After Binding the Face-Slapping System, I Rose to Fame [Entertainment Industry] - Chapter 8

Lin Shuyu, the final performer, chose to demonstrate her marksmanship, instantly heating up the atmosphere on set.

This was the first element related to hunting since the show began. Not only was the production crew filled with anticipation, but the viewers in the livestream also ceased their bickering, fixing their collective gaze on Lin Shuyu.

At this moment, Director Chen—never one to shy away from stirring up trouble deliberately ordered the cameras to provide close-up shots of the four guests’ faces. Hou Mi’s expression, shifting from solemnity to undisguised contempt, was caught off-guard and laid bare for the lens.

【Damn, what’s with this old geezer? Who is he looking down on?】

【Em. word is Hou Mi is a bit of a chauvinist. He’s known for looking down on female stars on set. I used to think it was just a rumor, but seeing this now? Totally gross.】

【What are you talking about? Brother Mi is just observing normally, okay? Please stop making things up. He’s a veteran in the industry for a reason.】

【Pff, so what? It’s true anyway. That Lin Shuyu looks like a total lightweight. Performing marksmanship? Don’t make me laugh [vomit].】

【Why don’t you laugh yourself to death! Scumbag! Pity your mother raised someone with so little class.】

【Women these days, you can’t say a word to them anymore.】

【Hou Mi shouldn’t have performed with the broadsword earlier. He’s done shooting before and even has a hunting license. It’s a waste if he doesn’t go hunting.】

【Looking forward to Lin Shuyu! [Heart][Heart]】

Hou Mi also realized the camera was on him and became aware that his facial expression management had slipped.

He hesitated, wanting to say something to save face, but right then, Chu Jinzhi suddenly stepped forward and mocked loudly, “Stop joking around. You look so frail, are you sure you can even hold the gun?”

Hou Mi glanced at her.

Fine. With this idiot drawing all the fire, it looks like I don’t need to say a thing.

Provoked while familiarizing herself with the paintball gun, Lin Shuyu only gave her a sidelong glance. Chu Jinzhi stepped forward a few paces with a beaming smile, effectively blocking the haughty Hou Mi behind her so that Lin Shuyu couldn’t see him from that angle.

No one on-site nor the viewers in the livestream noticed this detail. Everyone was focused on whether sparks would fly between these two.

Tong Zixuan had long been fed up with Chu Jinzhi and, being conscious of grabbing screen time, stepped up to speak for Lin Shuyu. “Oh? Didn’t someone say in yesterday’s solo interview that everyone else here is trash? Didn’t you say Sister Lin Shuyu would be crying to leave the show in under three minutes? It’s been more than three minutes now, hasn’t it? Haven’t had enough of your face being slapped yet? Well, I guess when your skin is that thick, you don’t feel the sting.”

Chu Jinzhi didn’t feel awkward at all. She just looked at Lin Shuyu with a smile, acting as if she were certain the other woman lacked the skill.

Cao Xu couldn’t bear to watch and jumped in to play peacemaker. “No need for this, no need! Haha, aren’t we all just poor souls stranded on a deserted island?”

While he was still talking, Lin Shuyu had already raised the gun. She aimed, fired, and the paintball struck the bullseye steady as a rock.

Tong Zixuan let out a “Ha!” and squinted at Chu Jinzhi as if to ask: Does your face hurt yet?

Chu Jinzhi cooperatively put on an awkward expression and immediately turned to ask the System if her acting had improved.

System: [I recommend you select a one-on-one session with a professional teacher from the Interstellar Acting Department as soon as possible.]

Chu Jinzhi: “…”

Oh? You’ve learned how to be snarky?

Chu Jinzhi: [Save the nonsense. Check the point pool, how many points did I get from these two face-slaps?]

Two minor face-slaps had earned Chu Jinzhi 467 points.

That meant over four hundred thousand people had witnessed her getting “slapped.”

Chu Jinzhi was a bit dissatisfied; this wasn’t even enough to buy a single acting class. Although she had plenty of points left over from last time, who would ever complain about having too much money? Having lived with her grandparents since childhood, she had developed the habit of being frugal. Her hobby was watching her savings grow; even the New Year’s red envelope money she’d received growing up was still tucked away.

