat and looked up to see the amateur called Gu Ling was leaning on the wall next to him.

Gu Ling was 1.85 meters tall and was very handsome. He wore a baggy, black, trendy t-shirt, a pair of jeans and was chewing gum. He looked cool.

Xue Xiao shook his head. “I’ve only read one book and I haven’t read the others… do you want to read them?”

Xue Xiao had too many books. Before leaving to participate in this show, he sent all the books he had read from the rental house back to his hometown.

The bedroom in his hometown had long been like a library. His mother would always send him a WeChat message complaining about there being too many books and dust!

Gu Ling asked, “Can I borrow it?”

Xue Xiao pursed his lips and smiled. “You can take it if you want to read any. Just remember to return it after reading it.”

“Thank you.” Gu Ling knelt down and carefully selected from Xue Xiao’s pile of books. He picked up one and flipped through it.

Xue Xiao put the diary he had to write in every day on the bed. Once his things were tidied up, he called out to the other three people, “Let’s go eat. It is already 9:30.”

“I’m coming!” It should be Chang Yun.

The group of participants set off for the cafeteria.

They met Jiang Lianlian at the junction corridor between the north and south buildings.

Jiang Lianlian suddenly pointed behind them. “Huh? It turns out that Teacher Shen was recording over there just now.”

Hearing Shen Tingyan’s name, Xue Xiao reflexively stopped. He stretched out his neck and looked in the direction Jiang Lianlian pointed.

There was a hemispherical structure just behind the camp.

At 9:30 in the evening, it was dark. Streetlights weren’t arranged that densely in the camp so their view was very blurred.

Xue Xiao leaned against the building and saw a dozen people coming out of the building.

He vaguely saw Guan Ruoying in a black dress, Su Shijin wearing a women’s suit, Feng Wei surrounded by people and Shen Tingyan, standing tall in the night while biting a cigarette.

That little flame became the most dazzling light in the night.

Jiang Lianlian smiled. “Isn’t it quite exciting to think that we can spend two months with these teachers in the future?”

The corners of Xue Xiao’s lips curled up and he nodded emphatically, “Yes!”

Jiang Lianlian turned her head and saw Xue Xiao’s eyes focused on Shen Tingyan’s body. She couldn’t help laughing. “Xiao Xiao, remember to ask Teacher Shen for an autograph before the end of the show!”

Xue Xiao’s heart was pounding.

An autograph… it was definitely necessary.

It wasn’t only himself. Before he set off, his master asked him to get a few autographs for them.

However, that was all for later. He would ask when he had the opportunity.

At this moment, he was already very happy to be able to see Shen Tingyan up close like this.

Chang Yun said, “Hey, I heard that Teacher Shen has a particularly sharp tongue. Xiao Xiao, aren’t you afraid?”

Xue Xiao smiled and shook his head. “I am nervous but I’m not afraid.”

“He has a ‘sharp tone’ when there is something to say. Since his words make sense, I have to listen carefully no matter how hard the words are to hear.”

“If there is nothing to say…” Seeing a Maybach parked at the door of the small studio and Shen Tingyan putting out his cigarette before getting in the car, Xue Xiao also turned around. He cocked his head and said, “If there is nothing to say, isn’t it purely a personal attack?”

Shen Tingyan wasn’t such a person!

Xue Xiao firmly believed it.

—

There was a ‘bang’ and the car door slammed shut.

After waving goodbye to the show’s staff outside, his agent Fang Lei glanced in the rearview mirror and asked, “How does it feel to be on a variety show for the first time?”

The man in the back seat leaned back casually and his tone revealed a lazy energy. “That’s it. What else is there?”

“…Speak well!” The corner of Fang Lei’s mouth twitched as he warned, “In any case, this variety show was decided by yourself. You have to record it to the end.”

“Why?” Shen Tingyan looked up. “Are you still worried that I will run away halfway?”

“It isn’t like it is impossible for you to do such a thing!”

Shen Tingyan smiled.

He said, “This show is Old Gao’s painstaking effort. If I run away halfway through recording, he can chase me to the ends of the earth.”

Fang Lei snorted when he heard this.

Old Gao was Shen Tingyan’s friend for many years and the assistant director of the show Studio Superstar.

