AITFYMIBP Chapter 90

TL: Hua

Chapter 90

Lin Yanran was positioned at the landing between the second and third floors, so he could easily see everything below.

Looking toward the source of the voice, he saw Shang Chengcheng’s figure.

Shang Chengcheng, who had just stepped out from the second floor to take the stairs, looked at the two of them and sneered, “Do you think you can get famous just by relying on your face, or do you think you can climb the ladder faster by spreading rumors about others behind their backs?”

The two minor actors who were badmouthing Lin Yanran behind his back clearly hadn’t expected someone to pop out in a stairwell that was usually deserted.

After their ugly, sour face was exposed, the two actors were initially struck by a wave of embarrassment.

One of them, a recent graduate whose skin wasn’t yet thick enough, immediately lowered his head in submission out of a guilty conscience. His face flushed red as he hurriedly explained to Shang Chengcheng, “No, we didn’t mean anything else. It’s just gossip; we didn’t really take it seriously.”

Hearing this, Shang Chengcheng slowly walked up to the two of them and gave a mocking smile.

“Is it gossip, or are you just incompetent, envious, and jealous? Don’t you know the truth in your own heart?”

The two actors originally thought that after their humble explanation, the other party would just turn a blind eye.

But who would have thought that Shang Chengcheng wouldn’t give them any face at all? Every word out of his mouth was harsher than the last.

The other actor, whose temperament was somewhat similar to Lin Yanran’s, felt his ego stung and looked at Shang Chengcheng with annoyance, asking unhappily, “We weren’t talking about you, so what does it have to do with you?”

Minor actors have tempers too. He had been very annoyed by anything related to Lin Yanran lately, so naturally, he hated anyone who defended him.

The reason lay in that face.

In the entertainment industry, who doesn’t have a bit of good looks?

This actor was the same. He was good-looking and had been the school heartthrob for many years.

He had been praised for his handsomeness since he was a child, but ever since Lin Yanran suddenly became a hit at the end of last year, because their temperaments were somewhat similar, many people—while praising his looks—couldn’t help but add: “Wow, you actually look a bit like Yanran.”

If an ordinary person were told this, they would definitely be quite happy.

After all, Lin Yanran’s visuals were considered the ceiling of the entertainment industry. Saying someone looked like him was practically a roundabout way of validating their looks.

Unfortunately, this actor was very narrow-minded.

When he first debuted, people had said they looked alike.

But back then, he was cast directly as the third male lead, a starting point much higher than Lin Yanran’s. When mentioning Lin Yanran, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority; at that time, everyone said Lin Yanran looked like him.

As it turned out, he had been acting for two years and was still stuck in supporting roles, unable to make a name for himself despite trying for so long.

Meanwhile, Lin Yanran, who used to be beneath him, suddenly overtook him on a curve in a short period of time.

Thus, overnight, their statuses flipped. He became the one who “looked a bit like Yanran” in everyone’s mouth.

This gap caused the actor’s psychological state to gradually become unbalanced.

Originally, the two of them didn’t really have any intersection, but the different fates resulting from their different circumstances made him incredibly jealous of the other.

Today wasn’t the first time he had made up stories and spread slander about Lin Yanran behind his back, but it was the first time he had been caught in the act.

His resentment and anger made him think that Shang Chengcheng, who stood in his way to stand up for Lin Yanran, was crazy.

Seeing that the other person’s status was practically unknown and had faded into obscurity, he didn’t bother to be polite and directly criticized him in a cold voice.

“Who doesn’t chat about a little gossip normally? Is there a need for you to play the hero here? Are you sick in the head?”

Shang Chengcheng was actually amused by the actor’s words. “You’re the one who’s sick. I heard you saying bad things about my friend behind his back; did you expect me to pretend I didn’t hear it?”

Hearing this, the actor suddenly remembered the gossip he had heard before about Shang Chengcheng and Lin Yanran, and he immediately smiled, reaching out to poke the other man’s chest.

“Friend?? You’re making me laugh. What kind of ‘friend’ do you think you are to him? Now that he’s famous, does he even acknowledge you as a friend?”

Shang Chengcheng didn’t get angry because of this. Instead, he grabbed the other’s disrespectful hand and warned coldly, “No matter what our relationship is like, it’s not your place to slander him behind his back.”

After saying that, he narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a cold laugh. “If I hear anyone spreading rumors about him again, I’ll pin the blame on you two.”

The actor had probably never encountered someone like this and rolled his eyes in disbelief. “You’re toxic…”

As if he hadn’t made the actor angry enough, Shang Chengcheng intentionally added, “If you say one more word, believe it or not, I’ll immediately tell Yanran and his fans exactly what you said, word for word.”

The actor was stubborn with his words, but he was still very afraid of this being leaked.

After all, his fan base was negligible compared to the other’s. If Shang Chengcheng really spoke out, he would surely be torn to shreds by Lin Yanran’s fans.

Admitting defeat, he could only shake off Shang Chengcheng’s hand and lead his companion away while grumbling curses.

“Damn it, what a psycho.”

Shang Chengcheng heard the other man’s verbal abuse but didn’t go forward to argue.

