The Vicious Female Supporting Character Goes Viral After Her Masks Drop During the Talent Show - Chapter 6

The conversation between the two parties concluded smoothly. Zhang Jing had originally intended to see Zhong Yan out, but since the filming of the “Initial Evaluation” stage was set to begin the day after tomorrow, he was incredibly busy. A single phone call from the studio sent him rushing away in a hurry.

“Go attend to your work. I’ll see Teacher Zhong out,” Xu You said, waving Zhang Jing off before he left.

The contestant dormitories provided by the program were only available for move-in starting the day after tomorrow. For the past few days, Zhong Yan had been staying at a nearby hotel.

Back in the lounge, although Xu You had successfully managed to “eavesdrop,” he had consciously remained silent as he wasn’t part of the program staff. Now that it was just him and Zhong Yan on the way back to the hotel, he finally seized his chance.

“Teacher Zhong, back there when Producer Zhang asked why you were joining the show… you weren’t telling the truth, were you?”

Xu You gave a mischievous grin, tilting his head to look at her with great interest.

“It was the truth,” Zhong Yan replied.

“Sister—” Xu You whined. His handsome face, currently wearing a pitiful expression, leaned toward her. “We’re so close; are you really going to keep playing me like this?”

As soon as Xu You called her “Sister,” Zhong Yan knew he was about to start acting like a persistent brat.

In the original script, Xu You was the second male lead and Lu Ting-shen’s love rival. However, his debut was quite late; he wasn’t supposed to appear until the story reached its midpoint, after Xia Meng had already debuted through the show.

Furthermore, in the original storyline, the characters “Xu You” and “Zhong Yan” had almost no interaction. Consequently, Zhong Yan didn’t know much about him initially, other than his character setting: a genius young producer with a lively, bouncy personality—the total opposite of Lu Ting-shen’s stoic arrogance.

Three years ago, when Zhong Yan’s first IP was being prepared for a screen adaptation, Xu You was still a newcomer without any works. However, knowing his “genius” setting, Zhong Yan had intended to collaborate with him.

Unexpectedly, Xu You had also taken an interest in her IP and contacted her first. The two hit it off immediately and became friends.

To outsiders, Xu You was a sunny, handsome, and enthusiastic young man. This was especially true when he looked at you with those slightly drooping “puppy eyes”; he looked exactly like a lively, simple, and loyal Golden Retriever. Few people could resist such charm. Because of this, he was very popular, particularly with women.

In Zhong Yan’s eyes, however, Xu You was a big fox wearing a Golden Retriever’s skin. He appeared simple and harmless, but in reality, he was full of schemes. Taking advantage of his youth, he was a master at using coquettish tantrums and sweet talk to bewitch people.

Zhong Yan was already immune to his tactics.

“Little brother, why do you think your sister is joining the show then?” Zhong Yan countered, playing along.

Xu You’s eyes darted around, looking as though he had already figured everything out.

He leaned in mysteriously and whispered, “Sister, after this… your copyright fees are going to hit the roof, aren’t they?”

Earlier, “Zhong Yan” (the author) had suddenly posted on Weibo saying she would disappear for a while and was temporarily stopping all commercial collaborations. At the time, Xu You couldn’t understand why, and she hadn’t given him an answer when he asked.

Today, Xu You finally understood.

By the time Zhong Yan resumed her commercial work, nothing would ever be the same again.

In the vanity fair of the elite, “Fame” and “Fortune” were always intertwined. The greater the fame, the greater the profit.

No matter how well “Zhong Yan’s” novels sold, her fame was limited to her identity as an “Author.” There was a ceiling to how much profit she could generate. And the place in the world with the highest ceiling for profit—commonly known as the easiest place to rake in cash—was the entertainment industry.

If she entered the industry and added the title of “Celebrity” to her identity as an author, her value would skyrocket. The two identities would boost each other like stacking “buffs” in a video game.

As an author, a celebrity title would make her IPs even more valuable, and her authority as the original creator would increase significantly. As a celebrity, her status as a bestselling author would make her a unique existence in the industry. Whether in terms of “traffic” or “status,” she would have a massive advantage over other young artists.

A survival show was undoubtedly the fastest track into the industry. It was the perfect platform to reveal an identity, generate buzz, and go viral.

Just thinking about it made Xu You excited. Such a novel route to stardom was simply a stroke of genius. He used to think Zhong Yan was just unique in her creative ideas, but now she seemed much deeper and more interesting than he had imagined.

Seeing Xu You’s smug “I caught you” expression, Zhong Yan smiled but remained silent.

To be honest, Xu You was smart and knew her well. Fame and fortune were indeed part of her life plan.

However, the “truth” she told in the lounge wasn’t a lie either.

In her past life, Zhong Yan had been a fan of survival shows. In the original script, “Zhong Yan” actually loved singing and dancing; she was talented by design and had dreamed of the stage since childhood. But because Lu Ting-shen’s parents didn’t want a daughter-in-law who was an entertainer, “Zhong Yan” had been forced to give up that dream.

Yet, ironically, the moment Lu Ting-shen fell in love with Xia Meng was when she was shining on stage. This made the character of “Zhong Yan” even more tragic.

