CH 14

“Action!”

On the dark stage, the lights turn on. Mu Qingyan, wearing home clothes, sits on the bed, hugging her bent knees and burying her head in them.

At this moment, the barking of a small dog and the laughter of a child can be heard from outside the window. Mu Qingyan slowly raises her head and gazes blankly outside the window.

Downstairs, children and a pet dog are playing and chasing each other.

Listening to the sounds of laughter, he remembers the past. His eyes and nose turn slightly red, and his shoulders tremble slightly.

Mu Qingyan bites his lip tightly. Finally, unable to restrain himself any longer, he sheds crystal tears.

At this moment, he exudes a fragility and vulnerability like that of glass, making people feel sorry for him.

The background sound fades away, and his phone vibrates on the bedside table.

As Mu Qingyan is about to pick up the phone, he happens to see a photo frame standing beside it. It is a picture of a big dog that had accompanied him throughout his childhood, smiling at him with its tongue out.

“Dolly…”

He trembles slightly as he reaches for the photo of his beloved dog. But at the moment his fingertips touch the photo frame, he hesitates.

He curls his fingers and finally turns the photo frame upside down, covering his face and crying.

At this moment, the tear-jerking BGM in the movie begins, and the live audience and viewers watching the live broadcast are completely moved by Mu Qingyan, shedding tears one after another.

As the performance ends, the judges, audience, host, and program staff at the scene all applaud.

Ji Liyun’s heart finally settles. He stands beside the director’s seat, watching Mu Qingyan walk to the front of the stage and bow to the judges and audience, with a look of admiration and admiration in his eyes.

The number of bullet comments in the live broadcast skyrocketed, densely packed.

[“I’m in tears.”]

[“Mu Qingyan cried and my heart aches.”]

[“I really want to hug him.”]

[“This performance is too awesome, I voluntarily retract my previous comment for Xie Ming.”]

[“No comparison, no harm. Xie Ming is far behind.”]

The host walked over to Mu Qingyan’s side and admired him before continuing to host, “Thank you very much for Mu Qingyan’s performance. Next, we ask the judges for their comments.”

Previously, only one or two judges would give comments after each performance, but this time all four directors raised their hands. So the host asked the directors to comment in order from left to right.

Sure enough, the first three directors all praised Mu Qingyan’s outstanding acting skills, surpassing many actors who had received professional training. Two directors even offered him roles on their next projects on the spot.

Ironically, these three directors completely ignored the original contestant, Xie Ming, and didn’t mention him at all.

The other actors backstage who saw Mu Qingyan’s performance also admired him for delivering such a wonderful performance as someone who had not received professional training.

The actors who had performed the first five tasks were secretly glad they hadn’t crossed swords with Mu Qingyan, otherwise they would have made a fool of themselves now.

Actor Mai Lean, who had always been at odds with Xie Ming, walked up to Xie Ming and chuckled, “Who would have thought that someone would end up in a bad situation. Some people had hoped to become famous on this variety show, right?”

“You haven’t even appeared yet, don’t be too happy too early,” Xie Ming said coldly.

“Yes, but I’m not that stupid to argue with the guests. Besides, it’s the President of the Ji Group who personally invited him, using 5 million square meters of land in the development zone to exchange for the guest appearance.”

Mai Lean looked disdainfully at Xie Ming. “Having mediocre acting skills is better than being ridiculed and losing your audience.”

It was no wonder the program team treated Mu Qingyan so well, given that he was personally invited by the President of the Ji Group.

Xie Ming clenched his fists tightly, feeling jealous and resentful.

He had nowhere to vent, so he only whispered provocatively to Mai Lean beside him, “If it weren’t for this variety show, I would have other opportunities.”

“Yeah, opportunities to poach roles. Just like how you used tricks three times to snatch my roles and resources before,” Mai Lean looked at Mu Qingyan on stage, smiling. “As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. Looks like it’s time.”

The last commentator was director Cui Yu.

He was over sixty years old and looked very amiable, but whenever he spoke, his expression was extremely serious, often giving people a feeling of authority without anger.

Cui Yu opened the microphone and asked Mu Qingyan a question first, “Was your performance just now improvised?”

Mu Qingyan nodded, “Yes, Director Cui. Before the performance, I told the program team’s director about the content I wanted to perform and the kind of cooperation I hoped to receive.”

“Very thoughtful, very good.”

This is the first time Cui Yu praised someone on the show. He blinked at Mu Qingyan and said, “Mr. Mu’s way of expressing this scene is different from that in the movie. He has his own personal aesthetic, and I think it is very worthy of encouragement.”

“<The Life of Dolly> was a movie I directed when I was young. I was under 30 years old at the time and lacked experience. My ideas were also relatively simple. After seeing Mr. Mu’s performance, I felt that although you are about the same age as I was when I directed the movie, you are more logical than I was back then.”