The original idea was actually proposed by Old Gao. Unfortunately, his qualifications weren’t enough to fight with others and the chief director position of this show could only be handed over. Still, Old Gao had put in a lot of effort to make this show better.

He was the one who fooled Shen Tingyan here.

Of course, to say he was fooled…

Fang Lei glanced at the back seat.

If it wasn’t for the fact that this guy had recently encountered some problems in his career and wanted a change of environment and a new mindset, this guy would’ve never agreed no matter how much Old Gao pestered him.

It could be said that all the factors came together by chance.

Shen Tingyan pulled over a paper bag placed on the back seat in a bored manner. inside it was a book. “What is this?”

“Your cousin asked me to bring it to you. He said it is his favorite novel recently and he recommends that you read it.”

Shen Tingyan took out the book and glanced at the title and author. Then he saw the small, pink rabbit doll in the paper bag, grabbed it and asked, “This is also what he asked you to bring?”

“…No, this is the school homework I helped my daughter do and I accidentally put it in there this morning.”

“Oh, I was thinking that it is so ugly.”

Fang Lei exclaimed, “Speak well and don’t attack!”

—

It was already 10:30 when they finished eating.

Xue Xiao wanted to go back to the bedroom to take a shower and write in his diary before going to bed. He didn’t expect that the show had arranged for every participant to record their first interview.

Xue Xiao lined up at 11 o’clock at the 3rd preparation room.

The 3rd preparation room was downstairs. The moment he opened the door and entered, he was dazzled by the light inside.

The young lady interviewing him motioned for him to sit down on the chair.

The moment the light hit, the first preparation officially began.

“Introduce yourself first.”

Xue Xiao was stunned.

In the huge room, three were countless black holes aimed at him from three or four meters away. They were like the eyes of the audience.

These eyes stared at him, an incomparably focused sight that Xue Xiao never experienced before.

Xue Xiao couldn’t help holding his breath as he sat down.

After a pause, he looked at the camera, opened his lips and said in an unhurried manner.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Xue Xiao. I am 24 years old this year and I am a background actor with an acting experience of one year and three months.”

“I come from Wencheng, a city on the southern seafront. I grew up there, went to college, worked…” Xue Xiao’s voice was gentle and elegant.

“Before I decided to enter the film and television industry, I was a primary school Chinese language teacher.”

—

[Pre-Interview]

“As far as we know, your parents are also teachers. Did you choose to be a teacher after graduation to meet your parents’ expectations?”

The young man in the camera lowered his eyes.

He seemed to be thinking about the answer to the question very seriously.

Then he looked up and said frankly, “It isn’t choosing exactly. It sounds a bit forced but at that time, I never dared to think that I could become an actor.”

“You didn’t dare?”

“Yes, I didn’t dare.” Xue Xiao laughed. “It is strange. It isn’t a matter of life or death. It is just a road that I need to turn right on at a fork in the road of life. But for the past 20 years, I never dared to think I could take this road.”

“It is like before I changed careers, I never thought that one day, I would leave my parents and hometown and go far away. I was probably a very conservative person before.”

“So what made you change your mind? Did something very important happen?”

“No.” The young man suddenly smiled a bit slyly. “On a very ordinary night, I listened to a roadside concert.”

“Roadside concert? Whose?”

“My childhood friend. He loved music since he was a child and formed a band countless times. However, like me, he never thought he could properly embark on the path of music.”

“He worked in sales for more than a year after graduation. One day, he suddenly told me that he quit and tomorrow he was going to hold a concert with his brothers. There were no tickets and no big venue. It was just a square in front of his community, the open space next to the aunts dancing in the square. He asked me if I would come.”

“I said that I would come.”

“He said yes. Then once this first concert was over, he would go. Within five years, he would definitely invite me to a bigger venue, a stadium with thousands of people, and let me listen to him sing again.”

The room fell silent.

The young man’s eyes shone brightly. “I felt like a ball that had been inflated for a long time and the air could no longer fill it. If I kept filling it, the balloon would explode. I didn’t dare let myself explode, so I could only stop. I was in a state where I couldn’t go up or down, about to explode.”

“Just then, my friend took a needle and completely pierced me.”

“Bang.” The young man in front of the camera was a bit dazed. He was silent for a moment, as if reliving it. “It was a feeling of relief and a sudden enlightenment.”