Instead, he looked down at his hand that had just been shaken off and curled his lips into a faint smile.

He had a better sense of reality than that actor; he knew that even if Lin Yanran ignored him for the rest of his life, it would be perfectly justified.

After all, he was the one who had wronged him in the beginning.

He never expected to be able to restore their former friendship.

Shang Chengcheng pulled out his phone and brought up the New Year’s greeting text Lin Yanran had sent him on New Year’s Eve.

This was the first blessing he had received from a friend, aside from texts sent by his team and work-related personnel.

Ever since cutting ties with his family, Shang Chengcheng had almost completely closed himself off.

For so many years, he had almost no friends and hadn’t gone home in a long time; he didn’t even know what a reunion dinner tasted like anymore.

His only relative left was Bai Tianyu.

On New Year’s Day, watching the bustling Spring Festival Gala, he felt truly lonely, so he secretly sent a message to Bai Tianyu.

But the other was busy accompanying his family and never replied to him.

Just when he was at his most miserable, he received a message from Lin Yanran.

Although it was just a standard New Year’s greeting, he was deeply moved when he saw the final sentence: [The future is beautiful; you deserve to have it.]

Once, they were both people who had fallen into the mire together.

But after being betrayed by him, Yanran—having endured so much suffering—had managed to crawl completely out of the mud.

Meanwhile, he was sinking deeper and deeper…

Even though he knew their relationship was impossible to repair now, seeing those words made him realize that the other party was encouraging him.

Shang Chengcheng put his phone away and stepped downward, disappearing into the darkness.

Having witnessed the whole thing, Lin Yanran felt a strange sense of pity and sorrow as he watched Shang Chengcheng’s lonely, departing silhouette.

He had always found Shang Chengcheng’s behavior contradictory.

He had clearly abandoned his friend back then, yet now he was defending him at every turn behind his back.

He didn’t understand why the other party acted this way.

But humans are contradictory beings. He wasn’t the other man, and their relationship was distant, so he simply turned around and went upstairs without appearing in front of Shang Chengcheng.

Lin Yanran rested in the dressing room for a good while before heading to the studio.

As he walked through the door, he intentionally glanced at the two minor actors who had been badmouthing him earlier.

The minor actor sitting on the very edge suddenly saw Lin Yanran’s gaze sweep over; he couldn’t help but look away, his heart racing with guilt.

Perhaps it was just psychological, but they felt as though the look Lin Yanran gave them just now suggested he knew something.

By the time Lin Yanran arrived, many of the guest performers had already shown up. The celebrities with bigger names and higher status were mostly all there as well.

Socializing is the most common currency in the entertainment industry.

The moment Lin Yanran entered, the guests already in the room stood up to greet him.

Whether they knew him or not, they all came over to exchange pleasantries.

If this had been in the past, such a thing would have been impossible.

Though it was mostly for show, Lin Yanran handled the situation with relative ease.

While Lin Yanran was greeting everyone, some guests were whispering privately.

They arrived late and didn’t know that Lin Yanran was there to replace the traffic star who had been arrested.

Now seeing Lin Yanran, they scrutinized him with an attitude of curiosity and a sense of watching a show.

This untrained singer/variety personality with low academic qualifications—how much self-confidence did he have to participate in an acting-focused show?

Wang Zhen, sitting in the row behind Lin Yanran, thought the same thing.

When he saw Lin Yanran walk in and realized he had to be on a variety show with him again, the smile on his face froze.

Is it true that “enemies are bound to meet on a narrow road”? It was one thing for him, a main cast member of Incredible Journey, to be outshone by this guest performer, but how could he run into him again even when he came to an acting variety show?

In the entertainment industry, a place of fame and fortune, Wang Zhen forced himself to endure even when he was unhappy.

He walked over to Lin Yanran’s side and asked with feigned surprise.

“Everyone was guessing who would participate, but I didn’t expect it to be you.”

Wang Zhen ultimately couldn’t keep his cool for long, so he immediately followed up with, “Have you studied acting before?”

Lin Yanran had already felt the other man’s hostility back during Incredible Journey. Seeing him fishing for information now, he didn’t tell the truth.

“I haven’t studied it, which is exactly why I came here to learn.”

Wang Zhen smiled.

“There are indeed many seniors here; you should be able to learn a lot,” he agreed verbally.

But in his heart, he thought: When the time comes and you can’t act, your fans won’t be able to shield you from the audience’s criticism.

After all the guests had arrived and they had waited for about twenty minutes, the staff finally came to notify them that recording was about to begin.

Everyone took their respective seats and looked toward the broadcast screen in front.

Before the screenwriters took the stage, the host first introduced the four mentors.

The first two mentors were a renowned actor and actress with both domestic and international acclaim, namely Yu Tianyi and Zhao Yaqi.

The two mentors who followed were equally famous directors: Guo Fang and Qi Zhenxu.

The names of these four were heavyweights with representative works to their names; even if mentioned to the older generation, their names were legendary.

The production team hadn’t fully announced the mentor lineup before.

Now that it was revealed, the guest performers watching the broadcast, especially the minor actors and those who had never acted before, felt an immense amount of pressure.

