AITFYMIBP Chapter 89

After Lin Yanran finished writing those two lines, he took a photo of the red envelope cover and sent it to Gu Siye.

Only then did he start going through his WeChat messages one by one.

The night before, he had been dazed from drinking; after meeting Gu Siye, he had fallen asleep clutching the red envelope, leaving no time to check the New Year’s greetings from friends and family.

After a whole night, the number of messages was reaching a breaking point.

Although New Year’s greetings messages were almost all the same, and many were copied and pasted and mass-sent, Lin Yanran still read every single one of them earnestly.

During the process, he discovered several interesting blessings.

Take Zhong Xiao, for example.

Following the words “Happy New Year” was a short essay of one or two hundred words, which could be summarized as thanking Lin Yanran for his great mercy in allowing Gu Siye, this old virgin, to find a partner.

After reading Zhong Xiao’s words, which insulted Gu Siye to compliment him, Lin Yanran replied with a smile.

[Teacher Gu is still very young]

Xia Xingxing had also sent a blessing right at the stroke of midnight, the content still in his signature confessional style.

Like Xia Xingxing, Qiao Ye also sent his birthday wishes right at midnight.

His wishes weren’t as long as Xia Xingxing’s, but they were exceptionally heartfelt.

After reading it carefully, Lin Yanran was somewhat surprised.

He understood why Xia Xingxing would send a message at the exact moment the year turned, but he hadn’t expected Qiao Ye to do the same.

Lin Yanran felt he hadn’t actually helped Qiao Ye that much during the competition, but he hadn’t realized the other valued their bond so deeply.

There were so many messages that it took Lin Yanran nearly an hour to finish reading them all.

Afterward, he put his phone on the charger and headed downstairs.

For the following period, Lin Yanran remained on vacation. He stayed in Australia for a full half-month before flying back to China.

His return was prompted by a phone call from Song Yingming.

The story began with a major scandal in the entertainment industry right after New Year’s Eve.

While working overtime during the holidays to crack down on illegal activities, the police caught a certain celebrity in the act of soliciting a prostitute.

The other party was a singer who followed a traffic-driven approach, but has appeared on many variety shows, earning a decent reputation and public favor due to his good performances.

Once the news broke, his persona collapsed instantly. Fans deserted him in droves, many even turning on him.

Of course, whether fans left or not had nothing to do with Lin Yanran. What mattered was that this traffic star, despite having never acted before, had signed on for an S-level variety show titled The Best Screenwriter. He was supposed to be a guest performer for the first episode.

The show was about to air, the news of his participation had already been released, and everything was prepared.

But now that he was arrested for solicitation, he was officially labeled a tainted artist.

The production team naturally didn’t want his presence to cast a shadow over their long-prepared premiere or use awkward mosaics to censor his face, so they were desperate to find a replacement with a similar niche.

However, there weren’t many celebrities in the circle who could match his popularity while also having no prior acting experience.

After much deliberation, they thought of Lin Yanran, who had shot to fame over the past year.

The production team of The Best Screenwriter inquired around and found that Lin Yanran’s manager, Hong Huixue, kept a very tight rein on his business affairs. Thus, they decided on a safer route: commissioning Song Yingming—who had a good relationship with Lin Yanran—to use his personal connection to see if Lin Yanran could step in as a savior for one episode.

Song Yingming considered that Lin Yanran had never acted before. Furthermore, this production team wasn’t like Zhang Shanfeng’s crew; they weren’t his “iron brothers,” so he wasn’t very keen on helping.

However, the person asking for the favor happened to be the one who had brought him into the industry and shown him great kindness.

The entertainment industry relies heavily on social favors and connections. Song Yingming couldn’t be ungrateful, and it was difficult to refuse. He could only call Lin Yanran to explain the situation of the show and his own position.

“I’m just passing the word along for them. Just listen for now; if you’re interested, then consider whether to take it.”

Song Yingming knew Lin Yanran was a sentimental and easy-going person, so he worried the other party might agree immediately just to save face for him.

Consequently, his tone wasn’t as relaxed as when he recommended Zhang Shanfeng’s show, and he couldn’t help but add a word of caution.

Lin Yanran found the concept interesting and told Song Yingming he would reply after consulting his manager.

Hong Huixue quickly sent over the materials for The Best Screenwriter.

The show was the first major variety project of the year invested in by XX Video, one of the three major streaming platforms in China.

The platform attached great importance to it, classifying it as an S-level project.

The investment and broadcasting platform were both powerful, and the early promotions were strong.

Additionally, the mentors and some of the guests were high-profile, the filming crew was reliable, and the pay was very generous.

Hong Huixue had already intended for Lin Yanran to move toward an acting career, and Lin Yanran himself wanted an opportunity to test the waters.

