CH 3.1

For the sake of fairness, the show team had edited the video materials provided by everyone. They wanted to make sure that each student presented themselves for around the same amount of time.

Many of Xue Xiao’s scenes had been cut. The shots of several background characters in front of him flashed by and only this last shot was kept intact.

They knew what the hot point was.

The participants present were both male and female. All of them covered their mouths, their faces flushed and their eyes wide open.

They had seen many beautiful men in ancient costumes, but no matter how ‘beautiful’ the man, most of them were ugly when their hair was disheveled. Some were even ugly to the point of causing anger.

But perhaps it was because the quality of Xue Xiao’s wig was too good or his face was so soft that he was indistinguishable from a man or woman in this scene, but he looked really beautiful.

There were even many people who turned their heads and compared it to Xue Xiao, who was sitting obediently in the corner with his knees crossed. Then they looked back at the big screen and couldn’t believe that this was the same person!

In reality, Xue Xiao looked like an obedient boy but the person on the screen revealed a trace of desire in his pure heart. There was obviously no seductive meaning in his eyes. They were even a bit cold but he was terribly seductive. Certain gay comrades were embarrassed to see it!

A girl suddenly exclaimed, “Ah, I remember. This scene was on the hot search, right?”

Hearing this, more people were surprised and envious.

There had never been times when the many extras here were able to get on the hot search!

“Brother, are you still a background actor now?” The brother next to Xue Xiao had extremely red ears as he stammered, “Y-You haven’t signed with a big company yet?!”

Xue Xiao smiled.

He was a bit embarrassed when the show first came up with this type of operation, but now he was calm.

In particular, he had seen a lot of similar reactions to this semi-nude scene, whether it was filming or when it aired. He had long been accustomed to it.

Xue Xiao said calmly, “Just this one shot can’t explain anything.”

“But this shot is very godly! Very godly!”

“That is also the director’s credit.”

“By the way, which drama is this?”

Xue Xiao reported a name.

The brother blurted out, “Ah, I know it. But isn’t this a thunder—”

The photography brother happened to move over with the camera. The black lens aimed at the two of them and the brother immediately stopped talking.

Xue Xiao suddenly laughed.

He pointed to the microphone on his collar and signaled that the brother should pay attention not only to the camera, but also to the fact that every word they said now would be picked up.

The brother was so suffocated that his face turned purple and he quietly mouthed to Xue Xiao.

‘But isn’t this a famous thunderous drama?’

He hadn’t seen it but he had heard of it.

Xue Xiao thought about it and said objectively, “Director Jin’s aesthetics are very powerful and he has his own pursuit when filming.”

This aesthetic and pursuit of it often deviated to outer space, so that normal Earthlings didn’t understand it, but it wasn’t a fact that the director was filming bad dramas with a perfunctory attitude.

For example, the scene where Xue Xiao emerged from the circle was when he was playing a monster, the leader of the river monsters.

As a background actor, his scenes weren’t much. After this half-nude scene, he went ashore in phantom clothes, led many little brothers and sisters into the woods and was ambushed and killed.

If it was changed to another fast-paced costume crew, the director might not pay much attention to this short scene. The assistant director would just come out to point out a few sentences and it would pass in one or two takes as long as there were no big problems.

But at that time, Director Jin specially approached Xue Xiao to analyze it for him.

River demons were monsters who seduced all beings. They were extremely beautiful, so beautiful that they made people lose their minds and kill each other. This was the reason why people wanted to kill them. People felt that as long as there were river monsters, this world would never change or be peaceful.

Therefore, the actor must be convincingly beautiful here. They must be emotional but not lustful?

What was emotional but not lustful?

Just don’t smile in a greasy manner, don’t wink, don’t twist his neck, don’t open his mouth and pant as if he was acting in a third-grade film and don’t look like he thought he was the most beautiful person in the world. This was too irritating to the eyes.

Remember, it was okay to show his body generously and to show a sense of alienation that was different from ordinary people with his languid posture.

“Why didn’t I go find those handsome actors and instead came to you? It is because the leader of the river monsters is like other river monsters. It isn’t just women but also men. If I let a straight man seduce a group of straight men and said it was successful, the audience definitely won’t accept it.

“What about you? Your face doesn’t look so eye-catching but you actually have a very classic beauty. Your figure is also just right. There is a type of attraction that will make men and women shout ‘I can.’ So don’t be exaggerated and don’t make redundant expressions and movements. Just make good use of your face and figure and keep acting, understand?”

Then Director Jin found an assistant to fetch… his special collection of men’s wigs for ancient costumes. He also asked the makeup artist on site to change Xue Xiao’s makeup before letting Xue Xiao act.