The tool Lin Shuyu earned through her performance was a compound crossbow.

This was actually an ideal tool. Even if she had received a real gun, there would be a limit on bullets. A crossbow was different; the bolts could be recovered and reused. This setup was undoubtedly the strongest among all the guests.

Hou Mi looked on with great envy, but in the end, he took his knife and was the first to enter the island’s jungle with his director and cameraman, determined to survive solo.

Tong Zixuan started with only a trekking pole, practically useless. She knew that if she didn’t want to be the one “quitting in three minutes,” she had to swallow her pride and seek an alliance with Lin Shuyu and Cao Xu.

Fortunately, neither Cao Xu nor Lin Shuyu were snobbish or petty; they accepted her readily.

Lin Shuyu turned, wanting to find Chu Jinzhi, but Chu Jinzhi had already taken the lead to become the second guest to enter the jungle.

The island’s vegetation was dense and unsuitable for flying drones, so the crew assigned one cameraman and one executive director to each guest. As the “Deserted Island Survival” finally began, the livestream viewers grew excited. The bickering stopped, replaced by discussions about everyone’s loadout.

【Out of the five, Lin Shuyu has the best gear. I’m staying in her room from now on. Can’t wait for some exciting hunting scenes!】

【Hou Mi is so competitive. He just left by himself without any team spirit.】

【Tong Zixuan and Chu Jinzhi’s gear is honestly so trash. At least Tong Zixuan knows how to ride coattails. Chu Jinzhi is truly the stubborn “iron woman” who wouldn’t back down against her manager [funny][funny].】

【Brother Mi is just serious, okay? Why does he need team spirit? This is an individual competition!】

【How is my Tongtong’s trekking pole trash? The steel tip of a pole is the hardest part! Who knows when it’ll come in handy? [angry][angry]】

【What’s the use of a crossbow for a woman like Lin Shuyu? So, what if she can hit a stationary target? It should have been given to Brother Mi [nose pick].】

【Hilarious. Where did this loser come from? Do you want everyone to kneel and offer their tools to the “Great Rice-Monkey” with both hands?】

【Watch your mouth! Who taught you fans to be so rude? Go home to your mama. Brother Mi was acting in TV shows before you kids even stopped wearing diapers.】

【Ooh, look at that. Since when did the domestic entertainment industry start following that Korean “seniority” crap?】

【Why are you all fighting? Am I the only one wondering how Chu Jinzhi is going to survive with just a broken fire striker? [confused face]】

Among the five guests, Chu Jinzhi had the lowest status and the least traffic. Consequently, the cameraman and director assigned to her were the least “competitive” in the crew.

Luckily, both Da Jie and Cui Meili had good attitudes. Carrying their curiosity, they followed Chu Jinzhi dutifully, occasionally circling ahead to get a different angle.

Seeing that both staff members were diligent, Chu Jinzhi breathed a sigh of relief. While she was here to farm points off Lin Shuyu, she also needed to maintain some entertainment value in her own stream. If she just survived the seven days without any “variety” effects or traffic, the investors might decide she wasn’t worth the slot and find an excuse to kick her off.

Meeting two easy-going staff members saved her a lot of trouble. After all, she was going to be very busy these next few days.

Busy looking for opportunities to get “slapped” in the face.

Chu Jinzhi: [System, keep an eye on Lin Shuyu’s livestream for me.]

The System was bewildered: [Why didn’t you agree to join her team?]

Wouldn’t being close to her make it easier to find opportunities for the “face-slap” points?

Chu Jinzhi bent down to pull a vine from the ground. While crushing it, she checked her watch’s compass to get her bearings. [No. I want to achieve the ‘100% Remote Face-Slap’ achievement. It’s more dramatic and more satisfying for the netizens to watch.]

When doing things face-to-face, Chu Jinzhi found that she couldn’t bring herself to be a jerk while looking into Lin Shuyu’s eyes.

There was also another motive she was a bit embarrassed to admit: She wanted to use this “slapping” dynamic to tie herself to Lin Shuyu, who was destined for stardom.

In the future, the more popular Lin Shuyu became, the more her fans and netizens would inevitably think of the “crazy 18th-tier star” who kept getting her face slapped.