Studio Superstar

It was midnight at the recording camp of Studio Superstar. Everything was silent and several buildings were still brightly lit.

Some staff members stayed up late to catch up on work while some participants were too excited to sleep.

Xue Xiao walked through the deserted corridor and opened WeChat on his phone to read through the messages of the day.

In the group called ‘Acting Acting Acting to the End’, a group of people started to ask him if he had finished recording at 4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Now they were discussing eating late-night snacks.

A few brothers made an appointment to eat at a barbecue stall and sighed in the group, “I can’t sleep.”

“I don’t know if there will be a second season of Studio Superstar. If there is, I will try again at that time and make my resume more beautiful.”

“This year, I will also strive to perform a few more classic scenes.”

The ‘classic scenes’ caused laughter in the group.

Some people joked that this person wanted a classic scene as an extra. Some people said that if they picked up a side role with a plot that ran through a few episodes, there was still a chance to impress the audience.

In the end, it was still a common aspiration.

They wanted to act, they wanted more roles and more opportunities.

Studio Superstar made an exception and opened the stage to these unknown, nameless actors. However, there were too few shows like this and too few people who could set food on such a stage.

There were also many, many people waiting for the light to come in the middle of the night.

Xue Xiao’s mood was a bit complicated.

He moved his fingers and took a look in the group. The group that had gradually become depressed suddenly came alive.

Seeing the appearance of these friends cheering up, Xue Xiao pursed his lips and smiled.

Xue Xiao closed the group and noticed that Ye Xingxing had sent him two messages at 8:30 in the evening.

The first message was a photo of him wearing a black mask. His short, curly hair had been messed up by the wind and he was making a gesture at the camera.

There were guitars and keyboards in the corner of the photo but more of the photo was taken up by the starry sky.

“I just finished practicing a song and came out with my brothers. How is your recording going over there?”

Xue Xiao replied, “Very good. Tomorrow, we will start rehearsing our first play!”

He waited a bit and there was no reply from the other side. Xue Xiao laughed to himself and closed the conversation box.

His friend wasn’t like ordinary, frivolous young men. He was very healthy and always said that the body was the capital of revolution. As long as there was nothing important, he went to bed on time at 10 o’clock every night.

Then Xue Xiao looked at his parents’ profile pictures.

There had been no updated messages since the two of them sent encouraging WeChat messages in the morning.

Xue Xiao recalled the question that the staff had asked him in the preliminary interview room just now.

Did he choose to become a teacher after graduating from college because it was in line with his parents’ hopes?

No, not really.

However, his choice did give his parents great peace of mind.

After graduating from the Chinese language department of Wencheng College, it was a bit overkill to become an elementary school teacher. Still, it was a stable and decent job after all.

Among his relatives and neighbors, who didn’t say that Xue Xiao was a worry-free person since childhood and who didn’t envy Old Xue’s family?

It was also because of this that when Xue Xiao suddenly said he wanted to act and try becoming an actor, his parents were very shocked and his family was in a state of chaos.

For Xue Xiao himself, he had never acted so out of line.

However, it didn’t feel inconsistent.

He felt that there was always another self hidden in his body. He used to try to pretend that this self didn’t exist, like a chicken hiding in a thin eggshell, living with his eyes closed.

But the hatched chick would eventually break the shell after all.

Xue Xiao had to face his other self in the end.

Of course, the old Xue family had always been harmonious. On the day when Xue Xiao left his home, he had reached a reconciliation with his parents, despite his father’s stinky expression… Xue Xiao smiled.

He had to work hard enough to be worthy of his parents and himself.

Xue Xiao thought so and lowered his hand to put his phone into his trouser pocket.

Then he raised his head and paused slightly.

This was the middle section of the dormitory building and there was a stairwell.

Fan Xue was wearing the same clothes as during the day. His makeup hadn’t been removed and he seemed to have no intention of resting at all. He was holding his phone to his ear and walking here, as if he was heading to the stairwell to make a call.