The brother next to Xue Xiao was stunned when he heard this. “So it really is a very high-quality and unique wig?

Xue Xiao nodded honestly and said in a low voice, “You know that most of the wigs for extras in the crew are very…”

The brother felt sorry for him. He covered the microphone and said, “Not only does it look like straw but there might be lice hidden in them, I wear several bags on my head every day.”

For this type of straw wig, any actor wearing it would look like a beggar, no matter how beautiful and even though he was wearing a beautiful river monster.

In addition, the costumes of the extras couldn’t be washed after being worn 800 times. It was fine when they were covered with mud and soil and they would even become rancid in the summer.

Xue Xiao and the brother looked at each other and sighed in unison.

Then the two of them laughed at the same time.

“Hey, I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Chang Yun and I’ve been acting as an extra for three years,” Cheng Yun said. “In addition to you, there are 26 people so far. It seems that they are all plain people who are extras.”

The show seemed to have specially arranged the artists who had signed with entertainment companies to appear in the back.

Sure enough, once 30 people arrived, the 31 person who arrived at the studio was a contracted artist.

This entertainer was very reserved when he entered here.

He looked like he was in his early 20s and it wasn’t known if he had graduated from college or not. He politely and modestly greeted them, “Hello, brother and sisters. Then he sat down in a low-key manner in the front row.

The moment the resume came out, most people didn’t know him. There were too many people in the entertainment industry and only a few people could remember all their names.

However, everyone still greeted each other in a friendly manner. The young artist sighed with relief before smiling and chatting with the people around him.

Chang Yun sighed and said in a low voice, “It is too difficult to get ahead in this circle. I would treat a shot like yours as a family heirloom but you still can’t sign with a big company.”

There were also a large number of unknown names among those who had signed with a company.

Xue Xiao was seriously watching other people’s video highlights. Once he heard this, he encouraged the other person, “But there will indeed be more drama appointments with a good shot.”

“No matter how many drama appointments there are, you are still a background actor. Do you want to be a background actor for the rest of your life?”

Xue Xiao shook his head. He changed his sitting posture and folded his hands and forearms over his knees. Then he told Chang Yun seriously, “The road is always taken step by step. We’ve only been trying for a few years. How did we get to the point of talking about ‘for a lifetime’?”

He counted with his fingers, “XXX was a background actor, right? It took him ten years playing a supporting role and another five years playing a male lead. XX is from a professional major and she played a supporting role in a popular drama as soon as she debuted. However, she didn’t play a leading role until more than ten years later…”

“After all, it is only a minority who becomes popular overnight. Leaving aside these few cases, the fact that we can get an opportunity to be on this variety show at this age is already very lucky,” Xue Xiao said very quietly. He pursed his lips and smiled. “Brother Chang, don’t be too discouraged. Jiayou.”

Chang Yun covered his heart. “Xiao Xue, you are so good at talking. I am convinced. Now I feel that I am quite amazing!”

Xue Xiao was happy. “It is amazing. I also think I am amazing.”

—

Among the artists who came to the scene later, some of them didn’t like to talk to these amateurs. They greeted the audience with a smile but then they found a corner by themselves and looked like they didn’t want to chat to anyone.

There were also artists who really thought they were 18th tier unknowns and soon integrated with everyone.

A girl came in and her eyes swept over the audience. Then her gaze miraculously fixed on Xue Xiao.

Once her resume was released on the big screen, the 23 year old girl called Jiang Lianlian, who had signed a contract with a large company, was so excited that her cheeks turned crimson. She sat down next to Xue Xiao and said excitedly, “Xue Xiao! You are Xue Xiao, right?!”

Xue Xiao was a bit surprised and extended his hand in a friendly manner. “I am Xue Xiao. Hello.”

“Hello, hello.” Jiang Lianlian shook Xue Xiao’s hand hard. Her mood was the same as when a fan saw an idol. She covered her mouth and said, “I didn’t expect you to come to this show. I really like the scene where you played the river monster. I also screenshot it as a wallpaper for my computer and mobile phone. I haven’t changed it until now. You see!”

She took out her phone and showed it off. “I’ve always wanted to see you act more. I like you so much.”

Xue Xiao’s ears turned red.

It was the first time he was told ‘I like you so much’ to his face.

Maybe she was too surprised but Jiang Lianlian didn’t feel nervous at all. She had many words. Chang Yun was also a talker. The two of them chatted until their mouths were dry.

Xue Xiao sat between them. He listened to the left and right and was very happy.

After around two hours, the studio finally became crowded.

Suddenly, someone said, “49, there is still one last person left.”

“Hey, they’re coming in.”

Xue Xiao instinctively turned his head. He looked at the back door and paused.

A familiar figure appeared there.