Thus, Zhong Yan felt that in this life—whether for herself or for the original “Zhong Yan”—she should experience the survival show for herself.

“Sigh, Sister is definitely going to be even more sought after later. I have enough rivals as it is.” Xu You sighed toward the sky, then suddenly lowered his head and asked warily, “Besides Brother Jing, am I currently the only one who knows your movements?”

“Mhm, I suppose so.”

“That’s good.” Xu You breathed a sigh of relief, his smile returning. “It seems I still rank number one in Sister’s heart.”

Zhong Yan glanced at him. “Not really. It’s purely because your arrival today was a coincidence.”

If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have “dropped her mask” today. She had originally planned to keep her secret until the day of the initial evaluation filming.

“Sister!” Xu You pouted. “You don’t have to say such heartless things out loud.”

Zhong Yan nodded with a cold, polite smile. “Fine, I’ll just think them in my head.”

“But why did you suddenly ask that?” she added.

“It’s because a few days ago, someone from Dingming Entertainment contacted me,” Xu You said crossly. “They were beating around the bush, trying to get your contact information out of me.”

“Dingming Entertainment?” Zhong Yan frowned.

“Yeah. It was that guy surnamed Lu—the newly appointed President of Dingming.”

Dingming Entertainment had always been arrogant and was on bad terms with the platform Yuandian. Having the President personally contact him for “Zhong Yan’s” details had given Xu You a fright, setting off alarm bells in his head. He had thought Dingming had faster intel than he did and was trying to snatch her up first.

Lu Ting-shen?

To think there would be a day where he would go to such lengths to ask about me, Zhong Yan thought, finding it amusing.

She asked, “Did you give him the contact info?”

“How could I possibly give it to him?” Xu You said decisively.

Although that President Lu was indeed difficult to deal with, Xu You was no pushover. He would never allow his own “cabbage” to be arched over by another house’s pig.

Zhong Yan smiled and patted Xu You’s shoulder appreciatively.

“Little brother, well done. I’ve thought about it again—you really are number one in my heart.”

The day for the Initial Evaluation filming arrived quickly.

“Next group, individual trainee: Zhong Yan. Please prepare for entry!”

As the floor manager’s voice fell, Zhong Yan, who had been waiting backstage, straightened her hair and makeup, checked the microphone on her collar, and stepped through the doors leading to the studio.

The format of Best Girls was similar to the survival shows Zhong Yan had seen in her previous life. The first segment involved the contestants entering and choosing their seats.

Several contestants were already seated in the studio. When Zhong Yan appeared, their eyes snapped toward her in unison.

“Is that her? The mysterious individual trainee?”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

The contestants began to whisper among themselves.

After the little incident outside the photo studio the other day, Zhong Yan had become a hot topic among the girls. Although they hadn’t moved into the dorms yet, most had been staying in the same nearby hotels, so news traveled fast.

Everyone was speculating about who this seemingly “resource-less” individual trainee actually was. Some had tried to ask the staff, but even the staff were confused.

Before the incident, Zhong Yan was definitely not a priority trainee on the production team’s radar. Afterward, Zhang Jing had indeed sent an urgent message to the work groups, notifying all departments to elevate Zhong Yan to “Tier 1 Priority,” but he hadn’t disclosed the reason.

“Her name is Zhong Yan. I heard the PD calling her ‘Teacher Zhong.’ Do you think she could be that bestselling novelist, Zhong Yan?” one contestant whispered to her companion.

“Impossible. Why would a writer join a survival show?” the companion replied. “Besides, I saw leaks online saying that the author Zhong Yan is quite old, married, and has two kids.”

The two looked up at Zhong Yan as she walked gracefully toward the seating area. She was youthful and beautiful, looking to be in her early twenties; she certainly didn’t look like someone who was married with two children.

“True,” the contestant murmured.

In the past, Zhong Yan had only seen the classic pyramid seating through a screen. Now that she was physically standing in the middle of it, the impact was far greater than she could have imagined as a viewer.

Standing at the base of the grand pyramid, she looked up. This place felt like an amusement park built on a towering mountain peak. The brilliant neon lights could entice a distracted tourist to get lost on the winding, steep paths; only a determined social climber could scale the dangerous cliffs to reach the summit above the crowds.

As her feet hit the stairs, she felt the thrill of truly becoming a climber on this expedition.

Everyone was watching to see which number she would choose. Zhong Yan looked around. Seats 10 to 100 were ordinary plastic chairs, already scattered with contestants. Seats 1 to 9 were magnificent large sofas, all of which were currently empty.

Ultimately, Zhong Yan chose the No. 9 sofa seat.

The other contestants began to secretly analyze the “deep meaning” behind her choosing the last seat of the debut lineup.

In reality, Zhong Yan had no deep meaning at all. She simply figured that the initial evaluation filming would take a long time, and a sofa would be more comfortable. Plus, the No. 9 position was at a perfect distance and height from the stage—essentially the “Gold Class” seat in a movie theater.

Once Zhong Yan was seated, the massive floor-to-ceiling screen opposite the pyramid flashed, displaying the giant logo of Dingming Entertainment.

The room instantly erupted into cheers. The next group to enter was the trainees from Dingming Entertainment.