Seeing Xue Xiao, Fan Xue’s footsteps paused and his expression became very colorful in an instant.

He greeted Xue Xiao in a strangely sarcastic manner, “Yo, you are only coming back now.”

Xue Xiao looked at him and didn’t want to say anything to him. He turned his footsteps and walked around Fan Xue.

Fan Xue: “……”

He turned around and sneered, “Tomorrow morning is the rehearsal. Don’t forget the time and oversleep, Student Xue.”

Xue Xiao raised his hand without looking back. “Thank you for the reminder.”

Fan Xue choked up and spoke a dirty word in a low voice.

Fan Xue’s expression sank as he saw Xue Xiao turn the corner and disappear.

He took two steps forward, opened the door to the stairwell and walked in.

The call had already been connected and the agent called out to him several times from the other end. Fan Xue frowned and said, “President Lu’s side still hasn’t been contacted?”

“No, will he answer my call if you can’t get in touch with him?” The agent sighed. “Don’t be too anxious. It will just make you unattractive.”

Fan Xue almost cursed but this wasn’t his own venue. He tried to suppress his anger as he said, “Don’t be too anxious? How many times have I contacted him this month? If I hadn’t urged him before, he wouldn’t even care if I was bullied by a small background actor! As a result, he only managed one thing. Xue Xiao actually came to participate in the show. Didn’t he talk to the show’s staff?”

“You also know he is a small background actor? Why do you have to put so much effort into a small background actor? What is he? By the time we knew the list of participants, the list had already entered the hands of the leader of Guantian. How can President Lu owe a favor to the leader of Guantian just to help you deal with a small background actor?” The agent was too puzzled. “Are you usually too idle that you are doing this? Isn’t it good to use this effort on acting?”

Fan Xue calmed his voice. “Are you coming to educate me now?”

“Okay, let’s talk about business.”

Fan Xue held back and said irritably, “You asked me to let go when choosing the role in the first round. I chose Shen Tingyan’s work and the role he played.”

Speaking of this, he raised his hand and gnawed on his nail in a slightly anxious manner. “But this role is quite difficult. I don’t think I can act it.”

His previous calmness in the studio was all a pretense. The provocation when he confronted Xue Xiao was also forced out by the anger in his heart at that time. In fact, he had no idea in his heart at all.

“Don’t I know clearly what level of acting you have? Don’t worry, I let you choose freely and you let go boldly when acting. The topic in the first round is the most important. Your performance will be very bad. Then we will take the route of a reversal counterattack. Later, you just need to follow the teacher to learn obediently and choose some characters that are more suitable for you. The bigger the difference between the front and back, the more distinct your character will be. I have confirmed this meaning with the show’s Director Zhang and he will help you. The teacher will as well.”

“I will do some things so there is no need to trouble President Lu.” The agent sighed again. “But I have to tell you clearly. I didn’t do this because of Xue Xiao. It is because this show is your springboard. You must manage this opportunity well, do you understand? If you understand, rehearse well later and don’t think about anything else!”

Fan Xue’s heart was moved. “Brother, you…”

The agent laughed. “No matter who is in the other group, I can’t let any of them step on you in this show.”

—

At 7 o’clock in the morning, the whole camp slowly woke up.

In the first round of the competition, the four mentors wouldn’t participate in the rehearsals. The show had arranged some acting teachers for them.

Chang Yun was brushing his teeth when he came out of the bathroom with his phone in his hands. He said vaguely, “I just received a notification from the show. Our group and the group we crashed with will go to Room 501 in Building 3. What about you?”

Gu Ling, who was in the same bedroom, also received a text message. “I’m in 304.”

Xue Xiao and Zhao Dong hadn’t received their notification for the time being.

The four of them washed up and went downstairs to have breakfast together with the four people in Jin Xiaochen’s dormitory, who came out next door. They also met Jiang Lianlian there.