If they acted under the noses of these big shots and ruined a script without having any real skill, they didn’t know how brutally they would be criticized.

Especially that Guo Fang—a young genius director, but famous for having a poisonous tongue.

Lin Yanran had heard Hong Huixue mention him briefly, but he didn’t know exactly how poisonous he was.

But soon after, when the screenwriters took turns appearing and drawing their first round of assessment topics, he realized just how sharp-tongued and individualistic the other party was.

If a screenwriter were eloquent, he would say, “Why are you telling me all those flowery lies? Write a segment of a script for me on the spot.”

If a screenwriter boasted about their resume, he would remark, “It’s bad enough that your list of representative works is so long it makes my eyes hurt, but the key point is I’ve never heard of a single one of them.”

If a judge tried to build a ‘persona’ for themselves, he would retort, “Writing a script is like being in love? You can’t write it without being in a relationship?”

The contestants and some on-site judges who hadn’t yet figured out their own standing or position were all left speechless by his barbs.

After shutting down three people in a row, a relatively young screenwriter took the stage.

This screenwriter was named Sun Hangyi. The program’s introduction for him was:

[The Most Anticipated Rookie Screenwriter]

[Specializes in Suspense and Criminal Investigation Themes]

[A Promising Future]

Guo Fang was probably tired from roasting people just now, so he sat there drinking water and resting. He said nothing throughout the introduction, listening seriously to Sun Hangyi.

After a few minutes, he became a bit impatient. With a wave of his hand, he urged Sun Hangyi, “Alright, just draw the theme.”

Sun Hangyi knew this ancestor’s temper, so he didn’t say anything and went straight to the question bank to draw.

The first major genre drawn was: [Romance Script] [Ancient Times]

The guests and judges on-site couldn’t help but chuckle.

Sun Hangyi seemed somewhat prepared; he remained steady, his expression relatively calm.

Next, he drew the second requirement:

[Dog blood¹Over-the-top/clichéd/melodramatic trope.]

Sun Hangyi remained silent, but his expression stiffened slightly.

He pressed the button again to draw his final requirement:

[Bad Ending]

Romance, Dog blood, Bad Ending.

With all the elements present, the laughter from the crowd grew louder.

A female screenwriter who had previously drawn a criminal investigation theme laughed and shouted, “Why didn’t you give that theme to me~”

On stage, Sun Hangyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He made a joke: “Then I’ll swap with you.”

This proposition was extremely unfriendly to Sun Hangyi; it was considered one of the worst possible scenarios.

However, as a professional screenwriter, Sun Hangyi could still manage even if it wasn’t his forte.

“Then, please let Sun Hangyi draw his guest performer.”

Since he couldn’t choose guest performers himself, Sun Hangyi didn’t mind and simply made a random draw.

The first was a male actor in his thirties; his acting wasn’t top-tier, but it was sufficient.

Sun Hangyi felt his luck was holding up, so he immediately drew the second guest.

Five seconds later, Lin Yanran’s face appeared on the giant screen.

At first, Lin Yanran thought the production team had made a mistake.

But when he heard the host invite him onto the stage, he was certain there was no error.

The system had assigned two male actors to Sun Hangyi’s romance script!!

The slender Sun Hangyi felt his vision go dark the moment he saw Lin Yanran.

A bad ending dog-blood romance script starring two men—what else could it be?

It was basically a danmei adaptation!!

And on top of that, he had drawn someone who had never acted a day in his life…

Lin Yanran walked onto the stage and stood beside the previous male actor with a smile.

Perhaps because he was actually dating Gu Siye, Lin Yanran didn’t feel any aversion to this genre and didn’t think it was a problem.

However, the screenwriter and the male actor beside him were already so embarrassed they wanted to flee the stage.

The production team hadn’t anticipated this situation when setting the rules. Now that they realized how buggy this combination was, someone suggested bringing in a female actress instead.

Sun Hangyi agreed wholeheartedly with this decision and looked at Lin Yanran apologetically.

“Teacher Yanran, perhaps you…”

Lin Yanran could tell that the other party was dissatisfied with him. He didn’t want to force the issue, so he gave him a way out and nodded.

Yet, before Sun Hangyi could finish his sentence, Guo Fang raised his microphone and frowned in displeasure.

“The production team labeled you as the ‘Most Anticipated Screenwriter,’ but you’re stumped by this? If you can’t even handle a prompt-based theme, I think you should just go home and find a different career.”

This retort from Guo Fang immediately gained the approval of many judges.

The other mentors also felt that the blind selection was meant to test a screenwriter’s ability to handle different scenarios. If the rules were changed so easily, it would be unfair to the others.

Thus, Sun Hangyi was forced to accept with a painful mask on his face.

After such a dramatic grouping, Lin Yanran remained in Sun Hangyi’s team.

Once the recording finished, he left immediately.

His scenes wouldn’t be filmed right away because he had to wait for Sun Hangyi to finish the script.

Lin Yanran planned to use this time to do some serious cramming.

To his surprise, the next day he learned that the male guest who was supposed to be acting with him had quit the role because he was terrified of filming same-sex content.

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  Over-the-top/clichéd/melodramatic trope.