After analyzing the pros and cons, they decided to accept.

They could treat this episode as a practical in-class exam for Lin Yanran’s current acting lessons, allowing him to gain experience by collaborating with other actors.

Even if the result wasn’t ideal, discovering problems early on a variety show and correcting them was better than being mocked by the audience for a cringe-worthy performance in a major film or drama later.

One of the goals of The Best Screenwriter was to discover hidden gems among rookie screenwriters and inject fresh talent into the industry.

However, except for a few famous ones, most of these screenwriters were unknown. And even those screenwriters with some fame generally didn’t have many fans.

To generate buzz and viewership, the show had to rely on the stars.

Three days after signing the contract, the production team notified Lin Yanran to go to the set to film the first part of the first episode.

Compared to the subsequent scriptwriting and short film shooting, the first part was much simpler. It mainly consisted of two major events.

The first step was to introduce the participating screenwriters to the audience and have them each draw their own theme for the first episode.

The second step was to assign actors to the screenwriters.

Lin Yanran needed to record the actor assignment portion.

His screen time would be limited—mostly just showing his face and being grouped with a screenwriter alongside several other actors.

Since Lin Yanran was stepping in as a last-minute replacement, the entire crew was very polite to him.

“Teacher Yanran, you can come here to record after you’ve finished your makeup,” a staff member said, leading him into a studio for a detailed introduction.

“The cameras will sweep over for a few shots later, usually during the screenwriter introductions and the theme drawing.”

The staff member pushed open the studio door.

Inside an oval room, the floor was designed with irregular tiered steps, with guest seats arranged in rows.

“You can just sit toward the middle later.” The staff member pointed to the center section, implying Lin Yanran could take the center stage.

Lin Yanran wasn’t interested in the center spot. He looked around and saw that several people had already arrived.

There were eight screenwriters in the first episode, and each story required at least 3 to 5 characters, so a lot of actors were needed.

Besides popular stars, the show also invited some fresh graduates from acting academies or minor celebrities to fill the numbers.

The entertainment circle is a pragmatic place; if you aren’t famous, you have no bargaining power.

Thus, the minor actors were very disciplined and arrived at the filming site early.

Upon seeing Lin Yanran, several sharp-eyed actors immediately stood up to greet him.

“Hello, Teacher Yanran.”

Some even bowed politely.

Lin Yanran looked at these actors, who were around his own age, and quickly waved his hand. “Hello, everyone.”

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yanran finally spoke. “Just call me Yanran. There’s no need to call me teacher; I wouldn’t dare to accept such a title.”

He smiled and waved his hand, his attitude very humble.

He certainly wouldn’t dare call himself a teacher in front of these professionally trained actors.

Just as he finished speaking, his eyes fell upon Shang Chengcheng, who was standing at the very edge.

He actually had no memory of Shang Chengcheng at all.

However, after returning to the Lin family, he had learned the general outline of their history through the files his brother had investigated.

Thinking of how the other person used to be the original owner’s best friend at the internet addiction treatment center, only to eventually drift apart, Lin Yanran could roughly guess the reason behind it.

But a guess was just a guess.

Lin Yanran wasn’t sure what the current relationship was between the other party and Bai Tianyu, so seeing the person smile at him through the crowd, he merely gave a polite, slight nod.

Afterward, Lin Yanran went to get his hair and makeup done.

He had drunk a lot of water that morning, so once he was finished, he hurried to the restroom.

The restroom was on the third floor. When Lin Yanran came out after washing his hands, he found the elevator was occupied, so he took the emergency stairs.

The stairwell was very quiet; only the safety signs tucked in the corners emitted a faint, eerie green light.

Lin Yanran had just walked down a few steps when he heard two male voices downstairs speaking in hushed tones.

Their voices were very low, but Lin Yanran’s hearing was better than the average person’s, so he could vaguely make out what they were saying.

“Is he being genuinely modest or just faking it?”

“Faking it, probably… deep down, he’s probably quite thrilled.”

“Well, there’s nothing you can do about it. Some people just get lucky and take off by riding the coattails of a massive hit survival show. Really good luck.”

“What ‘luck’ are you talking about? You really think just anyone can become a mentor on a show like that? Look at that lineup—is someone of his caliber really fit to be there?”

“But he is on it.”

Amidst one person’s puzzled voice, the other chuckled, seemingly mocking the other’s naivety.

“If you had a face like that and someone backing you, you’d blow up too.”

The other person let out an “oh” of sudden realization, then paused before saying, “You don’t look bad either; I feel like your temperaments are actually quite similar.”

“But I disdain selling my ass.”

As he drew closer, the two voices laughing grew increasingly clear in the quiet stairwell.

At the same time, a mocking voice rang out in the dim hallway.

“Oh? Is that so?”