The assembly time that Chang Yun received was 7:40. Time was very tight so he hurriedly stuffed in two mouthfuls before leaving. 10 minutes later, Gu Ling and Jiang Lianlian also left the table.

Seeing that there were fewer and fewer people in the cafeteria, Zhao Dong wondered, “Why hasn’t our group heard anything yet?”

Jin Xiaochen added, “I see that the groups who collided are sharing a classroom and teacher. Will we be with Fan Xue’s group?”

Zhao Dong stretched out his neck and looked around. “I don’t see them. Did they come to the cafeteria today?”

Xue Xiao frowned as he saw that it was already 8 o’clock. He asked the young lady in the staff on WeChat but didn’t receive a reply. Thus, he stood up and said, “The rehearsal classrooms seem to be uniformly arranged in Building 3. Let’s go over there first to take a look.”

Building 3 was large and there were ten classrooms on each floor.

The three of them didn’t have a clue and didn’t have the Wechat of many participants added on their phones. Everyone was busy at this time and didn’t respond to questions. They could only search from classroom to classroom.

Many groups had already started rehearsing and each group had a cameraman following them. Only they had nothing and Jin Xiaochen couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious. “Did the show forget the three of us?”

Xue Xiao took a breath and glanced at the time. It was almost 8:30.

He took the lead to run up to the third floor. Then he ran into Gu Ling, who was holding his phone and filming a video.

Gu Ling held his phone steady and asked with surprise. “You… are looking for your classroom? You haven’t been notified yet?”

He looked behind the three of them. “There is no cameraman?”

“No.” Xue Xiao shook his head and calmed his breathing. He was also a bit surprised. “Aren’t you rehearsing?”

“I have the same teacher as another student for a solo play. The teacher will pick the scene for him first, so I came out to shoot some vlogs.” Gu Ling thought about it and reminded them, “Fan Xue’s group seems to be on the 4th floor. You can go up and ask.”

Xue Xiao hurriedly thanked him. He was just about to turn and continue upstairs when Gu Ling’s eyes followed him and he said, “Add me on WeChat when we go back. I was asleep when you came back yesterday and didn’t add it.”

Xue Xiao smiled and answered, “Yes. Goodbye first.”

He ran straight up to the fourth floor again with Zhao Dong and Jin Xiaochen.

As they were approaching the door of 402, a big brother who looked like a cameraman rushed out of nowhere and followed behind them.

The three of them were gasping, supporting themselves with their hands on their knees and wiping at their sweat. The moment the teacher in 402 saw them, he placed his hands on his hips, frowned and criticized them. “You are the other group for Praying Mantis? I set the time for 7:30. Now it is 8:40 and you guys are over an hour late!”

Jin Xiaochen explained, “Teacher, none of us received the notification text message.”

“If you didn’t receive a message, can’t you take the initiative to ask the people of the show? You dragged it out until now?” The teacher’s frown deepened. “Come in quickly. The other group is already half set.”

All three members of Fan Xue’s group were holding scripts in their hands.

They drank water and sweated a lot. They were silent when they saw Xue Xiao’s group of three being criticized.

Jin Xiaochen still wanted to say something but Zhao Dong pulled him and gave him a look.

Jin Xiaochen’s lips tightened into a straight line.

Xue Xiao’s eyes swept over Fan Xue.

The latter didn’t look at him. Fan Xu just twisted the cap of the mineral water bottle and looked through the script.

The teacher came over and distributed the script to the three of them. “Read the script first.”

“In the first round of the competition, the time for solo plays is suppressed to around three minutes while the time for the duos and three-person groups is five to eight minutes. The whole plot must be adapted and it won’t be exactly the same as the original.”

“The three of you will watch from the side first. I will come to you after the other group is finished.”

The teacher pointed at them and walked toward Fan Xue’s group.

Jin Xiaochen looked depressed as he was pulled aside by Zhao Dong.

The three people sat on the floor.