“If we talk about acting, Mr. Mu’s performance has a strong sense of hierarchy and is very infectious. In comparison, Mr. Xie’s performance is indeed much inferior and monotonous.”

This was the first time Xie Ming was evaluated in “Acting PK Battle”, and the result was used as a control group for Mu Qingyan. Standing backstage, he glared at Mu Qingyan with anger.

After the evaluation was over, Cui Yu took out a business card from his body and handed it to Mu Qingyan, “I hope to work with you.”

The actors backstage were suddenly boiling.

[“Wow! Director Cui personally gave him a business card!”]

[“This is the first time Director Cui has made an invitation in so many variety shows he has participated in.”]

[“Envious.”]

However, some actors were more jealous of Mu Qingyan than envious.

“He is not a professional actor. How can he receive the attention and invitation of three directors?”

“That’s right, it must be relying on backstage connections.”

“Hmph, he will fall sooner or later.”

Host: “Thank you again for Mu Qingyan’s performance. Please return to the guest seat. Next, the judges will evaluate Xie Ming.”

Xie Ming took a deep breath, put on a professional smile, and returned to the stage.

The four directors looked at each other and no one raised their hand.

To avoid embarrassment, one of the directors opened the microphone: “Xie Ming’s crying scene is indeed very professional, I pity him. However, in the movie<The Life of Dolly> the scene where the owner learns that his dog has died and cries sadly only lasts for about a minute, so this question gives the actors a lot of creative space.”

“In the ten-minute performance interval, you almost cried all the time, which lacks creativity and can only prove your crying skills. Please continue to work hard.”

Xie Ming pursed his lips, pretended to be calm, and said softly, “Thank you, director.”

Mu Qingyan stayed at the scene to watch the performance, then returned to his own independent dressing room satisfactorily and changed back into his MU high-end suit.

Ye Qiqi looked at him admiringly and asked curiously, “Boss, when did you secretly learn acting? It’s so amazing! I looked at the comments online, and they all praised you!”

“Innate talent,” Mu Qingyan said lightly.

“Boss, you’re bragging again.” Ye Qiqi opened her phone and asked again, “Just now, several reporters contacted me and said they want an exclusive interview with you.”

Mu Qingyan walked towards the guest seat while saying, “Decline all interviews and push them all away.”

After nearly two and a half hours of live broadcast, all the actors finally finished their performances. According to the preliminary rules, the four directors needed to have 10 votes in hand to give to the ten actors they wanted to advance.

The audience below used their electronic voting devices to vote for their five favorite actors.

Voting time was fifteen minutes, and the ten actors chosen by the directors and each actor’s specific number of votes were announced on the spot.

The top ten actors in terms of votes could advance directly, and two actors could be resurrected due to online voting.

Mu Qingyan laughed lightly. It was a competition like flowing water, and the resurrection was ironclad.

During the ten-minute voting period, the four directors discussed with each other while fans below shouted the names of the actors they loved, cheering and encouraging their idols.

On the live screen, one barrage followed another, all guessing which actors could advance.

When the voting channel closed and the host announced the final voting results, Mu Qingyan didn’t actually care. He just wanted to know how many votes Xie Ming got.

First, the four directors each revealed the ten actors they chose, and sure enough, none of them had chosen Xie Ming.

Looking at the final vote count, Xie Ming was third from the bottom.

Mu Qingyan was satisfied.

“Do you want me to teach you acting? I’ll teach you how to be a person.”

The live broadcast of “Acting PK Battle” ended, and everyone gradually left the photography location.

Outside the studio, many entertainment journalists had already gathered, intercepting popular actors who were coming out one by one for interviews.

When Mu Qingyan, wearing sunglasses, walked out of the building, all the entertainment journalists crowded around him, surrounding him with their cameras and video cameras. He only politely answered a few questions.

Just as his bodyguard stepped forward to disperse the reporters and escort him to the nanny car, a reporter took the opportunity to rush to the front and loudly asked, “After seeing your wonderful performance, may I ask what you think the standard for good acting is?”

“There’s no fixed standard. When you’re strong enough, you are the standard.” Mu Qingyan replied before getting into the nanny car.

The reporter secretly praised his insightfulness!

After this variety show, Mu Qingyan’s popularity reached new heights, gaining three million more fans, and he even had his own fan club.

After returning home, Xie Ming became more and more angry, throwing things all over the house.

At this moment, Xing Hao opened the door, saw the mess in the living room, and asked with concern, “What’s wrong, Mingming?”

When Xie Ming saw Xing Hao, she immediately threw herself into his arms and sobbed, “Mu Qingyan bullied me, deliberately targeted me in the show, embarrassed me, and even prevented me from advancing.”

“Hey, don’t cry,” Xing Hao looked at his beloved’s pitiful appearance, feeling very distressed. He comforted her, “Don’t worry, he’ll be the one crying in a couple of days.”

“Really?” Xie Ming wiped away her tears and looked at him pitifully.

“Of course. Everything is within my grasp. Just wait and see.”