Jin Xiaochen whispered, “It isn’t that we deliberately wanted to be late.”

Zhao Dong frowned. “Don’t say it.”

According to the regulations of the show, they had to put on the microphone and turn it on when waking up.

In addition to the cameramen following the two groups, the classroom also had fixed cameras, just like in their dormitory.

Their every move was under the camera and every word would be captured. Complaining wasn’t a good thing.

It wasn’t that Zhao Dong was cowardly by nature. He was just too aware of the power the camera had on a person and was protecting Jin Xiaochen.

Xue Xiao didn’t speak.

He withdrew his gaze, opened the script and turned to the two of them. “Let’s see which plot the show has picked first.”

The soft and calm voice pulled back the thoughts of the two people.

Zhao Dong and Jin Xiaochen hurriedly opened the thin script.

Not surprisingly—

Zhao Dong sighed. “It is really this scene.”

This was the big climax near the end of the movie ‘Praying Mantis.’

A series of homicides occurred in A City. The modus operandi was consistent, cruel and bloody. After an intensive investigation and criminal profiling, the police judged that the perpetrator of the series of cases, the perverted serial murderer, was a very bold, good at disguises, young man who was between 25 and 28 years old and he was provoking the police.

His life or death challenge produced an almost perverted pleasure that prompted him to approach the police in person and dance on the edge of a cliff.

In this climax scene, the police had just preliminarily decided on a suspect. Before they were dispatched, they received news. The suspect probably knew his identity had been exposed. He kidnapped a person and moved to an abandoned construction site. In the unfinished building, it seemed he intended to kill one last person before being arrested.

The police cars quickly surrounded the unfinished building. The investigation team leader, Li Xueming led a team to interrupt the suspect’s criminal activities. However, he failed to stop the suspect from jumping off the building and committing suicide in a panic.

After a month of hard investigation, I wanted to find an explanation for all the souls that were tortured and killed. But the perpetrator who left the whole city bloody just died like this?!

Everyone was annoyed.

Then at this moment, Li Xueming suddenly realized that this type of panicked suicide by jumping off a building wasn’t in line with the police’s criminal profile of the serial murderer.

Not far away, Zhang Yang, a reporter who entered the police operation without authorization through his own clues and reasoning analysis, was loosening the rope for the kidnapped person.

The kidnapped person was a person that Li Xueming and Zhang Yang encountered in the process of tracking this series of murders. It was a gangster called Chen Tao.

The scene began here.

Jin Xiaochen became excited when he saw the script. He forgot the unhappiness just now and said, “So handsome, so handsome! When I first watched this movie, I thought that Teacher Shen played the murderer role in too godly a manner. I had goosebumps in the theater!”

Zhao Dong joked, “Then why did you choose the role of Li Xueming?”

Jin Xiaochen said, “Isn’t it that the role of Chen Tao is too difficult to play? I also have a small idea of my skills. Xue Xiao is such a fan and didn’t choose the role of Teacher Shen.”

Xue Xiao answered honestly, “I’m not very suitable for the role of Chen Tao but I can play this reporter.”

Zhao Dong nodded. “Zhang Yang’s character was originally 33 years old. You are younger but this adjustment isn’t a big problem.”

As he spoke, the three of them looked at Fan Xue’s group in the middle of the classroom.

These three were all signed artists. The least famous one had still acted in several costume TV dramas.

The teacher was going through the role for them and helping them find the feeling of the role, but the three of them had difficulty finding it.

The teacher wiped his sweat. “You actually have all day today and tomorrow. Tomorrow night, you will go to the live rehearsal. So hurry up and get used to it, understood?”

The three of them replied, “We got it!”

“Okay.” The teacher turned to Xue Xiao’s group and beckoned. “Come here.”

“I have to adjust the acting method of your group. Otherwise, the audience will be easily fatigued if the acting method of the two groups is exactly the same.”

Hearing this, Xue Xiao paused and glanced at Zhao Dong and Jin Xiaochen.